Spiced Biscuits

I spent the Bank Holiday weekend with a cold. I had managed to get out and about a bit on Saturday as I'd spent Friday off work pathetically lying on my sofa watching my box set of Arrested Development. However Sunday and Monday meant a return to the sanctity of my sofa with a couple of ventures outside to gain some sustenance. The Thew was off trekking around the coast of west Wales so I had no one to tend to me. It was only thanks to a tin of tomato soup I found at the back of my cupboard and Deliverance that I even made it through Friday. 

I'd planned a wonderful baking extravaganza on Bank Holiday Monday as I would have lots of time. I was going to make a New York Cheesecake and then tackle my demons by attempting to ice cupcakes with fondant icing. Best laid plans and all that came down to bear on me. I managed to make cupcakes but after attempting to roll out icing while watching Romancing the Stone I gave up. 

I decided that what I needed was a nice cup of tea and a biscuit. Nothing too exciting as I had to work with what was in the house but a simple satisfying biscuit. So I hunted through some recipe books and discovered a recipe for 'Simple Biscuits'. I added some spice and was proud to have created something just right. These can be made quickly and even if you have cold you can triumph over something, feeling a little bit better for a while. 

Ingredients 

175g plain flour

1/4 rounded tsp grated nutmeg

1/4 rounded tsp ground mixed spice

1/4 rounded tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cardamom (this is a compete bugger to find but it amazing so snap it up if you see it. Leave out if you don't have any)

115g butter

50g caster sugar 

1.    Preheat oven to 180°C/GM 4.

2.    Put flour and spices in a bowl and mix together.

3.    Add the butter, cut into cubes/chunks, and rub in until you get something that looks like breadcrumbs.

4.    Add the sugar and then strongly suggest to all the ingredients they want to form a dough. You'll need to squish everything together forcibly.

5.    Then lightly flour a surface and roll the dough out until about 5mm thick. It might break a bit but just mush the edges back together. Cut out biscuits to the size you want. I used a 6cm cutter but you could go bigger. These are a little fragile when cooked so don't go too big.

6.    Bake on a non-stick tray for 10 minutes. They'll be pale when they come out and let them cool slightly, but not too long so a couple of minutes, before transferring to a cooling rack. Cool compete as these are one of those rare baked goods that taste better cold than fresh out of the oven.

7.    Make a cup of tea, grab some biscuits, pop on the second disc of the third series of Arrested Development, crawl under your duvet on the sofa and await someone's arrival who can tend to you.

Chelsea Buns or Why I Can't be Bothered

Oh I can’t be bothered. It’s been that kind of week really. Everything has been an effort and a pain. I think part of it was that I was sort of ill for a few days. Nothing bad enough for me to stay in bed and watch my box set of Mad Men but enough to make everything a chore. I’ve also pulled something in my leg and am having to actively try and fix it in time for my 10km run on Saturday (tomorrow). What feels like hours of rolling on a roller and tennis ball haven’t helped my general feelings of botheredness.  

However the weekend is upon me and I’m very much looking forward to it (apart from the 10km run). I’ll be making cake pops for my wondrous and beautiful Goddaughter’s 7^th birthday and then, pampering her and some of her friends alongside her Godmother of Fabulousness (she has two the lucky thing!) There are going to be four of us acting as beauticians and it’s going to be lots of fun.

So in the general theme of this week I can’t be bothered to write up the recipe for these Chelsea Buns. I wasn’t 100% happy and it all seems like too much of a chore. I’m going trashy next week which I think will be more exciting.

Finnish Rye Bread

Bank holiday weekends are just great. Especially when the weather is so good. The Thew and I took advantage by eating and drinking our way around London for two days. We met up with friends on Saturday and then on Sunday we went on some epic walkabout stopping off for food and wine. It’s what we do best and it was nice that my husband didn’t have to run a couple of marathons just as part of his training. Although some hill running is about to commence to get him ready for his next challenge. 

Anyway Monday was all about recovering and we just pootled around our local parks. I really couldn’t be bothered with baking anything that would take too much time. I had planned to do something intricate, because the weather on a Bank Holiday Monday is normally pants and I’m happy to be in my kitchen, but the sun came out and all plans went on hold. 

So it might seem weird that I'd make bread for something quick and easy but it really is. This recipe is a Nigella one from the Domestic Goddess who can always be relied on for something that isn’t a faff. After an impromptu picnic in Victoria Park The Thew and I headed home to sit in the small park behind our block of flats. I spent five minutes getting the dough ready to rise, popped it in the airing cupboard to prove and after a couple of hours sitting in the sun the dough was ready for the second proving before popping in the oven. Barely any work at all.  

Ingredients 

225g rye flour

300g strong white flour

7g (1 sachet) easy blend yeast

1 tbsp dark muscovado sugar (I only had light but it seems to work)

2 tsp salt

300ml warm flour

45g melted butter 

1.    Put the flours, yeast, sugar and salt into a bowl and mix. Add the warm water slowly and bring together. You're going to need to get your hand into the mixture as a wooden spoon just doesn't cut it.

2.    Once it’s come together add a tbsp of the melted butter and mix in. Then get kneading. Dough hooks are clearly recommended here but by all means do it manually. There is something about having dough in your fingernails that makes it feel like you’ve achieved something.

3.    Use some of the melted butter, about a tbsp, to oil a bowl and the top of the dough. Cover the bowl, leave somewhere warm for a couple of hours to double in size (or in the fridge overnight) and go outside to sit in the sun.

4.    Once doubled in size punch the dough down (is there anything more gratifying in baking), knead a bit and then shape into a round loaf and place on a baking tray. Leave somewhere warm for about 30 minutes and preheat the oven to 190°C/GM 5.

5.    Then pop in the oven for about 45 minutes (to check if it’s done tap the bottom and it should sound hollow). Then when you take it out brush the top with the remaining melted butter to give a chewy crust.

Banana Bread with Chocolate Chunks

Now this recipe was inspired by having four very ripe bananas at home the The Thew never got around to eating. I didn’t have any rum or bourbon to make my usual version so thought I’d kind of make it up as I went along. It came out well and got demolished at work. It’s very dense but I believe all good banana bread it. One of my work colleagues took up my suggestion to see what happened when you toasted it and spread it with butter. It worked well. I’d avoid the toaster though and fry or griddle in butter for an immense dessert. 

Ingredients 

100g butter

4 ripe bananas (about 350-400g with the skin off)

200g soft brown sugar (I had light but dark would work)

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract (as I type this I realise I forgot to put it in!)

1 tsp bicarb of soda

1 pinch of salt

175g self-raising flour

Chunks of chocolate (optional) 

1.    Preheat the oven to 170°C/GM 3. Line a loaf tin. I get the ones from Lakeland that come in the right shape already as it saves so much time.

2.    Melt the butter in a largish saucepan and add the bananas. I break them in and then smash them up with an electric whisk.

3.    Add the sugar, eggs, vanilla, bicarb and salt. Whisk again. Then add the flour and mix well.

4.    Pour into the lined tin and just put the chocolate on top. You can push it in if you like, use more than one type of chocolate – whatever you fancy. Bake for about 1 – ½ hours. Test after an hour and see what it’s like.