Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Green Tea Scones

http://www.maduratea.com/tea-recipes/breakfast-morning-tea/green-tea-scones.html


Ingredients

250g (8.8 oz) plain flour
1/3 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon Madura Green Leaf Tea
70g (2.5 oz) butter
150mL (5 oz) milk
1 egg, separated into yolk and white

Method

Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, green tea and sugar.

Cut the butter into small pieces. With your fingertips, mix the butter into the flour until it becomes dry and flaky.

Combine the milk and egg yolk, and pour the mixture into the flour a little at a time. Mix and knead into a moist dough, but not so moist that it becomes moist.

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°C)

Place the dough on a floured board and knead slightly until smooth. Roll out to a thickness of 2cm and cut out shapes with a cookie cutter or the rim of a glass.

Brush the tops with a little egg white, place on a baking sheet, and bake for 12-15 minutes, until slightly brown.

Cut each scone in half and eat with jam and fresh cream.

Notes: I replaced the green tea with earl grey, and it actually required 17 minutes cooking time but the inside was still a bit underdone. However too much more and the outside would be burnt.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Cocktail recipes based on Tia Maria

Without knowing it, I have been drinking

Jamaican Yo-yo which comprises equal parts white rum and tia maria.

Based on my liquor cupboard, other things that I can do are a Black Russian which is 3 parts vodka to 2 parts coffee liquer, or add cream to get White Russian, or coke to get dirty black russian. Vodka can also be substituted for gin in some recipes.


Sunday, February 05, 2012

Everyday Brownies

From Nigella Kitchen

Recipe
Makes 16 brownies
Ingredients

  • 150g unsalted butter
  • 300g light brown muscovado sugar
  • 75g cocoa powder, sifted
  • 150g plain flour
  • 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  • Pinch of salt
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Approx. 150g milk chocolate, chopped into small nuggety chunks
  • Icing sugar, to dust (optional)
  • 1 x 25cm square x 5cm deep foil- lined baking tin or 1 foil tray, approx. 30 x 20 x 5cm
(picture is my own)

Method

  1. 1Preheat the oven to 190°c/gas mark 5. Melt the butter over a gentle heat in a medium-sized saucepan.
  2. 2When it’s melted, add the sugar, stirring with a wooden spoon (still over a low heat) to help it blend with the melted butter.
  3. 3Sift together the cocoa powder, flour, bicarb and pinch of salt, and then stir into the pan; when mixed (this will be a very dry mixture, and not wholly blended at this stage), remove from the heat.
  4. 4In a bowl or jug, whisk the eggs with the vanilla extract and then mix into the brownie mixture in the pan.
  5. 5Stir in the chopped chocolate and quickly pour and scrape into a foil-lined baking tin or throwaway foil container, spreading the mixture with a spatula, and cook in the preheated oven for approx. 20–25 minutes. It will look set, dark and dry on top, but when you feel the surface, you will sense it is still wibbly underneath and a cake tester will come out gungy. This is desirable.
  6. 6Transfer the tin to a rack to cool a little before cutting into 16 and dusting with icing sugar. I love these gorgeously warm. But then again, I love them cold, too. Actually, when cold they are properly speaking more brownie-like: gooily tender within and moreishly chewy on top.


Alternate recipe with substitutions:
If you are out of light brown sugar and chocolate, then use 1 1/2 cups regular white sugar and up the butter to 1 1/2 cups, and cocoa to 1 cup.

Comments
1) The size of pan is very important! My pan was a bit smaller than recommended so after the full 25 minutes, the sides were perfect - crunchy outside and fudgey inside. But the middle of the pan was horrible. The top had set but inside was totally runny! I need a bigger pan so that the mix spreads thinner and thus dries out faster.

Buchujeon (Garlic chives pancake)