Devonshire Splits | The Little White Horse

Plum cake. Saffron cake. Cherry cake. iced fairy cakes. Eclairs. Gingerbread. Meringues. Syllabub. Almond fingers. Rock cakes. Chocolate drops. Parkin. Cream horns. Devonshire splits. Cornish pasty. Jam sandwiches. Lemon-curd sandwiches. Lettuce sandwiches. Cinnamon toast. Honey toast...
The Little White Horse
Elizabeth Goudge

I went to my first proper high tea recently, killing time in Sydney after the Mardi Gras parade and waiting till we could head back to the airport. Our group headed to a quite fancy looking tea room, that just so happened to offer vegan options with all their menu items. We spent two hours drinking endless cups of earl grey, eating delicate sandwiches and gorging ourselves on scones with coconut cream and jam. Though I do quite earnestly defend Melbourne as a much more liveable city than Sydney, I do have to admit the inclusion of a vegan high tea and an entirely vegan yum cha restaurant did win me over slightly. Unfortunately there is no vegan yum cha that I've found yet in Melbourne, but there appears to be at least a a few places that offer a vegan high tea.

I had just finished a re-read of Elizabeth Goudge's, when my mind started wondering back to the thought of high teas, but, mainly that tiny sandwiches are close to the best food in the world. The afternoon tea that Marmaduke Scarlet dreams of, before making a reality, is one of every child's (and probably some adults) dreams. Only one item made me wonder though and do a subsequent Google search. Devonshire Splits, something I had never heard of or seen before. After having made them - yum. I see why they could be a favourite during a high tea.

*Note: I used whipped coconut cream for this. If you want to d the same, make sure you use full fat coconut cream and chill the can in the fridge for at least 12 hours before hand, scooping off the solidified cream on the top to whip up, making sure you don't get any of the liquid mixed in. 

Devonshire Splits
Makes approx. 15 buns
IngredientsBuns
530g of plain flour
50g of raw caster sugar
2 tsp dry yeast
85g of butter
180ml milk + 1 tbsp extra for glazing
180ml warm water
Pinch of sea salt
Filling
Jam, you can use store bought or if you want to make your own my recipe is here
Whipped cream *see note
Icing sugar, to serve

1. Combine the butter, milk and water together in a saucepan and heat until the butter has melted, place to the side and leave until it cools. It should still be warm, but not too hot.

2. In a large bowl mix together the flour, yeast, sugar and salt and add in the warm butter and milk mixture, stirring together until a sticky dough has formed.

3. On a lightly floured surface knead the dough until smooth, it will take about 10 minutes or so. You don't want to add too much flour into the dough and ruin it during this time, I recommend flouring your hands lightly as well to stop the dough sticking. when the dough is smooth and elastic-like, shape it into a ball and place into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with cling wrap or a clean tea towel and leave in a warm place for around an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

4. When the dough has risen, deflate it by pressing into the middle. Turn it out onto the counter and divide it into 15 equal pieces. Using a clawed hand, roll each piece of dough on the bench beneath your fingers to form a smooth ball.

5. Place all the shaped buns into a baking tray lined with baking paper and cover again with cling wrap or a clean tea towel, leave to rise again for around another hour.

6. While the dough is on its second rise, pre-heat the oven to 190C.

7. Bake the buns for around 15 - 20 minutes each, but keep an eye on them so that they don't overcook. You want them to be golden brown on top, with a hollow sound when lightly tapped. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely.

8. Slice the buns about 2/3rds of the way through, placing a generous spoonful of jam into each bun, along with a good serving of whipped cream. Dust with some icing sugar to serve and enjoy with a cup of tea!

Currant Buns | The Tale of Peter Rabbit

Then old Mrs. Rabbit took a basket and her umbrella, and went through the wood to the baker's. She bought a loaf of brown bread and five currant buns.
The Tale of Peter Rabbit
Beatrix Potter

This year's Easter weekend is slightly different from the rest. It's probably the first one that I haven't had to work, standing behind a bakery counter and selling boxes upon boxes of hot cross buns. Instead I can join the masses that take these four days to relax, visiting family (not so much this year, obviously) and generally spending the time eating countless buns and drinking endless cups of tea.

I used my time stuck at home this year to experiment with making my own hot cross buns, which proved a bit more a challenge considering that everyone in the country seems to have had the same idea this last few weeks and all the yeast in stores had disappeared. After a few days of searching I was able to find a stall at a local market selling fresh yeast, and after using the fresh stuff, I can't believe I ever used dry yeast. I've made so many batches, the last few days have been spent doing nothing but eating buns, reading books and enjoying lounging on the couch.

I did a few variations of hot cross buns these last few days, the below recipe with currants and sultanas, one with sour cherries and chocolate and another with figs and cranberries. I used the hot cross bun recipe from Natalie Paull's cookbook Beatrix Bakes - which is filled with amazing recipes from her cafe Beatrix. A tiny corner shop that I used to frequent far, far too much before I went plant based. I made same alterations to the recipe, leaving out orange (I had none in the house and forget to get any) and the dry milk powder. Having tried her buns before at the cafe, I highly recommend getting a copy of the book here, as there are many more amazing recipes within.

*Note: you can use dry yeast instead of fresh, just follow the measurements of how much to use on the box. Also the mixed spices, you can use whatever you like - I recommend cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, but just go with whatever you enjoy.

Currant Buns
Makes approx. 12 buns
Ingredients
100g currants, sultanas and cranberries mixed
540g plain flour
60g caster sugar
3 tsp mixed spices *see note
1 tsp sea salt
170ml warm water
20g fresh yeast *see note
70g soft butter
Oil, for brushing pan and dough
Crosses
60g plain flour
1 tsp icing sugar
2 tsp oil
50ml water
Glaze100ml water
100g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence, or one vanilla bean

1. If you're using the fresh yeast, pop it into a large bowl and add a teaspoon of sugar, smushing it down into the yeast with the back of a spoon - leave for a few minutes and it should turn into a liquid, add in the warm water. If you're using dry yeast - do the same, minus the smushing, and add in the water and leave it to go frothy.

2. Combine the flour, spices, salt, sugar and add into the yeast mixture - mixing well to form into a dough. Add in the dried fruits as you're mixing the dough. At around this stage it's a good time to remove from the bowl onto a lightly floured surface, kneading to incorporate the fried fruits. You want to knead the dough for around ten minutes or so, until it's smooth - it should still be quite moist at this stage, you don't want it too floury.

3. Lightly oil a large bowl and place the dough inside, covering with plastic wrap or a clean tea towel and leave in a warm place for an hour or so, or until the dough has doubled in size.

4. While the dough is rising, it's a good time to make the glaze. Put the water, vanilla and caster sugar into a saucepan and bring to the boil - the longer you cook it, the stickier the glaze will become, so do it as you like. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.

5. Prepare a baking tray by oiling it lightly, and lining it with baking paper. Depending on the size of your tray you can squish the buns together so they can be pulled apart, or you can have them seperate.

6. Turn out the raised dough onto a lightly floured surface and press down lightly to deflate it. Split it into twelve even pieces (depending on how big you want your buns) and shape them into a ball by rolling them under your clawed hand on the bench. Place them on the baking tray and cover again with plastic wrap or a clean tea towel and leave for another hour or so, or until the buns have risen again.

7. Preheat the oven to 190C.

8. During this time, make the mix for the crosses on top. Combine all the needed ingredients - it's gonna be a bit of a gloopy mix, add more flour or water as you think is necessary and put the flour mixture into a piping bag with either a thin piping tip, or snip the end of the bag off so only a thin line will come out.

9. Once the buns have risen, pipe the crosses on top - it's easiest to do them all in one row, doing long lines across all buns at once.

10. Bake for about 15 minutes, but keep an eye on them as they can burn very quickly (as my second batch showed).

11. Remove and leave on the tray, and spread the prepared glaze over the top of them thickly, ensuring that the tops are covered and nice and shiny.

12. Enjoy with a spread of a butter and tea!

Naan Bread | White Teeth

'But what helps with the heat, Ravind? What will aid the gentleman with the burning sensation he is presently feeling?'
’More rice, Ardashir.'
'And? And?'
Ravind looked stumped and began to sweat, Samad, who had been belittled by Ardashir too many times to enjoy watching someone else play the victim, leant over to whisper the answer in Ravind's clammy ear.
Ravind's face lit up in gratitude.'More naan bread, Ardashir!'
White Teeth
Zadie Smith

So the world's going a bit crazy. Unfortunately in Australia we have also been affected, with cases growing in Melbourne very rapidly. It's amazing to see how the entire city has been affected, with trains and trams going empty, restaurants and cafes throughout the CBD bare and more and more companies bringing in mandatory work from home policies. Unfortunately, the hoarding mentality that many have adopted has also hit the supermarkets near me and being able to purchase flour (I just want to make cakes, people!) has been tricky.

I was able however, to get some Tipo00 flour so don't be surprised by the increase in bread related recipes coming up. White Teeth had been sitting in my shelf for the past six years, many friends of mine spoke of it as their assigned reading in high school - but I somehow had never come across it or even heard of it. I finally pulled it off the shelf around a week ago and practically inhaled the words. I think I finished it within the space of four days, taking every opportunity to sneak a few pages of reading in - desperate to know what was going to happen next. On that note - I do not recommend attempting to read while crossing train platforms on your way to work, you'll crash into people and they'll be super annoyed. Trust me.

There are numerous dishes mentioned throughout this book I want to eventually try (Jamaican dumplings, anyone?) but my attention was very firmly fixed upon an attempt at naan bread. Unfortunately, it's near impossible to find naan bread at any market that doesn't contain dairy and since going plant based I've had to miss out on it. I had a few attempts at this recipe - and unfortunately as I do not possess a cast iron pan, I don't believe I will ever get the perfect cook to them. However, using a non stick pan still resulted in delicious, fluffy naan breads - a perfect accompaniment to a meal.

*Note: You can use any plain yoghurt for this - I went with coconut though because it's just so delightfully tangy.

Naan Bread
Makes approx. 8
Ingredients
2 cups plain flour + 1 tbsp
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp instant yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup lukewarm water
3 tbsp coconut yoghurt, *see note
3 tbsp butter, melted
3 cloves roasted garlic
Roughly chopped parsley, to garnish

1. In a largish bowl mix together the flour, salt, sugar and yeast.

2. In a seperate bowl, combine the yoghurt, olive oil and warm water. Add to the mixed dry ingredients and combine - once the dough has started coming together, bring it onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently until the dough is soft and slightly sticky.

3. Put back into a clean, lightly oiled bowl, cover with cling wrap or a clean tea towel and leave in a warm place for an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

4. Bring your risen dough out onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a sort of log, cut it into 8 equal pieces. If the pieces are quite sticky still, dust a little of the extra flour on it to stop it sticking.

5. Roll out each individual piece of dough into an oval shape, ensuring that it's no more than a cm thick (I made this mistake when making it for the first time and they sadly ended up quite doughy).

6. Bring a cast iron pan (if you have one!) to a very hot heat slowly. Remove any excess flour from the uncooked naan breads by tossing them between your hands lightly before placing them in the pan.

7. As they are cooking, air bubbles should appear on top - after about two minutes flip the naan breads so that the other side can cook for another two minutes. They should ideally be golden brown with dark spots where the air bubbles have appeared.

8. To keep the naan breads warm while each one is cooking, pop them into an oven proof dish and place into the oven at a low heat.

9. Remove the skins from the roasted garlic and crush into the melted butter, combining well.

10. When you're ready to eat, use a pastry brush to liberally spread the garlic butter mix onto each naan bread before sprinkling with the chopped parley to serve. Enjoy!

Chocolate Rum Balls | The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

I spoke of my five-layer cakes - using a dozen eggs - my spun-sugar sweets, chocolate rum balls, sponge cakes with pots of cream. Cakes made with good white flour - not that cracked-grain and bird seed stuff we were using at the time.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows

I did the very much condemned notion of watching this movie before reading the book. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society happened to come up on Netflix last year and catch my eye. It's an okay movie, but basically left me wanting to move to England and live in an island and be constantly grumpy while baking pies. Pretty much my life's goal.

I picked up the book not that long ago and sped through it on a work trip, managing to inhale the entirety of it within a single flight. It's quite simply written but delightful to read. While the notion of attempting a potato peel pie did cross my mind briefly, it soon disappeared when the description of the tantalising treats that Clara Suassey spoke of, which had her kicked out of the literary society, came to my attention on the page. Spun sugar, five-layer cakes and chocolate rum balls, an array of delicious sounding delights that immediately set my mind wandering. It settled quite firmly on chocolate rum balls - a treat that I remember as being very Australian, very much available around Christmas, and very much not containing rum. Though my memory of eating them is primarily based around the primary school years and may be a little skewed.

I wanted to step away from my childhood memory of rum balls and instead concentrate on ones that would have been most appreciated possibly on Guernsey as Clara Suassey read out loud her recipes. Ones without the outside coating of coconut, very much filled with a rich spiced rum and intensely chocolate-y.

*Note: I used coconut condensed milk and chocolate ripple biscuits for this recipe - both which happen to be plant based!

Chocolate Rum Balls
Makes approx. 12 - 16
Ingredients
1/4 cup of raisins, finely chopped
3 tbsp spiced rum
1 cup cocoa powder
2 cups desiccated coconut
250g chocolate biscuits, *see note
320g condensed milk, *see note
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp sea salt

1. Combine the rum and the finely chopped raisins, set aside for around 10 - 20 minutes and let the rum soak into the raisins.

2. Meanwhile, using a food processor or blender, crush the chocolate biscuits until they're basically powder. A few chunks here and there are okay.

3. Place chocolate biscuit powder, 1/2 cup cocoa, desiccated coconut, condensed milk, rum soaked raisins, vanilla extract and sea salt in a bowl together and mix until well combined. The mixture should be firm enough to mould into a ball - if not, add a touch more cocoa.

4. Using the palm of your hand, roll spoonfuls of the rum ball mix into balls, placing them onto a a piece of baking paper on a tray. When all mixture has been rolled into balls place the tray into the fridge for a few hours or until mix has set.

5. Place the remaining cocoa and icing sugar into two seperate bowls, and roll the prepared balls into them to coat (separately that is, unless you want to combine the icing sugar and cocoa, all means go ahead). Enjoy with a good cup of tea!

Mushrooms on Toast | Wild Pork and Watercress

I liked doing things for Aunty Bella, she was a real good sort, and made the most beautiful brawn you've ever eaten. And she could turn a bucket of ordinary old mushrooms into the most delicious bacon-y creamy toast-soaking stuff you could image. She had a bit of magic, Aunty Bella. She was my best friend as well.
Wild Pork and Watercress
Barry Crump

I went through a phase I'm sure many did when they were young, where mushrooms were possibly the vilest food imaginable. That was, until, I read and subsequently became obsessed with The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. This new knowledge that my absolute favourite creatures (I'm quite short, I think I likely thought I was a hobbit at this age) were obsessed with mushrooms and craved them incessantly? Well then, guess what my new favourite food became?

The absolutely gorgeous book, Wild Pork and Watercress, from which the above quote has been taken from, inspired this late lunch this past Sunday. The book itself is a beautiful story set deep within the bush of New Zealand, any fans of Taika Waititi's work have likely seen Hunt for the Wilderpeople, which is based upon this book. The thought of going mushroom picking and then indulging lavishly in your findings feels like a distant dream when living in a city.

I have faint, faint memories of being young and being dropped at a family friend's house, spending the day with the other children running off into the neighbouring farms with a bucket, hunting down the wild mushrooms that we could find. Returning, only to have the mushrooms cooked and mushed down into almost pate that we spent the afternoon devouring.The recipe below isn't quite matching up to that memory exactly, but instead something that has become a sort of staple over the years for my own dinner. Affectionately called, stuff on toast. As it is hard to find a decent vegan ricotta or cheesy like spread without spending a small fortune, the below cashew cream spread recipe has become my go to, the perfect tart-y and creamy differentiator between the crisp toast and buttery mushrooms.

If you are a meat eater, I would highly recommend cooking up some bacon to go with this and then cooking your mushrooms in the leftover bacon fat. I believe the results would perfectly summarise the delight of Aunty Bella's mushroom dish. 

Mushrooms on Toast(with cashew cream)
Makes approx. enough for two servings
Ingredients
400g mushrooms, any kind of mushrooms will be delicious with this, sliced
2 tbsp butter
1 1/2 lemon, juiced
150g raw cashews
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup cold water
2 slices thick sourdough toast
2 - 3 sprigs fresh thyme
Sea Salt
Fresh Pepper

1. Soak the raw cashews in water for at least two hours - you can hurry this along by breaking them up into smaller pieces.

2. Drain and rinse the cashews before placing them into a blender or food processor, along with the cold water, juice of one lemon, apple cider vinegar and a good few twists of salt and pepper. Blend until smooth - it will likely have a few cashew chunks throughout, if this doesn't bother you feel free to leave as is. Place cashew cream to the side.

3. Heat a frying pan on medium heat, adding in the butter. Let the butter melt and start frothing slightly before adding in the sliced mushrooms, thyme and a few twists of salt and pepper. Cook for around ten minutes or so, moving the mushrooms around the pan to prevent them sticking, adding in a few squeezes of lemon juice. They should soak up the butter and appear a lovely caramel-y brown colour. When cooked, remove from the stove.

4. Get your toast ready and spread a good, thick layer of the prepared cashew cream on before placing the mushrooms on top. Season with a little extra salt and pepper or lemon, if you like. Enjoy!

Lemon Rosemary Bundt Cake | The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

The room filled with the smell of warming butter and sugar and lemon and eggs, and at five, the timer buzzed and I pulled out the cake and placed it on the stovetop. The house was quiet.
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake
Aimee Bender

I turned 30 at the beginning of this year. It was an interesting milestone, that assumption that one should be filled with dread at the prospect of their thirties, the end of their carefree twenties. There's a slightly different feeling I have about it though, because in all honesty I think I probably had the mentality of someone in their thirties for the last six years. Declining any big nights out to instead stay in with a new television show, a book or a particularly delicious take away meal.

My 30th wasn't much different. After an incredible 10 course dinner at a local restaurant, my night was spent greedily watching reruns of Buffy (I forgot how amazing that show is) and scoffing slices of the lemon rosemary bundt cake I'd made earlier that day.

The inspiration for the cake came from a book that I surprisingly had many people recommend to me, insisting I'd find many meals I'd be wanting to recreate from its pages. Well, I had already read it and they were correct. I'd been wanting to find an excuse to make a lemon cake, I much prefer to the tartness of it compared to other cakes, and the glimpse of my copy of the book as I wandered past the bookshelf was enough to have me bundling up lemons at the local farmers market, and picking twigs of rosemary from a neighbours front yard.

This cake is quite delicious, enough so that between myself and my partner we practically demolished it within the day.

Lemon Rosemary Bundt Cake
IngredientsCake
2 1/4 cups plain flour
2/3 cup raw caster sugar
Zest of one lemon
2 sprigs of rosemary, stripped from the trig and diced very finely
1 tbsp vinegar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bi-carb soda
1tbsp cornflour
1/2 tsp salt
115g butter, softened
190ml milk
3 tbsp yoghurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
Glaze1 cup icing sugar + extra just in case
Juice of one lemon

Cake

1. Preheat oven to 180C and prepare a 22cm bundt pan (if you have a different size one - it'll likely be totally fine) by greasing the inside thoroughly and then sprinkling a light scattering over flour throughout.

2. Combine the vinegar, yoghurt and the milk, leaving to the side for five minutes or until the milk curdles into buttermilk.

3. Sift the flour and cornflour together into a large bowl, adding in the bi-carb, baking soda, diced rosemary and salt.

4. In a seperate bowl cream together the butter and raw caster sugar until light and fluffy. Adding in the vanilla, zest and curdled milk, combine until well mixed.

5. Slowly add in the flour, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl as you go and transfer into the prepared cake tin.

6. Bake for around 40 - 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave in the pan for at least 10 minutes before gently transferring it onto a cooling rack. Leave to cool completely before glazing.

Glaze

1. Combine the icing sugar and lemon juice into a bowl and mix until it is a firm glaze. You may need to add a little more icing sugar or a little more liquid - depending on how runny you want it to be.

2. Drizzle over the the cooled cake. You can garnish with some sprigs of rosemary, lemon zest or lemon slices - what ever you want. Enjoy!