Linzer Biscuits

So even though I made a large batch of Flapjacks for the office, they were all eaten in one day!? So as it's turned out, I did end up baking some more 'Christmas-y' biscuits (Well they have red in them).

I made these last year and I think they went down well, I was too busy eating them myself! They are individual hazelnut shortbreads with raspberry jam in the middle - a posh jammy dodger if you will.

Ooo I do like a jammy dodger and a cuppa tea (yes there is an 80yr inside trying to get out)
Anyway, my Dad very kindly made me some boxes this year - He runs a box company - makes boxes for the Queen, don't you know! ;) It's quite funny actually, recently I was near Green Park with a friend. You know near Buck Palace. It dawned on me that there might be a Buck Palace gift shop near by. So mid conversation, I yelped with excitement (I do make myself laugh)  and proceeded to drag the individual over the park into the shop. It was full to top with all my Dad's boxes!?

Now, even though I've known he's made boxes for them for a while, to see them on display in the shop, in Central London, Outside Buck Palace!!! Well was rather RUDDY exciting! Ha! It was like having a famous box making Dad!! (Took me a while to explain my sudden surge of crazy antics) LOL

(Just had re-read what I had written, cause couldn't remember how I got from biscuits to Buckingham Palace - lol) This will be down to the fact I was up till 1.30am baking last night (got a bit carried away - as I always do).

So yeah, the boxes. My Dad, originally designed me these beautifully fabric coated, bright coloured boxes, that if I wanted could be lined with fabric, so on and so forth. They were truely great! So he was a bit perplexed when I asked for basic basic boxes, just brown, no coating inside or outside. But I do love a classic brown box. There is a true beauty in the simplest of things.

Thanks for the boxes Dad ;)

I gave a couple of Boxes to one of our clients, Tim and his crew (also gave him a box of flapjacks, as he mentioned how much he liked them). A box to the Touch Crew (my work) and another to Anne at FUSS (it's her birthday this weekend).

Get such a buzz from baking these biscuits. I think it's because they look so smart when you put them together. Hmm. It's just such a great feeling that in a short period of time you can create something so delicate and pretty that will consequently be eaten and then gone forever.

FUSS POT to W.I.

From all my different, random hobbies that I've started & stopped, tried and tested. I've found that one in particular I have gained the most from - joining F.U.S.S.

Since going along to that first meeting, all on my own.... & even though it did take over my life, over the last couple of months, with the organising of the Christmas Fair...

....it has not only given me an outlet of making random posters, nattering on twitter and been encouraged to be just generally excited about stuff. It has also opened up a whole new world to me.

I've lived in Hither Green for over six years, but it has only been the last few months that I've actually began to feel not only part-of but also (dare I say..) a local! I've made so many friends and met so many people that the rewards I now get since joining FUSS definitely outweigh the odd late night designing another poster. 

Not to mention the momentous occasion last week, when I realised I didn't have any fresh thyme for a meal I was cooking.... I was able to pick up the phone and call my neighbor Ann if she had any. Within 5minutes I'd popped over to hers, where she gave me a large bunndle of thyme fresh from her garden!

I live in London. 

This sort of thing does NOT happen.

Well it does in Hither Green!!

Seriously, by the time I got back to my flat, you'd have thought I'd won the lottery. I was so excited that I had become part of such a friendly wonderful community. If you don't get why I'm excited - you haven't experienced what I'm on about. 

Trust me, being able to smile and say hello to people when you walk down the street is such a great feeling. It makes me feel, well, calm (calm isn't a word I use very often) and incredibly happy.

As you can tell it has had a great affect on me. To the point, that I have an urge to get out in the world, well my 'local' London, and meet more people. So I've decided that I'm going to Join the W.I.

Yes, The Woman's Institute! And NO I'm not 60, or 30...yet....

But after bumping into The Goldsmith's W.I. at a fanzine event at The Amersham Arms a month ago or so, I saw a group of young like-minded girls who get together to do Stuff.

I like to do stuff!

So I went onto their blog and had a read, went onto heir facebook page, then came across another London based W.I. and another and another....

When the first British WI meeting took place in 1915 at Llanfairpwll on Anglesey in North Wales, its aim was to revitalise rural communities and encourage women to help produce food during the First World War. Later, it campaigned for improvements in women's education, and lobbied governments on issues ranging from free access to family-planning facilities, to equal pay.

People have a preconceived idea of what the W.I. is like - Blue rinse hair, quiet, not much laughing and very serious....visually seen in black & white! But this is just not the case and now a new wave of W.I. groups are appearing in london!

The ones I've been looking at include The Shoreditch Sisters, Borough Belles and Goldsmith's W.I. The majority of the women attending these groups are in their mid + late 20's and they hold onto to the traditional learning, craft making mixed with a modern approach. The Shoreditch Sisters hold the most of their meetings at Concrete, a funky bar that's situated under Pizza Eat in the Big Tea Building.

 Now, I feel I need to mention that I am yet to go to a W.I. meeting - I'm planning on going to my first meeting in January! For just over £30 a year you go once a month to meet other people & chat, learn crafts and basically have a laugh. And if you're not too sure you can just go along to one meeting for £3 to try it out.

I shall come back and report after my first visit!!

If you're reading this and want to come along with me, just give me a shout on facebook or twitter @EatWobblyJelly

Here are a couple of articles on these new breed of W.I. groups:

• http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23762626-sushi-cocktails-and-male-escorts-the-womens-institute-inner-city-style.do
• http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/features/3636360/Womens-Institute-is-this-the-trendiest-WI-in-Britain.html
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/stuartbailie/2008/08/frock_the_casbah.shtml 

Here are the links to find your nearest W.I. group:

• England
• Wales
• as well as Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man and the Isle of Wight. 

Jammy Valentine's

To bring some Valentine cheer into the office I decided that cakes should be baked! I ddin't bake one of these though http://www.lilyvanilli.com/content/valentines-hearts/ Scary aren't they, but at the same time rather amusing. Imagine if you received this in the post on valentines day!?

Anyway I had a nose in the fridge and saw a huge jar of my chunky homemade strawberry jam, and that's red and it's valentines day!! So after sifting through my many cookbooks I came across a lovely recipe in The River Cottage Every Day cookbook. So with a heart shape muffin tray to hand I went forth and made a few sweet-hearts! (sorry the puns are getting worse!?). I originally called them Jammy Ripple Muffins, but after being misheard and a few rude jokes (the cheek!?) they were named Jammy Valentine's.

Hmm I like that name...
Anyho here is the recipe:

Jammy Valentine Heart Muffins
225g Plain Flour
2 tsp Baking powder
pinch sea salt
100g caster sugar
1 medium egg
125g Plain yogurt
125ml Milk
75g Unsalted butter - melted
150g strawberry jam - chunkier the better!

Grease and line muffins trays & pop the oven on to 180oc

Pop the flour, baking powder, salt and caster sugar in a bowl & aerate....? Aerate, sieve the flour and then you could try whisking it... but I'm sure you'd end up with a very white kitchen and not much left in the bowl... ?
Anyway back to the recipe....
In a jug put the yogurt, egg, milk and melted butter (careful not to cook the egg with the butter) mix it all up. And then add to the flour mixture. stir around eight times so as not to over mix (over mixing will make them dense). Spoon the mixture into your muffin trays and place in the oven for about 30minutes.

If you want to live life to the full... eat one of the muffins whilst it's still warm!!

TOUCH Christmas Treats

I decided to take some of my baked goods to share at work this year... as you can see by the time I got round to taking photos, most of the biscuits had been eaten already!?!

Ginger Biscuits and Linzer Hazelnut Dodgers and the usual load of juicy clementines.

Off to bake more tonight to replenish the jars, and will be posting the recipes up soon.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

aMAZEing Biscuits!

These were the biscuits we devoured before entering the maze. I was so busy taking photos the girls even tried to loose me!! Can you believe it :-O 

Linzer Biscuits

Originally, Empire biscuits were called German biscuits or Linzer biscuits.  But because of WWII, it was renamed to Empire biscuits.... Or you might know them similar to Jammy Doggers! 

50g Chopped hazelnuts

225 plain flour

75g Golden caster sugar

150g Butter, diced

Zest of 1/2 lemon

1 Egg yolk

4 tbsp Seedless jam

Sifted Icing sugar

Place the nuts in a food processor and process with half of the sugar from the recipe until finely ground. Set aside.

Put the flour and sugar in a mixing bowl or a food processor. Add the butter and rub in with your fingertips or process until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the ground hazelnuts and lemon zest (make sure the lemon zest is nice and fine), then mix in the egg yolk an bring the mixture together with your hands to form a firm dough.

Divide the ball into two and wrap in cling - place in the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour (Trust me this will make your life easier!).

Lightly roll out one half of the dough on a lightly floured surface (or even better on the cling film it was wrapped in) until it is around just under 1cm thick. Stamp out 5.5cm circles using fluted round biscuit cutter. Transfer to a parchment covered baking tray. Use a small heart / star shape cutter to remove 2.5cm hearts or stars from the middle of half of the biscuits.

Bake in batches at 160oc for around 10-12 minutes each, or until pale golden brown, then repeat with the remaining dough.

Leave the biscuits to harden on the baking sheets for 2mins once out of the oven. Then transfer to a wire rack to completely cool.

Place all the top halves (with the cutouts) together and sieve icing sugar over the top of them. Put the seedless jam into a small saucepan (you might want to add more jam, it's up to you) and heat slightly so in becomes a bit more runny. Divide the jam evenly between the centers of the base biscuits and spread thickly, leaving a border of the biscuit showing.

Cover with the icing coated top halves, being careful not to mess the icing sugar up too much.

Enjoy!!

Victoria Sponge Classic

This weekend I had been asked to bake a birthday cake for someone, they requested a Victoria Sponge. A true classic that is always loved!

Recipe

• 200g caster sugar
• 200g softened butter
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 200g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp milk

Finishing touches:

• Raspberry or strawberry jam
• Creme cheese fosting:
• 300g icing sugar
• 50g unsalted butter, at room temp
• 125g cream cheese, cold
  

1. Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Butter two 20cm sandwich tins and line with non-stick baking paper. In a large bowl, beat all the cake ingredients together until you have a smooth, soft batter.
2. Divide the mixture between the tins, smooth the surface with a spatula or the back of a spoon, then bake for about 20 mins until golden and the cake springs back when pressed. Turn onto a cooling rack and leave to cool completely.
3. To make the finishing touches, firstly, beat the butter then add the icing sugar. Now you can beat the butter and icing sugar with an electric hand, however this can go all over the place! So I use the crumble method by rubbing the butter into the icing sugar with my fingers (saves you covering the kitchen and yourself!!). Next beat in the cream cheese, once you've roughly mixed it in, turn the whisk on full speed & beat for 5mins - but no longer or otherwise it'll go runny.
   
4. Spread one of the cakes with some lovely jam - a good thick layer, yeah! Then place the other layer of cake on top and then spread the creme frosting on top.
5. Keep in an airtight container and eat within 2 days.... thats if you don't eat in the first few hours!?