Scones with jam & cream difficulty ** #79

Makes 10

Preparing time: 15 minutes 

Cooking time: 12 minutes 

Ingredients:

• 225 g self-raising flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 40 g slightly salted butter, chilled and diced
• 2 tablespoons caster sugar 
• 125 ml milk, plus extra to glaze

To serve

• strawberry jam
• clotted cream

1. Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl or food processor 
2. Add the butter and rub in with the fingertips or process until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs 
3. Add the sugar and milk, reserving 2 tablespoons of milk, and mix or blend briefly to a soft, slightly sticky dough 
4. Add the reserved milk if the dough feels dry 
5. Knead the dough lightly on a lightly floured surface until smooth, then roll out to 1.5 cm thick 
6. Cut out 10 rounds using a 5 cm plain biscuit cutter, re-rolling the trimmings to make more 
7. Place slightly apart on a greased baking sheet and bush with milk 
8. Bake in a preheated oven, 220 C(425 F),Gas Mark 7, for 12 minutes until well risen and golden 
9. Transfer to a wire rack to cool 
10. Split the scones and serve topped with jam and cream. 
11. Enjoy! :-)

Chai teabread difficulty * #78

Cuts into 10

Preparing time: 15 minutes 

Cooking time: 75 minutes 

Ingredients:

• 5 chai tea bread
• 300 ml boiling water 
• 250 g self-raising flour 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 150 g light sugar
• 300 g mixed dried fruit
• 50 g Brazil nuts 
• 50 g butter 
• 1 egg

1. Stir the tea bags into the measurement water in a jug and leave to stand for 10 minutes 
2. Mix together the flour, baking powder, sugar, dried fruit and nuts in a bowl 
3. Remove the tea bags from the water, pressing them against the side of the jug to squeeze out all the water 
4. Thinly slice the butter into the water and stir until melted 
5. Leave to cool slightly 
6. Add to the dry ingredients with the egg and mix together well
7. Spoon the mixture into a greased and lined 1 kg or 1.3 liter loaf  tin and spread the mixture into the corners
8. Bake in a preheated oven, 160 C(325 F),Gas Mark 3, for 75 minutes minutes or until risen, firm and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean 
9. Loosen the cake at the ends and transfer to a wire rack 
10. Peel off the lining paper and leave to cool
11. Spread the top with Chai Cream Frosting, if liked 

How to make 

For chai cream frosting, to spread over the cake, put  50 ml milk and 3 chai tea bags in a saucepan and bring to the boil.Remove from the heat and leave the tea bags to infuse in the milk until cold. Discard the tea bags, squeezing them to extract the liquid. Beat together 200 g cream cheese and 25 g very soft unsalted butter in a bowl until smooth. Beat in the flavoured milk and 75 g sifted icing sugar. 

Enjoy! :-)

Coffee & walnut cake difficulty ** #77

Cuts into 10

Preparing time: 25 minutes 

Cooking time: 25 minutes 

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder 
• 1 tablespoon boiling water 
• 175 g slightly salted butter, softened 
• 175 g golden caster sugar
• 3 eggs 
• 175 g self-raising flour 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder 
• 50 walnuts, finely chopped, plus extra walnut halves to decorate 

For the buttercream 

• 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
• 2 teaspoons boiling water 
• 100 g unsalted butter, softened 
• 150 g golden icing sugar 

1. Dissolve the coffee in the measurement water 
2. Beat together the butter, sugar, eggs, flour and baking powder in a bowl until pale and creamy 
3. Beat in the coffee and chopped walnuts 
4. Divide the mixture evenly between 2 greased, base-lined and floured 18 cm sandwich tins and level surface 
5. Bake in a preheated oven, 180 C(350 F),Gas Mark 4, for 25 minutes or until firm to the touch 
6. Loosen the edges, turn out on to a wire rack and peel off the lining paper 
7. Leave to cool 
8. Make the buttercream 
9. Dissolve the coffee in the measurement water 
10. Beat together the butter, icing sugar and coffee in a bowl until smooth and creamy 
11. Use half the buttercream to sandwich the cakes together, then spread the remaining buttercream over the top and decorate with the walnut halves. 
12. Enjoy! :-)

Red onion & herb soda bread difficulty ** #76

Makes 1 loaf 

Preparing time: 15 minutes, + standing 

Cooking time: 30 minutes 

Ingredients:

• 325 ml milk, + extra if required 
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 small red onion
• 1 egg 
• 250 g plain white flour, + extra for dusting 
• 2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda 
• 25 g mixed herbs, such as parsley, chervil, dill and chives 
• 40 g butter 

1. Mix together the milk and lemon juice in a jug and leave to stand for 5 minutes 
2. Stir in the onion and egg 
3. Put the flours, salt and bicarbonate of soda in a separate bowl and stir on the herbs 
4. Add the butter and rub in with the fingertips until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs 
5. Pour the milk mixture into the bowl and add mix to the dough, add a little bit more milk if the dough feels dry 
6. Shape the dough into a ball on a lightly floured surface, then place on a greased baking sheet and flatten slightly 
7. Dust generously with extra flour 
8. Using a sharp knife, cut a 2.5 cm deep cross through the top pf the dough 
9. Bake in a preheated oven, 200 C(400 F),Gas Mark 6, for about 30 minutes until risen and deep golden 
10. The base of the bread should sound hollow when tapped 
11. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
12. Enjoy! :-) 

Candied pecan twists difficult *** #75 

Makes 24 

Preparing time: 15 minutes 

Cooking time: 25 minutes 

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon egg white 
• 50 g pecan nuts 
• 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar 
• 5 tablespoons golden caster sugar 
• 375 g ready-made puff pastry
• plain flour, for dusting 

1. Whisk the egg white in a bowl to break it up 
2. Add the pecans and coat thinly in the egg white 
3. Sprinkle in the vanilla sugar, turning the nuts to coat, then spread out on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment 
4. Bake in a preheated oven, 160 C(325 F),Gas Mark 3,for about 5 minutes until beginning to colour 
5. Leave to cool, then finely chop 
6. Increase the oven temperature to 220 C(425 F),Gas Mark 7
7. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the caster sugar on the work area
8. Roll out the pastry on the surface to a 25 x 15 cm rectangle 
9. Sprinkle the pastry with another tablespoon of the sugar and roll in gently 
10. Halve the pastry and place one piece on top pf the other
11. Flatten slightly with the rolling pin and sprinkle with another tablespoon of the sugar and the chopped nuts
12. Roll out again to a 24 cm square, lightly flouring the work surface of the mixture is sticky 
13. Sprinkle with another tablespoon of the sugar and roll gently 
14.  Trim the edges, cut in half, then cut each half across into 2 cm wide strips
15. Twist each strip several times and place slightly apart on a large baking sheet lined with baking parchment 
16. Sprinkle the remaining sugar along each twist 
17. Bake  for about 20 minutes until puffer and golden 
18. Transfer to a wire rack to cool
19. Serve with Vanilla Cheesecake Dip, if  liked 

Recipe for Vanilla cheesecake dip

1. For vanilla cheesecake dip, to serve as an accompaniment, beat 200 g mascarpone cheese in a bowl to soften 
2. Then beat 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
3. 2 tablespoons caster sugar and 4 tablespoons single cream 
4. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

Enjoy!

White chocolate & nut blondies difficulty ** #74

Cuts into: 15

Preparing time: 20 minutes 

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Ingredients: 

• 400 g white chocolate 
• 75 g slightly salted butter 
• 3 eggs 
• 175 g light sugar 
• 150 g self-raising flour
• 150 g unblanched hazelnuts or Brazil nuts, chopped

1. Milt 100 g of the chocolate and the butter in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of gently simmering water (don't let the base to touch the water)
2. Beat the eggs and sugar in a separate bowl until light and foamy 
3. Stir in the melted chocolate mixture 
4. Tip in the flour, remaining chopped chocolate and the nuts and mix together until just combined 
5. Spoon the mixture into a greased and lined 28 x 18 cm shallow baking tin or roasting tin and level the surface 
6. Bake in a preheated oven, 190 C( 375 F),Gas Mark 5, for about 35 minutes ir until deep golden and just firm to the touch 
7. Leave to cool in the tin, then transfer to a board and cut into small squares 
8. Peel off the lining paper
9. Enjoy! :-)

Sour cream cake difficulty * #73

Makes 16

Preparing time: 15 minutes 

Cooking time:-----------

 

Ingredients:

• 420 g lady fingers 
• 500 g sour cream 
• 500 g cherry 
• 200 g icing sugar 
• 300 ml double cream 
• cocoa powder, for decoration 

1. Put half of the lady fingers on the bottom of the tin 
2. In the big bowl add sour cream, cherry and icing sugar 
3. Mix well on the slowest speed
4. Put the mixture over the lady fingers 
5. Add one more row of the lady fingers over the cherry mixture 
6. In the other bowl mix well double cream 
7. When cream become solid, overflow over second row of lady fingers 
8. Put the cocoa powder over double cream, if liked 
9. Leave in the fridge over night 
10. Enjoy! :-)