Snacks – Page 2 – Scaredy-Cat Kitchen

Blackberry and Coconut Squares

30/09/201304/11/2013Posted in Cakes, SnacksTagged Bill Granger, Blackberry, blackberry cake, blackberry coconut slice, blackberry jelly, blackberry tray bake, Coconut, coconut cake, coconut macaroon, coconut tray bake, macaroon, tray bake9 Comments

This weekend, with the sun on my face, I could almost believe that the summer was still here, but a cloud passed over, the chill kicked in and I had to accept the fact that autumn is upon us and winter is coming. (Quick nod to my fellow Game of Thrones nerds there!) But, my friends, do not despair for the start of autumn heralds the arrival of the blackberry.

I long to go blackberry picking, but being stranded in central London I’ll have to settle for foraging in my local branch of Waitrose, which isn’t quite the same thing. However, the supermarket does have the advantage of an ample supply of dessicated coconut, which the British countryside is sorely lacking.

After several happy hours spent leafing through a stack of recipe books, I came upon the ideal recipe to celebrate this wonderful fruit, in my trusty copy of Bill’s Food, by Bill Granger. (continue reading…)

Nectarine Crumble Muffins

04/08/2013Posted in Cakes, SnacksTagged crumble, crumble muffins, muffin recipe, muffins, Nectarine, nectarine crumble, nectarine crumble muffins, Nectarine muffins, yoghurt4 Comments

If it wasn’t for muffins, I don’t think this blog would exist. Muffins got me into baking. More than that, they made me obsessed with baking.

A simple Christmas (or was it birthday??) present of a muffin recipe book, a quick visit to John Lewis (the best department store in all the world) to pick up a couple of muffin tins and the course of my life was changed forever! Melodramatic? Moi? Never!

Muffins are just so simple, any baking novice can make them, and I definitely was a bit dense when it came to the kitchen. They can also be super impressive and are always a popular choice, I don’t think anyone has ever refused one when I’ve taken a batch into the office.

For a long time I baked muffins almost every weekend, ploughing my way through the book, always coming back to banana for obvious and delicious reasons. But man cannot live by muffin alone, the time came to branch out into biscuits, cake, tarts and cheesecake and the humble muffin became sorely neglected.

So now it’s time for a revival! Given that summer fruit is still utterly fantastic right now, I thought I’d go with nectarines again. Sorry to be repetitive, following my nectarine frangipane tart, but I love, love, love them and always have them in the fridge in the summer time. So deal with it.

These little guys are a cut above your average muffin. Supremely moist, with a crumbly top and occasional, insanely sweet, little bursts of nectarine. There is nothing here that couldn’t be described as utterly gorgeous.

To make these muffins look as special as they taste I decided to dispense with the usual muffin wrappers, this helped give a nice, smooth, brown underside and avoid those ugly crinkled edges. A non-stick muffin pan will help with this, as will a good brush of melted butter.

Nectarine Crumble Muffins
Adapted from Cupcakes and Muffins
Makes 12

Ingredients:

85g melted and cooled butter (plus a little extra for greasing your tins if you’re not using paper liners)
280g plain flour
1 tbsp baking powder (yes a tablespoon, don’t be scared!)
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
pinch of salt
115g caster sugar
2 eggs
250ml natural yoghurt (I used low fat greek style)
1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla paste
2 ripe nectarines, diced

Crumble topping:
50g plain flour
35g butter
2 tbsp caster sugar

Preheat your oven to 200 C / 180 C Fan / 400 F.

Start by melting the butter for the muffin batter. Once melted, if not using liners, brush a little onto the base and sides of your muffin tins and put the rest to one side to cool.

Now put all of the ingredients for the crumble topping into a bowl and rub them together with your fingertips until they resemble chunky breadcrumbs.

In a large bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. I personally don’t go in for this sifting malarky but feel free to sift it if you’re that way inclined.

In another large bowl, lightly beat the eggs and then stir in the yoghurt, vanilla and cooled butter.

Make a little well in the middle of your flour mixture, poor in the liquid mix, add the nectarines and stir it together just until the flour is no longer visible and then stop! Don’t over mix, this is the secret to a nice, light muffin!

Spoon the mixture into the muffin tins, filling them up pretty much to the top. Scatter the crumble topping over each muffin and press it down lightly.

Pop the muffins into the oven for 20 – 25 minutes until they are golden brown and firmish to the touch.

Leave them to cool in the tins for 5 minutes until removing them and either tucking in while they’re still warm or leaving them on a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

Ciambelline al vino

01/08/2013Posted in Biscuits, Drinks, SnacksTagged biscotti, biscotti al vino, Biscuit, ciambelline, ciambelline al vino, cookies, Fennel, fennel biscuits, fennel cookies, fennel seeds, Olive oil, Wine, wine biscuits, wine cookies5 Comments

As you may have guessed from the name of this blog, I’m a somewhat timid cook. Rarely one to experiment or stray from a recipe. Sticking to the rules like the accountant/dork that I am. But the whole point of this blog was to force me to go against my instincts, fight my cautious nature and ultimately become a better cook.

So when I read a recent post from the beautifully written blog rachel eats, I knew I’d found the perfect place to start, my first challenge!

Rachel’s blog focuses on simple, delicious, predominately italian food. The type of food that bursts with bold flavours and showcases quality ingredients. In the post that inspired me, she discussed ‘quantobasta’ or ‘how much is enough’. In a lot of italian recipes, rather than giving precise measurements, the quantity is simply given as ‘q.b.’ and then it’s up to you to get the balance right. (Rachel describes this so much better than me, you really must read her post)

For a scaredy cat like me this concept is fairly terrifying. I couldn’t bear the thought of a kitchen disaster (especially not after the chocolate macaroon debacle, which I can’t bring myself to discuss right now) and I didn’t know if my baking experience would be enough to get me through.

Thankfully this recipe was a fairly gentle introduction, with little scope for an appalling result!

Ciambelline al vino, otherwise known as wine biscuits, are an absolute revelation to me. They feature one of my favourite flavours, the aniseed like punch of fennel seeds. They have a crunchy, sugary top and their texture is reminiscent of shortbread which is ideal as they are designed for dunking. But rather than dunking them in a lovely cuppa, the idea is to dip them in wine.

However, their name isn’t just due to their wine dunking abilities, these babies are also made with wine. Yes, dipping wine in wine, what an fabulous idea, the italians are absolute geniuses! Genii?

The wine imparts a beautiful flavour to the biscuits, but the main selling point is definitely the fennel seeds. In estimating my quantities, I went with 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of fennel seeds, but personally I could have taken a little more, I wanted to be punched in the face by aniseed. However, if you’re not such a big fan you can rein it in.

I really recommend that those of you clinging to recipes and exact measurements like me, give these biscuits a go. And even if you’re not, these bad boys are bloomin’ gorgeous so try them anyway! Who could resist a lazy evening with friends, chatting round the table and dunking biscuits in a nice glass of red? I rest my case.

Ciambelline al vino
Taken from rachel eats
The amount of biscuits made from this recipe will vary wildly based on the size of glass you use, I went with a glass that holds 250ml and I made 25 biscuits.

Ingredients

1 glass of sugar
1 glass of wine (I chose white wine, but red will do just as well)
1 glass of extra virgin olive oil
Salt q.b. (I went with a pinch)
Fennel seeds q.b. (I went with a 1 1/2 tsps, but I would up it next time)
Plain flour q.b.
Sugar for topping q.b.

Start by mixing together the sugar, oil and wine in a large bowl. Add the salt and fennel seeds and then start adding the flour. Stir in a little flour at a time, getting your hands involved in the mixing as it starts to become less liquid. Continue to add flour until the dough comes together into a soft ball that cleans the sides on the bowl.

Cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave it for about an hour.

Meanwhile preheat the oven to 180 C / 160 C Fan / 350 F and line a couple of baking sheets with baking parchment.

Flour a clean work surface or chopping board and also coat your hands with flour. Take a walnut size piece of dough, roll it into a log and join the ends together to make a little donut.

Dip one side in sugar and pop it, sugar side up, onto the baking tray. When you’ve used up all the dough, put the baking trays into the oven for 25 – 30 minutes, until the biscuits are lightly browned and crispy.

Turn off the oven and open it a crack (use a wooden spoon handle to stop it closing fully if needs be) . Allow the biscuits to cool fully in the oven.

Pour yourself a glass of wine, dunk and enjoy!

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