Buttermilk Muffins (the English sort) – it’d be a crime not to make them!

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Muffins (the English sort) incite criminal behaviour, apparently. Last week in Northport, NY, a homeowner called the police to report a burglary. According to the alleged victim, the backdoor lock had been tampered with and two packets of Thomas’s English Muffins had been stolen.

Here’s what I think happened: The female ‘victim’ had come home from the gym... Ravenous after a vigorous workout, the muffins were so tempting that she sat down and scoffed the whole dozen by herself... She then concocted the story to save face because she knew the muffins she’d promised the family for supper had been the last in the local foodstore...



Hey! The thief has been here too!

Samuel Bath Thomas first started producing these popular little breads at his bakery in New York in 1880, giving rise (no pun intended) to the idea that they were an American invention. However, he used his mother’s recipe – which he had brought from England five years earlier – so he was standing on the shoulders of giants, so to speak.

In 1747, Hannah Glasse’s The Art of Cookery Made Plain & Easy featured similar yeasted griddle breads. In her recipe, she warns “don't touch them with a knife, either to spread or cut them open, if you do they will be as heavy as lead”. She suggests tearing them open with your hands. If you don’t have asbestos fingers, you could open them up with a fork. This preserves the very delicate structure of the bread creating a fantastic butter-trap for those who are fearless in the face of the odd calorie or 5,000. It also creates a rough surface for incredible toast and a base for Eggs Benedict to die for.

If the ‘thief’ happens to be reading, below is my recipe for Buttermilk Muffins. They are so easy and use store cupboard ingredients. Perhaps it will save such desperate measures in future...

For a dozen or so irresistible muffins (of the English sort) you will need...

500g strong white flour

1 x 7g sachet of fast-acting dried yeast

1 teaspoon fine table salt

250mls buttermilk, tepid (you may need slightly buttermilk more if the flour is very absorbent)

1 teaspoon runny honey

A little corn meal or plain flour for dusting

A little sunflower oil to grease the frying pan 

In a large mixing bowl (or stand mixer), mix together the flour, yeast and salt. In a separate container, mix the tepid buttermilk and honey before adding to the flour mixture. Mix until the dough comes together in a smooth ball that leaves the bowl clean. If any dry flour remains, add a little more buttermilk. If using a stand mixer, mix for about 2 minutes with the dough hook. If making this by hand, turn the ball of dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for about 2 minutes. (To knead, fold the dough in half, then holding it in place with one hand, use the heel of the other hand to stretch the dough away from you, along the floured surface. Again fold it, rotate it about 1/8th of a turn and again press it away from you with the heel of your hand. Repeat for about 2 minutes knowing you are giving your arms a great workout which will enable you to have second helpings...) Return the dough to the bowl. Cover the bowl with cling film and leave in a warm, draught-free place to rise until doubled in size (about an hour and a half). You can leave this to rise overnight in the fridge if you prefer, where it will rise much slower. The key is that the dough doubles in size.

Roll the risen dough out to a thickness of about 1.5cm. Sprinkle a tray or baking sheet with corn meal or a little flour to prevent the muffins from sticking. Using a 6cm (3 inch) circular cutter, cut out as rounds of dough. You can knead together any scraps if necessary, re-roll and cut. However, try and cut your dough so that you get most of the muffins from the virgin dough as re-rolled scraps tend to form slightly misshapen, rustic-looking muffins.  Cover loosely with cling film. Leave to rise again in a warm, draught-free place for about 30 minutes, or until puffed up and doubled in height.

Now, heat a large frying pan (with a lid) over a medium heat. Rub it with a little sunflower oil and gently transfer a batch of muffins to the pan, leaving about 3cms between them. Cover with the lid.

After about 3 or 4 minutes gently slide a spatula under the muffins to see if they have browned. If not, continue cooking and check again after a minute or so. When the bases have browned, gently turn the muffins over and continue cooking on the other side for about 3 or 4 minutes, or until they too have browned. Transfer to a cooling rack, or, more likely, to waiting plates.

As Hannah Glasse warns, don’t cut them with a knife. It makes them ‘claggy’ as the steam condenses on the cold metal. Tear them open with your hands or ease apart with a fork.

Taste tester verdict: “Best I’ve ever tasted”. This comment was backed up by him taking second helpings, twice! 

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Falafel – little green Patties on Paddy’s Day

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Patty or Paddy? Paddy or Patty? On Irish soil, it will always be Paddy but the Americans can call him what they like. New research points to the first St Patrick’s Day celebrations being held in Florida in 1600 and the first parade apparently took place there a year later. Boston followed suit in 1737 and New York a tardy 25 years later. Ireland didn’t get in on the act until 1903 with the first parade in Waterford. Dublin joined in in 1931.

Patrick’s real name is thought to have been Maewyn Succat and he is believed to have been from either Scotland or Wales, son of a Roman-British army official. But Happy St. Maewyn Succat’s Day doesn’t have the same ring to it so I’m sticking with Paddy and you can say Patty if that floats your boat.

Food-wise, I’m breaking with tradition this year and skipping the corned beef and colcannon and making ... er... chickpea patties - well Falafel is green enough to be Irish on March 17.

(You could have Guinness Chocolate Cake for afters...)

For about 30 ... erm... patties ... you will need...

250g dried chickpeas, soaked overnight (for about 10 hours) - no shortcuts here - tinned chickpeas just won't cut the mustard in this recipe.

1 teaspoon cumin seed

1 teaspoon coriander seed

½ teaspoon black peppercorns

1 teaspoon fine table salt

2 tablespoons gram flour (chickpea flour)* 

4 spring onions, finely chopped

4 cloves of garlic, sliced

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh coriander leaf

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

*You can substitute regular wheat flour but obviously they stop being gluten-free

Sunflower oil for frying

Rinse the pre-soaked chickpeas, drain and roll in a clean tea towel or some kitchen paper to remove as much moisture as possible. Blitz in batches in a food processor until you have a uniformly crumbly mix - you are not looking for hummus. 

Toast the cumin and coriander seed along with the black peppercorns in a dry frying pan over a medium heat until they smell toasted – anything up to 5 minutes. Immediately remove and transfer out of the pan into a bowl otherwise they will carry on toasting. When cool, crush the spices (in a spice grinder, with a pestle and mortar - whatever you normally crush your spices with).

A bit finer than this please, chef!

Add these along with the remaining ingredients to the final batch of chickpeas and blitz until smooth. Mix in the rest of the blitzed chickpeas until evenly combined. You are looking for a couscous-like texture.

If you have a falafel scoop, use that to make little patties. Otherwise, dampen your hands and take walnut-sized scoops of mixture, roll them into a ball and flatten slightly.

Heat oil in a deep fat fryer to 180°C. Pop the falafel in one at a time, careful not to overcrowd the fryer or you’ll lower the temperature and end up with oily falafel. Fry until these little green pucks have taken on a golden hue – 3 – 5 minutes depending on size. Turn out into a dish lined with kitchen paper.

I serve them as follows:

Smear a flatbread with hummus. Add finely shredded iceberg lettuce, finely chopped tomato, cucumber, shredded spring onion, and a squirt each of garlic dressing and Sriracha sauce. Squash in 3 to 5 freshly cooked falafel. Fold in the sides, then roll tightly and enjoy as you watch the parade (or the Ireland v England match) wherever you are.

Pita does equally well.

Happy St Patrick’s Day!

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Vanilla Orange Caramel Pancake Sauce – Mardi Gras for your mouth!

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Pancakes and crêpes are nothing on their own. Left to their own devices they would never go out. Savoury or sweet, they depend on fillings and dressings to give them a social life.

Though I’m a fiend for maple syrup, sometimes something as simple as a sprinkle of sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice is just the thing to make a pancake interesting. However, for a real taste of Carnival, my current favourite is this zingy vanilla orange caramel sauce.  Pour the hot syrup over pancakes or crêpes and feel your taste buds samba!

The sauce thickens as it cools and if there is any left over, it’s delicious, cold, on ice cream.

For approximately 150mls of sweet, zingy caramel sauce you will need…

150g caster sugar

10g salted butter

zest of one orange, finely grated or cut into shreds

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract (or vanilla bean paste)

100mls fresh orange juice

You will need to exercise a little caution – melted sugar is extremely hot.

You will also need a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed, light-coloured saucepan (light-coloured so you can see the sugar change colour as it melts and judge easily when to take it off the heat.)

Put the sugar in an even layer in the pan and place the pan over a medium heat, supervising it constantly until the sugar has melted. You will need to swirl the pan occasionally so that the sugar melts evenly. I prefer to swirl rather than stir as over-stirring can cause the sugar to clump, however a little gentle poking at the melting mixture with a wooden spoon or spatula won’t hurt.

Another swirl or two will capture those sugar crystals on the side

Once the sugar has melted, keep it over the heat until it has turned a rich amber colour and starts to smell like caramel. Watch the pan like a hawk as the melted sugar can burn quickly and become bitter (if that happens, start again).

The caramel is ready when it smells like caramel and is a rich amber colour

Now add the butter, stirring until it has melted into the caramel, then add the orange zest, and vanilla and stir to incorporate.

Add the orange juice in a steady stream, stirring until you have a smooth syrup. It will bubble furiously and the cold juice may cause the caramel to solidify in places.  If this happens,  just keep stirring over the heat and any blobs of caramel will eventually melt back in to the sauce.

Bubbling furiously

Once you have a smooth sauce, remove from the heat.

This sauce can be made ahead and served hot or cold. If using hot, remember that it is super hot and warn people accordingly. As it cools it thickens up and is delicious with ice cream.

To serve hot, reheat in a saucepan over a medium heat and then pour over hot pancakes. You could also prepare (or buy) your pancakes ahead and reheat them in the sauce as in the picture below.  Click here to for an easy cider and cinnamon pancake recipe

Pancakes ready to party!

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Honey Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Ginger Crème Fraiche – stirring stuff!

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I have a complete mental block when it comes to buttons on kitchen appliances. My particular downfalls are my electric beaters and my stick blender. When using either, I manage to successfully carry out the task I had in mind – whip cream for example, or blend soup. Easy enough! Job done!



Honey Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Ginger Crème Fraiche



It’s the next bit I find tricky. I switch off the appliance and go to eject the beaters/blade but for some strange reason I am unable to carry out this simple step. Instead, I lift the appliance out of whatever mixture I have been working with – still dripping with cream/soup etc and ... switch... the... damn... thing... back... ON!

At this point, about a tablespoon of cream/soup is dispersed around the kitchen at a centrifugal force of OH MY GOD!!! Have you any idea how much kitchen/person a tablespoonful of liquid will cover? Worse, each droplet has a spinning trajectory which means that it will not only COVER every surface within a 10 foot radius, but it will actually get BEHIND stuff too.

I only ever make this mistake when I have just finished my makeup and blow-dried my hair and guests are about to arrive.

This evening I am taking no chances. My husband is on soup-blending duty and the ginger crème fraiche only requires stirring. Athough...there is still the cream to whip for the cherry profiteroles. After a glass of wine that will be tempting fate. Oh dear - fingers crossed!

Honey I Roasted the Squash!

For 8 servings you will need...

1 butternut squash weighing about 1.2kg

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon fresh thyme

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 carrots, peeled and halved

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon runny honey

6 fat cloves of garlic, unpeeled

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion (think tennis ball-sized), finely chopped

2 sticks celery, peeled and finely chopped

1.5 L vegetable or chicken stock

Preheat the oven to 180°C

1                    Cut the butternut squash into quarters lengthways and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Cut each wedge of squash into half across the middle. Place in a shallow roasting tray with the olive oil. Get your hands in there and anoint each piece of squash with the oil until liberally coated and glistening. Sprinkle with fresh thyme and a little salt and black pepper. Place in the oven for 10 minutes.

2                    After 10 minutes, remove from the oven and add the carrots. Sprinkle the squash with balsamic vinegar and drizzle with honey, making sure each wedge gets a little bit of honey sweetness. Place the tray back in the oven and continue cooking for a further 25 minutes, adding the unpeeled garlic 10 minutes into this cooking time. When the squash is cooked, remove from the oven and leave to cool for about 5 minutes.

3                    Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over a gentle heat. Add the onion and celery and cook gently without colouring until the onions are soft and translucent - about 5 minutes.

4                     Chop the roasted carrots and add to the saucepan. Remove the skin from the butternut squash before adding to the saucepan. Squeeze the garlic cloves gently until the skin bursts then add the soft garlic pulp to the saucepan. Finally add the stock. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat. Cover and simmer gently for about 15 minutes, then blend. A stick blender is perfect for this job.

Ginger Crème Fraiche - stirred, not shaken!

For the ginger crème fraiche you will need...

6 tablespoons crème fraiche

1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger

Simply stir the two together and chill until needed.

Just before serving, swirl a little of the ginger cream into the soup.

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Pupcakes – the main ingredient is imagination!

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When my sister said “Cake Sale... Next Saturday... For charity... Inspiration for the novice baker please?!”, it had to be Pupcakes.

These are my (current) favourites. They are a little fiddly to make but so worth it when you see the reaction they get. Both kids and grownups deliberate for ages over their choice. When I point out that each of these little cuties tastes the same, I often get the reply “But, Hester! They all have different personalities! I have to find the one that’s right for me!”

For 1 dozen cute pupcakes (each with their own personality) you will need...

... a small star-shaped piping nozzle such as a Wilton 22 and a piping bag (or a freezer bag with the corner snipped off to accommodate the piping nozzle).

1 dozen vanilla-flavoured plain cupcakes

Buttercream Icing

250g butter (not dairy spread), at room temperature (i.e. soft)
275g icing sugar, sifted
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1.                 Place the soft butter together with half the icing sugar in a large mixing bowl or stand mixer. Mix together slowly to avoid filling the kitchen with a sweet sugar cloud. When mixed, add the second half of the icing sugar and the vanilla essence and whip until light and fluffy – I usually mix this in my stand mixer, leaving it running for 5 minutes. This amount will decorate 12 cupcakes.

To decorate the pupcakes you will need...

6 red/pink Starburst sweets (or similar soft fruit caramels), for the tongue

6 marshmallows for the muzzle, snipped in half so you have two discs from each

a further 4 marshmallows for the ears, each snipped into 4 long slices then rolled out to make long floppy ear shapes

24 Smarties (or similar sweets) for the eyes (pairs of matching colours if possible)

12 Smarties (or similar) for the nose - pink or brown look good

a little imagination 

 

Mmmmm, I feel like a kid in a candy store!

2.                 First, make the tongues: Unwrap 1 Starburst (or soft fruit caramel) and place it in the microwave for about 4 seconds to soften it slightly. Roll it out to a thickness of about 2mm. Using a kitchen scissors, cut out rounded teardrop shapes about the size of your index fingernail. You should get 2 tongues from each sweet. Fold each teardrop gently in half, then unfold to create a line down the centre of the tongue. Gently bend to make natural-looking tongue shapes (as shown in the photo above). Ok, that was the difficult bit. The rest is an easy assembly job.

3.                 Next, If your cupcakes are domed, cut the tops off in line with the top of the cupcake cases to make a level surface for your icing.

4.                 Half-fill your piping bag with the freshly-whipped icing (piping bags are a lot easier to work with if not too full).

5.                 Cup a cake in one hand and, with the other, pipe icing all over the surface using little stabbing motions to mimic the appearance of fur.  It doesn’t have to be too neat.

6.                 Place a marshmallow half – with the sticky, cut side, down - off-centre to create the muzzle. Cover this with icing too. Place 2 Smartie eyes on the cake as shown in the photo below. Top the muzzle with another Smartie for the nose.

7.                 Press a pair of marshmallow ears either side of the eyes, making sure a sticky side is in contact with the icing as this helps it adhere.

8.                 Insert a Starburst tongue between the muzzle and the cupcake to secure.

9.                 Finally, pipe a cute little curl just over the eyes. Once you’ve done one, the rest are much quicker to assemble. Store in a cool dry place (not the fridge!)

Start with a level base; use half a marshmallow for the muzzle; add marshmallow ears
and candy eyes and nose; finally poke the tongue just under the base of the muzzle. 

The event, at St Matthias Hall in Killiney, Co. Dublin on Saturday, December 1st, 12 noon to 2pm, is in aid of the Intellectual Disability Association of Lesotho. Christmas music... mulled wine... tea, coffee, hot chocolate with marshmallows...  mince pies.... cakes, buns, cupcakes etc. as well as some Christmas crafts... Break Christmas in gently...

Come along on Saturday and meet the Ambassador of Lesotho and his family as you deliver a delicious donation, or simply take time out to enjoy one of the gorgeous creations on offer along with a cuppa and maybe even get some of your Christmas shopping done.

And, hey! Hands off! That one's mine!

Other bake sale ideas include:
Honey, Lemon and Almond Tartlets - this recipe makes 18
Banana, Pear and Coconut Loaf - excellent with coffee, improves if made ahead of time

If you have your own favourite bake sale recipe that you’d like to share with the bakers participating in the sale, please email me your link at simpleingredientsmagicalfood@gmail.com, and I’d be delighted to add it to the list. Pin It