Cheese and Marmite scones

When it comes to Marmite, Im a rather late comer to the party, I only dared try it a couple of months ago for brekfast on my toast and I was instantly converted, and left wondering what took me so long to actually try the stuff.


This now meant that I began wondering instantly what else I could use it for, I began trawling through pinterest for ideas. The first thing that caught my eye was a recipe for cheese scones with marmite added into the dough along with a drizzle on top once baked, so cheese and marmite scones it was.

I didn't even need to go out and buy any of the ingredients, luckily i had just about enough to make one batch and so I did and they did not disappoint


To make 12-14 scones you will need

250g plain flour
250g strong bread flour
5 tsp baking powder
100g grated cheese
2 tsp marmite
1 medium egg whisked
80g butter
250ml milk
3tsp marmite to drizzle (optional)

• Preheat your oven to 180c (fan) Place both flours and the baking powder into a bowl and mix together. Add the butter and use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour to make a breadcrumb like consistency.
• Add in the cheese, stir through. Then add in the marmite to the whisked egg and add this to the bow, of flour, along with the milk, a little at a time, mix together to form a soft , slightly sticky dough. You may not need all the milk 
• Flour your work surface and turn out the dough onto your work surface. Knead the dough for a couple of minutes till soft. Flatten the dough out using your hands to 1 - 1 1/2 inch thick.
• Use the fluted edge of a round cookie cutter to cut out the scones, place the cut out rounds onto a baking tray and brush the tops with beaten egg. Leave to rest for at least 10 minutes.
• Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes until double in size and golden on top
• Melt the 3 tsp of marmite for a few seconds in your microwave then liberally drizzle all over the tops of the still hot scones and tuck in. You can also eat them the next day toasted, with butter for brakfast

Stressed spelt backwards ...

.. Is desserts & although tonights recipe post isn't a dessert it is a sweet treat so definitely belongs in here. I decided to give a go at some biscuits as they are one area of baking that I'm not overly confident with.. And this came about due to being a little stressed over the last couple of days, and when I'm stressed i do tend to find cooking & baking as my form of therapy. 

After trawling Pinterest I found a recipe for peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies and after checking my kitchen cupboards i found i had enough ingredients  - i actually ended up with a batch of 20  


So to make these peanut butter cookies you will need :

130g good quality peanut butter
115g unsalted softened  butter
100g caster sugar
75g soft light brown sugar
1 medium egg (at room temp)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract / seeds of half a vanilla pod
150g porridge oats
1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda
100g chocolate chips / raisins

• Start by combining the peanut butter, softened butter and both sugars in a bowl. Beat them together wth an electric hand whisk or with a freestanding mixer for a couple of minutes till the mixture is light fluffy and paler in colour.
• Break the egg into a small plate and whisk together with the vanilla extract / seeds. Pour this into the peanut butter mixture and beat together with a wooden spoon.
• Add in the oats, the flour and the soda and mix together . Add in the chocolate chips/ raisins and stir together until the chips/ raisins are evenly incorporated.Cover the bowl with clingfilm and leave to chill in the fridge for about 40-45 minutes. Towards the end of the chilling time preheat the oven to 180c/ gas mark 4 
• Take a tablespoonful of dough, shape into a round ball and place onto a baking paper lined baking tray. Repeat with all of the dough, spacing the balls of dough out evenly. 
• Bake in the oven for 12-15* minutes until golden brown- the edges will be slightly darker.
• Leave to cool slightly and then remove carefully onto a wire rack to cool completely before serving.

*Rotate the baking trays half way through the cooking time to help the cookies cook evenly

Raffello fudge

Ferrero Rocher are definitely in my top ten of the yummiest chocolates ever and I think I love the white coconut version even more than the classic chocolate hazelnut version. Trawling pinterest the last few days for recipe inspiration and there seems to be a craze for fudge, from the classic vanilla fudge to new twists such as salted caramel.. The thought of making fudge with rafello pieces in it sounded absolute scrumptious so I gave it a go 




To make about 15-20 pieces of raffello fudge you will need:

1 x 379g carnation condensed milk
300g white chocolate
300g bounty spread*
25g butter
125g icing sugar 
Broke up pieces of coconut and white chocolate rochers 

• Line a square 8 inch tin with greaseproof paper, I've found it helps if the paper comes out over the sides of the tin as it makes it easier to lift the fudge out once its set.
• Pour the condensed milk, bounty spread and all the chocolate into a saucepan and melt on a low heat till all the mixture has combined. Make sure to stir continuously to stop the mixture sticking and burning.
• Once its all melted, pour into a bowl, add the icing sugar and mix together well - it will take a bit of effort to get it all together but it will come together. 
• Pour the mixture into the tin and sprinkle over the broken pieces of white ferrero rocher and gently squash into the mixture.
• Place into the fridge for at least 5 hours and cut up into squares and place back into the fridge for another couple of hours or even overnight if possible ... and devour 

*Bounty spread is divine and you'll find it in most of the large supermarkets