Happy Victoria Day: Blueberry Scones

Happy Victoria Day to all my fellow Canadians.

Whether or not you call it the May Two-Four or The May Long Weekend, I hope you're having a lovely weekend, the weather cooperates and you've marked the unofficial beginning of summer in a delicious way.

There really isn't an official food to celebrate the Queen's birthday. Along with opening up their cottages, and giving serious thought to their gardens, many use this weekend to fire up their barbecues for the first time.

A couple of years ago I posted a Victoria Sponge as my foodish offering. This year I continue with the baking theme and offer Tamasin Day-Lewis' fruit scones, which happens to be my go-to scone recipe.

It's been a while since I last made them and quite frankly I'd probably not have done up a batch if our lovely Judy from No Fear Entertaining hadn't tweeted a sconish SOS, which she posted about here.

The recipe itself is quite easy and forgiving, allowing for variations based on what you have on hand--milk, soured milk etc. I usually make it with either sour cream (with a touch of vanilla) or vanilla yoghurt. The amount of sugar is low, but could (and I'll say should) be adjusted based on the sweetness of the fruit you're adding--a sour punnet of blueberries may require up to another 25g of sugar, for example.

Blueberry Scones

Adapted from Tamasin Day-Lewis' Fruit Scone Recipe, from Tamasin's Kitchen Bible

Yield 24

450g (1lb/ 3.25c-ish) ap flour
0.5 tsp salt
85g (approx 0.3c) butter (cold)

either :
2tsp bicarb + 2tsp cream of tartar + 300ml (1.25c) buttermilk, sour milk, yoghurt or sour cream (mixed together)

or
2tsp bicarb + 4.5tsp cream of tartar + 300ml (1.25c) homo milk (full fat) (mixed together)

50g (0.25c) sugar (+ more for sprinkling)
100g (0.5-0.66c) blueberries (or dried fruit)

Preheat oven to 220C/425F; line a baking tray with parchment.

Sift together flour, salt and sugar. Grate/rub in butter and quickly mix in liquid until spongey.

Lightly knead until smooth and roll to about 1-2 cm (0.5"-0.75") thickness.

Roll the dough into a rectangle and then scatter the fruit and then fold the dough over on itself into thirds. Depending upon how juicy the fruit is, you can roll it out or just press it out with your fingertips.

Cut out scones (5cm/2" round cutter, wedges, etc), set on prepared tray for 10 minutes. Lightly brush with egg/milk wash and sprinkle with sugar and let rise for about 10-15 minutes.

Bake for 10 minutes.

Serve warm with butter, clotted cream, honey or preserves.

cheers!

jasmine

I'm a quill for hire!

Daring Bakers: Tuiles

• Recipe's origins: Savoury tuile/cornet fromThomas Keller's "The French Laundry Cookbook"
• Recipe's orginator: Thomas Keller
• Our hostess: Karen of Bake My Day
• Our co-hostess: Zorra of 1x umrühren bitte

This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.

"What? Wait a minute, " I hear you say. "You wrote that the recipe is savoury tuiles are from Thomas Keller's The French Laundry, but the next paragraph says the challenge is chocolate tuiles from either Angélique Schmeink or from Michel Roux for what's suspiciously resonant of sweet tuiles.

Well, yes. The original challenge was for sweet tuiles...but the savoury recipe kindasorta snuck its way into a challenge variation.

Hurrah for savoury choices!

Don't get me wrong, I love my sweets, but my sweet tooth has been on strike for a while, so when given the choice between savoury or sweet, I choose the former.

"What the heck are tuiles," I hear some of you say. "I thought that was ballet tutus were made of."

That's tulle.

A tuile is a crisp and thin biscuit, usually shaped. According to our lovely hostesses, traditionally they are gently molded over a rolling pin or arched form while they are still warm. Once set, their shape resembles the curved French roofing tiles for which they're named. In The Netherlands, this batter was used to bake flat round cookies on 31st December, representing the year unfold. On New Years day however, the same batter was used but this day they were presented to well-wishers shaped as cigars and filled with whipped cream, symbolizing the New Year that's about to roll on. And of course the batter is sometimes called tulip-paste....

Tulle is a very fine, starched, light netting that's used for bridal veils, foofoochichi gowns and ballet tutus (which one could argue is a foofoochichi gown in its own right).

"No, I meant that thin cottony cloth."

That's toile. My word...how old are you that you recall ballet tutus made of cottony cloth? Depending upon how you use the word, toile can be a painter's canvas, or a dressmaker's pattern or a repeated pastoral scene on an off-whiteish cottony cloth.

"Isn't that a person who follows Islam...what you claim the dressmaker's pattern is."

No. An adherant of Islam is a Muslim...not muslin. And yes, muslin is a material used to mock up dresses and clothes.

"Then what's Muesli?"

An oaty cereal made with oats and fruit. It's like granola.

"I thought that was French for "frog."

Non. Le mot pour "frog" est "la grenouille."

"Isn't that in the Alps?"

Grenoble is a city in the French Alps. Les grenouilles are found in ponds and rivers and other wetlands...although there may be ponds in Grenoble..."

"The Alps. Isn't that a god or something?"

You're thinking of Apollo, who's in both Roman and Greek mythology. He's associated with music, light, intellectualism and a raft of other things.

"Yeah, but wasn't he in the stars or something."

Maybe you're thinking of the Apollo missions and the moon landing.

"I love looking at the moon and stars and all that outer space stuff."

(SIGH) Yes. I know (even though, if I were you, I'd be more concerned with your inner space).

"Hey. You know French. What's the French for moon and stars?"

The moon is "la lune."
Stars are "les étoiles" or the singular is "l'étoile."

Etoile. Isn't that a cookie?

That's a tuile...as in this month's Daring Baker's challenge.

The recipe called for black sesame seeds to be sprinkled on the biscuit before baking. That, I did. But I also sprinkled on some nigella seeds (hey, January is her birthmonth) on some others. We were asked to pair our biscuits with a light-ish topping. Well...it's January. In Canada. I'm not so into light and am firmly entrenched in hearty. Sorry ladies...well, not really. I paired the sesame seed tuiles with black olive tapenade (store bought) and the nigellan lotus cups (square biscuits cooled in cupcake bowls) with a white bean hummous, specked with nigella seeds.









To see what the other Daring Bakers did, please visit our blogroll.

cheers!
jasmine

Banana Oat Muffins

I'm trying to decide if my recent migration towards heartier muffins--ones imbued with whole grains and other nubbly bits, from sorry excuses for eating cake for breakfast, signals something significant or is just my body's natural attempt at rebalancing itself from sugarfest that marks each and every December.

Don't get me wrong, I think into every life more than a little cake for breakfast must fall. Same with cheeziepoofs for supper: sometimes all you need for a full meal is something you'd normally reserve for a once in a while treat. Perhaps it's my embodiment of the great Julia Child's belief of everything in moderation, including moderation.

My problem with oatmealy muffins is their inextricable association with old people and "regularity." The same sort of regularity that comes from prunes and castor oil. (Okay. I do love prunes...but not for that reason. I think they are just like candy.) Then there's the McHealthiness associated with nutrionism and the bandwagon jumpers who drone on and on about whole grain this and oaty that.

These muffins were born from a burden of a couple of mushy bananas and utter boredom with my usual banana bread (which does get turned into muffins from time to time). Yes, I could jazz things up by switching the fruit, adding nuts or introducing chocolate, but no. I wanted something different, something with a bit more oomphy-heartiness to it. Hearty--but not leaden--they are. Oomphy...not so much. But that's okay.



Banana Oat Muffins
Yield 6 ginomous muffins or 12 regular ones

130g ap flour
65g whole wheat flour
0.5t cinnamon
1 dspn baking powder
0.5t bicarbonate of soda
0.25t salt
90g sugar
2 mashed bananas (roughly 250ml)
60ml vegetable oil
1t vanilla extract
80ml buttermilk
2 eggs, beaten
50g rolled oats

Preheat oven to 170C/350F. Line or grease a 6-bun muffin tray with papers. You're looking at the ginormous muffin-sized tray, not the sane muffin-sized ones. If you want sane-sized ones, grab and grease or paper as 12-bun muffin tray.

Stir together flours, baking powder, bicarb and cinnamon.

Combine bananas, salt, sugar, oil, vanilla, buttermilk and eggs.

Stir the dry mixture into the wet until just combined, then fold in the oats.

Dollop into the prepared muffin trays. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

cheers!
jasmine

Daring Bakers: Shuna Fish Lydon's Caramel Cake

• Recipe's origins: Bay Area Bites: Caramel Cake, The Recipe
• Recipe's orginator: Shuna Fish Lydon
• Our hostess: Dolores of Culinary Curiosity
• Our co-hostess: Alex of Brownie and Blondie and Jenny of Foray into Food

When I heard that this month's DB challenge was one of Shuna's recipes, I was positively overjoyed. Not only is she the wonderful authoress of the equally wonderful Eggbeater, but I had the distinct pleasure of being on the BlogHer '07 foodblogging panel with her. I can tell you all that she's an absolutely warm and lovely person and I am so happy to have had the opportunity to have met her.

I read though the recipe and I knew exactly when it would be served. You see, this month marked My Most Marvellous Manager's 10th anniversary at the company. He's a truly great person and I am so lucky to have worked with him for the past seven and a half years--quite knowledgeable, a great mentor and quite patient (well, you have to be to work with me). I'm pretty sure he didn't suspect I'd bring in some treats to mark the milestone..

I'm not much of a caramel maker. I've only made it successfully once before. Normally I get a crystaline formation that could resemble an outcropping on a planet seen on Doctor Who. Previous attempts left me so frustrated that I simply gave up, or if I was cooking with my Dear Little Cardamummy, I'd just get her to make it. Well, I seem to have regained my caramel making touch as it turned out perfectly, with little wisps of smoke rising as the Napalm-.like liquid turned a deep amber.

The batter came together wonderfully. Can't say much better than that.

Now, when it came to determining how best to take it in, I decided to go with cupcakes. I have learned that I have some...enthusastic eaters...around me, and sometimes it's best that treats be pre-portioned...mind you, it also means there's less clean up in the end, so it's not totally an altruistic decision.

Cuppycakes they were. the recipe turned out about 18 slightly mounded slight cakes. My guess is Beelzebub was done with them in about 20 minutes.Truth be told, 12 of them made it to the office...the other six were mysteriously left in my kitchen. Funny how this happens from time to time.

I think the next time I make this cake, I'll halve the icing recipe. It's quite delicious, but there's a lot of it. I'd prefer a thinnish icing layer bonneting the cakes, than entombing the delicate and soft crumb in all that icing.

Everyone loved the cupcakes -- including MMMM.




To see what the other Daring Bakers did, please visit our blogroll.

cheers!
jasmine

Cranapple Muffins

One of the many things I've been accused of is never leaving well enough alone. I analyse, overanalyse and poke holes in things and ideas until the point of my own often-fleeting satisfaction.

It annoys some people.

In certain instances it's to make sure I've made the right decision. I read prospectuses, I look at the alternatives, I weigh pros and cons. I like to think I rarely take recommendations blindly from sales people: I've found their advice is very rarely given with an altruistic bent, and more often planted by sales quotas. Admittedly, there's a little rush I get when I put on the doe-eyed "I don't quite understand this" bunny voice and innocently ask the question they don't want to answer...

In other instances I want to see how I can do the same thing but easier, faster, cheaper or (when it comes to food) tastier. Nothing wrong with that. At least not to me.

When it comes to cooking and baking I like to play....which results in NTSM (never twice (the) same meal). When I sort out a base recipe I take off from there. Sometimes I change one ingredient, sometimes I change a whole bunch. Gosh, it frustrated The Fussy Eater.

"Why can't you just make a normal (insert whatever dish I happened to serve). I liked it the last time. Why do you always have to change things?"

Of course, what he never realised was "the last time" wasn't the straight recipe. My response was usually "What, don't you like it?"

He usually grudgingly admitted that he did.

Case closed.

Mind you, there are recipes that just beg to be played with, if only for the number of times it's prepared. Muffins are a prime example. I make a dozen every couple of weeks and sometimes I revert to the original flavours, I often change things to what's on hand, what's in season or to satisfy a craving.

Now that we're in that post-Thanksgiving-pre-Christmas period, right now I'm craving cranberries and tart apples...hence cranapple muffins. These quick breads aren't like the cake-like offerings found in coffee shops and mass-market cafeterias--the crumb, while not exactly tender, has enough body to make them perfect for breakfast or late-aftenoon pick me up. I prefer to soak the cranberries for a little while before adding them to the batter--not only do the plump nicely, but it also rids them of their imposed, insipid sweetness.

Cranapple Muffins

Makes 12 "normal sized" muffins

60g butter, melted
200g ap flour
1 dspn baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
120g sugar
a good pinch of salt
200ml plain or vanilla yoghurt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla
75g dried cranberries, rehydrated in boiling water for about 10 or 15 minutes
1 tart apple, peeled and chopped (Granny Smith, Greening or any other varietal you happen to have on hand).

Line a 12-bun muffin tray with papers and preheat the oven to 190C/375F.

Seive together the flour, baking powder, bicarb, sugar and salt.

Mix together the yoghurt, butter, egg and vanilla. Pour into the dry ingredients. Quickly bring together the mixture--this will only take a few stirs with a spoon: lumps are okay as you aren't looking for cake batter. Fold in the apples and cranberries. Divide between the muffin bowls and bake until an inserted cake tester comes out cleanly...about 25 minutes, depending upon your oven's temperment.

cheers!
jasmine

Pumpkin cupcakes

'Tis the season to be pumpkinny.

I suppose this could be a Savour the Season post...and if I'd given more thought to it, I'd probably have trekked out to the pumpkin patch, snapped some photos and done up a proper StS badge...but alas, I did not.

The fact is, I was stuck for Hallowe'eny treats. Last year I didn't do anything for this spooky day--didn't dress up, didn't do the treats. I wanted to rectify the situation.

This year, I wanted to be a bumble bee. We have a great theatrical costumer in town and I recall seeing the striped top, wings and other bee-like acutriments a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, I was in an all-morning meeting and couldn't buzz around like I wanted...well, I could have, but it wouldn't have been advisable. Sigh...the problems of being a somewhat responsible grown up...

So I recycled a previous "costume" --dressed normally and wore my tiara (yes, I do own one)...whenever people commented on the headpiece I'd just say in my breathy bunny voice, "What tiara? I don't know what you're talking about," or "Princess? Why do you think that I'm only a princess one day a year?"


The treats weren't as easy to sort out. A few years ago I came up with ghoulish witch fingers...people are still talking about them. I'd seen some other seasonal goodies and thought about doing something really gross, but I've been run off my size sixes.


The fallback plan is always cupcakes. After some pondering, I decided on pumpkin cupcakes with orangy cream cheese frosting.


The frosting was thrown together without measuring...roughly 125g cream cheese (half a packet) a big knob of butter, a couple or four spoons of icing sugar, a dribble of orange essence and a teaspoon or two of orange juice.


The cupcakes are great--moist, spiced like a Thanksgiving pie but with a fluffy crumb...and very, very easy.


I'd thought I'd only bake a couple dozen...and I was well on my way to do that...but accidentally added the entire 796ml tin of pumpkin into the bowl, instead of half. OOPS. Well...I quickly doubled the rest of the ingredients and was soon up to my ears in pumpkin cupcakes. Oh well...there are worse fates...like not having any pumpkin cupcakes.


Pumpkin Cupcakes
yields four dozen cupcakes (depending upon size of bowls and how much you fill them).

500g cake flour
2 dspns baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
seeds from one cardamom pod, ground
1 tsp salt
225g butter
250g brown sugar
250g sugar
4 eggs
1/2 c whipping cream mixed with 1/2c water
1 796ml tin pumpkin


Preheat the oven to 180C/350F and paper the bowls of your cupcake tin(s).

Sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarb, spices and salt; set aside.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in sugars. Beat in eggs, two at a time. Add flour mixture alternately with milk (flour, milk, flour, milk, flour)--scrape down the sides of the bowl after each flour addition. Fold in the pumpkin.

Dollop into muffin tray bowls and bake for 25ish minutes or until an inserted tester comes out cleanly. Let cool completely before icing (optional).

cheers!
jasmine

Daring Bakers: Basic Pizza Dough

OOPS! Okay...I'm late...profuse apologies. I thought this month's DB post was due on Thursday 30 Oct...not Wednesday 29 October...and technically, it still is the 29th...

Oh well...that's what happens when you're off in all directions.

As you've probably noticed, many home pizzarias magically popped up this week, thanks to the late, great Shar of What Did You Eat? and the very wonderful Rosa of Rosa Yummy Yums. They decided to challenge us to make pizza dough by hand, and in the fashion of true pizzaiolos.

I have a favourite pizza dough recipe, courtesy of (the once divine, but now demoted since her last cookbook) Delia Smith, but every once in a while go in search of another. When in those moods I whole heartedly approach the new recipe...only to quickly morph into my comfort zone.

Yes, I followed the DB recipe...okay, I halved it, and used my handy pan, but still it was followed. Much to my surprise it worked...even the special flippy pokey tossy method. It didn't fall to the floor and it didn't end up on the ceiling...okay...no worries about that, I am 5'1". Instead of making three pizzas, I decided to make two largish ones...heck...it was eDay...and well, you know what I think of eDays (and yes, I'll probably treat the US election in a similar fashion).

The dough was thinnish and tasty and held the far-too-many toppings I loaded onto it. I'll probably come back to it and play with it some more.

And my toppings? Well...I went for pickable--as in bits I can pick off the top as I'm transfixed to the results ticker, and then wolf down the bready bit during lulls. Salami, onions, black olives, garlic, jalepenos, cheese and tomato sauce. If I had anchovies, they'd be added as well...

From this:



To this:



And here's how:

cheers!
jasmine

So...how does one say

"No, Darling. I make lemon cake from scratch," without sounding like a snobbish, self-aggrandising foodish twit?

I suppose I could drop the "Darling."

Did I actually say the above? Ummm...I think so.

A wonderful and delightful friend of mine and new blogger called me up last week looking for a recipe for lemon pound cake that used lemon-flavoured gelatine powder...and I believe the above was my answer.

May I please hide behind my laptop now?

Gosh...I know certain people in my life think I'm a bit of a food snob--which I vehemently deny--but gee...the above, while not damning evidence, doesn't look very good.

Truthfully, I've only made lemon loaves with real lemons. I'd never even thought of using flavoured gelatine in a cake. I Googled it and sent her this recipe--which I think suited her needs. Heh...you learn something new every day.

But now I have a bit of a palate-worm going...lemon loaf...actually, a lemon poppyseed loaf, to be specific. To be even more specific, a lemon poppyseed loaf with cream cheese icing.

The problem with plalate-worms is they are never satisfied until they are satsified. And they can't be fooled with substitutes. In other words, a lemon drop after a sandwich won't send mine on its merry way. If anything, these pallid substitutes only anger it and make the craving even more specific.

Early on, it could disappear by virtue of getting the specific foodstuff, premade from the grocer's, made from a pouchmix or tumbled out of a gas station vending machine. But palate-worms have incredible stamina...and they seem to get stronger with each passing day...hour...minute.

Mmm....lemon poppyseed loaf. Whereas lemon-flavoured powdered gelatine is not in my pantry, lemons, poppyseeds, flour, eggs, butter and yoghurt are....well, the dry goods are in my pantry--the rest live in the refrigerator.

I have several lemon poppyseed cake recipes--some are like a light, slightly lemony angelfood, studded with seeds, while others have a heavier crumb. I settled on a slight modification of Nigella's Lemon-Syrup Loaf Cake. The result was a sunshiney crumb, soaked in glisteny, extra lemony goodness. I also decided to forego the cream cheese icing--the syrup glimmered so nicely, I didn't want to cover it up.

The palate-worm, I'm happy to say, has been sated and is off to find its next victim...

Oh...and for those of you who are wondering...yes, I made this during the craptastic weekend, between the serrated knife incident and the fire. Yes, I wore one of those thin, surgical glove-like things, to protect my booboo from the lemon juice. Which really didn't help at all, as I clipped the end of the finger (I have small hands and even the size small gloves have too much room) and the juice worked its way in...

Lemon Poppyseed Loaf
adapted from Nigella Lawson's Lemon-Syrup Loaf Cake, from How To Be A Domestic Goddess, p13.

125g unsalted butter
175g sugar
2 eggs
1 lemon, zested and juiced
170g cake flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 dspn poppyseeds
60ml plain yoghurt
75g icing sugar

Preheat the oven to 180C/375F; butter and line a 23cm/9" loaf tin with parchment and set aside.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Stir in the poppyseeds and set aside.

Cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs and zest. Mix in the yoghurt and then fold in the flour mixture. Pour into the loaf tin and bake for 45 minutes.

About 20 minutes in, start making the lemon syrup by melting sugar into the lemon juice over medium-low heat.

When an inserted cake tester comes out cleanly, take the loaf out of the oven and prodigiously perforate it with your weapon of choice. Pour the syrup overtop and let it all soak in. Let the cake cool in the tin before removing it otherwise you run the risk of the cake falling apart.


cheers!
jasmine

Give a little bit...

I think it was the late great James Barber I first heard say "do the best you can with what you've got."

Many are taking the meaning of that advice to heart, even if they'd never seen his TV show The Urban Peasant: some hang on to their current car or eschew the once de rigueur gas-guzzling behemoths, brown-bagged lunches replace cafeteria or some restaurant lunches and (unfortunately) people are paring back on their charitable donations.

It's a sad reality: When money is tight, the "extras" go away. And to many people, this includes donations to charity. Unfortunately, it's times like these where community organisations such as food banks and soup kitchens are hit especially hard: increased usage and decreased donations. They too, must do the best with what they've been given.

I think Supertramp sang it best:

So give a little bit
Give a little bit of your time to me
Now’s the time that we need to share
So send a smile, we’re on our way back home

I'm pretty proud of being with a group of people who believe in community. Each year a gang gets together and participates in a Habitat For Humanity build. Each year they seem to get involved in different stages of the build. Sometimes they frame, sometimes they landsape, sometimes install windows. Notice I say "they."

Truth be told, I'd love to participate, but allergies and a bad back keep me from weilding a hammer, filling a wall with insulation or cutting bits of wood. Whenever I'm asked if I'll participate, I answer "What, do you really want me with power tools?" Ironically the mental image of me with a table saw or drill seems to strike panic in the hearts of many. Here's a secret: I may not be the best with corded tools, but I'm not the worst...definitely not worst...but I don't like to tell people these things.

Since I can't be on site, I still find a way of giving a little bit to the effort. I bake for the crew. Each time I've done this, I try and come up with a batch of something sweet and another batch of something savoury. My thinking is a) not everyone likes sweet (or savoury) and b) since these builds can happen on very hot days the savoury is probably a good alternative to the inevitable bar cookies and tarts that the very lovely and diligent church ladies provide as part of lunch.

This year's H4H build took place a couple of weeks ago. Instead of doing sweet and savoury muffins, I decided to play with my basic scone recipe. Well...it's not my basic scone recipe...it belongs to Tamasin Day-Lewis. The first batch was a pretty standard currant scone, sprinkled with sugar. Don't get me wrong--it was good and people liked it.

But apparently it was the savoury version that won the day...well, snacktime.

This year's savoury was an impromptu treat--put together with what I had lying around...doing the best with what I had, so to speak. Curried apple with cheddar.

Although I think of it as a pretty standard flavour combination, it was a pleasant surprise to many. Spicy, tangy and just a little sweet, these scones are a nice change from the same-old, same old.

Curried Apple and Cheddar Scones
Makes about two dozen, depending upon the size of your scones

butter and oil for sautéing
1 dspn curry powder, divided
1 onion, diced
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and diced
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 garlic clove minced
1 Tbsp sugar
salt

150ml plain yoghurt mixed with 150ml milk

1 dspn cream of tartar

450g plain flour
85g cold butter, cut into cubes
1 dspn bicarbonate of soda
100g cheddar, grated
one well beaten egg

Heat the butter and oil and then stir in one teaspoon of curry powder and fry for about 30 seconds. Add the onions and keep stirring until soft. Add the apples and cook until soft. Add the cinnamon, garlic and the rest of the curry powder. Let everthing cook through and taste, adding as much sugar and salt as your palate dictates. Take off the hob and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 220C/425F. Line and butter a baking pan.

Mix the cream of tartar with the liquid and set aside as you sift together the flour, 1/2 tsp salt and bicarb. Quickly rub the butter into the flour with the tips of your fingers, as if making pie crust. Add all the liquid to the flour to make a spongy dough.

Spread the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and spread the curried apples and cheddar. Lightly knead the dough so the apples and cheese are well contained. Roll out to about a 2cm thickness and cut with whatever sized cutter you wish.

Transfer to the buttered baking pan and brush with the beaten egg. Let stand for 10 minutes. Bake for 10 minutes before cooling.


cheers!
jasmine

Daring Bakers: Lavosh crackers and toppings

Note to self: there's a reason you named your stove Beelzebub

Sigh...

You see, he fed me a line and I believed him. He actually made me believe he wasn't demon spawn, he wasn't a product of an unholy alliance between (insert your own despised political party *here*) and (insert your own despised corporate sector *here*), he wasn't put on this planet to convince people that big box prepared processed and cooked takeaway foods really is the way to eat

I thought we had a break through. I stopped cursing at him and he stopped playing with the temps to keep a constant heat. It was a lovely three weeks. I made banana breads, scones and cookies and lost nary a one.

Admittedly, my time management has been in the loo this month. I didn't get around to this month's Daring Bakers' challenge until this morning. Our dearest Natalie of Gluten a Go-Go and Shel from Fishbowl challenged the vast DB masses to make Lavosh crackers and toppings. The lavosh recipe is easy and I will keep it on hand to make again...hopefully with a different stove, whether mine or borrowed

Maybe Beelzebub picked upon my slightly elevated stress levels or he picked up on the urgency of the issue (heck, the post needs to be up today). Maybe he thought he was being taken for granted. I don't know, but he was a naughty boy. Whatever he thought, he played with the temperature dial like a bored teenager with his PSP.

The dough is very simple and easily adaptable to your palate. I had no issues making the ball, passing the window pane test, letting it rise, getting it to double in size or rolling out the dough. I had no issues choosing its flavourings--I chose freshly cracked black pepper, ground salt and sesame seeds. I wound up baking them on two trays...and I'm glad I did.

This is what happened to the first tray. I suppose if I were making cocoa or molasses lavosh, it would be fine...but I wasn't. Yes, I tasted a shard. Apart from the heavy charcoalish notes along with the bonfire-like aromas left in the condo, it was quite tasty.




Here's the second tray. MUCH better. Okay...slightly underdone in spots, but I can live with that. I think next time I'll toast the sesame seeds before sprinkling them on the wet dough.

Same dough. Same oven. Same cooking time.

Sigh.

The second part of the challenge was to make a dip for the crackers. Our lovely hosts suggested salsa. Even though we were recently in the throes of tomato season, I wasn't in the mood to make (or buy) a salsa. Instead, I opened a bottle of my lascivious peach chutney and tried the crackers with it--absolutely delicious.

Yes. It was my breakfast.


To read what the other DBs did with this challenge, take a meander through our blogroll.


cheers!
jasmine