Category: Comforting

For the times when you need the edible equivalent of a hug.
Blueberry and Pistachio Scones

Blueberry and Pistachio Scones

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Happy Mother’s Day! Today’s the day to look to our mothers and take a moment to realise how lucky we are to have them in our lives. It can be a very hard day for some – those who have lost their mums, have a difficult relationship with their mums, or may even be struggling to have children themselves.  But if that’s the case maybe take the time today to remember those who are there for you. Think of the motherly figure in your life and take a second to thank them for all they’ve done for you!

As the photo shows above, before I took to the whisk my Mum was the one cooking in the wooden-tabled-kitchen you see in all my photos. One of the many things my Mum’s done for me is introduce me to the world of cooking and set me off on the path I’m on now. As long as I can remember I’ve been sat in the kitchen at my Mother’s side, cracking eggs, sifting flour and cutting out biscuits, and I’m so grateful for it! Something that I’m still working towards is to make scones as light and scrumptious as the ones she makes. They’re always beautifully risen, golden brown and seem to come out the oven just when you need them.

For me nothing beats a good scone with lots of jam and cream and nothing makes me feel more at home than the smell of freshly baked scones just out of the oven, but I think adding some delish blueberries and pistachios into the mix makes them a little bit special for a day like today. You could also try adding strawberries, blackberries or even try playing around with different nuts if you want to work with what’s in season!

Recipe

Makes 14

Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

  • 370g Self Raising flour
  • 1 tsp Baking powder
  • 40g Caster sugar
  • Zest of 1 Lemon
  • 80g Butter
  • 150g Blueberries
  • 60g Pistachios, shelled
  • 100ml Full fat milk
  • 2 Large eggs, plus 1 for glazing

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180˚C and line a couple of baking trays with baking paper.
  2. Put the flour, baking powder, sugar and lemon zest into a bowl and mix together to combine.
  3. Add the butter to the dry ingredients and rub the butter into the flour until fully combined (the mixture should look a little like breadcrumbs).
  4. Coarsely chop the pistachios on a board and then add it to the scone mixture. Then add the blueberries and stir them into the mixture.
  5. In another bowl mix the milk and eggs and then pour this mixture into the main bowl. Mix everything together with a round-bladed knife to make a soft dough.
  6. Lightly flour your work top and turn the dough out onto it. Gently roll the dough out to about 2.5cm thick and then cut out scones using a 4cm wide cookie cutter.
  7. Break the egg into a small bowl and beat it with a fork. Then brush the beaten egg over the top of the scones to glaze.
  8. Bake the scones in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden and with a firm top. Serve with jam and clotted cream!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Plum and Amaretto traybake

Plum and Amaretto traybake

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There’s this weird tradition in Oxford (and Cambridge) where once someone’s finished their end of year exams they get ‘trashed’ – aka they get pelted with whatever their friends can find at the local Tescos. Being Oxford based my whole life I’ve seen numbers of students crawling onto the high street covered in shaving foam, silly string and paint, but it wasn’t until the past few weeks that I got to do some trashing of my own. After a slightly surreal shopping trip we arrived at exam schools, belted up with prosseco, honey, ketchup, party poppers and confetti, ready to celebrate the freedom of some of our friends from the clutches of revision! This was the result… (RIP Nik’s sub fusc)…

Afterwards came the jumping into the river, the crash back to reality, and then a growing chorus of ‘food?’ being passed around. That’s where this fab amaretto plum cake came in. At uni I didn’t have the chance to bake as much as I would have liked as I was short on time, ingredients and equipment, so since coming home I’ve been going a little crazy in the kitchen and have been making way more than I can feasibly eat. Therefore when I headed back up to uni I thought something like this tray bake would be the perfect thing to share with lots of de-stressed students – and it was!

Recipe

Serves 16

Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

  • 200g Butter
  • 200g Caster sugar
  • 4 Eggs
  • ½ tsp Almond extract
  • 180g Self-raising flour
  • 85g Ground almonds
  • ½ tsp Baking powder
  • 100ml Milk
  • 2 tbsp Amaretto (optional)
  • 3 Plums

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180˚C. Line a roughly 20 x 15cm cake tin with butter and baking paper.
  2. Put the butter and sugar into a bowl and beat together with a wooden spoon until pale and creamy.
  3. Add the eggs one by one and whisk them in. Then add the almond extract, flour, ground almonds and baking powder. Then add the milk and amaretto, and whisk it all  together to make a smooth batter. Pour the mixture into the lined tin and smooth it over so it evenly fills the tin.
  4. De-stone and then cut the plums into 1/8s. Then scatter them over the top of the cake, pressing them into the mixture a little. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until risen and golden brown.
  5. Leave to cool and then cut into 16 squares.

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Maple Bacon and Blueberry Pancakes

Maple Bacon and Blueberry Pancakes

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I honestly don’t know where the time’s going at the moment. I kind of feel like I’m running through a tunnel and as I pop up every now and then for air I find out a months past. I only realised this morning when I looked at my post-plan spreadsheet(yes I plan my posts in a spreadsheet) that it’s pancake day on Tuesday! So, onto the obligatory story about why pancakes have a special place in my heart – if you’re not the sentimental type feel free to skip to the recipe below!

Pancakes are one of those special dishes for me as they’re one of the earliest food memories I have. Whether it was on holiday, pancake day or just the end of a really long day, it was always a treat when my mum would make a batch of these – churning them out as quick as my sister and I could eat them. When I was really young we’d have them with lots of golden syrup that would leave your hands all sticky and sweet. Then when I was about 11 we came across the wonder that is Nutella and banana pancakes, which remains my sister’s fave to this day! These days I’m more of a lemon juice and sugar girl, however I’m just starting to branch out from that and realise how versatile pancakes can be. Way back in the summer when I went to Canada I came across these at the airport where we stopped off for a quick breakfast before boarding the plane. I admit, yogurt and bacon doesn’t come across as the most likely combo for success, but with the maple syrup, sour fruit and crunchy pumpkin seeds it makes a plate that’s so so mouth watering!

Recipe

Serves 3

Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

For the pancakes

  • 140g Plain flour
  • 1 tsp Baking powder
  • ½ tsp Salt
  • 1 tbsp Caster sugar
  • 140ml Semi skimmed milk
  • 1 Egg
  • 1 Knob of butter

For the topping

  • 6 Rashers of bacon
  • 2 tbsp Maple syrup
  • 3 tbsp Greek yoghurt
  • A handful of blueberries (about 80g)
  • A handful of pumpkin seeds

Method

  1. Take a medium sized bowl and put in the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Stir to combine. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the milk and the egg. Whisk everything together to make a smooth batter.
  2. Put the knob of butter into a large pan over a medium heat and leave to melt. Pour the excess butter into the pancake batter and mix it in.
  3. Carefully pour blobs of the batter into circles in the greased pan and fry for 2-3 minutes on each side until cooked through and golden brown. Transfer to a plate the repeat with the rest of the batter.
  4. Meanwhile pre-heat a grill on full heat and grill the bacon for 3-4 minutes on each side until crispy. (You could also do this in a pan, but it depends on how much space you have and what equipment you’ve got to hand).
  5. To serve put 3 pancakes onto each plate and top with a couple of slices of bacon. Drizzle everything with maple, then top with a few dollops of yogurt and a generous scattering of berries and seeds. Serve!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Vegan Peanut Butter Blondies

Vegan Peanut Butter Blondies

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In the last 3 days I’ve moved back to college, have had 36 hours of drama rehearsals and now I have a tonne of coursework to do before term starts, so this is gonna be a fairly short post. Essentially, I made some of these last April and then I found myself craving another batch. However, unable to use eggs and milk at the moment I had to make a vegan version of my fave PB blondies instead. Dare I say it, I actually prefer these to the originals because they’re so much easier to make and they taste so damn good!

Recipe

Makes 16 squares

Time: 15 minutes, plus baking

Ingredients

  • 150g Light brown sugar
  • 200g Peanut butter
  • 45ml Sunflower oil (or other oil like vegetable or coconut)
  • 130g Plain flour
  • ½ tsp Baking powder
  • 100ml Soy milk
  • 100g Vegan white chocolate chips

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180˚C. Then grease and line a 25x25cm cake tin with a little oil and baking paper.
  2. Put the sugar, peanut butter and oil into a large bowl and beat together with a wooden spoon until smooth.
  3. Add the flour, baking powder, milk and chocolate chips to the batter and mix again to make a smooth batter (it may be fairly thick).
  4. Pour the mixture into the tin and smooth out to make an even layer.
  5. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and baked all the way through. Leave to cool a little before serving!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Welsh Cakes

Welsh Cakes

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I think we’ve got to that point in the year where it’s dark more than it is light, the words ‘I can’t believe it’s getting dark this early’ ring in the air, and you can no longer convince yourself that you don’t need a coat when you go out. I’m up north for the weekend and about 70% of the time I can’t feel my fingers. Oh yes… we’re in… winter.  (Add dramatic music as you will). But it’s not all bad. The Christmas lights are out, the jumpers are in and comfort food is better than it ever was.

I think this little treats are massively underrated. I find loads of supermarkets sell them, however as they’re small and look a little meh they don’t really get picked up. If you’ve never had one before think of them as a sweeter, slightly shorter scone that you cook in a pan. They’re so easy and quick to rustle up that they’re perfect to make before Strictly on a Sunday evening.

Recipe

Makes 20

Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 230g Plain flour
  • 90g Caster sugar
  • ¼ tsp Ground ginger
  • ¼ tsp Ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp Baking powder
  • 50g Unsalted butter
  • 50g Lard, plus extra for frying
  • 70g Raisins or currants
  • 1 Large egg
  • 25ml Milk

Method

  1. Put the flour, sugar, ginger, cinnamon and baking powder into a big bowl and mix together until combined.
  2. Add the butter and the lard and then rub the fats into the dry ingredients with your fingers until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Shake the bowl from side to side every so often to get the lumps to the top so you can work them into the mix.
  3. Add the raisins or currants and mix them into the dough.
  4. In another bowl mix together the egg and milk. Then slowly trickle in the milk, mixing with a round bladed knife (like a table knife) until a dough forms.
  5. Lightly flour a worktop and roll the dough out into a thin sheet around the thickness of a £1 coin. Take a 6cm round cookie cutter and cut out as many circles as you can, re-rolling the leftovers until you’ve used all the dough.
  6. Put a large skillet or frying pan over a medium heat. Add a knob of lard and leave it to melt. Then place 4-5 welsh cakes on the pan and fry for 3-4 minutes on either side until golden brown and cooked all the way through (they shouldn’t feel squidgy when prodded gently).
  7. Repeat with the rest of your welsh cakes until you have a stack of delicious treats. Serve with jam, butter or just as they are!

Thanks for reading!
Emma x