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Monday, 3 August 2015

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Scones


I spent Sunday afternoon in the kitchen.  That's not unusual, but I hadn't been able to use my oven for a couple of weeks due to the installation of a wooden floor.  Regular readers will know that I've been having a bit of a time of it over the last 18 months or so, with dry rot treatment and rebuilding half our farm house.  We are on the home stretch now and the kitchen floor is the final major disruption.

Anyway, back to the baking, I wanted to make something relatively quick and easy but also satisfying, so scones were what came to mind.  I'm always looking to fit in my kitchen exploits with one or other of the linky challenges run on other food blogs. I haven't entered We Should Cocoa for far too long and for August,  Choclette at Tin and Thyme has given us free rein with an 'Anything Goes' theme, so throw in a bit of chocolate and voila!



Peanut Butter and Chocolate Scones
Makes 12-16 scones depending on how you cut them

400g spelt or wholemeal flour
100g oatbran (if you don't have any, then substitute flour)
4 level tsp baking powder
100g soft butter
3 tbsp crunchy peanut butter
50g soft brown sugar
100g dark chocolate chips
2 eggs, beaten
milk
2 tbsp dark chocolate spread

  1. Heat the oven to 200C
  2. Place the flour, oatbran and baking powder in a large bowl and mix together
  3. Rub in the butter and peanut butter until you have fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the chocolate chips.
  4. Stir in the eggs and enough milk to make a soft dough, reserving a little milk  to glaze.
  5. Add the chocolate spread in teaspoonfuls and swirl through the dough with a knife, do not overwork or your scones will be tough.
  6. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
  7. Press the dough onto the tray in a rough circle about 1.25cm thick, mark lightly into wedges with a knife.  Brush with milk.
  8. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown, leave to cool slightly then slide onto a cooling tray.

And the result...a huge success. The scones are so full of good things, they are not too sweet with just enough of a crunch of peanuts and swirls of chocolate to make them a great alternative to richer cakes.


Why not link up your chocolate recipe to We Should Cocoa?

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Thursday, 4 June 2015

Peach and Rhubarb Upside Down Cake


This cake was created as a result of a glut of rhubarb and those peaches you buy to ripen at home and then they all ripen at once and you have to use them quick before they get over-ripe! It's really moist and the perfect 'pudding cake' as it can be eaten as warm or cold as a dessert with cream, yogurt, custard or ice-cream.  It is also just as nice as a slice of cake with a cup of tea or coffee.

Peach and Rhubarb Upside Down Cake

Topping
4 peaches or nectarines
1 large  or two medium stalks of rhubarb, thinly sliced
125g butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
125g soft brown sugar

Cake
125g softened butter
125g soft brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
125g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder

For the topping
  1. Melt the butter and mix with the soft brown sugar. Grease a 20cm round cake tin and spread the butter and sugar mixture in the base of the tin.
  2. Skin the peaches by placing in a bowl and covering with boiling water, leave for 2 minutes, then lift them out and the skin should slip off easily.  Slice the peaches into even slices and place on the sugar mixture in a pleasing pattern.
  3. Cover the peaches with the thinly sliced rhubarb.

For the cake
  1. Place all the ingredients in a bowl and beat well with an electric mixer for about 2 minutes until well blended.
  2. Spoon the mixture over the peaches and rhubarb and smooth the top.
  3. Bake at 190C/170C fan for 25 minutes or test with a skewer, the cake is done when the skewer, when placed into the centre of the cake, comes out clean.
  4. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then remove from the tin and either serve warm or cool on a cooling rack. 



As it is the season for peaches, here are a few more ideas for cooking, baking and preserving them :

Peach Coffee Cake - Little Sunny Kitchen
Cinnamon Peach and Ice Cream Waffles - Made With Pink
Peach and White Chocolate Cake - Tin and Thyme
Peach, Marzipan and Amaretto Crumble - Casa Costello
Peach and Apricot Jam - Fab Food 4 All
Peach and Ginger Compote - Natural Kitchen Adventures
Peach Upside Down Cake - Jen's Food

I'm adding this Peach and Rhubarb Upside Down Cake to the Midsummer Madness themed Love Cake Linky run at JibberJabber UK

This will also be my contribtuion to Bake of the Week over at Casa Costello

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Thursday, 12 March 2015

Marbled Chocolate Cheesecake Muffins


When I was asked by Dr. Oetker  to bake one of their Chocolate Indulgence recipes. I chose these Marbled Chocolate Cheesecake Muffins.  I love to bake muffins, they are easy to make and just the right size for a sweet treat with a cup of tea or coffee, I also often serve muffins instead of dessert and they are always welcomed.


Dr. Oetker has a great range of products and tools to help you make a great chocolatey bake. They have several varieties of cooking chocolate, chocolate decorations and powders that make it so simple to make a tasty chocolatey bake.  There are also lots of great recipes on the website to help inspire you. 


This March, Dr. Oetker want to celebrate all that is great and good about chocolate so are encouraging you to have some fun with chocolate and get experimental by trying new chocolatey bakes you’ve never attempted before. That way, you’ll get a handy practice run in March so you’re proud to share these new bakes at Easter with loved ones and friends.



The muffins were very easy to make, you do need to make two different mixtures, one with the cream cheese the other with melted chocolate, then you swirl the two together to get the marbled effect. I liked that they are not too sweet and there is a definite cheesecake flavour.  There are many more delicious recipes on the Dr. Oetker website for you to try. 


I couldn't resist using up the remaining cream cheese to make some Cream Cheese Frosting and decorating the muffins with Dr. Oetker Chocolate Hearts and Dr. Oetker Chocolate and Silver Pearls I took them into work to share them with my colleagues who were duly grateful!



*Dr. Oetker Twitter Competition*
Dr. Oetker is encouraging bakers to celebrate chocolate by making a yummy chocolate bake and      believes that chocolate tastes even better when you share it, so they want to know who you’ll be sharing your chocolate bake with.    

To enter: just tweet a photo of a chocolate bake you've made to  @DrOetkerbakes and tell them who you'll be sharing it with, for the chance to win a deluxe hamper of chocolate products from Dr. Oetker using the hashtag #evenbetterbaking

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Monday, 15 December 2014

What to Bake and How to Bake it: Festive Fruit Cake

Do you make a fruit cake for Christmas?  Usually I have my cake made at the end of October and maturing until it is iced a couple of weeks before Christmas.  However, this year I was in danger of not having any cake at all, as I've just been so busy.  Thank goodness I was sent a copy of What to Bake and How to Bake it by Jane Hornby and took the opportunity to bake Jane's Festive Fruit Cake. 


Jane Hornby is an experienced food writer, baking expert and cookery teacher.  She has spent many years working on bestselling food magazines where she has honed her clear, friendly, step-by-step style, and her passion for real home cooking.

The book begins with a comprehensive chapter full of technique, tips and answers to frequently asked questions.

Simple Family Baking contains recipes such as Golden Citrus Drizzle Cake, Peanut Butter Cookies, Favourite Swiss Roll, Lemon and Raisin Pancakes, Rocky Road  and Classic Crusty Bread.

Morning Coffee and Afternoon Tea, just imagine a tiered cake stand loaded with Classic Shortbread, Jaffa Marble Loaf, Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, Lemon Glazed Ginger Cake and Seriously Chcolately Cookies.

As if these are not special enough the next chapter is entitled Special Bakes. The Chocolate Fudge Layer Cake looks pretty special and the Coconut Layer Cake is really pretty with it's toasted coconut chip decoration. Angel Cake with berries and Pumpkin Pie are classic US celebration cakes and almost everyone loves Frosted Cupcakes.  The Festive Fruit cake comes into this chapter (recipe below) as does another winter feast bake, Cranberry Stollen.

Finally we come to Desserts and After Dinner, the Flourless Chocolate Cake is a decadently rich and gooey dessert, I'm definitely going to try the Tart au Citron, it's one of my favourites.  Another citrus favourite is Whole Orange and Almond Cake, the instructions look incredibly easy.  Want to master choux pastry?  Jane provides the perfect step by step Chocolate Profiterole recipe and pastry is also de-mystified in the recipe for One-Crust Apple and Blackberry Pie.  Macarons, biscotti and Salted Caramel Shortbread bites complete this indulgent chapter.

There is a really useful index of bakes by occasion, for example, Bake-sale bestsellers and Mother's Day.  There is a standard index as well, so you can easily find your favourites.

Who is it for?
You would think this is a book for beginners, the step-by-step photos and instructions certainly make it ideal for a beginning baker.  However, although I have many years of baking experience, I probably made the best fruit cake I have ever made using the Festive Fruit Cake recipe, so it is well worth investing in for anyone who wants to improve their baking.

Pros
It's a beautiful book and would make a great gift.  The photographs are clear without too much styling to get in the way of what you need to do, you could frame the illustrations at the start of each chapter,  and hang them on your wall, they are so delightful (see the cover for an idea of the style).   The written instructions are very detailed and neatly laid out down the side of the photos.  If my experience is typical, the recipes really work.

Cons
There are an awful lot of baking books on the market, and I seem to own quite a few of them.  Many of the bakes in What to Bake and How to Bake it are standards such as Victoria Sponge, Swiss Roll, Shortbread, Brownies which will feature in other books you may own, but perhaps not in such detail with a step-by-step format.

The Verdict
Beautiful book, well written recipes.  I'm not sure I could resist if I didn't already have a copy.

Festive Fruit Cake
1 lemon
100 g glace cherries, drained
600 g dried mixed fruit, such as raisins, sultanas or currants
100 g candied mixed citrus peel
120 ml brandy or dark rum
225 g soft butter, plus extra for greasing
225 g light brown soft sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs
225 g plain flour
2 tsp ground mixed spice
1/4 salt
50 g toasted flaked almonds

1. Finely grate the zest from the lemon and squeeze the juice.  Cut the cherries in half.  Put them into a large saucepan with the dried fruit and peel and 100 ml of the alcohol. Cover, then bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and leave to stand for at least an hour, or overnight if you can.  The fruit will plump up and absorb the liquid.

SOAKING ALTERNATIVES
If you'd rather not use alcohol, strong black tea makes a good substitute, as does orange or apple juice.  Alcohol is added to act as a flavouring as well as to preserve the cake until Christmas.  Any dried fruit can be substituted, although I'd recommend a balance of sweet and tart fruit for a more interspersing end result. 

2. When ready to make the cake, preheat the oven to 160C (140C fan/gas 3).  Double-line a deep 20cm round cake tin with baking parchment.  To do this, fold a 65 x 30 cm piece of parchment in half lengthways.  On the folded side, make a fold about 2 cm of the way in.  Snip at 2 cm intervals along the length of the seam, up to the fold, a make a frill. Cut 2 circles for the base.

3. Grease the tin with butter, then line the sides with the frilled paper, with the frills at the base of the tin, overlapping slightly.  Grease the circles with butter, then sit them on top trapping the frill below.  This preparation is neede to protect the cake during the long baking time.

4. Put the butter and sugar in a large bowl, then beat with an electric mixer until pale and creamy.  Add the vanilla, then beat in 1 egg.  When the mixture is fluffy and light, add the next egg and repeat.  If the batter starts to look a little lumpy, beat in 1 tablespoon on the flour.  Repeat with the remaining eggs. This is one creaming-method cake that can't be sped up; don't try to make it using the all-in-one method.

5. Sift in the flour, spice and salt into the bowl and fold into the batter with a spatula or large metal spoon.  Now fold in the soaked fruit, plus the nuts.  It will make a stiff batter.

6.  Scrape the batter into the prepared tin and level the top.  Make a depression in the middle of the batter with the spatula.  This will  help the cake rise more evenly.

7. Bake for 1 1/2 hours, then turn the oven down to 150C (130C fan/Gas 2) for 1 1/4-1 1/2 hours more. When ready, the cake will be dark golden and a skewer inserted into the centre will come out clean.  If not bake for another 15 minutes and check again.  Leaver to cool in its tin on a rack.  When still warm, prick holes all over it with a cocktail stick and spoon in the rest of the alcohol, tea or juice.  Once cool, remove from the tin then wrap carefully in clean baking parchment and store in an airtight container in a cool place.

The recipe also includes instructions for how to marzipan and ice your cake, I love marzipan but this year I decided to leave my cake 'naked' and enjoy it in all it's fruity glory. 

What to Bake and How to Bake It by Jane Hornby
Photographs by Liz and Max Haarala Hamilton
Illustrations by Kerry Lemon
Published by Phaidon 
RRP £19.95

Digital image of Santa Claus from Jingle all the way by Kate Hadfield

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Thursday, 11 July 2013

Blackcurrant Jam Swirl Muffins


Sometimes only a sweet treat will do and if I don't have any goodies in the house, I often make muffins using a simple recipe and varying the flavourings depending on my mood or, more likely, what I have to hand.
I had some visitors coming so mixed up this batch of muffins using Duerr's Blackcurrant Jam.  Dueerr's jam isn't just for spreading on your bread, it's great for baking too.  Check out the recipes on the Duerr's website to see lots of other treats you can make.

Blackcurrant Jam Swirl Muffins (makes 10-12)
1 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
2 cups plain flour
1/4 cup caster sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup Duerr's Blackcurrant Jam

1. Heat the oven to 200C.  Line your muffin tin with paper cases.
2. In a large bowl, beat milk, oil and egg with a whisk until well mixed.  Stir in flour, sugar baking powder and salt all at once just until the flour is moistened, the batter will be lumpy.  Fold in the blackcurrant jam. Divide evenly between the paper cases.
3. Bake 20 - 25 minutes or until golden brown. 

The muffins were delicious with ripples of jam running through the muffins and even better...there is only one bowl to wash up!
 
Thanks to Erin for providing me with some Duerr's jam to bake with, I was not paid for this post and all opinions are my own.


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Wednesday, 24 April 2013

Apricot Tea Bread

I haven't made a tea bread for some time and always find them to be really good value, as they get better after several days wrapped in foil.  Dried apricots are once of my favourite things and as I was looking for an 'A' bake for AlphaBakes AND a bake suitable for a  Village Fair, Fete or Show for the Calendar Cakes challenge,  it was just the excuse I needed to make this loaf.  It certainly turned out well, it's fruity, moisty and chewy, it really doesn't need any butter but you could spread some on if that's your thing.  There wasn't any strong taste from the Whittards WhiteTea with Pomegranate that I used for soaking just an overall fruity flavour.

Apricot Tea Bread

350g/12oz mixture of apricots and mixed dried fruit (you can use all apricots but I wanted to use up some ends of bags of raisins and sultanas)225g/8oz mix of light and dark muscovado sugar
300ml/1/2 pt hot Whittards White Tea with Pomegranate (any tea will do, but I used this as I had just reviewed it.)
275g/10oz self-raising flour
zest of an orange
1 large egg, beaten

1. Put the dried fruit and sugar in a bowl and pour over the hot tea.
2. Leave it overnight to soak up the tea, but I didn't have time, so mine got 2 hours and was still pretty wet.
3. Heat the oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2
4. Line a 900g/2lb loaf tin with baking parchment or one of those clever loaf tin liners.
5. Add the flour, lemon zest and beaten egg and stir iwth a spoon till mixed through.
6. Bake for 11/4 to 11/2 hrs or until it is well risen, firm to the touch and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean
7. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool.
Peel of the baking paper or liner and serve sliced with or without butter.




Alphabakes is run by Ros at The more than occasional baker and Caroline at Caroline Makes and  Calendar Cakes is hosted by Rachel at Dolly Bakes and Laura at Laura Loves Cakes.




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Wednesday, 17 April 2013

Fresh Cherry Crumble Cake with Glamour Cherries

Fresh Cherry Crumble Cake with Cherry Frozen Yogurt and Fresh Glamour Cherries

What a pleasure it was to receive a box of Cherries Glamour with four little punnets of delicious dark red cherries sent all the the way from Spain!  I know that's not an 'eat local' thing, but Scotland isn't a noted cherry growing country so I don't feel too bad.


We ate some of the cherries raw and they are really soft, sweet and juicy unlike some of the cherries that are imported into the supermarkets. The Glamour cherry is an early variety and the only available cherry in the World from March 15th to April 25th. The cherry, also called red ¨gold¨ because it has a first class taste and is only available in small quantities. It just has been released in gourmet shops and selected sections of Harrods  and M&S


As I had so many cherries, I thought it would be nice to make a cake with some of them, so I had a bit of a search online and found a recipe for Fresh Cherry Cake with a hint of cinnamon at the BBC Good Food website



The cake is easy to make as it uses a batter-type mixture made with melted butter rather than creaming.  The cherries go on top of the batter, as I don't have a cherry stoner, I halved the cherries and removed the stones with a knife.
The cherries are then topped with a crumble mixture.  I found the recipe was rather heavy on butter and light on flour so added a bit more so I could get it to the correct crumble consistency (like breadcrumbs) I used spelt flour for the crumble as I love the added flavour and texture that it provides.

You don't get a lot of rise with the cake, probably due to the moisture in the fruit, the cake is not over sweet and I would say it is more suitable for dessert rather than as a slice of cake, but we did eat, and enjoy it as both.

About Cherries Glamour

 The company's production philosophy is based on integrated production, GLOBAL GAP and the use of ecological cultivation techniques. The cherries are picked daily, at the point of having ripened to perfection, and are dispatched on that same day so that the client receives a fresh product with all its freshness and flavor. 




S.A.T. EDOA “Cherries Glamour” is a Spanish company located in the Ebro valley near the Pyrenees in the province of Lleida that specialises in the production and marketing of cherries in March, the first and only company in the world to do so. Follow Cherries Glamour on Facebook.

I received a box of Cherries Glamour to review, I was not paid for this review and all views are my own.

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Sunday, 31 March 2013

Easter Nest Cupcakes

Happy Easter to you.  I know it is nearly all over, but we still have Easter Monday Bank Holiday ahead of us and, I'm certainly glad of that additional day to get over the clock change and recover from the over-eating.
It wouldn't be Easter without some Easter baking.  I've been away on holiday in the run up to Easter so there has been nothing to show.  But as I had family coming round today, I whipped up some basic cupcakes/fairy cakes/ buns using Jo Wheatley's recipe in 'A Passion for Baking'.  It's a rich cake mixture with 200g of butter, flour and sugar and three eggs.  The bigger cakes turned out well, but some of the mini cakes went a bit oily which was a shame.  I would probably go back to my Mary Berry - Fast Cakes recipe in future when doing the little buns. 

I used Mary's recipe for chocolate buttercream, a simple one of butter, icing sugar and cocoa powder whipped up together in my Kenwood Chef.   A bit of swirly piping with a Wilton 1M nozzle and some mini eggs for decoration.

I'm entering this for Calendar Cakes the baking challenge run by Dolly Bakes and Laura Loves Cakes
the theme for March is Easter Bakes.

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Thursday, 27 September 2012

Win a Tarte Tatin Tin from Mermaid

Remember my Tarte Tatin?  Well, those lovely people at Mermaid bakeware would like to help YOU to make our own Tarte Tatin by giving away one of these high quality hard anodised baking tins.
Mermaid has been known and loved by professional chefs and enthusiastic cooks alike since 1953 and is for many the secret ingredient when it comes to successful home cooking



Complete the Rafflecopter widget to win the Tarte Tatin tin, but just in case you are not the lucky winner, you can buy this tin 'on sale' at Amazon for £21.54  it will last you a lifetime and would work for pies as well as the Tarte Tatin.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Sunday, 1 July 2012

Cookie Dough Truffles

As a child I was never that fussed about scraping out the bowl unless it was butter icing!  However,  Quirk Publishing offered me the chance to review a neat little book 'The Cookie Dough Lovers Cook Book' by Lindsay Landis. It's available at the ubiquitous online book shop ;-)


This is not cookie dough as we know it, for making cookies,  it's specially formulated cookie dough that tastes divine eaten raw, and so it should as it is packed with butter and sugar!  The basic chocolate chip cookie dough is eggless and really simple to make.  It's the basis for most of the recipes with variations including peanut butter, vegan/dairy free, gluten free and lots of different combinations of spices, sugars, nuts and chocolate chips.

Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

Makes 1 1/2 cups
Total Time: 15 minutes

1/2 cup (100g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup (50g) granulated suagr
1/2 cup (100g) light brown sugar, packed
2 tbsp milk or cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups (150g) plain flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup (100g) mini dark chocolate chips

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars with an electric mixer on medium speed until  light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.  Mix in milk and vanilla. Stir in flour and salt and mix on low speed (or by hand) until incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips.

Dough can be enjoyed immediately or store, covered or in an airtight container in the refrigerator, for up to 3 days.



Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles


Form the dough into small balls and arrange on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment.  Place in the freezer for about 15 minutes.

Melt 200g dark chocolate in a double boiler or a bowl over a pan of water.  Using two forks dip the cookie dough balls in the melted chocolate and replace on the baking parchment.

Decorate with sprinkles or dust with edible glitter.  Or you could wait until the chocolate is set and pipe over some white chocolate.

I made some with milk chocolate as well, not to my own taste but to avoid me and hubby pigging out on these truffles,  we both took them into work and some of our colleagues prefer milk chocolate.  They were a huge hit, with comments such as "Do they have alcohol in them?" which must have been the vanilla and "Delicious, would be great at Christmas".

Chapters


Candy - including the truffles featured above.

Cookies and Brownies

These are Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies, this photo also shows the really useful design of the book.  It is ring bound and, when folded out,  the pages are narrower than the cover so there is a Cookie Dough Lover's Cheat Sheet visible on the left of the recipes.

Cakes, Custards and Pies
 Just look at those fabulous Cookie Dough Stuffed Dark Chocolate Cupcakes!  This chapter also features the Cookie Dough Mosaic Cheesecake:


Frozen Treats is full of icecreams and ice lollies

 There are two more chapters:  Indulgent Breakfasts and Fun Snacks and Party Fare

All of these recipes include basic cookie dough and having been a little unsure of whether I was going to like cookie dough, I have to say I'm a convert and can't wait for an opporunity to try another one of the recipes.  The icecream is calling to me!

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post. I was not required to write a positive review and any opinion expressed is my own. 


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Friday, 6 April 2012

Sticky Easter Buns

Sticky Easter Buns
I've never been very satisfied with the Hot Cross Buns I've made at home, so this year I decided to try something a bit different.  I like the idea of a rolled bun, like cinnamon buns, but with the flavours and filling that is reminiscent of a Hot Cross Bun.  I made my dough in the bread maker, but if you don't  have one you could follow any sweet dough recipe directions.

Sticky Easter Buns

450g strong white flour
1 pkt fast action yeast
2 tsp ground cinnamon
50g soft brown sugar
125g butter, melted
150ml warm milk (not too warm or it will kill the yeast)
100g yogurt
1 egg
1 jar of mincemeat
1 large cooking apple peeled and chopped

For the glaze
25g soft brown sugar
10g butter
6 tbsp water

Put the flour, yeast, cinnamon and brown sugar in the bread maker bowl.  Add the melted butter, milk, yogurt and beaten egg.  Set to 'dough' and go away and do something else.  My bread machine takes 45 minutes to make a dough.

Now you have an option, you can either watch the video below to see what to do or follow the instructions that come after the video.  This is my first video clip, so please forgive the length and the fact that I do seem to pick things up with my hands - they are clean, honest!



Flatten out the dough on an oiled surface (or it will stick) and then spread the mincemeat over the dough and distribute the apple pieces evenly across the mincemeat.  Roll up the dough from the long side, tucking the join underneath.  The slice across and put the the slices into a baking tin lined with baking parchment, cut side up.


Put to one side in a warm place, to let the buns rise for about an hour and a half until they have doubled in size.



Then bake at 200C/180C (fan) for about 30 minutes.  To make the glaze, put the sugar, water and butter into a pan and heat slowly to melt the sugar, then bring to the boil and boil for about 3 minutes.  Glaze the buns as soon as they come out of the oven.  Leave them in the tin until just warm then remove and split.


They are very, very sticky and absolutely delicious.


I'm entering this for Alphabakes challenge, the letter is 'B'  this month. This challenge is run by Ros at The more than occasional baker and Caroline at Caroline Makes
 

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Sunday, 20 February 2011

Gingerbread Slab

I've had visitors for the past two weekends, I don't often have people to stay and rarely two weekends in a row, but my son and DIL just had a gorgeous little boy, and as they live right next door, my relatives have stayed at my house.  

I made the gingerbread and some Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookies last weekend.  I had to hide the gingerbread to stop my husband, Brian, from eating it!  I also stashed some cookies so there were still plenty for the second wave of visitors.  You learn a few things by the time you become a grandmother, especially when you have had two sons!

Gingerbread is always better when it has been 'matured' anyway and this one was moist, gingery and nicely sticky.  The recipe comes from the Good Housekeeping Complete Book of Home Baking.

Gingerbread Slab
Makes 20 - 24 slices


125g (4oz) black treacle
125g (4oz) golden syrup
50g (2oz) butter or margarine (I used 100g butter and no lard)
50g (2oz) lard
225g (8oz) plain white flour
1.25ml (1/4 tsp) bicarbonate of soda
5ml (1 level tsp) mixed spice
5ml (1 level tsp) ground ginger
100g (4oz) dark brown soft sugar
150ml (1/4 pint) milk


1. Grease a deep 18cm (7 in) square cake tin.  Line with greaseproof paper and then grease the paper.
2. Put the black treacle, golden syrup, butter and lard into a saucepan and heat gently until melted.
3. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and spices into a bowl and stir in the sugar.  Make a well in the centre and pour in the milk and treacle mixture.  Beat well until smooth and of a thick pouring consistency.
4. Pour into the prepared tin and bake in the oven at 170c (325F) mark 3 for 1 - 1 1/4 hours or until a fine warmed skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.  Cool in the tin for 1 hour then turn out and cool completely on a wire rack.
5. Wrap in greaseproof paper and foil and store in an airtight tin for 2 days before eating.

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