Hello, there!
​
​Simple, more-ish and comforting, you can’t get much more homely than this traditional British pudding that travelled over to America with the Pilgrim Fathers (or Forefathers, as they were first known). Originally from Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire the pilgrims set sail for America in 1620 hoping to recreate their favourite foods when they got there.

As it turned out, the pudding needed a bit of a makeover: wheat flour was scarce so early settlers used cornmeal or ‘Indian corn’ instead and topped it off with a splash of newly discovered maple syrup.

Hasty pudding, sometimes known as Indian pudding is now regarded as an American classic whereas the English version has inexplicably fallen out of favour.

It’s is well worth a revival: try both, equally delicious, versions and see what you think. American Version

Substitute fine cornmeal or polenta for flour and serve with maple syrup and a dab of butter: you may like to reduce the sugar in the pudding by half.

Hands up! Who remembers Creamola?

It’s very odd but whilst I was researching hasty pudding and making some trial ones, I discovered it tastes exactly like my old childhood favourite: Creamola.

Creamola was a wonderfully comforting and subtly flavoured ground rice pudding that was around years ago. I loved it as a child: in fact I practically lived on it for a few days when I was fourteen. My mum had to go into hospital and whilst Dad was working lates I kept myself going with Creamola, mugs of tea and toasted Lincolnshire plum bread!

I often have wistful cravings for it but you can’t get it now, I think it was last heard of sometime in the early nineties. Despite not being made from ground rice, both hasty pudding versions taste just like Creamola: so go on Creamola lovers, make yourself some hasty pudding!

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Mrs Simkins British Hasty Pudding!

Author Miss Windsor

Equipment

• You will need a buttered 600ml (1 pint) baking dish

Ingredients

• 25 g (1oz) butter, diced (plus small extra knob for finishing)
• 50 g (2oz) plain flour
• 450 ml (¾ pint) milk
• ¼ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• 25 g (1oz) soft brown sugar (plus extra for serving)
• 1 medium-large egg, beaten
• Freshly grated nutmeg

Instructions

• Combine butter, flour, milk and sugar in a heavy-bottomed pan. Heat until just boiling, whisking continuously.
• Remove from heat and whisk in egg. Pour into baking dish, dot with a small amount of butter and grate nutmeg over.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until golden on top. Serve with a light sprinkling of brown sugar.

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patate di agnello in fuga,patate di agnello fuggito, patate di agnello vagante

Welcome back to Mrs Simkins and Miss Windsor’s Italian Escapades.

I had planned to bring you pasta carbonara for my second recipe, based on the gorgeous one we had in that lovely restaurant in Venice earlier this year (see intro). We were only there for 3 days and I never got the chance to order my own but the forkfuls I blatantly stole from my husband’s plate were absolutely wonderful.

Anyway, as I was saying to Miss Windsor the other day, I shall have to put that on hold as our hens, now sadly depleted from 5 to 4, have gone off lay for a while and we are lucky if we get one or two eggs a day. A series of family birthdays and other events has meant eggs have been whipped away from under the hens for cakes almost as soon as they are laid.

When a dish is so dependent on the quality of the eggs, I wanted to hang on until our remaining girls perk up: we are also planning to buy a couple more hens any day now so we should be back in business soon. There’s nothing like new laid eggs from your own hens, once you’ve kept hens, it spoils you for shop bought ones.

I suggested to Miss Windsor I do one of my favourite Italian potato recipes instead. Ironically, I first heard of this dish not in Italy at all but from the comfort of my sofa one night last year whilst watching Coronation Street. Fellow fans will be familiar with long running and popular character, and self-styled man of culture, Ken Barlow. 

Miss Windsor isn’t quite as dedicated to the Street as I am but has been known to watch the occasional episode and thought the recipe sounded good.

On this occasion, Ken was hosting one of his dinner parties for Audrey, Cathy and Brian. Brian remarked how good the potatoes were and everyone agreed. Apparently, Ken had got the recipe years before inside a Christmas card from a friend in Italy.

Unfortunately, a more recent recipe of his, goat’s cheese lasagne, met with a less enthusiastic reception from his guests, mature woman of the world, hairdresser (and long-standing rival of Audrey’s in more ways than one) Claudia, remarked it had an unusual taste and prospective daughter in law Sinead, newly pregnant was unable to eat a bite. Son Daniel picked his way through stoically.

I’m so pleased I was watching the Street that night: I researched the recipe the next day and now it’s a big favourite: it’s also very easy to make.

This traditional Italian way with potatoes came about because it gave the impression you were eating lamb even though you couldn’t afford the actual meat. It’s also known as runaway or escapedlamb.

The flavours of wine, garlic and rosemary are absorbed into the potatoes and give the distinct impression that there might be lamb involved. Fabulous served with crusty bread on its own, it also makes a great accompaniment to roast meat or fish.

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Mrs Simkins Italian Rambling Lamb

Ingredients

• 800-900g potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1-2cloves garlic, halved or quartered
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 1-2 large, dense sprigs rosemary
• 2-3 small sprigs thyme
• Sea salt flakes
• Coarsely ground black pepper
• 100 ml dry vermouth (or use 200ml of the more traditional white wine and leave out the water)
• 100 ml water
• Plus: extra rosemary, including flowers if available, to garnish

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 180°C (fan oven) or equivalent
• You will need an oven-proof dish
• Toss potatoes and garlic in oil in the baking dish. Tuck in herbs and season with salt and pepper. Turn gently to coat and pour over wine or vermouth and water
• Bake for up to an hour, turning a couple of times, until potatoes are golden, soft and sticky and have absorbed all the liquid
• Discard spent herbs and garnish with fresh rosemary. Serve immediately

Cooking with Dry Vermouth

Wine adds a beautiful flavour to dishes, there is no denying, but I must admit, I find it hard to slosh a whole glassful into a recipe from a newly opened bottle, always thinking: I wouldn’t have minded drinking that! I do tend to save the ends of bottles and freeze them inside a sealed freezer bag for cooking with, but usually when white wine is called for in savoury recipes, I use dry vermouth.

I like it because as it’s fortified and an opened bottle lasts for ages in a cool place. It’s stronger than table wine so you need less and I love the beautiful herbs and aromatics it’s infused with.

Originally thought of as medicinal and drunk as a tonic, it became popular as an aperitif and then as an essential part of several well-known cocktails: gin and vodka martinis for example.

The name vermouth comes from wermut, German for wormwood which was once one of vermouth’s main flavourings.

How to Pronounce Vermouth

So, how do you actually say vermouth? Is it ver-mooth or ver-muth?

It’s the first: ver-mooth

Toodles!

Mrs Simkins x

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Hello, darlings!

I say, troops! – stand to attention, grab your spade, grow your own fruit and vegetables, Dig for Victory, and Eat for Victory – By Jove! chaps, now that’s the wartime spirit.

Miss Windsor’s back again with yet another seasonal, allotment inspired, palate-pleasing culinary treat, based on a rather spiffing wartime recipe from my Eating for Victory cookery book.

So please give a warm welcome to something a trifle different, frightfully British, and exceedingly healthful – Miss Windsor’s Beetroot & Green Bean Fritters!

You see, my recipe is a fabulous fusion of 1940s wartime cuisine, my dear Winnie’s allotment grown beetroot and French beans (of course, one may use shop-bought) and today’s commonly known ingredient of gluten-free flour – anything to satisfy the health-conscious community.

​In fact, to achieve such culinary excellence I dabbled with both wheat flour and the gluten-free type, yet extraordinarily the latter produced a far tastier dish; thus created a rather pleasant gritty texture.

​Darlings, my beloved grandmother Josie once told me that during World War II the British public was far healthier than in this day and age, “Would you Adam and Eve it!” I hear you shriek with a slight tone of dismay! 

This was due to many factors, as near the end of the First World War the government finally took heed of the food issues that arose during such time, therefore, scientific research was carried out into all areas of food and nutrition.

Also, during the great depression in the 1920s unemployment had soared to more than two million, plus a staggering number of people were near destitute and sadly couldn’t afford to buy nutritious foods such as milk, fruit, and vegetables. And quite shockingly, around forty million folks suffered from some kind of deficiency, most commonly calcium, which thankfully prompted the government to provide milk in schools.  

Of course, one wasn’t too shocked to learn that a study conducted by the British Medical Association in the 1930s, revealed that the more affluent areas of society during that period benefited from an abundance of basic dietary constituents.

As you know war broke out again in 1939, “Miss Windsor, but what the heck did the government do to ensure every member of society was well fed and watered?” you pipe up from across the airwaves!

Well, my dears, firstly let’s pay homage to Sir Jack Drummond – nutritional biochemist and scientific adviser to the Ministry of Food, who chummed up with Lord Woolton – who also happened to be the wartime Minister of Food (glorious food!).  

You see, their shared passion to improve the nation’s diet and to eradicate malnutrition, eventually led to a national food policy. Thus, measures were put in place to feed the British public back to good health.

PHOTO CREDIT – ​CLICK HERE ​

And without going into every last detail, in the year of 1940, every man, woman, and the child was issued with a ration book for butter, bacon, and sugar. Soon followed by meat, preserves, tea, margarine, cooking fats, milk, and so on – so whether you were rich or poor, all members of society received adequate nutrition to survive the war. 

You’ll be pleased to hear that the Advice Division of the Ministry of Food provided excellent counsel to the British public throughout the war, which included the healthiest ways to remain fighting fit and how to best use their food rations. In fact, one thing we’re all familiar with is the government’s Dig for Victory campaign – such an ingenious idea, don’t ya think! 

So, whether you were a city dweller or a country bumpkin everyone was encouraged to grab a spade and dig up their flower beds, window boxes, backyards, tennis courts, you name it and dig their way to victory and good health with homegrown fruit and vegetables. 

Moving swiftly on, if you’re following my wartime culinary journey then you would’ve read about my visit to Whimsical Winnie’s allotment at Fulham Palace Meadows, London. If so, then one presumes you’ve learnt a fact or two about the meadows fascinating “green-fingered” connection with the war effort – if not, then slap on the wrist!

Therefore, before one proceeds any further please do pop over and meet my dear friend Winnie – The Queen of Fulham Palace Meadows, and I’ll see you back here in a jiffy.

Here’s the LINK:
WHIMSICAL WINNIE THE QUEEN OF FULHAM PALACE MEADOWS ALLOTMENTS!

Welcome back darlings! Unfortunately, it has come to Miss Windsor’s attention that many of you succumbed to the common ailment of “idle eyes”, so just this once one will indulge you with a few titbits about one’s recipe and the meadows.

​You see, many months before Miss Windsor toddled off to Winnie’s allotment, one was bestowed a delightful cookery book from the good lady of Fortune PR (www.fortunepr.co.uk) called Eating for Victory (Healthy Home Front Cooking on War Rations) – aren’t I a lucky girl! 

Then following my visit to Winnie’s precious allotment, I was delighted to learn that in 1916 there was a generous old chap known as Bishop Winnington-Ingram who granted the land or meadows to the good folk of Fulham, London, as part of an early WWI Dig for Victory campaign.

​I say, this news excited me greatly as it fits in perfectly with my theme of food history; in particular wartime recipes.  

PHOTO CREDIT – CLICK HERE

Darlings, Miss Windsor is feeling awfully parched now, so must pop off for a well-deserved cup of tea!

But before I go, may I rouse your spirits with a few trill notes from the “Forces’ Sweetheart” Dame Vera Lynn, “We’ll meet again, don’t know where don’t know when. But I know we’ll meet again some sunny day!” I say, what a rather romantic and merry ending to our time together, but I’m sure “we’ll meet again some sunny day………!”

Darlings, a round of applause to the delightfully talented Cathy (Twitter: @CathysArtPalace) for her incredible illustration of Miss Windsor’s photo – as above. 

For dessert, may I suggest another wartime classic:

MISS WINDSOR’S BLACKBERRY & APPLE CRUMBLE (GLUTEN-FREE or VEGAN)

Miss Windsor x

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Miss Windsor’s Wartime Recipe: Gluten-Free Beetroot & Green Bean Fritters!

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Servings 8 large fritters

Equipment

• 1 frying pan – large and deep

Ingredients

• 1 large cooked beetroot
• 50 g (1/2 cup) any green beans (such as French beans)
• 3 stems of spring onions
• 170 g (1 & 1/4 cups) plain gluten-free flour (or plain wheat flour)
• 3 heaped teaspoons – gluten-free baking powder
• 1 heaped teaspoon – sea salt
• 1 heaped teaspoon – cracked black pepper
• 1 heaped tablespoon – dried mixed herbs
• approx. 200ml (7 US fl oz) whole milk
• olive oil

Instructions

• Darlings, run along now and disinfect your mitts with a bar of that carbolic fragranced Lifebuoy soap – much obliged!
• Ok, now you’re nice and clean, you can cook your own beetroot which won’t take too long. Or, if time is the essence, then please do succumb to the modern-day convenience of vacuum-packed cooked beetroot! Either way, please grate with a cheese grater and set to one side.
• In a mixing bowl sieve together, the baking powder and flour. Add the salt and pepper and give it a good ol’ stir. Then with a wooden spoon mix to a stiff batter with milk and beat well.
• Roughly chop the green beans, then steam for a minute or so in your rather ghastly microwave and add to the grated beetroot.
• Finely chop the spring onion and combine with the beetroot / green bean mixture. Transfer to the batter and add the dried herbs. Mix well.
• Now, grab your frying pan and thickly coat with olive oil (avoid being too heavy-handed!) then turn the temperature to high. Once the oil starts to sizzle a little, turn the temperature down a tad – to around medium/high.
• Okey dokey, now fetch a large dessertspoon along with your rather striking, cerise pink batter.
• Then drop three or four equal-ish amounts into the hot oil.
• When golden brown on the underside, turn over.
• Once both sides are perfectly browned, transfer to a plate covered in paper towel to soak up any excess oil. Then repeat the cooking process until you’ve used up the batter.
• I say, now it’s time to serve your fabulous fritters to your delightful guests. Please do so with sliced beetroot, and any salad of your choice – voila!

The post Miss Windsor’s Wartime Beetroot & Green Bean Fritters! appeared first on Miss Windsor's Delectables.

Two Tiramisu for You

 Miss Windsor and I love tiramisu and have both noticed how actual Italian tiramisu in Italy isn’t terribly alcoholic, if at all.

We decided we’d bring you our own special versions, mine based on my Venice one and Miss Windsor’s made with one of her favourite tipples, Harvey’s Bristol Cream, which I think is an inspired British alternative to the customary Italian marsala or vin santo.

​We love them both equally gorgeous and we hope you will too.

Mrs Simkins Tiramisu Trifle

Tiramisu is one of the nicest puddings in the world but usually, to be honest, a bit of a faff to make at home. As I mentioned above, I had the most lovely one earlier this year during our late May jaunt to Venice, which on close inspection, turned out to be more of a tiramisu trifle.

In place of the expected marsala-enriched zabaglione blended with mascarpone and layered with coffee-soaked sponge fingers, was a beautiful confectioner’s custard sitting on coffee-soaked sponge, topped off with whipped cream and cocoa powder. It was absolutely gorgeous.

​I’d promised our tiramisu-loving friend I’d take a photo of a genuine Venetian tiramisu for her (she and her late husband visited Venice many times years ago and she always had tiramisu for pudding. They would sample different restaurants every night so she’s practically a world authority on Venetian tiramisu!)

Anyway, when my tiramisu arrived, it looked so inviting I dived straight in and only remembered the photo when I’d virtually licked the bowl clean. 

Our friend came round for Sunday dinner recently and I made my own version of the Venice one for her. I couldn’t detect any alcohol in the original but since we all enjoy a tipsymisu I’ve added a generous measure of Kahlua coffee liqueur to the sponge.

A light dusting of drinking chocolate gives a more mellow finish than the traditional substantial amount of cocoa, but use cocoa, or grated dark chocolate, if you prefer.

We all loved it and she said it was the best she’d ever tasted: certainly, she tucked into seconds very enthusiastically and we’ve promised to have it again next time she comes round.

Tiramisu literally translates from the Italian as ‘pick-me-up’ or ‘cheer me up; and this one certainly left us all feeling very perky and cheered up indeed! 

​Toodles!

Mrs Simkins x

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Mrs Simkins Tiramisu Trifle!

Servings 6

Equipment

• A 20cm rectangular dish will accommodate 100g sponge fingers perfectly

Ingredients

Sponge layer

• Approximately half 200g pack Italian sponge fingers or savoiardi (aka ladyfingers)
• 150 ml strong brewed coffee
• 3 measures (45ml) Kahlua

Custard

• 2 egg yolks
• 1 egg
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 50 g golden caster sugar
• 175 ml milk
• 175 ml double cream
• 3 level tablespoons cornflour

Plus

• 300 ml double cream
• Drinking chocolate or cocoa powder to finish

Instructions

• Lay the sponge fingers in the dish and pour over coffee and liqueur. Chill.
• Whisk egg and yolks and pass through a sieve. Whisk sieved egg into a roomy bowl with vanilla and sugar until foaming.
• Mix cornflour to a smooth paste with 3-4 tablespoons of cold milk taken from the measured amount.
• Warm milk and cream in a small heavy bottomed pan until almost boiling.
• Pour into the cornflour paste, whisking gently throughout.
• Now whisk milk, cream and cornflour mixture gently into the combined eggs, sugar and vanilla.
• Wash out pan and return mixture to the heat. Cook gently, stirring gently constantly with a wooden spoon changing to a whisk as the mixture starts to thicken.
• Once thickening, turn off heat and whisk until smooth and creamy. Cool slightly and pour over sponge fingers. Chill for several hours until set.
• Whisk cream into soft peaks and spread over custard. Chill again and dust with drinking chocolate before serving.
• For complete perfection, serve with strawberries and a small coffee on the side.

The post Mrs Simkins Tiramisu Trifle! appeared first on Miss Windsor's Delectables.

Miss Windsor and I have come to the end of our summer garden party collaboration, and hope you’ve very much enjoyed it as much as we have. We’re taking a bit of a break now but will be back before too long with a special quartet of recipes inspired by our respective Italian travels earlier in the year.

Until then, we leave you with Miss Windsor’s sparking summer beverages: a fabulous fizzy lemonade which she also uses to make a gorgeous summery cocktail with Pimm’s number 6 cup, a special edition one with elderflower and blackberry. It sounds so nice I can’t wait to try it. I really must get out more as I’d never even heard of this Pimm’s until Miss Windsor told me about it!

And, finally, from me a classic Victoria sponge. Every garden party needs a nice simple Victoria sponge so here you are; complete with tips and a brief cake history.

(You may be wondering why our garden party has suddenly morphed into a bit of a Teddy Bear’s Picnic as well, but all will become clear as you read on.)

Finding Comfort in Cake
Named in honour of Queen Victoria, Victoria sponge is still a favourite on the royal tea table today. There’s rather a sad story behind it. After Prince Albert died suddenly (he was only 42) Queen Victoria was understandably completely distraught and withdrew to Osborne House on the Isle of Wight where she and Albert had spent several happy holidays.

There she found the new custom of afternoon tea a great comfort: one of her favourite cakes was a plain, light sponge filled with jam. She asked for it so often it became known variously as Victoria sponge, Victoria sandwich, Victoria sponge sandwich or Victoria sponge cake. 

From Nursery to Grown-Up Tea Table
This simple sponge had originally been a popular choice for nursery teas: it was plain and wholesome, yet appealingly soft-textured and sweet. Victoria and Albert had been at the forefront of the brand new nursery concept, encouraging parents to allow their children to enjoy childhood with special games, books and toys.

Prior to this infants progressed more or less directly from babyhood to virtual mini-adulthood. The royal couple had made a point of being present at nursery tea whenever they were home and Victoria must have enjoyed a slice of jam sponge frequently as they played with their brood.

​In the first throes of her grief she may have sought solace in these happy memories and found the cake consoling as well as easy to digest.

In Victoria’s time, her kitchen maids would have spent hours building up their muscles creaming and mixing the sponge by hand, even after the helpful arrival in Britain of baking powder in 1856. Some cooks still swear by the creaming method but it’s much easier to whip up your sponge by electric means using a food processor, electric mixer or electric hand whisk.

Baking Tips
As with many cooks, this was the first sponge cake I learned to make, and for years now I’ve whipped mine up in a basic food processor using the blade attachment. After a few false starts with self-raising flour I switched to plain and added my own raising agents.

Self-raising flour must be really, really, fresh to work properly and even then I find it touch and go. A combination of cream of tartar and bicarbonate of soda with a ratio of 2:1 works wonders in the well-risen, light and fluffy stakes.

Real butter, slightly salted and softened, the freshest eggs and raspberry jam, ideally seedless, sieved if not, are other essentials.

After that, the only variable you have to contend with is your oven, which, ideally, would always runs at consistent temperatures corresponding exactly to the dial and have no hot or cold spots at all.

Alas, many of us are at the mercy of our ovens  . . . .

Toodles!

Mrs Simkins x

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Mrs Simkins Victoria Sponge!

Ingredients

• 175 g slightly salted butter, softened
• 175 g golden caster sugar
• 175 g plain flour
• 1 level teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 2 level teaspoons cream of tartar
• 3 medium eggs, as fresh as possible
• 2 tablespoons milk
• Seedless or sieved raspberry jam and icing sugar to finish

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 160C (fan ovens) or equivalent
• You will need 2 x greased 18cm (7 inch) loose bottomed sandwich tins
• Cream or whiz the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
• Combine flour and raising agents and sieve half over butter mixture.
• Add eggs and remaining flour. Whisk or whiz again. Add milk and whisk or whiz until smooth and glossy.
• Pour into prepared tins.
• Bake for 18-20 minutes or until risen and golden and a skewer inserted comes out clean.
• Allow to rest for a few moments then carefully loosen the edges with a small palette knife.
• Transfer to a cooling rack using a large palette knife to loosen the bottoms.
• Once the cakes are cool, spread one with jam and sit the other on top. Dust with icing sugar just before serving.

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​Mini quiches are always a great savoury favourite for parties and picnics and a must for garden parties. Add some cooked diced bacon or lardons if you prefer but the simple cheese and onion flavour is delicious and also suitable for non-meat eaters.

Easy to make and assemble: particularly if you whiz up your pastry in the food processor and make an all in one filling rather than faffing about adding cheese and onions and what have you separately, plus, unlike full size quiches, you don’t have to bake the pastry cases blind first either.

Quiche Query 1
​
Just to clear up a couple quick quiche queries before we start: as Miss Windsor and I were discussing on the phone the other day, the lovely savoury cheesy tarts we all make and love and nonchalantly refer to as ‘quiche’ aren’t technically quiche at all.

Classic Quiche Lorraine, from the Lorraine region of France, was originally a pastry case filled with a delicate, beautifully wobbly filling of lightly seasoned cream, eggs and bacon.  The more familiar version with cheese; should really be called a savoury flan or tart, but times change and the name quiche seems to have stuck, and why not? 

In fact, if we delve deeper into history, it seems quiche wasn’t originally French at all but German.  Stretching back to the Middle Ages, when Lorraine was part of Germany and known as Lothringen, it was a savoury kuchen or cake, and, instead of pastry, the crust was very likely bread, rather like a pizza base. You live and learn, as Miss Windsor and I always say.

Quiche Query 2 Plain or Fluted Cutters?

​Should you use a plain or a fluted cutter for your mini quiches? Strictly speaking, plain cutters are intended for savoury tarts, fluted for sweet. If this sounds a bit regimented, it is actually a handy convention as it helps distinguish savoury from sweet fillings instantly. On the other hand, if you feel inclined, why not break with convention occasionally? Fluted edges do look so pretty and appealing after all!​

Make Pastry in a Food Processor
You can make beautiful buttery melt in the mouth pastry quickly and easily in a food processor. It’s simplicity itself: but do follow the measurements and method exactly.
​
Top Tip 1
Stop processing the very second the pastry begins to clump together: otherwise it will be tough and lose that lovely melt in the mouth, slightly flaky quality.

Top Tip 2
As you cut out, leave as little spaces as possible between rounds to minimise handling and re-rolling. Too much handling also makes pastry tough.

Top Tip 3
Grate your cheese finely: use the fine side of a box grater. You’ll find it then melts silkily into the savoury custard giving a much smoother result.

​Top Tip 4
Stir mustard powder through a tea strainer with a teaspoon to prevent it clumping together.

Top Tip 5
When transporting the little quiches, cool them first, line your container with greaseproof paper and for a double layer: lay a piece of slightly crumpled greaseproof paper over the first layer.

Toodles!

​Mrs Simkins X 

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Mrs Simkins Mini Quiche Secrets – Quiche & Tell!

Servings 24

Equipment

• You will need 2 x12 cup greased tart tins and a 6cm cutter

Ingredients

Pastry

• 160 g plain flour
• 80 g cold salted butter, diced
• Extra pinch of salt
• 3 tbsp cold water

Filling

• 1 small onion, finely diced
• Scant tablespoon oil
• 1 medium egg
• 1 medium egg yolk
• 6 tbsp cream (single or double, but not extra thick)
• 60 g or so of mature Cheddar cheese, finely grated, see top tip 3
• ¼ – ½ teaspoon dry mustard powder
• Ground white and cayenne pepper

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 180C (fan oven) or equivalent
• Combine flour, butter and salt. Whiz into fine crumbs. Add water and whiz again. Once large clumps begin to form stop immediately and remove from processor. Press gently together into a ball.
• Roll out gently on a lightly floured board to a thickness similar to a pound coin.
• Cut out rounds and pat gently into tart tins.
• Push remaining pastry lightly together, and cut out the rest.
• Fry onion slowly until soft just beginning to colour. Drain on kitchen paper.
• Whisk egg and egg yolk together with the mustard powder and peppers. Add cream and whisk in lightly.
• Stir in onions and cheese. Divide filling evenly between pastry cases: each one will take roughly a generous teaspoon.
• Bake for 15 minutes or until risen and until golden. Serve warm or cold.

The post Mrs Simkins Mini Quiche Secrets – Quiche & Tell! appeared first on Miss Windsor's Delectables.

Miss Windsor and I love a cream tea and are in complete accord when it comes to three pressing matters of scone etiquette.

First of all, do you say scone to rhyme with ‘gone’ or ‘phone’?

‘Gone’. And don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!

Secondly, do you pull your scone apart gently at its ‘waist’ or cut it? Miss Windsor and I prefer to pull ours apart and happily; this is the correct scone etiquette!

Thirdly, should you spread your jam on first followed by a spoonful of cream or the other way round?

Miss Windsor and I prefer our jam on first but more importantly, so does the Queen. It appears scones in the royal household are always topped with jam first and then cream. 
​
Miss Windsor and I prefer our jam on first but more importantly, so does the Queen. It appears scones in the royal household are always topped with jam first and then cream.

Until recently, I didn’t even know there was a Cream Tea Society until Miss Windsor mentioned it, but I’m very happy there is and that they are responsible for the annual National Cream Tea Day: on June 29th this year. 

​I’ve been bending Miss Windsor’s ear slightly this week about the perils of scone making in a heatwave: hot sultry conditions can cause the scone mix to become overly sloppy and scones generally turn out flatter than usual. I’ve adapted my usual recipe and come up with a practically (almost) heat-wave-proof version for summer cream teas.

Toodles!

​Mrs Simkins X

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Mrs Simkins Heat Wave Scones!

Servings 6 but easy to increase proportionally!

Equipment

• You will need (or equipage as Miss Windsor so elegantly says)
• A greased or lined baking tray and a 6cm fluted cutter, a food processor is useful

Ingredients

• 225g self-raising flour (newly bought and completely fresh)
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder (again, this must be fresh although not necessarily newly bought)
• 40g salted butter, softened
• 25g golden caster sugar
• 1 large fresh egg, beaten, and made up to 150ml with full-cream milk (if this is slightly sour so much the better)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 220C (fan ovens) or equivalent
• Either, in a roomy bowl, rub butter into combined flour and baking powder and stir in sugar, or whiz flour and butter together in food processor to fine crumb stage and whiz sugar in briefly at end.
• Transfer to a roomy bowl if using a processor.
• Make a central well and gradually incorporate the egg and milk with a broad bladed dinner knife until you have a smooth but slightly sticky dough.
• Keep back a tablespoon of liquid for finishing.
• With lightly floured hands, transfer the dough to a lightly floured board.
• Shape into a ball and pat down gently with hands to around 1½ cm thick.
• Cut out with a single brisk down and straight up again movement. DO NOT TWIST as the scones won’t rise as high.
• Push remaining dough lightly together and cut out again.
• Transfer each scone directly to the prepared tray. Keep them fairly close together on the tray.
• Bake for 9-10 minutes in total until risen and golden. Bake for 5 minutes at 220C then reduce to 200C for remaining 4-5 minutes. Cool on a wire rack, covered with a clean tea towel to keep them from drying out.
• For best results eat same day. These are also good with butter straight from the oven.

Notes

Shippam’s Paste Jars
Incidentally, I always think no proper nostalgic, old-fashioned cream tea in the garden is complete without a Shippham’s fish paste jar of random garden flowers. Happily, I have a vintage one: dug out of the garden of our last home: how lucky is that? I found two of the small ones too!

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Hello, there! 

Lovely as cakes are, you can’t have a tea party without a savoury element to begin with, including some delicate little sandwiches: “Sandwiches before cake,” as my mum used to say and I know Miss Windsor agrees wholeheartedly with this sentiment!

Here are some sandwich suggestions to start you off: several based around cucumber (essential for keeping your cool in summer) and some tips for the perfect egg mayonnaise filling.

Don’t forget to cut the crusts off all your sandwiches and cut into dainty fingers or triangles.

They are called finger sandwiches, by the way, as you eat them with your fingers.Classic Cucumber
Cucumber sandwiches are the classic afternoon tea sandwich. Prepare the cucumber in the traditional way by peeling it and cutting it into wafer thin slices. Lay the slices on a double thickness of kitchen paper and sprinkle lightly with salt – a light grinding of Maldon salt is perfect. Lay a couple more layers of kitchen paper on top and leave for 10-20 minutes. This draws out excess moisture from the cucumber and deepens the flavour.

Sprinkle the cucumber lightly with ground white pepper and sandwich between thin slices of premium quality white bread, spread with a softened creamy unsalted butter to balance the cool, salted cucumber. Remove crusts and cut sandwiches into dainty triangles.

Cucumber and Cress
Prepare this Victorian favourite as above but turn up the heat with some peppery snipped mustard cress.

Cucumber and Soft Cheese
Prepare cucumber as before, spread thinly-cut brown or white bread with a thin layer of unsalted butter and a more lavish one of soft cheese. Scatter with freshly ground black pepper and lay cucumber over.

Cucumber and Cheese Mayonnaise in Malted Granary Bread
This is so delicious: I’d say it was my own invention but someone else somewhere is bound to have thought of it too! Using 2 dinner forks, combine mature grated cheese with enough mayonnaise to bind and season with cayenne pepper. Sandwich between malted brown bread and include cucumber as before.

The Perfect Egg Mayonnaise
The classic egg mayonnaise sandwich is always popular.

Here are a few tips for the best ones ever.

• Use eggs that are several days old for hard-boiling: very fresh eggs are a nightmare to peel – you’ll find yourself pulling away chunks of white with the shell. 
• To hard-boil: bring water to a fast boil and addeggs once water is boiling, Set a timer and boil for seven to eight minutes only depending on size. Longer than this and they can become bouncy and rubbery and start to smell a little bit sulphurous!
• Remove from heat immediately the time is up and plunge into cold water. Once cold, roll eggs briskly on a flat surface and peel off shell. Those nasty dark rings round the yolks can develop otherwise. 
• Chop roughly with a sharp knife and then mash finely with a dinner fork. Add just enough mayonnaise to bind.
•  Lightly spread brown or bread with softened butter and then with the egg mixture. 
• Arrange on serving plate scattered with snipped cress.

Extra Tips

Don’t go too mad with the filling as an overstuffed egg sandwich can be disastrous for garden party clothes and tablecloths.

You might find it easier to mash and mix the eggs on a board rather than in a dish: you can get a better angle with the fork on a board and it’s a lot simpler.

Toodles!

Mrs Simkins

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Miss Windsor and I can scarcely believe our Queen has now been on the throne for 65 years. It’s a whole lifetime! She is our longest reigning monarch, Queen Victoria ruled for 63 years, seven months and two days, in case you are wondering!
​
The Queen loves afternoon tea and there are several cakes she particularly enjoys: Dundee cake, ginger cake, sponge cake filled with jam and maybe cream, possibly Battenberg, but her favourite cake of all is chocolate biscuit cake. 

She loves this cake so much, apparently, if it appears on the royal table one day she asks for it to be kept for her and brought back to her tea table every day until it has all gone. If it appears on the tea table on Thursdays, and the Queen is going to Windsor Castle for the weekend, it has to be wrapped up and sent over. I believe it’s carried over by hand.

With any other cake, incidentally, as soon as tea is over the Queen is quite happy for any leftovers to go to the staff dining room for their tea the next day. But not when it’s Chocolate biscuit cake! You may remember, it’s Prince William’s favourite too and he had a super-size version as his ‘groom’s cake’ at his and Kate’s wedding back in 2011.

The royal chocolate tiffin is made with dark chocolate, granulated sugar, butter, egg and Rich Tea biscuits and is covered with more dark chocolate. There may be glace cherries and nuts. Made in a round cake tin, it’s completely covered in chocolate and decorated.

What better cake to make in honour Her Majesty’s 65 year reign?

Here’s a similar mini version made in a pudding basin. Providing you can keep them cool you could make several for your garden party.

Toodles!

Mrs Simkins X 

Print

Mrs Simkins: The Queen’s Favourite Chocolate Biscuit Cake!

Equipment

• You will need a lightly greased 1 pint pudding basin, lined with cling film: leave enough over-hang to take hold of easily

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons golden syrup
• 75g butter, diced
• Approximately 150g Rich Tea biscuits broken into small pieces
• 25g cocoa powder
• 50g dried cherries

Plus

• 100g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
• 15g butter, diced
• Decorations of your choice

Instructions

• Melt golden syrup gently in a pan and stir in butter. Once butter has melted, stir in biscuits, cocoa powder and cherries. Pile into basin and smooth down evenly with the back of a dampened metal spoon. Make sure the bottom is level as this will be the base of the cake.
• Chill for 3 hours.
• To cover the cake: microwave chocolate in a heatproof bowl on High, in 30 second bursts: it will take a couple of minutes or so in all. (Alternatively, melt chocolate in a bowl over a pan of barely simmering water: choose a bowl that will fit comfortably in the top of the saucepan but without the bottom touching the hot water.)
• Stir in butter towards the end of melting time.
• Loosen cake with a small palette knife and ease out of basin. Stand it, flat side down, on greaseproof paper. Remove cling film. Pour chocolate over the top smoothing it down the sides.
• Position decorations before chocolate sets. Trim away excess chocolate from the bottom with a sharp knife and peel off the paper. Keep cool and covered until ready to serve.
• Cut the cake at the table, in slices crossways rather than wedges, with a sharp knife dipped in boiling water.

Notes

Congratulations Ma’am!

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Miss Windsor and I send our very best wishes to newly married royals Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. And what a fabulous wedding they had, so very moving and full of wonderful and lovely surprises. 

​Their wedding cake looked absolutely glorious: simple at heart, yet gorgeous, lemon and elderflower sponge decorated with Swiss meringue buttercream frosting and 150 fresh flowers, including white peonies (Meghan’s favourite) and roses.

These delicate little butterflies are our tribute to them and their lovely cake and perfect for summer garden parties. You can bake these yourself at home and waft around your garden party carrying them on a romantically decorated tiered cake stand.

Toodles,

Mrs Simkins

Print

Mrs Simkins: Royal Wedding Lemon & Elderflower Butterfly Cakes!

Servings 18 cakes

Equipment

• A food processor makes light work of the cake mix but use an electric mixer or whisk by hand if you prefer.

Ingredients

• 175 g salted butter, softened
• 175 g caster sugar (golden works well)
• Finely grated zest of 2 large lemons
• 175 g plain flour
• 1 level teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 2 level teaspoons cream of tartar
• 3 medium eggs
• 2 tablespoons elderflower cordial

Lemon Buttercream

• 110 g salted butter, softened
• 225 g sieved icing sugar
• 2½ -3 tablespoons lemon juice

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 160C (fan ovens) gas mark 4 or equivalent
• You will need up to 18 paper cupcake set out in 2 x 12cup muffin tins (cupcake cases can vary in size slightly depending on brand.
• Whiz butter and sugar together in the processor until creamed and fluffy. Add lemon zest just before the end and whiz in briefly.
• Add raising agents to weighed flour.
• Sieve some flour over the mix, add eggs then sieve remaining flour on top.
• Whiz to combine. Add cordial and whiz until smooth and glossy.
• (You will need to scrape the mixture down from the sides a couple of times with a flexible spatula.)
• Divide mixture equally between paper cases: around a dessertspoonful for each case.
• Bake for around 15-20 minutes until risen and golden and springy to touch: a skewer inserted should come out clean.
• Leave to settle for a few moments then remove from tins and cool on a wire rack.
• Once cakes are cool slice a circle from the top of each.
• Spoon a little dollop of buttercream onto each cake. Cut each cut-off top in half to make wings and arrange on top of the buttercream.

Notes

Beat the butter until creamy in a roomy bowl. Add the icing sugar, a little at a time and stir vigorously to combine. Finally, stir in the lemon juice to loosen the mixture to spreadable consistency.
​
Alternatively, for even faster easier icing, whiz the butter and icing sugar together in the clean dry processor bowl. Add lemon juice through spout and whiz until smooth and glossy.

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