Tag: baking

A Birthday Cake for Charlie

A Birthday Cake for Charlie

A decade ago — or possibly even less — I would’ve made fun of the kind of person who made a birthday cake for their dog. We always had family dogs while I was growing up, but they were backyard dogs who, while part of 

Alive, with Cherry Hand Pies

Alive, with Cherry Hand Pies

I should most definitely not be writing about cherry hand pies right now, for a few different reasons, but sometimes you just want to write the words that you want to write. I’ve worked really hard to get to a point in life where I 

Ginger Scones for Monday Blues

Ginger Scones for Monday Blues

Monday, Monday. Don’t despair. It means you’re one day closer to the start of the weekend than you were last night.

You know what makes Monday mornings better? Popping some frozen scones you made over the weekend into the oven while you’re in the shower. Scones can hold for two or three days, but they are never as nice as when they are still warm. Luckily, they freeze well, so a big batch made on Sunday can last you the week.

Ginger Scones

A bit of a quick one this morning. After the scone disappointment at Loisir a couple of weeks back, B asked me to make him scones to atone for the sin of dragging him to afternoon tea. I actually think the scones there just got him thinking about the ones I make. The amazing thing about scones is that once you’ve got them down, you can toss in anything you have in the fridge or pantry and come up with something new every time.

But scones did take me a little time to get down, as did pastry — basically anything that involves cutting in cold butter, which I could never seem to get quite right. My solution may be a bit unorthodox but I will never, ever look back from it: Freeze the butter and take to it with a sturdy cheese grater. It gives you extra time to fumble around with the dough before your butter starts to get too warm and melt. Oh. And when the butter you’re holding in your hands  while grating begins to melt around your warm little fingers, drop it in the bowl of flour and give it a toss before continuing.

Following that route, these scones can be cut and ready to go into the oven (or wrapped and placed in the freezer) inside of 15 minutes. Things I have added to this same base recipe include: grated apple, dried cranberries, fresh blueberries, prunes, rolled oats and, as in this case, ginger. I’m thinking of doing some with strawberries this week, as they are in season.

Ginger Scones

 

Hallabong Orange Persian Love Cake

Hallabong Orange Persian Love Cake

“What are you doing now?” B enjoys roasting me about my many kitchen experiments. It’s partly cultural weirdness — the things I do in the kitchen on even an ordinary day don’t always resemble what he grew up watching his mother do — and partly 

Coconut Rum Mini Cakes

Coconut Rum Mini Cakes

I don’t like making pastry. Well, I didn’t like making pastry. Now, I feel mostly neutral about it. That’s because I’ve made a concerted effort over the past few months to overcome a lifelong aversion to it via self-inflicted exposure therapy. There have been a