Buttery cornbread with cheese and chives

Buttery cornbread with cheese and chives

I was first introduced to cornbread when cooking for some American clients on a shoot in Wiltshire. At their request, I made a batch of cornbread for them to take out with their Elevenses. My first attempt apparently was “not bad for a Brit” but would benefit from a little more butter. This feedback came as something of a shock because as a chef and as someone from the West Country, I had never been accused of holding back on the dairy. Comments duly noted. I set to work tweaking my recipe to produce the cornbread below, which not only has a fantastically rich, buttery crumb but also a generous sprinkle of tangy, fatty cheddar cheese. Makes 16 squares.

Ingredients:

• 120g yellow cornmeal (fine or medium ground)
• 120g plain flour
• 1tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• ¼ tsp fine sea salt
• 80g light brown sugar
• 100g salted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 240g buttermilk
• 2 medium free-range eggs
• 10g chives, finely chopped
• 100g strong cheddar cheese, grated

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C  fan/Gas Mark 7. Line a 20cm-square baking tin with non-stick paper.
2. In a large mixing bowl whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and sugar.
3. Briefly whisk together the cooled melted butter, buttermilk and eggs in a measuring jug.
4. Stir the contents of the jug into the bowl containing the flour and stir in the chives and cheese. Be careful not to over-mix.
5. Pour into the tin and bake in the oven on a middle shelf for 20 to 25 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
6. Leave to cool then cut into squares.

Note: this cornbread can be made a day in advance and wrapped well or frozen and saved for a later date. It is delicious as a savoury snack in its own right or as a great accompaniment to a hearty autumn soup.

Spelt, oat and salted chocolate shortbread

Spelt, oat and salted chocolate shortbread

These classy shortbreads have plenty of buttery goodness, a lovely rich nuttiness from the oats and spelt, and a touch of decadent chocolate. I love serving them with morning coffee before the first drive but also find they go particularly well with the shots of sloe or damson gin at Elevenses. Makes around 34 biscuits.

Ingredients:

Shortbread:

• 200g salted butter, at room temperature
• 100g icing sugar
• 200g spelt flour
• 50g cornflour
• 50g oats, finely ground

Topping:

• 90g 70% chocolate, broken into squares
• Sea salt flakes

Shortbread

1. Beat the butter and icing sugar until pale and fluffy before gently mixing in the spelt flour, cornflour and oats.
2. Turn the dough out on to a lightly floured surface and roll into a 4cm-diameter log. Wrap well cling film and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 160°C fan/Gas Mark 4.
4. Cut the log into lcm-thick discs and lay them out on a flat lined baking tray. leaving a couple of centimetres’ gap berween each disc.
5. Bake for 15 minutes until lightly golden then leave to cool on the tray.

Topping

1. Melt the chocolate by placing it in a bowl set above a pan of gently simmering water.
2. Spoon a little chocolate on to half of each of the shortbreads and place them back on the tray. Immediately sprinkle the wet chocolate with a little sea salt.
3. Once they have all been topped, place in the fridge to set. This should take about 30 minutes.
4. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dark place.

Note: if you prefer sharp lines, you can dip your shortbreads into the bowl of melted chocolate – you may just need a little extra. Also, to avoid a ‘chocolate foot’, give the biscuits a little turn after they’ve been in the fridge for 10 minutes.

Sticky ginger and date cake

Sticky ginger and date cake

On a cold shoot day this spicy, sweet and sticky cake is exactly what I want to come in to and devour with a hot cup of tea. It keeps well so can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container. Makes 10 slices.

Ingredients:

• 80g dates
• ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 100ml whole milk
• 80g salted butter
• 40g light muscovado sugar
• 100g golden syrup
• 30g black treacle
• 150g plain flour
• 1 heaped tsp baking powder
• 1½ tsp ground ginger
• 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 medium free-range eggs
• 60g stem ginger, finely chopped

1. Line a 2lb loaf tin with baking paper and preheat the oven to 160°C fan/Gas Mark 4.
2. Finely chop the dates and place in a bowl, sprinkle over the bicarbonate of soda and add the milk. Stir then leave to sit for 15 minutes.
3. Melt the butter with the sugar, syrup and treacle in a pan over a low heat.
4. In a large bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, ginger and cinnamon.
5. Lightly beat the egg in a small jug.
6. Once the butter has melted, whisk it into the bowl of flour then mix in the eggs, stem ginger and dates along with the milk.
7. Pour into the loaf tin and bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool on a rack in the tin.