Don't worry - it's not more holiday homework, this is just for those of you who like experimenting in the kitchen! In the last week of semester I promised to post up a few English recipes! Well here are a couple for you (the first is not so traditional, but very tasty, the second is very traditional and very sweet!).
Oat and Honey Muffins
Ingredients
250g flour
85g porridge oats
1 tablespoon baking powder
Half a teaspoon of cinnamon
Half a teaspoon of salt
85g raisins
2 eggs, beaten
200ml milk
75ml vegetable oil (I use olive oil)
50g light muscovado sugar
5 tablespoons of honey
1. In a large bowl combine the flour, oats, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and raisins. In a separate bowl, mix together the eggs, milk, oil, sugar and honey. Stir this into the flour mixture until just combined, but don't overmix - the mixture should be quite runny.
2. Spoon the mixture into muffin cases (- or a normal cake tin - the recipe is for muffins, but if you put the mixture into a normal cake tin, that's fine too). Bake for 20-25 minutes at 200°C (in a pre-heated oven). Leave in the tin until cool
Shortbread
Ingredients
150g flour
100g slightly salted butter, cut into pieces and softened
50g sugar
extra sugar for sprinkling
1. Put the flour in a mixing bowl, add the butter and rub together to make fine crumbs. Stir in the sugar.
2. Work the mixture together until it forms a ball. Turn it out onto a work surface and knead briefly until smooth. Roll and pat out on a very lightly floured surface to an 18cm round. Smooth the surface with your hands. Carefully slide the dough onto an ungreased baking sheed and flute the edges. Mark the circle into eight triangles with a knife, not cutting all the way through. Prick the surface all over with a fork.
3. Bake at 150°C (in a pre-heated oven) for 30-35 minutes or until cooked. The shortbread should be very pale. While still warm, cut through the markings and sprinkle with sugar. Cool before eating.
If you try - enjoy!
[Both recipes come from '101 CAKES AND BAKES' by GoodFood magazine and BBC Books, Random House Group Ltd., 2004.]
