Marshmallow Brownies

• 100g unsalted butter or margarine
• 50g plain chocolate broken into pieces
• 75g marshmallows
• 125g soft, dark brown sugar
• 2 medium eggs, beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 100g self raising flour
• pinch of salt
• 50g chopped walnuts
• Icing sugar for dusting

Makes 12 brownies

1. Grease an 8" by 2" deep baking tin.
2. Preheat the oven to 180º C.
3. Put the butter, chocolate and marshmallows in a medium sized pan and heat gently until melted, stirring continuously.
4. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
5. Add the sugar, beaten eggs and vanilla essence then stir in the flour, salt and walnuts.
6. Spoon into the prepared tin and smooth the surface with the back of a spoon.
7. Cook in the oven for 30 minutes or until the surface is set and crispy.
8. Turn out of the tin and leave to cool slightly before dusting with icing sugar and slicing to serve.

Delicious warm with cream or ice cream, or simply by themselves!

Banana Walnut Bread

• 4 medium bananas (approx 350g)
• 175g walnuts
• 1 teaspoon baking powder (rounded)
• 1 level teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 110g plain flour
• 110g wholewheat flour
• grated zest 1 orange
• grated zest 1 lemon
• 110g room temperature butter
• 175g brown sugar
• 2 eggs (room temperature)

You will need a 2lb (9oog) loaf tin

1. Preheat the oven to 180º C.
2. Spread out the walnuts on a baking sheet and lightly toast for 7-8 minutes.
3. Remove from the oven, allow to cool briefly and roughly chop.
4. Peel and mash 3 of the bananas to a puree with a fork and chop the other into 1/2" chunks.
5. Sift the salt, baking powder, cinnamon and both flours into a large bowl. Hold the sieve high for a good airing.
6. Add all the remaining ingredients, except the walnuts and chopped banana, and beat the mixture first slowly then faster to mix thoroughly and smoothly.
7. Fold in the walnuts and banana.
8. The mixture needs to be able to drop easily off a spoon when given a sharp tap on the side of the bowl. If yours doesn't add a small drop of milk to get the right consistency.
9. Pile the mixture into a greased loaf tin and level the top with a back of a spoon.
10. Lightly sprinkle the top with brown sugar.
11. Bake in the centre of the oven for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours until the cake feels springy to the touch and a skewer in the centre comes out clean.
12. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack.
    

Regular Scones

• 350g all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 113g butter
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 egg lightly beaten

Makes 8 scones

1. Preheat the oven to 205º C.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.
3. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles course crumbs.
4. Slowly add the milk and egg and stir until just combined. The mixture should be sticky and moist and slightly lumpy.
5. Place the mixture on a lightly floured surface and knead gently to a smooth dough.
6. Roll out the dough to 1/2" thick.
7. Cut out the scones and place on a lightly greased baking tray.
8. Prick the scones very lightly with a fork.
9. Bake in the centre of the oven until golden brown (approx 10-15 minutes).
10. Turn out onto a wire rack and cool.

These scones are delicious warm with a little butter or cold with some freshly whipped cream and raspberry jam.

The key to making light scones is to be as quick as you can when mixing the ingredients and knead the dough lightly. The less time you spend with your hands in dough, the lighter they will be!

Cheese Scones

• 180g self raising flour
• 30g butter
• 1 large egg
• 2 - 2 1/2 tablespoons milk
• 125g grated cheese (cheddar is fine)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
• Cayenne pepper to taste

Makes 8 scones.

1. Preheat the oven to 220º C.
   
2. Mix the flour, salt and pepper together.
3. Rub in the butter then mix in the cheese.
4. In a separate bowl beat the egg and add in the milk.
5. Slowly add the mixture to the dry ingredients to make a soft, elastic dough.
6. Roll out the mix to about 1 cm thick.
7. Cut out the scones and place on a greased baking tray.
8. Brush the tops with milk and sprinkle a little cheese and pepper on top.
9. Bake on a high shelf until golden brown and cooked through. Roughly 10-15 minutes.
10. Turn out on a wire rack and leave to cool.

Delicious served slightly warm.

Crepes

• 110g all purpose flour
• pinch of salt
• 2 eggs
• 200ml milk
• 75ml water
• 2oz melted butter

Makes 8 pancakes

1. Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl and leave to sit for half an hour.
2. Heat a frying pan to a high temperature and add a tiny amount of oil to grease.
3. Add a spoonful of the pancake mixture and swirl around the pan to make a thin coating.
4. Flip the pancake half way over during cooking. Cook until light to golden brown.

Serve however takes your fancy. I love mine traditional style with lemon and sugar!

Belgium Waffles

• 1 1/4 cups sifted all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 cup sugar (I prefer caster)
• pinch of salt
• 4 eggs seperated
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup melted butter

Makes 8 waffles

1. Preheat a waffle iron.
2. Beat the egg whites until they are stiff but not dry and transfer to a small bowl.
3. In a medium to large mixing bowl lightly beat the egg yolks and add in the milk, vanilla extract and melted butter.
4. Sift all the dry ingredients into the bowl and stir just enough to combine and make a smooth batter.
5. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter.
6. Bake in a seasoned waffle iron on a medium heat until the steam stops escaping.

Delicious served with golden or maple syrup, melted chocolate, vanilla ice cream, or any combination you prefer!

American Style Pancakes

• 2 eggs, separated
• 1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 3 tablespoons sugar (I prefer caster)
  
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted

Makes 12 pancakes

1. Separate the egg yolks and whites.
2. In a bowl beat the egg whites until stiff and set aside.

3. In a separate bowl sift together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Sift the ingredients from a good height to add more air to the mixture.

4. Beat egg yolks in a medium mixing bowl, add milk and melted butter.

5. Add to the dry ingredients in the large bowl and mix until a smooth batter is formed.

6. Gently fold in the beaten egg whites.

7. Heat a frying pan or griddle to a medium heat and grease with a little butter.
8. Add a spoonful of the mixture to the pan and cook both sides until golden brown. Flip them when you can see little bubbles on the surface.

They are delicious served with golden syrup, maple syrup, vanilla ice cream, or just on their own.

If you find the pancakes to be too cakey in texture, try cutting down on the baking powder next time or using a touch of milk to thin them out.