I’ve had a lot of requests for the recipes from the kids’ baking classes. Here is a taster to get you started!

This is a quick and simple scone recipe that my nine year old daughter can make; indeed the ones in the photo are her work. You can omit the dried fruit altogether or even use fresh fruit though be aware that their juice may make your dough wetter.

225 grams /8 ounces Self Raising Flour

Pinch Salt

½ teaspoon Baking Powder

50 grams/2 ounces Butter

25 grams /1ounce Caster Sugar

100 grams /4 ounces sultanas/ dried cranberries (optional)

1 egg beaten

150 millilitres /¼ pint Milk (approx)

 

Method

Sieve flour, salt and baking powder into a bowl.

Rub in butter.

Stir in sugar.

Add the dried fruit and this point if using.

Add the beaten egg and sufficient milk to make soft dough.

Turn onto a floured board and gently knead to remove any cracks.

Roll out lightly or press with your hands to 1” in thickness. Cut into scones with a cutter dipped in flour.

Place on a greased pre-heated baking sheet/tray, glaze if liked with beaten egg or milk.

Bake in a pre-heated oven 180°C on upper shelf position for 15 minutes approx.

Cool on a wire tray.

 

Serve with cream and the oven raspberry jam for and indulgent afternoon  tea.

Raspberry Oven Jam

This is a cheat version of raspberry jam that you can make in twenty minutes and which will enable you impress your guests with fresh homemade jam. It will keep in the fridge for up to a week. Just use equal quantities of fruit ans sugar.

250 grams of frozen or fresh raspberries

250 grams sugar

2 pie dishes

Sterilized jars

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

Put raspberries and sugar into 2 separate pie plates, I used disposable ones, so the fruit will spread out rather than piled up.

Put both pans in oven for 20 to 25 minutes until they are really hot.

Take them out of oven carefully and add the sugar to the raspberries. As you do so, you’ll find the fruit turns into a molten ruby red river.

 

Pour this into the cleaned and waiting jars.

 

Fasten with the lid and leave it to cool before storing in fridge for up to a week.