Fabby Flapjacks

Mmmm - nice!

Flapjacks

Ingredients: (Makes 9 big squares or 18 fingers)

6 tablespoons golden syrup
200g butter
330g porridge oats
Pinch of salt

You will need:


A pan / a wooden spoon / a swiss roll tin

Method:

1. Place butter and syrup in the pan and melt on a low heat.
2. Turn heat off, add porridge oats and salt, mix.
3. Place the mixture in the tin and flatten with the back of the spoon.
4. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 C (160 for fan oven) for about 30 minutes until firm to the touch.
5. Leave to cool - after 5 minutes, cut into the size you prefer, then leave until cold - if you can resist...

PS. You can add chopped glace cherries / sultanas / almond essence / apple / banana etc if you fancy something fancier.

Fruity!

Fruit scones


Ingredients: (Makes 10-12 scones)

450g  Self Raising Flour
110g  Butter
110g  Sultanas
50g  Sugar
½ tsp Salt
½ tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

Preheat oven to 190°C.

Method:

1. Rub the butter lightly into flour, lifting the mixture to add air, until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
2. Add the sugar, sultana, salt and bicarbonate of soda.
3. Mix in enough milk to make a soft dough.
4. Pat or roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until about 1.5cm (½ inch) thick, cut into 4cm (1½ inch) rounds (I use a coffee cup!).
5. Bake for 12 - 15 minutes. 

PS For a golden top, brush with egg before you cook. I've not tried these dairy or gluten free but I will - can't see why it wouldn't work!

Therapeutic Bread

Wound up? Ready to wallop someone? Take it out on some dough and be rewarded with a yumalicious loaf...

Lovely large white loaf

Home-made Bread

   
Ingredients:

500g white or wholemeal bread flour (gluten free is no problem at all)
7g sachet of 'fast action' or 'easy bake' yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
2 teaspoons of sugar
1oz butter or 1 tablespoon of oil (Oil for non dairy of course...)
12 fl/oz (350ml) warm water

(Sorry for the mixture of metric and imperial here - it's my age!)

You will need:

A big bowl / a measuring jug / a big (2lb) loaf tin

Method:

1. Put the flour, yeast, salt and sugar into the bowl and mix around with your fingers a bit.

2. Add the butter / oil and rub it in to the flour mix.

3. Add the water, a third at a time, and using your hands, work the flour and water together to form a soft dough ball. You might not need all of the water. I never seem to use it all. Don't worry if the dough seems a bit too sticky.

4. Lightly flour your hands and a clean surface. Place the dough on the surface and look at the clock. Now comes part one of the therapy!

5. Knead the dough for TEN whole minutes. Don't cheat! You're only cheating yourself! ;o)

'Kneading' means you use your hands to work the dough - you're trying to stretch it and get it to a point where it feels elastic. Keep flouring your hands and the surface when you need to. Really give it a good go - don't be shy... put the heel of your hand on it and push then pull it back and repeat. You'll soon find your own style! Really, really - give it the full ten minutes so your bread comes out light and fluffy. You might start to smell the yeast... mmmmm.

6. Lightly grease the loaf tin and then put the dough into it. I push it down at the edges a bit but that's more of a habit than a requirement! Now loosely wrap the tin with a clean tea towel, this keeps the dough moist.

Small wholemeal - before cooking

Go off and do something else for about an hour. Have a nice laze in the bath or something - you deserve it after all that kneading....


7. When you come back you'll find the dough has doubled in size. Pop it in the oven at 230 C for 30 - 35 minutes. Then take it out and rest it for 10 minutes, then tip it out of the tin and onto a wire rack to cool. Once it's cooled down it's time for part two of your therapy - cut yourself a nice slice, put some butter on it, sit down and eat up! Nomnomnom!

Small wholemeal and large white loaves

PS. If you want a soft crust - lightly flour the top of the loaf before you put it into the oven. For a golden crust, brush egg over the top before you cook it. If you want rolls rather than a loaf, just shape them and place on a greased baking tray - reduce your oven timings appropriately...

Roasties

This is not the lowest fat way to do roast potatoes, but it makes the most delicious ones, with crispy edges and soft insides.

Roast Potatoes

Ingredients:
Potatoes (anything that says it's good for roasting - waxy is best) 1 large potato per person, 2-3 if very hungry
Butter / dripping
Salt and pepper

You will need:
A pan / a baking tray / a bowl / a colander.

Method:

1. Peel, wash and quarter the potatoes. Try to have a variety of sizes - small ones go crispier.

2. Put the potatoes in the pan and cover with water. Don't add salt to the water. Bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer for about twenty minutes. (Simmering means gently bubbling)

3. When the potatoes are not quite cooked (soft but not disintegrating), drain the water off using the colander and shake the potatoes hard in the pan.

4. Let the potatoes cool a little and then drizzle melted butter or dripping over them, (dripping is the fat that drips off meat when you roast it. Save it in a little tupperware in the fridge / freezer)  add salt and pepper to taste and place in a bowl in the fridge.

5. When you're cooking the roast (chicken / beef / lamb / pork etc) place the potatoes in the tray with the meat and roast them for between 40 and 60 minutes until they're golden brown. The edges should be a little crispy but the centres should be soft and fluffy.

Serve with roast meat, yorkshires, vegetables and gravy. Nice vegetables with a roast include: roast parsnips, roast carrots, roast onions (chuck them in the tray with the meat for about half an hour). Also a good fit: steamed green beans, peas, spinach.  If you have trouble getting the kids to eat veg, try swede and carrot mash or cauliflower cheese....

Beautiful Banana Loaf

Banana Loaf


Ingredients: (Large loaf will make about 12 big slices)


100g butter (unsalted and soft. Dairy free alternative works fine)
140g light muscovado sugar (brown is fine - dark or light)
2 eggs (large)
450g bananas (ripe / overripe and mashed with a fork)
50g pecan nuts (chopped - recipe will work without nuts if you have an allergy - add another banana)
50g raisins
150 ml buttermilk (This does work with soya milk but the texture is slightly different - go with sweetened!)
280g plain flour (Gluten free is fine)
1 teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda


You will need:

A big bowl / a whisk (hand or electric) / a wooden spoon / a loaf tin (2lb and greased*)

Method:

1. Whisk butter and sugar together in a big bowl by hand or using an electric whisk.

2. Beat in eggs one at a time with a wooden spoon.

3. Stir in mashed bananas, pecans, raisins and buttermilk with wooden spoon.

4. Sift flour and bicarbonate of soda into the bowl and fold** carefully.

5. Spoon into a large loaf tin and level the top with the back of the spoon.

6. Bake in the oven at 180 degrees (160 fan oven) for 75 minutes (1 hour 15 minutes). Poke a skewer into the centre and remove - it should come out almost dry with a very little bit of goo on it.

7. Cool for 10 minutes in the tin, then turn onto a cooling rack and cover with a clean tea towel.
 
If you want to make the loaf look pretty, take 50g Icing sugar and make a little water icing. Drizzle this over the top of the loaf in zigzags. Nomnomnom!

* Greasing just means get some butter (or alternative) and use a bit of greaseproof paper to wipe it around the inside of the tin, making sure to get in all the corners.

** A word about terms for mixing! 'Whisk' means use a fork / whisk / electric whisk to mix together fast and trying to add air to the mixture - think fluffy. 'Beat' means use a wooden spoon and stir the mixture hard so it goes smooth - think no lumps. 'Fold' means use a metal spoon (or wooden but metal seems to be best) and gently combine the ingredients - this is used when you want to keep the mixture light. Make a figure of eight with the spoon in the bowl and try to include the outside of the mixture. When folding think - no more than 15 stirs.

Yummy Yorkshires

Yorkshire Puddings

Ingredients: Makes 8 large or 24 small puddings

140g plain flour
4 eggs
200 mls milk
Sunflower oil

You will need:
A yorkshire pudding tin or a muffin tin / a wooden spoon / a jug or a soup ladle / electric whisk (optional)

Method:

1. Pre heat oven to 230 degrees (210 for fan oven) and place the tin in there with a drop of oil in each hole.

2. Put flour and eggs in a deep bowl (or jug) and beat until smooth (with wooden spoon or electric whisk).

3. Add milk and keep beating / whisking until there are no lumps.

4. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

5. Take the VERY hot tins out of the oven and ladle or pour the batter into each hole (2/3 full).

6. Return tin to oven. Do NOT open oven door for 20 minutes minimum or the puddings will deflate.


Puddings may need a few more minutes - they should be puffed up and brown and crispy on top.
Serve with a roast dinner and lots of lovely gravy. Nomnomnom!

Chocolate Brownies To Die For...

Chocolate Brownies:

Ingredients  (Makes about 6 chunky brownies)

Still warm... see how fudgy in the middle?

125g butter (unsalted)
125g dark chocolate (70% cocoa)
2 eggs
165g caster sugar
75g plain flour (Gluten free is fine*)
1/2 teaspoon salt
100g chopped walnuts (or white choc chunks)


You will need:
 
A big saucepan / A wooden spoon / Two bowls / A fork / A sieve / A baking tray


Method:

1. Place the dark chocolate and the butter into a big pan, put the hob on a very low setting (I use 1 on an electric hob) and stir with a wooden spoon until it is melted together. Take off the heat and leave to cool.

2. Put the eggs and the sugar into a bowl. Mix well with a fork.

3. Take the other bowl and sieve the flour into it. Add the salt.

Make sure the chocolate/butter mixture is cool and then...

4. Pour the egg/sugar mix into the chocolate/butter mixture in the pan. Beat together with a wooden spoon.

5. Add the flour/salt to the pan.

6. Add the broken up walnuts to the pan. (Or the white chocolate chunks)

7. Beat all the ingredients together in the pan.

Now take a baking tin (or a silicone one) and pour the mixture into it. You will have to decide how deep you want your brownies to be when deciding how big the tray should be. I like them about an inch deep. Flatten the mixture a little with the back of the spoon.

8. Bake in the oven at 180 degrees (170 degrees in a fan oven) for about 25 minutes.

The brownies should look light brown on top and a bit flaky. You need to have a bit of give in the middle, so make sure it wobbles slightly when you nudge the tray. It does look soft! Don't worry! If you cook it for too long the brownies will be dry and that's not what you want! Aim for crunchy-ish at the outside edge, but rather fudgy in the middle.

I put them in the fridge to firm up for a bit if I want brownies that you can eat like a biscuit, but if you can't wait, serve them warm in a bowl with ice cream! Nomnomnom!!!

* I haven't tried a dairy free version of these yet, but I will and I'll report back...
PS If you want to be really naughty - break up a toblerone instead of the white choc chunks... mmmm.

PPS My neighbour's comment on the white chocolate chunk version: "That's the best chocolatey thing I've EVER tasted, and I've tasted a LOT!"