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Bryony Bakes: Scones

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Recently I have been baking scones and I thought I would share with you my favourite really easy, simple and quick scones recipe.

Makes 12-15. Oven Temperature 200C or 180 Fan.

Ingredients

85g Unsalted Butter

350g Self-raising Flour

1/4tsp Salt

1 and a half tsp Baking Powder

2 tbsp Caster Sugar

200ml warm full fat milk

1 tsp Fresh lemon juice

Clotted Cream

Jam of your choice

Method

1. Dice and rub the unsalted butter into the 350g self raising flour.

2. Stir in the salt, baking powder and the 2 tbsp of caster sugar.

3. Use a knife to stir in the milk and the lemon juice. Don’t over mix just combine ingredients.

4. Turn onto lightly floured surface and mix together lightly.

5. Pat down to 2cm thickness. Cut out 5cm rounds using a glass or cookie cutter.

6. Brush with milk or dust with flour.

7. Bake on a lined baking tray for 10-15 minutes until risen and golden.

8. Wait to cool, then serve with clotted cream and a jam of your choice.

Bryony Bakes: Lemon Orange Cake

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Earlier this month I celebrated my 21st Birthday. My mum made me this delicious lemon and orange cake and I want to share the recipe with you. If you love lemon cake then you would probably find this cake on your top 10 list of favourite lemon cake recipes.

Ingredients

200g Soft Margarine

250g Caster Sugar

2 Large Eggs

200g Full Fat Natural Yogurt mixed with juice of 1/2 lemon, left covered at room temperature for 20 minutes

300g Plain Flour

3 Level tsp Baking Powder

2 Cake Tins (23cm) line base,grease sides

3 Oranges or Lemon Zest

Orange Marmalade

Chopped Ginger

Method

1. Cream the margarine and sugar until light and fluffy, then add the eggs one at a time, and beat until well combined.

2. Beat in the finely grated zest of 3 oranges or 3 lemons and then add 50g of marmalade.

3. Beat in the yogurt mix.

4. Fold in the flour and baking powder thoroughly.

5. Spoon the mixture into the tins making sure you level off the tops.

6. Bake for 45 minutes at 160C fan / 180c normal.

7. Test with a skewer insert into the centre of the cake. Should come out clean if not cool for another 5-10 minutes.

Filing and Icing Top

1. Sandwich the cakes once cooled with orange marmalade or lemon butter icing.

2. Top with lemon juice, icing sugar a knob of butter beaten together.

3. Add a little chopped ginger in syrup if liked. You could also add a little zest too.

Bryony Bakes: Tanya Burr’s Iced Spiced Scones

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At Christmas time I love to bake with my mum. Filling the kitchen with all smells that scream the Christmas Season from the smells of cinnamon to dried orange.

This year I tried out a new recipe from Tanya Burr’s new book TANYA’S Christmas. I loved how these scones turned out, however  I put my own twist on the recipe so I thought I would share it with you.





Makes 12 Small Scones/ 8 Big Scones

if you would like quite big scones you will need 5cm round pastry cutter

Cooking Time 15 Minutes

Ingredients

250g self-raising flour ,plus extra for dusting

1tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp grated nutmeg

lemon zest or orange zest

40g unsalted butter softened

30g golden caster sugar

1 large egg, lightly beaten

125ml milk, plus extra for brushing

For the glaze:

3-4 tbsp lemon juice

150g icing sugar , sifted

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 200*C / 400 F / Gas Mark 6. Then line a baking tray with baking paper.
  2. Combine the flour, baking powder,spices and lemon or orange zest in a bowl. Add the butter, using your fingertips work the butter into the flour until the mixture has a crumbly texture. Then stir in  the sugar.
  3. Add the lightly beaten egg into the flour mixture then add the milk; little by little not all at once. You might not need to add all the milk. You just need  enough for your dough to be soft and sticky.
  4. Dust your work surface with a little bit of flour. Put the dough out onto the floured surface. Using your hands pat it into a nice flat disc shape. Roll it gentle a few times to flattered  it to a thickness of 2-3 cm.
  5. Using your pastry cutter; cut out your circles and place them on the baking tray. Repeat this making sure when you need to bring the dough back together you knead it lightly, before patting it into a disc to cut out more circles.
  6. Brush the tops of each scone with milk and pop into the oven for about 10-12 minutes or until the tops of the scones are golden.
  7.  Whilst the scones bake, prepare the glaze by stirring the lemon juice into the icing sugar a little at a time until you have a smooth runny mixture. You could add lemon or orange zest into the glaze.
  8. Remove the scones from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely . Pour the smooth runny glaze over the tops and allow them to set. You could just enjoy them whilst the glaze just put on them.
  9. Enjoy!

Bryony Bakes: Christmas Spiced Brownie Cake

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Ingredients

150g Dark Chocolate, roughly chopped.

150g Unsalted Butter.

3 Large Eggs.

125g Caster Sugar.

1tsp Vanilla Extract.

Zest of 1 Clementine.

1 tbsp Orange Juice.

3 tbsp Red Wine.

1/4 tsp Ground Mixed Spices.

100g Plain Flour.

1/4 tsp Baking Powder.

For The Decoration.

A Couple Of Rows Of White Chocolate From The Chocolate Bar.

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180*C, Fan160*C, Gas 4 and line the base of a round 24cm-diameter springform tin.

2. Melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl over a saucepan of gentle simmering water, making sure the bowl does not touch the water. You could gently melt the chocolate and butter in the microwave at a low setting; stir until smooth. Remove from the heat and let it cool for 20 minutes.

3. In a large bowl whisk the eggs , caster sugar and vanilla extract. Then add in the clementine zest , orange juice , red wine and ground mixed spice whisk till just combined. In a separate bowl sift the flour and baking powder. Pour the cooled chocolate mixture into the beaten eggs and mix until combined and smooth. Then fold in the flour mixture until combined making sure no flour is visible.

4. Pour the mixture into the lined tin. Transfer to the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until set on top but still a little bit gooey inside. Leave to cool in the tin.

5. Whilst the cake is cooling, melt the white chocolate on a low heat in the microwave for about a minute and a half. Once melted stir the chocolate to help get rid of any lumps. Once the cake is completely cooled, take the cake out of the tin and drizzled the white chocolate all over the top of the cake.

6. Enjoy!

Film Review : The Greatest Showman

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The Greatest Showman is a film inspired on the life of P.T. Barnum.

The film starts with showing you flashbacks to Barnum’s childhood and how he met his now wife Charity. Barnum (played by Hugh Jackman )and Charity played by (Michelle Williams) came from different class backgrounds he was a tailor’s son. His father was working for Charity’s father. Though the two are separated as Charity is being sent away for school the two of them write to each other. They then meet again when they are adults, get married and have two children. Charity is very happy with the life she has with her husband even though it is very different from her childhood home but her husband dreams of more and wants to give her a life he promised her. When Barnum loses his job at a shipping company because the company goes bankrupt. He takes out a loan to buy a museum which is full of wax models. Every few people are coming to the museum and sales are slow, so when his daughters say show something that is alive this gives him an idea to look for ”freaks” to be performers at his museum. Barnum then wants to get a bigger audience in the upper class so he meets Phillip Carlyle (played by Zac Efron) and persuades him to join his business. And the magic begins to start!

I absolutely love this film and highly recommend it, the first time I saw this film was in the cinema. Having the film played on such a big screen somehow made it more exciting, watching it at home on my TV is great too.

One of the main reasons I love this film is because it celebrates that we are all different and that’s what makes this world such a brilliant place. It celebrates the fact everyone’s individuality makes them not like anyone else. I think the film challenges what is society’s definition of the word beautiful.

The songs and dances in the film made me want to get up and dance. I felt at points I wasn’t watching it but part of it.

I felt that throughout the film I connected with the actors who had roles as the performers. This was because when I was at school I felt like a freak, didn’t really fit in and got bullied because of my disability and other things. I relate to the character Lettie Lutz played by (Keala Settle) the most, this was because she was playing a women with a beard and I have facial hair and when I didn’t get rid of it I would be bullied and made to feel so ugly.

The songs throughout the film were brilliant and very catchy. My favourite song however was called This Is Me. Not only was it sang so beautifully with so much feeling but the words just made me feel that I am not alone, or a freak and to be proud of who I am.

The costumes, hair and makeup all looked wonderful as well.

It was The Greatest Show I’ve seen with such a beautiful and powerful message. This film is now one of my all- time favourites!