Tea and scones

On Monday morning we woke up and made tea and scones for breakfast, just to celebrate the day. We ate allll of them. I used the edmonds cookbook recipe and it was lovely!

Best Ever Scones

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

3 cups flour

6 teaspoons Edmonds baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

75g butter

1 - 1½ cups milk, approximately

extra milk for glazing

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 220oC. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Cut butter in until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

2. Add 1 cup milk and mix quickly with a knife to a soft dough, adding more milk if needed. Knead a few times.

3. Lightly dust an oven tray with flour. Press scone mix out on floured bench or tray, cut into 12 even-sized pieces. Place on oven tray, brush tops with milk and place in top half of oven to bake

4. Bake scones for about 10 minutes or until golden brown. Once golden brown with crisp crusts, remove from the oven and allow to cool. Cooling on a rack will give you crisp crusts, while covering them with a clean tea towel will give a soft scone.

Enjoy! x

Early Easter

The latest craze in our household right now is hot cross buns (with way too much butter on them). Yesterday Brandon and our friend Lyndon ate an entire packet in one go. I don't know what we're going to do when easter is over... I thought just to be safe, i'd learn how to make them myself. Here is such a great recipe i found on simply recipes:

Hot Cross Buns

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/4-ounce package active dry yeast (about 2 1/2 teaspoons)
• 3/4 cup warm milk
• 3 1/4 to 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon granulated white sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground spices (for example, 1/2 teaspoon cardamom, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon allspice, 1/4 teaspoon cloves, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 Tbsp butter, softened
• 2 eggs, room temperature (if taking right out of the fridge, let sit in warm water for a few minutes to take the chill off before using)
• 3/4 cup currants (can sub half of currants with chopped candied citrus peel)
• 2 teaspoons grated orange zest

Glaze

• 1 egg
• 1 Tbsp milk

Frosting

• 1 teaspoon milk
• 3 to 4 Tbsp powdered sugar

METHOD

1 In a bowl, stir together 1/4 cup of the warmed milk and one teaspoon of sugar. Sprinkle the yeast over the milk and let sit for 5-10 minutes until foamy.

2 In a large bowl or the mixing bowl of an electric mixer, vigorously whisk together 3 cups of the flour (reserving additional flour for later step), the salt, spices, and 1/4 cup of sugar.

3 Create a well in the flour and add the foamy yeast, softened butter, and eggs, and the remaining milk. Using a wooden spoon or the paddle attachment of your mixer, mix the ingredients until well incorporated. The mixture should be shaggy and quite sticky. Add in the currants, candied peel, and orange zest.

4 If you are using a stand-up mixer, switch to the dough hook attachment and start to knead on low speed. (If not using a mixer, use your hands to knead.) Slowly sprinkle in additional flour, a tablespoon at a time, kneading to incorporate after each addition, until the flour is still slightly tacky, but is no longer completely sticking to your fingers when you work with it.

5 Form a ball of dough in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit, covered, at room temperature (or in a warm spot) for 2 hours, until the dough has doubled in size.

6 Press down on the dough to gently compress it. Roll the ball of dough into a log shape and cut it into two halves. Place one half back in the bowl while you work with the other half. Take the dough half you are working with and cut it into 8 equal pieces. The easiest way to do this is to roll it into a log, cut it in half, then roll those pieces into logs, cut them in half, and then do it again, roll those pieces into logs, and cut them in half.

Take the individual pieces and form them into mounds, placing them 1 1/2 inches apart from each other on a baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and then work the remaining dough into 8 equal pieces and place them in mounds on a baking sheet, again cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough mounds sit at room temperature (or warm place) to rise again, until the mounds have doubled in volume, about 30-40 minutes.

7 Preheat oven to 400°F. Prepare egg wash by whisking together one egg and a tablespoon of milk. If you want, you can score the top of the buns with a knife in a cross pattern. You will want to make fairly deep cuts, for the pattern to be noticeable after they're done. Using a pasty brush, brush on the egg wash over the dough mounds. The egg wash will give them a shiny appearance when cooked.

8 Place in the middle rack of the oven and cook for 10-12 minutes, until the buns are lightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool on the pan for a few minutes, then transfer the buns to a wire rack to cool.

9 To paint a cross on the top of the buns, wait until the buns have cooled (or the frosting will run). Whisk together the milk and the powdered sugar. Keep adding powdered sugar until you get a thick consistency. Place in a plastic sandwich bag. Snip off a small piece from the corner of the bag and use the bag to pipe two lines of frosting across each bun to make a cross.

Makes 16 buns.

Gems

I seem to have deviated in recent posts from my healthier recipes. These are just straight up bad for you... but it was valentines day and i know Brandon loves them... so i made some. Here is the recipe if you want to try these unhealthy treaties.

180g butter, softened

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/3 cup icing sugar

2 cups plain flour

filling

125g butter, softened

1 cup icing sugar

1/3 cup passionfruit pulp (i used lemon zest and juice)

pre heat oven to 180C. Place butter, vanilla and sugar in bowl and beat for 4-5 mins or until light and creamy. Add flour and mix until dough forms. Roll teaspoonfuls of the mixture into balls, place on baking tray lined with non stick paper and press lightly with a fork. Bake 10-12 mins. Cool on wire rack. To make passionfruit/lemon filling, beat together butter and icing sugar until creamy. Add passionfruit pulp and beat for 3-4 mins. Sandwich the biscuits together with the passionfruit filling to serve. x

Mini cupcake heaven

Yesterday my 11 year old friend Poppy came over to do some baking, she had her heart set on cupcakes and had even bought her box of baking goodies with her. She also happens to be a major sweet tooth so her favourite part was making (and trying) the icing. We used a recipe from my 'Ladies, a plate' cookbook and had such a fun morning creating these delicious mouthfuls.

FOR THE CAKES

4 oz butter

3/4 cup caster sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla essence

FOR THE BUTTER CREAM ICING

2 cups icing sugar

4 oz butter

2 tbsn milk

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

GETTING READY

Preheat oven to 180C and put paper cases into 24 cupcake tins. Soften butter. Bring eggs to room temperature.

MIXING AND BAKING

1. Cream butter until smooth, add the sugar gradually and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.

2. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for at least a minute after each addition.

3. Sift the flour and baking powder together and add to the mixture alternately with the milk and vanilla.

4. Spoon into the paper cases and bake for about 20 minutes. Cool on rack.

FINISHING

1. Make the icing by combining half the sifted icing sugar with the softened butter, milk and vanilla and beating until smooth.

2. Add the remaining icing sugar gradually, mixing until the icing is a good spreading consistency. Tint with food colourings and as the cookbook says "embelish your creations as your fancy takes you". (we divided the mixture in half and put natural pink food colouring in one half and lemon juice and zest in the other... the lemon were my favourite. We also used a piping bag to ice them.)

You can make regular size or mini, mini are a bit cuter X

Classic sponge sandwich - with cream and fresh plums

You know how sometimes you get given a present that you really wanted.. it's the best feeling, and it shows that the person who gave it to you really knows you. My beautiful friend Naomi and her family gave me a cook book for my birthday called 'Ladies, a plate'. I saw this book when i was on honeymoon on Waiheke Island and have desperately wanted it ever since. While we were staying with Naomi's family at their farm a couple of weeks ago i used it for the first time and made a plum and cream filled sponge cake. We picked the plums from the tree outside the house, i love using ingredients from home.

Here's the recipe:

FOR THE CAKE

3 large eggs

6 oz caster sugar

4 oz flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tbsp butter

4 tbsp boiling water

FOR THE FILLING

1 cup cream

2-3 tbsp jam (we didn't have any, i used plums instead, but you could use both)

getting ready:

preheat oven to 190C. Grease two 20cm round sandwich tins and line bases with circles of baking paper. Bring eggs to room temperature. Sift together flour and baking powder.

mixing and baking:

1. Beat the eggs and caster sugar fro 10 mins with an electric beater. They should be very fluffy and pale yellow and the mixture should fall in ribbons from the beaters and remain on the surface for a few seconds before sinking.

2. Sift the flour and baking powder again onto the top of the egg mixture and fold carefully through, using a large shallow metal spoon. Cut through with the edge of the spoon, gently lifting the mixture and turning the bowl as you go.

3. Lastly add the butter, melted in the boiling water, and fold through gently and thoroughly.

4. Pour the mixture into the prepared tins. Bake the sponges for about 20 minutes. It's better not to try and rotate the tins as they might sink.

5. Remove from the oven and after a few minutes, turn the cakes onto a cooling rack.

FINISHING

Put one sponge upside down on a pretty plate, spread it with your best jam and then a generous layer of whipped cream, sweetened or not as you wish*. Put the other sponge on top, right side up, and sift over a little icing sugar. (You could sift the icing sugar through a stencil or paper doily if you like that idea.)

*I put the plums on here, you could use berries too.

Gingerbread men and ladies

I made these for Christmas and they were so much fun to decorate. Me and Georgie did all kinds of great outfits for these little guys, we almost felt mean eating them afterwards...

Here is the recipe i got from taste.com

Preparation Time

15 minutes

Cooking Time

10 minutes

Makes

20

Ingredients

• Melted butter, to grease
• 125g butter, at room temperature
• 100g (1/2 cup, firmly packed) brown sugar
• 125ml (1/2 cup) golden syrup
• 1 egg, separated
• 375g (2 1/2 cups) plain flour
• 1 tbs ground ginger
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• Plain flour, to dust
• 150g (1 cup) pure icing sugar, sifted
• 8-10 drops red liquid food colouring
• 8-10 drops green liquid food colouring ( I just did mostly white icing, so left out the food colouring)
• Smarties, to decorate

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Brush 2 baking trays with melted butter to lightly grease.

2. Use an electric beater to beat the butter and sugar in a bowl until pale and creamy. Add the golden syrup and egg yolk and beat until combined. Stir in the flour, ginger, mixed spice and bicarbonate of soda. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Press dough into a disc. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.

3. Meanwhile, place egg white in a clean, dry bowl. Use an electric beater to beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add icing sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Divide icing among 3 bowls. Cover 1 bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge. Add red colouring to 1 bowl and stir until combined. Add green colouring to remaining bowl and stir until combined. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge.

4. Place the dough between 2 sheets of baking paper and roll out until about 4mm thick. Use a 9cm gingerbread man cutter to cut out shapes. Place on trays about 3cm apart. Repeat with any excess dough.

5. Bake in oven for 10 minutes or until brown. Remove from oven. Transfer to a rack to cool.

6. Place prepared icings in small plastic bags. Cut a small hole in a corner of each bag. Pipe icing over gingerbread men to decorate. Finish with Smarties.

I officially love cookies

I am one of those people who goes through obsessive phases of things, mostly food, some phases are longer than others, years even. I also sometimes find it hard to stop once i've started, once or twice i have eaten an entire tray of these cookies by myself, before Brandon got home from work (then he doesn't have to know i made any in the first place). This recipe has evolved over the last few months and transformed into the healthiest version of a peanut butter chocolate chip cookie you can probably imagine, this in part is how i justify having so many. Here is my recipe:

1/2 cup brown sugar (i use organic raw sugar, the closer to the original form of sugar cane the better)

1 egg

180g butter

1 cup flour (i've been using buckwheat, millet, stoneground white, or a combination of these)

80g dark chocolate chopped up

1 tablespoon organic peanut butter

vanilla essence

pinch of salt

Mix brown sugar with butter well, add vanilla. Add flour and salt and continue to mix, add egg and peanut butter and then chocolate. Bake on baking paper on a tray for around 15 mins at 180 C.

This is such a super quick and easy recipe, and completely fail-proof (i like).

Georgie cookies

Our friend Georgina came back from Sydney for a few days and we got to hang out lots with her, we really like her, and we really really like her cookies. She is an inspirational baker, way more experimental than me which i didn't think was possible! She was teaching me to not be afraid of just throwing in whatever you feel... the next day we were finding bits of chocolate all over the kitchen, Brandon even found some on his chair (which he ate). She didn't follow a recipe as such for these but i'll get some kind of directions from her so you can try them. They are extreme chocolate, as in two whole big blocks and not much else, they are more like baked chocolate than anything else, incredible!

George just sent me the recipe:

Flour
Butter
Brown sugar
Oats
Baking powder
Lots of choc!
Condensed milk

Put a decent pour of oats..a bit more flour than oats.. Like 3 tsp of baking powder....a decent pour of sugar ..like a quarter tin of condensed milk and Maybe a quarter block of butter melted.. It should be quite heavy and wet.. If not then Put more condensed in. Bake until they are golden.

Have fun!

Cinnamon Twirls

I made these for Dan for his birthday, he has a thing about cinnamon swirls!

I hope you like them Xx

For the dough i used my breadmaker and then cooked them in the oven once i'd added all the yum stuff.

Ingredients

1 cup + 1 Tbls water
1 tsp salt
3 tsp sugar
4 cups plain flour
2 eggs
3 Tbsp of butter softened
2 1/2 tsp yeast

Filling
3 Tbsp melted butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon

Add ingredients to breadmaker pan in order listed, put it onto the dough setting. Once the dough is ready, roll into a rectangle approx 30cm x 40cm (don't forget to put flour down on your board otherwise it could be a bit of a sticky situation). Brush dough with softened butter then sprinkle sugar and cinnamon over the top so it's all covered, i also added in some chopped dates for extra treatiness.

Starting with one of the ends that is longest roll dough up into a log. Once rolled cut into roughly 16 pieces. Place into greased baking tin/cake tin/something with edges (i actually used muffin tins but they got a bit cramped in there) press down gently on them, so that all their sides are touching.

Cover with a tea towel and leave in a warm place to rise for 20 minutes.

Bake at 180 for about 20-25 mins. They should look golden and puffy and wonderful. Let them cool on a cooling rack and then if you like you can glaze them for extra wow.

Glaze
1 cup icing sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1-2 Tbsp milk

Mix together until smooth, drizzle over the top! Xx

cupcakes!!

I stumbled upon these carrot pistachio citrus cupcakes on coconut and quinoa and wanted to share them with you. Brandon and i were gushing over them last night.... i'm definately going to make some on the weekend! X

Apple, banana, buckwheat pancakes

I can't believe i haven't posted these yet... they are my all time favourites! I have always loved pancakes, my mum used to make us banana fritters with really ripe bananas and give them to us dripping in honey. The bananas would go caramelised and they were all gooey and sweet. I think her secret was that she would pretty much deep fry them and used super ripe bananas. I have adapted them over the years, it would be safe to say mine are probably a little healthier than hers but they still remind me of mummy. This is one of those recipes for me that can't really go wrong and you can use lots of different things in. I really love that they are so fruity and have barely any flour.

Here you go!
3 ripe bananas
1 or 2 apples
1/2 cup milk
1 lemon
3 eggs
vanilla esssence
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1 tspn baking powder
pinch of salt
pinch of cinnamon

Mash bananas and grate apples (i leave the skin on), grate lemon rind (just the yellow) of about half the lemon, set some of the juice aside. Pour lemon juice into the milk, this turns it into buttermilk. Beat eggs until fluffy and add the fruit, buttermilk, vanilla essence and stir a little, sift in flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Fold gently until just mixed. You may need to add a little more flour flour depending on how the mixture looks, it should be quite liquidy but not tooo much, you'll know.
Cook with a little olive oil in a big pan, i usually fit about 3 or 4 in at a time.

Serve with maple syrup, berries, yogurt (or naughty cream), bacon. They are lovely! X


Luckily i got a shot of this lone pancake before my husband ate them all... he got very impatient waiting for me to take the photo while he was trying to eat it xx

Date Scones

It has been so stormy and chilly here that we've been dying for warm comfort food, we were so excited waiting for them to come out of the oven, they smell incredible when they're cooking! We ate lots of these while they were still warm with butter on top, and tea of course!

3 cups flour (I used 2 cups organic white and 1 cup brown rice flour)
6 tsps baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
50g butter or 50 ml olive oil (i like to use olive oil)
1 cup milk (any kind, you may need to add a little more, just see how it looks)
3/4 cup chopped dates
1 tbspn honey
1/2 tsp cinnamon

sift flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and dates into bowl, cut in butter/oil and mix until it looks like breadcrumbs, add honey and then stir the milk in quickly to form a soft dough. Knead lightly, dust oven tray with four, cut scone mix into squares and brush tops with milk. Bake at 220C for 10 mins.. or until golden!
Xx

The Kiwi Pavlova

I thought this was so great and so kiwi (I love kitsch things!) You can buy them online from this store that sells all kinds of ridiculously touristy things that you don't need. I am ashamed to say, that i have never ever made a Pavlova, in fact i'm not sure i've even tried it before. I've always been a bit scared to make one (I have to say i think a lot of people cheat and buy them at the supermarket... and then maybe sneak some fruit on the top to make it look authentic). I think it's time i gave it a go.. X

Oh and here's the recipe (it's far too small to read off this tiny tea towel!)

4 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 cup castor sugar
2 teaspoons cornflour

Preheat the oven to 150°C.
Beat egg whites and salt in a bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add the castor sugar while beating. Continue until stiff peaks form. Beat in the remaining ingredients, vanilla essence, vinegar and cornflour. Turn mixture out onto a baking paper covered tray. Shape into a circle approximately 23 cm (9 in) in diameter.

Reduce oven temperature to 140°C. Bake for 15 minutes, then further reduce the oven temperature to 120°C and bake for 1 ¼ hours. Cool completely in the oven. Top with whipped cream and kiwifruit and strawberries.

Banana date walnut muffins

These came about after the discovery of a walnut tree in one of our local parks while we were out for a walk a couple of weeks ago. We filled up our pockets and carried home as many walnuts as we could and brainstormed ideas of what we could use them for on the way home. We came up with these banana, date, walnut & honey muffins!

2-3 very ripe bananas
10 - 15 dates, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup of melted butter or 1/3 cup oil
1/2 cup honey
2 tbsp molasses
2 cups flour (Amy used bran in her ones)
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup milk/rice milk
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 tsp vanilla essesnce


Preheat the oven to 180C.
Sieve the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mash the bananas and keep aside.
In another bowl mix together butter/oil, honey and molasses. Add milk little by little, then vanilla essence, mix well. Stir in the mashed bananas, chopped walnuts and dates then fold in dry ingredients.
Put in greased muffin tins and bake for 20-25 mins xx

Magnificent Carrot Cake

My lovely friend Amy and I found this carrot cake recipe on 101cookbooks.com. We'd been talking about doing some baking without using sugar and different things we could use to substitute. We loved this recipe because it is naturally sweetened by the dates and banana's.. (we also added in a tiny bit of honey). We changed around a few things according to what we could find in our cupboards.. e.g almonds instead walnuts.

This is how Heidi (101cookbooks) describes this recipe "dense, rich, rustic, walnut-studded, and carrot-flecked." I also like the icing idea... no icing sugar, just cream cheese mixed with a little maple syrup or agave nectar. "Imagine a traditional carrot cake colliding with your favorite banana bread, and you'll have an idea of where this recipe will take you." Heidi suggested playing around with different add ins... so we did! ginger, honey, lemon zest and juice, and i used rice flour and millet flour to make it gluten free.

2 cups plain/wholemeal/gluten free flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1 tablespoon honey
3/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts or almonds
4 ounces unsalted butter, heated until just melted
1/2 cup dried dates, seeded and finely chopped into a paste
3 ripe bananas (1 1/4 cups), mashed well
1/2 lemon (juice and zest)
1 1/2 cups grated carrots (about 3 medium)
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 eggs, lightly whisked

6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
3 tablespoons agave nectar or maple syrup (or to taste)

Preheat oven to 180C. Butter a cake pan and line it with baking paper.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, and salt. Stir in the walnuts and set aside.

Stir the dates into the melted butter, breaking up the dates a bit. (We used a saucepan and simmered the butter and dates for a few minutes while stirring).

In a separate bowl combine the bananas, carrots, lemon zest and juice. Stir in the date-butter mixture, breaking up any date clumps as you go. Whisk in the yogurt and the eggs. Add the flour mixture and stir until everything just comes together. Spoon into the prepared pan. Bake for about 50 - 60 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

While the cake is baking whip together the cream cheese and maple/agave nectar. Taste. If you like it sweeter adjust to how you like it. When the cake has completely cooled ice the top of the cake with a spatula.

YUM! Mine has just come out of the oven... review to come! X

Chocolate gingerbread cookies!

Today i spent the afternoon watching/being distracted by an array of cooking shows on food television which inspired me to get into the kitchen to make some treats... Brandon LOVES cookies, in fact entirely anything that is sweet. I have several options, my new cookbook that my mother in law gave me for our wedding (to ensure her angel was going to be looked after.. of course), the array of recipes i have stuffed into the front of this new cookbook, written on the back of envelopes/to-do lists/printing paper and some from my travels around Europe last year, and also some amazing food blogs i've been introduced to. In this case however i somehow ended up on the Martha Stewart website, feeling very domestic and wife like. So out come all (minus a couple) of the ingredients, I like to think of my cooking style as creative/improvisational/adventurous.. I managed to get half way through Martha's complicated instructions before i abandoned the confines of her strict online recipe and took control.. in this case it worked, but it doesn't always end in the delight that i may hope for, my husband has become an expert at comforting me when my cakes don't rise or i burn things, this is his advice "baby, don't find your worth in cupcakes, they are only cupcakes!" he sees the bigger picture, i see a disaster in a small tin.

So here it is, my healthier version of Martha Stewart's Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

1/2 cup chocolate chips/any kind of chocolate really
1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon mixed spice
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup molasses
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup honey
1 egg

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cocoa. In another bowl mix together butter (softened a little), honey, and molasses. Combine all ingredients and add baking soda dissolved in 1 1/2 teaspoons boiling water, mix together and add egg and then finally chocolate chips. Make into cookies shapes and put on baking on trays, cook for about 12 minutes at 180. Enjoy! X
Ps these can be made gluten free by replacing the all-purpose flour with rice flour or whatever type of gluten free flour you like, it would probably be a good idea to put in about a teaspoon of xanthan or guar gum as a gluten replacer to hold it all together too.

p.s i like how the cookie looks like the shape of Africa...