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snacks

Baking

Classic Cream Scones with Cranberry and Orange

orange cranberry scones on rack

These delicious Classic Cream Scones with Cranberry and Orange are the easiest thing to make. If you are searching for a treat that’s easy to bake either for yourself and your family or as a gift for others, I’ve got you covered with this delicious scone recipe. With only seven ingredients that are mixed together in one bowl, these scones will be ready in no time! (I promise). Plus, there is minimum washing up.

Is it just me, or do you find it’s almost impossible to buy a good scone anywhere. I think, to enjoy a really good scone, you have to make them yourself. This recipe of Classic Cream Scones with Dried Cranberry and Orange Zest are very tender and flaky. And here’s a sweet tip – they’re freezable. If you don’t think your family will eat all of them within 2 days, you can freeze them to enjoy later! 

Scones are so perfect with tea in morning, or in the afternoon with a mug of hot cocoa or after dinner spread with jam. I can eat them anytime of day, can’t you?

Because they’re so quick to bake, they make a perfect gift for any occasion. They are the ideal gift for a new mom, a bake sale at your local church or school,  as well as an excellent thank you gift for a neighbour who has been collecting your mail, shovelled your driveway after a big snowstorm, or cut your grass when you couldn’t get to it.

orange cranberry scones on a baking pan

I baked a few dozen of these scones last November for my son’s high school Craft Fair and they sold out within a couple of hours. Many people came back to my table to tell me how amazing they were. I made a few different variations but the Cranberry Orange Scones were the most popular. You could also substitute the dried cranberries for raisin, chocolate chip or chopped ginger.

I hope you enjoy my Classic Cream Scones with Dried Cranberry and Orange Zest.

orange cranberry scones with jam on a cutting board with thank you card

Print Recipe

Classic Cream Scones with Orange and Cranberry

Serves: 8
Cooking Time: 12-15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 cups (10 ounces all-purpose flour)
  • 3 tablespoons white sugar
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 5 tablespoons butter, cut into 1/4 inch pieces and chilled
  • 3/4 cup dried cranberries
  • 1 tsp grated orange zest
  • 1 cup whipping cream

Instructions

1

Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

2

In a food processor, add all of the dry ingredients and pulse 3-5 times, until all the ingredients are mixed together.

3

Add cubes of butter and orange zest to the dry ingredients. Pulse until butter-flour mixture is blended together like bread crumbs. It’s ok to have a few larger pieces.

4

Pour into mixing bowl and add dried cranberries and stir until cranberries are coated in flour, separate any stuck together. Stir in cream until a nice dough starts to form.

5

Place dough and any unmixed ingredients onto table and knead the dough until it all comes together to a nice somewhat smooth dough. Flatten out into a circle, trying to keep edges smooth, until it has a 9 inch diameter.

6

Cut the disc into 8 triangles and place each triangle on parchment paper, about 2 inches apart.

7

Bake for 5 minutes, then turn pan in oven; bake for another five minutes or so, until nicely golden on top.

8

Remove from oven and place tray on a rack. Let scones cool for 5 minutes or so on tray, then remove from tray and place on rack. You can eat them warm or at room temperature. Store in a cool dark place 2-3 days. You can also freeze the scones for about one month.

Recipe via Cook’s Illustrated Baking Book.

pink rose flower
ombre pink rose in my garden
March 16, 2022
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Baking

Salted Caramel Blackberry Cake – So Darn Good

salted caramel blackberry cake with yogurt

I love blackberries. they have just the right sweetness and are a delicious combination of raspberry and blueberry flavours – two of my favourite berries. But, they have always been hard to buy as well as super expensive here in Ottawa. So, I was super excited to to find them frozen in my local grocery store. So exciting! Fresh blackberries also don’t last very long, so having access to frozen berries is fantastic. Plus, they work a charm in this delicious Salted Caramel Blackberry Cake.

This cake is a delicious rich cake overflowing with jammy blackberries and rich caramel notes from the brown sugar and salted caramel chips. As it’s also made with ricotta cheese, it’s an excellent snack cake to be served with either your favourite hot beverage or layered in a glass with yogurt and more blackberries.

The other reason to love blackberries, is because they are also super healthy. They are high in antioxidants, fiber, and vitamin C.

salted caramel blackberry cake

This Salted Caramel Blackberry Cake bakes up really well and quickly, and smells divine in the oven.

salted caramel blackberry cake with yogurt

Cake, yogurt, berries…triple yum!!!

salted caramel blackberry cake

Add extra berries on top if you like. It makes for a beautiful presentation.

salted caramel blackberry cake

This cake is so rich with ricotta cheese and jammy blackberries, it would be good enough for breakfast with yogurt and more berries! Or pack it up for lunch. And while you’re putting together your lunch kit, why not add an extra slice for a friend and make someone’s day extra special!

salted caramel blackberry cake

This cake slices up very well, has a good crumb, lots of berry flavour and a few nice hits of salted caramel sweetness! The blackberries and salted caramel chips provide enough sweetness that this cake doesn’t need any icing. Which is a plus for me!

salted caramel blackberry cake with yogurt

So so so good! Try cutting up some cubes of cake and pile on some delicious yogurt and extra berries. Yum!

Print Recipe

Salted Caramel Blackberry Cake

Serves: 10-12
Cooking Time: 50-60 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup salted caramel chips
  • 1 1/4 cup blackberries (frozen or fresh)

Instructions

1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2

Line the bottom of a 9" round cake tin with a circle of parchment paper.

3

Lightly grease the sides of the cake pan.

4

Whisk flour, brown sugar and baking powder together.

5

Mix together the eggs, ricotta cheese, vanilla and melted butter.

6

Add dry ingredients to the liquid ingredients.

7

Lightly stir in about 3/4 cup of blackberries.

8

Pour the batter into the cake pan.

9

Sprinkle the remaining blackberries on top of the cake.

10

Bake in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes.

11

When done, the cake should be lightly golden on top.

12

Remove from the oven and let it cool on a rack in the cake pan for about 10 minutes.

13

After 10 minutes, remove from the pan and let it cool down completely on a wire rack.

14

Enjoy!

slightly adapted from epicurious.com

March 7, 2019
0
Baking

Chocolate and Ginger Welsh Cakes

traditional welsh cakes

I absolutely love Welsh Cakes, such a delicate taste and subtle sweetness. They are the perfect treat to have with tea or coffee. And these Chocolate and Ginger Welsh Cakes are truly divine.

chocolate and ginger welsh cakes

Welsh cakes are a cross between a scone and a cookie but cooked like a pancake in a hot skillet on top of the stove. They are slightly crisp on the outside but tender and crumbly inside. I love making welsh cakes because I usually have all the ingredients on hand.

I first had Welsh Cakes in Wales, years ago, during my year long adventure with my friend, Bonnie. We stayed with Bonnie’s Aunts (Aunt Betty and Aunt Betty) for a whole month in the small town of . They lived in a small village near Swansea on a hilly street lined with row houses – each one a different colour. Each day, Bonnie’s Aunts set out a proper tea for us. By 4 pm, their wood kitchen table was completely laden with a variety of utterly delicious tea items: cheese and crackers, cakes, bread and butter, fruit and devonshire cream, tea and of course, welsh cakes.

chocolate and ginger welsh cakes

Welsh cakes (or pice ar y maen – cakes on the stone, in Welsh) are so fast to whip up, you won’t believe it. They take, at the most, an hour from start to finish. They are fantastic for the beginner baker as they are so simple to make. And they have ‘homemade’ written all over them, as I can’t imagine too many bakeshops spending time cooking these up individually on a stovetop.

Try to make these cakes on the day that you want to serve them. As they only keep for 1-2 days before tasting a bit stale. You can also cut some out and freeze them uncooked until you are ready to cook some more.

chocolate and ginger welsh cakes

I love Traditional Welsh Cakes, but I was eager to try some a flavour. So, I added some dark chocolate and chopped crystallized ginger. I love eating these Chocolate and Ginger Welsh Cakes warm from the skillet. The chocolate inside is slightly molten and the ginger is soft and lightly scented.

traditional welsh cakes

The origin of Welsh Cakes is very interesting. Years ago, miners would carry freshly made cakes down into the mines. A hearty snack and a taste of home while they were working in the cold, dark mines down below. Try popping one into a loved ones’ lunch kit to brighten their day.

chocolate and ginger welsh cakes

Below are a few variations of Welsh Cakes that you can find around the country.

  1. Jam Split: Popular in South Wales, the cakes are split open and spread with jam inside:

2. Apple Dragon: Add some grated apple to the mixture to make your cakes more moist.

3. Newport Lovely Welsh Cakes made by men in the City of Newport for their girlfriends as a wedding gift or engagement gift.

4. The Welsh Mountain (Mynydd Cymreig) has two times the amount of baking powder in them, for loftier cakes.

If you try a different variation, let me know. Enjoy!

Print Recipe

Chocolate and Ginger Welsh Cakes

Serves: 15-18
Cooking Time: 10-12 minutes

Ingredients

  • 250 grams white unbleached flour
  • 120 grams butter, cold, diced
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 55 grams white sugar
  • 45 grams cyrstallized ginger, chopped fine
  • 25 grams dark chocolate chips
  • 1 egg
  • 1-2 tbsp strong coffee
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla powder
  • 1/4 tsp ginger
  • 1/4 tsp cardamom

Instructions

1

Stir together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, spices

2

Add the butter and rub into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs

3

Stir in sugar and ginger and chocolate chips.

4

Mix in the egg.

5

Add coffee until a nice soft dough is formed.

6

Roll out on a tabletop sprinkled with flour.

7

Cut out welsh cakes with any round shape approximately 7.5 to 8 cm in diameter. I used a drinking glass.

8

Heat a skillet on the stovetop on medium heat. Add a very tiny amount of butter.

9

Place a few welsh cakes in pan, with some space surrounding each one. Do not overfill skillet. You need room to flip them over.

10

When the underside is a nice golden colour, flip over and cook the other side.

11

Remove from skillet when both sides are done.

12

Let cool on a baking rack.

13

Sprinkle with demerara sugar. You can do this either in the pan while the second side is cooking, or while they are on the baking rack. Either will work fine

14

Serve warm or room temperature.

Notes

If you want to freeze some welsh cakes for later, you can either freeze some cooked welsh cakes in a ziplock bag. Or you can cut them out and freeze the uncooked cakes. To do this, cut out the welsh cakes, place them on parchment paper on a tray and freeze until firm. Then place them in a ziplock bag or plastic container, layered with parchment paper in between. To cook, simply defrost the cakes and then cook following the instructions above.

March 25, 2018
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