Hot Cross Scones

So I was looking at my blog and lamenting the fact that I hadn’t written up any recent baking exploits. I then realised I hadn’t really experimented that much and had been baking things I’ve baked before. This isn’t a bad thing – it’s very comforting to know the outcome and not stress about things. I saw the Hot Cross Bun bread and, with Easter coming up, thought it might be nice to make Hot Cross Buns. Then I remembered that they take a while, what with the rising of the dough etc etc. What to do? 

Hot Cross Scones of course! They don’t need rising, there is no yeast, and scones are super quick to make. I had some peel left over from Christmas so away I went. They have been a success which I can safely say after devouring the one I took a picture of. Well it was already spread with butter. I went with butter as the ‘serve’ but I guess jam and cream would work. Try it.  

I use a small cutter when making scones as I find a large scone off putting. These are very light so you can eat four and feel ok about it, in a way you couldn’t if you attempted to eat two large ones. Not sure how that works but it does.

Ingredients

100g cold butter, cubed

450g plain flour

2 tbsp baking powder

2 heaped tsp mixed spice

4 tbsp caster sugar

100g sultanas

50g mixed peel

2 large eggs, beaten

100ml whole milk

4tbsp plain flour

1. Preheat oven to 220°/GM7.
2. Mix the flour, baking powder and mixed spice and rub in the butter. Use tip of fingers – you know you’re doing it right if the palms of your hands stay clean. (I’m sure you could bung it in a food processor). You want it to go breakcrumby.
3. Add the sultanas, peel and sugar mixing in.
4. Make a well in the centre and add the eggs (keeping a little back to glaze the tops). Add about half the milk and then mix together. Start with a palette knife and then get your hands in. Add more milk if the dough needs it. You’ll probably not need it all.
5. When it’s all come together turn out on a floured surface and knead until smooth. This is an important part so make sure you do it for 2 or 3 minutes.
6. Roll the dough out until it’s about 2.5cm thick. Cut out with a 5cm cutter, rerolling when you run out of space (you can use a larger one). You should get 20-28 scones from it.
7. Place on a baking tray – non-stick is best – but if not grease the tray. Brush the tops with the remaining egg.
8. Take the 4 tbsp of flour and mix with about 5-6 tbsp of cold water to make a batter. I had mine fairly runny but it can be a bit thick. You need it to make the cross on top so put in a piping bag or something with a nozzle (I found some great squeezy bottles in Tiger) and pipe crosses on top. I did them all at once when they were on the tray – see below picture for the mess I made.
9. Cook for about 12-15 minutes (give it another couple if you think they need it). Make sure you eat one while hot just to live up to the name!

Cheese Biscuits

The most amazing chocolate shop has opened near where I work. It used to be a Peyton and Byrne so I was devastated when it changed to a rather weak cafe. I could no longer just grab some fabulous cupcakes as gifts for people. However the rather weak cafe has closed and in its place, intoxicating the air with the aroma of a saucepan full of molten chocolate, is paul.a.young.  

The smell dragged me in and I looked in awe at brownies, slabs of chocolates, delicate confectionary and the owner making chocolate tarts right in front of me. I was slightly interrupted from my blissful musings by a rather loud American going on about how wondrous the chocolate was but forgave her when I realised she had suffered a lifetime of Hershey's. Luckily a perfect excuse to purchase brownies was presented to me by the need to provide cake for a meeting. I saw four different types of brownies so said I'd have one of each. I'd seen that one was salted caramel so that was enough for me. 

When I got to the meeting much excitement ensued and the brownies were cut up to be shared. Then, shock, horror and more excitement - one of the brownies was Marmite flavoured. I hate marmite but it went down well with others which I suppose is the point of Marmite. The leftover pieces were taken into another meeting as a form of Russian roulette so it gave much joy. Now Marmite brownies are a fairly normal thing to dislike. Dislike of bread with cheese in, from a person who likes cheese, is just weird in my eyes. The Thew met today's baking with passionate distaste. Apparently cheese goes on bread - pizza is included in this - but not incorporated as an ingredient into it. Therefore cheese biscuits are wrong according to The Thew. I like it so I baked these, plus I had cheese to use up. These make a great Christmas gift accompanied by cheese and can be made thinner and larger if needed (just cook for less time). I was making them to have on their own so make chunky ones. 

Ingredients

175g strong cheese (I had 100g of blue cheese in the fridge so added 75g of parmesan. Aggressive cheddar would work on its own or mixed with others)

100g unsalted butter, softened (cheese can be salty so you can use salted butter but it could make it too salty)

1 egg yolk

175g plain flour (I used 125g white and then 50g of rye as I like the colour it gives)
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 egg, beaten (optional) 

1.    Grate the cheese if you can or crumble up. Basically you want small pieces.

2.    Mix the butter, cheese and egg yolk together in a big mush.

3.    Add the flour and pepper and combine to create a dampish dough.  Make into a disk, wrap in cling film and leave in the fridge for 30 minutes.

4.    Preheat the oven to 200°C/GM6 and remove the dough from the fridge. If it’s been in for a while then just let it soften a bit as this will make it easier to roll.

5.    Roll out the dough on a floured surface to about 5mm thick and cut out shapes. I used a round 5cm cutter but you can do shapes if you want. Keep re-rolling until all the dough is used up.

6.    Place on a baking tray (they don’t need to be left far apart as they go upwards not across so you can get quite a few on at a time) and glaze with the beaten egg. If you want them matt, not shiny, then leave it off.

7.    Bake for 12-15 minutes (I turn mine half way through to keep the colour even) and then take out and cool. 

Makes about 25-35 depending on cutter size.

Sundried Tomato Scones

So Monday’s baking was a disaster and in my post I wished that my mum could come to my rescue as she did when my baking went wrong at school. Well, ask and you will receive! 

I stayed at my parents last night and was greeted by a pile of scones my mum had made. She had too many and insisted that I bring them to work. Oh, ok then. Needless to say they were very well received; everyone thought that they rocked and that they were generally amazing. Someone broke out the saucisson and an impromptu picnic was underway. 

Ingredients

350g self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

75g olive oil spread (I’m guessing you could use butter)

6 whole sundried tomatoes roughly chopped

2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary (or chuck in 1 tsp of dried)

150g fat free yogurt (full fat probably would be fine)

6 tbsp milk

2 tsp grated parmesan 

1.      Preheat the oven to 220°C/GM 7.

2.      Put flour, baking powder and olive spread in a food processer. Whizz until completed blended, then add the tomatoes and rosemary and whizz again.

3.      Put the mixture in a bowl and add the yogurt and 4 tbsp of the milk. Use a palette knife to bring it together into a soft dough (a spoon will work but make sure you don’t over mix – it’s a bringing together of ingredients and not a stir).

4.      Turn out the dough on to a floured surface and squish it out to a thickness of about 2cm. You could roll it out but if it squishes why create more washing up? Then use a 6cm cutter to make around 10 scones (re-using trimmings).

5.      Put on a baking tray, either non-stick or with greaseproof paper on, wash the tops with the remaining milk and bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool before serving.

Sultana Scones

When I decided to make these I realised I have no go to recipe for scones. I looked online but none seemed to be right as they all used self-raising flour so I went back to basics. My mum bought me a massive recipe book when I went to university. One of those 1,000 recipes ones but there is nothing I’ve ever looked for in there that I haven’t found. It didn’t fail me this time either so with a few tweaks here is the recipe.

So the main thing with scones is that you want a ridge around the middle which means that they rip in half ready to be slathered with jam and cream. These went down well but then anything that I tend to give my work colleagues tends to disappear fairly quickly. I think that the combination of thick dough and a fairly small cutter gives the best scones as you get great height but not a huge scone that makes you feel full just by looking at it! Plus they look like something you’d get at a posh afternoon tea.

Ingredients
450g plain flour
2 tbsp baking powder (yes tablespoon – you want the suckers to rise)
100g butter cubed
100g sultanas
4 tbsp caster sugar
2 large eggs (keep a little to one side to brush on top of the dough)
150ml milk

1.    Preheat oven to 220°/GM7.

2.    Mix the flour and baking powder and rub in the butter. Use tip of fingers – you know you’re doing it right if the palms of your hands stay clean. (I’m sure you could bung it in a food processor). You want it to go breakcrumby.

3.    Add the sultanas and sugar missing in.

4.    Make a well in the centre and add the eggs beating together in the well. You could beat them in a bowl but that’s just more washing up. Add about half the milk and then mix together. Start with a palette knife and then get your hands in. Add more milk if the dough needs it. You’ll probably not need it all.

5.    When it’s all come together turn out on a floured surface and knead until smooth. This is an important part so make sure you do it for 2 or 3 minutes.

6.    Roll the dough out until it’s about 2.5cm thick. Cut out with a 5cm cutter, rerolling when you run out of space. You should get 20-28 scones from it.

7.    Place on a baking tray – non-stick is best – but if not grease the tray. Brush the tops with eggs and cook for about 10 minutes (give it another couple if you think they need it). Make sure you scoff one down while hot and then think about serving the rest to other people.

This has to be dedicated to Jess who bought clotted cream for the ones I brought to work.

 

Feta and Spinach Scones

I’m over making decisions. It’s not to say I don’t make them but I’m finding them a real chore. This is a difficulty as an adult as there are a lot to make and in my job I have to make a ton of them – ALL THE TIME! My Creative Director (well the one I work with not one I have to direct creativity in my daily life, not that I have one of those) says that Obama believes that people can only make a limited number of effective decisions in a day. So he minimises the smaller ones he has to make by only having a couple of different suits, eating whatever he is given for lunch, etc. Now I pointed out that he also has a whole legion of people to serve him breakfast, buy presents for his friends and tell him how he likes his coffee. I could make less decisions with an army of people making them for me. Also what the hell that does say about the whole world of people who have to make what he considers too many decisions!

Anyway it did make me think about it and I realised that I have been doing things to allow me to make less mundane decisions. I’ve fallen into the rut of eating the same thing for breakfast and lunch during the week and making most of the dinners for the week at the weekend. Plus I go to the gym in the morning more days than not so having pre-packed outfits just means I don’t have to think about it. I’m not sure if this has made my subsequent decisions better but it has meant that I can spend more time at my desk making more decisions. Badly - according to Obama.

Anyway last week I couldn’t be bothered to think of something to bake so I took suggestions from my bank of desks. As my baking has basically meant that everyone I work with starts baying at cake tins on a Tuesday morning I thought I should make something that was requested. I took on the suggestion of cheese and spinach scones but thought that I should ensure that in case they bombed then I should make some more traditional ones as well. The fruit one came out very well and the savoury ones less so. They were a little dry and didn’t rise but as I’d cobbled together three recipes I think that with a few tweaks I’ll get there. The flavours worked well, with the cayenne pepper and mustard adding a little spice, so I’ll put my recipe down with suggestions and update when I try them out again. I’ll post the fruit scone recipe separately.

Ingredients

100g Feta chopped into small cubes (keep 20g to one side)

30-50g steamed spinach drained (really squish the water out)

175g self raising flour

25g wholemeal flour (ignore if you don’t have it and make up with self raising)

¼ tsp baking powder (put in 1 tsp)

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

¼ tsp mustard powder

3 tbsp olive oil or anything half decent (try 4-5 tbsp)

1 tsp dried oregano

1 large egg

2 tbsp milk

1.    Preheat oven to 220°/GM7.

2.    Put the flours and baking powder into a bowl with the cayenne pepper and mustard powder. Then add the oil and mix it with a palette knife. It will look like chunky breadcrumbs. Get your hands in there if you want.

3.    Add the feta, spinach and oregano mixing well.

4.    Beat the egg into the milk and add half to the mixture mixing well. Use your hands as its the best way and to be honest you feel like you have baked with batter caked onto your finger nails! Keep adding the egg mix until the dough comes together. You don’t want it sticky but soft.

5.    Now roll it out to about 2.5cm thick on a floured surface. Using a 5cm cutter stamp out the scones. You want them lovely and plump (I went a bit think but couldn’t be bothered to re-roll). Brush the top with milk.

6.    Now bake for about 15 minutes until golden on top.

This makes between 12 and 16 depending on how thick they are. I think they’d be good with soup.

Cute Little Welsh Cakes

I did all the baking at the weekend and am now baked out. No baking happened this Monday as I did it all yesterday. I, maybe foolishly, bribed everyone in the agency I work in with baking if they filled in some training diaries we need to do every year. It hopefully softened the annoyance of me harassing them on a daily basis to fill them in. In the end it got done and I found myself with having to fulfil the promise.

Luckily I found myself with a quiet weekend as The Thew was off running 66 miles as part of his training for taking on the Sahara (another story completely). I used Saturday to get out and about, run, go to museums, eat burgers and drink wine – as you do. That left Sunday for weekend chores and generally slobbing around. I do feel slightly guilty (of the Irish kind) if I don’t do much and am at home, so baking means that I have something productive to show for it. As baking really doesn’t take a huge amount of time, or there are things you can do in front of the TV while watching ‘Romancing the Stone’, it allows for slobbing and productivity. Bonus.

So among the various things I made were Welsh Cakes. I’d forgotten how much I like them and remembered them when I realised I had run out of sultanas – one of the weird associations I have with ingredients. So I decided to make those as I hadn’t yet for my colleagues and I could make quite a lot in a short period of time. They are like mini scones but not at the same time - try them.

Ingredients

230g self raising flour

110g cold butter (cut into chunks)

85g sugar

60g sultanas (you could probably use currants if you prefer)

Grating of nutmeg

1 beaten egg

1.     Put the flour in a bowl and add the butter. Rub the butter into the flour until it looks like breadcrumbs. (I did this while watching ‘Romancing the Stone’ which is just epic – that white outfit Michael Douglas wears? A-mazing!) You just want to use the tips of your fingers when doing this to keep the butter from melting too much and it becoming mush. My mum always said that you want to finish with clean palms!

2.    Add the sugar, sultanas and nutmeg. You don’t want much nutmeg – about ¼ teaspoon. Mix well.

3.    Then add the egg and make a dough. Knead it for a while to make sure it’s mixed well. (I didn’t do this once and it didn’t work out well, so do it!)

4.    Roll out on a floured surface until about 1cm thick. Now I use quite a small cutter but you can use up to 6cm one. The amount you get out depends on the size of each one.

5.    Wipe vegetable oil on a frying pan and put on a very low heat. Make sure the pan is hot before putting your first cakes in. Leave a gap between them and do them in batches. Keep wiping a little more oil on for each batch with a kitchen paper towel.

6.    You’ll need to keep an eye on time. I do about 2 minutes a side and I use a palette knife to flip them over. Basically the butter in the dough browns up quickly so you don’t want to burn them. Flip one over to see how it’s doing it you are worried. You’ll see them start to puff up while cooking which is just so cute.

7.    Remove and cool as they tend to keep cooking a bit once out of the pan. They are very delicate when hot so be careful. I would recommending eating one warm but be careful not to devour the lot.