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. 

Ginormous Jaffa Cake Cake

Until I moved to the UK I had never heard of Jaffa Cakes.

I can’t recall the exact moment I tried a jaffa cake for the first time, but I do remember thinking they were a bit odd.

The thing was I couldn't quiet decide what it was.

We, us humans, like things to be defined. We feel safer when things make sense or fit into a category. That way we can say we understand it because it fits into something we already know.

Jaffa cakes didn't really make sense to me and I wasn't sure I liked them or not. Even though I have a love of orange and chocolate. 

Then there was a new tax on chocolate covered biscuits. Which then began the whole debate on if a jaffa cake was in fact a cake or was it a biscuit.

Finally we would know where the jaffa cake stood and by knowing that we could sleep better at night.

It was decided they were more cake like and therefore wouldn't be taxed. They proved their point by making a large jaffa cake and I would like to think it was a bit like this one.

Ginormous Jaffa Cake Cake

orange jelly

juice of 4 large oranges

100g golden caster sugar

6 gelatine leaves

Line a 8in/20cm round cake tin with clingfilm. Before juicing the oranges, zest them and save it for cake below. Once zested juice the oranges and place in a saucepan with the sugar. Gently stir to dissolve. While that’s doing that, place the gelatine leaves into cold water to soften. Once soft, squeeze any excess water out before placing in the warm orange juice/sugar mixture. Gently stir until the gelatine is completely melted, then pour into prepared pan and set for 4 hours or more in the fridge.

cake cake:

250g unsalted butter, room temperature, cubed

300g golden caster sugar

4 large eggs

100g full fat natural yogurt

300g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

zest of 4 large oranges

Line a 10in/23cm round cake tin with greaseproof paper and grease with a little butter. Place all the ingredients into a large bowl or the bowl of a freestanding mixture and beat until everything is combined. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 55 minutes or until springy to the touch and a skewer test comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin until the tin is cool enough to handle. Finish cooling completely before placing the jelly circle in the middle of the cake.

chocolate ganache

284ml double cream

150g milk chocolate, broken up

150g dark chocolate, broken up

Place all the ingredients above in a heat proof bowl and set on top of a simmering pan of water. Once the chocolate starts to melt gently whisk in the middle of the bowl in tiny circles. It just slowly mixes the chocolate and the cream and it always gives a smooth silky ganche. Cool slightly before pouring on top of the jelly topped cake.

notes: For further information the jaffa cake tax decision look here and/or here. Recipe is adapted from BBC Bakes & Cakes Magazine Spring 2014 edition 

Five on Friday: Five things that make me Smile!

Today is World Smile Day. It started with the creator, Harvey Ball, of the infamous yellow smiley face. He felt like his image was being over commercialized and therefore losing it’s meaning.

He wanted to take one day a year to celebrate smiles and acts of kindness. The Harvey Ball World Smile Foundation was created after he died and they are the sponsors of World Smile Day.

I thought in light of it being World Smile Day today’s Five on Friday would be about five things that make me smile!

1. Sunshine

2. Flowers (wild)

3. Books

4. Cupcakes

5. My little family

What makes you smile?? 

notes: World Smile Day! All pictures are mine please ask permission before using anywhere else!

Should Have Been Peach Bellini Cake

I call it the “Should Have Been” Peach Bellini Cake because it didn't really taste like peaches or champagne (aka Prosecco.) 

I didn't want to deceive anyone in calling it a 'Peach Bellini Cake' when it's not really one. 

I started with a vanilla sponge and had a Prosecco sugar syrup soaked in. Then I layered it with peach curd and a whipped cream dyed a peach color for effect

It so would have been a peach bellini cake if 1.) it tasted like peaches and 2.) one got a bit tipsy from the alcohol.

Which I guess I failed on both accounts.

In the end it was just a vanilla cake with whipped cream frosting and in that I totally succeeded.

There is always tomorrow. Or the next day to make this cake again, there is just a few things I will need to do differently.

Here is how I made it and in italics are my notes on how I will change it next time.

Should Have Been Peach Bellini Cake:

330g plain flour

320g caster sugar

1 ½ tbsp baking powder

pinch of salt

175g unsalted butter, softened

3 medium eggs

190ml whole milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Heat the oven to 180C and grease and line two 8in/23cm cake tins. Briskly whisk the dry ingredients together, before adding the butter and beating for a few minutes until it’s crumby. Throw the eggs in and beat until just incorporated. Last but not least add the milk and vanilla extract and beat on high for a couple of minutes until lighter in color and smooth.

Fill both prepared pans and bake for 25-30 minutes. Do the skewer test to make sure it’s cooked. Right away poke some holes in the top and using a pastry brush, brush the Bubbly Sugar Syrup (recipe below) over both cakes. Leave to cool in the tins for about 10 minutes before turning out to cool completely.

Bubbly Sugar Syrup

60ml water

60g caster sugar

1-2 tbsp bubbly

Melt the sugar in the water before adding the prosecco to taste. If I were to do this again I would double it. To make sure the cakes were really soaked.

to finish:

Peach Curd recipe needs to be adjusted to taste more peachy

300 ml whipping cream

1 tsp of sugar

peach food color paste

Whip the cream with the sugar and coloring until it’s fluffy and can hold its shape. Place the first cake on a serving plate and layer the peach curd on it. Then layer about half of the whipped cream before topping with the second layer of cake and putting the rest of the whipped cream on top! Decorate with sprinkles or anything else.

I should have added peaches into the cake or the whipped cream to make it peachier or I should have added bubbly to the whipped cream? There are a few ways I could adjust this to get the results I set out to get.

notes: I made this cake for my Clandestine Cake Club meeting. We had a great time as a very classy cocktail bar! 

Five on Friday: My five favorite Childhood Cartoons

You are only as old as you feel.

My literal self says that is stupid. You are as old as you are and that’s that.

However the very small part of me that isn’t literal says well, sometimes I feel pretty damn old and there are times when I feel young.

Those times are when I am making my girls watch cartoons that I want to watch over ones they want to watch. I can be a real hard ass.

Just kidding I’m mostly a push over. I record the ones I want to watch and watch them when no one is around so people can’t judge me.

But for this weeks Five on Friday I wanted to revisit the cartoons my sister and I watched every day after school with our afternoon snack.

Tiny Toon Adventures

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Animaniacs

Beetlejuice

Eek the Cat

notes: Pictures are from Wikipedia

The Lazy Loaf {Pesto & Sundried Tomato}

Today I didn't feel like doing anything.

So, I did something. I made bread.

When making bread it’s kind of like doing nothing. You mix stuff together and let it rise. You can't go too far because you have to be around to knock it back before shaping it and letting it have a second rise. Then it's just a matter of baking it.

There is just time in between those stages. In that time you can get a lot of nothing done. 

Like reading a book. I finished reading The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult while making this bread.

Which is fitting because there is a lot of bread making in the book. Definitely worth a read for bakers, historians, and mystery type readers.

The thing about bread is that it’s not really hard to make. Putting the few ingredients together isn't complicated at all.

However there are so many ways it could go wrong. If the water temperature is too hot or two cold it will not rise properly. If you over or under knead it affects the tightness of the dough.

I don’t bake bread often enough to have it down where I know when to stop kneading or what the exact temperature feels like. I think that comes with experience and with experience comes you gain the knowledge one needs to create the perfect loaf of bread.

Don’t get me wrong I get by, for instance this loaf has turned out great! It has a crust, with a soft (small) holey middle. With the added pesto and sundried tomatoes it’s a real winner!

It’s so good I just ate a slice all on it’s own. No butter or anything! That’s when you know it’s good bread.

Try it out for yourself!

Pesto & Sundried Tomato Loaf

500g Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Very Strong Canadian White Bread Flour             

7g sachet fast-action dried yeast

2 tsp salt

2 tbsp basil pesto

300ml tepid water

5 sundried tomatoes, chopped

a little oil from sundried tomatoes

pinch of sea salt

In a large bowl mix the flour, yeast, and salt before adding the pesto. Very gradually add the water, while gently bringing the dough together with your hand. If the dough is soft and brought together before all the water is used, just leave the extra water. If it’s not needed don’t use it. Knead for about 10 minutes by hand or for about 7 in a mixer on low speed. It shouldn’t look bumpy, instead it should look smooth and bouncy. Bring the dough together in a ball and place in an oiled bowl. Let rise in a warm place for about an hour or until it’s doubled in size.

Grease a 2lb loaf tin with oil before knocking the risen dough back (knead the air out), gently flatten the dough out and scatter the chopped tomatoes over the top. Shape it into a sausage like loaf and place in the loaf tin. Leave again for about an hour or more in a warm place until it doubles in size.

When it’s doubled heat the oven to 220C and brush a bit of the dried tomato oil on top and sprinkle a pinch of salt on top of the loaf. Bake for 30-35 minutes until when you “knock” on the bottom of the loaf it sounds hollow.

 notes: In association with Sainsbury’s; they have a wide range of self-branded flours and for this recipe I used the Taste the Difference Very Strong Canadian White Bread Flour as mentioned above. They also have a nice range of bread mixes, which I tried and some how burnt? It's because I was trying to be clever. Check my instagram! Recipe is adapted from Bakes & Cakes magazine Summer 2014 edition. 

White Peach Curd

Another weekend another Monday.

It’s weird how we wish our weeks away for the weekend. As a mostly stay at home parent weekends have become just another day.

I say mostly because I have recently picked up a very flexible part time job at a lovely manor house near to where I live. It suits my life with two little ones and stuff.

This weekend I went a bit baking mad. I made a cake for coffee this morning and I made a cake for my Clandestine Cake Club tonight.

This post is for neither of those cakes!! Don’t worry they will both be up either this week or next!

This post is about a fun component of one of those cakes!

Peach Curd.

I know. I was a bit skeptical myself. Peaches in the UK have little to no flavor, unlike the peaches in the USA. I had a lot of peaches when I was visiting this summer.

So, I gave it a go and it turned out okay. I did wish it had a bit more of a peachy taste, but it suited my cake perfectly!

So, if you want it for cake or just because peach curd sounds awesome and would taste great on scones here is how I made it!

White Peach Curd

1 ½ fresh white peaches, pitted and quartered

400g granulated sugar

1 egg

2 egg yolks

½ lemon, juiced

85g unsalted butter

Sterilize a couple of jars by washing in the dishwasher and drying out in the oven.

Puree the peaches until smooth - I used my hand blender. Add the sugar, egg, egg yolks, and lemon juice to the peach puree and whisk together until combined. Melt the butter in a heatproof bowl over a simmering pot of water. Once melted add the peach puree mixture and whisk constantly for about 5-10 minutes until the curd has thickened and can coat a wooden spoon without dripping.
Pore the peach curd into the sterilized jars (leave a little room at the top) and seal tightly. Run a knife around the edges to help remove air bubbles. Boil some water in a stock pan and place the jars of peach curd into them. Once it starts a rolling boil cover with the lid and leave for about 10 minutes. Carefully remove the jars from the pot and place on a wooden cutting board and let the jars cool completely. Once cool to the touch place in the fridge.

notes: Recipe is slightly adapted from allrecipes.com. Am I the only person in the world that didn't know that Peaches by The Presidents of the United States of America was about women private areas? I literally just found out. I am so naive!