Tag: dried fruit

Apple and almond muffins

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

Most autumnal of muffins. Delicious and justifiable to eat at literally any time of day. Makes 12.

  • 1 egg
  • 60g soft light brown sugar
  • 80g plain flour
  • 50g ground almonds
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • Couple of gratings nutmeg
  • ¼ tsp ground cloves
  • ¼ tsp almond extract
  • 50ml sunflower oil
  • 2 apples, peeled and cored and diced
  • 3 tbsp milk
  • Handful of sultanas
  • Flaked almonds
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 170C fan (190C) and line muffin cases
  2. Whisk together the sugar and egg until well combined and thickened
  3. Add the milk and oil and beat in
  4. Then add the flour, ground almonds, baking powder, salt and spices
  5. Mix together thoroughly with a spoon or spatula, then add the apple and sultanas
  6. Stir them in and then spoon the batter into the muffin cases
  7. Sprinkle over a light scatter of flaked almonds
  8. Bake for 25-30 mins until golden and then cool on a wire rack
  9. Eat immediately or store in an airtight container at room temperature

These freeze really well if you can’t get through all of them before they go stale

Hot cross buns

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

Or in my house they’re Not Cross Buns because they induce delighted good humour and I can never be bothered to put the crosses on top. Even cross-less, these buns are delicious. Spiced, soft, full of dried fruit, and amazing toasted with a bit of butter.

  • 2 tsp dried yeast
  • 50g caster sugar
  • 150ml warm milk
  • 75ml warm water
  • 450g bread flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp ground ginger
  • ½ tsp ground nutmeg
  • ¼ tsp ground allspice
  • ¼ tsp ground cloves
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 50g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 100g currants
  • 40g chopped mixed peel
  • Couple of gratings of orange zest
  1. In a small jug, whisk together the milk, water, sugar and yeast. Once well combined, leave to froth for 5 mins or so
  2. Put the flour, salt and spices into a big bowl and mix
  3. Make a well in the middle and add the melted butter, beaten egg, yeast mixture, currants, mixed peel and orange zest
  4. Mix first with a spoon, then with your hands, into a soft dough
  5. Turn out of the bowl onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8-10 mins until it’s smooth and elastic. It will also smell amazing! It may shed currants as you knead, but just stick them back in as you go
  6. Tenderly place the ball of dough into a clean bowl (or just wash up the one you used before), cover with a tea towel and stick in a warm place for an hour. Mine always goes in the airing cupboard with the towels
  7. When it has doubled in size, tip out of the bowl and knead again for a couple of mins
  8. Divide into 12 roughly equal-sized pieces and roll gently with your hands into round buns
  9. Line the baking tray with baking parchment. Pop the buns onto the lined tray and cover with the same tea towel
  10. Pop back in the warm place for around 40 mins, until doubled in size again. This is the ‘cross’ stage if you can be bothered to pipe a flour-water paste over the tops in X shapes
  11. Pre-heat the oven to 170C fan (190C) and bake for 15-20 mins until golden brown
  12. If you want them to be shiny and a little bit sticky (again, I can never be bothered) you can brush over a sugar glaze while they’re still warm. This should set once they’re cool.

Tuck. In.

Lamb and pistachio koftas

~ Sophie ~ 1 Comment

This recipe makes 10-12 succulent, highly-flavoured, barbecue favourites. Equally as delightful indoors if the weather turns against you. Best stuffed into a pitta with a drizzle of yogurt, a squeeze of lemon and a crunchy salad

  • 750g minced lamb
  • 1 red pepper
  • 1 red chilli
  • 1 large onion
  • 5 cloves garlic
  • Bunch of fresh parsley
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 50g breadcrumbs (would work with GF breadcrumbs if you prefer)
  • 100g pistachios, roasted and chopped
  • 80g currants/dried sour cherries/dried cranberries
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp pul biber (mild Turkish chilli flakes, substitute with a pinch of dried chilli flakes)
  • 1 tbsp ground coriander
  • 1 tbsp paprika
  1. Use a food processor (or pestle and mortar in absence of machinery) to make a rough purée of the pepper, chilli, onion, garlic and parsley
  2. Scrape into a big bowl and add the lamb
  3. Add all the rest of the ingredients and mix really well to create a uniform texture
  4. Shape into sausages around a skewer – two to a long metal skewer/one to a short wooden one
  5. Place in the fridge for at least 20 mins and up to 24 hours before cooking. This helps them hold together when you cook them
  6. Barbecue them or roast at 200C fan (220C) for about 20 min

These also make good meatballs or burgers if you don’t want to do them on skewers

Flapjacks

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

Our family’s recipe for nubbly, chewy, crunchy flapjacks. Endlessly adaptable, brilliant to make with children.

  • 115g butter
  • 1 tbsp golden syrup
  • 1 level tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 90g porridge oats
  • 60g plain flour
  • 80g soft brown sugar
  • A couple of handfuls of chopped dried fruit, seeds, nuts, desiccated coconut. (You can use anything dried. Our family faves are raisins with pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds; dried cherries with flaked almonds; and dried pineapple with flax seeds and desiccated coconut. You could even add chocolate chips and banana chips, which is how my dad likes them, but I feel as though they suddenly become not breakfast-appropriate if you do that!)
  1. Preheat oven to 140C fan (160C)
  2. In a big bowl, mix together oats, flour, sugar and your choice of fruit/seeds
  3. Melt the butter in a small pan on the hob, then add the syrup and stir together
  4. When combined, take off the stove and add the bicarb. Stir until frothy and then pour over the dry ingredients
  5. Mix well until everything turns flapjack-coloured
  6. Tip into a baking tin or dish – I usually use a rectangular ceramic dish so I don’t have to line it. Press down with your fingers into all the corners
  7. Cook for 30 mins until golden brown
  8. Remove from oven, cut into squares with a sharp knife but leave in the tin until completely cooled
  9. Store in an airtight container