Cake'n'Bake Club: Cheese Scones

I decided last weekend that I'd start posting recipes on a Sunday instead. No real reason, other than I felt like it. Sundays were made for baking, right? I'm still playing catch-up with typing recipes from my Cake'n'Bake meetings, so thought I'd continue in a completely non-chronoligical way with these cheese scones from our Fairytale Tea Party in July 2013. I had used the "Sword in the Scone" pun previously when I was doing the Disney Movie Challenge, but it went down well so I figured it would be a good way to get some savoury bakes into our fairytale offering. I accidentally made these vegan, since I try to avoid dairy and used sunflower spread, soy milk and soy cheese. I don't particularly like the taste of soy cheese normally, but it tasted fine in these scones. The scones can be served warm or allowed to cool before serving, and are best eaten on the day of baking.

Prep time: 5-10 mins        

Cook time: 10-12 mins       

Makes 6 large scones (or 12 mini ones, as pictured!)

Ingredients:

135ml milk
1 tsp lemon juice

275g self-raising flour
pinch of salt
tsp baking powder
65g margarine
1tbsp caster sugar

100g grated cheese

To glaze:

2tbsp milk
Salt and cracked black pepper

1. Heat the oven to gas mark 7 and place the baking tray you plan to use into the oven to heat up.
2. Heat the milk in the microwave for around 30 seconds until warm, but not hot. Add the lemon juice to the milk and set this to one side for a few minutes whilst you prepare the dry ingredients.
3. Tip the flour, salt and baking powder into a large bowl, and then tip in the margarine. Rub the ingredients together with your fingers until they resemble fine breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and grated cheese to the crumb-like mixture, and mix in with your hands.
4. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the cooled milk. Mix these together using a cutlery knife until they combine to make a wet dough, being careful not to overwork.
5. Scatter flour over the work surface and tip the dough out onto it. Sprinkle a little more flour on top of the dough. Fold the dough over itself 2-3 times until it becomes smooth, again being careful not to overwork. Pat the dough out (it's better to pat than to use a rolling pin) to around 3cm thick.
6. Using a cutter of your choice, cut scones out of the dough. Tip - do not twist your cutter as this seals the sides of the dough and may prevent your scones from rising.
7. Brush the scones with a little milk, and then sprinkle on some salt and black pepper before popping them in the oven for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown.
8. Enjoy!

Happy Baking!

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Cake'n'Bake Wednesday: Ploughman's Picnic Rolls

This was my "main" bake for Cake'n'Bake Club's Perfect Picnic themed month back in August 2012. These picnic rolls are great for outdoor eating as the filling is baked inside them. The recipe below is for my ploughman's picnic rolls, but you could do almost any filling, sweet or savoury! There also really good for packed-lunches. Just bake a batch at the weekend, leave them to cool, wrap them well and store them in the freezer. When ready to use, remove from the freezer and place in the oven at gas mark 4 for around 10 minutes to re-fresh - delish!

Prep-time: 1hour 45 minutes
Cook time: 25 - 30 minutes
Makes 8 picnic rolls

Ingredients:

For the dough:
300ml warm water
1tbsp brown sugar
2tbsp olive oil
7g sachet of dried yeast
500g strong white bread flour
Pinch of salt

For the filling:
2-3tbsp Branston Pickle (I used the small chunk variety)
4 slices of good quality ham
150g mature cheddar

1 small egg, beaten, to glaze
A little extra grated cheese, to decorate (optional)

1. Place the water, sugar, olive oil and yeast into a jug a stir well. Leave this to one side for a few minutes. Meanwhile, sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl and create a well in the centre. Tip the yeast mixture into the centre of the well, then work the flour into it using a fork.
2. Once the ingredients have combined to form a rough dough, tip the contents of the bowl onto a clean dry work surface. Knead by hand for 5-7 minutes, until all of the flour is incorporated and you have a soft, springy dough. Place the dough into a large oiled bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave in a warm place for one hour, until doubled in size.
3. Whilst the dough is proving, prepare your filling. Slice the ham into strips and grate the cheese. Leave these to one side until ready to use.
4. Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knock back, then split into 8 equally sized balls. 
5. Making one at a time, roll each ball out until around 5mm thick then spread a thin layer of pickle over the top, making sure to leave a space around the edges. Sprinkle on your other filling ingredients, then begin to roll the dough up Swiss roll style. Tuck the ends of the roll underneath to create and oval bun shape. Please the rolls on a floured baking tray and leave to prove for a further 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to gas mark 6.
6. Once doubled in size, glaze the rolls with a little beaten egg, and sprinkle a little grated cheese on top of each one. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes until golden brown all over, then remove and leave to cool.

Happy Thoughts
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