Autumn baking and Downton Abbey dress WIP

Ginger nuts

This great recipe is thanks to Jorth.

• 200g butter
• 2 tablespoons golden syrup
• 2 cups raw sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten (or 4 eggs -see update note below)
• 3 1/2 cups plain (all purpose) flour
• 6 teaspoons ground ginger (yes, I know that’s a lot, but ginger nuts need to be gingery!)
• 2 teaspoons baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)

1. Preheat oven to 180 C and line baking trays. This recipe makes 60 biscuits. I used three trays in the first bake one and two in the second.
2. Melt the butter and syrup together in a saucepan.
3. Add the sugar and beaten eggs to the melted butter mixture.
4. Sieve the flour, baking soda and ginger together to mix and then add that too.
5. Mix together well. My mixture was a bit dry. Looking at my biscuits and Jorth’s, I think my less perfect and more cracked at the edges biscuits are because I should have added some liquid or another egg. Or perhaps its because I used raw caster sugar, and more might have fitted in the cup. I should have trusted my instincts and added another egg. They are very yummy though!
6. Roll into balls about 3cm diameter, place on trays and squish flat with a fork. Sprinkle the tops with a little extra raw sugar. I used demerara sugar, because raw caster sugar is too small to look good
7. Bake for 12 minutes.

These are deliciously crisp the next day. Perfect for dunking in a cup of tea.Or hot milk before going to bed. Or cold milk after school. Or..

 UPDATED August 2020

This is what they turn out like when you double the amount of eggs

Stickier dough. I blobbed them onto the baking tray rather than rolled the dough into balls. And there was no way you could squish them with a fork without removing half the dough. So I didn’t do that either. Or sprinkle with sugar.

But they are delicious! Soft and chewy.

Berry cream cheese coffee cake

This recipe is from Food Wanderings in Asia

I fell for Jo-Ann’s strawberry version whilst ‘researching’  on Pinterest. Her photos are delicious!

Butter Cake & Crumb Topping

• 2 cups plain (all purpose) flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, cold and cut into chunks
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder (a mixture of two parts of cream of tartar to one part of bicarbonate of soda)
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup blanched almond flakes

Cream Cheese Filling

• 250 g (a bit more than 8oz) cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg

Berry Filling

• 2 cups frozen raspberries and blackberries, thawed
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 3 teaspoons water
• 1.5 teaspoons cornflour

1. Preheat the oven to 170C. Line a 20 cm round spring form pan with baking paper.
2. Prepare the berry ‘jam’. Combine the cornflour and water. Add the berries and sugar to a pan and cook over low heat until the berries release their juices (about 5 minutes), then add the cornflour mix and stir until well combined. Stir for another minute or two until it has thickened. Remove from heat. Let cool to room temperature while you prepare the rest of the cake.
3. Prepare the cream cheese filling. Beat the cream cheese on medium speed for about 30 seconds until smooth. Add in the sugar and egg and beat until well combined. Set aside.
4. Prepare the cake. Rub butter into the flour and sugar together in a bowl. Measure 3/4 cup of the mixture and set aside (this will be the crumble topping). Add the baking soda and baking powder to the remaining mixture and mix well. In another bowl, beat the sour cream, egg and vanilla extract until well blended. Stir gently into the flour mixture until just incorporated. Set aside.
5. Put it all together. Spread the batter in the pan, about 1 cm higher up the sides and leaving a 1 cm border around the edges (like making a well). Pour the cream cheese mixture over the batter, being careful not to go beyond the border. Spread the berry jam on top of the cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle the remaining 3/4 cup crumbs over the berry filling and top with the almond flakes.
6. Bake for 50-55 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes before removing the cake.

This is a bit of a time consuming recipe. It’s not light in texture or calories, but makes a delicious cake.

 

Downton Abbey dress (BurdaStyle 08-2013-109)

Like the cake, this is a time consuming project too.

Lots of different fabrics (stretch cotton, silk chiffon, velvet, satin lining) and notions (button, piping, velvet ribbon, zip, iron on interfacing and organza).

It should be worth it in the end though… Just like the cake was.