Authentic British Cream Tea

Fact: I made scones. Legit British scones.
Fact: I made clotted cream. Legit British clotted cream.
Fact: I ate the sones with tea. Therefore, it is legit Cream Tea.
NOM!

This scone recipe is courtesy of my Aunt Ginna, whose blog and book series called "Honey Baby Darlin" feature all of her favorite recipes; the fourth book, due in 2013, will include the recipe for her Legendary Cream Scones.
Aunt Ginna owned an incredible cafe a little over a decade ago, and people STILL stop her on the street to express their sadness that they no longer have access to these scones.

I totally understand their pain.

I also made clotted cream. For those of you who haven't experienced clotted cream, it's a little bit between butter and whipped cream. Its got a very distinct flavor, and tastes magical on scones.

I tried two recipes: one that cooked whipping cream on the stovetop, and one in the oven. The stovetop clotted cream was okay, but was not the consistency I was looking for.

The oven-cooked clotted cream is incredible. I found the recipe on Cupcake Project, and it's super easy. All it calls for is whipping cream.

The problem?
It needs to be heavy whipping cream that is NOT ultra-pasteurized. I found it at Whole Foods, and I'm gonna have to stock up before I go back to school. The cream needs to be as high a fat content as possible.
The other problem?
Some serious patience is required. I don't have patience, especially when it comes to baking. But trust me, waiting is worth it in this case.

Legit British Clotted Cream

Courtesy of Cupcake Project- check out for step-by-step photos

Pour regular pasteurized heavy whipping cream (not ultra-pasteurized) into a heavy-bottomed pan. Cook in oven at 180 degrees F for ~8 hours (could be more, depending on amount of cream). It's done when there's a thick yellow skin on top. Let cream come to room temperature, then refrigerate for ~8 hours. 

Aunt Ginna's Legendary Cream Scones

Yield: ~12-15 scones (depending on size)

Ingredients:

Organic, unbleached pastry flour- 3 1/2 c

Baking powder- 3 1/2 tsp

Salt- 1/2 tsp

Bakers' superfine sugar- 1 tbsp

Unsalted butter- 1 c (2 sticks), cold, cut into quarters

Eggs- 4, cold

Heavy cream- 2/3 c (use leftovers from clotted cream)

Sour cream- 2/3 c

Flavoring (see note)

Directions:
1. Sift flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Place in a huge food processor with butter chunks. Process until mixture resembles and feels like coarse meal, less than 1 minute.
2. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, heavy cream and sour cream. Stir in flavoring. Add mixture to food processor.
3. Mix together until dough forms a soft ball. Scoop dough out onto a sheet pan covered with parchment paper. Sprinkle with sugar (optional). Bake at 350 degrees F for ~20 minutes, or until golden and cooked through.
Flavoring
Vanilla scones- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
Lemon scones- 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tsp lemon zest
Raisin scones- 1 c raisins, 1 tsp cinnamon

ENJOY!!!

British Baking, Part 2: Chocolate Fudge Cake

I'm back in the states! Lots of mixed emotions: I'm so excited to see my friends and family, but I miss London, and my friends from the program, or my "mates" as I've decided to call them- much easier than saying "the people I went to London with who also go to my college and now we're bff's."
I still have a couple posts left from when I was in England, including this one: Chocolate Fudge Cake.

Two of my mates had birthdays on July 13th. While they were all at the Harry Potter tour, I went to work, then went back to the house to make this cake, another from "Classic British Puddings."
The problem with these recipes is, they use grams instead of cups, teaspoons, etc. Doubling recipes is usually relatively easy, but I think I bit off more than I could chew with this one.

The further problem: I didn't have my digital scale with me.
***Digital scales are VERY IMPORTANT for baking! My awesome Uncle John gave me one for my birthday, and it makes a huge difference.***

It's not as crooked as it looks! The house actually slanted, ask anybody! :)

I also didn't have any of my cake decorating tools; no cake knife, no turntable, no cake circles, and only a small palette knife.

HOWEVER, despite all those setbacks, the birthday boy and girl thoroughly enjoyed the cake :) And that's all that matters!

One note about this recipe: it calls for golden syrup. This is very popular in the UK, and can be found on numerous sites online, and most likely in any specialty stores. I'll let you know what I find when I start searching :)

Chocolate Fudge Cake

Yield: One 2-layer cake, 8 or 9"

Cake

Ingredients:
Unsalted butter- 175 g (6 oz), softened
Golden caster sugar- 175 g
Eggs- 3, beaten
Golden syrup- 3 tbsp
Ground almonds- 40 g (1.5 oz)
Self-raising flour- 175 g
Cocoa powder- 40 g
Pinch of salt
Directions:
1. Cream butter and caster sugar together in a medium bowl until light and fluffy.
2. Gradually add the eggs and beat to combine.
3. Stir in the golden syrup and ground almonds.
4. Sift flour, cocoa powder and salt into a separate bowl, then gradually fold into the mixture. Add a little water, if necessary, to make a dropping consistency.
5. Pour mixture into greased and floured cake pans and bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes, or until springy to the touch and the tester comes out clean.
6. Leave cakes in pans for 5 minutes, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.
Fudge Icing
Ingredients:
Plain chocolate- 225 g (8 oz), broken into pieces
Dark muscovado sugar- 55 g (2 oz)
Unsalted butter- 225 g, diced
Evaporated milk- 5 tbsp
Vanilla extract- 1/2 tsp
Directions:
1. Place all ingredients in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan. Heat gently, stirring constantly, until melted.
2. Pour into a heatproof bowl and leave to cool. Once cooled, cover and chill in the fridge for 1 hour, or until spreadable.

ASSEMBLY: Frost and stack cake layers. Serve room temperature or slightly chilled, depending on your preference.

Enjoy!

British Baking, Part One

I found a wonderful cookbook at Anne Hathaway's Cottage in Stratford-upon-Avon, and it was on sale, so I bought it :) "Classic British Puddings: British food for lazy days."
The first recipe I tried was Victoria Sponge Cake:

It was delicious! And super easy!
The problem with the cookbook is that it's British. Which means everything is in grams, nothing in cups or teaspoons or tablespoons. If you don't already have a kitchen scale, you'll probably need one to make this cake, and the next one I'm posting.
Victoria Sponge Cake
Ingredients:
Butter- 175g (6 oz), softened
Caster sugar- 175g (6 oz)
Eggs- 3, beaten
Self-raising flour- 175g (6 oz)
Pinch of salt
Raspberry jam- 1 jar (book recommended 3 tbsp but I like it extra jam-y :)
Powdered sugar- 1 tbsp (for sprinkling on top)
Directions:
1. Cream butter and sugar in a medium mixing bowl with a wooden spoon or whisk until it is pale in colour and light and fluffy.
2. Add eggs a little at a time, mixing well after each addition.
3. Sift flour and salt and carefully add to the mixture.
4. Divide mixture into greased and lined cake pans (8 or 9 inches), and bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes, until well risen, golden brown, and beginning to shrink from the sides of the pan.
5. Remove from oven and allow to stand for one minute, then turn the cakes out onto a clean tea towel, remove paper, and invert onto a wire rack.
6. Once the cakes are completely cool, spread jam on bottom layer and sandwich layers together, then sprinkle with sugar.

Enjoy!

First Blogiversary!

Tomorrow is the first anniversary of Kelly's Konfections :)
I have work all day tomorrow so I'm posting this now.
Today, I attempted to make crumpets. Crumpets are delicious and you should try them, but I would recommend buying them... Unless you've made them before. They are very difficult.
Even though they were difficult, I'm posting 'em anyway, then I'll post some cupcakes tomorrow :)

The recipe I used was really basic and I think that might have been the problem. I planned on using this recipe from Always with Butter, but I couldn't find powdered milk. I'll try to make these again this weekend after going to a fancier grocery store :)

English Crumpets

Courtesy of Always with Butter

Ingredients:

Dry active yeast- 2 tsp

Sugar- 1 tbsp

Warm water- 2 3/4 c + 2 tbsp

Salt- 1 1/2 tsp

Powdered milk- 2 tbsp

Flour- 3 c, sifted

Baking soda- 1 tsp

Directions:

1. Stir yeast, sugar and 1 c warm water together. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 10 minutes.

2. Whisk flour, salt and powdered milk in a large bowl. Add yeast mix and 1 3/4 c warm water to flour mix. Mix well, cover, and let stand for an hour in a warm place.

3. Add baking soda and 2 tbsp water to the dough. 

4. Preheat a frying pan on low heat. Use a large round cookie cutter sprayed with Pam (or similar cooking spray) to form the crumpets. Place cutter in fry pan and fill until almost full with dough.

5. Cook 4-8 minutes over medium heat, until bubbles appear and the dough looks dry.

6. *This is difficult* Remove the ring (it's a bit of a juggling act) and flip the crumpet, cook for additional 30 seconds (to brown slightly). Remove from heat and serve warm with butter, jam, etc.

Enjoy!