Cheese Scones…

I'm a sweet tooth through and through, which I am sure you’re all well aware of by now! But even I must admit, there is something extremely comforting and homely about a cheese scone warm from the oven!

This recipe uses ingredients I hope you'll be able to find in your home. Whatever cheese you have in your fridge will do fine, use up any odds and ends- cheddar, parmesan, gouda- go wild! If you don't have any Dijon mustard don't worry, it just helps to elivate the cheese flavour, perhaps try a pinch of cayenne pepper or paprika instead! Let me know if you give them a try! Enjoy…

Ingredients…

• 500g self raising flour

• 2tsp baking powder

• 120g butter

• 200g grated cheese

• 220ml milk

• 1tsp dijon mustard

Method…

1. Preheat your oven to 180/160 fan and pop in a baking tray to heat up.

2. Rub the butter into the flour and baking powder until the mix resembles breadcrumbs, then mix through most of the cheese, reserving just a little to sprinkle on top of the scones before baking.

3. Make a small well in the middle of the mix and pour in the milk and Dijon and stir together.

4. Tip onto a clean worktop and knead very lightly to form a dough.

5. Gently roll out, to about the thickness of your cutter, then cut out your scones. This recipe should make 8-10.

6. Brush the tops with a little milk and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Pop onto greasproof on the hot tray and place back in the oven.

7. Cook for approximately 20 minutes, when they are done, tapping on the base of the scone should make a hollow sound.

8. For ultimate yumminess enjoy warm straight out the oven!

Pumpkin Spice Buns...

Sugar, spice and all things nice… Autumn is here! As a November baby, I am very much a child of Autumn. Woolly jumpers, big blankets, falling leaves, candles, bonfire night and of course, pumpkin spice! A season that not only represents all of the things I love, but is also synonymous with all of my favourite flavours! As the days and nights start to get chillier, I also love how an afternoon of baking, is the perfect excuse to have the oven on for hours, slowly warming up the home and filling it with delicious smells!

This was my first time making any kind of spiced bun but definitely not my first time eating any!! The sticky spicy sweetness with the soft doughyness, they are definitely one of my favourites! Goodness knows why it had taken me so long to make them myself! Perhaps I was put off by the thought of the excessive kneading and proving, like you may be yourself as you read this! But I assure you, as someone who is in no way a bread/dough expert, this is a pretty straight forward, easy to follow recipe and the result is more than worth it, enjoy...

Ingredients...

• 500g strong white flour

• 1x sachet yeast

• 300ml whole milk

• 40g salted butter

• 1 egg

• 1tsp vanilla extract

• 1tsp salt

• 150g pumpkin puree

• 2tsp pumpkin spice mix- a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, ground cloves & allspice

• 2 tbsp maple syrup

• 50g brown sugar

• 1tbsp apricot jam

• 50g icing sugar

Method...

1. Warm the milk in a saucepan on a low heat, add the vanilla and butter, until the butter has melted.

2. Mix the flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl, make a well in the centre and pour in the lukewarm milk and the beaten egg.

3. Stir until the mix comes together, then tip onto an oiled surface and knead for around 5 minutes, until the dough is smooth.

4. Pop the dough back into the lightly oiled bowl, cover with clingfilm, and leave to prove for around 1 hour.

5. As your dough is proving, mix together the pumpkin puree with the maple syrup and spice mix. Taste to check the balance.

6. Once your dough has roughly doubled in size it is ready, tip out onto a lightly floured surface and roll to a rectangle, around 30 by 20cm.

7. Spread the pumpkin mix evenly over the dough, then from the long side, start to roll tightly to the other side to create a Swiss roll.

8. Slice the roll into 9 thick rounds, roughly 4cm, and then place in a lightly greased square baking tin. Leave to prove for half an hour as your oven pre heats to 190/170 fan.

9. Pop into the oven for around 25 minutes, until starting to turn golden brown. Once out, brush the slightly warmed apricot jam over the top as a glaze.

10. Mix the icing sugar with a splash of vanilla and milk and drizzle over the top of the buns and then enjoy warm!

New Zealand

Apologies for my absence over the last month or so! Well in truth, I am not too sorry as I have spent an amazing 4 weeks in the most beautiful of places, New Zealand. For as long as I can remember the only place I have had on my travel dream list has been New Zealand and the trip was everything I could have possibly dreamed of and more!

As this is a food blog, I imagine you are here for the food and more specifically the sweet stuff! Well, I took it upon myself to investigate whilst I was out there and try as much of the local sweet treats as I possibly could… you’re welcome! Here I shall share with you some of my favourites and in the next few weeks, keep your eyes out, as I recreate some of them myself with recipes just for you!

It seems only right to start of with… Louise Cake! It seemed somewhat like fate that I would find my namesake cake in this amazing country that now has a very big slice of my heart! Luckily, said cake did not disappoint. Put simply the cake, or probably more technically, a slice, comprises of a shortbread base with a chunky layer of raspberry jam and topped with coconut meringue. As I would expect from a cake named after me, it pairs perfect with a big cup of tea!

Next up, Tan Slice! Or as I now refer to it- Happy Slice, as I feel it’s impossible not to bring a smile to any who eat it! Again this slice is shortbread based with a thick layer of gooey caramel, topped with a biscuit crumble, sounds good right?! Well lucky for you, my first New Zealand Bakes post will be this delectable treat! So check back next Friday and in the meantime try not to daydream about it too much!

One of our favourite food experiences was a banquet feast at Hobbiton, inside the Green Dragon itself! It was certainly a feast fit for hobbits with roast chicken, lamb shanks, beef stew, salmon, bread, roasted vegetables and countless other treats. Luckily I saved a fair bit of room for dessert which was beautiful fruit crumble, Bakewell tart and of course the Kiwi classic, Pavlova.

A foodie trip to New Zealand just would not be complete without a trip to Ferburger! Hailed as one of the best burgers in the whole world, the constant long queue was not going to put us off! I have to say with such a lot of hype around it had a lot to live up to. But it really really was the best burger I have ever had! I went for a classic Ferg Deluxe with NZ beef, bacon and cheese and pickles and relish and ailoi, sounds good right?! It was also massive which of course got extra points from me!

As well as Fergburger there in also a Fergbaker, where I may have spent a fair amount of my time (and money) whilst in Queenstown! Cookies, pastries, pies, croissants, breads, doughnuts, cakes… yep I had found my paradise. To put the cherry on top, next door was Mrs.Ferg, a gelateria! After pondering over and sampling many of the incredible flavours I had to of course go for pistachio and then a caramelised white chocolate and macadamia!

So there is a quick sum up of an amazing trip and a stunning country that will always be in my heart. If you have any questions about what else we got up to, any recommendations if you’re planning a trip yourself, or just some more food chat please leave a comment! I shall see you next week for a recipe blog!