Playful yummy bakes for modern home bakers
Apple pie muffins. I don’t know about you but baking (and eating) really come into their own in the Autumn! The days get darker and heavier, everywhere changes colour and you just know instinctively that the best thing to do is to snuggle down and …
Hands up if cookies are your all time favourite treat! They’re absolutely one of mine. Oh my goodness, I just love how simple they are to make, fast to prepare, even faster to eat but nothing comes close to how deliciously comforting they are. These …
Blackberry scones a go go! Friends if you’re anything like me and literally spy out bramble bushes ready to strike the minute the brambles ripen in the summer then this recipe is for you. I mean free food, need I say more, but we need versatile tasty recipes to use all those juicy fellas up with.
Bursting with flavour, the blackberry scones, with a hint of lemon are fab for breakfast or a cheeky teatime munch.
If you’re interested, I found this fab seasonal fruit and veg planner, which really helps to know when everything is at its freshest and tastiest, check it out.
450g self rising flour
200ml milk (maybe a little less, depending on how the flour absorbs the milk)
100g unsalted butter (cold)
Zest 2 lemons
1 ½ tsp baking powder
200g frozen blackberries (you can use fresh, but frozen keep their shape better when you mix into the dough and they won’t bleed their purple colour as much)
2 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp salt
60g caster sugar
Icing sugar for dusting
Preheat the oven to 220°C.
Sieve the self-rising flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl.
Add chopped fridge cold butter to the mixture and rub together with the tips of your thumb and fingers in a fluttery motion. Do this until it looks like bread-crumbs or an oat mixture. It’s okay if some of the butter hasn’t fully combined. That will help make lighter scones when they bake.
Stir in the caster sugar.
Stir in the frozen/fresh blackberries and lemon zest.
Stir in the milk mixture gradually by hand (this is messier but will help you get the right texture. You’re looking for a dough that holds together and isn’t sticky. Otherwise you’ll need to add more flour which will alter the texture of the scones. Different types of flour absorb liquid differently, so add the milk gradually and judge whether you need the last of the milk.)
Once the scone dough has come together, turn out onto a lightly floured board and cut the scones into triangles and place on a lined baking tray.
Brush each scone with some milk. Bake for about 10-15 mins in the middle of the oven until lightly golden and puffed.
Once cooked, transfer to a wire rack to cool and then dust with icing sugar.
Scones are best eaten on the day, but will last 2 days in an airtight container. You can also reheat them gently in a moderate oven for a few minutes to freshen them up if you are eating them the next day.
Love scones and want more inspiration? Check out my Blueberry and lime scones, Lavender, Earl Grey and lemon scones or Maple chai scones. For cosy autumn days – all so delicious
I am just in love with these iced party biscuits. If you’re anything like me, a burst of colour always puts me in a good mood, and these fellas are bright, bold and unapologetically beautiful. Everything you need to pop a smile on your face …
I don’t know about you but bowl and spoon bakes are honestly the most liberating and delicious things you can make. No fancy gadgets required. Let’s face it, with everything else going on in life, if we can cancel out a bit of stress, let’s …
Growing up, millionaires shortbread was my FAVOURITE party food and my Mum would make it for special occasions. What is not to like about this; crumbly and rich shortbread, unctuously thick dulce de leche and chocolate. AMAZING. I was mooching around the kitchen a while ago and had just ordered some novelty Easter egg cutters (you really can buy anything now) and I thought these Easter Egg millionaires shortbread would make a really fun twist on this classic for the celebrations. These cookies make a beautiful showstopper and let’s be frank, any excuse to use mini eggs around Easter and I’m all in.
Let me know what you think.
150g plain flour
100g unsalted butter
50g caster sugar
pinch of salt
397g tin of dulce de leche
100g dark or milk chocolate
50g white chocolate
1 regular sized bag of mini eggs for decoration
Makes approx 6-8 sandwich cookies (you can easily double the recipe if you are cooking for a crowd)
Preheat the oven to 170°C or GM3.
Using a food mixer, combine the butter and sugar together until the mixture is light, pale and fluffy.
Then gradually add in the sifted flour and pinch of salt to the mixture. With the mixer on low, gently mix in the flour until it just begins to clump together. You do not want to overmix the dough here, this will make the shortbread more like a biscuit and you want it to be short and crumbly when it cooks and just melt in the mouth.
Gently flour a worktop and rolling pin and roll out the dough to about ¼ inch thick and cut out rounds of dough using an egg shape cutter. Make sure to cut out an even number as they will be sandwiched together at the end.
Transfer all of the cut pieces of dough to a baking tray and place in the fridge for 20-30 minutes to chill down before cooking.
Cook in the middle of the oven for about 15 minutes until pale and lightly golden brown around the edges.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Take half of the shortbread and smooth out approx 1 tsp of dulce de leche to the middle of the cookie. Don’t spread it to the edge of the cookie, the weight of the top cookie will nudge the filling out and you don’t want it to drip over too much.
Put the filled cookies into the fridge for about 15 minutes while you prepare the toppings.
Melt the dark or milk chocolate. The best way to easily temper chocolate is to use the microwave. Finely chop all the chocolate. Add half to a bowl and gently melt in the microwave in short 20-30 second bursts. Check the chocolate each time and when just melted remove and stir in the remaining chocolate. The residual heat from the melted chocolate will melt the remaining and then you will be ready to gently spread the chocolate across the top of each cookie.
Once you have covered all of the cookies, place them back in the fridge while you prepare the white chocolate and mini egg decoration.
Melt the white chocolate in the same way that you did with the dark/milk and when ready pour into a small piping bag to drizzle on your decoration. You can decorate the Easter egg cookies how you like and if you don’t have a piping bag, simply use a spoon to drizzle on patterns and add crushed mini eggs as you like.
These will keep in an airtight tin in the fridge for a few days but are best eaten on the day that they are made.
Looking for other Easter treats to make? Try our Easter Nest Doughnuts or perhaps for something different Mini egg ice-cream
On the hunt for fun Easter gifts? Check out our Fun Easter gifts for kids – Easter gift guide or for those that don’t fancy chocolate – Unique Easter gifts – for people that have had enough of chocolate (whatt??)
I like to make the most of special occasions and hand made gifts really say you care, but I don’t always have the time or headspace for anything that seems fiddly or complicated. These Valentines doughnuts are gorgeously tasty, simple to make, quick to bake …
Everyone has their favourites, even if they don’t always admit it, and scones are definitely some of mine. Comforting carby hugs, truly versatile little things, great for breakfast, dress them up for company for a fancy afternoon tea or make them savoury and have for …
Lavender, much like marmite, seems to be a love or hate it ingredient. Up to you, but I think these lavender scones gorgeous. The combination of lavender, Earl Grey and lemon goes together really well; they are subtly floral and perfect for an afternoon teatime treat.
Scones are one of the simplest things to make and that means that once you’ve mastered the basic method and recipe you have so much creative freedom to play around with flavours and combinations you like. Have a go and let me know what you think.
450g self-rising flour
100g cold butter
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1tsp dried culinary lavender
220ml cold milk
2 Earl Grey tea bags
60g caster sugar
½ tsp salt
Ingredients for the icing
130g icing sugar (sieved)
Pinch salt
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Makes between 10-12 scones.
Tear 2 Earl Grey tea sachets and culinary approved dried lavender and add to the milk in a jug. Pop it covered in the fridge ready to include later. This should be done a few hours before making the scones.
Preheat the oven to 200°C, gas mark 6.
Sieve the self-rising flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl.
Add chopped fridge cold butter to the mixture and rub together with the tips of your thumb and fingers in a fluttery motion until it looks like bread-crumbs or an oat mixture. It’s okay if some of the butter hasn’t fully combined, as that will help make lighter scones when they bake.
Stir in the caster sugar.
Sift the lavender and tea bags from the infused milk.
Add in the lavender/earl grey milk mixture by hand (this is messier but will help you get the right texture. You’re looking for a dough that holds together and isn’t sticky, otherwise you’ll need to add more flour which will alter the texture of the scones). Different types of flour absorb liquid differently, so add the milk gradually and judge whether you need the last of the milk.)
Once the scone dough has come together, turn out onto a lightly floured board and cut the scones using a 7cm cutter. (I liked the size of these but make smaller ones if you prefer).
Add the scones to a greased baking tray and brush each scone with some milk (taking care that it doesn’t drip down the sides, as this can effect how the scones rise).
Cook for 10 minutes, turning the baking tray half way through to ensure even baking.
Once cooked, transfer to a wire rack to cool.
To make the icing, mix the sieved icing sugar, lemon zest and juice and salt together.
Using a teaspoon, drizzle the icing onto each scone any way your heart tells you. Top with a few sprigs of dried lavender.
Scones are best eaten on the day, but will last 2 days in an airtight container.
Before cutting out the scones, I dip the cutter in flour, which will help the scone come out easily. Dip, cut, repeat.
As you cut out each scone, no matter how instinctive or tempting, avoid twisting the cutter, this will make the scones rise unevenly. (They will still taste just as lovely though).
Want to go savoury? Try my Cheddar Red Leicester cheese scone recipe – they are some of my favourites.
Looking for other afternoon tea ideas? Why not try my Iced baked doughnuts – they are incredibly simple to make, but look gorgeous – a real centre piece to be proud of.
After some afternoon tea inspiration? Check out BBC food guide to afternoon tea – some lovely ideas here.
These lemon and blueberry cupcakes are such a treat. Beautiful, stylish but most importantly delicious. A gorgeous lemon sponge covered in a smooth and vanilla buttercream spiked with a dash of lemon curd and topped with tart and sweet blueberry jam. A gorgeous treat for …