Norway Memories Skillingsboller.

I'm sat on a train and there's an unexplained alarm ringing. Is it a fire alarm? Might I die? I hope not because then I wouldn't be able to tell you about these fabulous friends of mine.

They're called Skillingsboller (as in shilling bun, as in in olden times they cost a shilling) and I came across them on my recent trip to Norway. I didn't eat one myself but I saw them looking loveerly in a bakery and a travelling companion ate one and just darn instructed me to make them. 

Well as I mentioned before, I'm a bit of a fan of baking requests/instructions, so home I went to switch on the oven.

This is the sort of recipe that looks complicated and effort-ful, but it is actually veryvery simple and requires very little energy. And the end result is sweet and squishy and warmly spiced. The perfect partner for a big mug of coffee and a 'wee sit doon' (oh good heavens, it's a good job I'm spending some time south of the border). With Love and Cake.

Norwegian Skillingsboller

adapted in a round about way from Nigella's How To Be a Domestic Goddess

A few notes:

• These are definitely best eaten on the day of making, after that a quick zap in the microwave helps them along a bit.
• I started off with 300g of flour but needed to add heaps more to make a viable dough, so I'd start with 350g and be ready to add more if needs be.
• Some recipes say to nestle the buns together and bake, so you have to tear off buns from a big sheet of them, others say spread them out...you do what ever you fancy but if you go for the spread out option they'll need 5 or 10 minutes less in the oven.

Makes around 10

You will need

a baking tray, lined

For the dough

350g plain flour

50g granulated sugar

3 tsp dried yeast

50g butter

200ml milk

1 egg

For the filling

75g soft butter

75g granulated sugar

1 heaped tsp cinnamon

• First things first, pop the butter and milk into a saucepan and heat gently until the butter has melted.
• This needs to be left to cool for a good 5 minutes, so meanwhile, weigh out the flour and sugar into a large mixing bowl.
• Now whisk the egg into the buttery milk and pour into the bowl with the flour.
• Time to get your hands in there and bring everything together to a soft dough, adding more flour if you need.
• Turn onto a floured surface and knead for 5 minutes.
• Pop the dough back in his bowl and leave somewhere cosy for an hour or until just about doubled in size.
• Meanwhile make the filling by mixing the butter, sugar and spice together.
• After the hour, turn the dough out onto a clean floured surface and roll to a rectange of about 40x25 cm.
• Spread over the cinnamony butter and roll up from one of the long ends like a swiss roll.
• Cut, with a nice sharp bread knife, every 2.5 cm and lay each bun, swirl side up/down onto the baking tray with a couple of cm gap between each one.
• Now leave them to rise back in the cosy place for another 15 minutes to half an hour while you preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
• When the buns have puffed up a bit, pop them in the oven for 20 minutes, until they look golden and beautiful.
• Cool for a bit but eat while still warm, as soon as possible, while pretending you're tucked up in a wood cabin next to a roaring to fire.

Peanut Butter Pancake Nirvana

I have made the perfect pancakes. There...I said it. After previously telling you that I would regale you with manymany variations on the pancake theme, really, there is no point. I have achieved pancake nirvana; perfectly fluffy peanut butter pancakes. That's peanut butter...IN A PANCAKE. *swoon*

I've made pb pancakes on a number of occasions and they've always been delish, but they had a slightly funny texture. They weren't quite as light and fluffy and spongy as my basic pancake recipe.

So on went my pancake thinking cap and in went an egg and self-raising flour and out went banana and oil and voila, pancake joy.

If you're a peanut butter and jam fan (which obviously you are because only the truly insane are not), then serving them with something a bit jammy provides whole new levels of wonderfulness. My favorite thing to do is to pop a handful of frozen blueberries in a saucepan, cover with maple syrup and let bubble on a medium heat for 5ish minutes. An easy-peasy and reassuringly healthy accompaniment.

In fact, there is very little that is unhealthy about this immense treat of a breakfast- apart from maybe the kilos of butter I spread on the pancakes before the syrup, but being happy is healthy right? And butter makes me happy. With Love and Cake.

Peanut Butter Pancakes

A few notes:

• I do all the mixing in a blender, less effort, less mess, and it mixes in the sticky peanut butter nicely, but you could quite happily use a good old fashioned bowl and whisk.
• Another favorite accompaniment is Nana's strawberry jam, but I just finished my last jar-eek.
• I'm not usually one for cup measures but just grabbing your favorite average sized mug to measure the flour is much easier than getting the scales out at breakfast hour.

Makes about 15 big ones

You will need

A non-stick frying pan

1 ¼ cup self-raising Flour

2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup milk

1 egg

2 heaped tbsp peanut butter

• Get your pan on a medium heat.
• Pop The dry ingredients in to the blender and give everything a pulse.
• Now blend in the milk and egg, followed by the p. butter.
• If you want a little help with non-stickness, grease your pan with a bit of butter.
• Now I pour heaped tables spoons of batter straight from the blender into the pan, it saves washing up an extra spoon. If you're less lazy than me you could do it old school and spoon the mixture in.
• Cook for a few minutes and when bubbles start to show on the up-facing surface, give the pancake a flip and cook for another few mins.
• Keep in a warm oven while you get on with the rest.

Make-Again Ginger Biscuits

An empty biscuit jar is a sadsad sight and ours had been lonely for far too long. Must rectify, thought I, before getting on with making some golden and chewy ginger biscuits. The thing is though, the last thing that had been in the biscuit jar, just a couple of weeks before, was ginger biscuits from the very same recipe I was using this time!

You might think that that is boring news and very much not worth the exclamation mark. But you would be wrong. You see, I veryvery rarely go back to a baking recipe so soon, especially when it comes to biscuits; such a versatile little treat.

It's a bit like my approach to books; there are just so many out there waiting to be read/baked that reading/baking the same thing twice is wasting time which could be spent making new literary/yummy discoveries.

So basically what I am saying is that these biscuits are good. Really good. Not in a fancy-pants way, just in a really rather tasty way. Perfect for a speedy (I'm a wimp) dunk in some lovely green tea. Go and make some now and you'll see. With Love and Cake.

Ginger Biscuits

(adapted from Jane Brocket's Cherry Cake and Ginger Beer)

A few notes:

• The first time I made these I think my oven must have been cooler because they didn't spread out so much and were thicker and spongier. So maybe go for nearer 160 degrees if that's how you like your bickies, or 180 if you like something a bit thinner.
• I put heaps of spice in my mixture because (gasp) my spices are a bit old. So if yours are new, rein it in a bit or the ginger might pop you head off.
• I find it simpler to make the dough in a food processor, just following the recipe order below. I know you don't have one though so I'll write it in the messy way.

Makes around 15

You will need

A large baking sheet, lined with baking paper

120g soft butter

120 g caster sugar

1 dessert spoon golden syrup

1 egg yolk

200g plain flour

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 heaped tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp cinnamon

a pinch ground nutmeg

• Preheat the oven to 170°.
• Now cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl with an electric whisk or a wooden spoon and a strong arm.
• Next beat in the golden syrup and egg yolk.
• Stir in the rest of the ingredients and work together with your hands until you have a firm dough.
• Break off smallish blobs of dough, roll into balls and press lightly onto the baking sheet, keeping a good gap between each one.
• Bake for 10-12 minutes until they have turned a slightly darker gold and transfer to a baking sheet to cool.
• Brew tea, dunk, mmmmm.

Strawberry Stuffed French Toast.

I kind of have a love/hate relationship with French Toast. You see I love breakfast. I love it the most when you have time to make it delicious and special and I lovelovelove that lots of treat breakfast food is verging on dessert.

So I like the ideeea of French Toast, but whenever I actually have it (which is not often, given the hate part of my feelings) I've always regretted the fact that I had it instead of pancakes or pastries of plain old buttery toast. It's the chewy, eggy layer on the surface of the bread that ruins it for me; far too big a nod to the eggy bread we used to have for tea after primary school which I HATED.

But I want to like it. I want to love it. I want to add it to my treat breakfast repertoire. I want to think, when I've got left over stale bread to use up, "I know, I'll make French Toast, yum". 

So here's what I did to persuade myself that French Toast and I are a match made in heaven; Strawberry Stuffed French Toast. It was indeed very yummy, almost cheesecake crossed with bread and butter pudding. Saying that makes me feel stooopid for still lamenting the lack of pancake involvement in this breakfast...cheesecake and bread and butter pudding...how can that be lamented??

But I did enjoy it and would make it again and if you're not one of those for whom the words eggy bread are wrinkled-up-nose-inducing you will LOVE it. It is rather filling so perfect for brunch on days that you know you'll have a late dinner or need lots of carbs and cals to see you through. I hope you do like it, I'll continue to persevere. With Love and Cake.

Strawberry Stuffed French Toast.

A few notes:

• I think it might help alleviate the chewy eggy layer problem to soak the bread in the egg for a good few minutes each side. I only left mine in for a quick moment.
• Bread that is not fresh but not too stale is best for this. Too dry and it will crack and you'll lose lots of filling, too fresh and it won't soak up all the eggyness.
• I served my French Toast with a sort of strawberry compote. I basically defrosted some berries and bubbled them on the hob with a drop of honey and almond essence for a few minutes. I would wholeheartedly recommend you do too.

Serves one

You will need

A frying pan

Bread

1 tbsp mascarpone or cream cheese

2 tsp of strawberry jam

a few fresh strawberries, chopped

1 egg

a splosh of milk

a few drops of almond essence

a knob of butter

• First slice a thickthickthick slice of bread. Make it as thick as at least two normal sized slices.
• Now slice halfway through the middle, making a pocket.
• Next job, mix together the mascarpone or cream cheese, jam and fresh berries and carefully spoon it into the bread pocket.
• Beat the egg with the milk and almond essence in a wide dish and soak the bread in the mixture for a few minutes each side while the frying pan is heating up.
• Melt a generous spot of butter in the pan and pop in the bread, leaving to cook on a medium heat for 4ish minutes on each side, keeping and eye on it. It's done when it's beautifully bronzed.
• Serve cut in half, topped with strawberry compote or maybe more fresh strawberries and sprinkled with heaps and heaps of icing sugar.

The Secret of Scones.

Oh Hi....I was just about to write a sentence along the line of "I really have been slacking on the scone eating front this summer, I must be a terrible English person", and then I had a quick think and actually, I've had plenty of scone encounters. Phewf, I won't be taken in by the English-ness Police. The Health Police maybe, but not those patrolling the English summer ensuring Pimm's o clock is recognised (done), rain is suffered through (done) and croquet is played (not so much).

I get the impression that people think scones are scary to make, our mother is most definitely one of them, but  these fluffy little chaps really are an easy-peasy, super-quick summer solution to times when you're required to 'bring-a-dish' but only have half an hour. What could be more lovely than turning up at a summer 'do' with a tin of scones, cream and jam (homemade if you want to reach new heights of smug-ness).

The key to achieving the perfect light and airy, tall and towering scone with no hassle is to learn the rules and to follow them. Simple. Even simpler, there's really only one rule...the dough is a party pooper. It doesn't like you to play with it, all it wants is to be warm and cosy in the oven as soon as possible with no pushing and shoving or pressing and squashing.

What that means is 1. Using a food processor is the easiest and most effective way to make the dough, 2. Don't use a rolling pin, just press down lightly with your hands and 3. You're cutter must be sharp so if you haven't got a suitable one use a knife, not a mug.

So there you go, the secret of the perfect scone. And it's simple. And oh so delish. AAAnd justifies the consumption of heart attack inducing amounts of clotted cream.YESSS. With Love and Cake

Scones

adapted from Delia's Complete Cookery Guide

A few notes:

• Delia says the MOST important thing for ensuring your scones rise is to not roll the dough out too thin. No less than 2cm she says, and who am I to argue, it's Delia.
• I used a knife to cut my scones. If you need to do this too, you can either press the dough out into a circle and cut triangles like you're slicing a cake (which seems to be quite an American thing to do but I'm not keen because it doesn't make for very even cooking) or make a big square and cut littler squares out of it (which is what I did for these chaps).
• I do pretty much the whole recipe in the food processor, just tipping the dough out for cutting when it's all come together, but I'll write it so you don't have to.
• On this occasion I'd had jam with breakfast so wanted to get creative and have something a bit different when it came to scones, hence the half jam half lemon curd situation. I decided it was a mistake, of course jam is best.
• Alwaysalwaysalways scone then cream then jam. Don't listen to anyone who says different. They. Are. Wrong.

Makes about 12

You will need

a greased or lined baking sheet

225g self raising flour

40g soft butter

1 1/2 tbsp caster sugar

150ml milk

• Preheat the oven to 220°c.
• Sift the flour into a bowl and rub in the butter as quickly as possible.
• Stir through the sugar.
• Next mix in the milk, a bit at a time, with a metal spoon or knife.
• Now with floury hands, bring the dough together, without squishing or squashing it too much, and turn it onto a lightly floured surface.
• With as little pressure as possible, press the dough to a thickness of no less than 2cm and cut out in your chosen fashion. 
• Make sure the oven is up to temperature before popping the scones in for 10-15 minutes, until golden and risen.
• Pile high with cream. Leave guilt at the front door.

Long Awaited Strawberry Cake.

I did it! I went strawberry picking. Fiiinally, after several dampened (literally) attempts and too many weekends filled with work and such nonsense, Saturday and sun and free-time coincided and along I bounded to a pick-your-own (I think in your current country of habitation they're referred to as U-picks, but don't forget your roots). 

I'd never been to Cairnie Fruit Farm before which, it turns out, is rather foolish of me, because it is verging on being heaven for both me and Mr Love and Cake. For me it's the fruit; raspberries strawberries, cherries, gooseberries and even PYO pumpkins in October. For him it's all about the diggers and tractors and bouncy things he could have jumped on if he wasn't 23. Boys! *shakes head and roles eyes*

I was on a Strawberry mission though and after a nice little chat with the Eastern European steward man (stereotype much!), we followed his advice and bypassed all the families gathered around the giant but tasteless fruit in the first few tunnels and went around the corner to the deserted rows of teeny, shiny and oh so delicious berries. 

whywhywWHY were they being ignored? They were little bursts of strawberry joy-like strawberry sweets, the ones that you eat and think...when has a strawberry ever tasted like this. NOW is the answer. So with a basket full of the red jewels I trotted on home (via the beach and a friend's garden where the strawbs were popped into some Pimms...yeSSS) to deal with my spoils.

First stop Strawberry Cake, and what a cake! It's so much more than the sum of its parts and a real treat for breakfast or brunch. Cake in the morning is fine right? As long as there's fruit involved? After much deliberation the rest of the strawbs are hibernating in the freezer, ready and waiting to cheer me up on days when it's only light for 3 hours and the rain makes my hair frizz. With Love and Cake.

Strawberry Sponge

by smitten kitchen

A few notes:

• I used vanilla extract to flavor the cake and the mascarpone that I served with it, but I'm super keen to try it with Almond Extract next time for more of a marzipany vibe. Let me know if you have a go at it this way and what it's like.
• The strawbs on the top of my cake went all jammy and delicious, which was definitely helped by the fabulousness of the raw berries. If yours are less' write home' worthy, maybe halve them and let them sit in some sugar or honey for half an hour before you add them to the mixture.  

Makes a 23cm cake

You will need

a 23cm cake tin

85g butter

200g granulated sugar plus extra for sprinkling

1 egg

118ml milk

a splosh on vanilla or almond extract

188g plain flour

1.5 tsp baking powder

a nice big handful of strawberries, any big ones cut in half

• Heavily grease the cake tin and preheat the oven to 180°.
• In a large bowl beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
• Beat in the egg, and then stir in the milk and vanilla quite gently.
• Next fold in the flour and baking powder until just combined and pour into the tin.
• Now arrange the strawberries cut side down on top of the batter, as neatly or as ramshackle as you desire.
• Sprinkle over lots of sugar for a wonderfully crunchy crust and pop in the oven for 10 minutes.
• Then turn the temperature down to 160° and cook for another 50 to 60 minutes.
• Serve with sweetened mascarpone or creme fraiche. Yum.

Tea and Cake Cake.

It's your birthday...Woooohooooo. Now I know you're not a giant birthday fan like me, particularly when it comes to your own, so I imagine you're pretty glad about the enormous distance between us right now. But birthdays are for celebrating, for singing and parties and presents and glitter, and although I can't shower you with such joy(for me)/embarrassment(for you) in person, I can do the bloggy version. HA.

They're meant to be balloons...obviously. 

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Biiiirthday dear Hannaaaah

Happy Birthday to you.

Here is my tribute to your love of tea and my love of birthdays and our mutual love of cake. An Earl-Grey Cake. I've gone off piste here a bit and sort of invented this concoction myself...not a problem when tea-time (as in dinner) cooking is involved, but a potential mine-field in the case of proper baking. So Horrah...it worked.

I actually wrote the words for the post before I had made the cake, so am rather pleased that it turned out well. Not quite sure what I would have done otherwise. 

Anyway, make sure you find someone friendly to make it for you and load it with candles and then clap as you blow them out and make a wish.

Have a fabulous day. Eat, drink and be merry. With Love and Cake.

Earl-Grey Cake

A few notes:

• You'll just have to trust me on the courgette situation. I'll go into detail about the genius of vegetable cakes another time.
• Don't look at the pictures too closely. My icing curdled a little bit you see, due to too much beating and then the addition of too much tea I think. That's also why it's a bit runny and is making its way down the side of the cake. It's ok though, I made the mistake so you don't have to.
• I only have two 18cm pans so I'm a tad naughty and make up all the cake batter, cook two thirds in the two that I have and then cook the final third when they're done. Not advisable but necessary.
• I find the easiest thing to do with a recipe like this is to weigh everything out first and then it comes together and can get in the oven nice and quickly. Grated courgette doesn't like to sit around for too long.

Makes a towering 18cm cake

You will need

3x18cm round cake tins

For the cake

4 eggs

200g caster sugar

400g courgette, finely grated

5 Earl-Grey tea bags

220g plain flour

140g ground almonds

3 headed teaspoons baking powder

For the filling and icing sugar

1/2 jar of your fav jam

50g soft butter

50g mascarpone

200g icing sugar

3 tbsp stronglystrongly brewed Earl-Grey tea

• Grease the tins and line the bases with grease-proof paper. Preheat the oven to 180°.
• Whisk the eggs and sugar for around 5 minutes, until voluminous and light. 
• Fold in the courgette then empty the contents of the tea bags into the mixture (sounds weird..tastes delish).
• Fold in the flour, almonds and baking powder.
• Now divide the mixture evenly between the tins and bake for around 30 minutes, though check after 20 in case they need moving around the oven for even cooking.
• When the cakes are done, remove from the tin and leave to cool completely.
• Meanwhile make the icing. Beat the butter and mascarpone until they come together and increase in volume a bit.
• Next stir in the icing sugar and tea and work together until a light coloured paste is formed.
• To assemble the cake, choose the flattest sponge and leave that as the top one.
• Lay one of the other sponges on a plate and spread over half the jam.
• Pop another sponge on top followed by the rest of the jam and then by the fanciest sponge.
• Spoon the icing on the top and spread over evenly. Decorate if you fancy and serve with tea.

Homemade Lemonade

Hiiyaa, so it seems I'm on a bit of a lemon kick. I think it must be because it feels like we've had all that Scotland has to offer in terms of summer this year. I'm pretty sure we've averaged two nice days a month and that we've had all we'll get for this month...it must now be time to don woolly socks, close the curtains early and despair that the washing will never get dry. 

I therefore feel compelled, given that it is still only really August, to fill our little flat with as many summer vibes as possible. Enough to drown out the pitter-patter of rain against the windows. And so what could be more appropriate to bring that summer feeling than sunshine coloured, sharply-sweet homemade lemonade.

This was one of July's two sunny days, or was it in my sunny daydream?

I have no idea how the clear, fizzy stuff that has never seen a lemon in its life relates to this still and traditional version. I would never choose to drink the fizzy stuff, except with Pimms of course, but give me the real deal, that almost induces a wince with its sharpness quickly followed by the reassuring presence of sugar and I can feel the sun on my face, even in Fife, on a rainy day. 

If you've never tried it homemade before...as in proper homemade, not from a bottle that is labelled homemade, I say have a gogogo at knocking up a batch. It's not time consuming and it will make you feel all Enid Blyton. With Love and Cake. 

Homemade Lemonade

From Delia's Summer Collection.

A few notes:

• You must use unwaxed lemons, otherwise you'll pretty much be making wax-ade, yuck.
• When removing the peel, try to only take the yellow part. The white part will add bitterness.
• This looks boootiful in lovely swing top bottles, but fear not, plain old plastic ones will do just fine too.

Makes just under 2 litres

You will need

a non-metal bowl

bottles

6 lemons

150ml granulated sugar

1.5 l water

• First give the lemons a really good wash and scrub.
• Next, use a potato peeler to remove the yellow layer of peel and pop in your bowl.
• Squeeze all the lemons and pour the juice onto the peel followed by the sugar.
• Next boil the water, pour on top of all the lovely lemonyness and give everything a good stir.
• Cover with a tea towel and leave aside in a cool place overnight.
• Next morning have a taste. If it's too sharp for you add a bit more sugar.
• You can strain it at this point if you fancy but I like the bits left in.
• Transfer to your bottle, chill and enjoy with lots of ice and topped up with a splash of fizzy water if you'd like. Soak up the sun. 

A Late Lemony Birthday Cake.

Hellooo there,

So have you morphed into Carrie Bradshaw? Are you eating lots of Pancakes? Have you taken a picture of the Statue of Liberty? Hope so.

I’m afraid I’m feeling a bit like a bad sort of friend at the minute. You see we took a little trip away and properly lived the Riviera life-style; no phones, no computers, playing Monopoly by candle-light. It was the sort of holiday which meant the knotty muscles in your back melted away in just one balmy night, and you don’t think of one single to-do list, which is big news for a nut like me...but I’ll go into details about that another time.

The thing about being in a different country and not knowing the time or date or day is that when far away friends’ birthdays are around the corner, you remember that it’s their birthday on the day, then you get back and realise that that day was wrong and you just text your friend on their birthday without even mentioning it to them. 

This feels mean and makes me sad because birthdays are the BEST, second only to Christmas and also, I love post and missing out on receiving birthday post is a terrible notion. I therefore must make up for it with cake and late birthday love and hope that they forgive me. With Love and Cake.

Lemon Curd Cake

From Avoca Tea Time

A few notes:

·         If I made this again, I’d double the quantities for the butter icing and use it both on top and in the middle of the cake. The whipped cream adds a nice fluffy texture but the subtle taste is a bit lost amongst all the zingy-ness.

·         To cut the cake into two layers, cut through with a bread knife and then use the knife and another similar implement to criss-cross over each other in the middle of the cake. That way, the top layer that is lifted off is supported all over.

Makes a nice big cake

You will need

For the cake

A 23cm cake tin

225g soft butter

225g caster sugar

4 eggs

225g self-raising flour

1 lemon

1 tsp baking powder

For the middle

A medium carton of double cream

A jar of lemon curd

For the butter icing

50g soft butter

100g icing sugar

 Zest of 1 lemon

·         Preheat the oven to 170°.

·         Grease and line your cake tin. I know it’s a hassle, but you’ll regret not doing it.

·         Starting with the cake, cream the butter and sugar together until creamy and light and then gradually beat if the eggs.

·         Gently fold in the flour and baking powder, followed by the zest of the lemon and the juice of half.

·         Spoon into the tin and bake, low down in the oven, for around 55 minutes, though check what it looks like after 45. It should just be turning golden and be firm in them middle.

·         Once cooked leave to cool for a bit then turn out the tin and leave to cool completely. Icing a warm cake is a bad plan.

·         Meanwhile, whip the cream and put together the butter cream by beating the butter until it increases in volume and takes on a lighter colour.

·         Beat in the icing sugar, the zest of the new lemon and the juice of the half left over from the cake mixture. It’ll look impossible at first but you’ll get there.

·         Now it’s ready to assemble. Cut the cake in half horizontally and pop the top half on the dish that you’re serving the cake from. The top becomes the bottom you see.

·         Spread this half with whipped cream and top with ¾ of the jar of lemon curd.

·         Now nestle the second half of the cake on top, with the base facing upwards. This way you get a nice even surface.

·         Spread the butter icing on top of the cake and drizzle with the rest of the lemon curd.

·         Sing happy birthday and make a wish.