In a fit of ‘Englishness’ I was craving scones, and so instantly set out to make them!

They’re so simple and easy to make

And best served warm with clotted cream

Made in a fit of enthusiasm earlier today.

Always fun to make, as long as you remember that the liquid is 1 pint milk to 3 eggs you can add what you like.

This one was layed with raisins and sultanas with brown sugar, had some cinnamon added and then the top was dusted with icing sugar

Eat warm and enjoy!

So went back to the good ol’ fashioned baking today with bread.

I’m never very adventurous with bread, I tend to stick to this recipe which I know and have used many times and know it works well and produces a yummy crusty white loaf

It’s a very simple recipe ->

Rub together 1 1/2 lb strong flour and 1oz butter/marg

Stir in 1 tsp salt and a packet of dried yeast

Mix in warm water (~3/4pt) and form into a dough, knead until smooth (usually round 10 minutes or so)

Put in a clean bowl and cover with oiled clingfilm and leave in a warm place until doubled in size.

Knock out the air and form into shape, oil a loaf tin (I believe the one I use is a 1 1/2lb tin). Put the dough into the tin and leave for a further half hour to prove.

Put in the oven at 230C and bake for 30-35 minutes (if taken out the tin, knock on the bottom and it will sound hollow when done)

Most definitely best served warm from the oven… with butter melting on it….

Made for a friend – 2 6×6 dark chocolate cakes, 2 6×6 white chocolate cakes.

First time I’d used this recipe, it was really nice and will definitely be using again!

Melt 100g chocolate in a bain marie with 200g butter and 2.5 fl oz water

Sieve 12oz plain flour with, stir in 250g light brown sugar

Mix the two together and stir in 2.5 fl oz soured cream and 2 beaten eggs

Cook at 190C for around 45 minutes

It’s covered in a white chocolate ganache.. a lot of crumbs got caught up in it and I didn’t have enough :-/

The cake cut down to size

All the offcuts!

And the cake covered in ganache

And finally the cake completely finished, after being attacked with butter icing to cover up as many of the flaws as possible!

So I got bored today and decided to make cupcakes

It’s just a basic sponge recipe (6 butter, 6 sugar, 6 sr flour, 2eggs)

I decided to make some frosting, just a simple buttercream, and then I played about with food dyes. I didn’t have enough icing sugar to make much, but I dusted them with a little luster dust and sprinkled with the edible ball bearings!