I am a huge fan of scones. They are such a lovely treat, especially at the weekend.
These are a cross between a pastry and a North American Biscuit . . . there are about as many varieties of scones that you can come with as your imagination can dream up!
Today I baked us some Honey & Date Scones . . . I love dates and I love honey . . . the two have very similar qualities . . . both being sticky and sweet . . .
Dates have a Toffee, almost Caramel-like flavour . . . which is why they are such an integral part of a Sticky Toffee Pudding.
They are like nature's candy!
They are lovely in all kinds of baked goods. We love them in cakes and cookies . . . pies even . . . it seemed to be only a natural thing to try them in scones.
I found a recipe on line for Honey & Ginger Scones on What's Cooking America. This recipe has been adapted from that one, adding chopped dates and converting it to British measurements.
I thought the temperature on the original recipe was a bit on the high side, and as you can see my scones got a tad bit dark, however perfectly baked they were.
I have reduced the temperature to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Most scones bake well at that temperature.
A few things to remember. Keep your ingredients cold. The butter, the cream . . . you don't want the butter to melt before you bake it or while you are cutting it into the flour.
If your ingredients are cold, your scones will rise higher. You may even want to chill your bowl and pastry blender prior to using them.
Don't over work the dough. Bring it together and pat it out with the least amount of handling as possible. You can knead it very gently just a couple of times if necessary to help bring it together.
But the most tender and flaky scones come from a dough that has not been overly worked.
When you are cutting them out, use a sharp tapping motion, pushing it straight down and then lifting it straight up. Don't twist the cutter. When you twist the cutter the end result will be lopsided scones.
The flavour will still be excellent, but they won't be as aesthetically pleasing to the eye! So if you are going for something that not only tastes good, but looks good . . . don't twist the cutter!
I picked up some clotted cream for us to enjoy with the scones. Clotted cream is thick, rich and indulgent with the consistency of soft butter.
It is made by heating normal cream to evaporate some of the liquids, and contains at least 55 per cent butter fat, which gives it a pale yellow colour that is often topped with a deeper yellow crust.
It has the same Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status as Stilton Cheese and Jersey Royal Potatoes, which gives its name EU-wide protection from potential imitators.
Clotted Cream comes from Devon and Cornwall. Anything else is a pretender. I will say that it is very difficult, if not impossible, to make proper authentic clotted cream at home.
At best you will only ever come up with something similar, but not the same . . . and if anyone ever tells you anything different, they don't know what they are talking about.
Along with the clotted cream, I served it with some Bonne Maman Caramel for spreading. That and the clotted cream turned these scones into a really wonderfully indulgent taste experience!
Yield: Makes 6 to 8
Honey & Date Scones
prep time: 15 minscook time: 15 minstotal time: 30 mins
These lovely scones are buttery, flaky, flavoured with honey and studded with sticky bits of date.
ingredients:
315g plain flour (2 1/4 cups)
45g caster sugar (1/4 cup fine granulated sugar)
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
120g unsalted butter, cut into cubes (1/2 cup)
40g chopped pitted dates (1/4 cup)
120ml heavy cream (1/2 cup whipping)
60ml liquid honey (1/4 cup)
1 TBS cream to brush on top
demerara sugar (turbinado) to sprinkle on topinstructions:
Preheat oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Line a baking sheet with baking paper. Set aside
Measure
the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder into a bowl. Whisk together.
Drop in the cold butter and then cut it in with a pastry blender. Stir
in the chopped dates. Whisk together the cream and honey. Pour into
the flour mixture and stir together, just to combine. Tip out onto a
lightly floured surface. Knead a couple of times to bring together and
then lightly pat out to a 7 inch round, about 3/4 inch thick.
the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder into a bowl. Whisk together.
Drop in the cold butter and then cut it in with a pastry blender. Stir
in the chopped dates. Whisk together the cream and honey. Pour into
the flour mixture and stir together, just to combine. Tip out onto a
lightly floured surface. Knead a couple of times to bring together and
then lightly pat out to a 7 inch round, about 3/4 inch thick.
into rounds using a floured cutter, using a sharp up and down motion.
Place 1 inch apart on the baking sheet. Brush the tops with a bit of
cream and sprinkle with demerara sugar. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until
well risen and golden brown.
It's very dull and gloomy today . . . these fabulous scones brought a little bit of sunshine into our lives for sure! I hope you will give them a try! Bon Appetit!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan@aol.com
Thanks so much for visiting! Do come again!
We had a lovely lunch at our friend's Tina and Tony on Thursday. Tina is an excellent cook, and also used to cook for a living like I did. I love going there for lunch. Aside from the wonderful food, I know we are going to enjoy some great companionship with two people we really love to spend time with.
Our meal was really lovely (no surprise)! We feasted on Beef Pot Roast, roasted potatoes, carrots, string beans and cauliflower cheese. It was all very tasty. (It always is!)
She actually had two desserts. One was a slimming world friendly Jelly Dessert with fruit, and the other was this fabulous Vanilla Sauced Bread Pudding!
She very graciously shared the recipe with me so that I could share it with you and here it is. Twenty four hours later I was making it for Todd, that's how good it was and how much we enjoyed it! High accolades indeed!
I just happened to have a stale French stick that needed using up, so it all seemed to be meant to be. I have a box of diet food arriving today, that I will be trialing a new Diet Plan all next week, so I wanted to get any desserts out of the way and out of the house before then!
This really is a fabulous pudding and very simple to make. Its basically just bread, milk, butter, sugar and eggs, with some vanilla and nutmeg for seasoning.
Here's a handy tip if you are like me and grate your own fresh nutmeg. I always end up with little bits from the ends of the nutmegs, which I have always been afraid to grate on my micro plane. I don't relish the idea of grated knuckles or finger tips.
What I do now is to save up a bunch of the ends until I have a few and then I grind them in my Cook House Coffee/Spice grinder. It works a charm! No waste and perfectly ground nutmeg!
Basically you soak the bread and raisins in milk and butter until it softens and then beat in eggs, sugar, vanilla and nutmeg, pour it into a buttered baking dish and bake.
If you are not fond of raisins you could use chocolate chips, or vanilla chips, or dried cherries or cranberries . . . . chopped dried apricots, figs or dates . . . any dried fruit or even mix of dried fruits in the same quantities would work well!
Once the pudding is baked you make a simple vanilla caramel sauce, which goes together in a flash on top of the stove.
I like to pour just a little bit of this on top of the hot pudding when it comes out of the oven . . . it glazes it very nicely.
After that it is ready to be spooned out into bowls . . . with some more of the sauce on the side . . .
ready to pour over each serving . . . mmm . . . .
This is so, so, soooooo good . . .
The pudding is a but crisp on the outsides, but soft and unctuously moreish on the insides . . . studded with sticky raisins . . .
This is wonderful just as is with just more of the sauce spooned over top . . . or with some pouring cream or warm custard . . . the North American in me would enjoy this with cold vanilla ice cream! The glutton in me would enjoy it with anything, or even nothing at all! 😉
Yield: 8
Vanilla Sauced Bread Pudding
prep time: 15 minscook time: 45 minstotal time: 60 mins
This delicious bread pudding was served at my friend Tina's the other day. She was gracious enough to share the recipe with us. Serve on it's own with more of the sauce poured over top, along with cream, warm custard or even vanilla ice cream if you wish!
ingredients:
240g stale white bread, cut into cubes (4 cups, or 8 thick slices)
75g raisins (1/2 cup)
480ml whole milk (2 cups)
60g butter (1/4 cup)
95g sugar (1/2 cup)
2 large free range eggs, beaten lightly
1 TBS vanilla
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
For the sauce:
120g butter (1/2 cup)
95g sugar (1/2 cup)
100g soft light brown sugar (1/2 cup, packed)
120ml heavy cream (1/2 cup whipping cream)
1 TBS vanilla
To serve: (optional)
pouring cream, warm custard sauce, or vanilla ice creaminstructions:
Put the milk for the pudding in the microwave along with the
butter. Heat just to melt the butter. Put the cubed bread into a large
bowl along with the raisins. Pour the milk/butter mixture over top,
pressing down to submerge completely. Let stand for 10 minutes.
butter. Heat just to melt the butter. Put the cubed bread into a large
bowl along with the raisins. Pour the milk/butter mixture over top,
pressing down to submerge completely. Let stand for 10 minutes.
Preheat
the oven to 180*c/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a large shallow casserole
dish. (1 1/2 litre/1 1/2 Qt) Whisk the eggs, sugar and vanilla into the
bread mixture along with the nutmeg. Pour into the prepared baking
dish. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes until just set in
the centre.
the oven to 180*c/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a large shallow casserole
dish. (1 1/2 litre/1 1/2 Qt) Whisk the eggs, sugar and vanilla into the
bread mixture along with the nutmeg. Pour into the prepared baking
dish. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes until just set in
the centre.
Measure the butter, both sugars
and cream into a saucepan. Cover over medium heat, stirring
occasionally, until the mixture comes to the boil and thickens. Remove
from the heat and whisk in the vanilla.
and cream into a saucepan. Cover over medium heat, stirring
occasionally, until the mixture comes to the boil and thickens. Remove
from the heat and whisk in the vanilla.
Spoon a
bit of the sauce over the pudding to cover. Serve warm, spooned into
dessert dishes with the extra sauce on the side to pour over top. Pass
cream or custard if desired, or serve with some vanilla ice cream.
bit of the sauce over the pudding to cover. Serve warm, spooned into
dessert dishes with the extra sauce on the side to pour over top. Pass
cream or custard if desired, or serve with some vanilla ice cream.
Created using The Recipes Generator
I know . . . most bloggers out there are posting diet dishes now, helping you to shed the pounds after all of the holiday excess. I am not one to follow trends. You won't find veganuary on here or any other gimick. I won't pretend to be what I am not. I also don't do New Year's resolutions, but am looking forward to trying this new Diet Plan next week. Thankfully I will still be able to cook for Todd! Happy weekend and Bon Appetit!
Turkey Croque Monsieur. The Croque Monsieur Sandwich has to be one of my favourite sandwiches, and I love sandwiches.
One of my greatest weaknesses has to be sandwiches. I know that I have many weaknesses, of which these are only one, but . . . on a scale of 1 to 10, sandwiches are a 10+ for me. I just adore sandwiches.
My Aunt Freda also loved sandwiches, so I guess we are a lot alike in that respect. If it is between two slices of tasty bread, I love it . . . for the most part.
There are a very few exceptions.
I know most people will have cooked their turkeys for Christmas (or Thanksgiving) and you might not have leftover turkey in the house at the moment.
We cooked our Turkey at New Years. It is important to note that you could also make these with slices of Deli-turkey. Just so you know. You don't actually need leftover turkey to make these. Deli-turkey is delicious also!
I have made Croque Monsieur sandwiches in the past with ham. You can find that here.
They were most delicious. Topped with a fried egg, they become a Croque Madame. Also most delicious.
I found a recipe for this tasty Turkey Croque-Monsieur on the Jamie Oliver site. I love Jamie Oliver recipes, so often troll there.
Attributed to Chef Bruno Loubet from the Bistro Bruno Loubet, in London's Clerkenwell, it looked and sounded absolutely fabulous.
It would also allow me to use up some of our leftover Christmas cheeses and cranberry sauce! Win/win/win all round!
You cannot beat the combination of turkey, cranberry, bacon, cheese, etc. Need I go on?
You begin by making a delicious Stilton cheese sauce, lightly flavoured with Dijon mustard. It is luscious and rich.
This gets spread on the bottom slice of bread (use a rustic white bread) after you have spread the bread with some cranberry sauce.
Gruyere cheese gets grated on top of that and then you layer on turkey, the top slice of bread, also spread with some of that luscious Stilton cheese sauce . . .
A final grating of Gruyere cheese and they are ready to toast in the oven . . . a hot oven . . .
Just until the sauce has bubbled and melted a bit, along with that cheese . . . gilding the sandwiches with a blanket of deliciousness . . .
This sandwich is so simple to make. If you can make a simple cheese sauce, you can make this!
Its also very quick to make once you have all of the ingredients assembled . . .
And it is incredibly delicious!
So delicious that while I was meaning only to have a tiny taste . . . before I knew it half the sandwich had disappeared and I was licking my chops. I'll start my diet on Monday. 😏
Yield: 4
Turkey Croque-Monsieur
prep time: 15 minscook time: 15 minstotal time: 30 mins
A deliciously different turkey sandwich, with layers of a tender turkey breast, cranberry sauce, a Stilton bechamel, and Gruyere cheese! Rich and fabulously tasty!
ingredients:
3 TBS butter
5 TBS flour
400ml milk (1 2/3 cup)
2 TBS Dijon Mustard
100g Stilton cheese (3 1/2 ounces) crumbled
8 slices of a sturdy crusty white bread
cranberry sauce
100g Gruyere cheese (3 12 ounces)
400g sliced cooked turkey (14 ounces, scant pound)
salt and black pepper as needed
instructions:
Preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F/ gas mark 7. Line a baking tray with foil and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray.
Melt
the butter in a saucepan. Whisk in the flour and cook for several
minutes. Slowly whisk in the cold milk and cook, stirring constantly,
until the mixture bubbles and thickens. Stir in the mustard and
crumbled Stilton. Whisk to melt the cheeses and then remove from the
heat. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if desired.
the butter in a saucepan. Whisk in the flour and cook for several
minutes. Slowly whisk in the cold milk and cook, stirring constantly,
until the mixture bubbles and thickens. Stir in the mustard and
crumbled Stilton. Whisk to melt the cheeses and then remove from the
heat. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if desired.
Spread
four slices of the bread with cranberry sauce and then half of the
Stilton sauce. Place onto the baking sheet. Grate half of the Gruyere
cheese over top. Place the sliced turkey on top of the Gruyere cheese.
Spread the remaining Stilton sauce over the other four slices of bread
and place on top of the turkey. Grate the remaining Gruyere cheese over
all.
four slices of the bread with cranberry sauce and then half of the
Stilton sauce. Place onto the baking sheet. Grate half of the Gruyere
cheese over top. Place the sliced turkey on top of the Gruyere cheese.
Spread the remaining Stilton sauce over the other four slices of bread
and place on top of the turkey. Grate the remaining Gruyere cheese over
all.
Created using The Recipes Generator
If you don't have turkey to use, or are all turkey'd out (understandable) do bookmark this to make at some future date. You will not be sorry you did! Bon Appetit!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The
English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are
reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you
may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for
visiting. Do come again!
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