Saturday 19 July 2014

Freshly Baked Fruity Scones with Homemade Strawberry Jam

Is there anything greater than the smell of freshly baked fruit scones?! My homemade strawberry jam from Bloom is finally making an appearance with these fruity buttermilk scones. 
Scones for me are a homely, comfort loving, hit the spot, maybe i’ll have just one more kind of food. I can’t remember when I had my first scone nor can I remember when I developed my keen love affair with these little beauties but they are always a winner for me! During my four years in St. Angela’s College Sligo there were a regular ‘hit’ in our somewhat glorious canteen. Home Economics teachers will know exactly what I am talking about here! :) 






Recently in one of my favourite blogs LovinDublin they voted quote ‘Hands down best Scones in Dublin - Keoghs Cafe’ on Trinity Street. While I am bias and I have yet to try these sensational ‘mouthwatering scones’ they do look (cough) quite on par to my humble fruit scones featured below. *Link to review (http://lovindublin.com/reviews/cafe/hands-best-scones-dublin-keoghs-cafe)*.  

This featured recipe is taken from Rosanne Hewitt Cromwell’s book Like Mam Used To Make. Take it from someone who buys cookbooks on a very regular basis and relies on them for my job that you can rarely find a cookbook where you fall instantly in love with everything about it. Every recipe in her book works. Every recipe is unique. It is my best buy recipe book. This book is a absolutely credit to her. I do not know how long it took her to complete but it is a beautiful work of baking art. As you may have already discovered I am a big fan. 

These are her Buttermilk Scones which I have adapted ever so slightly to my own taste. 

This recipe makes approximately 12 scones. 
Warning - they will not be around for long! 

Ingredients: 
450g plain flour 
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda 
1/4 teaspoon of salt 
85g caster sugar 
100g unsalted butter (cold, straight from the fridge)
280ml buttermilk 
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract 
75g mixed fruit (raisins & sultanas)
1/2 teaspoon of mixed spice  

Preheat your oven to 220DC/Gas Mark 7. Line two baking trays with parchment paper or grease with a little butter and a sprinkle of plain white flour. 
Sieve the flour, bicarbonate of soda, mixed spice and salt into a large bowl and stir in the sugar. 
Rub in the cold butter with your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs. 
Add the buttermilk, fruit and vanilla extract and mix until everything is all combined. Turn onto a lightly floured board and knead gently just to bring it all together. If it is too sticky add more flour to your work surface. Flatten the mixture to the same thickness of a scone cutter (3cm) and cut out rounds using a floured scone cutter. 
Place the scones evenly spaced on the prepared baking trays and brush the tops with the beaten egg. Finally I like to a cheeky tiny sprinkle to the top of each scone. 
Bake the scones in the preheated oven for 15-20minutes until risen and golden brown. 
Allow to cool on the baking trays for 5-10minutes. Serve with your jam, clotted cream and real butter. 
Bliss. 

Hope you enjoy :)



Rosanne also gives an important tip - when cutting the scones don’t twist the pastry cutter before removing it as this will stop the scones from rising properly! 








Pear & Almond Tart



I’m home from a once in a lifetime incredible trip to Sunny California where I had the best time treating my palette like a queen and sampling some of America’s finest food gems. 

Since I’ve come home from the States I’ve been flat to the max working for my second year at a Summer Camp “Smart Cooking” in Templeogue College for the past fortnight! Here I have been busy working with children and teenagers making everything from Swiss Roll to Lebanese Style Cous Cous. Needless to say I am very much back in the food zone again and dying to start baking and sharing some more dishes and recipes that I have picked up in the States and from my time in the Smart Cooking Academy Camp. 

The featured dish is a favourite of mine and I have ‘borrowed’ this recipe from the lovely Edward Hayden who I had the pleasure of meeting at the Taste of Christmas event back in 2012. His book ‘Food to Love’ is fantastic and a really staple go to book in my cookery book collection!   

This tart is a real crowd pleaser (serves up to 8people) and while it takes a little bit of effort I believe it is well worth it!       

I like to make the pastry a day in advance and leave to chill in the fridge to help speed up assembling the dish and to make the pastry easier to work with and roll. 


Ingredients: 

Sweet Pastry: 
300g plain flour 
110g caster sugar 
150g cold butter 
1 large free range egg 

There are loads of different ways to make your pastry. I am a traditionalist (and do not own a food processor) so I prefer the ‘Rubbing in’ Method. 
To begin, sieve the flour into a bowl, rub in the cold butter with your fingertips until it looks like fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the caster sugar. Beat the egg in a measuring jug and add to the mixture until it binds to form a dough. *If it does not bind together add a little cold water to help bring it together*. 
Wrap in cling film and leave to chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to rest and to help with ease of rolling. 


Using a 9inch/23cm flan tin, line with the chilled pastry and leave to chill in the fridge again for 20-30minutes to firm up and to prevent shrinkage at a later stage. Do not trim off excess pastry yet!  


Almond Sponge Filling Ingredients
175g soft butter  
175g caster sugar 
1/2 teaspoon of almond essence 
3 large free range eggs 
50g plain flour 
175g ground almonds  

Topping: 
6-8 canned pear halves (canned pears work best as they tend not to discolour during the cooking process) 
50g flaked almonds 
2 dessertspoons of apricot jam  

To serve: 
Vanilla Bean Ice-cream / Freshly whipped cream 

Preheat the oven to 180DC/Gas Mark 4. 
Cream together the soft butter and caster sugar and add in the almond essence to give a strong intense almond flavouring. Cream until light and fluffy. (This may take up to 5minutes depending on how soft the butter is). 
Next add in each of the 3 eggs one at a time and beat well after each. Sieve in the ground almonds and flour together and mix until everything is combined. 
Pour the wet mixture on top of the pastry lined tin until it is completely covered. 
Next carefully slice the pear halves thinly and place round side upwards on top of the almond sponge keeping them at best in their original shape. Trim off any excess pastry that may be hanging over the edge of the flan tin. You can make an indent on the edge of pastry using the back of a fork or using a crimper. 
Bake in the oven for 35-40minutes until it has a nice golden brown colour. By this stage your kitchen will smell incredible! 
After the tart has cooled completely (20-30minutes) remove it from the tin and place on a serving platter. 
Heat the apricot jam with about 2 tablespoons of boiling water in the microwave. Sprinkle some lightly toasted flaked almonds.  
Brush the tart with the boiled jam and serve alongside some vanilla ice-cream or freshly whipped cream. 


Hope you enjoy!