Tuesday, February 22, 2011

honeybuns...


Years ago while I was working full time at an Art Centre a friend suggested I should sell my cakes because they thought they were that good. (a very nice friend indeed!) It was a fairly involved process: working out which cakes I would make; photographing them; creating a catalogue, etc,etc. The easy part was the name! I was flicking through a magazine and read an article about a girl who while at Uni was making cakes part time and walking around to offices and selling her treats for morning tea. She was in England and she called herself, "Honeybuns". Well, I thought that was the cutest name ever and figured she wouldn't mind if I borrowed it seeing as she was half-way across the world! So I started selling my sweet treats at markets and even sold them to the students where I worked as, honeybuns. Funnily enough the boss never actually found out I was doing this. I figured it would most likely be frowned upon so I never said anything and as for the students well, they were getting their sweet fix, they weren't about to jeopardise that.....fun times!

But strangely enough this recipe actually emerged from SBS Tv and not from honeybuns. There's been a series about a guy in Tasmania who touches on all things food such as making his own cured meats and rearing his own chickens...looking at organic ways of living. In this particular episode he got hold of some organic Tasmanian honey and made some honey biscuits. Well, hubby and I thought they looked heavenly as hubby turned to me and said,"Why don't you make something like that?"....ahh men, they have a way with words!

I'm including a couple of versions of my recipe as I have been playing around with it a bit; trying out different honeys and flour,etc. I'm really happy with the result and I hope you like them too!

ingredients

2 cups self raising flour
1 teaspoon bicarb soda
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey of your choice ( I used Golden Nectar Organic Real Leatherwood Honey by R.Stephens 25 Pioneer Drive, Mole Creek, Tasmania)
130g unsalted butter, melted

how to make your honeybuns

Pre-heat oven to 200C fanforced and line 2 trays with baking paper.
sift the flour, bicarb and the brown sugar and mix together well.
add melted butter and add honey and mix with a spoon until mix comes together.
Roll into smallish balls (I get about 22 balls from this mix) and space them out well on your trays (I put 3 to a row)You can also squash them with a fork or leave them as is. Pop the trays in the oven and bake for 10 mins.
Take them out, cool them on the trays for about 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack. Keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

OR

ingredients
1 cup Lighthouse Cake, biscuit and pastry with cream of tartar Self raising flour
30g caster sugar
75g unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup honey (I used Lavender honey by Bees in Bowties)

how to make your honeybuns

Pre-heat oven to 200C fanforced and line 1 tray with baking paper.
sift the flour and the caster sugar and mix together well.
add melted butter and honey and mix with a spoon until mix comes together.
Roll into smallish balls (I get about 9 balls from this mix) and space them out well on your tray. You can also squash them with a fork or leave them as is. Pop the tray in the oven and bake for 10 mins.
Take them out, cool them on the trays for about 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack. Keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

A little note:The flavour of the honey really influences the flavour of this biscuit. You may like a more mild flavour or a really strong flavour....have a play around!

enjoy!

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Orange Granita


Man, it has been hot! The kind of hot where you've had a cold shower and then dry yourself with a towel that feels like it's been sitting in a kiln....damn hot!
We have been enjoying ice cream every night for dessert just so we can cool down for a few minutes. 2 weeks later I've noticed that there's not a lot of healthy options out there. I know healthy and ice cream sound ridiculous together and I'm really not a fan of low-fat! So I was thinking about something refreshing and cold and full of flavour.........hello Granita!

Ingredients

5-6 oranges (enough juice to give you a little over a cup)
1 cup water
1/4 cup caster sugar

how to make your orange granita

Grab a small saucepan and pour in the water and sugar. Over a low heat stir until the sugar has dissolved. Pour into a wide container with a lid and pop in the fridge.
Now you can juice your oranges. Pour the juice through a sieve so there is no pulp. When you have just over a cup pour it into the container with the sugar water. Give it a little stir and pop in the freezer. Check on it every hour or so and give it a rake with a fork. When it's reached the right consistency (think slushie!) pour it into little cups ( I used pretty little tea cups which looked soooo cute) and serve!

enjoy!

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Leek and Sage Scones


It took me a while to get these little suckers right. At first they were too dry, then they were as damp as a wet sponge........finally, I got there!
I happened to flick through an old Welsh recipe book a wee while ago and saw a bread recipe with leek and sage. It sounded like an interesting combination so I thought I would try and make them into scones (hence the trial and error!) These scones are super easy, quick and taste delicious. Perfect for brunch or a picnic......just don't forget some yummy salty butter to serve!

ingredients

225g plain flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
salt and pepper
60g unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
50g grated tasty cheese
1 egg
100ml milk

40g unsalted butter
1 leek (approx 100g worth of white part finely sliced)
salt
about 5 small sage leaves, (about the size of your little pinky or smaller)chopped finely

how to make your leek and sage scones

In a saucepan slowly melt the butter then add the leeks and a pinch of salt. Cook slowly until lovely and silky and they smell sweet. Add the sage, stir until cooked through then set aside to cool. (for at least 30 mins)

Pre-heat oven to 220C

Put flour and baking powder in a bowl. Mix.
add butter until mix resembles fine breadcrumbs. stir in cheese and leek and sage mix. make a well and pour in milk and egg mix (making sure you reserve about a tablespoon for the tops)

Bring together into soft dough. Knead on a floured bench and roll out to a 2cm thickness. Use a scone cutter. Place scones on a tray lined with baking paper, close together without touching. Brush tops with leftover milk/egg mix. Bake for 12-14 mins.

enjoy!