Cheese Scones

Well autumn has arrived and the tree’s are starting to turn beautiful shades of red and yellow, and it’s this time of year I love, It makes me want to bake 🙂

Cheese scones were beckoned by the oven today, and I found this wee recipe in one of my many cook books called “Porridge” by Margaret Briggs ISBN 978-1-86147-069-0.

I have quoted the original recipe below and then my modification to the recipe in bold alongside it, because when I added the milk and egg to the mix it was too runny.    If you wanted a smaller batch of scones, i’d suggest adding half the milk and keep to the original recipe.

You will need :

• 120g (4oz) Oatmeal
• 120g (4oz) Plain Flour (I used double the quantity of flour 240g / 8oz )
• 60g (2oz) grated, mature cheese of choice
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• pinch of salt (I would recommend a big pinch)
• pinch of paprika (I used a pinch of chilli powder as i’d run out of paprika)
• 40g (1.5oz) Margarine
• 1 Egg (2 x small pekin Bantam Eggs courtesy of Brenda)
• 150ml (1/4 pint) Milk

Method :

1. Preheat the oven to 230 Degrees C / 450 degrees F or Gas Mark 8
2. Sift the flour, salt, pepper and baking powder and mix with the oats
3. Rub in the margarine, then mix in the grated cheese
4. Mix the beaten egg with the milk and add to the rest of the ingredients to make a soft dough
5. Knead lightly, turn onto a floured board and roll out to about 2cm (3/4″) and cut into 5cm (2″) rounds with a cutter or small glass.   Knead the offcuts of dough gently
6. Brush with milk and bake for approximately 12 minutes.   Serve warm

Fruit & Nut Loaf

The recipe I used for this loaf was actually titled Sultana Loaf, but I didn’t have enough sultanas in the store cupboard and had to improvise, I used cranberries and chopped nuts to make up the shortage on the sultanas, it turned out ok, but I think I should have added a splash of milk to the mix because it turned out rather dry, still edible tho 🙂

Ingredients :-

• 170g / 6oz butter
• 170g / 6oz soft light brown sugar
• 3 room temperature eggs, beaten
• 285g / 10oz self raising flour
• 340g / 12oz sultanas (I only had 170g the rest was made up with cramberries and nuts)
• grated zest of 1 orange
• 1 teaspoon mixed spice

Method :-

1. Heat the oven to 180 degrees C / 350 Degrees F / Gas Mark 4
2. Take a 2lb loaf tin and pop in one of those fab loaf liners you get from lakeland
3. Cream the butter in a large bowl using an electric beater until it is soft.   Add the sugar and beat until pale and fluffy
4. Add beaten eggs a little at a time, beating well between each addition.   If the mixture starts to curdle, beat a little of the measured flour.
5. Fold in the flour, sultanas, orange zest, mixed spice and mix well.
6. Put into the prepared loaf tin and bake in the centre of the oven for 1-1 1/4 hours.   If the cake starts to get too dark, cover it with a sheet of greaseproof paper and turn the oven down to 150 degrees C / 300 Degrees F / gas Mark 2.   Extend the cooking time if necessary.
7. The cake is ready when a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.   Allow the cake to cool for 10 mins before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe Courtesy of Leiths Baking Bible ISBN 0-74765-8189-4

Chocolate Chip & Toffee Chip Muffins

I made a batch of muffins this evening…. there is nothing better than a hot mug of tea and a chocolate muffin to warm the cockles of your heart… especially when April Showers are pouring down outside..

Ingredients :-

• 250g Plain Flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• half a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
• 2 tablespoons of cocoa
• 175g caster sugar
• 150g chocolate & toffee chips
• 250ml milk
• 90ml vegetable oil
• 1 large egg (i used a medium & a bantam egg)
• 1 teaspoon real vanilla essence

Method :-

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C or Gas Mark 6
2. Fill a 12 bun muffin tray with paper cases (I used 2 x 6’s)
3. Measure out the dry ingredients into a large bowl
4. Pour all the liquid ingredients into a measuring jug
5. Mix both together, remembering that a lumpy batter makes the best muffin
6. Spoon the mixture into the muffin cases
7. Bake for 20 Minutes or until the muffins are dark, risen and springy.

Now Pour that cuppa and have a yummy muffin and put your feet up 🙂

Happy Easter x

Banana Loaf

• 150g Dried fruit, I used the Berry, Cherry & Sultana’s mix from Asda
• Rind of 1 Lime
• 100g Soft unsalted butter
• 125g caster sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 3 large ripe bananas
• 200g self raising flour

Method :-

1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees C / Gas Mark 3 – bake for 55 mins
2. Grate the zest of the lime
3. Cream the butter and sugar in the mixing bowl,
4. add eggs, and mix well,
5. then add dried fruit and lime zest,
6. add mashed bananas & flour.
7. Place in a 2lb loaf tin and bake for 55 mins

Malted Chocolate Crunch

Malted Chocolate Crunch Recipe.

• 8oz ~ 225g digestive biscuits magimixed or bashed in a plastic bag with a rolling pin
• 4oz ~ 100g Butter
• 3 Large Tablespoons of Golden Syrup
• 2oz ~ 50g Ovaltine
• 6-8oz or 175-225g Cooking chocolate

Method :

1. Line a small swiss roll tin with cling film
2. Melt butter and syrup, then add ovaltine and biscuits
3. Pour into tin and flatten
4. Cool
5. Melt cooking chocolate in bowl over boiling water or microwave
6. Spread chocolate evenly over mixture, I like to sprinkle choc chips and white chocolate mice on the top of mine.
7. Allow to cool
8. Pull out crunch, take off cling film and cut into squares.

The Best Ever Chocolate Sheet Cake Recipe ~ Thanks to The Pioneer Woman!

One of the blogs that I read is The Pioneer Woman, and there has been a recipe over there that has been niggling away at me to try for a long time now…

But.. today was the day and I finally made it.   It turned out brilliantly, below is a link to the Pioneer Woman’s Site, where you can find the recipe and a detailed photographed  step by step tutorial…. enjoy 🙂

Pioneer Woman Chocolate Sheet Cake

Combine in a mixing bowl:

• 2 cups flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• In a saucepan, melt: 2 sticks / 8oz butter
• Add 4 heaping tablespoons cocoa. Stir together.
• Add 1 cup boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat.

Pour over flour mixture, and stir lightly to cool.

• In measuring cup, pour 1/2 cup buttermilk.
• Add: 2 beaten eggs
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture. Pour into sheet cake pan and bake at 350-degrees F or 180 degrees C for 20 minutes.

While cake is baking, make icing:

• Chop 1/2 cup pecans finely.
• Melt 1 3/4 – 7oz sticks butter in a saucepan.
• Add 4 heaping tablespoons cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat.
• Add: 6 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 lb minus 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Stir together. Add pecans, stir together, and pour over warm cake.

Gingerbread Muffins

Ingredients :

• 250g Plain Flour
• Half a Teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda
• 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1 and a half Teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• quarter teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 Egg
• 50g dark muscavado sugar
• 50g light muscavado sugar
• 150ml full-fat milk
• quarter teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 6 tablespoons vegetable or corn oil
• 4 tablespoons golden syrup
• 4 tablespoons black treacle.

Method :

1. Preheat the oven to has mark 6 / 200 degrees C.   Line a 12 bun muffin tin with muffin papers.
2. Combine the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, and spices in a large bowl.
3. Whisk the egg in a large measuring jug then add the sugars, breaking up any lumps.
4. Add the milk and vinegar then measure in the oil with a tablespoon.
5. Use the same oily spoon to add the syrup and treacle so they don’t stick to it.
6. Whisk the mixture to combine and add to the flour and spices.
7. Stir until mixed but still fairly lumpy – the mixture may be more runny than you expect for muffins – but you need the dense stickieness of gingerbread, rather than a cakey crumb.
8. Spoon or pour the mixture into the muffin papers and bake for about 20 minutes until the tops are dry; the muffins will still feel squidgy when you take them out of the tins to cool on a rack.
9. Note that because the mixture is moist, these muffins will not have the hump topped look of shop-bought ones.   But unlike other muffins, these still taste gloriously good a couple of days after baking.

Recipe courtesy of Nigella Lawson Feast Book ~ isbn 0-701-17521-4

Pecan Shortbread

 

INGREDIENTS

8 ozs (225g) Plain Flour
4 ozs (100g) Cornflour
4 ozs (100g) Icing Sugar
8 ozs (225g) Butter

A handful of pecans plus extra to place on top

 

 

METHOD

Chop butter into small pieces, take a handful of pecans and place into processor with sieved flour, cornflour and icing sugar. Whizz until it gathers into a ball.

either….

Turn the mixture out onto floured surface and roll out to ½ inch thick. Cut into rounds with pastry cutter and place on a greased baking tray.

Or

Roll into a large sausage fill a plastic bag with some demorara sugar put the shortbread sausage into the bag and coat the outside edges in the sugar.. remove and cut into thick slices (my preferred option its quicker!)

   

   

Cook for 15-20 minutes at 350f/ 180c / Gas 4 till firm and light brown. Place on a wire rack and sprinkle with caster sugar while warm.

Tip – to keep shortbread fresh and crisp, place in a plastic bag when cool and then in an airtight tin.

Join in the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning

I can’t believe a year has passed since we held this event… a very worthwhile cause, and a charity dear to my own  heart,  losing my mum to this dreadful disease 4 years past.

Tomorrow at work, we are holding another Coffee morning in conjunction with the Macmillan Cancer Apppeal for the Worlds Biggest Coffee Morning.

This is a great way to raise funds, it gets the troops at work eating good, wholesome, additive free, home baking whilst contributing to a good cause 🙂   

I have been happily baking away in the kitchen all evening and hope to get some pictures and recipes up soon.

I just need to keep the vultures (Hubby & Kids) from hovering around the kitchen long enough to get the goodies safely put into containers to take to work tomorrow morning!

UPDATE :

I have to thank Sam @ MacMillan Cancer Support, who contacted me though my blog and left some lovely comments… 🙂

Sam also left me an information video on the fundraising work that MacMillan Cancer Support carry out… Please take time out to have a look at this very worthwhile cause.  

MacMillan Cancer Support

Dirt Baths, Spiders & Cakes.

Phew!

Its been one busy day!

I started this morning, woke up at 7am, made myself a cup of tea and some toast.

Up went the ironing board and I did 2 solid hours of ironing, mount everest no longer exists in my kitchen! its a great feeling getting it up to date.

Then, once the troops surfaced and were fed, I had a power of shredding to do, I kept all the shreddings as next thing on my agenda was cleaning out the cheeps… Grace, Gloria and Brenda, whom, I still have to introduce to you all! (i apologise).   I let them roam around the garden until their coop and run was fresh and sparkly. 

 

I let Daisy out for a wander too and she headed up to the far corner of the garden for her daily dirt bath… chicken little didnt join her, she is broody at the moment and chose to keep her butt glued inside the Eglu.

I then had a few things to store away in the greenhouse, when I opened the door, this little lady was sprawled out on her web right across the front door.. I’m not particularly fond of spiders, I dont mind taking pictures of them but dont ask me to shift one (shudders).. so the stuff that needed to go in the greenhouse had to wait until my OH came home .. he’s the big and brave spider shifter of the household 🙂

We have friends coming over to visit us tonight, so my next job was to head into the kitchen, where i made a huge big lasagne, I must remember to post my recipe on here for it.  I also made some chilli cheese potato skin thingies 

I also made this nice Pink & White topped Sponge Cake

I’m off for a shower now before our friends arrive tonight ….

Have a lovely weekend everyone 🙂