Nation Baking Week

It's National Baking Week! From the 15th - 21st of October we have a great excuse to bake. I plan to celebrate by posting a few recipes and pics of my attempts at baking, eating the spoils and watching the final Great British Bake of Tuesday night!

This recipe for scones is great, it's very simple to make and the less you do to it the better it is! No kneading or folding or separating needed here:

Ingredients:
11oz of Plain white flour.
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp of bicarbonate of soda
1 carton of butter milk (about 350ml)
1oz of sugar.

How to Make:
Pre-heat your oven to 230 'c / Gas mark 8
Sift the flour, salt and bi'carb' into a bowl and add the sugar.
Then tip the butter milk into the dry ingredients. Using one hand in a open handed claw position (much like a panto witch) mix the ingredients together just until it forms a dough. (you really don't need to mix it that much!)

Then transfer the dough onto a board and flatten out a bit with your hand so its about 3cm tick, touching the dough as little as possible. Use a knife to cut the scones into rough squares and place on baking parchment on a baking tray.
Then pop in the oven for about 10-15 minuets. Until golden brown. It's really quick!

Enjoy:
Eat with clotted cream and your favourite jam.
You can use cutters to make nice shapes if you like, I used a star shape, but as the dough expands in the cooking these shapes can be unrecognizable, so I wouldn't bother...

Coconut Cake

  Coconut Cake

2 1/4 cups plain/baking flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup coconut milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
140 grams butter
3 large eggs


Grease and line two 9-inch round cake pans. Heat oven to 350°. 

Heat the coconut milk 1/2 cup desiccated coconut and the 1 teaspoon vanilla until hot. Set aside.

Sift the cake flour into a bowl with the baking powder and salt; set aside.
In a bowl with electric mixer, beat butter until light and creamy. Gradually add the sugar, a few tablespoons at a time, scraping the bowl and beating for about a minute after each addition.
Add the 3 eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, scraping sides of the bowl frequently.
Slowly add about one-third of the flour mixture to the creamed mixture along with half of the milk/coconut/vanilla mixture. Beat on low speed until blended. Scrape the bowl and repeat with another one-third of the dry mixture and the remaining milk mixture. Scrape the bowl and repeat with remaining flour mixture. Scrape the bowl and continue beating on low speed for a few seconds.
Spoon batter into the two baking pans, spreading evenly. Bake for about 30-50 minutes, or until browned and sides pull away from the sides of the pans. Cool in pans on racks for 15 minutes. Invert onto racks to cool completely.

Fluffy Coconut Frosting

2 large egg whites
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 to 2 1/2 cups fresh grated coconut

Bring the 1/2 cup water and 1 cup sugar to a boil; cover and cook without stirring for 1 minute. Uncover and boil, stirring frequently, until mixture is hot enough to spin a thread when a little is dropped from a spoon, or to about 230°. Remove from heat and set aside. In the bowl of electric mixer (with whisk attachment if available) beat the eggs until fluffy and soft peaks form when you lift the beaters or whisk. Still beating on high speed, gradually add the sugar syrup in a thin stream. Continue beating until the frosting is fluffy and holds peaks.

cover cake (and in between layers) in frosting then sprinkle with more desiccated coconut.