It’s the start of half-term and as usual I am in the kitchen preparing pancakes for brunch for my brood, its a tradition in our family and one that, however old the Children become, a tradition they still love and always ask for. Watching Luca licking the bowl of a Victoria sponge batter that I have just baked, got me to thinking about Children, the memories we have of our childhood and how they are created. Recently one of Luca’s friends was here when I was baking a chocolate torte for dessert and I offered him & Luca the bowl, he replied, ‘I don’t like licking the bowl’! Was this just personal preference, or did his Mother just not bake and he had never tried it, I didn’t push it, but I do love the memories that food and food preparation have created over the years for my Family.

Now anyone that knows me will know that I am not a Royalist and as a family we do not have any jubilee plans, but I do remember celebrating the Queen’s Silver Jubilee and my primary school being invited to a street party at Knep Castle and dancing around the May Pole. Were Summers really longer, hotter, I don’t know, but I hope when my children grow up they will look back and have fond memories.

My idea of a good Jubilee celebration would be a yummy afternoon tea, gorgeous garden setting, pretty bunting blowing lazily in the breeze, tiny sandwiches with the crust cut off, scones dripping in cream and homemade jam and of course a Victoria sponge cake, so if this has inspired you and you feel the urge to bake this Jubilee weekend I have put together below a few of my favourite afternoon tea bakes.

Long live the Queen.

Jubilee Scones


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
225g self-raising flour
75g butter, chilled, cut in small pieces
50g Vanilla Sugar (You could use ordinary caster sugar, but as a Prepped fan, I now have a selection of flavoured sugars ready at hand)
¼ tsp salt
125ml buttermilk ( ordinary milk will do, I used ordinary milk & they were still divine)
3–4 tbsp milk ( I didn’t add this, the dough was just perfect without it, if I had used buttermilk, then maybe I may of needed to add it)
Extra flour, for dusting
Vanilla Sugar, for sprinkling
1 egg, beaten, for the glaze
 
Preheat the oven to 180˚C/gas mark 4.
 
Put the flour, butter, salt and sugar into a bowl. Mix well. Make a well in the centre and add the buttermilk. Bring the mixture together to form a dough. If the dough seems a bit too dry, add a little more buttermilk, a teaspoon at a time. Being the cheat that I am, I did all this in my Artisan!
 
Turn out onto a floured work surface and use your hands to form a 2.5cm round. Cut out shapes from this, depending on your preference, and put them on a baking tray. I rolled mine out with a rolling pin to 2.5cm and then used a heart cutter, they looked so cute.
 
Glaze the scones with the beaten egg and bake for 18–20 minutes and sprinkle with sugar.
Cool on a wire rack. If you want to freeze these scones do so as soon as they are cool.
 
Enjoy the same day, they are so much nicer fresh. You can freeze them when they have cooled, but I love mine warm from the oven dripping with butter in the colder months and this time of the year they are just perfect with strawberries and cream.
 
Jubilee Celebration Gateau
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Serves 6 – 8
1 large ready-made flan case
750ml double cream
100g caster sugar
1 vanilla pod, seeds only
1 shot of Drambuie (this is what James Martin suggests, I always use Marsala)
200ml ready-made custard
1 punnet of small stawberries
1 1/2 punnets of large strawberries (again this is what Mr Martin suggests, I usually need far less)
1 punnet of mixed berries of your choice
50g icing sugar
fresh mint sprigs
 
Using a 20 – 25cm stainless steel ring, cut out the centre of the flan with a sharp knife, slice the disc in half through the middle so that you end up with two thin discs. This is fairly tricky and you do require a little patience or as in my case as I lack this quality get my lovely Hubby to do this for me.
 
Whip the double cream with 25g of the caster sugar, the vanilla seeds and a shot of booze of your choice, in my case Marsala, to a thick peak consistency. Fold in the custard, then chill in the fridge.
 
Set aside 10 whole, small strawberries for the garnish. Cut the green top from all the remaining strawberries and cut them in half lengthways.
 
Ok if you happen to have James Martins book Desserts, you will at this point realise that he has made a huge cock up as at no point does he mention what one does with the sponges that you cut in half earlier. Lucky for me I have actually seen him make this on his show Sweet Baby James and also it is fairly self explanatory, you take one of the sponges and place it at the bottom of the ring.
 
Then line the ring with the largest strawberry halves, cut side against the ring. You won’t need all of the strawberries so save the remainder for the topping. Place the whipped cream in the ring and gently spread to the edges. Add the rest of the strawberries and smooth the top. Now again I am not sure that I agree with Mr Martin here (Sorry James & yes I know you look very like my Husband) but it doesn’t seem to work that well. So either you can follow the recipe or cut the strawberries smaller or even chop them up smaller and add them to the cream mix, trial and error really, see what works best for you.
 
Now at this point Mr Martin tells you to lift the cake to a plate and remove the ring and if you had been following his recipe you would now have a big mess all over your kitchen. I advise that you build it on the plate you wish to serve it on right from the start.
 
Then, again Mr Martin misses this bit of the instructions, but you now place the last piece of sponge on top of your cake and I highly recommend placing it in the fridge to set.
 
Once set you can decorate it how you wish, I have made this gateau three times now and have decorated it differently each time. Again my wonderful Hubby has a helping hand as like his look a like he also loves to spin sugar, so very often this will be served with some of his handy work.
 
Please note if allowing your Hubby or significant other to do this, I advised sending them outside at this point as men tend to be rather messy creatures and given hot sugar syrup is a recipe for disaster !!! You have been warned.
 
Anyway, place the remaining caster sugar into a very clean pan and heat gently until it caramelizes, then remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly, James again does not tell you what to do with the pan of molten sugar but it is to be spun to decorate the top of the cake, its messy & tricky & can be missed out as there are so many other ways you can decorate this cake, but if you fancy a go, here are the instructions.
 
To spin the sugar, take a whisk with the bottom snipped off with pliers, so that you have a whisk that is simply a handle with spikes. Alternatively you can take two forks placed back to back and hold tightly. Dip the whisk into the syrup and flick the whisk back and forth over a broom handle or rolling pin to create long hair like strands. Next gather up the strands of spun sugar and create your shape by simply moulding the strands in your hands.
 
Next dredge the top of your cake thickly with a coating of icing and take a metal skewer that has been heated until red hot and score the top of the gateau in lines (again best done outside if possible as we set the fire alarm off when we did this), to create a diamond pattern. Dress the top with the remaining strawberries and the berries and garnish with a fresh sprig of mint.
 
Jubilee Victoria Sponge
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
175g English butter
175g caster sugar
3 eggs, beaten
175g self-raising flour
30ml jam (flavour of your choice, but strawberry or raspberry is more traditional)
caster sugar to dredge
 
Butter two 7 inch sandwich tins and line the base of each with a round of buttered greaseproof paper.
 
Beat the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs a little at a time, beating well after each addition. Fold in half the flour, using a metal spoon, then fold in the rest.
 
I always sieve the flour and I must admit that I don’t fold the flour in, I just gentle mix it in using the Artisan.
 
Place half the mixture into each tin and level gently with a spatula or knife.
 
Bake in a preheated oven at 190c, 375f, gas 5 for about 20 minutes, until they are well risen, lightly golden and coming away from the sides. This will depend obviously on what kind of tin you are using, or if you are making fairy cakes. Just keep an eye on it.
 
A good test is, if you touch the sponge gently it should bounce bake.
 
Turn out and cool on a wire rack.
 
Once cool and if you are making a Victorial Sponge, sandwich the two halves together with a layer of jam and sprinkle the top with caster sugar.
 
You are now ready for afternoon tea, so invite the girls round and get that kettle on.
 
Variations :
The sponge pictured was made as above, but just baked in a ring mould, filled with fresh cream whipped with a little icing sugar to sweeten and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla essence and just topped with fresh strawberries. Quick, simple, dessert made for dinner.
 
Add the finely grated rind of one orange or lemon to the mixture. Sandwich the cakes together with orange or lemon butter frosting and use some juice from the fruit to make a glace icing.
 
A fun idea would to make the ring mould sponge, drizzle with glace icing, cover in glitter and sprinkles and fill the centre of the cake with dolly mixtures, the kids would love it.
 
I could go on, but I know you will all come up with your own lovely creations.
 
Rhubarb Jam
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1kg rhubarb , weighed after trimming, cut into 3cm chunks
  
1kg jam sugar (or 1kg caster sugar plus 1 x 8g sachet pectin – we used Tate & Lyle)
  
2 vanilla pods , halved lengthways
  
juice 1 lemon
 
Put a small plate in the freezer. Put the rhubarb into a preserving pan or your largest saucepan with the sugar and halved vanilla pods. Heat gently, stirring, until all the sugar has dissolved, then squeeze in the lemon juice and increase the heat.
  
Boil for about 10 mins, skimming off the scum as you go (the fruit should be soft). Test for setting point by spooning a little onto your chilled plate. After 1-2 mins, push your finger through the jam – if the surface wrinkles it is ready, if not, keep cooking for 2-min intervals, testing in between. (Or if you have a sugar thermometer it should reach 105C)
 
Once the jam is ready, let it cool for about 15 mins before ladling into warm sterilised jars and sealing. Will keep for 6 months in a cool, dark place.
 
What ever you decide to do this weekend I hope you all have a really lovely time and create lots and lots of happy memories.