One of the things that Todd and I like to do in our spare time is to visit some of the National Trust Houses that are abundant in our beautiful country. There's quite a few and in the warmer months, it's really a lot of fun walking around the gardens and of course nosing through the houses . . . We just find it so very fascinating and a wonderful way to spend an afternoon.

Most of the National Trust houses also have tearooms and small restaurants on the grounds. That, of course is also one of the real treats of the day . . . spending an hour in the tea rooms partaking of a delicious cake or bun (all homemade) and a drink.



And then, there is Todd's nemesis . . . the gift shop. He tries to steer me away from them, but . . . I'm on to him now . . . the gift shop is one of the highlights of my afternoon! They are filled with all sorts of treasures . . . jams and jellies, biscuits, candy rock, toys, gardening goods, tea time trinkets and . . . delicious cookery books!

On one of our visits I picked up this lovely cookerybook filled with traditional teatime recipes.

"Food is at the heart of everything the National Trust does. Our commitment to food stretches from using high quality sustainable produce in our restaurants to supporting our tenant farmers in selling direct to the public. With hundreds of tenant farms, more than 25 working kitchen gardens and farms managed by us, the Trust has an important stake in every part of the food journey." (Excerpt from inside flap of the above book)



I just adore the traditional recipes of any country I am in, but most especially the traditional ones from this beautiful country that we live in. Teatime recipes are some of my favourites of all. They hearken me back to my childhood days of reading Enid Blyton novels and dreaming about the delicous sounding teatime treats that the children in them got to gobble down, and I could only dream of . . .



This is a great baking book, chock full of delectable sounding teatime treats! Every recipe I have baked from it thus far has been just wonderful, not the least of which was this tasty banana cake that I baked this afternoon. We sat down to a piece each with a cup of herbal tea, whilst the snow blew against the glass of our kitchen windows, and dreamt of adventures and tuck boxes and . . . warm summer afternoon walks along country garden pathways . . .



Note - the filling is not really thick, but I found that by pooling most of it in the centre, it worked out just perfectly and did not squish out the sides. Also the icing is more like a glaze than a traditional frosting. It is most delicious!



*Cornish Banana Cake*
Makes one 7-inch layer cake
Printable Recipe

Just perfect for afternoon tea! A deliciously moist banana cake layered with a buttery banana filling and iced with a cocoa banana icing.

For the cake:
8 ounces very ripe banana (weight after peeling)
3 1/2 ounces caster sugar
3 1/2 ounces butter, softened
200g self raising flour, sifted
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 TBS milk

For the filling:
1 ripe banana
2 ounces butter, softened
2 ounces caster sugar

For the icing:
1 soft, very ripe banana
1 ounce cocoa powder, sifted
8 ounces icing sugar, sifted



Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F. Butter two 7-inch round sandwich tins and lightly flour, tapping any excess out. Mash the bananas and sugar together for the cake in a bowl with an electric mixer. Beat in the softened butter. Add the flour alternately with the egg. Dissolve the soda in the milk and add to the mixture. Beat to a fairly sticky batter. Divide evenly between the two tins, smooth the tops and then bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the sponge springs back when lightly touched.

Remove from the oven and turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the filling, beat all the ingredients together until well mixed and use to sandwich the two layers together.

For the icing, beat all the ingredients together until dark and really smooth. Spread onto the top of the cake.

Note - If you like you can decorate the top with some blanched almonds, walnut halves or dried banana chips.

Cherries are one of my favourite things. I know you are thinking . . . what isn't her favourite thing??? Well, the answer is quite simple . . .



I'm allergic to shell fish, so none of that please, and I won't eat anything with antennae or tenticles. Does that make me squeamish? Perhaps . . . but I know I am not alone!



One of my favourite things in a fruit cake has to be the glace cherries . . . next to the candied pineapple and citron of course! I like to use the naturally coloured cherries in my baking, eschewing anything artifically dyed a bright red or green. That means that my cherries always have a somewhat darker colour, but boy oh boy, do they taste good.



I just love cherry scones, but the ones in the shops always have those bright red cherried in them . . . and store bought baked goods always end up tasting a bit disappointing to me. They never quite come up to their promise. Am I alone in thinking that???



I thought so . . . Home baked anything is always infinitely better in my books.

Yesterday I baked Todd a teatime treat of some lovely Cherry and Almond Scones. Not quite as pretty as the ones in the shops, but boy, are they tasty.

They have a delicious short and buttery crumb, with a subtle hint of almond, and are just stogged full of lovely cherries.



Try them today . . . simply buttered, or if you are really feeling hedonistic, add some clotted cream and jam. Delicious!

In for a penny, in for a pound I always say!! The recipe makes a lot, but they do freeze very well.



*Cherry and Almond Scones*
makes about 20 2-inch scones
Printable Recipe

Delicious scones with a tender crumb and chock full of glace cherries and a subtle hint of almond. Serve cold with butter or clotted cream and jam!

450g self raising flour, sifted (3 1/4 cups)
1/2 tsp baking soda
125g softened butter (1/2 cup)
85g caster sugar (scant half cup)
170g glace cherries, roughly chopped (generous cup)
1 large free range egg, beaten
a few drops of almond essence
6 to 7 fluid ounces of milk

Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F. Butter a large baking tray (s). Set aside.

Sift the flour into a large bowl along with the soda. Rub in the butter until it resembles sand. Stir in the sugar and cherries. Add the beaten egg, almond essence and enough of the milk to make a soft dough, but not sticky dough. Knead lightly until smooth. Pat out on a floured board to a thickeness of about 1/2 inch. Cut into rounds with a sharp 2 inch cutter. Place on the prepared baking sheet (s). Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until well risen, firm and golden brown. Remove to a wire rack to cool before serving. Delicious split and buttered or served with clotted cream and jam for a special indulgence.

I've had some requests to sort out the measuring problems that some of you are having in understanding the difference between British and American measures and converting them, so I am posting a handy list here for future reference! Hope this helps!



Converting British weights and measures to American
There are sometimes significant differences between the measures used for ingredients in British and American recipes. For example a British standard tablespoon holds 17.7ml while the American tablespoon has a 14.2 ml capacity. Similarly a British pint measures 20 fluid ounces while an American pint is just 16 fluid ounces. The standard American measuring cups sold here in the UK are one 4 ounce cup and smaller, Many American recipes use an 8 ounce (two cup) as a basis for measuring recipe ingredients. Bear in mind that the same cup measures differently for liquid and dry, depending on the weight of the ingredient, i.e. flour, breadcrumbs and oatmeal will be 4 oz, (110 g), but sugar, butter, dried fruit, chopped vegetables, syrup etc., will weigh differently. The listings below should enable recipes to be successfully made by American cooks. The only advice I would offer, having spent hours trawling websites and reading through books for factual information, hints and tips, is, to be consistent, never mix imperial, metric or cup measures in one recipe, If you use the same measuring system throughout, your dishes should work out correctly. If in doubt, weighing is still the most reliable and much preferred method to use, even by many American cooks. Purchasing a good set of balance scales with either metric or imperial weights, really will eliminate any guesswork and give good, consistent results every time.

Helpful measurement conversions.

Spoons
British = American
1 teaspoon = 1 teaspoon
1 tablespoon = 1 tablespoon
2 tablespoons = 3 tablespoons
3.5 tablespoons = 4 tablespoons
4 tablespoons = 5 tablespoons

Solid measures
Using the one-cup standard measure as sold here in the UK (NB: Please remember to alter the amount for your own recipe):-

British = American
1lb (450g) butter or margarine = 2 cups (or four sticks).
1lb (450g) flour = 4 cups.
1lb 450 g, granulated or caster, (superfine), sugar = 2 cups.
1lb 450 g, icing sugar (confectioners' sugar) = 3 cups.
4 oz, 110 g, icing sugar, (confectioner's sugar), = half a cup plus a heaped tbsp.
8 oz, 225 g, flour = 2 cups.4 oz,
110 g, flour, = 1 cup.8 oz,
225 g, breadcrumbs = 2 cups.4 oz,
110 g, breadcrumbs. = 1 cup.8 oz,
225 g, oatmeal = 2 cups.
4 oz, 110 g, oatmeal = 1 cup.
8 oz, 225 g, grated cheese = 2 cups.
4 oz, 110 g, grated cheese = 1 cup.
8 oz, 225 g, butter, margarine, or shortening = one cup (or two sticks).
4 oz, 110 g, butter, margarine, or shortening = half a cup (or one stick).
2 oz, 50 g, butter, margarine or shortening = a quarter of a cup (or half a stick).
4 oz, 110 g, dried mixed fruit, (fruitcake mix) = 2-thirds of a cup.
2 oz, 50 g, dried mixed fruit, (fruit cake mix) = one-third of a cup.
8 oz, 225 g, brown sugar = 1 cup.
4 oz, 110 g, brown sugar = half a cup
3 oz, 75 g, plain, (semi-sweet) chocolate, broken into squares = 3-quarters of a cup.
4 oz, 110 g, whole hazelnuts = 1 cup.
2 oz, 50 g, flaked, (slivered) almonds = half a cup.
4 oz, 110 g, ground almonds = 1 cup.

Useful teaspoon measures.
1 oz, 25 g, is one heaped or heaping, tbsp of flour, oatmeal, cheese, breadcrumbs, or icing, confectioners grade, sugar.

1 oz, 25 g, is 1 rounded tbsp, of granulated or caster, superfine, sugar.

1 oz, 25 g, is 2 level tbsp of butter, margarine or shortening.


Liquid Measures

British = American
half a tsp, 2.5 ml. = half a tsp,
2.5 ml.1 tsp, 5 ml. = 1 tsp,
5 ml.1 average tbsp,
15 ml. = 1 average tbsp,
15 ml.A quarter of a pint,
150 ml. = Two thirds of a cup.
120 ml, 4 fl.oz, = half a cup.
Half a pint, 275 ml,
8 fl.oz, = A generous 1 cup.
Three-quarters of a pint, 425 ml. = Two cups
1 pint, 570 ml. = Two and a half cups.
One and a half pints, approx. 840 ml. = Three and three-quarter cups.
1 and 3-quarter pints, 1 litre, = 4 and a half cups.
2 pints = 5 cups.

Oh, what a blustery, cold and yucky day we are having here . . . it seems that Winter has returned with a vengeance . . . except that the snow isn't laying this time . . .

Instead it melts almost as soon as it touches the soggy, muddy ground . . .

It was so pretty earlier today . . .

We stood at the window and watched it fall like goosedown across the yard . . . the air filled with big soft fluffy flakes . . .



With all the snow and the cold, the birds have been extra hungry today . . . their bodies fluffed up to twice the size as they hop here and there around our feeding station. They enjoyed an extra treat of the rinds from our morning's breakfast bacon . . . the blackbirds greedily trying to snaffle it up before any other birds would have the chance . . .



Lunch was a delicious hot curried tomato soup, that you can see over on my Oak Cottage blog . . . it was warm and comforting and very, yummy, just perfect for a cold, wet day such as this . . .



To go with it???

Why a savoury cheese and herb quick bread that was so very easy to make, and oh-so-very delicious . . . served warm from the oven, and spread with lots of cold dairy butter . . .


The butter's golden softness soaking into the tender and herby crumb of the bread . . . all cheesy and scrumptious with a nice and crunchy crust. OH, it was so very good . . .

they were so very good . . . together . . .



Kinda makes you grateful for cold, snowy, yucky days . . .

almost.



*Herbed Cheese Bread*
Makes 1 (1 pound) loaf
Printable Recipe

Tasty quick bread, with a lovely herbed and cheesey flavour and rustic texture. Delicious on it's own served either warm or cold with butter. It's also a great bread to serve with hot soups and stews. Makes a great picnic treat as well with sliced meats and cheese.

4 ounces white self raising flour
4 ounces wholemeal self raising flour
1 tsp dry English mustard powder
2 TBS chopped fresh herbs (chives, thyme, basil, sage and parsley)
4 ounces mature Cheddar Cheese, grated
1 ounce butter
1 large egg, beaten
150ml of water

Pre-heat the oven to 190*C/375*F. Butter a 1 pound loaf tin. Set aside.

Mix together the flour, mustard, herbs and cheese. Melt the butter and then add to the flour mixture along with the egg and water. Mix to a soft, wet, cake-like dough. Turn into the prepared tin and bake for 45 minutes until well risen and golden brown. Remove from the oven to cool on a wire rack.

Cupcakes are really popular these days. I think they always have been, but lately it seems they have been more popular than ever . . .

I mean . . . who wouldn't like a cupcake??? It's a tiny cake, just for you!!



All kinds of flavours. Filled. Iced or not, and usually covered with sprinkles of one variety or another.



I always make cupcakes for Valentines Day. I've done so since my children were small and they each wanted something to take to school for their class as a treat. Cupcakes were the logical choice as I could make tons and the kids could help me decorate them. They were also very easy to transport and didn't need cutting up when they got there. Each child had their own individual cake. What could be better??



Habits like Valentines Cupcakes are very hard to change. I still find myself baking them every year for the holiday, except now, I have no children here at home to give them to. Poor ♥Todd♥ ends up having to eat them all.

Poor Todd indeed. I've never seen a man suffer with so much pleasure before . . . in fact I think he's suffering right now!



*Sweetheart Cherry Cupcakes*
Makes 12
Printable Recipe

Irresitable and utterly girly. You can tint the icing pink if you like. I prefer to keep it white though and then decorate them with all sorts of bits and baubles!

115g butter, at room temperature
115g caster sugar
2 large free range eggs
100g self raising flour
2 TBS milk
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
12 to 15 glace cherries, chopped

Vanilla buttercream:
140g icing sugar, sieved
2 TBS softened butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 TBS milk

Decorations as desired

Pre-heat the oven to 175*c/350*f. Line a 12 cup medium muffin tin with paper cases. Set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar together for the cakes until fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Fold in the flour along with the milk, and extracts. Mix until smooth. Stir in the chopped cherries. Divide the batter equally amongst the muffin cups. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until well risen and a toothpick inserted in the centre of one comes out clean. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely as soon as you can handle them. Don't allow them to sit in the muffin tin for too long or they will become soggy.

Once they are completely cooled, make the icing. Beat together the icing sugar, butter, vanilla and 1 TBS of the milk, until smooth and creamy, adding the additional TBS of milk only if needed.

Spread the frosting over the tops of the cooled cupcakes and sprinkle with whatever decorations you wish to use, or leave plain.

As you know, I just love blueberries. I also happen to love lemon, and when I saw the lovely cake on the cover of the March issue of Good Food magazine I was in heaven! It was a beautiful lemon curd blueberry loaf cake and it looked really good . . .



The recipe uses lemon curd in the batter. I happen to already make a lucious lemon drizzle cake that uses lemon curd in the batter and I know first hand how very tasty a cake it makes!

I wanted to kick it up a notch though . . . (Forgive me Good Food Magazine . . . it's just in my nature to never leave well enough alone . . . usually with most delicious results, I might add!)



So I decided to add a cardamon streusel topping on top of the batter before I baked it. Oh, what a delicious decision that was. It is sweet and crunchy with just the merest hint of cardamom which as we know, goes so very well with lemon . . .



Once baked, a tart lemon icing was drizzled all over the top of the streusel . . .

Each mouthful brings you the delights of a moist lemon cake, sweet blueberries, crunchy streusel and a lemon drizzle icing . . . can you say MOREISH???

But it gets even better . . .



Once cooled and sliced, you want to serve it up with a dollop of lemon curd and lashings of creme fraiche . . .

OH MY GOODNESS !!!

This is a diet killer, if I ever tasted one. Could be quite dangerous to have around. Y'all will have to come over and help me get rid of it, ok?



*Lemon Curd and Blueberry Loaf*
Makes one 2 pound loaf
Printable Recipe

A deliciously moist and tangy loaf topped with a scrummy cardamom streusel topping and a lemon glaze.

6 ounces of butter softened, plus more for buttering the tin
100g Greek yogurt
2 TBS of lemon curd
3 large free range eggs
the zest of one lemon
8 ounces self raising flour
6 ounces golden caster sugar
85g of blueberries

For the streusel:
1 1/2 ounces of self raising flour
1 1/2 ounces demerara sugar
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 ounce soft butter

For the glaze:
the juice of one lemon
5 ounces icing sugar, sifted

To serve:
lemon curd
creme fraiche

Pre-heat the oven to 160*C/325*F. Butter a 2 pound loaf tin. Line it with a long strip of parchment paper, for ease in lifting out. Butter the parchment.

Make the streusel by rubbing all the streusel ingredients together until crumbly. Set aside.

Place all the cake ingredients, except for the blueberries into a mixing bowl. Beat well until thorougly combined and smooth. Spoon half of this into the prepared loaf tin. Sprinkle the blueberries over top and then cover with the remaining half of the batter.

Sprinkle the streusel evenly over top.

Bake in the heated oven for 1 hour and 15 to 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean and the cake is well risen and golden brown. Remove from the oven. Allow to cool in the pan before lifting out onto a wire rack.

Make the glaze by whisking together the lemon juice and the icing sugar. Drizzle this over top of the cake.

Serve in slices with some more lemon curd and some creme fraiche if desired.

One of the things we loved best about Roast Dinners when I was growing up was . . . that we knew there would be a lovely pot pie waiting at the end of it all . . . kind of like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow . . . sure you love that rainbow, but it's the pot of gold that always gets you in the end . . .



It was a sure thing if we had had a roast beef dinner, or chicken, or turkey . . . after my mother had served it up once the day of the roast, a second time sliced cold with some vegetables, a third time possibly as a soup or a hash . . . the rest would get made into a pot pie.



Oh how we loved her pot pies. Her crust was fabulously rich and flakey, the insides thick and chock full of vegetables, bits of meat and tasty gravy . . . I suppose it was a great way of making a little bit of meat go a long way . . .



Even now if we go to visit she is sure to break one of her pot pies out of the freezer as a real treat. Once, when I was about 13, she had to go away for the weekend. She had left a pot pie for me to heat up along with some oven chips and vegetables for our Saturday night supper. To this day I still get accused of taking the largest piece for myself . . . and truth is, I probably did!!!



You don't really need any leftover meat to make a delicious pot pie though . . . I make a rather tasty one using rich and moist chicken thighs, which are just loaded with flavour. Cheap and easy, this always goes down a real treat with anyone I serve it to . . .



It doesn't taste cheap and easy. It's wonderfully rich and comforting. Good eats all round. I like to serve it with some tasty mashed potatoes and a vegetable on the side. One trick for making really tasty mash is to whip some herb and garlic boursin cheese into them. Oh yummo! Probably not too good for the waistline . . . but sometimes you just got to do what you just got to do . . .

Besides . . . I have a bad cold. I need comforting . . .



*Chicken Pot Pie*
Serves 4 to 6
Printable Recipe

Pot pies are very popular in my house. Normally I use leftover roast, but today I decided to use some chicken thighs I had on hand. Delicious comfort food that is not only economical but very easy and quick to throw together.

2 TBS oil
2 TBS plain flour
500g boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 medium cooking onion, peeled and diced small
1 fat clove of garlic, peeled and crushed
1 large rib of celery, cut into small dice
2 carrots, peeled and cut into small dice
2 chicken stock cubes
1 1/2 cups hot water
salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp dried savoury
100g frozen peas
1 TBS chopped fresh parsley.
1.2 of a (17 ounce) packet of ready roll puff pastry
1 beaten egg yolk

Trim the chicken, discarding any fat. Cut into small cubes. Toss with the flour. Add the oil to a large skillet. Heat over medium heat. Add the floured chicken and brown, stirring until it is cooked all the way through, and no pink remains. Add the onion, garlic, celery and carrot. Cook, slowly, stirring from time to time until almost tender. Crumble the stock cubes over all and stir in the hot water. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in the peas and parsley. Place into a pie dish. Top with the puff pastry. Crimp the edges and vent. Brush with some beaten egg yolk.

Pre-heat the oven to 205*C/425*F. Place pie on a baking tray and bake in the heated oven for approximately 30 to 35 minutes, until the pastry is crisp and browned.

Serve hot with some mashed potatoes and a vegetable of your own choosing. Delicious!

 

One of my favourite ingredients to bake with is ripe bananas. The riper the better. I like them best when the skins are almost black. Just perfect for baking with. Oh, I do love me some banana chocolate chip cookies, banana tea bread, banana muffins, banana cake . . .



One of Todd's favourite things to eat is bananas. He usually eats them all up before I can do anything with them. Most annoying . . .



This week I managed to squirrel some away where he couldn't see them and I let them get . . . ripe, ripe, ripe . . .



I wanted to make a delicious banana cake. Rich and moist, and just chock full of banana flecks and flavour . . .

With a lucious cream cheese icing.



This banana cake is the epitome of the word M-O-R-E-I-S-H!!!



Ohh, but it is dangerous to have around. Anyone care to come over and help us eat it up???



*Dreamy Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting*
Serves 8 to 10
Printable Recipe

A deliciously moist and rich banana cake, topped with a lucious cream cheese frosting. It is best to store this in the refrigerator because of the frosting, but don't worry, because there is oil used in the cake batter instead of butter the cake stays moist and tender, even when served cold from the fridge.

For the Cake:
2 large very ripe bananas, peeled and lightly mashed
(8 ounces)
4 ounces of creme fraiche
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tsp loosely packed finely grated lemon zest
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
6 ounces of light brown muscovado sugar (in America use Turbinado, or even just ordinary brown sugar)
4 ounces of safflower oil
170g of plain flour
30g of cornflour
(alternately use 200g of cake flour)
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

For the icing:
6 ounces full fat soft cheese
(like Philadelphia)
2 ounces unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla
400g of icing sugar, sifted

Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F. Butter a 9 inch round deep cake tin. Line the bottom with a piece of parchment paper and butter the paper. Dust with flour, shaking out any excess. Set aside.

Place the bananas, sugar and creme fraiche into a food processor and blitz for a few seconds until smooth. Stop and scrape down the sides. Gradually add the oil with the motor running, until it is thorougly incorporated. Add the eggs, lemon zest and vanilla. Process again for about 10 seconds.

Whisk together the flour, soda, baking powder, cornflour and salt.

Pour the wet mixture into a large bowl. Sift in the flour mixture and beat on medium speed with an electric mixer for several minutes until thoroughly incorporated. Scrape into the prepared baking pan, smoothing the top.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until a wooden pick inserted in the centre comes out clean and the cake springs back when lightly touched. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 10 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and then flip over and cool completely top side up.

To make the frosting, beat all the ingredients together in a bowl until smooth and creamy. Spread this frosting to cover the top and sides of the banana cake. Store in the refrigerator.