Eggless scones

I have usually been disappointed by the scones I have bought from supermarkets. I have found them to be dry, too flaky and often with a bit of an aftertaste. So I tired making them at home once and since have never bought them from a supermarket again. And as it is anything that is freshly baked tastes so much better! Scones are really simple to make and make it to the table in about 20 minutes! There are so many different scone recipes - I have tried different ways and I like my scones made this way. Although I use self raising flour, I still add some baking powder to help them rise a little more. If you are using plain flour, make sure to add some extra baking powder to the mixture.

Served with some clotted cream and jam, these are an absolute delight!

Makes about 8 scones

Ingredients

300g Self raising flour
Some extra flour for dusting

1/2 tsp baking powder

75g butter, cut into small cubes

1 tbsp caster sugar

150 ml milk 

1/4 tsp salt

Serve with

Clotted cream
Jam

Method

Line the baking tray with some greaseproof paper. Lightly grease the paper with some oil. Pre-heat the oven to 200 C

Sift the flour and baking powder in a bowl. Add salt and mix with the flour. Rub in the butter with the flour till it is nicely mixed to make a fine crumb. 

Warm the milk in the microwave for 20-30 seconds. Make sure it isn't hot. Add sugar to the flour. Gradually add the milk to the flour and knead, until it forms a soft dough.

Flour a clean surface and roll out the dough to 2 cm thickness. Using a 2 inch cutter cut out shapes.

Place the scones on the baking tray and lightly brush them with milk.

Bake for 10-12 minutes until they have risen and are lightly golden. Leave them to cool on a cooling rack.

Serve with clotted cream and jam :).

Chocolate and raspberry porridge

I've never been a fan of porridge but I must admit that the few times I have had it, not only have I felt really full until lunch time, but also energised and ready to face busy work days. On the other hand, a few other other quick breakfast options, like cereals, have left me with hunger pangs much before it's time for lunch and sometimes as early as an hour after breakfast! So I have decided to bring the good old porridge back into my life and have been trying out some ways of making it appealing to me. One such experiment led to this recipe - chocolate porridge! I added a banana and some raspberries to the porridge but you could experiment with any fruits or stick to just chocolate.

Ingredients

1/2 cup porridge oats

1/2 cup almond milk (or milk of your choice)

1/2 cup water

1 small banana, chopped

1 tsp cocoa powder (I've used 100% cocoa powder)

1 tbsp maple syrup or honey

Handful of raspberries, some roughly chopped, the rest for garnish

Method

In a saucepan add the oats, milk and water. Turn on the heat and stir. Keep stirring so the porridge doesn't stick to the pan.

After around 2-3 minutes, when it starts to thicken, add the maple syrup, cocoa powder, half of the chopped banana and the chopped raspberries. Stir till it all comes together.

Once the porridge is cooked and has thickened, which should be after a total of around 7-8 minutes, turn off the heat.

Serve topped with the rest of the chopped banana and the raspberries. Drizzle over some maple syrup and dig in!