Blueberry Scones

Wesley Wyndam-Pryce: I wonder if asking Ms. Chase to dance would...
Giles: For God's sake, man, she's 18, and you have the emotional maturity of a blueberry scone. Just have at it, would you, and stop fluttering about. 
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer - season 3 episode 20

I started watching Buffy when I was in high school and I was obsessed with it! My friend and I would call each other during the commercials for any "OMG" moments. We related to all the teenage angst and felt we were a part of the Scooby Gang.

Re-watching it now I am still taken into all the angst, but with less "OMG" moments not just because I have seen it before, but because I have more life experience. Now it's more like "Yup that's how it happens, that's life." Which is why it's such a great show.

Watching Buffy has been a trip down memory lane and when I decide to watch it again in like 20 years I am sure I will see it differently once again. Sometimes long for the days of having the emotional maturity of a blueberry scone, but mostly I'm glad those days are over.

Blueberry Scones

150g dried blueberries
orange juice, for soaking
150g cold unsalted butter
500g self-raising flour , plus a little extra for dusting
2 level teaspoons baking powder
2 heaped teaspoons caster sugar
pinch of salt
2 large free-range eggs
4 tablespoons milk , plus a little extra for brushing

A couple of hours or so before you start place the dried fruit into a bowl and pour over just enough orange juice to cover. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Put the butter, flour, baking powder, sugar, and a pinch of salt into a big bowl and using your (clean) fingers to gently rub the butter into the flour until just combined. The less it's touched the more crumbly it will be.
Make a well in the middle of the dough, add the eggs and milk, and gently mix with a spatula or spoon. Drain the soaked blueberries and fold into the dough. If needed add a little bit of milk, until it forms a soft, dry dough. It should be bit scruffy, the opposite of bread dough which is usually smooth and neat.
Sprinkle a little flour over the top of the scruffy dough and leave in a bowl (covered with with cling film) in the fridge for 15 minutes.
When the time is up roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until it's about 2-3cm thick. Then with a 6cm round cutter or something with about that diameter cut out circles from the dough. Place them upside down on a baking sheet. Re-roll the rest of the dough and cut out as many as you can. Brush the top with either melted butter or milk.
Bake for 12-15 minutes. They will be risen and golden on top! Leave them to cool before serving with clotted cream and jam!

Scones are one of the most controversial afternoon treats here in England; from how they are pronounced and what gets put on first the cream or the jam? I myself pronounce scone like cone with an 's' and I like my cream first then the jam. 

*recipe adapted from Jamie Oliver's Crumbliest Scone recipe - found in Jamie's Great Britain

Changing of the Seasons: Caramel Apple Pie Scones

The change in seasons has been influencing my taste buds at the moment.

Definitely craving apples, pumpkin, cinnamon, and other seasonal dishes. Like stews, soups, and pies the list could go on forever!

Usually this time of year I bake a lot of apple bakes, but our tree has produced no more then 5 edible apples this year.

Which is very sad really, but I wasn't going to let that stop me from baking with apples at least once this autumn!

After much thought and deliberation I decided to give a classic teatime treat an apple twist. No, not a Victoria Sponge, but the humble scone.

I made Caramel Apple Pie Scones. They are by far one of the most delicious scones I have ever made. Which isn't really saying a lot because I don’t make scones that often.

That doesn't make them any less delicious though!

They would be perfect for an Autumn Afternoon Tea! 

The scones themselves are seasoned with apple pie spice and have fresh apples in them. I topped them with the traditional clotted cream and instead of jam used some delicious caramel!

Caramel Apple Pie Scones

500g plain flour

2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 tsp cream of tartar

2 tsp golden caster sugar

2 tsp apple pie spice

50g unsalted butter, cold and cubed

25g vegetable shortening/Trek, broken up

300ml buttermilk

75g or ½ an apple chopped into little cubes

sprinkle of sugar

clotted cream

caramel sauce

Start by chopping the apple and sprinkling with sugar, leave in a colander so the juice from the apple drips out. Press between a towel or paper towels to dry them completely.

Heat the oven to 220C and line a baking sheet.

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl before rubbing in the butter and shortening. Add the buttermilk and chopped apple and mix together until it forms a soft dough.

On a lightly floured surface smoosh the dough into a thick circle, using a medium to small circle cutter cut out the scones. I got about ten, but it depends on the size of your cutter. Then place on prepared baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes. They should rise in the oven and slightly brown. When you transfer them to the cooling rack they should feel light. Cool for a bit before adding the clotted cream and caramel. Enjoy! 

notes: These are my entry for The Great Denby Cake Off blogger competition. Apple Pie Spice isn't very common in the UK, however if you add a tsp of ground nutmeg and a tsp of ground cinnamon and maybe a baby pinch of ground cloves it will pretty much be apple pie spice. This could also be tried with dried apples. 

Age is Just a Number {lemon poppy seed scones}

Today is my birthday.

Not just any birthday, my thirtieth. See I wrote it out as it looks better then in-your-face numbers.

Honestly though I am not overly bothered about turning thirty. I knew it was going to happen one day. Next year will probably make me freak out a little, but that's a whole year away!

I need to focus on today and tomorrow. Today while you read this I will be baking with Eric Lanlard in his Spring Baking Mad course. Thanks to my Mom & Dad! I can't wait to share my experience with you! And on my way back to Berkshire I plan to stop at Outsider Tart with my amazing friend Lauren, who is picking me up!

Then Friday, I have family and friends coming round for drinks and snacks and drinks. Should be a good night. It will be even better if it doesn't rain all day like predicted. So, I made these Lemon and Poppy Seed scones as an offering to the Sun God(s). That is if there are any left to offer. 

I will let you know if it works, as soon as these were out of the oven the sun shone through the clouds! I used John Whaites recipe from his new book!

I probably will be absent from social media the next few days as I'm off having a fun birthday weekend! But follow me on Twitter (@unitedcakedom) on Sunday May 19th as I will be baking and tweeting live my Banana CinnaMuffins (level10) for World Baking Day!

notes: Happy Birthday to me! Eric Lanlard's cooking school; Outsider Tart; Sun God(s); my review of John Whaites Bakes; World Baking Day check out the site for recipes and Bake Brave this Sunday May 19th!

Nigella's Buttermilk Scones!! #AugustBreak

I have been baking for a while now and have lived in the UK even longer. Yet, I have never made scones before. Before this weekend that is. These turned out great! Way better then the store bought ones! They were very easy to make! If you own Nigella's Kitchen you'll find the recipe in there on page 283. If you don't I think you should. It's one of my favorite cookbooks ever, it has the best of everything! It's also available on the BBC website. I had my copy of Kitchen signed!! Check it out here!

Scones with Cream and Jam from Bill's!!

Bill's Cafe has been in town a while now and I have always meant to check it out. Yesterday I finally did! Most Tuesday's find me in Reading town centre having coffee with two of my best girl friends and their little ones. We used to go to the same places, but now we're branching out a bit trying all sorts of new places.

I didn't actually get a coffee- I choose the chocolate milk shake and scones, cream and jam!! They were lovely!

Tuesday Coffee & Cake Review