Another great email from Betty Anonymous! Special thanks to Ruth from
The Pink Whisk for allowing us to share her recipe (I think this sounds perfect for celebrating the Queen's Jubilee this weekend!).
Dear Betty Debbie,
A while ago, I
looked up recipes for teacakes, since they are mentioned and consumed so
often in the Neels canon. I found this lovely recipe and thought I’d
share it with you. So I wrote an email to the author, Ruth Clemens, to
ask if it was ok for me to 'print' it in a post for our blog, linking it back to her website. Today, I found her answer in my inbox.
Thanks for your email, yes I am happy for you to use the tea cakes recipe linking it back to The Pink Whisk
Many thanks,
Ruth
Now, isn’t that nice of her? So, could you please post it for me, if and when you have the time?
Thank you.
Betty Anonymous
Teacakes
'How about a pot of tea, buttered teacakes and jam? I like jam. 'Eugenia said wistfully, temper for the moment forgotten: 'I used to make jam with Mother. We had a big garden – red currants and plums and gooseberries and strawberries and ...
Heidelberg Wedding, 1984
They were on the A303 by now, going fast through an early dusk, but as a roadside service station came into sight he slowed.
'Tea, don’t you think? We still have quite a way to go.'
Over tea and toasted teacakes she asked him anxiously,
'You don’t have to
drive back this evening, do you? And won’t you be too late for the
evening ferry? I didn’t think – I’m sorry I’ve made things so difficult
for you.'
'Not at all. I’m staying at Salcombe until you’ve got things settled as you want them.'
Emma’s Wedding, 2001, page 112 (of 192)
She saw a Happy
Eater as they approached the city but Sir James didn’t stop; they were
on the other side of Exeter, halfway to Honiton when he stopped outside a
hotel by the side of the road.
'Tea?' He sounded friendly. 'Go on in while I see to Bellum.'
He opened the
door for her and then bent to put a lead on Bellum and she went inside.
It was pleasantly warm with a bright fire and comfortable chairs roung
small tables. First, though, the Ladies’ – plenty of hot water and large
mirrors and time to see her face. Her hair looked awful too. She did
the best she could and went back to find him already at a table with
Bellum sitting on his feet. He got up and pulled out a chair, offering
it to her, and Bellum arranged himself between them.
'Oh, I ordered – you don’t mind? Tea, toasted teacakes
and a dish of pastries.' They didn't linger over the meal and Deborah,
her head full of questions, forbore from asking them because she sensed
that he had no time to waste. He drove on, keeping to the A303 until he ...
Waiting for Deborah, 1994, page 92 (of 192)
He took her to the University Arms and gave her teacakes, hot and dripping with butter,
and then ticked off the items she had bought. 'Raincoat?' he wanted to
know. 'Wellington boots— for when you come with me on my rounds and we
have to walk through muddy farmyards...'
Phoebe went delicately pink. 'Oh, may I come with you sometimes? I’ll like that.'
A Summer Idyll, 1984, page 66 (of 192)
Crisp was waiting for them with tea and toasted teacakes,
and presently Franny took Auntie to the room she was to call her own
until such time as she decided to have her own home again. Franny
settled her on her bed for a nap, ...
The Fortunes of Francesca, 1997, page 190 (of 256)
At Burford he
stopped for tea at a hotel in its steep main street, a warm and cosy
place where they sat in a pleasant room by the fire and ate toasted teacakes oozing butter
and drank the finest Assam tea. 'This is bliss,' said Eulalia, mopping a
buttery mouth. She smiled at him across the little table. 'I've had a
heavenly day. Now we have to go back, don't we?' 'I'm afraid so. I'll
settle up and see you at the car.'...
Dearest Eulalia (Mistletoe Miracles), 2000, page 26 (of 378)
Homemade Teacakes
Homemade
Teacakes – none of this shout ‘whip’ if you find a piece of fruit, lovely toasted
slathering with butter is of course essential!
Makes 8 Teacakes
Ingredients:
500g strong white bread flour
2 tbsps caster sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsps dried yeast or 1 sachet of fast action yeast
330 ml milk, lukewarm
130g sultanas
20g butter, melted for glazing
The dough can be made by hand (muscles at the
ready), on the dough setting in a breadmaker or with a stand mixer – my
method of choice, I’m a weakling or a lazy lump take your pick!
Add the flour, sugar, salt and dry yeast to the bowl of the mixer.
Measure out the milk and warm gently either in
the microwave or in a pan. It should be lukewarm – the warmth gets the
yeast going straight away. Now before you add it to the mixture check
the measurement. A key part of making sure a dough is not too tough or
too sticky is measuring the liquid content correctly. When I do this
double check I often find the milk has either magically evaporated
slightly or has multiplied in volume, nothing at all to do with
measuring incorrectly you understand?!
So, add the right amount of milk, 330ml, to the dry mixture.
Turn the machine on, to medium speed and let it
knead the mixture for you for five minutes. After five minutes turn it
off and let it rest five minutes, then back on for another five. Watch
out the mixer can’t go jumping off the counter, keep your eye on it, set
your mixer up on the floor, at least there it can walk without leaping
from a height
If you’re being good and doing it by hand bring
the dough together and knead for ten whole minutes, set the timer or
you’ll cheat. Don’t add any extra flour to your worksurface, it will
make the dough tougher. It might be a little sticky to begin with but
will soon come together and be manageable for you.
After kneading the dough should be nice and
smooth. Lightly oil a bowl with a little veg/sunflower oil. Add the
ball of dough and turn to coat it. Don’t use a bowl that’s too big and
roomy a 2litre pudding bowl is just right – then the dough is nice and
snug and will fill the bowl once it has doubled in size.
Cover it with clingfilm and put it somewhere
warm, for me it has to be the airing cupboard but maybe your husband
isn’t as mean with the heating!
After an hour to an hour and half the dough will have doubled in size.
Tip it out onto your worksurface and knock it back, punching the air out of it gently with your fists.
Spread the dough out into a rough flat shape and add the sultanas.
Gather the dough up around the fruit sealing it
inside, now you need to the knead the dough to incorporate the sultanas
and distribute them evenly. They’ll try and jump out, just keep
posting them back in and eventually you’ll will the fight.
Split the dough into 8 equal sized pieces, if
you’re measuring they should weigh about 125g each, but doing it by eye
will add to their homemade charm.
Form each piece into a round ball, place your
hand over the ball like a cage with your fingertips touching the
surface, move your hand in a circular motion keeping the tips of your
fingers touching the worktop. That should turn them into neat rolls for
you.
Prepare a baking tray by greasing well, lining with baking paper or bake-o-glide.
Line up the teacakes in two rows.
Cover them with a clean tea towel and leave them to rise again for half an hour or so until puffy and doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 180c (Fan)/200c/Gas Mark 5.
Once the teacakes are risen nicely bake them in the oven for 10 minutes.
Melt the butter and after the ten minutes take the teacakes from the oven and brush liberally all over with the butter.
Return to the oven for a further ten minutes to finish baking.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a
couple of minutes on the tray before transferring to a wire rack to cool
completely.
Homemade teacakes are best eaten
within a day or two of baking, they can be frozen as soon as they have
cooled if you don’t have a hoard of hungry gannets waiting for them to
be toasted and served!
