Martha very kindly wrote out the recipe for me – thanks to Mum for passing it on!

Ingredients

175g self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

150g butter

150g caster sugar

2 large eggs

150g plain natural yoghurt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 apple (peeled, cored and chopped)

50g oats

250g cherries (washed and stones removed – you could use frozen but fresh are better)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C (160 fan) gas mark 4. Sift the flour, baking powder and cinnamon into a bowl and set aside.

2. Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Stir in 2 tbsp of the flour mixture and then add the eggs and vanilla extract. Beat well.

3. Gradually add in the flour mix and the yoghurt until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chopped apple, oats and cherries and then pour into a lined tin – I used my brownie pan which was the perfect size. Level the mixture with a palette knife.

4. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, cover and then bake for a further 25-30 minutes. Leave to cool in the tin.

Enjoy! It is delicious on its own or with custard!

The post Martha’s apple and cherry traybake appeared first on Hello! Hooray!.

Ingredients

225g self-raising flour
¼ tsp salt
50g slightly salted butter, chilled, cut in small pieces
25g golden caster sugar
100g glacé cherries, chopped (optional)
125ml buttermilk
4 tbsp full-fat milk
a little extra flour for dusting
strawberry jam and clotted cream, to serve

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 220C/gas 7/fan 200C and lightly butter a baking sheet (unless you’re using a non-stick sheet). Tip the flour into a mixing bowl with the salt. Add the butter, then rub together with your fingers to make a reasonably fine crumbed mixture, lifting to aerate the mixture as you go. Try not to overrub, as the mixture will be lighter if it’s a little bit flaky. Now stir in the sugar before adding the cherries. Mix well.

2. Measure the buttermilk, then mix in the milk to slacken it. Make a bit of a well in the middle of the flour mixture with a round-bladed knife, then pour in most of this buttermilk mixture, holding a little bit back in case it’s not needed. Using the knife, gently work the mixture together until it forms a soft, almost sticky, dough. Work in any loose dry bits of mixture with the rest of the buttermilk. Don’t overwork at this point or you will toughen the dough.

3. Lift the ball of soft dough out of the bowl and put it on to a very lightly floured surface. Knead the mixture just 3-4 times to get rid of the cracks.

4. Pat the dough gently with your hands to a thickness of no less than 2cm and no more than 2.5cm. Dip a 5.5cm round fluted cutter into a bowl of flour – this helps to stop the dough sticking to it, then cut out the scones by pushing down quickly and firmly on the cutter with the palm of your hand – don’t twist it.You will hear the dough give a big sigh as the cutter goes in. Gather the trimmings lightly then pat and cut out a couple more scones.

5. Place on the baking sheet and sift over a light dusting of flour or glaze if you wish. Bake for 10-12 minutes until risen and golden. Cool on a wire rack, uncovered if you prefer crisp tops, or covered loosely with a cloth for soft ones.

6. Serve with jam and a generous mound of clotted cream (Cornish people put cream first, then jam, Devonians the other way round). Eat them as fresh as you can – or pop them in the freezer once cooled.

The post The ultimate scones appeared first on Hello! Hooray!.

I can’t really remember where this flapjack recipe came from, but we’ve been making it for years and have passed it on to so many people! I was actually very surprised to find that I haven’t blogged it before, so it’s good to finally post it. I’ve called it ‘squidgy flapjack’ because you get that gorgeous syrupy texture with this really easy recipe – no dry flapjacks here! It really is a lovely sugary treat.

You can make it plain, which is really tasty, or add cherries (as I did here) or chocolate chips, raisins, cranberries…the possibilities are endless, so just bake it for your own taste. We usually cut it into big slabs, but you could cut it into smaller pieces and it would go a long way.

Ingredients

300g butter (you could use margarine if you prefer)
240g soft brown sugar
4 tbsp golden syrup
700g oats
2 pinches salt
100g glacé cherries, chopped (optional)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas mark 4. Grease and line a 10 x 15 inch baking tray.

2. Melt the butter (or margarine), sugar and syrup in a pan over a low heat until melted and combined.

3. Mix in the oats and salt, and then press into the tray. It’s worth spending a few minutes pressing the mixture in with the back of a spoon, just to make sure that the mixture sticks really well.

4. Bake for 15-20 minutes and then leave to cool in the tray on a wire cooling rack. I usually let it cool for a little while and then cut it into pieces before it has completely cooled.

I really love making this squidgy flapjack, and it’s a real family favourite. You might also love this ginger and dark chocolate flapjack too!

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