Cream Tea Scones with Strawberry Jammy Bits ~ King Arthur Flour

Hot from the oven!

This is a wonderfully easy and delicious recipe that allows you to have piping hot scones on the table in less than 30 minutes.  They are soft and flaky inside and lightly crisp outside.

This basic recipe is a perfect base for any number of add-ins.  I used these Strawberry Jammy Bits from King Arthur Flour.  

The Cream Tea Scone

Scone dough - full of butter & strawberry jammy bits!

Yield:  18 scones - I baked half and froze half before baking them

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, blend:
3 cups Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
3 Tablespoons Sugar
1 teaspoon Salt

Whisk 1 Egg into 1 cup Buttermilk ans set aside.

Using a pastry blender, cut in:
8 Tablespoons Butter
When mixture is crumbly, cut in reserved Buttermilk mixture.
Add 1 cup Strawberry Jammy Bits (or other fruit/nut bits)
You will probably have to finish mixing everything together by hand.

Serve with butter

Cut dough in half.  Roll out to about 3/4-inch thickness.  Cut into scones with 2-inch round cutters and space out evenly on prepared sheet.

Bake for 12 - 15 minutes until golden brown.

Serve warm with butter.

Recipe from The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion, 10th Anniversary Edition.

Print this recipe

Enjoy with a lovely cuppa!

Melk Abbey, Austria

Buttermilk Pie (With a Hint of Maple Syrup) ~ Baked Sunday Mornings

Creamy custard filling sits in a nice, flaky crust

Ready for the oven

This week's Baked Sunday Mornings challenge is for Cornmeal Griddle Cakes but we're hitting the road this morning so don't have time to make breakfast.  Instead, I decided to make up the Buttermilk Pie (with a hint of Maple Syrup) that I'd missed when the BSM Bakers made it in November.  Although I lived in Texas for 5 years, I'd never had Buttermilk Pie before. But John remembers his aunt and one of his cousins making it.  He said they would bake the crust and custard filling separately then transfer the cooled custard into the baked pie shell.  Although they didn't add maple syrup to the mix, John really liked this version.

Straight from the oven - puffed up like a souffle!

 The filling whips together so quickly - the time consuming part is making and chilling the crust and baking the pie.  I found that I needed an extra 12 minutes in the oven  to allow the custard to set completely.  I couldn't understand the purpose of sprinkling 1/2 teaspoon of flour on top of the uncooked custard but it created a crisp, sugary topping not unlike creme brulee.

After the custard settled

This pie is really good but I kept wishing I had some strawberries with it.  It's very subtle and sweet in a homey comfort food way.  It would be good served with fruit any time of the year.

Enjoy!

It was interesting to see how many places  in Austria claimed to have invented the Sacher-Torte.
This one is in Salzburg.

Provencal Olive Fougasse ~ French Fridays with Dorie

Rustic French Bread infused with Olives, Rosemary, and Lemon Zest

Rosemary, Yeast, and Olive Oil

All bakers need supervision!  Meet Huckleberry Finn (yes, that's the ceiling).

This week was Cook's Choice for French Fridays with Dorie which was a great chance for me to make up a missed recipe.  Almost 3 years into this project, we've missed a few recipes - some by choice, others because we were out of town or too busy.  This is one we missed that we've wanted to make up ever since other Doristas made it a year ago because it looked and sounded amazing.










This yeast bread is flavored with Kalamata Olives from Verni Farms which we purchase regularly at the Channel Islands Farmers' Market, Lemon Zest, and Rosemary fresh from our garden.  It's uniquely leaf-shaped, brushed with Olive Oil and sprinkled with Sea Salt.

John said this is one of the best recipes from the book so far!  You can find the recipe here.

Dinner in the garden ~ pull up a chair!

You eat it with your hands.  We set it in the middle of the table and enjoyed it throughout the meal!  It's just delicious!

Bon Appetit!

Chambord Brownies with Fresh Raspberries

These brownies are so moist and delicious, studded with fresh raspberries, they're sure to please your palate!  They'd be great in a trifle or hot chocolate sundae!  They're easy to whip together & impressive enough to share - if you want to!

Chambord Brownies with Fresh Raspberries

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with non-stick spray.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, blend until fluffy - about 3 minutes:
1 cup Butter, softened
1 1/4 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Dark Brown Sugar





Add 4 Eggs, mixing after each addition.
Then blend in:
1/4 cup Chambord
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Then add:
1 1/4 cups Flour
1/2 cup Cocoa
1/4 teaspoon Salt

Pour batter into prepared pan and spread out evenly.
Scatter 2 cups fresh Raspberries over the top of batter.

Bake for 45 minutes until top of brownies is no longer shiny.
Allow to cool and sprinkle with Powdered Sugar.

Print this recipe

Red Raspberries immersed in Chocolate Brownies!

Enjoy!

We spotted these odd treats in the window of a Salzburg confectionery.

Alfajores ~ Baked Sunday Mornings

Alfajores filled with Dulce de Leche

I filled some with little bit of each

This week's Baked Sunday Mornings challenge is for Alfajores filled with Dulce de Leche.  I've never had these, so may not be a good judge, but here is a post from my friend, Paula, who lives in Buenos Aires, that describes them in a little more detail.  She is beautiful, creative, and talented, so please take a moment to check out her blog, Vintage Kitchen Notes.

These delicate, crumbly cookies are traditionally filled with Dulce de Leche.  The Baked Boys provided a recipe for Dulce de Leche, but here in Oxnard, we have a very talented jam-maker, named Lourdes from Ecuador who makes it, so I used hers.  They're really easy to make (if you use prepared Dulce de Leche).  They are great with coffee and tea.  The cake-like cookies are laced with Rum and Lemon Zest and the delicate caramel flavor of the Dulce de Leche is a great match.  I also made a few with Nutella ( I know, Mark just gacked!), which I liked.

Can you eat just one?

Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there and thanks for all you do!

Here's my beautiful mom!

Basic Blackberry Cobbler ~ King Arthur Flour

Hot from the oven!

I love fruit cobblers of all kinds, so I was intrigued by this fruit-on-top version from King Arthur Flour.  It comes together so quickly and easily but tastes like a dessert from a high-end bakery.  This cobbler, with its caramel brandy sauce is sure to delight your palate.  Its humble name and appearance belie its wonderful flavor.  This cobbler is amazing warm and you can serve it with ice cream, or whipped cream, but we just poured a little cream over it.

Perfect with a little cream!

Basic Fruit Cobbler (fruit atop a cake crust)
9 2-inch squares or 8 - 10 wedges

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Spray a 9 x 9-inch baking pan with non-stick baking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk:
2 large Eggs
1 cup Sugar
2 Tablespoons Butter, melted
2 Tablespoons Milk

Then gently stir in:
1 cup Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt

Pour batter into prepared baking pan, and set aside.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, simmer for 3 - 4 minutes:
1/2 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Brandy (or Sherry, or Bourbon)

Then, stir in 3 - 4 cups Blackberries (or other fruit) and stir to coat.
Pour caramel sauce and fruit over cake batter in baking pan.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Serve warm.

Recipe from The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion, 10th Edition.

This poster in Bratislava, Slovakia, made me laugh!

Dinner on the Grill ~ Chicken Foil Pouches, Corn on the Cob, and Parsley Potatoes

A perfect dinner in the garden

Wow, we've had crazy weather in SoCal!  I'm sure you've all seen the wildfires in the news this week.  We're only about 15 miles from the fires in Camarillo, and Naval Base Ventura County, where we both work was effected.  In a matter of one week, we've had scorching, dry Santa Ana winds that set new heat records and fanned fire from one highway to the next burning everything in between, to cool, overcast nights with rain, to our usual beautiful Spring weather - making today the perfect day to cook outside.

Chicken in Foil Pouches

This is more of a method than a recipe, but here's what we used for 2 Chicken Breasts:

In the center of a sheet of foil, place:
2 slices Lemon
1 skinless, boneless Chicken Breast
Sprinkle with Shallot Pepper

In a small bowl, whisk together:
12 Cherry Tomatoes, quartered
2 Spring Onions, thinly sliced, then chopped
1 clove Garlic, minced
3 - 4 Tablespoons Basil Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper, to taste
Whisk together and divide between packets.

Fold long edges of the foil towards the center, and crease, then gather shorter edges together and roll down. You don't want them to be too tight because everything needs to create steam to cook.

Turn center burner on your grill to high and side burners to medium.
Once grill is heated, turn central burner off and place chicken pouches there, lemon side down, cooking over indirect heat for 20 minutes.

Open pouches carefully, allowing steam to escape.
Using a spatula, move the chicken and vegetables to plates.

Corn on the Cob

Shuck corn and rinse silks.
Place each cob in the center of a sheet of foil
Press as much butter as you like into the corn
Sprinkle with Ruth Ann's Muskego Avenue seasoning
Bring long ends of foil together and roll down, folding short ends in.
Place in center of grill with Chicken Pouches and cook for 15 - 20 minutes, turning occasionally.

Parsley Potatoes

John made these on his side burner.

Clean and half about 6 New Potatoes.

Boil in salted water for about 20 minutes, or until easily pierced with a fork.

Toss with:

 4 Tablespoons of Butter

Salt and Pepper, to taste

2 Tablespoons freshly minced Parsley

Enjoy!

The smoke from the fire in Camarillo created a beautiful sunset ~ view from our rooftop