scones & clotted cream

I recently had my first attempt at making clotted cream. It was much easier and way more successful than I ever thought it would be. There are several methods other people have written about online including slow cooking in the oven and using a slow cooker. A great place to read about all these ideas is over at The Culinary Life. I opted to heat the cream in a large bowl over a barely simmering pan of water for around an hour similar to this method from James Cooper.

Anyway, if you're going to have clotted cream in the house you HAVE to have scones to go with it. I've tried out many different recipes over time and this one has given me the lightest results so far. Serve them warm from the oven with a good raspberry or strawberry jam and a generous dollop of clotted cream. (By the way, if you want to be true to the Cornish origins of clotted cream it should be ON TOP of the jam. Apparently Devon folk put it under the cream because they're ashamed of it - that's what my Cornish husband says anyway!)

Ingredients Makes 8-10
350g plain/all purpose flour

5 tsp baking powder
50g butter
50g lard

25g caster sugar

1 egg
100ml milk

1. Preheat the oven to 200C and line a baking tray with parchment paper. 
2. Sift together the flour and baking powder, then rub in the lard and butter using your finger tips. Be as light handed as you can. 
3. Beat the egg and mix with 50ml of milk. Add it to the flour and fat mixture and bring everything together so that you have a soft, sticky dough. Wetter is better for scones so don't be tempted to add extra flour. Your floured work surface should be enough to stop everything getting too sticky.
4. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and gently pat down to about 2 cm thickness. Cut out your scones using either a 5cm cutter or form a rectangular shape and cut your scones into smaller squares.
5. Transfer to the baking sheet, brush with any left over egg and milk mixture then bake in the oven for 10 - 15 minutes or until they are well risen and golden brown on top.
6. Allow to cool a little before serving and enjoy with clotted cream, jam and a proper cup of tea.

a classic toad in the hole

Sleepy weekends mean comfort food and this weekend it had to be toad in the hole. I recently discovered Sloane's sausages when I enjoyed a fantastic brunch at Chu here in Bangkok. A couple of weeks later I  happened to discover them for sale in the fancy supermarket near my apartment. If you are in Bangkok and you have the opportunity you really must go to Chu and also seek out Sloane's sausages. They are something special and rival the best 'artisanal' sausages you can get anywhere.

When you've got awesome sausages like these you need to make something to celebrate them and you don't get much more celebratory than toad in the hole. This is my version and it's super easy and very very tasty. We ate it with steamed broccoli and some of Sloane's glorious onion gravy. Yum!



Ingredients
5 or 6 cumberland sausages
125g plain (all purpose) flour
2 eggs
2 tbsp lard or dripping
150ml milk
150ml beer
salt & pepper

1. Place the flour in a large mixing bowl and make a well in the centre. Beat together the eggs and milk and pour into the flour little by little mixing thoroughly as you go making sure to get rid of any lumps. I did this with a hand whisk but by all means use an electric one if you've got one. 
2. Once the flour, milk and eggs are combined add the beer, salt and pepper. Mix everything together thoroughly, cover then leave to the side for about 30 minutes while you prep everything else or have a cup of tea.
3. Preheat your oven and roasting tin to 220C. While you're doing this thoroughly brown your sausages in a frying pan on your hob. Some people like to roast them in the oven but I prefer this way. 
4. Once you're ready to go, bring out your roasting pan from the oven add the lard or dripping. Put it back in the oven or heat on the hob (this will depend on your roasting pan/hob) until the fat is smoking hot.
5. Now, carefully add the fat from cooking the sausages, followed by the batter and then place the sausages. When you pour in the batter there should be an audible sizzling as it hits the fat. 
6. Put the pan back into the oven and roast for 35-45minutes or until the batter is risen, golden brown and cooked through. Don't be tempted to open the oven door while it's cooking though, it might stop the batter rising.
7. Serve with a good onion gravy, mashed potato and peas or broccoli. 

lime and ginger cake

Simple, delicious and very moist - this cake is a lovely treat to put together whenever you've got a little spare time and a sweet craving. It's inspired by the classic 'one-pot yogurt cake' and ciambella recipesand utilises the flavours I had in my kitchen.  There are endless variations for this recipe, it would make a great base cake for a citrus drizzle, or you could top it with a coconut frosting, a simple lemon and cream cheese topping or do as I did and add a layer of homemade lime curd.

Ingredients
1 cup milk soured with the juice of two limes
finely grated zest of two limes
1 cup vegetable oil (any other flavourless oil would work here too)
2 cups caster sugar
3 cups self-raising flour
OR
3 cups plain/all-purpose flour and 3 1/2 tsps baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 cup finely chopped, crystalised ginger
3 eggs

1. Preheat your oven to 180C and grease and line your cake tin.
2. Put all of the ingredients apart from the ginger into a large bowl and beat together with an electric or hand whisk until everything is smooth and thoroughly combined. 
3. Stir through the crystalised ginger then pour the whole mixture into your prepared cake tin.
4. Place in the oven and bake for around 1 hour or until it is golden brown on top and a skwere comes out clean when inserted. This may take up to 90 mins depending on your oven and tin size.
5. Leave to cool before topping or eat it just as it is.  

butter bean & potato mash

This is a great side dish and with the addition of the pureed butter beans you get a slightly more healthy version of regular mashed potatoes. I most recently made this to go with my blue cheese meatloaf.

Ingredients
400g can of butter beans, drained
approx 800g potatoes, peeled and chopped into chunks
salt and pepper to taste
1 clove of garlic (optional)
50g butter
splash of milk

1. Put your potatoes on to boil until soft and while they are cooking puree together the butter beans and clove of garlic in a food processor until smooth. Add a splash of water to help the process along if needed.
2. Once the potatoes are soft, drain then mash as usual using the butter and milk and give them a bit of a beating with a wooden spoon to help remove any lumps. 
3. Put the mashed potatoes over a gentle heat then stir in the pureed butter beans and garlic stirring to combine. Serve once the mixture is heated through. 

awesome macaroni cheese with pancetta & spinach

Just the thought of this dish makes me happy. Soft, cheesy and creamy sauce with salty, crispy bacon bits topped with crunchy breadcrumbs and the 'healthy' addition of the spinach. This is the ultimate comfort food for me and one of the first dishes I learnt to cook for myself, although in a simpler version. If you don't fancy bacon/pancetta or spinach leave it out, it will still be super awesome and delicious. Also feel free to change it up a bit adding roasted peppers, fried mushrooms, sweetcorn or green chillies. This is a great dish and everyone has their own signature version. Here is my current favourite.

Ingredients Serves 4 as a main dish or 6 - 8 as a side.

500g pasta shapes
300g strong cheese, grated (I used equal quantities of mature cheddar, gruyere and emmental)
200g fresh spinach
100g cubed pancetta or streaky bacon
500ml milk
100ml cream (optional)
50g butter
50g plain flour
pepper
nutmeg
approx 70g bread crumbs (I used fresh so had to toast them myself but skip this stage if you have shop bought breadcrumbs such as panko)



1. Preheat your oven to 200C fan.

2. Cook your pasta according to the instructions on the packet but drain it a minute or so before the end of the time. You don't want it to be over cooked at this stage. Leave it in the pan to one side.

3. If using fresh breadcrumbs toast them off in the oven, under the grill or in a cast iron skillet or frying pan on the hob.

4. In a wide frying pan crisp up your bacon or pancetta. When this is done set to one side to drain on kitchen paper and pour off the excess fat from the pan into a separate dish. (Please don't pour it down the drain - dispose of it properly).


5. Return the pan to the heat then add the spinach and wilt down. Squeeze out as much of the water as you can then scatter the spinach on the base of the oven proof dish.


6. Put a saucepan over a medium heat then add the butter and flour and stir together until the butter is completely melted and combined with the flour.

7. Now, little by little add in the milk stirring throughly after each addition to ensure it is completely combined and no lumps are forming. You hear about some people heating the milk separately, I never bother because it's just extra mess and my sauces always work out fine this way.

8. Once you have added all the milk grate in a little nutmeg and black pepper to taste and the cream if using then continue to heat the white sauce until it has thicken so that it coats the back of a spoon and the raw flour taste has gone. Turn off the heat then add 2/3 of the cheese and stir until it has melted in. Now stir through your crispy bacon bits.






9. It's now time to build up the final dish. Pour the cheese sauce over the pasta and stir until all the pasta is covered then transfer to the oven proof dish that has the spinach on the bottom.



10. Sprinkle over the remaining cheese followed by the breadcrumbs then place in the oven  for around 20 minutes or until it is golden brown on top and bubbling round the edges.