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!

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

Happy Victoria Day!

Or, as 'tis known around here May Two-Four.

A little background: In 1854 the Province of Canada's legislature declared 24 May an official holiday, marking Queen Victoria's birthday. Since then, 24 May became the official holiday of Canada's reigning sovereign.

I can see you flipping to your calendar and I can hear you thinking "But it isn't 24 May, silly...it's the 18th (or 19th, or...)"--yes, I can hear your thoughts...scary isn't it? You're right, it isn't the 24th, but we're celebrating anyway: in 1952 the Statutes of Canada were amended to celebrate Victoria Day on the Monday before 24 May. Hence this year we celebrate on 19 May.

Yes, the date is also a public holiday in the Cayman Islands and some parts of Scotland.

Around here most people seem to focus on familial kinda things: some head up to open up their cottages for the summer, others potter about in their gardens--clearing winter's detritus and plant seeds or plantlets, while some others (like me) use it for a spring cleaning.

Many people also use this weekend to fire up their barbecues for the first time...with which they (and their friends/families/whatevers) quench their thirsts with a two-four (case of 24 bottles of beer).

Me, I don't have a barbecue...it's on my long-term list of things to buy. Beer and I aren't the best of friends...let me rephrase that. I like beer, but I value breathing more--I react to most commercially-made beers (think BIG breweries)--craft brewers are fine...and I'm very fine with Guinness (but you know that already).

So, how shall I celebrate? Well, with a Victoria Sponge, of course. As best as I can figure, a Victoria Sponge (or sandwich) is made up of two layers of sponge cake with a layer of jam between. Sometimes it's jam and cream, or cream and fresh fruit. I read somewhere that it is never, ever iced and that Queen Victoria preferred this cake with her tea.

Well, if it's good enough for Queen Victoria...and I've been looking for a reason to open the jar of apricot jam in my cupboard...

Victoria Sponge
(based on recipes in Tamasin Day-Lewis's Kitchen Bible and Delia Smith's Complete Cookery Course)

155g softened butter
155g sugar
3 eggs, well beaten
155g self raising flour, sifted
water
jam

Preheat oven to 180C/350F and prepare two 20cm/8" cake pans in the usual way.

Cream together the butter and sugar, then slowly add in the eggs. Quickly fold in the flour. Add in enough water so the batter is of a soft, dropping consistency. Divide batter between the pans and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the cakes pull away from the sides and the top is springy. Let cool completely before assembling.

Warm the jam (three or four tablespoons) and pour on top of one of the cakes, spread with a knife (or a spoon, or whatever is most convenient) and place the second cake on top.


cheers!
jasmine