Milk And Honey Tea Cake Food

MILK AND HONEY CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8-inch round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper and grease the parchment.
• Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large bowl.
• In a small bowl, beat eggs until smooth.
• In a medium bowl, stir together buttermilk, honey and vanilla.
• Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter on medium speed to break it up, then gradually beat in sugar, continuing to beat until very light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
• With the mixer on medium speed, add eggs, 1 tablespoon at a time. If the mixture looks curdled at any point, add 1 tablespoon of the flour mixture to bind it back together.
• Reduce mixer to low and mix in a third of the flour mixture. Scrape down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula, then mix in half the buttermilk mixture. Mix in another third of the flour mixture, scraping down sides of bowl, then mix in remaining buttermilk mixture followed by remaining flour. Scrape down bowl.
• Scrape batter evenly into prepared pans and smooth tops with a spatula. Bake until the cake springs back when lightly pressed, and a toothpick inserted into center of the cake comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes.
• Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Run an offset spatula or butter knife around edges of pan to loosen cakes, then unmold onto the rack, remove parchment and allow to cool completely.
• Just before serving, whip the cream with a drizzle or two of honey, to taste (up to 2 tablespoons if you like it sweet). Frost the top of one cake, top with the remaining cake then frost the top of the stacked cake. Drizzle with additional honey and garnish with berries, if you like.

TEACAKES

Steps:

• Warm the milk with the butter in a pan until the butter has melted, then add 100ml water to cool the mixture to room temp. Tip the flour, yeast, sugar, spice and 1 tsp salt into a bowl, making sure the yeast is on the other side of the bowl to the salt. Make a well in the flour mixture and pour the milk and butter in, mixing until it forms big flakes, then bring together with your hands. Tip on a surface and knead until smooth (about 5 mins). Put the dough into a large, lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and leave until doubled in size, so about 1-1 ½ hours.
• Line a tray with baking paper. Tip the mixed dried fruits into the dough and knead them in, trying to disperse them evenly throughout the dough. Cut your dough into 6 even-sized balls, take each ball and, using the cup of your hand, and pressing down a little with your palm, roll the ball in a circular motion on the surface to create tension across the top of the bun and a neat round shape. Place onto a tray about 5cm away from each other and press down with your palm to flatten the dough down a little, creating the teacake shape. Cover loosely with an oiled sheet of cling film, for a further 45 mins, or until they have doubled in size.
• Meanwhile, heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas mark 6. Brush the top of each bun liberally with the egg wash, then bake for 20 mins on the top shelf of the oven, until the buns are golden and well risen. Allow to cool on a wire rack, then slice in half, toast and slather with butter if you like.

TEA CAKE

Steps:

• Add the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix together on high speed until it looks pale yellow, 4 to 5 minutes. Reduce the mixing speed to medium. Add the vanilla extract and molasses Add the egg and mix until the ingredients are fully incorporated. The dough should be a smooth, consistent texture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking soda and set to the side.
• Reduce the mixing speed to low and add the dry ingredients slowly. Mix until all of the dry ingredients are saturated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, folding in any unincorporated ingredients.
• After the dough is well mixed, remove the dough from the mixer and place on a piece of parchment paper. Roll the parchment to create a log approximately 1 1/2 inches in diameter (about 12 inches long). Wrap the log in plastic wrap and place in your refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Remove the chilled, firm log from the refrigerator. Remove the parchment and, using a sharp knife, slice the cookie dough in 1/4-inch circles. Place the cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet. The cookies will expand in the oven, so leave about 1 cookie width of space between them on the sheet (about 12 cookies per sheet). Work quickly, as these cookies should go into the oven while the dough is still cold.
• Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. The cookies are ready when they are just beginning to brown and let off a fragrant brown butter smell. Allow the cookies to cool fully before serving.