The Perfect Pride & Prejudice Scones

I have to admit it, I am a massive fan of Jane Austen and in particular, Pride & Prejudice. Everyone says the best adaptation on screen is Colin Firth in the BBC series, but I personally prefer the Joe Wright version. I am a but biased as he is one of my favourite Directors, but the cinematography, the acting, costume, everything about that film is wonderful!

As embarrassed as I am to say this, I went through a Jane Austen/Georgian Period phase were I would read her novels, went to Bath just to visit the Austen museum and became obsessed with cream tea and scones. Now I think I may be obsessed again as Director Jerusha Hess' 'Austenland' is coming out soon...eeek! Keri Russell and JJ Feild look amazing in it. Scroll to the bottom of this page to view the trailer.

Scones are really simple to make, seriously! I thought they would take forever but they cook in 10 minutes and you probably have the ingredients in your cupboard to make some this afternoon. Sure they might not look prim and proper and just off the M&S shelf but they taste soooo good!

Prep time: 10 minutes     Cooking time: 10-12 minutes

Ingredients 

• 350g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 85g butter, cut in cubes
• 3 tbsp caster sugar
• 175ml milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• teaspoon of lemon juice
• 1 beaten egg
• Tiptree Strawberry with Champagne Jam
• Rodda's Cornish clotted cream

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 220C /Fan 200C. Pour the flour into a bowl and add the salt and the baking powder and mix with a spoon. 
2. Add the cubed butter and rub in with your fingers. The mixture should feel and look crumbly.
3. Once the mixture looks like fine crumbs, stir in the caster sugar
4. Pour your milk into a microwavable bowl or jug and heat till warm. The milk should not be hot. Add the vanilla and lemon juice to the milk.
5. Make a hole in the bottom of your flour mixture and add the milk. With a knife, mix the mixture about so the milk is absorbed. Pour some flour on a work board for the next part.
6. Put the dough onto the board and work the mixture in your hands. Work it into the flour and fold the dough so it feels and looks smooth.
7. Pat the dough into a round about 4cm deep.
8. Grab a circle cutter and dip it into flour ( I used a skinny mug that was roughly 5cm wide )
9. Put the cutter into the mixture and twist to get a nice round shape. Cut the remaining circles out and re-work the dough to use the remainder of it up.
10. Place on a baking tray and glaze the top of the scones with the beaten egg.
11. Add to the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes or until the top is golden.
12. Eat whilst warm or cool and watch Pride and Prejudice! A way to Mr Darcy' heart is through scones you know!

Notes

• First you must add the jam and then add the clotted cream on top. I used Tiptree's Strawberry with Champagne Jam and Rodda's Cornish Clotted Cream. Yum diddy yum! 

  

Easy Chocolate Meringue Sandwich Recipe

Yay it's the weekend. Another excuse for me to cook something sweet to make my dentist wince. Meringues are notorious for being a bit tricky, but if all goes wrong you can always make an Eton Mess with the left overs.

This recipe is super duper easy and would be great if you add colouring and a different cream for the centre. Everyone who ate them here loved them so no complaints, phew!

Prep time: 15 minutes     Cooking time: 1 hour

Ingredients

• 4 egg whites
• 225g caster sugar
• 1/4 double cream
• Plain chocolate or 1 tablespoon of drinking chocolate

 Instructions

1. Line two trays with non stick baking paper and heat the oven to 120C/Fan 100C.
2. Put the egg whites into an oven glass mixing bowl or a sturdy bowl and whisk with a rotary whisk until stiff. It is important to make sure they are stiff before you follow the next part.
3. Continue to whisk whilst adding a tablespoon of sugar and whisking well before the next tablespoon is added.
4. After all the sugar has been added, using two wet desert spoons, spoon the meringue onto the baking trays. You can also use a pipe to transfer the mixture and look more professional than me.
5. Sprinkle the meringues with a little caster sugar and leave them in the oven for an hour or until they are crisp.
6. Remove them from the oven and leave them to cool down.
7. Melt some chocolate and the cream in a saucepan and mix till all chocolate is melted. Leave to cool down.
8. Once cool and a bit gloopy, grab two meringues and sandwich them with the filling.
9. Et voila. Impress your guests or just eat them all to yourself.

Notes

• If you feel that your whites aren't being very peaky...add a squeeze of lemon juice or white wine vinegar to help them along. This snack would be nicely accompanied with tea and a romantic comedy. 

 

Marie Antoinette Chocolate Tea Cups Recipe

So this is the first recipe post I have published and also my first attempt at 'proper' food photography using my trusty DSLR. Well today's recipes is 'Chocolate Teacups' inspired by the film Marie Antoinette by Sofia Coppola. Sure, I could have made Macaroons but that would have been so obvious, plus I needed something a little bit classy and had to put these Doulton cups to good use instead of gathering dust. Don't worry, I cleaned them out before I filled them with chocolate.

In the historical context, Marie Antoinette apparently loved chocolate and in the 18th Century, it was primarily taken in liquid form much like a thick Majorcan hot chocolate. This recipe is chocolate set in a cup and it is rich in taste, hence the tiny cups. It has a more creamy than mousse like texture to it.

Prep time: 10 minutes      Cooking time: 10 minutes

Ingredients 

• 170-200 grams of chocolate ( I used Green & Blacks Organic Milk Chocolate )
• 1/2 oz. butter
• 3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon coffee essence ( optional or any other flavorings that you like )
• Chocolate to decorate

Instructions

1. Break up the chocolate and place the pieces and butter in a bowl placed over a pan of hot, not boiling water. Leave to dissolve whilst stirring often. 
2. Once the chocolate and butter have completely dissolved, remove it from the heat and beat in the egg yolks and add any flavoring or essence you are using. 
3. Whisk in the egg whites till stiff then fold them into the chocolate mixture.
4. Pour into 4 small cups ( or 2 larger ones ) and leave in a cool place to set.
5. Just before serving, top them up with chocolate curls 

Notes

• After pouring the chocolate into the cups and letting them cool, I put them in the fridge for a couple of hours for a nice chilled chocolate desert. This would be nicely accompanied with short bread and Marie Antoinette in the DVD player.

 images above of Marie Antoinette Film Grabs via tumblr.com