IT'S BEEN A WHILE

​Over the last year I have been pretty busy working and studying for my final qualification to an Architect, so havent had a much time for baking sadly.

Now that I am finally qualified (hurrah!), I am going to get back into the baking spirit.​ 

Over the next few weeks I'll be updating the blog, including a new searchable link:

theartfulldodger.com

So although you wont be able to all my old recipes wont be on the new site you can still access them here,  and I will repost some of my favourites, with improvements and be trying out some new recipes and inventions!

​

Scones - A Daring Baker Challenge

As always I am late posting my challenge, but I just don't think it would be right if I was on time... ANY WHO this months DB challenge was one that I knew I was going to enjoy. SCONES. Yes, that right the staple of English tea time and who wouldnt love the opportunity to make scones?
Isabel of Rollingpins and Needles and I are incredibly partial to cream tea, baked goods and most deadly of all, clotted cream. Therefore we decided for our own sake we had to do the challenge together and thus divide the amount of cream to be eaten by two. That of course didn't happen and we devoured more than is considered healthy. But needs must.


This months challenge was hosted by a DB member called Audax Artifax, who I am always astonished by the number of times and variations he is able to make each challenge. Seriously this guy makes and makes and makes things over and over again. Its kind of exhausting to witness.
The original challenge can be found here


Audax Artifex was our January 2012 Daring Bakers’ host. Aud worked tirelessly to master light and fluffy scones (a/k/a biscuits) to help us create delicious and perfect batches in our own kitchens!


After watching the recent Great British Bake Off for Sports Relief we decided to honour the two baking giants Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood by making Paul's Cheese Scones and Mary's plain scones (Yes I realise that I seem to deviate from the DB recipes pretty much all the time but I am pretty influenced by what I see on tv, I cant help it I'm part of a tv culture). These however were demolished so quickly we never got to take pictures of the evidence of how much clotted cream can be consumed in one sitting...


Thankfully Isabel took some pictures of the cheese scones before they were lost to our hunger.

Admire the cheesy spendidness

I then decided that as Mary's scones were so successful I would make them again for my family who also cant help but love some jam, cream and scones. I think that these are going to be my fail safe scone recipe now, they were light and fluffy and have definitely converted me to the Berry way of baking.

Rough n Ready

Apricot jam counts as one of your 5 a day...

Cheese Scones
The recipe was used straight from here, however we halved the quantities.


Plain Scones
(by Mary Berry)


Ingredients
350g Self raising flour
85g unsalted butter
3 tbsps caster sugar
200ml milk
1/4 tsp salt
1tsp baking powder
beaten egg to glaze


Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200C. In a bowl mix together the flour, baking powder and salt.
2. Add the butter and using your finger tips rub it in till the consistency of the butter and flour mix is like bread crumbs. 
3. Stir in the sugar. Or do as I did and add the sugar with the flour before the butter, it didn't seem to hurt the mixture!
4. Gradually add the milk to mixture, mixing it till it just comes together. DONT over work it. The mixture will be quite wet but this is ok.
5. Lightly dust a work surface and roll or pat out the dough to about 5cm thick, this will give nice high scone. Using a cutter (or a cup as I didn't have a cutter) cut the scones and put them on a greased tray. Lightly wash with the beaten egg and bake for 10-12 minutes or until nice and golden.
6. Serve with copious amounts of cream and jam.