I cracked two eggs whilst making another batch of Lavender Cupcakes the other day so I had to make soemthing else as well (of course I did). These jammy buns are from a nice little book my sister sent me Best-kept Secrets of the Women’s Institute: Cakes and Biscuits (only their cakes and biscuits apparently) by Jill Brand. This recipe looked nice and simple but I didn’t put nearly enough jam in them, and I used plum as I didn’t have any rasberry. They are very scone-like and great with a cup of tea, they need to be eaten fresh or in a couple of days – so hard.

225g SF flour
pinch of salt
80g margarine (I used butter)
80g caster sugar
2 eggs
Jam of some description

Rub the fat into the flour and salt until it resembles breadcrumbs, stir in the sugar. Make a well in the centre and add the eggs, mix well to form a stiff dough – (the dough was not stiff at all for me at this point so I added more flour.) Turn the dough onto a floured surface and form into a roll, divide int 10 pieces and roll each one into a ball.
Place on  a greased baking tray and make a hole in each one (making sure not to go all the way through ) and fill with a little jam – more than I did – a big teaspoon I’d say. Close the whole and spinkle with sugar, although if you left the whole open and flattened them a bit they’d be a lot like jammy dodgers. Bake at 180 for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Leave to cool a little on the tray before turning out onto a wire rack.

The other cake in the photo is the carrot cake version of the beetroot cake I made recently but with dates instead of raisins. This recipe is very moist and light but it does crumble a little in the middle when you cut it – rather annoying.

I have wanted to try making something sweet with beetroot for a while, I never used to like the stuff at all until Lawrence introduced me to beetroot and cheese sandwiches. This recipe is from the Riverford cookbook you can use carrots instead or a mix of both I guess. The beetroot looks so beautiful when it’s grated and added to the mix, I wish it kept that bright red/purple look once it was cooked. It’s very simple to make and bakes very evenly with a lovely colour, the texture very moist and you really can taste the beetroot, which I like – nothing worse than making a cake with ingredients for the sake of it and all you taste is sugar. I added a bit of cinnamon by the way, I think it needed something extra, perhaps nutmeg would work too?

So I also decided to have a go at making muffins, English ones that is. The intention was to make them early and have them for brunch but we decided to go to the Tate in the morning so it turned into afternoon tea. I’d never realised that they were cooked on the top in a heavy saucepan – I was convinced it wouldn’t work and the insides would be gooey dough once I cut them open – but they weren’t, they were perfect! I don’t think I’ll ever buy a pack of muffins again, very simple and just half a bag of flour, some salt, yeast and bit of sunflower oil. Oh, and dusting with semolina to create that lovely crisp texture on the outside is essential. I followed the recipe in River Cottage Bread book:

500g white bread flour
325g warm water
10g salt
5g dried yeast
drizzle of sunflower oil
semolina for dusting

Mix the dry ingredients, add the water and combine until it reaches a sticky dough then add the oil and turn out on to a surface to knead – the key is in the kneading (Daniel Stevens’ book explains all the methods very well) and leave until doubled in size, took about an hour for me. Then deflate the dough and divide into 9 pieces, shape each into a round (again, research this), flatten to about 1-2cm, cover in semolina and leave on a board covered in a plastic bag until doubled in height. Heat a heavy bottomed saucepan (even better if you have a Rayburn or Aga) over a medium heat and carefully place about 3 muffins at a time in the pan. Cook on one side for a minute or two then turn, cook for a further 10 minutes turning occasionally. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Cut open, toast and pile up some poached eggs on top (with a sneaky bit of cheese in between) or keep it simple with loads of butter and some Marmite. So rewarding!