Treats for the troops #2

Due to popular demand, more batches of biscuits (plus some sweeties!) found themselves flying off to Afghanistan for my BIL to share (hopefully!).  The last lot took only 6 days to arrive and about 6 minutes to be consumed!

These are the final product, plus Colin, who is certainly not camera-shy.  The temptation to post him off as well was quite high!

My first offering were Hazelnut dunking biscuits, from a recipe I found online whilst searching for hazelnut biscuits.  I halved the recipe as it was for 50 biscuits and I was using up store-cupboard ends.  I also used 1 medium egg as its a bit difficult to halve an egg!
Rather than the whole hazelnuts I used 70g chopped roasted hazelnuts + 30g ground hazelnuts to make up the right amount.

All the ingredients, except the hazelnuts, were blended in the Kenwood and I then folded in the hazelnut mix.

Using a teaspoon as guide I made about 24 little balls which were rolled and then flattened slightly with the palm of my hand and placed on a lined baking sheet.

The recipe didn't stipulate whether to use a fan or static oven so I placed the tray in a 180c fan oven and baked in two batches to get a more even bake.  First batch for 9-10 minutes( I opened the oven to check them, so lost some heat).  Second batch for 8 minutes 

They are cooked to a light golden colour and as you can see are really quite delicious!

My second offering were a batch of Jo's Peanut butter & choc chip cookies, which I had made and blogged about before and added an update here.

They are a really quick and simple cookie to make and extremely tasty.

This time I baked them in a 180 fan oven.  First batch for 8 minutes + 2 minutes.  Large teaspoon size.  Second batch for 9 minutes

All packed up and ready to go..................  Lets hope these make it there as fast! 

Here's a random photo from the garden that made me chuckle this week........................

Its National Baking Week next week, Happy Baking!

Gluten-free Lemon Polenta Cake

 

I've been meaning to try a Lemon Polenta Cake Recipe for a while, which I found on the back of a packet of Imbhams Farm Polenta Flour.  I finally got around to it this weekend, as a good excuse to use up a lemon excess.

 

Recipe as follows:-

 

115g Fine Polenta

175g Unsalted Butter - softened

225g Demerara Sugar

200g Ground Almonds

3 Large Free Range Eggs 

Zest of 3 Lemons and the juice of 1.5 Lemons

1 tsp Gluten Free Baking Powder

 

Unless you are gluten intolerant then its absolutely fine to use normal baking powder as a substitute.  I also chose to use the juice of 2 lemons, as the more lemony the better!

 

You need to preheat the oven to 160c and line a 20cm baking tin with parchment or a tin liner.

 

All ingredients can be put into a food processor and whizzed to a smooth batter, but mine doesn't have enough capacity.  Instead I whizzed the butter, polenta and sugar together in the processor and then moved the whole lot down into the Kenwood mixing bowl and added first the eggs (1 at a time), followed by the almonds, baking powder and then the juice and zest.  Its quite a wet mixture, but then I did add extra lemon juice.

 

It was then popped into the lined tin and into the oven. 

 

 

Now, I normally bake cakes in a static oven and the recipe did not stipulate whether it was fan or static.  You are recommended to bake it for 50 - 55 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean.  After 50 minutes in a static 160c oven, the centre of the cake was still really wet, so I flipped it over to fan over for another 10 - 15 minutes.  By this time the top was colouring quite a lot and still a bit moist in the centre, but then I don't think this cake should be dry.  Its then left in the tin to cool, before devouring.

Its gorgeous still warm from the oven and would be lovely with ice-cream and perhaps some extra lemon syrup to drizzle over it.  The demerara sugar also gives it a nice crunch. Whilst still tasty cold, it does become a lot more crumbly over the next day or so, so best eaten sooner rather than later - shame that!  Whilst Googling to see if anyone else had tried it, I found a lady who had added blueberries to it - sounds scrummy.

My other baking attempt this weekend was a 100% Rye flour loaf that I had seen in my new copy of Paul Hollywood's How to Bake.  An absolute bargain if you can get it at this price.  Even cheaper than my Amazon copy!

I think I need to try this again and maybe add a bit more water as it did seem very dense.  The black treacle in it gives it an unusual taste.  Though not unpleasant when toasted with marmite.  What a surprise!

I can't wait to try more recipes from this book and its the Great British Bake-Off on telly tonight too!

Happy Baking!

The Knitting Mojo Returns!

If the truth be told, the mojo never left, just the body wasn't willing.  However, normality is slowly returning and I'm now knitting, baking, running and of course working like a trooper!  I still have to be careful, but all is good in Scubamonkey world.

I've not been idle.  Throughout the Ravellenic Games I had a good excuse to finish a WIP (work in progress) hot water bottle cover that had been hiding at the bottom of the basket for months.........

I couldn't resist the sheep ribbon for the tie.  This is being saved for a Xmas pressie. 

Ellie got a new pair of socks, which she seems to be quite partial to :-)

 

 

I had fun knitting this lovely Lotus hat, which was taken to Canada as a gift for Rosa........

 

 



All of which helped me get some Ravellenic medals which you can see on the project pages (apologies to non-Ravelry users, as the links will not work for you).

I'm also taking part in a Knit-a-long with a German Group which a dear Rav friend got me involved in and so far I've completed this pair of socks .........

The next pair has been started and in the interim I also found time to make OH a new camping hat!

Obviously that's me doing the modelling!

Phwew I've been busy!  For more Finished Object Fridays posts head over to Tami Ami's blogspot

Happy Knitting!

Treats for the troops!

What on earth, I hear you cry!  Well, a while back I heard about a Mum (or was it an Aunt!) who baked homemade biscuits and cakes and sent them out to her son who was serving in Afghanistan.  They were such a hit that it sort of took off and requests were coming in by the bucket-load.

As I know a certain chap who is away over there at the moment and happens to have a birthday coming up, I thought I'd give it a go myself!

I have chosen recipes from the River Cottage Cakes Book, which features lots of biscuit recipes as well.  As they have an interesting journey to make, I went for recipes which should last a good few weeks in an air-tight container.  They are all very easy and quick to make and I found versions of all the recipes online to share with you.

Hazelnut macaroons x 2 bags

I am not sure how many will actually make it out of the house.  These are divine and super quick and simple to make.  They are also the least likely to travel well as they have a little chocolate in them, but I couldn't resist!

Christmas biscuits x 3 bags

Christmassy biscuits but without the icing in lots of different shapes.  Mental note buy more cookie cutters that aren't Christmassy - shame that, having to buy more :-) 

Anzac biscuits x 2 bags

Well these are bound to last, as they were the biscuits made by New Zealand and Australian wives, to send out by boat to their partners during the Second World War.  Very hearty and oaty.

Now I've just got to figure how in heck I'm going to package them up so they arrive intact!!! 
I wonder if the recipient will share.

Happy baking.......

Mary Berry's Chocolate Whoopie Pies!

I do like a good birthday excuse to get baking!  Yesterday I was sifting through my recipes that had been torn from magazines and came across these Whoopie Pies!  Now who can resist a name like that, especially as the Birthday Boy was my buddy Lucas who's turning 7 today!

The recipe says to whisk the butter, egg, sugar and soured cream with an electric hand-held whisk, but I chose to use the K beater attachment on my trusty Kenwood.  Instead of adding them all together, I creamed the butter and sugar first, then added the cream and then the egg.

Half the flour, cocoa powder and bicarbonate of soda was sifted in and blended, before sifting in the remainder.  It all came together very nicely and was thick and smooth as suggested. 

My measuring, however, was a little slapdash!  You are meant to divide the mixture in half and then spoon 15 equal portions onto 2 lined baking trays.  Well I went for the guessing option....... Lets just say some of my Whoopies are 'Whooper Whoopies'!  I think using a quick release ice-cream scoop might be a good idea to get an even size.  I have heard people use these for cookie dough, etc.

I popped them into a pre-heated 160c fan oven for 15 minutes, switched the trays over in the oven and baked for another 4 minutes as they didn't look quite cooked.

They are supposed to be risen and firm to the touch and cracked a little in the middle!  Well mine sure are cracked!  Unique I think is a good description.

I then sandwiched them together with Nutella....... I know!!!  I altered a Mary Berry Recipe!  It was an inspired choice.  They were then topped with the icing sugar topping and adorned with chocolate sprinkles.

They were rather large, but tasted yummy, especially with the Nutella centre.  Enjoyed by adults and kids alike and really quick to make.

Now, you may have noticed the slight lack of photos!  OH has very kindly nabbed all the cameras for a kayaking trip, leaving me with an old dud camera for which I cannot find the USB lead to upload the rather terrible photos I took of my Whoopies.  Desperate measures meant me asking Lucas's Mum to take a photo of the Whoopies this morning - how sad am I!!  Hardly like the delightfully compact Mary Berry versions on the recipe link, but tasty nonetheless.

Can you guess which are mine??

Go on give them a go, even if just for the name!

Happy baking!

Hairy Bikers Bakeation Challenge - France

OK, I confess, I have been a total 'Blog' slacker!  I made my French recipes last weekend, in fact the first time I made the bread was two weekends ago, but have I found the time to blog?  Oh no no no!  I blame the Olympics!  I got so addicted to watching the games that time flew by!

SO back to the baking.  Sadly neither of the recipes are available online yet, but I still had to share. 

My first offering is Provencal Bread.  Its made using a starter dough (quick version of a sourdough loaf), where yeast, white and rye bread flour, water and a little sugar are mixed together and left in the fridge for 24 hours.  This is the result, a nicely fermenting starter dough.

You then mix more white bread flour, more yeast, salt, water and half of the starter dough together until blended, before kneading for 10 minutes.  I started this off in the Kenwood and allowed the machine to knead it for 5 minutes, before placing it out on a floured surface and kneading for a further couple of minutes.  Then its popped back into its oiled bowl and left in a warm place for an hour to double in size.

Now you get to add the 'Provencal' bit!  The dough is eased onto a floured surface and gently knocked back with your knuckles.  Into the dough are then added fennel seeds, fresh thyme and rosemary, which are kneaded into the dough until evenly distributed.

The dough is then left for another hour to rise on a floured baking sheet before being scored.

And popped into a preheated 200c fan oven (220c static oven) for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

A really delicious loaf, great with cheese, soup or toasted with butter!   The remaining half of the starter dough can be frozen for up to a month and then defrosted over night before using for another loaf, which I duly did the following weekend.

The other recipe I tried were Madeleines.  A good excuse to go to Classy Cooks in Emsworth and get some new baking kit!  A madeleine tray, a bargain at £8.99.

A mix of just butter, an egg, castor sugar, plain flour and vanilla extract, it seems the trick to a good Madeleine is in the vigorous whisking of the egg, sugar and extract followed by very gently folding in the sifted flour, followed by the melted butter.  This creates a frothy mixture with lots of air bubbles.  The mixture is then (supposedly!) spooned evenly into each mould before baking in a 170c fan oven for 8 -10 minutes. 

I checked mine after 7 minutes and they were already golden, perhaps overly so.

They are left in the tin to cool for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.

And then dusted with icing sugar.

Dark, but delicious!  What better excuse to get out the fine china and enjoy Afternoon Tea and Madeleines in the garden with my Mum.  She approved!

Best enjoyed on the day of making to retain the crispness around the edges - as you only make 12 , that isn't difficult!  As you may have noticed only 11 made it into the photo shoot!  Bakers privilege!!

I've really enjoyed trying recipes from all the chapters of the Hairy Bikers Big Book of Baking and there are many more to try yet.  But for now, I think its time to bake something out of some of my many other trusty baking books.  But which to choose???

Happy baking!

Finished Baby Shrug & Ravellenic Socks

Just a quickie post to share the finished little Baby Shrug I have made my Niece from the Debbie Bliss Simply Baby Book.

I used Lana Grossa Cinque yarn which is an aran-weight and the yardage is amazing.  It just keeps going.  I used 2 full 50g balls and then finished off the cuff ribbing with some double-knit yarn I had in a matching shade of purple (most of my stash consists of purple!).  It worked brilliantly.

The size made was 12 - 18 months and should keep her nice and cosy when it gets colder!

I've also just finished a little pair of socks for her (she is a brilliant little stash-buster) as my first entry in the Ravellenic Games for the Event Sockput and Event Baby Dressage.  For those of you not on Ravelry, I apologise if you wonder what on earth I'm talking about, but as its the Olympics, we Ravthletes are competing in different events for the glory of a Ravellenic Medal.  You Cast-on during the Opening Ceremony and then have until the Closing Ceremony to complete as many projects as possible.  Daft, but fun and very addictive.

At the moment I have picked up a hot water bottle cover that's been in my project bag for months....... its sure good for getting you motivated.

I need to get back to my baking, but I keep getting side-tracked by the Olympics!

Happy knitting!