Easter Recipe - Delicious Hot Cross Buns

Easter is just around the corner and what better bake is there than traditional Hot Cross Buns?

This recipe comes from one of my favourite recipe books, Better Homes and Gardens Holiday Cook Book from 1959.

Hot Cross Buns

2 packages active dry yeast or 2 cakes compressed yeast

1/3 cup water

1/3 cup milk, scalded

½ cup salad oil or melted shortening

1/3 cup sugar

¾ teaspoon salt

3 ½ to 4 cups sifted enriched flour

½ to 1 teaspoon cinnamon

3 beaten eggs

2/3 cup currants

1 slightly beaten egg white

Sifted confectioners’ sugar

Soften active dry yeast in warm water or compressed yeast in lukewarm water. Combine milk, salad oil, sugar, and salt; cool to lukewarm. Sift together 1 cup of the flour and the cinnamon; stir into milk mixture. Add eggs; beat well. Stir in softened yeast and currants. Add remaining flour (or a little more or less to make a soft dough). Cover with damp cloth; and let rise in warm place till double (about 1 ½ hours). Punch down.

Roll or pat out to ½ inch on lightly floured surface. Cut in rounds with 2 ½ inch biscuit cutter; shape in buns. Place on a greased baking sheet about 1 ½ inches apart. Cover and let rise in warm place till almost double (about 1 hour). If desired, cut shallow cross in each bun with sharp scissors or knife. Brush tops with egg white. Bake at 375° about 12 minutes, or till done. Add confectioners’ sugar (about ¾ cup) to the remaining egg white. Use this as a frosting for piping crosses on warm buns. Makes about 2 dozen.

With love from,

Images courtesy of http://thegraphicsfairy.com/

Elizabeth Craig - A doyenne of home economy (plus her pancake recipe)

Elizabeth Josephine Craig (16 February 1883 – 7 June 1980) was a notable Scottish home economist, cookery writer and journalist. 

(Image courtesy of www.britishfoodinamerica.com)

Elizabeth wrote over 40 cookery books during her 97 years! She first began writing cookery books after the first World War and then continued on until 1980 - an impressive five decades!

Elizabeth starting cooking at the young age of 6, and also began collecting various recipes from the age of 12. Due to this background, she was well-versed in the art of cookery. True to her talent, she was able to create recipes according to the times, whether it was frugal recipes during war time or later years when refridgerators were common. 

I am fortunate to have a copy of Elizabeth's Craig's Home Cooking, a 1961 edition of the original 1949 publication. 

Shrove Tuesday has come and gone but I will feature Elizabeth Craig's Pancake Recipe as we are still nearing Easter! 

Pancakes

3/4 lb. flour
1 large egg
1/2 half pint milk
Pinch salt

Sift flour and salt together into a basin. Make a well in the centre, then drop in the egg. Stir in half the milk gradually, then stir in the flour from the sides by degrees. Beat well and add the rest of the milk, beating all the time. Stand in a cool place for one hour. When ready to fry, pour and scrape batter into a jug. 

 

To fry pancakes

Melt a walnut of butter or lard in the frying-pan. Remove pan from fire and pour in from 2 tablespoons to 1/4 pint of batter, depending on the size of the frying-pan. Move the pan a little to allow the batter to spread over the whole of the pan, then quickly place the pan on heat. Cook till lightly browned below, then toss, by jerking the pan upwards and towards you, or turn with a palette knife. Brown on the other side, then turn on to sugared paper. Dredge with sugar, squeeze a little lemon juice over, then roll up and keep hot while cooking the rest of the batter. Put a walnut of fat into pan before cooking each pancake. Serve arranged on a hot dish lined with a paper doily. Garnish with fingers of lemon.
  

Enjoy!

 With love from,

St Patrick's Day Vintage Recipe

With St Patrick's Day coming up, I thought it would be fun to get into the spirit and feature an Irish recipe!

This recipe comes from the 1965 edition of The Scottish and Irish Baking Book :

Ginger & Walnut Scones

1/2 lb / 226.7g flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 oz / 56.6g margarine

1 oz / 28g castor sugar

2 oz /56.6g chopped preserved ginger

1 oz / 28g chopped walnuts

1 egg

milk to mix

Sieve the dry ingredients, and cut and rub in the margarine. Add the sugar, chopped preserved ginger and chopped walnuts. Beat the egg and add a little milk. Use to mix all to a soft dough. Turn on to a floured board, toss over and roll out about 1-inch thick. Cut into scones, brush with egg and bake in a hot oven for 15 minutes. 

Enjoy! Or 'taitneamh a bhaint as'

With love from,