Blueberry and white chocolate buttermilk scones

This is one of those amazing recipes that started as a bit of an experiment and ended beautifully. I have been quite busy lately and have been neglecting my blog. I do miss baking and blogging and participating in blogging challenges but sometimes life just gets in the way. I didn't get a chance to enter anything last month apart from Alphabakes so I wanted to make sure I got a few entries in this month. The inspiration for this recipe is the We Should Cocoa Challenge hosted by Choclette from Tin and Thyme. The theme this month is blueberries. I started thinking about how to pair chocolate and blueberries. Initially I thought of a blueberry sponge cupcake with white chocolate frosting but decided it was too boring. I debated about cookies but I couldn't find any dried blueberries when I went shopping. I then stumbled upon a recipe for buttermilk scones and thought aha! I don't bake scones often and I've certainly never tried baking this type of scone so I thought I'd go for it! 

I adapted a recipe slightly from Butter Baking which in turn was adapted from Tartine. I wasn't sure how to incorporate the blueberries and white chocolate but I did know that scone mixture should not be handled extensively otherwise the scones are hard and dry. I decided to tip out the scone mixture onto a silicone mat and kneaded it gently. I pressed it into a large rectangle shape then poured the white chocolate chips and blueberries on top. I then rolled the dough so the filling was in the middle. I cut large rectangles and then cut them into triangles. The scones were brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with caster sugar before baking. Every scone had ample filling of blueberries and white chocolate and the blueberries stayed in the middle. 

The scones turned out better than I expected. They look a lot better than those sold at a certain coffee chain! They have a lovely crispy edge and a soft centre. The blueberries and white chocolate work well together and the scones are not overly sweet at all. The sugar on top gives it a lovely crunch. It's best served warm with a cup of tea but it was still delicious the day after.

 add cubed butter to flour mixture  

 I spread out the dough and patted it into a rectangluar shape

 poured the fresh blueberries and white chocolate on top

 fold in half and cut into rectangles and then triangles

 brush with melted butter and sprinkle with caster sugar before baking 

 Loved the crispy bits 

 Warmed up slightly for breakfast the next day - love the oozing blueberries! 

I'm sending this to a few blog challenges this month...

We Should Cocoa hosted by Choclette from Tin and Thyme. The theme this month is blueberries.

Treat Petite hosted by Stuart from Cakeyboi and Kat from The Baking Explorer. The theme this month is Summertime Special. Berries in any form definitely spell summer for me.

Simple and in Season hosted by Ren. Blueberries are definitely in season at the moment.

Recipe of the Week hosted by Emily from A Mummy Too

Tasty Tuesdays hosted by Vicki from Honest Mum.

Recipe adapted from Butter Baking 

Makes 18 scones
For the scones
680g plain flour
100g caster sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
250g butter, cubed
375mls buttermilk
100g white chocolate chips
200g fresh blueberries
For the topping before baking 
30g butter, melted
30g caster sugar for sprinkling

• Preheat the oven to 180C. 
• Place the flour, sugar, baking powder and bicarbonte of soda in the bowl of an electric mixer.
• Add the cubed butter (250g).
• Mix on a low speed until the butter is incorporated into the flour mixture. 
• Add in the buttermilk.
• You should have a soft dough at this point.
• Tip it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently. Try not to overmix or handle the dough too much.
• Spread the rough into a large rectangle.
• Pour the white chocolate chips and fresh blueberries on top. 
• Fold the dough in half starting with the bottom end, folding upwards.
• Cut into large rectangles and then cut into triangles (see photo above).
• Place the triangles on a lined baking tray.
• Brush with melted butter and sprinkle caster sugar on top. 
• Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.
• Allow to cool for 5 minutes on the tray.
• Best served warm but will keep in an airtight container for a day or two. 

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Would you believe I've never made a pineapple upside down cake before? As this month's AlphaBakes which I am hosting has the letter 'U' I thought it would be a good opportunity to try my hand at this classic retro cake. The last time we had the letter U I made something a little less traditional in the form of Peaches and Cream Upside Down Cake. The cake received rave reviews at work and there wasn't a crumb left at the end of the day. The sponge is really light and moist and the pineapples added a fruity juiciness to the cake. Plus I'm sure it counts as one of your 5 a day! 

I did a little online research to look at the origins of pineapple upside down cake and it's fascinating. It orginated in America in the 1920's. By the mid 1930's, pineapple upside down cake was one o the most widely made cakes in America. It's popularity peaked in the 50's and 60's and started to wane by 1970's as it seemed outdated. Did you know that there is a National Pineapple Upside Down Cake Day on April 20th?

I'm sending this to AlphaBakes hosted by myself this month and co hosted by Caroline from Caroline Makes. The letter is U for Pineapple Upside Down Cake.

I'm also sending it to Love Cake hosted by Ness from Jibber Jabber UK as the theme this month is Cakes from Around the World. As mentioned this is an American creation although I thought it was British!

 basic cake ingredients plus pineapple rings and cherries

 butter and sugar mixture which caramelises on cooking 

 Hurrah I managed to squeeze 7 pineapple rings as stated in the recipe 

 add cake batter on top and bake 

 It looks really pretty and so retro  

 It's quite a thin cake but absolutely delicious

Recipe from BBC Good Food 

Honey Chocolate Cake

I've been baking quite a bit with Hans Sloane Chocolate beads recently. So far I've made banana, pecan and chocolate waffles, chocolate cookies with ginger or cranberry and a dark chocolate salted caramel oreo pie. Those recipes were made using rich dark chocolate beads or Ecuador 70% chocolate beads. I saw that they have a natural honey with milk chocolate version and was intrigued as I love honey. I absolutely love dark chocolate which is my favourite type of chocolate but I have to say that these natural honey chocolate beads have jumped straight to the top of the favourite list. I've tried honey chocolate products before and often you can't really taste the honey or it tastes artificially sweeter. When you open this pack, the delicious smell of honey hits you immediately. The chocolate is smooth and really tastes like honey. I could have just eaten the whole pack as it is but I had to exert some self control and save it for the recipes. I've also used the natural honey chocolate beads to make a hot chocolate drink and it's absolutely divine.

I started thinking about recipes to showcase the honey chocolate and decided on an old favourite which is Nigella's chocolate honey cake. I've made this recipe quite a few times and it never fails to impress. I have tried different ways of decorating it and I think this is the winner. I put a Kit Kat fence around the cake and added crushed Crunchie bars on top. The bees are my favourite part and they look great sitting in a pool of honeycomb. I also made another cake and decorated it with fresh flowers from the garden and sugar bees.

The cake is light, chocolatey and full of honey flavour. The natural honey chocolate beads adda a really strong honey aroma to the cake and the glaze. The Kit Kats and Crunchie bars add more chocolate and also provides different textures to the cake. The sugar bees are literally the icing on the cake. They look really cute and add a fresh burst of colour to the cake.

 adding honey to the cake mixture 

 adding natural honey chocolate to the cake mixture 

 honey chocolate cake! 

 how cute are the bees in a pool of honeycomb?

 This is the second cake decorated very simply with fresh pansies and sugar bees. 

Recipe adapted very slightly from Nigella 

Makes 1 x 23cm/9 inch round cake
For the cake
100g Hans Sloane Natural Honey Chocolate beads, melted
275g light brown muscovado sugar
225g butter, softened
80ml runny honey
2 large eggs
200g plain flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
250ml boiling water

For the sticky honey glaze
60ml water
25 ml runny honey
175grams Hans Sloane Natural Honey Chocolate Beads
75g icing sugar, sifted

For the bees
25 grams yellow ready to roll icing
12 flaked almonds

For the decoration

Kit kat

3 crunchie bars

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• Grease and line a 23cm/9 inch round springform cake tin. 
• Melt the chocolate in a small bowl over a pan of simmering water. Allow to cool slightly. 
• Beat the butter and sugar in an electric mixer until pale and fluffy.
• Add in the runny honey and mix well. 
• Add in the eggs, one at a time.
• Fold in the melted chocolate, flour, bicarbonate of soda and cocoa powder.
• Finally pour in the boiling water and mix well.
• Pour the cake batter (which will be quite liquid) into the prepared cake tin and bake for an hour. 
• Check the cake after 45 minutes and cover with foil if the top of the cake is brown. 
• Allow the cake to cool completely in the tin on a wire rack. 
• To make the glaze, put the water and honey in a small pan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat. 
• Add the Hans Sloane Natural Honey Chocolate Beads and whisk gently until the chocolate has melted.
• Add in the icing sugar and continue whisking until smooth. 
• To make the bees, divide the yellow icing into 6 even pieces.
• Roll each piece in the palm of your hand into a sausage shape roll that's tapered at one end.
• Use a wooden skewer to paint 2 stripes on each 'bee' with the sticky honey glaze as shown. Add 2 dots in the front for eyes.
• Place 2 almond flakes, one at either end to form the bee's wings. 
• To decorate the cake, place 4 strips of parchment paper on a cake stand to form a square. This is a great tip from Nigella as the icing is quite runny initially and prevents a mess on the cake stand. 
• Place the cooled cake in the centre of the cake stand.
• Pour the sticky honey glaze on top of the cake allowing it to drip down the sides.
• Gently slide out the strips of baking paper so you have a clean cake stand. 
• Cut Kit Kat bars in half and arrange them around the border of the cake the form a fence.
• Crush 3 Crunchie bars and sprinkle on top of the cake.
• Carefully add the bees on top.
• Alternatively decorate with some fresh pansies and sugar bees. 
• (Note - the sticky honey glaze is very sticky and a little runny so make sure you allow plenty of time for it to set before serving) 

Disclaimer: I was sent Hans Sloane chocolate beads for review purposes. A positive review was not required and all opinions are my own. This is not a sponsored post. 

Gooseberry and Orange Drizzle Cake

My colleague gave me a huge box of fresh gooseberries from her garden. I don't think I've ever baked with them before and apart from making a gooseberry fool I wasn't quite sure what to do with them. I turned to twitter and got a few very helpful suggestions including jam, crumble, cobbler or tart. As I was short on time, I decided to bake a cake and used a BBC Good Food recipe. It's essentially a light sponge cake with orange zest and fresh gooseberries and an orangle drizzle to go on top. The gooseberries sunk to the bottom of the cake and gave a lovely tart bite to the cake. The orange complemented the gooseberries well as it's a subtle citrus flavour which has a sweetness to it unlike lemon or lime.

I'm sending this to Formula 1 Foods hosted by Caroline from Caroline Makes. The idea is to cook something inspired by the country that is hosting the Formula 1 race. This time it's in the UK which opens up a lot of possibilities particularly with using seasonal produce. It was good timing then that I got this box of gooseberries as they are very British.

I'm also sending it to Simple and in Season hosted by Ren as gooseberries are in season currently.

 fresh gooseberries 

 adding gooseberries to the cake batter 

 I love the sugary bits from the orange drizzle 

 You can see that the gooseberries sunk to the bottom of the cake 

Recipe from BBC Good Food 

Butterscotch and Pecan Bananas on the BBQ

Hope everyone is enjoying the good weather. This is not really a recipe but I thought I'd share it anyway as it's a really quick and easy dessert to prepare if you are thinking of having a BBQ today. I initially wanted to use chocolate chips and mini marshmallows but then I spotted my butterscotch chips and pecan nuts. It only takes minutes to prepare and makes for a tasty dessert! The butterscotch and pecans go well with the bananas. I can't wait to try the chocolate and marshmallow next. Maybe chocolate and peanut butter too!

Make a slit along the banana but be careful that you don't cut all the way to the end. Stuff it with a handful of butterscotch chips and some pecan nuts. Wrap it up tightly in foil making sure the edges are sealed. Place on the BBQ for about 30 minutes or until the banana has blackened. Split it open fully and serve with some vanilla ice cream.

I'm sending this to Tea Time Treats hosted by Jane from The Hedgecombers and Karen from Lavender and Lovage. The theme this month is BBQ Fodder.

 stuff bananawith butterscotchchips and pecan nuts 

 cook it on the BBQ 

 yum! 

 serve with a scoop of ice cream  

AlphaBakes July 2015

The sun is shining, Wimbledon has started and there's a heatwave. Hurrah for summer! Welcome to July's AlphaBakes. If you haven't already seen last month's "O" round up on Caroline's blog, do check it out. This month the random letter generator has come up with ... U
Look forward to seeing all your Unique U entries! Entry is via the linky tool below and if for some reason it's not working then please email alphabakes@gmail.com by 25th July 2015.

Quick reminder of the rules....

1. Post your RECIPE on your blog and link it to The More than Occasional Baker and Caroline Makes, stating the relevant month's host. If you do not have a blog, email us a picture and a brief description of your entry which we will include in the round-up at the end of the month.

2. You can use your own RECIPE or someone else's RECIPE. The recipe can be sweet, savoury or a mixture! Anything goes as long as the random letter is predominantly featured in the recipe as one of the main ingredients or flavours or in the name of the bake itself (i .e . not as a garnish , or using 'flour' for the letter F!) You can also republish old posts/RECIPES but you must include the information for this challenge as stated in these rules.

3. Add the logo to your post and add 'alphabakes' as a label to your post.

4. Entry is via the linky tool below. Alternatively, you can email your entries to alphabakes@gmail.com by midnight (GMT) 25th of each month. Please include:

• Your name (that you want included in the round up or we will use the name of your blog) 
• Your blog post URL 
• RECIPE title 
• Photo of RECIPE (to be included in the round up) 

5. You can submit as many entries as you like.

6. You do not have to participate every month to join in.

7. You may submit your entry to other challenges as long as it complies with their rules.

8. If you use twitter, please use the tag #alphabakes and mention @bakingaddict and @Caroline_Makes. We will retweet all those that we see. 

9. Have fun! :)