Baking Simple Scones at home is easy and very rewarding. Homemade scones are always a winner whatever time of year. But particularly pleasing enjoyed in front of the fire when the weather is disappointing.
Cheese, Bacon, and Red Onion Muffins are great served as finger food or taken on a picnic. In fact, they are great all year round and are one of my regular contributions to village social events.
Muffins are easy to make, and once you have mastered the basics there is a wealth of ingredients that can be added, both sweet and savoury. Let me take you through the process, and lets get baking!
These French Apple Tarts are a real celebration of apples. When discussing fruit tarts, the British focus is as much on the pastry as the filling. The French aspect is all on the filling with the pastry been a necessary adjunct. That’s not to say that the pastry can be of poor quality, but its there to showcase the main product.
For these tarts we are using two distinct types of apples. Bramley apple for full on flavour, backed up with a dash of good cider. Green apples, Granny Smiths of French Golden delicious provide texture and a hint of freshness to the tarts. These tarts can be made the night before and stored in the fridge. The trick is to glaze and seal the apple with melted butter and lemon to stop the apple discolouring.
The first job is to make the apple puree. This needs to be cold before use so its an ideal job to do the night before you intend to make the tarts.
Peel and core the apples then cut into thin slices. Put the slices into a shallow pan with the butter then place the pan over a low to medium heat. Sprinkle the apples with the sugar, cider, and lemon juice, then pop on a lid.
Cook slowly, removing the lid and stirring from time to time. Once the apples have softened and become a puree remove the lid and cook for a further three or four minutes to dry the puree a little. Have a taste and add a dash of sugar if you think the puree needs it, but don’t let it become too sweet Scrape the puree into a clean bowl and let cool completely.
Find yourself a small plate approximately 12cm in diameter. Next cut some squares of baking paper just a little larger than the size of the plates.
Open the puff pastry and carefully unroll onto a chopping board. Place the plate onto one edge, then using the point of small knife cut around the plate for form a disk of pastry. Use a fish slice to lift the disc into a square of baking paper, then place a second square on top. Its important not to crush the edge of the pastry, or the cooked tart will rise unevenly.
Repeat this process, laying each disk on top of the first with a sheet of paper in between. Lift the stack onto the plate then refrigerate for ½- 1 hour.
Before you start, melt the 30g of butter in a small dish and work in 2tsps of lemon juice, keep that handy to glaze the finished tarts.
Cut a granny Smiths apple in half from the stem downwards, then cut out the core. Then take a slice off one side and starting at the side you have just cut slice the apple into 2mm thin slices. You can do this with a knife or use a vegetable mandolin as you wish. Only cut one or two apples at a time, or they will discolour before you can use them.
Take a disk of pastry, keeping the paper base in place and set in onto the chopping board. Set a mound of apple puree into the centre of the disk.
Lay a slice of apple on the pastry, sitting with one end on the puree and the other end about 6mm in from the edge of the pastry. Add a second slice, overlapping the first by approximately a third and keeping in from the edge. When you have completed the circle, tuck the last slice under the first take a small knife and gently score a grove into the pastry around the circle of apples. This will allow the pastry to rise up around the apples and form a rim. Brush the tart all over with the melted butter / lemon mix. Then transfer the tart onto a tray, and place in the fridge while you work on the next one.
To make the cider syrup simply pour the cider into a small pan and add the caster sugar. Bring the pan to the simmer and simmer gently until most of the cider has evaporated and you have a thick, but still runny syrup. Watch out as the syrup will thicken as it cools, a dash of hot water will thin it slightly if needed.
If you are going to cook the tarts at once straight away sprinkle heavily with icing sugar and place in a hot oven 180° for 35 minutes, then remove and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar or until the pastry is crisp and golden brown and nice the apples have a nice colour. Whilst the tarts are cooking, put the mascarpone in a bowl and beat through the vanilla seeds.
Place the cooked tarts onto a serving plate and place a good scoop of vanilla ice cream, topped with chopped pistachios. Finish the place with a thread of cider syrup around the tart and a sprinkling of icing sugar laced with a pinch of ground cinnamon.
I have kept the finished tarts in the fridge for a couple of days without problem. The butter and lemon juice glaze on the apples prevents them from discolouring. You can also freeze the finished raw tarts, and even bake them directly from frozen. You need to be sure they are covered and don’t get damaged in the freezer though. If cooking from frozen allow about an extra 10 minutes cooking.
Enjoy Life!
John.
Hi, my name is John Webber, award winning chef and tutor, now retired to the west coast of Scotland. Welcome to our blog focusing on food, cooking, and countryside. My aim is to pass on my years of skills and knowledge together with an appreciation of the countryside.
Join us to experience the beauty of the west coast, cook some great food and be at ease in the kitchen.
Join The ‘Westcoaster Newsletter.
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© Copywrite, John Webber. 2024
How To Be A Shortbread Expert. There are thousands of recipes for shortbread, and an equal number of opinions as to the ingredients, methods, and baking. I suppose really you could think of shortbread as posh pastry, uplifted to celebrity status.
Why Not Make Your Own Easy Flatbreads at home? It’s much easier than you think, and makes an impressive addition served with snacks and dips when entertaining
How to make Ricciarelli Biscuits, these Italian delicate almond cookies with a melt in the mouth centre are usually enjoyed during Christmas time in Tuscany. Try them out as an alternative to or in addition to mince pies when entertaining guest over the holiday. And note to self, remember to try our Luxury Cranberry and Whisky Mince Pies.
Ricciarelli Biscuits, also make great gifts, wrap them in cellophane bags and hand them out to friends for a very personal gift.
To get the best flavour we are going to make our own ground almonds. If this is a problem for you, shop bought ground almonds will work. Try and get the best quality you can to get the freshness. I avoid using shop bought almond essence as its closer to paraffin than almonds. You can buy a very good almond oil but its quite expensive, and may be hard to find.
Using a small food processor, grind the almonds down. This is best done in two batches to avoid the almonds becoming too warm with the friction created. If the almonds are overdone, oils will be released from the nuts and they will begin to form a paste, spoiling the mix.
Split the vanilla pod longways and using the back of a small knife scrape out the seeds.
Take a mixing bowl and add the vanilla with all the dry ingredients. Using a very fine grater remove the zest from the lemon and add to the bowl. Mix everything together and set aside.
Take the stainless-steel bowl and insure it is spotlessly clean. Any traces of fat on the bowl or the whisk will prevent the whites from aerating.
Separate the eggs allowing the white to fall into the bowl keeping the yolks separately for other uses. Add a pinch of salt to help the whites expand then whisk to stiff peaks.
When the whites are ready, tip them out onto the dry ingredients and fold the white into the mix to make a soft paste.
I like to leave the bowl to stand for about 10 minutes at this point to allow the mix to settle. paste.
Take a large flat plate and add a liberal amount of icing sugar. Using two dessert spoons scoop shapes of dough a little smaller than your thumb onto the sugar. Roll the shapes in the sugar, then transfer each one to a lined baking tray pressing the flat of your finger down to flatten the dough slightly.
Bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges are a light golden colour and the centres are just soft. Cool the biscuits on a wire then sieve icing sugar over the top.
When complete cooled store in an air-tight container where they should be fine for 3-4 days.
Enjoy Life!
John.
Hi, my name is John Webber, award winning chef and tutor, now retired to the west coast of Scotland. Welcome to our blog focusing on food, cooking, and countryside. My aim is to pass on my years of skills and knowledge together with an appreciation of the countryside.
Join us to experience the beauty of the west coast, cook some great food and be at ease in the kitchen.
Join The ‘Westcoaster Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter to receive regular updates of what’s new and upcoming at ‘The Westcoaster.’
©John Webber. 2023
These Chocolate Custard Cookies are so easy to make, which is a good job as they don’t last long when people start tucking in. They are great just served as a cookie adults and children both love them.
Baking your own Bread at home can be a puzzle, let us help you answer your questions. All you need to know to bake great bread at home is here.
These Buttermilk Bread Rolls will really impress your dinner party guests. They go well with most starters that don’t require crispy rolls served alongside.
These rolls are formed with leaves of dough layered with butter. In the oven the leaves swell and open out like a flower. Individual leaves can be torn off the roll and eaten as they are or can be spread with any savoury mousse or pateˊ.
No special equipment is needed, and as long as you can roll out a dough, you can make these rolls. Have a look at our Making Bread at Home pages in the food files to see how easy it is to make your own breads
I’m using fast action yeast here so we can make the dough by the straight dough method.
Mix the flour, bi-carb and salt together in a bowl. Fold in the dried yeast taking care it doesn’t get into direct contact with the salt.
Make a well in the flour the pour the buttermilk and honey into the well.
Don’t worry about the butter, we are going to that later.
Bring the dough together, tip it out onto the rolling mat and knead for five minutes. Clean out the bowl, rub it inside with a little vegetable oil then return the ball of dough to the bowl.
Proving the dough.
Cover the dough with cling film, and leave the dough in a draft free place until doubled in size.
Put the butter into a small pan and gently melt. We want the butter to be just liquid not separated out. Alternatively pop the butter into a small bowl and stand the bowl in warm water until melted.
Turn the dough out onto the mat once more and kneed three or four times.
There is no need to kneed this dough much. We want the dough to be light and airy.
Lightly flour the mat then roll out the dough. The aim is to create a rectangle of dough until approximately 6-8mm thick. If the doughs not behaving itself. Let it rest covered with a cloth for five minutes then gently pull the dough into shape with your fingers. You can finish the rolling with the pin.
Brush the surface of the dough liberally with the melted butter. Add the 30g of butter to the pan and use this to grease the baking tray.
Using a pizza wheel cut the dough into approximately 6cm wide strips and then cut these strips across giving approximately 9cm inch by 6cm rectangles. The dough should separate easily, but be carful not to cut into the rolling mat or your table.
Using a scotch scraper or pallet knife pick up a rectangle of dough and place it on the top of another. Pick up another rectangle and place it carefully on the stack. Keep going until you have a stack of rectangles five strips tail.
Keep repeating this until you have used all the dough and made ………
Lift one end of a stack with the tips of your fingers and crimp one of the narrow sides of the dough together. Lift the stack and set into the Muffin tray with the crimped end down at the bottom of the depression.
It is essential during this operation to take great care not to seal the sides or top of the rolls the individual leaves of dough should open up during the second proving and crispen up during baking to produce a light roll in which the individual leaves may be broken off.
Leave the tray to stand in a draft free place until the rolls have roughly doubled in size. And the leaves of dough are starting to separate.
Bake the rolls in the tray in a 200˚c oven for 10-l5 minutes. The leaves of the dough should open up and take on a golden-brown colour.
When ready remove the tray from the oven and let the rolls cool in the tray for 10 minutes before attempting to remove them.
Serve warm with plenty of unsalted butter.
You need small terracotta flower pots which need to be sealed in the oven.
Wash the pots and dry them in a low oven. Increase the heat of the oven to 180˚c then brush the inside of the pots with vegetable oil. Return the pots to the oven and bake for an hour brushing the inside of the pots with move oil every 15 minutes.
When done remove them from the oven and let cool, the pots can now be used repeatedly just with a light greasing before filling. Don’t wash the pots after use, just wipe out with a damp cloth.
Yes if butter milk is unobtainable try using 550ml of plain yoghurt with 50ml of milk whisked in.
If you want to give the rolls a more savoury aroma add a bruised clove of garlic and some thyme or rosemary to the butter as it melts. You can also sprinkle chopped herbs between the layers of dough as you from the rolls. Keep the herbs towards the bottom of the rolls where they are less likely to burn in the oven.
Enjoy Life!
John.
Hi, my name is John Webber, award winning chef and tutor, now retired to the west coast of Scotland. Welcome to our blog focusing on food, cooking, and countryside. My aim is to pass on my years of skills and knowledge together with an appreciation of the countryside.
Join us to experience the beauty of the west coast, cook some great food and be at ease in the kitchen.
If you enjoyed your visit with us, please subscribe up to our newsletter to receive regular updates of what’s new and upcoming at The Westcoaster. Subscribe Here
©John Webber. 2023
This Easy Spiced Carrot and Walnut Cake is one of my favourite cakes. Great for making in advance as the flavour develops over a couple of days. The cake also becomes moister as the sugar in the cake absorbs moisture from the air. I sometimes make two at once and freeze one for later use.
These Chocolate Brownies never fail to please and rarely are there any leftovers. They are easy to make for a great dessert. Or afternoon treat.
This Beautifully light Helston Pudding originates from the village of Helston in Cornwall. And is credited to George Perry-Smith, a pioneer of British cooking in the 60s. It’s easy to make comfort food which makes a light alternative to Christmas Pudding. I have put in a couple of minor changes to make it even more Christmassy, and served it with an orange brandy sauce.
If you are fed up with shop-bought puddings. Or have left it too late to make your own, this is a great substitute. For more great Christmas ideas, look up our:-
Classic Chestnut stuffing.
And our Cranberry and Whisky Mince Pies.
Chop the apricots down to the same size as the sultanas. Pop the apricots, sultanas and currants into a bowl and sprinkle with the Drambuie. Tightly cling film the bowl and leave to stand overnight.
Using the upturned pudding basil cut a circle of greaseproof paper at least 4cm large than the bowl all round. Rub some soft butter all around the inside of the pudding basin and on the paper lid.
Take the stem ginger and cut into very thin strips. Sprinkle the strips around the base of the basin, adding the golden syrup on top.
Sieve the flour into a mixing bowl then add the rice flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt, sugar, mixed spice, and breadcrumbs, mixing well together. Mix in the soaked fruit, and any remaining juices.
Grate the orange zest into the mix and add the suet and fold in. forming a well in the middle.
Start working milk to the dry mix, using enough to form a soft dropping consistency.
This can be judged by lifting the spatula and letting the mixture drop off. –
When the mix steadily drops off the spatula it abought right.
Should the mix sit hesitating on the spatula its too dry, add a little more milk. If it quickly flows off its too soft, add a little more breadcrumbs.
Once you are happy with the consistency spoon the mix into the prepared basin and tap the basil lightly on the worktop to remove any air pockets.
You may have noticed that the basin has a raised rim around the top. The purpose of this rim is to help us secure the lid to the bowl. If you’re using a plastic basin all you need to do is pop the greaseproof paper on the top, then snap on the lid. I always tightly cling film the whole think before cooking as insurance against the lid coming off.
This is a simple job, but cane be tricky the first time you try it. Read right though this before giving it a go. A spare pair of hands can make things much easier.
Place the buttered greaseproof on top of the bowl butter side down. Now this is the tricky bit. Set the cloth onto the top of the basin and take the string. Tie the cloth on to the basin by wrapping the string around the basin just below the raised rim of the basin. Wrap the string around twice then tie it off. The string needs to be reasonable tight but don’t overdo it or it will simply slide down the tapered sides of the bowl.
You will have the four corners of the cloth lying down on the table. Take hold of two opposing corners and bring them up over the bowl. Pull up against the bowl and knot the two corners together tightly. Doing this will force the string up against the raised rim of the basin tightening everything up. Repeat this with the two remaining corners, leaving you with a perfectly covered pudding with four rabbit ears.
If you have correctly completed this, well done. You should be able to lift the filled basin by the cloth ears with ease.
Steam for 1 ½ to 2 hours. If you don’t have a steamer or need to keep the hob as clear as possible a slow cooker does a great job. In theory it shouldn’t work, but today slow cookers are not that slow! Modern units run too hot be a true slow cooker. Which I think is because of food safety concerns. A bit of a nuisance if you want a nice slow cooked joint. But the upside is they can become a useful double boiler for slower-cooked foods.
When the pudding is almost ready its time to make the sauce (see below). The easiest and best way to keep the sauce hot ready to serve is to pour it into a warmed thermos flask. This works well as long as its not the one you keep your curry in! the best part is that it will allow you to do the washing up before you sit down for your meal.
Its best to have the pudding cooked ready for starting your meal. Its easy to keep the pudding warm ready to serve just turn down the heat to a bear simmer.
When ready to serve, remove the cloth (this can be washed and re-used) and paper lid. Run the point of a knife around the rim of the pudding pushing the sides in as you do so. Take a warm plate where the well of the plate is a little larger than the pudding. Invert the plate onto the basin then turn the pate and pudding over in one rapid movement. If the pudding has not dropped onto the plate give it a little shake to persuade the pudding to leave the bowl. Lift off the bowl and you’re ready to go.
Serve with orange brandy sauce, or clotted cream ice cream, or Both!
Pour the cream into a saucepan and pop onto a low heat. Separate the egg yolks into a bowl, keeping the whites for later meringues. Freeze the white if you’re not going to use then within a week or so. Have the second Pyrex bowl hand with the sieve sitting on top ready to receive the sauce.
Take a small whisk and beat the sugar into the yolks until they have become pale and creamy, (3-4 mins.) If you are using Drambuie reduce the sugar to 3tbps or the sauce will be too sweet
Pour the hot cream onto the yolks whisking as you pour. Return the mix to the pan and return the pan to a medium heat. Abandon the whisk and take a heatproof spatula to stir the pan. Keep the sauce moving all the time, using the flat bottom of the spatula to lift the sauce from the base of the pan.
Keep steadily cooking the sauce until it coats the back of a spoon. If you have a probe thermometer aim for a temperature of 82ºc. As soon as you think the sauce is ready pour it into the bowl through the sieve. Don’t hesitate. If the sauce become too hot it will separate like scrambled egg. If its not ready, just return it to the pan and cook it a little more. If you are looking at creamy scrambled egg a quick bash with a hand blender will smooth things out. The sauce will be a bit insipid, hopefully they will all be too drunk to notice………
Yes, you can cook the pudding in a saucepan. Make sure there is plenty of room around the pudding and very importantly on top. Place an old plate upturned in the bottom of the pan and set the pudding on the plate. This prevents the pudding been in direct contact with the hot metal of the pan. Pour boiling water into the pan halfway up the basin. Pop the lid onto the pan and cook on a low simmer. Checking the water level from time to time.
Tip An old kitchen trick is to put a few small pebbles into the pan around the pudding.
As the water simmers the pebbles make a noise in the pan. If the water becomes dangerously low, they stop moving and the noise stops. This gives you an audible warning of the pan boiling dry.
Easy– take some fresh white bread and remove the crusts. Bread the bread down into suitable pieces and pop them into a food processor. Chop for a couple of minutes and he-presto you have breadcrumbs.
TIP Look out for discounted bread in the shops and turn it into breadcrumbs. Fill zip seal plastic bags with the crumbs and freeze them. In that way you always have breadcrumbs for your puddings, bread sauce or stuffing’s.
And don’t forget to check out the essential 12 Tips for a Successful Christmas Dinner
Enjoy Life ! and have a great Christmas.
John.
Hi, my name is John Webber, award winning chef and tutor, now retired to the west coast of Scotland. Welcome to our blog focusing on food, cooking, and countryside. My aim is to pass on my years of skills and knowledge together with an appreciation of the countryside.
Join us to experience the beauty of the west coast, cook some great food and be at ease in the kitchen.
If you enjoyed your visit with us, please subscribe up to our newsletter to receive regular updates of what’s new and upcoming at The Westcoaster. Subscribe Here
©John Webber. 2023
Homemade Focaccia bread is a joy and very versatile. It’s sure to become a family favourite, and a great accompaniment to a BBQ or picnic.
Rich, and delicious, Walnut Bread is a perfect bread to serve with cheese at a casual lunch. Or as part of a dinner party meal. Savoury yet sweet it’s very moreish and is just as good lightly toasted and served with butter.