rhubarb jam and vanilla muffins

I had quite a lot of rhubarb left over after making my almond and rhubarb cake so I thought I'd make some jam. I've only made jam once before and it didn't go well as it over set.

Yet again my inability to make jam struck again as my rhubarb jam over set, but somewhat confusingly my thermometer was nowhere near jam setting temperature. Eventually I took the jam off the heat as I knew it would have burned had I left it longer. The resulting jam is dense and sticky when the recipe said it should have a fairly loose consistency as it uses granulated sugar rather than preserving/jam sugar. I don't understand how I got this so wrong. Perhaps my jam thermometer is faulty?! Any insight gratefully received.

Anyway, the jam still tasted nice despite being solid, so it wasn't a complete write off. I read online that over set jam could be salvaged by heating it up with a small amount of water. I'm so glad I tried this! I've discovered that the reheated jam tastes amazing with plain yoghurt and berries.

Anyway, I digress. Basically I heated up enough jam to dollop teaspoonfuls of it in the middle of my muffin mixture before baking. The muffin recipe is the same as last time, but with a jammy centre instead of blueberries. I also sprinkled some porridge oats on top for a bit of texture and visual interest.

The muffins tasted lovely and more importantly I didn't drop the cake tin this time. If I don't end up eating all my reheated jam with plain yoghurt I think I'll bake these muffins again.

almond and rhubarb cake

Last month my uncle dropped off a pile of rhubarb at my doorstep. What's a lady to do with a pile of rhubarb? Bake, of course!

This cake is based on one of my favourite BBC Good Food recipes. I've used it countless times over the years with different berries, but never with other fruit.

I was unsure whether chunks of raw rhubarb would cook properly in the cake so I decided to stew the rhubarb first (with the addition of vanilla extract) then added it as a jammy layer in the middle of the cake before baking.

This worked really nicely. I loved the tart, jammy frill running through the centre of the cake. I thought it looked really attractive when cut open too. I stewed another few batches of rhubarb and stuck them in the freezer so I'm all set for another cake or a crumble.

Somewhat unfortunately I think I've killed the rhubarb plant which I inherited with my house. An impressive achievement considering it's a hardy plant. I've been steadily gutting and relandscaping my garden since I bought my house two years ago as it was seriously overgrown. The rhubarb plant got dug up and chucked into a shady corner on my path with the intention of replanting it after I weedkilled and reseeded my lawn... which I finally got around to doing this year. Perhaps I put it in too dark a spot when I replanted it, or perhaps it was doomed as it had been sitting out the ground for well over a year. Either way, it's a sad stump.

On the upside, my garden is really taking shape this year. The Covid lockdown has given me time to dedicate to my garden which I otherwise wouldn't have had. My new lawn has been seeded and is growing (incredibly patchy, but still a massive step up from brown earth), I've bought and filled hanging pots for my fence (the fence was built and painted last year), I have created a new border and filled it with colourful bedding plants, and I have finally filled my big planters with flowers, strawberries, onions and carrots. My fuschia and rose bushes have also recovered from their extensive haircuts and the rosebush has loads of pink buds blooming which are going to smell gorgeous when they open. I'm a complete gardening novice so seeing all this progress is ridiculously exciting and rewarding.

Now that lockdown restrictions are lifting in the UK my Dad has been able to come to my garden to help build a new garden shed. I knocked down the original one two years ago as it was completely rotten so I cannot wait to finally have a space to store all my gardening stuff!

mini egg biscuits

Slow clap for me posting an Easter bake at the end of May. 👏

However the Mini Eggs can easily be swapped for other chocolate: chocolate chips, Smarties, M&Ms etc. Please don't dismiss these biscuits (or cookies, if that's what you prefer to call them) just because they're dressed for Easter.

I came across these biscuits through Nickki's blog (again!) I liked that they contained oats and were described as chunky and robust. After making my oat shorties I was still on an oat biscuit kick so this recipe very much appealed to me, although typically I only got around to baking two weeks after Easter. Better late than never. 

To be honest I'm impressed that I kept two bags of Cadbury's Mini Eggs on my kitchen counter for over two weeks without breaking into them. That's extreme self control.

These biscuits are indeed chunky and robust as Nicki describes, like a pimped up Hobnob. The recipe also produced a sizeable batch. I think I got 26 decent sized biscuits. The smell of oats, butter and vanilla from the oven was absolutely insane and I couldn't wait to eat one fresh from the oven. It certainly didn't disappoint.

I think my only alteration to these next time would be to slightly reduce the sugar amount as they seemed incredibly sweet. I don't know who I am these days as that previously would have been an unthinkable sentence to proclaim.

Saying that, they're pretty damn tasty as they are and I wouldn't hesitate to bake them again. Here's the link to the recipe if you fancy making them too.

Oat shorties

I've been on a biscuit kick over the last couple of months and realised that it has been absolutely years since I last made oat shorties. Do they look like the most exciting biscuits? No, but damn they are tasty. They're like a Hobnob-flapjack hybrid.

They smell amazing fresh from the oven too. Butter, golden syrup and oats. . . Mmmmmm.

I was going to add that these are made using store cupboard essentials, but then again perhaps lard isn't commonplace? I must admit I don't tend to have it lying around but it was definitely worth buying a block to make these biscuits. Now what to do with the rest of it, shortcrust pastry or more oat biscuits? Decisions decisions.

Oat Shortie Biscuits
A family recipe

50g (2oz) lard (such as Cookeen or Trex)
50g (2oz) margarine
100g (4oz) sugar (I used caster)
1 tsp golden syrup
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp boiling water
100g (4oz) self-raising flour
100g (4oz) porridge oats

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and line a few baking sheets/trays with greaseproof paper.

In a small saucepan melt together the lard, margarine, sugar, syrup, bicarbonate of soda and boiling water. Do not bring to the boil. Add the oats and flour and mix well. 

Take heaped teaspoonfuls of the mixture, (or bigger if you want larger biscuits) shape into rough knobs  and place on the trays, leaving space for each one to spread. I think I made about 24 biscuits in total. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until golden.

Leave to firm up slightly on the trays before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

The tale of the blueberry muffins

Let me tell you all a story...

On the 1st of April I got up early to bake blueberry muffins to deliver to my parents' house as a surprise morning treat during lockdown. I used my Great Aunty Lizzie's recipe, which I hadn't used in years, and they turned out beautifully.

I let them cool for a few minutes then popped them in a tin, nestled in a tea towel, and rushed out my front door.

Then the clumsy arse that I am dropped the tin as I walked down the hill towards my car. I hadn't fully closed the lid as the muffins were still warm, so the muffins landed face first at the edge of the pavement. Although I was obviously gutted it was also hilariously funny. An eerily quiet, empty street with me on my knees swearing rather loudly at a heap of crumbs. Quality entertainment for any neighbours looking out their windows.

I rescued what I could but a lot was claimed by the pavement. This is what I was left with:

At least the birds got a good feed that day.

Ginger nuts

Over the last year or so I've developed a strong liking for ginger nut biscuits. Especially dunked in a hot cup of tea. Yum!

They never used to be my biscuit of choice (custard creams all the way) as I wasn't a fan of ginger or anything vaguely fiery/spicey in flavour. However my taste buds have definitely changed over the last couple of years as I can now stand a little bit of heat in my food. I even ate a (very mild admittedly) curry a few weeks ago. Who the hell have I become?!

At the beginning of the covid-19 lockdown I couldn't find any Ginger Nuts in the local shop so I took matters into my own hands and made my own, Mary Berry's Yorkshire Ginger Nuts to be precise.

There isn't a picture with the recipe but I have a feeling I went wrong somewhere. The mixture was really stiff so the biscuits didn't spread at all and they took a lot longer than stated in the oven. Admittedly I only got 35 biscuits when the recipe said it yielded 50, so I definitely rolled my dough balls too big. Saying that, the resulting biscuits are still pretty small.

Taste-wise, although perfectly nice with a cup of tea they didn't quite hit the spot for me. I think I was after a firmer biscuit with a snap.

The search for the perfect Ginger Nut recipe continues. . .

Yorshire Ginger Nuts from Mary Berry Baking Bible

100g (4oz) butter
1 generous tbsp golden syrup
350g (12oz) self raising flour
100g (4oz) demerara sugar
100g (4oz) light muscovado sugar
1 level tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 level tbsp ground ginger
1 large egg, beaten

Preheat the oven to 160C/Fan 140C/Gas mark 3 and line 3 baking sheets with greaseproof paper.

Melt together the butter and golden syrup in a small pan on the hob over a gentle heat. In a separate large bowl combine all the dry ingredients then add the melted butter mixture and the egg.

Form the dough into 50 balls about the size of a walnut and place on the sheets, allowing some space for each ball to spread. (This is where I went wrong as I only got 35. I also flattened the balls slightly as I couldn't see how they'd be soft enough to spread.... and I was correct.)

Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden. Leave to firm up slightly on the trays for a couple of minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling. 

Banana and blueberry pancakes

A few months ago I came across a recipe for sugar free banana and blueberry pancakes on Nickki's blog SomethingSweetSomethingSavoury. I love both bananas and pancakes so needless to say I had to try them.

It was a bit of a Goldilocks situation perfecting these pancakes. The first time I made them my griddle was too hot, so the pancakes ended up nearly burnt on the outside and undercooked in the middle. Easily rescued with a quick blast in the microwave though. The second time I overcompensated with heat and and they took ages to cook and didn't colour particularly well. Then finally on my third attempt I got them just right. Practise makes perfect.

I absolutely love blueberries in bakes as they turn such a vibrant colour of purple and create lovely, juicy pockets. They've stained my griddle though which I'm less delighted about but I'll forgive them. After all, this is the most action my poor griddle has ever seen! As much as I love pancakes I hardly ever make them.

In my three attempts I also experimented with different ripeness of bananas and I'd say the riper the better like banana cakes. If you only have one sad banana in your fruit bowl, which isn't enough for a cake, then this is a great way to use it. The batter makes 4 small pancakes/drop scones which I've found makes a decent breakfast for one person.

Although the pancakes tasted absolutely fine as they were I couldn't resist adding a drizzle of honey. I have a sweet tooth and since there's no added sugar in the batter I felt I could add some on top guilt-free. There's something so satisfying about a honey or syrup-soaked pancake.

I'm tempted to try swapping out the blueberries for other berries or possibly even chocolate chips next time I make these pancakes. There are so many possibilities!

The only change I made to the original recipe was to use one 1 large egg as I hardly ever buy medium sized eggs. Here's a link to the recipe if you also fancy giving it a try. Nickki has loads of great recipes on her blog so she's worth following if you haven't come across her before.