NEW HOUSE BISCUITS

I had bought some new cookie cutters to use to make a new house present when my brother moved house recently. Ok they did't quite look as great as I'd anticipated thanks to a mix up with the icing. But the actual biscuit recipe (taken from The Great British Book of Baking) is highly recommended.

200g unsalted butter, softened
200g caster sugar
1 vanilla pod
1 medium free range egg
400g plain flour

Put the butter and sugar into a bowl and cream together with the seeds scraped from the vanilla pod until light and creamy.
Gradually add the egg beating well after each addition. Sift the flour into the bowl and mix in slowly until it makes a soft dough (at this point it's easier to get your hands in and shape it into the dough unless you are using a mixer) Divide the mixture into two and wrap each half in cling film and leave in the fridge for about 30mins.

Roll out the dough a portion at a time onto a floured surface. Cut out the shapes you want using cutters and use the trimmings to roll out more dough.
Put the biscuits onto a lined baking tray with some space inbetween each one to allow them to spread.
Chill for 15mins.
Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees C for 9 to 12 minutes (mine too about 15 but these were quite large biscuits) They will start to turn golden when they are cooked, you may need to turn the tray halfway through to make sure they cook evenly.
Leave to cool on the tray for a minute or two and then transfer to a wire rack and leave until completely cool.

To decorate:
500g icing sugar
1tbsp lemon juice
colouring pastes or food colouring

Mix half the icing sugar with 2tsp of lemon juice and 2tbsp cold water to make a stiff icing that can be piped (this was my mistake: using too much water making the icing too runny!!)
Spoon a small amount into a piping bag and pipe the edge of the biscuit.
Using the remaining half of icing sugar and add the lemon juice and water as above. Also and a few drops of extra water to slacked the icing. Make up colours you require using the paste or colouring in seperate bowls. When the outline has hardened up you can flood the biscuit with the coloured icing using a palette knife or a piping bag.

MARMALADE

So my first attempt at marmalade wasnt great!! I got a bit distracted and left it in the pan too long and it started to burn, it's still edible but the second batch is much better thankfully.

4 Seville Oranges plus juice of one extra orange
approx 1kg sugar
1.7 litres water

You will need to weigh the oranges to begin with and double this weight is the amount of sugar you will need later.

Halve the oranges and squeeze out all the juice.
Scoop out all the pulp and pips into a square of muslin laid over a sieve and tie the muslin up.
Finely slice all the pith and skin (you can use a food processor for this if you have one).
Put the water, muslin bag and the sliced skin into a pan and simmer uncovered for about 1 and a half to 2 hours, the skin will need to be really soft.
Remove the muslin bag and squeeze it against the side of a sieve to get the last juice and pectin out(this helps the marmalade to set)
You can throw the contents of the muslin bag away now.

Put 2 or 3 small dishes or egg cups in the freezer.
Add the sugar weighed out previously and on a low heat leave the sugar to dissolve, stir occasionally.BE careful not to let it boil until the sugar has completely dissolved.
Increase the heat and bring to a boil without stirring after 10mins check for the setting point.
To do this take the marmalade off the heat and take a small amount out and put onto a small dish from the freezer. Push the liquid with your finger and if it wrinkles slightly and doesnt run back it's set.
You may need to do this several times (returning the pan to the heat and boiling for another 2 minutes) to ensure you don't miss the setting point.
Once its at its setting point stir in the juice of one seville orange to give it an extra kick.
Leave to cool for 10mins. Remove the scum from the top and ladle into sterilised jars.

LEMON CURD CAKE

This is a Victoria Sponge with a lemon flavour and a lemon and cream filling.

225g butter, softened
225g caster sugar
4 eggs
225g self raising flour, sieved
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 2 lemons
icing sugar
300ml double cream
jar of lemon curd

Cream together the butter and sugar and add one egg and one tablespoon of the flour, repeat with the eggs and flour and then incorporate the rest of the flour.
Add the zest of a lemon and the juice to loosen the mixture to a smooth dropping consistency.
Grease and line 2 20cm cake tins and pour half the mixture into each tin.
Bake at 170 degrees C for 20mins or until a skewer comes out clean.
Leave to cool in the tin for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Once the cake is cool, spread a generous layer of lemon curd over the top of one cake and the bottom of the other.
With a whisk whip the cream until it forms soft peaks. Spoon the cream onto the bottom layer of the cake and carefully put the top cake on. Dust with icing sugar.

JAM DOUGHNUT MINI MUFFINS

125ml milk
85ml corn or vegetable oil
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
200g self raising flour
100g caster sugar
12 tsp strawberry jam
100g unsalted butter
150g granulated sugar

This is a recipe from Nigellas How to be a Domestic Goddess. I've had this book for years and years and can't believe I have never made these muffins before. I think I assumed they'd be tricky. But trust me they are not!
These are the easiest cakes to make and very nice too. If you don't try anything else, please have a go at these.

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C. 

Mix together the milk, oil, egg and vanilla extract in a measuring jug.

In a bowl combine the flour and sugar.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until just combined. Don't worry about the lumps if you try to get them out you'll overmix the batter and it'll make the muffins tough.

Put a teaspoon full of the mixture into some silicone fairy cake cases.

Ontop of this add a small amout of jam. Then top the muffin with another teaspoon of the muffin mixture. 

Pop into the oven for 20mins. 

Meanwhile, melt the butter and put the sugar into a shallow dish. 

When the muffins come out of the oven, dip into the butter and then roll in the sugar.

These are best served warm but as you wont want more than one (well maybe two at a push!) in one go you can heat them in the microwave for 10 - 15 seconds.

OAT AND RAISIN COOKIES

So as not to waste the oats bought for the oatcakes I made up a batch of oat and raisin cookies this morning. I used the recipe from Rachel Allen's book Bake.

110g butter, softened
110g caster sugar
110g soft light brown sugar
250g oats
1 egg
1tsp vanilla extract
1tsp salt
2tbsp water
110g self raising flour, sieved
110g raisins

First you need to cream together the butter and sugars until it is light and fluffy.

 Next add the egg, vanilla extract and water to the mixture and beat it in to the mixture.

Add the flour, oats and raisins and mix.

Roll a spoonful of the mixture into a small ball about the size of a walnut and pop onto a baking tray.

Bake in the oven at 180 degrees C for 15mins.

Leave them to cool for a minute or two before transferring to a wire rack so they don't fall apart.

Rachel says in her book that these go really nicely with milk and indeed they do!

SCOTTISH SHORTBREAD

And on Burns Night what else could there be to go with the coffee other than shortbread!

This recipe is courtesy of Delia.

175g butter at room temperature

75g caster sugar

175g plain flour, sifted

75g fine semolina.

I put the butter in the microwave for 20seconds as I had forgotten to leave it out at room temperature but once the butter is soft you need to add the caster sugar and beat it in with a wooden spoon. 

Next add the sifted flour and semolina and beat this into the butter.

It's easier to use your hands at this point to bring the mixture together and form a dough.

On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough to roughly the same size as your loose bottom tin (20cm) then place the shortbread in the tin.

 Using your fingers push it into the sides and make sure it's even all over, then a tip from Delia is to use a glass to roll the dough in the tin to make it smooth.

Prick the shortbread all over and place in the middle shelf of a preheated oven (150 degrees C) for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 mins.

When it's cooked use a palette knife to mark out the 12 slices and leave to cool inside the tin.

 Once it's cool you can remove the shortbread from the tin and cut into slices. Enjoy!

CHEESE AND ROSEMARY OATCAKES

As it's Burns Night on the 25th January we usually have a family get together on the nearest weekend to this day.

I always like to serve oatcakes with cheese as part of the celebrations but I usually find them a bit dry. So this year I've decided to put a spin on tradition and have a go at a variation on them.

• 100g (4oz) rolled oats
• 100g (4oz) plain flour
• 2 tsp dried rosemary
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 50g (2oz) butter
• 100g (4oz) Mature Cheddar, grated
• 1tsp clear honey
• 3tbsp milk

First you need to combine the oats, flour, rosemary, salt and pepper in a bowl.

Add the butter and rub with your fingertips until they resemble breadcrumbs. 

Next you add the grated cheese and mix in well. 

In a small bowl mix together the honey and milk. 

Add the milk and honey to the bowl of dry ingredients and use your fingers to form a dough. 

If you find the mixture a little dry before rolling it out yo can add a splash more milk to help it bind together.

On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough to about 1cm thick and use a cutter to cut out small rounds.

Place these on a baking tray covered in greaseproof paper and cook for 15mins at 180degrees C. (although do check them at 10mins as mine took a bit less in the oven!)

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