Simple English Scone

It must has been a much awaited update and finally it’s here! My apology for all the delay as it has been a roller coaster ride for me and hubby for the past few months. Anyhow, let’s bygone be bygone. Let’s be happy now and live every moment to the fullest.

For this time round, I am planning to bake the English scone which is different from the previous Cranberry Scone (American biscuit) that I made previously in terms of the following:

• Shape - the English scone is round while the  American biscuit is triangular.
• Texture - the English scone is denser while the American biscuit is lighter and fluffier especially when it is hot.

The English scone recipe is introduced to me by my dearest sister and the recipe is as shown below. In addition, my sister also introduced me to clotted cream which is a perfect match for scone. Clotted cream can be found easily in UK but not in Canada. After some search, I finally manage to get it from Pete's (our favourite grocery store in Halifax).

The scone turns out perfect in terms of taste but not the shape as I wasn’t able to shape it nicely with my hand. Anyhow, I have learnt the right way now by watching How_To_Make_English_Scone in YouTube. I would recommend anyone who wants to try this recipe to watch the video before trying it out. It will give you a better idea on what to expect. Oh ya, the clotted cream tastes good too. I find the uniqueness of the cream in the sense that it gives a nice blend to the scone without overpowering the taste of scone. For those of you who are unable to find the clotted cream, you can always eat it with butter. Enjoy!

Banana Cake

In the previous blog, I made some banana muffins and hubby suggested that we can make it in the form of banana cake (those just like back home). Today, I have decided to try it out and it turned out good. We just the same recipe as Awesome Banana Muffin with the exception of replacing half the all purpose flour with whole wheat flour. In addition, I have increased the baking time to 35 minutes. Do try it out and bake it in the shape that you would enjoy. Have fun!

Awesome Banana Muffin

It has been quite a while since I last posted any new recipes as we were away for summer holidays. Not to worry, we are back to our home sweet home and lovely kitchen. We will slowly catch up in our cooking and baking.

For a start, we have decided to bake some banana muffins and found the Awesome Banana Muffin from catcancook.com. The photo looks great and the recipe seems easy to follow.

The muffins turned out great and we truly savour every bite of it. It reminds us of our banana cake back home. Hubby suggested that next time we shall bake it as a rectangular cake rather than as muffins. That’s a brilliant idea. I shall try it the next time round.

Ingredients:

• 3 or 4 Large bananas, mashed (the more bananas the moister, so I used 4)
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 slightly beaten egg
• 1/3 cup melted margarine or butter
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup walnuts/chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:

1. Mix the mashed banana, sugar, egg and margarine together. Set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together baking soda, baking powder, salt and flour.
3. Mix wet and dry ingredients all together.
4. Pour into greased muffin tins, and bake in 350 degrees F oven for approximately 20 minutes.

The recipe yields about 12 large muffins. The muffins are soft and flavourful even after 3 days.

My New Baking Gadget – Scooper Dooper

I have always like to shop for new kitchen tools or baking gadget. While we were watching the Canadian Best Recipes Ever, the chef was using a scooper dooper all the time. It seems to be a super convenient tool. However, we were unable to find it in Halifax. Thankfully, I found it in Seattle University District last week. I stated using it and found it to be really useful especially in cutting my cookie dough and biscotti dough. For those bakers out there, this is definitely a good tool to have!

 

Cinnamon Raisin Scone

 

Finally, I have gotten back into my baking mood. I am inspired to bake some goodies for my sisters and nephews. I have been baking Chocolate Chip Cookie , Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti and Cranberry Scone for the past 2 days. However, as I am running out of cranberry, I have replaced the cranberry in the scone with 1/2 cup raisin and 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon. The texture and taste is just as great. Check it out!

Baking is so inspiring and my whole house is filled with the aroma of baking. Above all, baking for your loved ones made it even more fulfilling. Hope they will love it as much as I did baking for them.

Cinnamon Rolls

 

 

                   BEFORE                                                       AFTER

It has been a long long time since we last did any baking. Baking is not fun when you have no one to share the joy with. Hubby was down for few weeks after his dental surgery. It wasn’t a good experience and hope he will be fully recovered real soon.

I actually baked this cinnamon roll few weeks back when hubby was sick.  I had some and kept some in the freezer. The taste was good but the outlook could had been better. We decided to give the recipe another try this time but using a different method for folding and placing the dough on the tray. Make sure you roll out the dough till it is really thin and remember to place the rolls on the tray with minimum space in between the rolls. Most importantly, remember to press the dough down to compact it as you do not want your cinnamon roll to spiral upway in the center.

I found the Ninety Minute Cinnamon Rolls recipe from allrecipes.com. The recipe is definitely a keeper as it’s just the perfect recipe for a cinnamon roll. You just can’t get enough with one…….

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup margarine, softened
• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 egg
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup margarine, softened
• 1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Directions

1. Heat the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Mix in margarine; stir until melted. Let cool until lukewarm.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 1/4 cup flour, yeast, sugar and salt; mix well. Add water, egg and the milk mixture; beat well. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has just pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes.
3. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together brown sugar and cinnamon.
4. Roll out dough into a 12x9 inch rectangle. Spread dough with margarine and then the sugar mixture. Sprinkle with raisins if desired. Roll up dough and pinch seam to seal. Cut into 12 equal size rolls and place cut side up in 12 lightly greased muffin cups. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until browned. Remove from muffin cups to cool. Serve warm

We love the cinnamon roll much more than those outside as we know what is inside it. Despite those bought from bakery may be slightly tastier, the amount of sugar and butter is much much more. Trust me…you never know how much calories in one cinnamon roll out there until you start baking your own one!

Burger Bun

 

We bought some burger patties some time back and they are still sitting in the freezer. Hubby has always wanted to make our very own burger bun to go with it. We really enjoy DIY everything nowadays as it is healthier and tastier (may be not!). Last night, we made our own pork chop with Parsley-Garlic Chimichurri Sauce. It turns out very delicious.

I found this beautiful burger buns recipe from Beautiful Burger Bun. For the toppings, instead of using plain sesame seeds, I used a mixture of sesame seeds, poppy seeds and sunflower seeds.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 to 1 cup lukewarm water
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 large egg
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon instant yeast

Steps:

1. Mix and knead all of the dough ingredients—by hand, mixer, or bread machine—to make a soft, smooth dough.
2. Cover the dough, and let it rise for 1 hour, or until it's doubled in bulk.
3. Gently deflate the dough, and divide it into 6 pieces. Shape each piece into a round 1" thick (more or less); flatten to about 3" across. Place the buns on a lightly greased baking sheet, cover, and let rise for about an hour, until very puffy.
4. If desired, brush buns with melted butter. Or brush lightly with egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water), and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
5. Bake the buns in a preheated 375°F oven for 12 to 15 minutes, till golden. Cool on a rack.