My Open Kitchen Gathering 2018 + Quince Scones

Last month I attended the first ever My Open Kitchen Gathering in Orange NSW which was hosted and organised by Sophie Hansen of the blog Local is Lovely. The My Open Kitchen project stemmed from Sophie’s Rural Woman of the Year win in 2016 and encompasses an e-course, podcast, workshops and now this Gathering. All are focused on the food and farming community and learning to bring social media into the fold to make better connections. 

The My Open Kitchen Gathering brought together ‘IRL’ all the things that are taught in the e-course and that are spoken of on the podcast, with a series of panel discussions from some super interesting women in the food/photography/social media space. The keynote speaker for the day was Sara Taster of the blog Me & Orla. Coming all the way from the UK to speak, having Sara there was like an amazing private live episode of her podcast Hashtag Authentic. Sara spoke eloquently on her Instagram and small business journey, and about how we all have a unique and unrepeatable opportunity in life as each of us are unique and unrepeatable. 

My Open Kitchen Gathering 2018, held at the Old Convent in Borenore NSW.

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My Open Kitchen Gathering 2018 - The final panel discussion of the day

The day also brought together lots of ‘Insta-friends’ and My Open Kitchen e-course friends, and it was so great to finally meet these lovely ladies in person and catch up with those I’ve met at previous workshops. As My Open Kitchen has a heavy focus on farmers and producers, there was a little marketplace where attendees could sell some of their produce/wares during the lunch break on the day. I was particularly interested in the dried quinces sold by Sue of Singing Magpie Produce. After being in the same e-course group as Sue late last year, I had heard a little about her products and was very intrigued by the quinces. I managed to sample a little of the quince - which was absolutely amazing, but missed out on buying a packet. A week or so after the Gathering I ordered some online and eagerly awaited their arrival. 

When my package from Singing Magpie Produce arrived it made my week. I was having a particularly bad week having been bed ridden after complications from a procedure in hospital I had the week after the Gathering. The quinces are a deep burgundy colour and have a slightly sticky texture, not all shrivelled up and bone dry like dried fruits from the supermarket shelf. I kept them in my room for a few days as an emergency snack until I was feeling better and was allowed to move about again. I then began thinking about how I could bake with them. The below recipe for quince scones is what I came up with. I figured if dried dates and sultanas can go in scones, then why not these?

Quince Scones

Quince Scones

Ingredients: 

450g self-raising flour

2 tsp baking powder

3 tbsp icing sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

200ml cream

125ml sparkling water

2 tbsp lemon juice

80g dried quince, chopped into small pieces

1 egg, lightly beaten  

unsalted butter, to serve

Method: 

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Line a large baking tray with baking paper, and dust a little flour over the top. 

Place the flour, icing sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl, and sift over the baking powder. Using a whisk mix the dry ingredients together.

In a jug, quickly and briefly whisk the cream, water and lemon juice together, then add to the dry ingredients. Add the chopped dried quince and mix together with a flat bladed knife, then turn out on to a lightly floured bench. Lightly knead the dough to bring it together, then press to dough out until it is 2-3cm thick. 

Using a 4.5/5cm cutter cut out rounds from the dough, dusting the cutter with flour if the dough sticks too much. Place the rounds on the prepared tray, leaving no gaps in between each round. Bring the dough back together and continue cutting until it is all used up. 

Brush the tops of the cut scones with the beaten egg ensuring only the tops are covered and it doesn’t drip down the sides. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden and puffed. Turn the tray around in the oven about halfway through so they cook and colour more evenly. 

Serve warm with the butter. 

Makes 18-20. 

Reference: ‘Bill’s Basics’ by Bill Granger (HarperCollins Publishers, 2010), p.50.

Parmesan & Thyme Scones

These scones seem to be a massive crowd pleaser every time I make them. I have heard the odd passing comment about never having heard of savoury scones before, but those scone doubters appear well at ease with the concept once they taste them! 

The recipe came about, around this time last year, when I put together an afternoon tea and shared some of the how to's on the website Liveability and in this post. I had decided on savoury scones because as I was baking everything for the afternoon tea, I felt that making mini quiches or similar would just take up far too much of my time. The weather was also quite hot, so baking things that not only had relatively short cook times seemed necessary and serving hot food on a hot day seemed a little ridiculous. 

Despite this, I still needed a couple of savoury elements to balance the sweet things I had planned to make. I decided on these scones, as they fit my short cook time criteria and I knew that if all the scones weren't eaten on the day, the leftovers would freeze well. 

The flavour combination ended up being a little bit of a fluke. I had always planned on using thyme, having tried a couple of savoury scones at The Tea Salon in Sydney with thyme, I then really wanted to make some myself. The original recipe I used called for cheddar, so I bought some. 

Unfortunately once I opened the cheddar it was mouldy, and had to be thrown out. Luckily we always have Parmesan in the fridge, so I used that instead and the flavour combination turned out really well. I have since stated using Grana Padano instead of Parmesan, as I prefer the slightly stronger flavour. 

So finally after a year, these scones make an appearance here on the blog. I hope they become an crowd pleaser for you too! 

Parmesan & Thyme Scones

Ingredients: 

450g self-raising flour

2 tsp baking powder

75g grated Parmesan or Grana Padano cheese, plus extra

2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves, plus extra 

200ml cream

125ml sparkling water

2 tbsp lemon juice

full cream milk, for brushing 

unsalted butter, to serve

Method: 

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Line a large baking tray with baking paper, and dust a little flour over the top. 

Place the flour, cheese and thyme in a large bowl, and sift over the baking powder. Mix the dry ingredients together, adding more thyme if it is looking a little sparse. 

In a jug, quickly and briefly whisk the cream, water and lemon juice together, then add to the dry ingredients. Mix together with a flat bladed knife, then turn out on to a lightly floured bench. Lightly knead the dough to bring it together, then press to dough out until it is 2-3cm thick. 

Using a 4.5/5cm cutter cut out rounds from the dough, dusting the cutter with flour if the dough sticks too much. Place the rounds on the prepared tray, leaving no gaps in between each round. Bring the dough back together and continue cutting until it is all used up (you should get about 20 rounds). 

Brush the tops of the cut scones with the milk, and sprinkle with the extra cheese and thyme. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden and puffed. Turn the tray in the oven about halfway through so they cook and colour more evenly. 

Serve warm with the butter and extra fresh thyme leaves if desired. 

Reference: ‘Bill’s Basics’ by Bill Granger (HarperCollins Publishers, 2010), p.50.

Hot Cross Scones

Having made hot cross buns last year and posted the recipe here, I was slightly at a loss as how to celebrate Easter with baked goods (which is clearly the only way I celebrate anything). Not being able to eat chocolate, also messes with the whole Easter/Easter baking thing too. 

However, inspiration struck last weekend, whilst out with friends. My friends and I are regulars at The Tea Salon in Sydney Westfield. We love it, and nine times out of ten we will end up there when we meet up in the city. We were there in February, and they had a scone of the month which was rose and white chocolate, to celebrate Valentine’s Day. It was so good, that I now actually look at what the specials are! 

While we were there last weekend, one friend immediately saw the new scone of the month, and pointed it out to me. The scone was a ‘hot cross scone’ to celebrate Easter. In that moment, I suddenly thought, I could make something like this! This could be exactly the Easter baking I had been looking for. 

I ordered the hot cross scone, and needless to say it was great. It was served with orange marmalade, which although I’m not a fan of marmalade, a very small scraping of it definitely complemented the spices and sultanas in the scone. 

On the train journey home all I could think about was how to recreate this scone. I decided on merging my favourite scone recipe (recently posted here) and the hot cross bun recipe I like to use.

They are quite quick and easy to make, and would make a nice last minute Easter baking treat. Without the cross piped over the top, they become less hot cross scones, and more spiced sultana scones, making them great year round. Once cooled they freeze well in a zip-lock bag. 

Ingredients: 

4 cups self-raising flour 

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup pouring or thickened cream 

375-400 ml milk 

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp mixed spice

1 tsp lemon zest

1 tsp orange zest 

120 g sultanas 

Ingredients for the Cross: 

75 g plain flour

1/2 tsp sunflower or vegetable oil 

105 ml cold water 

butter or margarine, to serve 

Method: 

Pre-heat oven to 250 degrees Celsius, and line a large baking tray with baking paper. 

In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, spices, zests and sultanas, then add the cream and 375 ml of the milk. Stir using a flat bladed knife or icing spatula to form a soft dough, adding more milk if the dough is too dry. 

Dust a work surface with flour, and turn the dough out. Lightly knead until the dough comes together. 

Press the dough out to 2cm thick. Using a 5 cm (approx.) round cutter, cut out scones from the dough and place onto the prepared tray so they are just touching. Pull dough scraps together and press out to 2.5cm thick. Cut out remaining scones, and continue to use the scraps (adding .5cm to the thickness each time when pressed out), if necessary. 

In a small bowl mix together the oil, flour and most of the water to form a smooth, slightly runny paste. If the mixture is too dry gradually add more water and mix well. 

Spoon the paste into a piping bag, and pipe a cross over each scone.

Bake for 12-15 minutes. Scones will be risen and golden when ready. Serve warm with butter or margarine.

References to original versions of both recipes can be found in earlier posts, linked in above text.  

All baking, styling and photography for this post by Kathryn Vincent of Kulinary Adventures of Kath. 

Vanilla Scones & Homemade Strawberry Jam

I love scones. I’m pretty sure I’ve made that clear before. But just in case anyone forgot my favourite meal is afternoon tea, I’ve taken the opportunity during my cookbook challenge to use two recipes (from two separate books) to remind you again. 

I’ve made these scones before, and they are super easy to make. This was the first time I have added vanilla to the recipe, however they are equally as good if you leave it out. These scones freeze well, just place them in a zip-lock bag after they have cooled and put them in the freezer. 

I have never made jam before, and when I saw this recipe (in a book I have owned for a few years and never used!), I thought it was worth a try. It is a simple recipe and yields two jars of jam, which will keep in the fridge for 6 months. I found the jam extraordinarily tasty (better than any supermarket bought one), however very runny! I followed the recipe exactly, however if I made it again I would use jam sugar with added pectin instead of caster sugar, in the hope that would help it set a little more. 

If making both these recipes, I suggesting making the jam a day or so before. This gives it ample time to cool, and (hopefully) set. And as it has quite a long shelf life, it does not matter if it’s not made the same day as serving. 

Recipe for Strawberry Jam

Ingredients: 

400g strawberries, hulled and halved 

450g caster sugar 

4 tsp fresh lemon juice 

x 2 375g capacity jars (I used two old ‘Bonne Maman’ jam jars and they were the perfect size). 

Method: 

Pre-heat oven to 140 degrees Celsius or 120 degrees Celsius fan. 

Combine the strawberries and sugar in a medium-large sized saucepan and place on a medium-high heat. Allow to simmer, stirring frequently. 

Reduce the heat to medium and allow to simmer for one hour or until thickened. Stir occasionally. 

During the hour the jam is simmering, prepare the jam jars. Wash both jars (and lids) in hot soapy water, then rinse in warm water. Place jars upside down on a rack in the pre-heated oven, for 30 minutes. 

After the hour or when the jam has thickened, remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice. 

Pour jam into warm jars, seal with the lid and allow to cool. Store in the fridge. 

Original Recipe from ‘The Vintage Tea Party Book’ by Angel Adoree (Mitchell Beazley (2011), p.84). 

Recipe for Vanilla Scones 

Ingredients: 

4 cups self-raising flour 

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup pouring or thickened cream 

375-400 ml milk 

1 tsp vanilla bean paste 

jam and cream, to serve 

Method: 

Pre-heat oven to 250 degrees Celsius, and line a large baking tray with baking paper. 

In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt, then add the cream, 375 ml of the milk and the vanilla bean paste. Stir using a flat bladed knife or icing spatula to form a soft dough, adding more milk if the dough is too dry. 

Dust a work surface with flour, and turn the dough out. Lightly knead until the dough comes together. 

Press the dough out to 2cm thick. Using a 5.5cm (approx.) round cutter, cut out scones from the dough and place onto the prepared tray so they are just touching. Pull dough scraps together and press out to 2.5cm thick. Cut out remaining scones, and continue to use the scraps (adding .5cm to the thickness each time when pressed out), if necessary. 

Bake for 12-15 minutes. Scones will be risen and golden when ready. Serve warm with jam and cream. 

Recipe Originally from ‘Fast, Fresh & Fabulous’ by Janelle Bloom (Ebury Press (2008), p.141).

All baking, styling and photography for this post by Kathryn Vincent of Kulinary Adventures of Kath.