CHRISTMAS MORNING MUFFINS

CHRISTMAS MORNING MUFFINS

I have never quite understood how people can go in for vast, rich breakfasts on Christmas morning.  I am hardly a modest eater by anyone's standards, but even I can't quite accommodate a platterful of buttery scrambled eggs with smoked salmon before the gargantuan Christmas feast.  And I speak as cook and eater on this one. I do, however, see the need to make breakfast special in some way, and these muffins do that. What's more, if you measure out the dry ingredients the night before and put the muffin cases in the muffin tin, you don't need to do anything more labour intensive on Christmas morning itself than preheat your oven, whisk up a few runny ingredients in a jug and stir them into the waiting bowl.  Then dollop the batter into the prepared muffin cases and all's sweet - and smelling of cinnamony, orange-scented Christmas.  A last, heartfelt, note: Christmas, as I've said often, is about ritual and tradition; we inherit some, we invent others.  But even those we invent are not sacrosanct.  These muffins were my way, years back, of establishing a Christmas routine as a grown-up, and I have no desire to change things - essentially - now.  But I've improved the recipe, and give you its new, evolved form here.  In the kitchen, as in life, it is possible to play with tradition, without turning away from the past.
- Nigella Lawson

Ingredients

250 gram(s) plain flour
2.5 teaspoon(s) baking powder
½ teaspoon(s) bicarbonate of soda
100 gram(s) caster sugar
1 teaspoon(s) cinnamon sticks
¼ teaspoon(s) ground nutmeg (or good grating of fresh nutmeg)
2 rasher(s) clementines (or satsumas)
125 ml full fat milk
75 ml vegetable oil (or melted butter left to cool slightly)
1 medium egg(s)
175 gram(s) dried cranberries
3 teaspoon(s) demerara sugar (for the topping)

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6. Line a 12-bun muffin tin with muffin papers or (as I have here) silicone inserts.
Measure the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, caster sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg into a large bowl; grate the zest of the clementine/satsuma over, and combine. If you are doing this in advance, leave the zesting till Christmas morning.
Squeeze the juice of the clementines/satsumas into a measuring jug, and pour in the milk until it comes up to the 200ml mark.
Add the oil (or slightly cooled, melted butter) and egg, and lightly beat until just combined.
Pour this liquid mixture into the bowl of dried ingredients and stir until everything is more or less combined, remembering that a well-beaten mixture makes for heavy muffins: in other words a lumpy batter is a good thing here.
Fold in the cranberries, then spoon the batter into the muffin cases and sprinkle the demerara sugar on top.  Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, by which time the air should be thick with the promise of good things and the good things themselves golden brown and ready to be eaten, either plain or broken up and smeared, as you go, with unsalted butter and marmalade.

PEANUT BRITTLE WITH ART AND SOUL

PEANUT BRITTLE WITH ART AND SOUL

This title isn’t a boast, but a name to denote provenance. It’s a recipe given to me, at my greedy request, by the cook-and-a-half, Art Smith. True, I’ve slightly simplified it, but only because I don’t have his deserved confidence, so I make my batch smaller, and leave out the difficult technical bits.
But even so, what this makes is fabulous: you really have to steel yourself to give it away.
- Nigella Lawson

Yield : Makes approx. 10 oz.

Ingredients
1 cup sugar
¼ cup water
½ cup light corn syrup
1 cup salted peanuts
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon soft butter
1¼ teaspoons baking soda

Method

Get out a large sheet of parchment paper or aluminum foil, place on a cookie sheet, and butter or oil it. Sit it by the stove, waiting to receive the brittle once it’s ready to pour.
Put the sugar, water and syrup into a saucepan, bring to the boil gently, then turn up the heat and let it boil for 8-10 minutes, swirling (but not stirring) the pan a couple of times, until the syrup has turned gold in color. It will be smoking by then, so be warned!
Take the pan off the heat and, with a wooden spoon, stir in the nuts, followed by the vanilla, butter and baking soda. You will have a golden, frothy, hot and gooey mixture.
Pour this briskly onto the waiting parchment or foil, using your wooden spoon to coax and pull it to make a nut-studded sheet, puddle-shaped though it may be, rather than a heap.
Leave it to cool, then break into pieces and store in at airtight container or box; or bag up to give at once as presents. You’ll get about 1 pound in total, and it’s up to you how much you want to put in each bag, really. I find it easier to do several small batches like this, rather than multiplying quantities as I cook.

GOATS MILK FLAPJACKS

GOATS MILK FLAPJACKS

We use apricots in this recipe but use any of your favourite dried fruits for a tasty classic flapjack.
- St Helen's Farm

Ingredients

75g St Helen's Farm goats' butter
75g soft brown sugar
75g oats
75g muesli
1 tablespoon golden syrup
25g dried apricots - chopped

Method

Melt butter and syrup, add oats, apricots and muesli. Mix well.
Press into 18 cm square baking tin and bake at 170°C, Gas 3 for 20-25 mins or until just brown.
Cool and cut into fingers.

VANILLA GOATS MILK ICE CREAM

VANILLA GOATS MILK ICE CREAM

A lovely vanilla ice cream, using fresh double goats' milk cream

Ingredients

300ml (half pint) St Helen’s Farm goats' milk
Half a vanilla pod
4 egg yolks
100g (4oz) caster sugar
250ml St Helen's Farm double goats' cream (2 x 125g pots)

Method

Pour the milk and the half vanilla pod into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and leave to infuse for a few minutes.
Beat the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl and then carefully add the milk and beat well.
Return the mixture to the saucepan, heat gently and stir continuously until the mixture thickens and forms a film over the back of a wooden spoon. DO NOT BOIL.
Remove saucepan from the heat and leave until cool. Remove the half vanilla pod. Add cream and then stir into the mixture.
Pour into ice cream maker and follow instructions. Alternatively, turn the mixture into a freezer tray or basin and freeze until mushy.
Remove from the freezer and whisk for about 2 minutes. Return to freezer until firm.

Makes 750ml of ice cream.

SCOTCH PANCAKES

SCOTCH PANCAKES

When I was a child, we often had Scotch pancakes (out of a packet) when we got home from school. And the thing - for those of you who don't know - about Scotch pancakes is that they are not eaten like pancakes - hot with syrup and a knife and fork - but like toast, spread with butter and jam. I always remember them being on the cold side of lukewarm, but I think warm, though not so hot as to burn your fingers, is what you're aiming for.
- Nigella Lawson

Ingredients

½ teaspoon(s) white wine vinegar
150 ml milk
110 gram(s) plain flour
½ teaspoon(s) bicarbonate of soda
1 medium egg(s)
1 tablespoon(s) vegetable oil
1 tablespoon(s) golden syrup

Method

Put the vinegar into the (preferably room temperature) milk and set aside while you measure out the other ingredients.
Put the flour into a wide-necked jug or bowl and add the bicarbonate of soda.
In another jug or bowl add the egg, oil, and then with the oily spoon measure the syrup in and whisk everything together.
Add the vinegary milk, and then add the jug of wet ingredients to the dry, whisking to a batter.
Heat a flat griddle or heavy non-stick pan with no oil. Add 1½ tablespoons of batter to make each Scotch pancake, and then when bubbles appear flip them over to make them golden brown on either side.

CALEDONIAN ICE CREAM

CALEDONIAN ICE CREAM

This is a recipe from Glasgow’s Ubiquitous Chip restaurant brought to the masses by Delia Smith in her Summer Collection book.  Serves 8.  I’ve tried this recipe at home and it works well with our without an ice cream maker.

Ingredients

For the caramelised oatmeal

3 oz (75g) caster sugar
4 tablespoons water
2 oz (50g) pinhead oatmeal

For the syrup

4 oz (110g) caster sugar
4 tablespoons water

For the ice cream

1 pint whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Start by making the caramelised oatmeal. Put the caster sugar and water into a small saucepan over a low heat and leave it for 5 minutes. Then take a medium sized frying pan, place it on a medium heat and when the pan is hot, add the oatmeal and swirl it round the pan constantly so that it browns evenly – which it will do in about 5 minutes. Remove the oatmeal to a plate to prevent it becoming over-brown. By now the sugar in the saucepan will have dissolved so you can turn the heat up and let it boil. Watch it very closely until it becomes a rich brown caramel colour. Stir in the toasted oatmeal, remove from the heat and quickly pour the mixture onto a baking sheet lined with baking parchment. Put to one side to get cold and firm (about 15 minutes).  Then take off small pieces at a time and pound them in a pestle and mortar until they are the size of large salt crystals (you could do this carefully in a food processor too but don’t overdo it and reduce it to too fine a powder).  Put to one side in an airtight container until you are ready to make the ice cream.

To make the sugar syrup, measure the sugar and water into a small saucepan, place it over a gentle heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved – about 5 minutes.
 Then remove from the heat and allow to become completely cold.

To make the ice cream, pour the cold syrup into a mixing bowl along with the whipping cream and vanilla extract.
Whisk with an electric whisk or mixer until the mixture just begins to thicken and hold its shape.
Then pour into an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions until firm but still pliable.
If you don’t have an ice cream maker, freeze the mixture until firm but pliable in a large plastic container, beating vigorously every half hour or so with a wooden spoon.
Transfer to a bowl, stir in the oatmeal mixture, fold it in then spoon the ice cream into a loaf tin 7 1/2 by 4 1/2 by 3 1/2 inches.
Cover with a double thickness of foil and freeze until needed.

To serve, remove from the freezer to the refrigerator about 30 minutes before you need it. Dip the base and sides of the loaf tin into hot water for 10 seconds or so, loosen round the edges with a palette knife, then turn onto a plate.  Using a sharp knife dipped in hot water, cut into neat slices.

CRANACHAN WITH CARAMELISED OATMEAL AND RASPBERRY SAUCE

CRANACHAN WITH CARAMELISED OATMEAL AND RASPBERRY SAUCE

One of my own favourite Scottish desserts. In The Summer Collection we made Caledonian ice cream with caramelised oatmeal and now we’ve discovered it works really well with Cranachan. We find that frozen Scottish (or British) raspberries work better than the expensive imported fresh ones at Christmas.
- Delai Smith

Ingredients

 50g caster sugar, plus 3 heaped tablespoons
 125g pinhead oatmeal
 450g raspberries, frozen
 3 tablespoons whisky
 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
 450ml whipping cream

A small baking sheet, lightly oiled, and six sturdy conical (or other) 275ml serving glasses.

Method

To make the caramelised oatmeal, put 50g caster sugar and 2 tablespoons of water in a small saucepan over a low heat and leave it for 5 minutes. Then take a medium-sized frying pan. Place it on a medium heat and, when the pan is hot, add the oatmeal and swirl it round in the pan constantly so it browns evenly – which it will do in 5 minutes. Then quickly remove the oatmeal to a glass heatproof jug to prevent it becoming too brown. By now the sugar crystals in the pan will have dissolved, so you can turn the heat right up and let it boil (watching it like a hawk) until it begins to turn a rich caramel colour, rather like dark runny honey.

As soon as it reaches that stage, stir in the toasted oatmeal, remove it from the heat and quickly pour the mixture on to the oiled baking sheet then leave it on one side to get cool and firm (which will take approximately 15 minutes). Now break it up into small pieces then crush it in a processor until the tiny pinhead oats have become separate again.

Next deal with the raspberries by putting them (still frozen) into a medium saucepan with the remaining caster sugar and heat until the raspberries start to defrost and collapse. Bring them up to a gentle simmer and cook them for about 5 minutes, then cool and whiz them to a purée in a processor and finally push through a nylon sieve to extract the pips.

Now add the whisky and vanilla to the cream and whip it to the floppy stage. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the caramelised oatmeal for garnish, then fold in the rest into the whipped cream. Put a heaped tablespoonful of cream in each glass, then a couple of tablespoonfuls of purée and repeat, finishing with the cream. Lastly sprinkle on the reserved oatmeal. Cover and chill in the fridge till needed.