Biscuits Melt like Lemon Drops

I truly believe that if I do ever find that place 'somewhere over a rainbow', these lemon biscuits may well be what is at the end of it. Move over leprechauns and pots of gold, I no longer wish to find you waiting for me.

These suped-up-lemony little biscuits are just perfect with a cup (or Minnie Mouse cup and saucer, a la me) of steaming hot, sugary earl grey and are sure to set you up for the afternoon that lies ahead, whatever it may bring. Refreshing, but creamy and lemony but sweet; they are a bit Mary Poppins in spirit; practically perfect in every way.

The gorgeous tin I popped them in is from Figgins in Frome, a gorgeous little shop that offers all things old fashioned at a reasonable price. It's newly opened and a genuine treat just to walk around, so imagine my surprise when I saw the perfect cookie jar with 'Eat Me' brandished across it this afternoon, ready to be purchased and brought home.
This jar has made me learn something about myself…I like a pretty jar that tells me to eat the glorious contents inside it. Taking advice from inanimate objects, I'm not sure what that's the start of, but I like it.

This gorgeous little jar, just as a sideline note, seemed to be between £12.00 - £20.00 everywhere I saw it online and I paid an enjoyable £10.00 for it in Figgins. Make a trip when you can (that's not an if, it's a when) and be sure to have free hands/an empty boot. You're sure to come out with wonderful trinkets, kitchen utensils and yummy smelling candles.

So, onto these Lemon Drop Biscuits of mine, it's time for the recipe and expectedly simple method. Genuinely, 20 minutes after you start putting your ingredients in the bowl, you will be tasting these biscuits. I hate those people who say "these were so quick and easy to make" and you know they're lying and it took them hours and numerous uncharacteristic expletives to get to the pristine, finished article, but I promise, these are super simple, unbelievably tasty and relatively mess-free.
That's my sort of cooking.

Ingredients:

115g salted butter
Zest of 3 large lemons
275g caster sugar
1 large egg
60ml fresh lemon juice (this should work out to be the juice of those three lemons you've, so nothing is wasted. Or you can of course use a cheeky bit of Jif lemon, for those who are looking for even quicker comfort food)
270g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder

Method:

1.) Line three baking trays with greaseproof paper and heat your oven to 170 degrees.

2.) Simply beat together all the ingredients until they are somewhere between runny and thick. This mixture will not be a dough-like consistency like some cookies/biscuits are, so don't be afraid and hastily throw this mixture away if it seems a little thin - it makes for an amazingly light, fluffy biscuit when they get taken out of the oven.

3.) Spoon your mixture onto the baking trays. You will need to use about one dessert spoon of the mixture. Ensure you leave about 3cm between each heavenly splodge and cook for approximately 12 minutes (or a little more, until the biscuits look cooked to your taste.)

4.) Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely. At this point, I cut mine into heart shapes which makes them look just as good as they taste, but you can leave them as they are or cut them into alternative shapes - it's all about what makes simple pleasures, pleasurable to you.

5.) Brew your earl grey, sit back and enjoy.

Happy four o'clocksies, everyone.

Frome Independent Market Bakes

On the first Sunday of every month, The Frome Independent Market takes place and it's fast become something I wait the remaining 28-30 days to come around again.

The whole of Frome becomes a sea of stalls selling a lot of locally produced foodie goodness, cute little trinkets, handmade candles and fantastic pictures, paintings and drawings created by local talent. It's an inspiring place to be for a few hours. 

When I went I came back with a haul that included a gorgeous hot air balloon notebook, a heart shaped brie (the one thing that could make brie any better is being heart shaped), a vanilla scented candle in an old milk bottle which, by happy coincidence, had my boyfriend's name on it, a homemade jar of 'slim jim' marmalade, a box of bath melts and bath bombs from Herbs on the Hill and lastly, the showstopper, a box of Earl Grey marshmallows, made by EatToastDunkMe.

These gorgeous marshmallows are cubes of white with a unique purple swirl throughout eat piece, making them as visually appealing as they are delicious. I simply had to bake with them, they near enough begged for me to.

I decided to make earl grey and lemon cupcakes, with an earl grey marshmallow chunk aloft and it resulted in one of the nicest moments of what I like to call 'afternoon-tea-me-time', I've ever had.

I'm going to share my recipe with you all now, but I must insist you invest in and use the EatToastDunkMe marshmallows for the top - nothing else will do. For my cupcakes I used two-tone icing (theres a post a few months back on my blog on how to do this!) this is of course optional, but it is wonderfully in keeping with the marshmallow on top.

Recipe

Ingredients for the Sponge:

• 4 Earl Grey Teabags
• 3 tbsp boiled water
• 80g butter
• 280g caster sugar
• 240g plain flour
• 1tbsp baking powder
• 200ml whole milk
• 2 large eggs

Ingredients for the Frosting:

• 80g of unsalted butter (at room temperature)
• 250g icing sugar
• The zest of five lemons
• A few drops of yellow food colouring (optional but pretty!)
• 25 ml of whole milk 

Method:

1. Firstly, pop four earl grey teabags into a mug, with three tbsp of boiling water and just leave to stew while you prepare the rest of the mixture. A lot of recipes will tell you to use less teabags or not leave them to stew for as long, but I don't think the flavour comes through strong enough otherwise, especially with the rather citrusy icing I have in created for the top (you're in for a treat with that, lemon lovers!)
2. Then choose your cupcake cases/any decorations you wish to use - for regular bakers this is arguably one of the loveliest parts of the baking process, so feel free to take your time with this - then place them into your cupcake baking tray and heat your oven to 170 degrees (based on a fan assisted oven.)
3. Lastly, beat together your sponge ingredients, until smooth, adding the earl grey brew last, before spooning into your cupcake cases. Only fill each cupcake case to about half full (of half empty, depending on your life viewpoint) otherwise the mixture will spill out while cooking and cupcakes simply must be beautiful, dahhhhhling.
4. Cook your cakes for around 30 minutes, until cooked through before leaving to cool completely. I usually allow about an hour for this - just enough time to take a bath or watch a couple of episodes of the Big Bang Theory or, on the right day, have a self-indulgent afternoon nap. Whatever you do with you time, enjoy.
5. Once completely cool, get zesting those lemons and beat together your frosting ingredients. If you do decided to go two-tone (and why wouldn't you) simply spoon half of the mixture into your piping bag and add purple food colouring to the remaining half, before spooning into the other half of the bag.
6. Then simply pipe onto the cakes, starting from the edge and working your way in or, if you like a little less icing then simply pipe straight onto the middle to create on 'iced gem' sort of shape. This looks beautiful too. Then decorate as you wish. Serve and enjoy.

Earl Grey Sponge with Lemon Buttercream Icing

These are a beautiful summery, mid-afternoon cupcake. The earl grey gives them a beautiful richness while the lemon adds something a bit special and tangy to them. Don't be shy with the amount of lemon you put in your frosting, if you think it needs more, add it, just be aware you will also need to increase the amount of icing sugar you use.

      I opted to use blue gingham cases and a simple, chocolate silver heart dragée on the top, because it's a quintessentially British mouthful and deserves to be treated as such :)

My Recipe (Makes around 16 cakes)

(For The Sponge)

5 Earl Grey teabags
100ml just boiled water
80g butter
280g caster sugar
240g plain flour
1 tbsp baking powder
200ml semi skimmed milk
2 large eggs

(For The Frosting)

50ml semi skimmed milk
500g icing sugar
160g butter
2 tbsp lemon juice

• The only thing I will point out is that while mixing your sponge ingredients together, you should leave you teabags soaking in their 100ml of water. It worked out nicely that once I had combined all my ingredients, my earl grey was stewed enough to add in.
• Otherwise, set your oven to 190ºC (Gas Mark 5) and cook for 18-20 minutes. Remove until cool and then decorate as you please!

Enjoy, K x