Afternoon tea with carrot cake

Time spent in the kitchen to produce homemade bakes for friends and family is never time wasted; the results are always appreciated and it's a real joy to sit down with the ones you love and be able to share with them something you have spent time (that most precious of things) making just for them.

My dear friend Maud came to see me on Saturday, which gave me a lovely excuse to get out the china and set out an afternoon tea spread.

We got through several pots of tea (Betty's, of course) while munching our way through sandwiches and sweet treats.  For the sandwiches I was fortunate enough to have been in receipt of a batch of fresh eggs, which had come from a farmer local to the P's in Herefordshire.  Beautiful deep yellow yolks made the egg mayo sandwiches all the more enticing.

I had fun planning the baking.  The cake is a carrot cake made from a recipe in the Great British Book of Baking.  The recipe is easy to follow and makes a yummy, moist cake.  Carrots, walnuts, orange zest and spices flavour the sponge, and the frosting has a cream cheese base given a citrus lift with the addition of orange zest and fresh orange juice.  It was really rather good, even if I do say so myself.

Another first was the chocolate chip shortbread.  A quick and easy recipe, made in a fluted tart tin and divided into eights, the pieces are a lovely accompaniment to a cup of tea.

I also made scones.  Following my previous experiments with blueberry scones and cheese scones, only a batch of traditional sultana scones would do for this occasion, and were a perfect way to try the homemade blackberry jam I had made the week before (more on my jam making exploits to follow in a later post, I promise).

And if you're thinking this all sounds like a lot for two people, you would be correct!  A long tramp through the fields and along the river meant we were ready for seconds, but there was still a lot left so I was able to send Maud away with a few treats.  As for the rest, my brother seems more than willing to help finish them off.

Cheese scones

The weather has been miserable today.  Never mind; the cricket may have been rained off but I still had TMS to keep me company, and what better excuse is there than a wet Saturday to get in the kitchen and indulge in some baking.

And this isn't just any baking - this is baking with Betty's scone recipe.  I have previously had successful results with this recipe when I used it as the basis for my blueberry and lemon scones.  Today, I decided warm homemade cheese scones would be the perfect lunch-time treat on a wet and dreary day.

Cheese scones are really very easy to make, and everyone is likely to have the basic ingredients in their store cupboards (flour, butter, eggs, milk, cheese).  Putting the ingredients together doesn't take long, and then it's less than 15 minutes in the oven before you're taking them out.  Then the hardest part - having the patience to wait until they are just cool enough to eat!

Warm scones with melted butter, a cup of tea, the Saturday papers and the whole of the afternoon stretched out before me; who needs the sunshine?

They're not Betty's, they're mine...

Scones have to be one of my favourite treats, whether for elevenses, afternoon tea or supper.  I have long wanted to have a go at making them, but have hesitated because of the fear that I would make a mess of these delicious bites.  I decided this could no longer hold me back; I mean, who ever heard of anyone being afraid of a little thing like a scone?!  Luckily, I could call on the superior baking knowledge of my friend Maud, who reliably advised me that the Betty’s recipe for scones is the best of those she has tried.

I had read in another recipe book of adding blueberries and lemon zest to scones, and could not resist giving it a try (although I know it may seem sacrilegious to think you could ever improve a Betty’s recipe!).

I often use visits from the parents as an opportunity to try out new recipes.  I’ve had no complaints yet as a result of casting them in the role of guinea-pigs for my culinary attempts!  I have to admit the scones were rather yummy, and they went down well with the Ps.  Using blueberries and lemon means there is no need for jam.  The lemon gives the scones a refreshing flavour and given that blueberries are a super-fruit, surely eating one of these scones must count as one of your five-a-day?

So I finally got up the courage to make scones, and even to put a little twist on them.  Not only were the results yummy, they've also given me a smidgen more confidence to be open to future adventures in the kitchen.

You can find the Betty’s recipe in their book A Year of Family Recipes.

The Great British Book of Baking contains a recipe for blueberry and lemon scones.