A QUICK REMINDER

Just a quick post to remind you that I'm no longer posting on this blog and would dearly love it if you would now join me over on the new page here -

STUDIOFORTY

Currently all artwork and jewellery I'm making and selling is available via Facebook until I get my webshop up and running....so check our my page here

STUDIOFORTY ON FACEBOOK

and you can also follow me on Twitter

ANGE J LEE on TWITTER

cheers and thanks so much for your company on here these past 10 years and some...

XXX ANGE XXX

Time to bow out.....

Been taking some time out to have a good think lately over my SixInchSquare Blog....so many frustrating and stressful issues relating to it over the the last year or so and I have now come to the decision with a heavy heart....that I am stopping blogging on here. No more posts - no tutorials recipes and random ramblings...I am done.

On top of technical issues that have recently prevented me using the blog and uploading images, I've suffered increasing amounts of spam, malicious and obscene comments and I'm seemingly spending copious amounts of my precious time reporting, moderating, blocking etc it's ludicrous! I have better things to do with my time than being slave to the laptop dealing with this.

BUT the main reason for my decision has been copyright infringement and theft of my tutorials and images which came to a head this week.

I've had the odd problem over the years with stuff being used without my permission. Pinterest have been very good in removing content I have reported, but some other websites have been less then keen to co-operate. Some you will have read about on my Facebook page...but one particular case I've not posted about happened last year involving a person stealing whole paper flower tutorials from my blog, then selling as a downloadable programmes on Etsy...YES, selling it!...my FREE tutorial, they stole, tampered with the images, cropped, tried to remove © marks and passed off as their own work...to sell for financial gain.....unbelievable! (well actually yes totally believable, it happens far too often nowadays grrrr :( ) Had it not been for a very nice person who happened across the Etsy shop while googling for craft tutorials, and then saw my own blog version and contacted me, I would have been completely unaware of what they had done. It's taken months of complaining and I finally found out last night that their shop has been closed. SUCCESS! YAY! Personally I do not think this is all my own doing....I have a feeling that other downloadables and artwork in their Etsy shop were probably stolen and others have also complained...maybe even threatened legal action. Whether this person realised the game was up and shut the shop themselves, or it was closed by Etsy intervening I don't know...I've had no recent communication off them...but all I'm concerned about is that it's gone, stopped...for now.

The problem now is I ask myself,  has it stopped? when will the next person steal images?...why am I putting myself through all this? Not long after I made the first complaint about the stolen tutorial, I received an anonymous comment to my blog which simply said (quote) "your images are public domain...we can do what the hell we like with them. If you don't want other people to use them...then don't put them on your blog". Considering I hadn't made the incident public knowledge, I'm assuming the comment came from the very person (Etsy shop owner/image thief) I made the report about. I don't know, but it's a coincidence for sure...and for the record they are VERY wrong...the images are NOT there for them to do the 'hell they like' with them, they are there to help and inspire and are copyrighted, all rights reserved.....this is made VERY clear throughout the blog page....so to take the images then tamper with them to pass off as their own....then make money from them...IS NOT ACCEPTABLE! Sadly this kind of attitude is common and theft of images and artwork continues :(

I try to take efforts to protect my images, I add © marks, I embed copyright details and I also reduce the size of the images so that if anyone does copy and paste etc to their own files to reproduce, the images are small and of poor quality. It's probably the basic of protection but sadly those intent on stealing images will often be one step ahead and find their way around all this. I can only imagine that the downloadable items they were selling were of pretty bad quality which is equally annoying as I take great pains to produce quality clear and concise photographs and instructions and if any one connects this stolen, rehashed stuff back to me, my reputation is sullied.

I have had over 9 happy years blogging on the SixInchSquare..it has been a hobby, something fun to do outside of work time. I've enjoyed making up tutorials, sharing my crafting knowledge but it's darn hard work...it's doesn't come easily.....(those of you how do tutorials will fully well know this) and now what was once fun, is becoming stressful and all time consuming and ruined by some pretty mean people....

each tutorial I have provided has meant HOURS and DAYS worth of work. It involves much preparation and planning in advance, each card or piece is then photographed and all motions construction of, and details documented at EVERY stage, hundreds of photos are taken...this part can take a good day or so to complete, THEN I have to upload those images, sort, choose best to use, edit, resize, copyright mark and put in order...then it's all uploaded to the blog along with any typed in instructions, all edited again, proof read and re-edited before finally publishing....it can take 3 days, even longer, to complete from planning stage to publishing the final article.....

ALL this is done in MY SPARE TIME.....AND FOR FREE. My blog is not a professional site...I am not a professional blogger...I get NO financial reward for all this. I do it for the fun and the reward that I'm sharing with crafters out there who acknowledge and appreciate my efforts.....but the theft of my tutorials and the images, hours of hard work all done from the goodness of my heart , now used for their financial gain is quite frankly soul destroying and frustrating...it sucks...big time :(

I am self employed, an artist and jeweller who has to put in many many hours to earn a living and I no longer cannot afford to spend precious time dealing with these people, dealing with reports, constantly monitoring this website, blocking, complaining etc....enough is enough :( 

In order to preserve my sanity I have decided to stop doing the tutorials, and all content I believe to be at risk from further theft has now been removed from this blog...this sadly means all my tutorials and any posts on my artwork etc will no longer be visible and accessible to you. I will leave the food recipes and the info on the Big Shot Plus...and info on Tatty Button, but that will be it. My StudioForty blog will still be up and running as normal and all my Facebook pages are also still in operation...so if you wish to continue seeing any of my artwork, jewellery and so forth than please join me there.

facebook.com/StudioForty.AngeJLee

facebook.com/AngeLeeArtsandCrafts

I apologise to all my lovely blog followers, and those who have been awaiting new flower tutorials. Thank you all so much for your support...it's been 9 years of fun...but it's now time to say goodbye on here.

CHEERS, THANKS & TAKE CARE! 

xxx Ange xxx

Slurp slurp! Iced Chai Tea Latte

(firstly, apologies for lack of images in this word heavy post...I am currently having image loading issue and will add some as soon as possible...Ange x)

My first experience of Iced Tea Latte was surprisingly, for someone in the 40s, not that long ago...and I remember it well. I've never really been interested in milky drinks, let alone cold milky tea...from childhood I hated the taste of milk on it's own. Hated it on breakfast cereals...I actually eat cereals dry (yep I'm a bit weird like that) Milkshakes were fine if flavoured well, but milky tea...yuck! My tea was always hot, strong with the emphasis on the flavour of the tea leaves...and in some cases drunk black with no milk at all. I would drink an iced black tea....but a latte version? never really caught my fancy...

...so it was only a couple of years ago that I found myself wandering around one of our many local food fairs - there was music playing, lots to see and do, lots of food to sample, it was an unusually hot beautiful day...and I was feeling parched. My bottle of water I tend to carry around in my bag was long drained and I needed fluids....fast! I had the usual choice of going into a store and buying an overpriced bottle of water (errr no thank you!), or treating myself to a tipple from one of the food stalls. They had the usual number of 'brand' coffee shop stalls such as Costa and Starbucks, some bars selling alcoholic drinks and a lovely collection of independent coffee houses and bakeries...all offering beverages in an overwhelming choice of flavours and varieties. Alcohol was not really a fancy...a bit to early in the day for me and too hot, Starbucks and Costa a no from the start (I do not buy from Starbucks full stop - I have reasons many to do with UK tax evasion practices...but hey that's my choice, I know so many of you out there love them so that's fine, I accept that, but I personally will not give them my money). So, that left the independents....all I had to do was decide what to have.

Hot drinks didn't do it for me on such a hot day....smoothies milkshakes and all their cool icecreaminess were tempting but a tad boring on the flavour varieties available and I was after something cool refreshing, unusual and maybe a bit more grown up! An independent Birmingham bakery store came to my rescue!

I noticed at this stall a small selection of iced teas and lattes and although I've baulked at drinking this kind of thing in thepast, the flavours they offered were intriguing from mango with green tea to coconut, real vanilla, earlgreys and their 'special spiced'. Seeing my dilemma, a helpful member of their staff offered me a small sample of the 'special'. A wee dram was poured over a single ice cube in a tiny cup and handed over with an expectant smile...'it really is quite special' she said...

...I warned her I was not really into milky drinks but went for it and raised it to my lips....the first thing that hit me was the smell....my nostrils were filled with warming hints of cinnamon and clove...and other spices I couldn't quite place....and then on taste I was quite blown away...silky smooth creamy with a good tea flavour coming through...but the addition of the spices were amazing...it was like drinking liquid Christmas! The only thing that spoiled it for me was an slightly overpowering taste of ginger.....I'm actually quite sensitive and bit intolerant to ginger so it kind of took over all my taste buds in a not so pleasing way. Other than that it was really surprisingly tasty! I stated to think maybe I got this wrong after all....maybe latte are worthy of being hooked on!

"People say it's as good as...if not better, than a certain well known coffee shop drink" she said, discreetly gesturing towards that 'certain well known coffee shop' stall...the one with the weird green n white mermaid type wavy haired lady in their logo. "Chai inspired....but not quite Chai!" she went on...so I replied explaining that I'd never and will never buy from that 'certain well known coffee shop' so I didn't really know and couldn't compare...but this Bakery's one was certainly lovely (just maybe not the ginger bit). I coyly asked if she could tell me the spices used...I could identify some...but not all...but she happily (a bit too happily in my opinion) informed me it was a secret blend of theirs, not to be divulged. Such a shame...but understandable...it was worth a try.

To cut a long story shorter, I ended up purchasing one of their plain black tea iced latte which I found wonderfully refreshing, and quite delicious....but just couldn't get the spiced one out of my head...it had been a taste revelation to me and I was determined to go home, do a bit of internet research to find out the ingredients myself...and make my own...surely it would be quite easy to do. I suddenly realised there and then that I was hooked lined and sinkered....I not only liked iced tea latte....I rather LOVED iced tea latte....

Iced tea latte...where have you been all my life!

Yes, yes I know...all you Starbuck people out there thinking 'she's only JUST discovered tea latte?!!!!...that's sooooo last year!'

I know...I know....I'm a bit of a latte novice...I'm a bit late into the game...and I don't even like and drink coffee either....she said, currently now searching for the most palatable coffee laced frappe...gawd help you when I discover that...you'll never hear the last of it LOL!

anyhoos....back to the tea latte...

I found perhaps maybe TOO many recipes for Chai Tea Latte that I did get a little confused and bewildered....most claiming to be THE ONE they use for Starbucks...but nearly all with slight variations...and to be quite honest I have no clue what theirs tastes like, not really bothered either....I just wanted to get one to taste close to that bakery's one... and one that I like the flavour of.....and most importantly one with out the need for the ginger spice! I found plenty of the recipes using ready made chai tea bags, cutting out the need for using all the individual spices and I found some using premade shop bought concentrates but most of those were considered to be too sweet and I found some blogs and websites I read advised making the Chai concentrate from scratch so you can tailor the spices to suit the palate...plus control the sweetness with your own additions of sugars and/or honey. That certainly suited me and help in my need to remove the ginger.

I found this little posting helpful on how to make your basic tea latte - www.samovartea.com and then finally settled on taking inspiration from this blog recipe here from Ali on www.gimmesomeoven.com

...and then I did some tweaking of my own (as per usual).

I felt Ali's recipe the most suitable to try because it was one of the very few that includes Star Anise and Allspice...and now on reflection and having tasted my own drink I made I think I can honestly say it was possibly these two spices that made the bakery chai inspired latte so nice...the ones I couldn't quite place at the time...they certainly add that special something to it all.

I also halved the recipe - Ali's recipe yields 4 cups (approx. 1000ml) of concentrate which was too much for me as I'm the only one drinking this stuff around here so it was halved and mine, with perhaps a little more reducing than was probably necessary, yielded a good 350ml...enough to fill one small plastic pop bottle that I then sealed and stored in the fridge. They advise it is stored a maximum 1 week so this is perfect for me to last just that and I can easily whip up another fresh batch in no time.

I felt her recipe was perhaps too heavy on the cardamom (uses 12 pods) for my liking....I know Chai is predominantly all about the cardamom but you have to be careful with this spice as it can lend to be a little on the medicinal tasting side of things. I reduced my recipe to just 3 pods, and also reduced the peppercorns and cloves to 3 each too....this was just to try out the flavouring and I can tweak this again with a fresh batch...but found this perfectly fine and tasty at this level. I also removed the ginger...obviously for my personal intolerance reasons, but it's optional and would say if you don't have an issue with it, then add it for sure as I think that warm hit would lend and extra something to the drink.

One last piece of advise is that you should ideally be using whole spices NOT ground powders as the powders are concentrated in themselves, vary greatly in quality and quantity and will upset the balance of the Chai mix. If you do need to use ground powdered spices then please refer to product label for amount substitutions. To sieve the whole spices you will need a normal metal or plastic sieve that will help remove the large spice pieces but still allow the vanilla seeds to pass through.

CHAI TEA CONCENTRATE

yields approx. 400ml of concentrate for use in iced and hot Chai Tea and Chai Tea Latte

takes approx. 25-30 minutes prep and cooking time plus extra to cool before use.

Stores for maximum 1 week in fridge

For best results use whole spices....not really advisable to use dried ground blends due to concentration variations (refer to product labelling for amount substitutions)

INGREDIENTS

• 3-6 whole crushed cardamom pods
• 3 whole black peppercorns
• 3 whole cloves
• 2 whole cinnamon sticks
• 1 whole allspice
• 1 star anise
• 2 inch piece of fresh ginger, roughly sliced
• 1 vanilla pod, split down the length (do not remove the seeds)
• pinch of ground nutmeg
• 2 tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 cups (500ml) water
• 2 black leaf tea bags (I use Clipper fairtrade breakfast tea) 

Keeping aside the tea bags, add all the remaining ingredients into a pan, bring to the boil over a medium heat, then reduce to low, cover with a lid and simmer for 15 minutes. Add tea bags, turn off the heat and allow to steep (brew) for a further 5 minutes. Squeeze out the teabags then strain off the spice pieces. Reserve the liquid and allow to cool at room temperature before storing in a sealed bottle or jar in the fridge (for up to one week).

TO MAKE UP

ICED BLACK CHAI TEA - mix equal quantities of concentrate and water (or to taste) and serve in glass over ice. Add extra sugar or honey to taste if required.

HOT BLACK CHAI TEA - mix equal quantities of concentrate and water in a pan, over heat bring to a boil, serve in a heatproof mug, add extra sugar or honey to taste if required.

ICED CHAI TEA LATTE - mix equal quantities of concentrate and cold milk together, use a hand blender (or something like an Aerolatte hand whisk) for extra froth and silkiness. Serve in glass over ice. Add extra sugar or honey to taste if required.

HOT CHAI TEA LATTE - mix equal quantities of concentrate and milk together in a pan, warm until hot, serve in a heatproof mug. Add extra sugar or honey to taste if required.

ENJOY!

PS - would just like to add that while brewing your concentrate you'll find the most amazing aromas filling your kitchen just reminding you of Christmas and spiced cookies or when you prep your apple pies for the oven...totally delicious!.....AND I kept the sieved the whole spices to dry out before consigning to the compost bin and it was just like keeping a little bowl of pot-pourri in the room. We had eaten a curry the night before and these spice aromas helped keep all the nasty niffs at bay...no need for incense sticks or chemical laden room freshener sprays.

Also...what ever you do, do NOT throw out the vanilla pod once retrieved from the liquid....these precious spices are too costly to just throw away and can actually be reused for flavouring sugars. Just dry out, break into a couple of pieces and place in a sealed jar of sugar for bakery use. It will impregnate the sugar and help make delicate flavoured tasty sponges and cookies...just remove from the sugar as you weigh it out and put the pod bits back into the jar. Top up the empty jar or as sugar levels go down and the pods can be reuses time and time again for ages.

XXX Ange XXX

Disclaimer - I am not affiliated with Starbucks, Costa or Clipper in any way, nor with the websites I have linked to and have not received any free products to advertise or use in this recipe. All ingredients are from my own store cupboards and can be purchased at any good food stores and online.

Rhubarb and Orange 'Pops' RECIPE

Well, that time of year is upon us once more.....Rhubarb season!

Yep, the time when you look out to your veg patch one morning to find a plant that looks like a cross between a Gunnera and a triffid...and you swear the day before it was just some tiny little buds barely emerging out of the soil....

that time when you realise there is only so much rhubarb you can freeze, preserve, can, pulp, juice...and make crumble with...and you start trawling the internet and Pinterest for new ways to cook with rhubarb...

 



rhubarb and apple sponge cake

 



the time when people start gingerly asking you "Do you like Rhubarb?"...and you just KNOW that's the opening question leading up to the plea "PLEASE take some of my rhubarb....I have too much growing"...

...and they then stop mid sentence when you give a wry smile and they then just know that you are part of the club already....

you are a rhubarb grower!

and so they don't even bother to go on to ask if you'd actually like to take a whole plant...not just some stalks because they also know that it's...

that time when you yourself yet again stand staring at the three huge monster plants growing in your tiny patch and with only two of you in the house to feed, say to your self yet again..."this year I WILL get rid of one of those plants"....

but you don't

because you are greedy

because you LOVE rhubarb

rhubarb and ginger chutney

 

ahhhhhh those tender young pink stalks...the tang, the sourness of the greener older stems...

Yes...if you grow rhubarb...you will 'get' this oh yes indeedy!

Rhubarb 'Dorset Window Pudding'

So, lets get onto the important bit....EATING IT!

This years Pinterest trawling lead me to THIS link - Lemon & Rhubarb Cookies so it's thanks to Kate at Picklebums.com as she takes the credit here. I'd yet to try rhubarb in biscuits so was keen to give it a go....the result however was very different to what I'd imagined...maybe due to me, as usual, tweaking it a bit....I'm not sure.....but anyway they were different but DELICIOUS! Mine came out more cakelike rather than cookie/biscuit...more cake cum scone cum biscuit bites so I have renamed them....partly due to Clive eating one...then another...then another and remarking how easily they 'popped' into the mouth....

So I have called my version 'Rhubarb and Orange Pops'

The orange part obviously coming from the fact I didn't have any lemon to hand, but tonnes of fresh oranges due to my current obsession of making rhubarb, orange apple, carrot and spinach juice drinks for breakfast....so I know Orange and Rhubarb do go well together...the tang of the rhubarb is tempered by the sweetness of the orange and the colours of the pieces and zest look like little gems amongst the pale yellow soft fluffy sponge.

more like a rock cake!

My first batch took me by surprise....firstly thinking they were going to be cookie like, I followed the instructions and placed small spoonfuls onto my baking tray expecting them to spread and flatten out a bit...but found they actually kept their shape , puffing up slightly. The result was a rock cake shape!

but still moist, light and tasty !

I liked that....but now knowing how my mix was reacting in the oven and you have to be very careful not to let them overcook, I felt they probably needed shaping a bit and slightly flattening and smoothing out. For the second batch I took spoonfuls, then reshaped with a dampened fingers...the mix is reasonably firm, not too runny or sticky so it's quite easy to smooth out.

a bit more uniform in shape and colour.

I used the same recipe ingredients amounts and my mix yielded 30 'pops'....but really depends on the size of the spoonfuls you want. Mine were just about right 'two bite' pieces...but you could make smaller...or larger and remember to adjust the cooking times accordingly.

 



RHUBARB & ORANGE 'POPS'

Prep time 15 mins    Cook time 12-15 mins   Makes approx. 30

• 185g softened butter
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup unrefined caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 cups Self Raising flour
• 2 tsp cornflour
• 1 cup rhubarb chopped
• zest of 2 large oranges
• juice of 2 large oranges
• 1/2 tbsp of additional caster sugar

Pre heat oven to 180oC / 350oF / gas mark 4

Dice the rhubarb into small 1cm pieces and put in a bowl with the orange zest, 2 tbsp of the orange juice and the 1/2 tbsp of additional caster sugar. Combine well and set aside.

In another bowl, cream the butter, dark brown sugar and caster sugar together until light and fluffy, then beat in the egg and then gradually sift and fold in the SR flour and cornflour.

Stir in the rhubarb mix, and combine well and evenly...add more of the remaining juice if the mix is too thick and unworkable. You want a firmish mix that holds onto the spoon...NOT runny or of dropping consistency or they will not hold their shape.

Place spoonfuls of the mix onto a prepared cookie/baking tray, spaced a couple of cms apart...then shape gently into rounds and pat out smooth using dampened fingers.

Bake for approx. 12-25mins depending on your oven type and size of the 'pops'. You are looking for a pale golden colour slightly darker at the edges and they spring back when gently pressed with a finger (just like cooking a sponge cake) Take care not to over bake or they will become dry and crumbly.

Gobble up a couple while hot from the oven and no-ones looking.....and allow the rest to cool on a wire rack.

Get the kettle on, make a brew...bask in the aromas wafting around your kitchen, then relax, put your feet up, enjoy your moment of kitchen goddess bliss.....while you pop another couple in your mouth!

ENJOY!

XXXAngeXXX

Tweaked English Scones - with Peanut Butter!

I have been having a bit of an experimenting day in the kitchen today...

I wanted to make scones, but not my usual plain sweet or cheesy ones, and so while having a bit of a google on the 'net for new and interesting ideas I kept coming across recipes for peanut butter scones...

hmmmmmm??!!!!....now there's something that I really like...PEANUT BUTTER oh my, oh yes, oh yum! the thought of PB scones rather set the taste buds going!

On closer inspection of a few sites (and dutifully saved to Pinterest of course) I noticed that they were all for American style scones...and required more ingredients, including using eggs....and more often than not, chocolate (match made in heaven...so pretty obvious I guess).

So, nothing wrong with that....American style scones are VERY tasty...but the lack of English style recipes for scones with peanut butter got me wondering if it was actually possible to make them the English way....

...and there was only one way to find out....

just try it and see!

I took my tried and trusted recipe for English Sweet Scones and tweaked it just a little bit by adding some wholemeal flour and rolled oats into the mix (just to take the edge off the white stuff and add a bit more texture), and reducing the sugar content (assuming the PB would add some but not all the sweetness) and I stuck to normal milk rather than yoghurt or buttermilk for the liquid part (purely due to the fact I had neither in stock...but they would work equally well) I also opted to leave out chocolate...just so I could get an idea of what the plain PB scone would taste like.

Making up the mix was pretty simple....I just made the standard dry crumb mix first before adding the peanut butter, which I warmed slightly in the microwave to loosen it up a bit, then re-crumbed it again and then stirred in the milk to get the final dough. My ingredients list calls for approx. 1/4 pint of milk and I advise you add it slowly and gradually - depending on how much PB you use, and the flour type (not all flour is equal and has different absorption rates), so you may not need it all...or you may need more.  Mix it all gently and stop working it the moment it has all come together and formed a soft dough. It's crucial not to over knead scone dough...it's not like making bread and you do not want to activate too much gluten in the flour by kneading or you'll end up with dense heavy scones. Sometimes I form my dough into one large round and then cut into triangular segments, sometimes I use a round cutter...in this instance I went for a round 2&5/8ths inch plain round cutter and it yielded eight scones...oh, and one thing that I NEVER do, is to roll out the dough with a pin...I gently form and pat out with my hands because again, going back to what I said about mixing it, you don't want to over work it or it will become heavy...and I feel a rolling pin can often do that. I like a hands on approach so I can feel the texture and know when it's right. I pat it out to approx. 2 inch thickness...purely because that's how we like our scones - deep (after the added rising during cooking) with a good balance of soft fluffy inner and crispy crust outer.

So, a quick brush with a milk glaze over the top and they went in the oven and I sat in anticipation, watching as they slowly rose and lightly browned.

and the verdict?

Well, I have to say I was very please with the outcome.

The combination of the wholemeal flour and the oats gave a slightly nutty background to the scone.... and the peanut butter was there but not overpoweringly so. In all, the scone seemed more malty flavoured than anything and not overly sweet, which seemed quite strange...but pleasant....and as my 'NON peanut butter loving' other half scoffed back a couple and said they were very tasty and a success, I guess that was fine...in fact I think they make a perfect base for splitting and slathering with a spread such as chocolate. I tried one with sliced banana and a drizzle of honey and can happily give this combo a big thumbs up.

I also think this recipe could be tweaked to suit tastes....maybe add more wholemeal flour for a denser dough, maybe add more peanut butter for a real nutty kick...or even try crunchy version for real texture and bite...and don't forget to try chucking in some dark chocolate chips for a classic combo.

So here's the recipe I went for....give it a whirl...see what you think...tweak it if you think it needs it!

ENGLISH SCONES WITH A PEANUT BUTTER OATY TWIST - ingredients

• 5oz Plain white flour
• 3oz Wholemeal flour
• 1oz rolled oats
• 3 tsp baking powder
• pinch salt
• 2oz cold unsalted butter cut into cubes
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 2 generous dessert spoons of smooth peanut butter
• approx 1/4 pint milk you may need more/or less, plus some required for glazing.

Preheat oven to 220oC (200oC if using fan oven)

Combine the flour, oats, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl, add the butter and rub in with the fingers to form a rough crumb, stir in the sugar. Slightly warm the peanut butter in a microwave to loosen the texture a little and pour into the crumb mix, stir in. You'll probably find it will clump together so then use fingers to break it up and re-crumb the mix gently again. Start adding the milk, a bit at a time, stirring in until it all comes together, is combined and formed a soft dough. Tip out onto a work surface and gently shape with the hands. patting out to approx. 2 inch thickness. Shape as a round pattie and cut into 8 triangular wedges, or use a round cookie cutter to make the more traditional looking individual scones (makes approx. 8). Brush the tops with milk glaze and bake in oven for 12-15minutes until cooked through and lightly golden on top.

Serve warmed, split and spread with chocolate spread or sliced bananas and a dash of honey.

Enjoy!

A Rhubard Curd Tart...that wasn't tart at all!

I'm a few years in to growing rhubarb in one of my raised veg patches...to the point where things are growing so well my freezer is stuffed to the rafters with rhubarb and I'm basically giving it away left right and centre to any neighbour, relative and friend who'll eat it. I'm also becoming obsessed with finding new and different ways to cook and eat it...from savoury to sweet you name it, I'm googling for it and slowly working my way through a list....with the help of Pinterest of course, and my vast collection of cookery books.

We English are rather fond of our puddings...and a rhubarb crumble is a staple in our house...but there's only so much crumble a gal can eat...and where as it makes a welcome comforting dish during cold winter days (and where the pieces carefully frozen and stored in the freezer come into play)...during the early summer, when it's warm and the rhubarb is fresh and tender you find yourself wanting to make the most of it at it's best and freshest...but need something summery and lighter perhaps...

(although not necessarily lighter calorie wise...sigh)

After previous years experimenting in various preserving recipes for chutneys (photo above), I was looking at perhaps making a jam....(any way to store and preserve it is good by me) but most websites and my books suggest that this really only works well when using early tender and forced rhubarb stems...so this being the beginning of August with my plants mature, fat and ready to start wilting back, that didn't bode well on the jam front...

...and then, during a evening 'Pinteresting' I came across Rhubarb curd!

Hmmmm? Rhubarb Curd? Now that was something new for me. I was keen to give it a go.

The problem however, when searching for recipes on places like Pinterest, is that you can quite literally get bogged down with so many variations you aren't sure which way to turn and which one to try out so I pinned a few and took a closer look into them at what to do. I'm quite familiar with making lemon and lime curds...but wasn't sure how to prep the rhubarb (turns out there is more than one way). Firstly I settled on using a recipe from the good old tried and tested website BBCGoodFood, with a nice easy safe recipe to follow with little outlay and effort and a small yield of just two jars (so no mass of stuff to dispose of if all goes horribly wrong...oh me of little faith lol!) here's the link -

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2955676/rhubarb-curd

but one thing however did bother me. Their instructions called for the raw rhubarb to be run in a blender to create a pulp/juice...and I was not willing to do this and then have to deal with cleaning my blender (yes I was being a tad lazy that day) PLUS my rhubarb was mature and probably tougher than the usual forced stems (that they use) so I wasn't sure my blender was up to the task. So another scan of the pin board and I noticed another recipe by American food page The Kitchn -

http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-rhubarb-curdrecipes-from-the-kitchn-172075

Here, the instructions said to stew the rhubarb in a little water...and suggested this makes it sweeter...so that got me thinking....

Stew the rhubarb, but keep to the BBCGF recipe ingredients....and despite the fact the stewing would in effect have extra water in it, this would be counterbalanced by the added cornflour (in fact if you read the comments and ratings below, someone even advises adding extra cornflour to make the curd even thicker).

(As it turned out, I think stewing the rhubarb then giving it a further going over with my Bamix hand blender, pulverised the rhubarb very well and I extracted far more juice than was needed. I'm not convinced my food Blender would have done the job as well).

So, that was sorted and I set about my curd making. Here's the combo of the two above recipes -

RHUBARB CURD - (makes two jars)

600g forced rhubarb, washed, trimmed and roughly chopped (yes it does call for forced rhubarb....but as it turned out my more mature stems were perfectly fine and I just chopped them up smaller so they'd break down quicker)

 a little water for stewing

4 large eggs

200g butter, diced

4 tsp cornflour

175g caster sugar (I used vanilla pod infused unrefined golden castor sugar

 

First prep/sterilise two regular sized jam jars.

 

Place the rhubarb in a pan, barely cover with water, bring to a boil and then simmer until the stems become soft and pulpy. This might take approx. 20mins but depends on the size and thickness of the pieces. Remove from heat. If possible, use a hand blender to break the rhubarb down further (to enable you to extract as much juice as possible...then strain through a sieve, keeping the juice to make the curd. I use a plastic fine sieve over a bowl for sieving fruits, and push it through with a wooden spoon....I think using a metal sieve and utensils can often taint the fruit with a metallic taste. Set juice aside to cool.

 

You can use the left over pulp for something else (it's great stirred into some yoghurt). After hitting my stewed rhubarb with my Bamix hand blender I managed to sieve out much more juice than is probably usually expected and only had 2 tablespoons of pulp left.

 

Place the eggs, butter, cornflour, sugar, and 250ml of the rhubarb juice into a pan over a very low heat and whisk continuously until the butter has all melted and the ingredients have all incorporated. Then switch to using a wooden spoon and stir, again continuously over the very low heat until the curd thickens to about the consistency of custard. This may take some time....do not be tempted to turn up the heat, this will only curdle the eggs and turn it into a scrambled mess. Also keep an eye out to prevent it catching on the bottom and sides of the pan. Remove from the heat.

 

Sieve a second time, into a clean bowl, to remove any lumps, stir in a further 100ml more of the reserved juice (optional)...and fill your prepped jam jars. Seal, cool and store in the fridge (for up to one week)

So, here's my effort! Firstly, you can see the jug of left over juice in the background, over 100ml so that was jarred up to be used for a lemonade spritzer drink. But back to the curd...as you can see, the colour changed rather dramatically (and disappointingly) which I think is due to the lovely deep yellow free range eggs I used. So the deep salmon pink of the pulp dissipated into the egg sugar mix to became a rather insipid flesh colour...but hey ho...

 

It was the taste that was important to me...

 

Had to be good and patient to allow it to cool and with an overnighter in the fridge to thicken it up some more....then it was dive in with a spoon and give a verdict...

...and boy did it taste good!

 

Not what I expected at all, the curd was creamy, smooth, velvety...not tart at all (real surprise considering it is rhubarb!) but not too sweet either and with a subtle buttery vanilla background. The consistency was soft, unlike the curds I'm used to making...and certainly no where near the gelatinous stuff they sell in the supermarkets. In my opinion, it's was very close to that of crème pat (only obviously rhubarb tasting)....

 

divine...totally divine!

 

If you like rhubarb, and you like making preserves and curds etc, then you really need to make some. Yes it has a short shelf life...but to be honest, once you taste it, that jar will empty quicker than you think lol!

 

So, asides from just diving in and eating it straight of the spoon....I started to ponder over ways in which to use it. BBCGF page suggests slathering it on toast and crumpets...which I'm rather partial too with my lemon curds...

 

...but there was something about this one that seemed far too creamy and decadent to be partnered up with bread.

 

It was crying out to be used in a dessert.

 

So I thought, lets try a little pastry tart, filled with the curd, topped with some more rhubarb (roasted pieces this time) to put some of the bite and tang back in...

First things - I made a shortcrust pastry. Very easy and quick to do...just a plain one. I don't bother with making sweet enriched pastry for sweet tarts because I like to balance the sweeter contents with a plain base. I use a good old tried and trusted recipe from BBC Food site -

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/shortcrustpastry_1278

 

Just click on the link and follow their instructions...I'm not going to type it all out again because it's just straight up as it is written, no tweaking or alterations by me.

 

I rolled out very thin (I like really thin crispy delicate bases to my dessert tarts) and blind baked in a small loose bottomed tartlet pan.

Look...no soggy bottoms!

 

While this was set aside to cool, I then went and got myself a nice young tender stem of rhubarb, fresh from the garden.

Washed and trimmed into small pieces, I places the rhubarb onto a baking tray and roasted in the oven for a couple of minutes...a couple was all it took as it was quite a thin stem.

 

Now roasting is an ideal way to cook rhubarb if you want to soften but retain it's shape (stewing obviously breaks down the fibres). Some cooks suggest you sprinkle with sugar and a spoonful of water, but I didn't bother...I wanted a bit of bite and to keep the rhubarb as tangy as possible.

While the roasted rhubarb pieces cooled, I set about filling the tart pastry case with my rhubarb curd. Because I intended on eating straight away, I didn't bother with sealing the pastry case with an egg wash (and some people brush melted chocolate in) but if the tart had to sit around for awhile (say if I was making for a party or dinner) then I probably would because the liquid in the curd will probably soften and seep into the pastry...so after all that hard work cooking to ensure no soggy bottoms...you don't want to go ruining it with the filling putting one right back in there do you!

The tart got decorated with the roasted rhubarb....which I had a dilemma over - go all rustic and scatter or be more civilised and posh and make a symmetrical pattern....

 

civilised and posh won!

...and then a dusting of icing sugar....awe...look...it's all pretty!

 

Done!

Crispy pastry, soft creamy filling, tangy bites of rhubarb...

 

Oh my did THAT taste good!

 

I think we can safely say this curd recipe and tart will be made quite a few more times in this kitchen :)

 

Hope you enjoyed reading this....and that it inspires you to have a go at making your own curd.

 

xxx Ange xxx

NEW BLOG!

I haven't been around here for a bit....mainly because all my news has been posted up on Facebook...but also because I've been busy organizing the launch of my new business, Facebook page and NEW BLOG....

so, here it is folks.....

STUDIO FORTY

I'm still going to run The Six Inch Square Blog....this place is where I do all my verbal 'rambling' and info on my various hobbies. Studio Forty is purely for the details on my artwork and services available to purchase. All new pieces made and ready to buy will be posted on there.

I hope you will take a moment to pop by and start following the new blog....lots of things to come, all variety of artwork will be available to suit many tastes...

...and Tatty Button is BACK and making an appearance again after many months 'resting' - I have some printed cotton shopping bags in stock ready to buy now with four original Tatty Button designs to choose from.

Hope to see you there!

Oh, and you can also check out the new FACEBOOK: STUDIOFORTY-ANGE J LEE PAGE

Please pop by, LIKE and share!

XXXAnge XXX

HAPPY WORLD BAKING DAY!

Did you know it is World Baking Day today?

We've all been encouraged to step in those kitchens...and step outside the comfort zone and be a little braver with our baking by creating a cake, biscuits, just something sweet and delicious that we've never done or attempted before....

...here's a link to the website that has been set up...and for people a little stuck for ideas, they've teamed up with 100 different chefs, from tv fame, restaurants and home bakers etc to supply recipes....suited for all ages and abilities...PLUS an Ultimate Challenge Cream Puff Cake from Buddy Valastro of Cake Boss fame...gone on...dare you make it!

http://worldbakingday.com/#/en-gb

For all you Facebookers, they also have an FB page for you to join in chat and upload pics in order to share your creations of the day.

So...what have I done?

Well...Baking isn't a hardship for me - give me any excuse to get in the kitchen and get those baking utensils out...and I'm there.....but, deciding what to do has been a little bit tricky. Today I'm a little stretched for time....I have commitments today so much as I was really tempted to try the Buddy Challenge, I sadly cannot, and so I picked a couple of things that could be all completed by mid morning before I head off out (after posting this too, of course). What to do that was 'out of my comfort zone' was also a poser...because aside from cooking something I truly hate (no point in that, if I can't enjoy sampling my creations) I'm not easily fazed by baking and will give anything a go....so what to do...what to do....

On searching the WBD website for inspiration, my OH pointed out this recipe

Barbara Richards - 5 Cup Health Crunchies

http://worldbakingday.com/#/en-gb/recipe/5-cup-health-crunchies

...on the basis that it's a sort of healthy thing...and since basically none of my baking creations come under the 'healthy' label...it would be something different for me to try.

There was one problem, however....it contained coconut!

I HATE coconut!...

almost as much as I hate raisins, currants and sultanas!

"Well, since when has something in a recipe ever stopped you....change it...put in something you DO like"...was his reply!

So I did...

and here's the result

The recipe calls for 5 equal cup measures of ingredients (hence the name of course) but I tweaked it slightly and the coconut was substituted by a third a cup each of chopped hazelnuts and walnuts, plus the oats were increased by one third of a cup too...so still maintaining a 5 cup measure in total. I also used dark brown sugar to give more depth in colour and flavour. The recipe instructions and baking times were all the same.

If I may say so, they are stunningly delicious! We've just sampled some fresh baked and warm from the oven and they're slight soft and gooey, and cakey....but I also think once they've cooled and crisped up a bit, they'll be even more moreish!

I have a feeling these are going to become a regular bake in this household and make a lovely change from flapjacks. They are also ripe for even more adaptation - we think adding dried fruit...and even grated apple would work...and maybe some chocolate to create a slightly more sinful version!

Can't wait to experiment!

There will be no waiting for another World Baking Day to come along though...I think next week is more like it!

Aside from that I also baked bread...

nothing new there...but it was Soda Bread, and made with buttermilk (the proper traditional way) and is a little out of my comfort zone because I'm so used to bread made with yeast and kneaded, left to prove etc - this stuff uses Bicarbonate of Soda for the raising agent...and no kneading or proving required...it's a case of mix it, shape it, cut it, bake it...and 30 mins later you're done!

I used a Paul Hollywood (bread god!) recipe from his book 'How to Bake'.

Now, don't laugh!...but Whoops, this is what happened! It sort of exploded out a little too much. Tradition has it that you shape the dough into a ball, and then deeply slash through in a cross shape before baking....this is to let the bread devil out. Paul, in his book tells you to cut almost to the base, but I didn't...and even so it still expanded and opened out to this extent. I think the Devil...AND all his mates have quite comfortably been let out of this one lol!

Oh well...it might look a little misshapen...but as long as it tastes good I'm happy!

Once more...A Happy World Baking Day to you...

now get in those kitchens...and bake!

XXX

MUFFIN MONDAY - Marbled Vanilla & Chocolate AND Oaty Fruity Muffins

It's Monday....and it's Muffins! I baked up a couple of batches of new recipes to try over the weekend and as promised (to my FB friends), after being sampled and some bits slightly tweaked, the results and ingredients are now here for you to try.

Marbled Vanilla & Chocolate Muffins

I recently found a little book  '1 mix, 50 muffins' with some very interesting variations in, but have really only just got around to trying out some of it's contents. I wanted to make basic chocolate muffins and could have used my normal tried and tested recipes, but found in this book one for a marbled effect - ie the mix is split into half chocolate, half vanilla then randomly spooned into the cases to create a marbled swirled sponge. I decided to give this variation a go...but mainly because the instructions got me a little curious. It called for the whole batter mix to be mixed up as vanilla, then halved into two bowls, and an amount of cocoa powder added to one batch. On reading this I immediately thought...hmmmm surely adding the cocoa to this batch would alter the consistency, compared to the vanilla...

I went ahead with the recipe...and sure enough, the addition of the extra 'dry ingredient' cocoa powder did indeed make the chocolate batch much thicker in consistency to the vanilla half. My concern then, was whether this would affect the baking. I think it did. The batch of muffins came out very uneven and lopsided...and on pulling apart and tasting one, found the chocolate sections much drier and heavier....and maybe even a tad overcooked. The vanilla parts were much nicer in texture....so I wasn't happy...a tweak of the recipe was called for.

Convinced that the dry powder ingredients (ie flour and cocoa) needed to be equal in weights for both batches I took a look at the book again and took the details for a basic vanilla mix and then compared it to the details for a basic chocolate mix. The vanilla one called for 10oz of plain flour, the chocolate one called for 8oz of flour with the remaining 2oz substituted with cocoa powder.....(all the rest of the ingredients were identical) so the obvious thing was to use both of these recipes instead, halve the quantities and just follow the same instructions as to spooning these batches into the cases as before, to create the marble.

The result was a much more evenly baked and risen muffin...and so here is my amended version -

Marbled Vanilla & Chocolate Muffins (makes approx 10-12 standard sized)

for the Vanilla batch -
5oz Plain flour
half tbsp baking powder
quarter tsp salt
2oz caster sugar
1egg
4 1/2 floz milk
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1tsp vanilla extract

for the Chocolate batch -
4oz Plain flour
1oz Cocoa powder
half tbsp baking powder
quarter tsp salt
2oz caster sugar
1 egg
4 1/2 floz milk
3 tbsp vegetable oil

Pre heat oven to 200oC/400oF/gas mark 6 (if using fan assisted oven, reduce temperature according to manufacturers instructions)

Prepare a muffin tin, grease and line or use paper cases.

Make up each batch in separate bowls in the order as follows - Sift together dry ingredients, mix together wet ingredients in another bowl or jug, pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones and stir quickly but gently until just combined (it will look lumpy but no dry flour should be visible).

Using teaspoons, spoon batter into the muffin tins, alternating the chocolate and vanilla mix.

Bake in oven for approx 20mins until well risen, and tops spring back when touched or a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Transfer to wire rack to cool.

These muffins look pretty cool with the swirled two tone sponge but as it was Easter, I tarted mine up a little bit more for an extra sweet treat -

The tops were smothered in chocolate frosting and little chocolate mini eggs placed on as decoration...you couldn't see the marbling and only once the case was peeled back and the sponge bitten into, did the multicoloured mix reveal itself!

Oaty & Fruity Breakfast Muffins (makes 10-12 standard size)

This is from a tried and trusted Susan Reimer recipe for Oatmeal and chocolate chip muffins that has been tweaked and the chocolate replaced with dried fruit....for a slightly more healthier version. I call then 'Breakfast' muffins because I use porridge oats.

2oz rolled oats
9 floz milk
8oz plain flour
3 tsp baking powder
half tsp salt
4oz mixed dried fruit
1 egg (beaten)
4oz light brown soft sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3floz vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 200oC/400oF/Gas Mark6 (if using fan assisted oven, reduce temperature according to makers instructions)

Prepare muffin tins.

In bowl combine the oats and milk and set aside to soak while you prepare the remaining ingredients.

In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt...then stir in the dried mixed fruit.

To the oat/milk mixture, stir in the beaten egg, sugar, vanilla extract, and oil...then pour into the dry ingredients and stir quickly but gently until just combined. Do not over mix....it should be a lumpy batter but with no dry flour visible.

Pour into muffin tin/cups (about  three quarters full), bake for 20-25mins until light brown and firm to the touch. Transfer to wire rack to cool.

Enjoy!

SIMPLE MOROCCAN BEAN AND VEGETABLE STEW

As, usual....I haven't posted on here for a while. I'm busy with refurbing and redecorating the bathroom, diningroom and kitchen - picking up from where I left off after the professionals came in to fit new suite and kitchen appliances a while back etc (if you follow my blog you'll have seen the photos and such). I'm on the home straight (I think!) and I'll be doing another update and blog post once it's all finished so hang tight...it'll be here soon I hope...

...in the meantime, I'm just posting up a recipe for something I cooked up today. Really enjoyed it...it was a big hit with the OH so I've decided to share on here.

We're in the middle of a snow storm again (it's nearly April for crying out loud...can we please have Spring now...all this white stuff and below freezing temps is becoming a joke!) so we've been hankering after comfort foods. I was watching an old Nigel Slater tv cookery show and he was making a lentil and pancetta stew and that kinda got my mouth watering...

...stew...mmmmmm...stew sounded goooood...

...but I didn't have any lentils (used up my last can a few days ago for a dahl curry) and I didn't have any pancetta....or bacon...or any other meats for that fact...

so a quick scout of the cupboard and armed with an onion, two small leeks, two large carrots, tinned tomatoes and a tin of butterbeans and the herbs and spice cupboard at the ready, I decided to try out moroccan style. I used an old tried and tested combo of spices (normally used for a meat tagine) but the rest was kinda winging it...thankfully it turned out rather good. With the absence of meat it's pretty quick one pot to cook up and serve within the hour...although I daresay, if left over night the flavours would develop even more.

Don't be put off by the long list of herbs and spices...looks a lot, but these really are needed for a good authentic moroccan flavour and are actually in small quantities.

Sorry...but no photos...we were too hungry to stand around prepping and making pretty for piccies!

Simple Moroccan style Bean and Veg stew (serves 4)

couple of tblspns of oil for frying (I used rapseed but olive or veg oil is fine)
1 medium sized onion, peeled and chopped (about 1inch pieces)
1 large leek (or two small), washed and chopped (about 1 inch pieces)
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
*1tsp cumin seeds
*half tsp ground cinnamon
*1tsp ground coriander
*half tsp tumeric powder
*half tsp fennel seeds
*1 tsp dried basil
*half tsp sea salt
*small pinch of cayenne
2 garlic cloves (crushed or very fine choped)
1 400g tin Tomatoes in juice
1pt chicken stock (or veg stock if making as a vegetarian meal)
1 400g tin Butter Beans, drained and rinsed
half tblsp grated fresh ginger (optional)
fresh chopped coriander or parsley to serve (optional)

Fry off the onion, leek and carrot in the oil for a couple of minutes, then stir in all the * marked herbs and spices and cook a further 2 mins, Add the garlic, gently cook another min the add in the tomatoes and stock. Bring to the boil and simmer about 25-30mins...stiring occasionaly and keeping an eye that it doesn't dry up...add extra water or more stock if needed (the tomatoes and long simmering will thicken the liquid but it's a stew so there needs to be ample juices). Add the Butterbeans and gently cook a further 10 mins then stir in the grated ginger (if using), turn off the heat, cover and let rest a few minutes.

Serve scattered with the chopped fresh herbs and with plain cous cous or some pitta bread to mop up the juices.

Enjoy!

MUFFIN MONDAY! Spiced apple, Gingerbread muffins...and a few Welsh Cakes thrown in.

It's MUFFIN MONDAY!  I haven't done one of these for a while...mainly due to all the work going into finishing off the studio which I'm delighted to say I moved back into last week and started work for proper...although there are still a few tweaks and things to tidy off before it's all completed but it's finally a workable space again and I'm loving it...

...anyways, back to the muffins! Today is the annual Macmillan Cake Sale fund raiser event at Clive's work so I was asked to contribute...and of course muffins were the way to go. So, I did the usual batch of always popular spiced apple muffins....plus a flavour I've never baked before - Gingerbread! Oh and I also had a little extra time to make some Welsh Cakes...and those are what I'll share the recipe with you today.

LEFT (back) - Gingerbread muffins with sweet iced topping. RIGHT (back) - Spiced apple muffins with crispy walnut topping. FRONT - Welsh Cakes with mixed fruits.

I have to say, the gingerbread ones were a first for me and the making of them was quite unusual because the inclusion of sticky black treacle makes the mix look and feel quite strange. Although the final baked form is more cake-like, the putting together is done in the way of making a traditional muffin (ie dry ingredients in one bowl, all the wet ingredients mixed together in another bowl, then the whole lot combined in one go) but the mix is much wetter and smoother and slightly thinner....and I don't actually like ginger (I have a strange allergic type reaction when I've eaten it...worse when it's fresh ginger) so I was a little worried whether they'd turned out fine. Luckily Clive was on hand to do a test taste for me and the verdict was good, with a nice subtle ginger flavour and a good dark hit of treacle...PHEW!

Another new one for the Macmillan event, was Welsh Cakes. I haven't made these for a while but had some dried fruit left over from a fruit cake I'd recently made so it was a perfect time to use up those left over bits and pieces.

Here's the recipe, which I've been assured (by Welsh friends) is a good traditional one...and which uses just currants. For the ones I made today, I used mixed dried fruits instead because Clive likes the hit of citrus from the dried peel pieces and the additional moistness from the larger plump raisins helps prevent them drying out too quick.

WELSH CAKES - (makes approx 20)

8oz Plain Flour sifted*
1/2 teaspoon baking powder*
1/4 teaspoon mixed spice*
pinch of salt*
4oz Butter (room temperature and cut into small cubes)
3oz Caster Sugar
2-3oz Currants
1 Egg
a little milk on standby
extra caster sugar for coating

For cooking the cakes the traditional tool to use is a Planc or Welsh Bakestone but I've not got one and have found a frying pan just as good - a good non stick heavy based one or even a griddle (flat one NOT the one with ridges) will do the trick without the need for greasing....but remember that a small pan will only allow you to cook a small batch at a time....so be prepared for a long baking session! You'll also need a round fluted tartlett/cookie cutter and I used a 2.5 inch one which made 20 cakes. These cakes, in name, are a little deceiving...and are actually more like a flat scone and not a sponge...the technique is very much like scone and some pastry/biscuit making where you 'breadcrumb' the dry and butter ingredients before adding the wet to form a soft dough and rolling out. DO NOT, however, allow the dough to rest or place in a fridge - this will make the mix too short and crumbly. Use straight away like with a scone mix.

1. Sift together the dry ingredients (marked with a *)
2. Rub the butter into the flour mix to a fine breadcrumb consistency
3. Stir in the sugar and currants and combine well to make sure there is an even spread of the fruits.
4. Add the egg and combine to form a soft dough ball. If it looks a little dry or is not forming a dough, add a scant amount of milk but take care not to make it too wet.
5. Turn out onto a lightly floured worktop and knead VERY gently just a couple of times - take care not to overwork or the dough will become too tough.
6. Flatten and roll out evenly to approx 8mm thick (see notes below)
7. Using the round fluted cutter, start cutting out rounds, placing on a tray lined with baking parchment (so they don't stick) ready for cooking.
8. Preheat up the griddle/frying pan and gently transfer a small batch of the dough rounds to it. Use a flat palette knife or fish slice etc so the round shapes do not get distorted.
9. Gently cook until the base has a nice golden colour then flip over and gently cook the other side (see notes below)
10. Transfer cooked cakes to a wire cooling rack and immediately dredge both sides with caster sugar.

NOTES

• Use the dough immediately - DO NOT allow to rest or place in the fridge because the mix will toughen up and 'shorten' - altering the texture of the cake. It needs to be soft like a traditional English sweet scone.
• likewise, DO NOT over knead or be too heavy handed rolling out the dough...this will activate the glutens in the flour which will toughen up the mix.
• Due to the inclusion of Baking Powder, these cakes will rise very slightly during cooking so it's important not to roll out and cut out too think a round or else they will not cook through into the centre. I tend to roll out to the thickness of about a digestive biscuit.
• These are very simple to make...but do need a little care and thought in the cooking. Do not heat up the pan too hot or else you'll end up burning the outside before the inside is done. A moderate heat and gentle cooking on both sides until you get a good golden to dark colour on them. You can judge when it's cooked by keeping an eye on the sides...you can see the raw dough changing colour and if you still have a raw line in the centre....chances are its uncooked in the centre. I sometimes cook just one piece to start off with, then tear in half to check the inside so I can get a good idea of the level of heat I'm using and how long they take to do each side...before cooking the rest of the batch.
• The cakes are best served warm and fresh baked. They are nice eaten cold and will keep for a day or so but tend to dry out and go stale quick. If this does happen you can warm up for a few seconds in the microwave and a little spreading of butter on the top adds moisture back into them.
• I'm on the understanding that the traditional fruit ingredients are currants only...but there's nothing to stop you from creating variations to suite your own tastes - using mixed fruits...even chopped up dried tropical fruits or a few nuts. I personally do not like dried fruit and have on occasion made plain ones using the spices only, although they can be a little dry due to the omission of the fruits (which add extra moisture and sweetness) so are best served fresh baked, warm with a little smearing of butter on the top. Some people even spread jam on theirs!

Enjoy!