Happy Yorkshire Day!

I thought that to celebrate Yorkshire day I would post my recipe for Yorkshire puddings.  There are many recipes for Yorkshire’s but this one really is fail safe.

You will need:

measuring cup of some size to measure the following:

1 cup plain flour

1 cup eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup water

pinch of salt

some lard, dripping or groundnut oil

a muffin or Yorkshire pudding tin

Take an actual cup or cup measurement thingy, it only matters that you’re getting equal quantities of the ingredients so the bigger the cup the more Yorkshires you get and the smaller, well you know…

Scoop a cupful of plain flour and sieve into a large bowl, add a pinch of salt.  Crack as many eggs as the cup will hold into the cup and add them to the flour, give the mixture a bit of a mix it will be a bit stiff.  Then add a cup of milk slowly to loosen the mixture up a bit, when all that is incorporated add 1/2 a cup of water to the mixture and beat well with a wooden spoon/whisk or electric stick whisk, whatever you like so long as you get some air into it and make sure there are as few lumps as possible, the mixture should be the consistency of single cream.  Then let the mixture stand for an hour or two to let the gluten relax and the flour grains swell.

When you are ready to cook your Yorkshires get the oven as hot as it will go.  Prepare your tins by putting a teaspoon of dripping or lard in each hole, vegetarians can use an oil that will withstand really hot temperatures like peanut oil, definitely not olive oil, it will get nasty.  The fat in the tins is ready when it is smoking hot, not before.  Then carefully pour some Yorkshire mixture in each hole (I use large muffin tins) only fill about 1/3-1/2 full no more and put back into the oven quickly so you’re not losing heat.  How long they take to cook depends on the heat of your oven and the size of your Yorkshires but about 15-20 minutes till they are golden brown.  Good Yorkshires are crispy on the outside and a bit fluffy on the inside but that really all depends on personal preferences.

Then enjoy!

Yorkshire puddings are traditionally associated with roast beef, however in Yorkshire anything goes, you can serve with any roast, stew/casserole, minced beef and onions or sausage and onion gravy or anything you want really.  If there are any left over at the end of dinner they are really nice cold with a bit of cold roast and it’s accompanying sauce or jam/golden syrup/lemon curd, after all they are essentially a pancake that has risen.

Many pubs in Yorkshire do plate sized Yorkshires that are filled with meat and gravy a bit like a medieval tranche, yummy.

Happy St George's day!

It’s St. George’s Day and to mark it I’ve been drinking Pimms till I puke!

Ha, gotcha! No I didn’t really!

No, today I drank copious amounts of Yorkshire tea, as per usual on my day off and I made Parkin, whilst listening to “Family Jewels” by Marina and the Diamonds, my new favourite British artist.

For those who love cake (who doesn’t) and aren’t from Yorkshire, parkin is an old Yorkshire cake made from oats, treacle and spices usually served at teatime and for some reason it has become linked with Guy Fawkes night (5th November) .  It is fragrant and sticky and toothsome (due to the oats),  and if you fancy making it here is the recipe

225g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp ground ginger (I used fresh ginger this time because my ground had lost its pungency will let you know if this was a good idea when I get to eat it)

1 tsp ground cinnamon

225g oatmeal

170g black treacle

170g golden syrup

115g butter

1 egg, beaten

150ml milk

Heat oven to 170C and prepare a 20cm square tin.

Sieve the flour, baking powder and spices together (if using fresh ginger add with liquid later). Add the oatmeal to mixture and stir. In a saucepan warm the treacle, golden syrup and butter, stirring till the butter has melted then incorporate into dry ingredients. Add the beaten egg and milk and mix well, then turn into prepared tin and bake for 30 or so minutes till a cake tester comes out dry, (I have a fan assisted oven with heating elements on the top and bottom I usually have to drop the temperature 10 degrees or so and bake for 5 or so minutes less than most recipes require) .

When the parkin come out it will smell heavenly and fragrant and you will be tempted to eat it there and then, don’t! Once it’s cooled store it in an airtight tin for a couple of days to a week if you can bear it and it will reward you by being more moist and sticky and yummy. Serve with a cuppa either as is or spread with a bit of butter.

The super cute Herdy mug was bought at baaramewe, to buy one online go to http://www.herdy.co.uk and help conserve the beautiful Herdwick sheep breed and their Lake District/Cumbrian homeland, go on you know you want to!

As for knitting, I’m still doing Emily by Ysolda, and I’ve swatched for 3 cardigans, but more of that later. Unhappily it’s been a bit too warm and sticky in Melbourne to wear Ishbel, the fluff would stick to my neck.