Chocolate Buttermilk Waffles with Fresh Mint Ice Cream

It was about time I got more use out of our waffle maker! I had leftover buttermilk and cream from last week's epic baking efforts, so the only thing I bought was a bunch of fresh mint and I had all the making of waffles with homemade, no-churn ice cream. I shared Lisa's awesome no-churn ice cream recipe with you not too long ago. It really is a time-saver, so long as you're not averse to the slight tint of flavour from the sweetened condensed milk.

I based the waffle recipe on a plain buttermilk recipe, replacing some of the flour with cocoa powder. However I did find them a little too salty and not quite sweet enough because of the addition of cocoa so I've adjusted the amounts in the recipe below to fix that. You definitely still need to serve it with something sweet and light like the mint ice cream. The buttermilk does it's job of keeping the waffles wonderfully fluffy and soft while still crisp on the outside thanks to the wonders of wafflemakers.

I know a lot of people commented on the last no-churn ice cream recipe about the strong condensed milk flavour in the ice cream. Unfortunately that's the cost of using a no-churn recipe that still stays as smooth as a normal ice cream, but I did try to tone down the strength of the condensed milk flavour by infusing the condensed milk with fresh mint leaves in this recipe. I've always wanted to try making fresh mint ice cream. As much as I love mint flavouring, I really did enjoy the subtle flavour of fresh mint in this ice cream. Of course there's nothing stopping you from using peppermint extract/essence instead, or creme de menthe if you want to get some green colour into the ice cream as well.

I made the ice cream so quickly on Friday evening after work that I totally forgot to take any progress shots and didn't even save a single leaf of fresh mint for the photos. So you'll just have to take my word for it that the ice cream is well-infused with the flavour. I was a little worried that the condensed milk would overpower the light flavour of the mint leaves especially while tasting the warm mixture, but after freezing it overnight I found the flavour was just the right amount of mint for me. You don't want it to be too strong as it's quite herby, if you know what I mean. If you like it strong you could always blend up the leaves into the mixture rather than straining them out.

I served my waffles with a drizzled of warm melted chocolate mixed with a tiny bit of cream, you could also make chocolate awesomesauce or plain melted chocolate. I was tempted to mix chocolate through the ice cream itself to make my favourite mint chocolate chip flavour, but instead I topped the whole thing off with some cocoa nibs instead. It added a nice bite with a bit of nuttiness to the whole thing. I don't know why I'm tagging this under the breakfast tag as this is strictly a dessert kinda waffle, but out of habit I feel the need to categorise anything waffle-related under breakfast. Okay I'm rambling now, see ya next week!

Chocolate Buttermilk Waffles with No-Churn Fresh Mint Ice Cream

(waffle recipe adapted from Brown Eyed Baker, ice cream recipe adapted from spicyicecream)

For the ice cream:

1 large bunch of mint, about 70g, chopped

1 can (395g) sweetened condensed milk

2 cups cream (pure/pouring cream (or heavy cream in the US, min 35% fat unthickened))

Place chopped mint and sweetened condensed milk in a small saucepan on low heat and stir regularly. Do not allow to come to the boil. Stir over heat to allow mint to infuse, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool completely and then chill for about an hour.

Place cream in a large mixing bowl and beat with electric mixer on high until it reaches soft peaks (take care not to overmix). Gently fold in condensed milk mixture until combined and then pour mixture into a large loaf tin (about 1.5L capacity). I find it easier to use a whisk to combine them, to avoid pockets of condensed milk mixture remaining unmixed. Freeze overnight. Best eaten within 1 week.

For the waffles:
(makes about 8 regular waffles or 5 large Belgian style waffles)

1 & 1/4 cups (about 175g) plain/all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder, sifted

4 tbsp sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking (bicarb) soda

1/4  teaspoon salt

1 & 3/4 cups buttermilk at room temperature

115g (½ cup) butter, melted and cooled to room tempeature

2 eggs, at room temperature

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Optional: chocolate sauce and cocoa nibs or chocolate chips to serve

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, butter, eggs and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and gently whisk to combine. Do not overmix.

Spray a waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray or brush with melted butter, then preheat. Once the waffle maker is ready, add the batter according to the manufacturer's instructions and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the waffle maker indicates they are ready. Serve immediately, or place in oven to keep warm. Leftover waffles can be wrapped in plastic wrap, placed in a ziploc bag and stored in the refrigerator for 2 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month. Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream and drizzled with chocolate sauce and nibs.

Scones with Spiced Pineapple and Apples

Bleurgh. I woke up this morning with a serious case of the bleurghs. If this post stops making sense blame the cold and flu drugs! Right now I wish I still had a batch of these fluffy, warm scones with pineapple and apple pieces stewed in star anise, cinnamon and cloves. They would definitely make me feel less crappy!

I made these scones last week for my Mum. Every time she's in town she always requests a batch of fresh scones, which I am more than willing to do for her. My love of scones is well-documented, I must have gotten it from her. However she does not have my sweet tooth, and complains whenever anything is too sweet. So instead of serving these scones with the usual jam and cream I thought I would try cooking some fruit myself so I could control the sweetness.

The pineapples were looking super sweet at the store so I decided to pair them with some apples and cook them in spices so it would be similar in flavour to my favourite pineapple jam that you get on pineapple tarts, but without all the extra effort of grating the fruit. It worked out great, the star anise, cinnamon and cloves work so well with the sweet and sour flavours. I added a bit of palm sugar as well, just to give it a bit of colour and a touch more sweetness. To counter that I served it with some creme fraiche, which also saved me from having to whip up extra cream for serving. The only thing I'd change for next time is to cut the fruit up a little smaller to make it easier to pile on top of the scones and quicker to cook.

Scones with Spiced Pineapple & Apples

(scone recipe previously posted here)

For the stewed pineapple and apples:

1/2 a pineapple (cut weight about 350g), skin and core removed and chopped into small cubes (feel free to double the amounts if you have a whole pineapple, the amount I've specified is a nice amount to go with one batch of scones, you can also used canned pineapple if necessary)

2 cooking apples, peeled, cored and cubed (slightly bigger than the pineapple cubes, I used Granny Smiths)

1 star anise

5 cloves

1 cinnamon stick

20g palm sugar (replace with brown sugar if unavailable)

Place all the ingredients in a medium saucepan on medium heat and stir until the palm sugar melts and forms a syrup with the juices of the fruit. Continue cooking mixture until fruit is tender and syrup thickens slightly. Set aside to cool. Can be stored in a sterilised jar in the fridge.

For the scones:

2 cups self-raising flour
1/4 tsp salt
150ml (about 2/3 cup) pure/pouring cream (min 35% fat, heavy cream in the US)
150ml (about 2/3 cup) milk

Preheat oven to 230°C (445°F), 220 °C (430°F) fan-forced, line or grease a heavy based baking dish that has sides (or a 20cm square cake tin, scones baked close together will rise higher and thus be lighter). Sift flour and salt together in a large mixing bowl and make a well in the centre. Pour cream into the well and begin to cut cream into dry ingredients with a flat bladed knife, then gradually add milk using the same cutting motion, until there is enough to form a soft dough. 

Working quickly and gently, gather dough together on a floured bench (I usually place a big sheet of baking paper over a chopping board to make cleaning up easier). Try to handle the dough as little as possible, using lightly floured hands to stop dough sticking to you, and pat the dough into a rectangle about 3-3.5cm thick. You can lightly knead the dough with your hands for a smoother appearance but overknead it and your scones will be tough and hard. Cut out round using a 5-6cm scone cutter (push the cutter into the dough, don't twist) and place next to each other in your prepared tin.I usually manage to cut about 5-6 scones, then I pat the scraps together and cut out another 2-3 and finally pat the scraps from that together into a ball to form the final scone. Lightly brush the tops of the scones with some extra cream using a pastry brush. 

Bake for 10-15 mins, until scones are cooked through and tops are lightly browned (will take longer in a heavier baking dish). Serve immediately with stewed fruit and cream. I used creme fraiche instead of cream to add a touch of sourness to the mix. (I like to cover my waiting scones with a clean tea towel to keep them from going hard) Scones can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Brown Butter Waffles with No-Churn Blueberry Ice Cream

Oh my. That photo right there makes me salivate profusely everytime I look at it. Every. Time. It's probably worse for me because I know exactly what it tastes like, and it tastes even better than it looks in that photo. This is the first time I've ever made waffles for this blog, because this is the first time I've had a waffle iron since I moved out of home! YAY. Thanks to the awesome Suze for letting me borrow her waffle iron. I'm the kinda person who cannot eat waffles without ice cream. The combination of those piping hot, golden waffles with some creamy ice cream melting on top makes me happy. So this weekend I made my own ice cream and waffles. And ate it with maple syrup. And bacon. Yup.

Once you have a waffle iron, you need a good waffle recipe. Luckily for me, my brother has a great one. We've been using it for years and it has never failed us. It may seem a bit more tedious than some of the more basic recipes (because you have to separate your eggs and whip the egg whites separately), but it is definitely worth the extra effort. The waffles you give lots of love will love you back! My brother's one complaint was that the recipe uses vegetable oil and he would have loved to try it with butter instead. We are a butter-loving family. So I took it to the next level and made these waffles with browned butter. If you've been reading my blog for long enough you know how much I love the aroma and flavour of brown butter. It's ridiculously good with pretty much everything. These waffles are no exception.

Rather than flavouring the waffles with blueberries, I decided to make Blueberry Ice Cream instead. It's been a while since I've made ice cream and there are two big reasons for that. 1. It can be a pain to make the custard base for an ice cream, chilling it, then waiting for it to churn and freeze. 2. I HATE HATE HATE photographing things that melt. It is incredibly stressful to try and scoop that pretty, perfect little scoop of ice cream and then shoot it before it turns into a puddle. I usually end up covered in melted ice cream. The awesome Lisa solved one of these problems by sharing an amazing no-churn ice cream recipe (linked below). It's so ridiculously easy and works just as well as churned ice cream in my opinion. And it's so pretty that it was worth running around to get the shot of one scoop of ice cream.

When I was a kid I remembered tasting a sample of blueberry ice cream in the supermarket. It was so good, it stuck with me forever (even though my Mum refused to buy a tub for me no matter how much I whinged). I remember searching in the supermarket ever since then for blueberry ice cream and never finding one that was like the one I tasted. This recipe tastes JUST like how I remembered that blueberry ice cream. You have no idea how happy that makes me. I'm surprised that it's not a more popular ice cream flavour because it works so well and the colour is so beautiful. Look at all those pretty swirls of purple! It is definitely worth making at home, and you can use frozen berries if you want to save a bit of money. 6 dollars for a fresh punnet eek.

In other news, it was really fantastic to hear that I was included in the Top 100 Voices of 2013. And even better, two of my best friends Karen & Lisa are included in the top 25 Food and Wellbeing category with me! Love you crazy, talented girls. You can see the other great bloggers included in the category here.

Speaking of nominations, go check out the Saveur food blog awards and if you have the time make sure you vote for the incredibly talented Top with Cinnamon. And check out Izy's blog if you haven't already, I'm currently slightly obsessed with it. To celebrate I made a (crappy) gif, which is no where near as amazing as the mesmerising ones you'll find on her blog. Blame my handheld photography and dodgy photoshopping skills. But I do love a good drizzle of maple syrup.

Brown Butter Waffles with No-Churn Blueberry Ice Cream
(makes approx 8 waffles and about 1-1.5L of ice cream)
For the blueberry ice cream (adapted from spicy ice cream):
2 punnets (250g) fresh or frozen (and thawed) blueberries
Juice of 1/2 lemon
3-4 tbsp sugar, adjusted to taste
2 cups cream (pure/pouring cream (or heavy cream in the US, min 35% fat unthickened))
1 can (395g) sweetened condensed milk

Place blueberries, lemon juice and sugar in a small saucepan (I used 3 tbsp of sugar first and then added another tbsp after tasting it later) on low-medium heat. Stir regularly until the sugar dissolves and the skins of the blueberries start to split. Continue to stir and allow mixture to simmer for 5-10 minutes, and try to mash the blueberries with a fork as they soften. When mixture starts to thicken slightly, remove from the heat and allow to cool. When at room temperature, transfer to a bowl and chill in the fridge until needed.

Place cream in a large mixing bowl and beat with electric mixer on high until it reaches soft peaks (take care not to overmix). Gently fold in condensed milk until combined and then pour mixture into a large loaf tin (about 1.5L capacity). Dollop blueberry mixture over the top of the cream mixture and then use a spatula to fold the fruit carefully throughout the cream. Alternatively, blend the fruit mixture and add it at the same time as the condensed milk for a smoother colour and texture (I prefer the rustic, swirly look). Freeze overnight.

For the waffles (adapted from this Toastmaster Waffle Iron recipe):

110g (about 7 tbsp) butter (can be substituted with 7 tbsp vegetable oil)
1 3/4 cup flour (plain/all-purpose)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
3 large eggs, separated and at room temperature
1 1/2 cups milk, room temperature

Preheat your waffle iron. Place butter in a small saucepan on low heat stirring occasionally, until foamy, about 5 minutes. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the milk solids turn brown and the butter smells nutty, about 4 minutes longer (take care not to burn, I removed mine from the heat just as it started turning brown as it continues to cook in the saucepan even after it's off the heat). Set aside.

Sift flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a large mixing bowl and set aside. In another mixing bowl, whip egg whites to stiff peaks, set aside. While slowly mixing (either with a whisk or an electric mixer on low), add egg yolks to mixture, follow by the butter, and then the milk. Mix until combined. (If your milk is too cold this may cause the mixture to go a bit grainy because of the butter solidifying, but this is okay). Fold egg white into mixture until combined. Pour mixture into your heated waffle iron, I used about 1/2 cup of mixture per waffle. Cook to your waffle iron's instructions, until waffles are golden brown and crisp. Serve immediately with your blueberry ice cream, and some maple syrup and streaky bacon if you're into that sorta thing ;)

Leftover waffles can be frozen once they have cooled completely, then reheated in the toaster or microwave before serving.

Maple Syrup Glazed Scones

I am generally resistant to a lot of change. I like my comfort zones. You could probably tell from the large amount of whinging that I've done over the last few weeks how much I hated the whole moving process. But now that I'm finally settled in my new place I think I am kind of loving it. We managed to throw a metric shitload of stuff away while packing, which means that our new place is so much less cluttered. I can actually see all my props now! I've also realised that I've inherited some of my Mum's hoarding habits, because I was holding on to so much ridiculous stuff that I was never going to conceivably use or need or want to see any time in the future.

So this was my first proper weekend in my new place. A newer oven, hopefully better than the old clunker that I've grown accustomed to working with in my old place. I decided the best way to test it out was to make a good ol' batch of scones. (I am too scared to try macarons in it yet) As part of the whole nostalgic experience of leaving my old place got me looking into my very early blog posts and I came across these golden syrup scones from way back when. I couldn't believe I hadn't made them more since then. I remember this recipe was ridiculously good.

I decided to try it out with a bit of a change, switching the sticky super sweet golden syrup for the slightly runnier, darker maple syrup. As much as I love golden syrup I know it can be hard to get hold of good quality stuff in a lot of places. And I had a bottle of maple syrup sitting in the cupboard begging to be used. I was interested to see which version would be better.

To be honest they were pretty similar but they are both amazing so you can't go wrong with either version. You end up with the soft, fluffy pillows of scone goodness thanks to the cream scone base, and the sticky sweetness from the syrup. It's only just a hint of sweetness, so you can still eat it with jam and cream. But I would definitely recommend trying it with a slightly less sweet jam like a cherry jam. I also served it with crème fraîche, which worked really well because it had a slight tartness to offset the sweetness of the scones. I always love a classic plain scone but I think the sweet tooth in me secretly likes these ones better. Anyway you might have to bear with me as I get used to working with a new oven and figuring out the light and the best places to take photos in my new place, I'm definitely looking forward to finding my new comfort zones.

Maple Syrup Glazed Scones

(makes 8-9 scones, adapted from these Golden Syrup Scones)

2 cups self-raising flour

2 tbsp sugar (I used caster (superfine) but regular granulated white sugar is fine too)

2 tbsp pure maple syrup + about 1/4 cup extra for glazing after baking

1/2 cup (125ml) milk

1/2 cup (125ml) pure/pouring cream (or heavy cream in the US, min 35% fat unthickened)

Recommended to serve: crème fraîche or clotted cream, and a not too sweet jam (I used a black cherry jam)

Preheat oven to 200°C (390°F) (fan-forced 180°C (350°F)) and line a heavy based baking dish with sides (or a 20cm square cake tin) with baking paper. Sift flour and sugar together in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre, place the maple syrup in and then pour cream on top. While gradually adding the milk, start to mix lightly and quickly with your butter knife using a cutting motion until just combined. You may want to slow down adding the milk just as you get to the last 1-2 tbsp of liquid as you may not need to add all of it. the mixture should be sticky but you should be able to gently handle it with floured hands.

Working quickly and gently, gather dough together on a floured bench. Try to handle the dough as little as possible, using lightly floured hands to stop dough sticking to you, and pat the dough into a rectangle about 3-3.5cm thick. You can lightly knead the dough with your hands for a smoother appearance but overknead it and your scones will be tough and hard.

Cut out round using a 5-6cm scone cutter (push the cutter into the dough, don't twist) and place next to each other in prepared tray (scones baked close together will rise higher and thus be lighter). I usually manage to cut about 5-6 scones, then I pat the scraps together and cut out another 2 and finally pat the scraps from that together into a ball to form the final scone.

Bake for 15-20 mins, until scones are cooked through and tops are lightly browned. You can test in the insides to check if they are done by inserting a skewer in between two if the scones. If it comes out with any raw dough attached it needs to bake for longer. As soon as you remove the scones from the oven, brush the tops with maple syrup. Make sure to only brush a thin, even layer while the scones are still piping hot or the tops will go soggy. Serve immediately with crème fraîche and jam. If you have leftover scones let them cool completely then store in an air-tight container in the fridge and warm up in the microwave for 20-30 seconds before serving again later.

Banana Bread with Dark Chocolate Spread

I'm keeping it pretty simple this week after all the effort that went into this layered cake. This is a really fantastic and easy recipe for banana bread, with a small twist. It comes with a silky smooth dark chocolate spread. It's not like nutella, there's no nuts in it because of my allergies. But it's a gorgeous chocolate spread that is full of good quality bitter dark chocolate, and just a very thin layer of it on a slice of banana bread is perfection.

This particularly banana bread recipe has no yeast it in, so it's like most of the cake-like banana breads that you get here in Australia. The important part to getting a really tasty banana bread is to make sure your bananas are ridiculously overripe. Like black to the point where they are nearly (but not) rotten. I had a few bananas sitting on my kitchen counter for a good week and a half and they were completely blackened. It might seem gross when you're peeling them but all that strong smell and flavour will give you a great tasting banana bread.

The chocolate spread might seem like too much to go with something that is already as sweet as a banana bread, but trust me it works. I've put dark chocolate chips into my banana bread before and loved it, so this is essentially the same but you can control how much chocolate you want to use. Because I used a very dark chocolate, it's not very sweet at all. Even so, it's still quite a rich spread so you only need to use it sparingly. If you're not a fan of the bitterness of dark chocolate, feel free to use milk chocolate but skip on the golden syrup in both the banana bread and the spread recipes.

A giant lump of banana bread might not be the most appealing to photograph, but it was so good to eat. The smell of this banana bread baking in the oven was incredible. I made sure to increase the smount of spices in the recipe but you could increase it even more if you like your spices. Just make sure not to overbake it, there's nothing worse than dried out banana bread.

Banana Bread with Dark Chocolate Spread

(banana bread adapted from Taste.com.au, chocolate spread recipe adapted from SugarHero)

3 very overripe medium bananas, peeled

2 tbsp golden syrup

2 1/3 cups (about 300g) self-raising flour

1/3 cup (about 50g) plain flour

3 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp all spice

3/4 cup, firmly packed (about 150g) brown sugar

3/4 cup (about 185ml) milk

3 eggs, lightly whisked

75g (2/3 stick) butter, melted, cooled

Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease the base and sides of a 21x11cm (base measurement) loaf tin. Line the base and 2 opposite sides with non-stick baking paper, allowing it to overhang. If you have a smaller tin like me you can pour the extra batter into a lined muffin tin. In a medium bowl, mash banana together with the golden syrup. Stir in milk, eggs and melted butter until combined and then set aside.

Sift the combined flours, allspice and cinnamon into a large bowl. Stir in the sugar and make a well in the centre. Add the banana mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the surface. Bake in oven for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre just comes out clean. Remove from oven and set aside in the pan for 5 minutes. Turn onto a wire rack to cool completely. Cut into slices to serve.

For the dark chocolate spread:

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

100g dark chocolate, finely chopped (about 2/3 cup, I used 70% cocoa)

140g (5 ounces) unsalted butter, softened and cubed

2-4 tbsp golden syrup, adjust to taste

In a small saucepan, combine the water, sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Place the pan over medium heat and stir until the sugar and cocoa powder dissolve. Keep stirring until it just starts to simmer, then remove the pan from the heat and add the vanilla extract, chopped chocolate, and cubed butter. Whisk until smooth. If you wish to make the spread any sweeter, whisk in golden syrup a tablespoon at a time, adjusting to taste. Pour into a jar or other container with a lid. Press a layer of plastic wrap on top of the chocolate to prevent a skin from forming, and refrigerate it until it thickens. If it is too cold to spread easily, let it sit at room temperature until it softens before serving. Store it in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

White Chocolate & Raspberry French Toast

It was one of those weekends where I didn't feel like baking. Not one little bit. A lazy Sunday morning (after catching up on the sleep that I lost during the week) needed French toast. It had to be done. I had a loaf of day-old brioche, a bar of white chocolate and a punnet of raspberries. Raspberries are totally out of season in Australia at the moment and stupidly expensive, but you know when you see something in the store that you just can't resist? I'm so glad I didn't fight the urge in this case because it led to this White Chocolate & Raspberry Brioche French Toast. So ridiculously good.

I didn't realise until I started looking at the photos just then how they look a bit like grilled cheese sandwiches, which I admit is a little gross. It's a pity because this was such an indulgent, delicious dish that I wouldn't want anyone to be put off by mistaken appearances. The similarity couldn't really be helped since I used white chocolate, you could probably use milk or dark chocolate and it would taste great. But I think white chocolate works the best with all the other flavours going on here.

The French toast mixture that I used was perfect, just like Martha promised. It's lightly fragrant with spices and fruit flavours, and when you bite into that thin, crisp outer layer (that I fried in some damn good cultured butter), you will want to do a little dance. The hit of cinnamon, the sweetness from the melted white chocolate and the burst of tangy raspberries, what a combination.

I'd definitely recommend going to the trouble of getting your hands on some brioche if you want to make this, store bought or homemade. Though regular white bread will work it doesn't have the same lightness of texture and beautiful richness that brioche bread has. This particular version doesn't even need any maple syrup on top, there's enough sweetness from the white chocolate. And make sure not to soak the bread for too long or it will still be soggy in the middle even after you fry it up. Have it for a very indulgent breakfast for a special occasion, or have it as dessert. Either way you won't be sorry.

White Chocolate & Raspberry Brioche French Toast

(adapted from Martha Stewart's Perfect French Toast, serves 2)

4 slices brioche, preferably day-old, sliced 1 inch thick (I bought mine this time, but you could make your own too)

3 large eggs

3/4 cups milk

Juice of 1/2 an orange (about 2-3 tbsp)

Zest of 1/2 a lemon (about 2 tsp)

1 tbsp pure vanilla extract

1 tsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Pinch of freshly ground nutmeg

Pinch of salt

Butter for frying

100g good quality white chocolate, melted (either zapped in the microwave 30 secs a til melted or over a double boiler) - can replace with milk or dark chocolate

About 1/2 punnet raspberries (about 60g, fresh or frozen) - can replace with other berries

Icing sugar to dust
 

(If making a bigger batch, preheat oven to about 95°C (200°F) and keep toast warm in oven on a wire rack while making the rest of the batch) Whisk together eggs, milk, juice, vanilla, sugar, zest, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a shallow baking dish. Place skillet or non-stick frying pan over medium heat and melt about 1 tbsp (15g) of butter in the pan.

Dip one slice of bread in mixture and allow to soak for 20 seconds. Place slice dipped side down in the pan and fry for 2-3 minutes until golden brown. While frying, spread a layer of melted white chocolate on the top side of the bread and place a small handful of raspberries over the top. Dip another slice of bread in mixture and allow to soak for 20 seconds again. Sandwich this slice over the raspberries, dipped side facing up and press down to seal sandwich together slightly. Carefully flip over and fry the other side of the sandwich for the same amount of time, until golden brown. Repeat with remaining slices of bread, adding another tbsp of butter to the pan for each sandwich. Serve immediately, dusted with a light coat of icing (confectioner's) sugar. You can add maple syrup if you really want to, but it probably doesn't need it.

Banana Scones with Whipped Honey Butter

My love of scones is well-documented. But one thing has always irked me about my homemade scones; they're not very photogenic. In fact, the lumpiness and uneven shape of my original CWA scone post makes me cringe so much that I keep wanted to redo the photos. But then I made this batch of Banana Scones with Whipped Honey Butter, and I realised that all my scones look pretty lumpy and uneven. It's my fault, I'm terrified of over-working the dough because there is nothing worse than a tough, rock-hard scone. I want my scones to be fluffy clouds of deliciousness. So I guess I still have a way to go before I improve the look of my scones to the level that you see from the CWA ladies.

So I may not be 100% happy with how these look, but I do love how they taste. It's a great way to use up those bananas that are too ripe, and that extra cream you might have in your fridge (I always have extra cream but that's me). The scones are super soft and light, and they are really meant to be served with some kind of sweet topping, like the whipped honey butter and strawberry jam, or cream & jam. The scones themselves are not sweet at all, so you'll have to add some icing sugar and spices to the scone mixture if you plan on eating them on their own.

Originally I was planning to make some honeycomb butter to go with these scones, but I was too lazy to make my own sugar honeycomb, and I managed to eat the two Crunchie bars that I bought for it. Chocolate bars do not last very long in my house. But this fluffy honey butter works just as well with the banana scones, with the added sweetness and just a hint of cinnamon. It's so good melted on a warm, freshly baked scone.

My favourite part about making these scones was opening up my oven to be greeted with the smell of the warm banana in these scones. It smells amazing! Because the scones are so light the flavour is not super intense, but it's definitely noticeable. I'm quite happy to eat these for breakfast, brunch, tea or dessert. In fact I've been slowly making my way through a batch over the last day, zapping them in the microwave until they're piping hot, slathering them with the honey butter and strawberry jam and enjoying them with a giant steaming mug of tea.

Banana Scones with Whipped Honey Butter

(makes 9-10 scones, adapted from my plain scone recipe)

300g (about 2 1/3 US cups flour, closer to 2 metric cups) self-raising flour, sifted

1 over-ripe medium banana, well mashed (about 1/3 cup)

1/4 tsp salt

100ml (about 1/2 cup minus 1 tbsp) pure/pouring cream (min 35% fat, heavy whipping cream in the US)

160ml (about 2/3 cup) milk

Note: if you are not planning to make the butter or to serve with jam, I recommend you add about 2 tbsp sifted icing sugar and 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon to the flour mixture

For the butter: (Alternatively you could make Bill's honeycomb butter)

115g (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room-temperature

4 tbsp honey

1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

To serve: strawberry (or any other flavoured) jam, can replace butter with clotted cream

Remove the butter ahead of time to allow it to soften. Preheat oven to 230°C (445°F), 220 °C (430°F) fan-forced. Sift flour and salt together in a large mixing bowl and make a well in the centre, place the mashed banana in the centre. Gradually pouring the cream into the bowl, begin to cut cream and banana into dry ingredients with a flat bladed knife so that it starts to come together, then gradually add milk (using the same cutting motion with the knife to combine the ingredients) until there is enough to form a soft dough. (I usually save a small amount of milk to brush the tops of the scones)

Working quickly and gently, gather dough together on a floured bench. Try to handle the dough as little as possible, using lightly floured hands to stop dough sticking to you, and pat the dough into a rectangle about 3-3.5cm thick. You can lightly knead the dough with your hands for a smoother appearance but overknead it and your scones will be tough and hard. 

Cut out round using a 5-6cm scone cutter (push the cutter into the dough, don't twist) and place next to each other in a lined/greased heavy based baking dish that has sides (scones baked close together will rise higher and thus be lighter). I usually manage to cut about 5-6 scones, then I pat the scraps together and cut out another 2 and finally pat the scraps from that together into a ball to form the final scone. Lightly brush the tops of the scones with some extra milk using a pastry brush.

Bake for 10-15 mins, until scones are cooked through and tops are lightly browned. While scones are baking, prepare the butter; chop the softened butter into small cubes. Place the butter, cinnamon and honey in a large mixing bowl and beat well on high speed with an electric mixer until smooth and fluffy. Place in a serving dish and store in the fridge until ready to serve. Cover with a clean tea towel to keep scones soft, serve immediately with honey butter. Strawberry jam is also a great addition to the butter. You can substitute the butter with clotted cream. Store leftover scones in an airtight container, warm up in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Best eaten on the same day but scones can also be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months.