Guilty….

I know I shouldn’t be here. In terms of studying, I have been procrastinating more than mugging. So dead…. I promise I will get some serious studying done after this post. Really.

I bought these beautiful candied chestnuts at Isetan Scotts supermarket the other day. They were horribly expensive ($14 / 100g) but tastes really good, albeit a little on the sweet side. They go really well with a cup of chinese tea, and should be taken in small nibbles as it is really quite a sugar explosion in your mouth if you eat it whole. I couldn’t eat more than a few so I decided to chop them up and add them into these lovely cream biscuits, pairing them with some chopped walnuts. The combination turned out excellent, with the walnuts taking away abit of the sweetness and adding a little crunch to the biscuits. They are possibly my favourite combination for now! As these japanese candied chestnuts are probably less commonly found, you can also use normal chestnuts. Just that you probably won’t get the same type of sweetness. Maybe add some honey cashew nuts instead? Let me know your favourite double nut combination

Double nut cream biscuits

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

300ml heavy cream, cold

7 candied chestnuts,chopped

1/4 walnuts, chopped

1 tbsp milk or heavy cream for brushing (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 205C.Thoroughly mix flour, baking powder, sugar and salt together.

2. Pour the 3/4 of the cream into the flour mixture, mixing quickly with a spatula. Add the remaining cream and stir the nuts. Gather the moist dough into a lump and knead it gently 3 or 4 times until it holds together.

3. If the dough seem too wet, sprinkle in a bit of flour and knead until it comes together. Chill the dough for 10 minutes and allow it to relax.

4. On a lightly floured surface, pat the dough into a circle about 3/4 inches thick. Using a 2 inch cookie cutter, cut out as many biscuits as you can. Brush the surface of the biscuits lightly with milk or cream. Transfer the cut biscuits into a lightly greased cookie pan (or you can use a baking sheet). Repeat the process with the remaining dough scraps.

5. Bake the biscuits for 15 – 18 minutes, until they are tall and browned. Makes 14 biscuits.

Sour cream biscuits

Triangles of biscuits before putting in the oven

I have always wanted to make scones. However, I put off the idea for quite some time as I did not manage to find a pastry blender. I know that I can use my fingers and rub in the cold butter but my sweaty and warm palms are my greatest nemesis. Not to mention, the weather here is so darn hot. Neither did I want to throw everything in the food processor as I was too lazy to clean it out. I finally found my pastry blender at CK Tang last week. I was absolutely estatic. I can now make pies, shortbreads, scones and the list goes on. Woohoo!

I chose to start my scone adventure with Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking – From my home to yours. Biscuits in our terms normally meant crunchy baked goods also known as crackers or cookies. According to Wikipedia, biscuits in America is a small baked product that is soft and very similar to a scone. They are normally eaten as a side dish during dinner or breakfast. This time, I added dried apricot and cherries instead of pecans. I followed Dorie’s instructions and chopped up my butter into small cubes so that it was much easier to cut into the flour. It is very important to start everything cold and work the mixture as little as possible. I also chilled my flour and sugar mixture in the freezer for a while before cutting the cold butter in. To be on the safe side, I even chilled my pastry blender. As I was unable to get a cookie cutter, I rolled out my dough in a round shape and cut them into triangles. The result was beautiful and tall biscuits that were flakey and buttery. I gave some of these scones to G’s mom. Hope she likes them as much as I do. ^___^

Sour Cream Biscuits
(Adapted from Baking: From my home to yours)

2 cups all-purpose flour (or 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour and 1/3 cup cake flour)
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
5 tbsp cold unsalted butter
1/2 cup cold sour cream
1/4 cup cold whole milk
1/3 cup finely chopped fruit or nut of your preference

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 220 degrees C. Line the tray with parchment or baking sheet.

2. Whisk the flour(s), baking powder, salt and baking soda together in a bowl. Stir in the brown sugar, making certain there are no lumps.

3. Drop in the butter and, using your fingers, toss to coat the pieces of butter with flour. Quickly, working with your fingertips or a pastry blender, cut and rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is pebbly. You’ll have pea-size pieces, pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and pieces the size of everything in between – and that’s just right.

4. Stir the sour cream and milk together and pour over the dry ingredients. Grab a fork and gently toss and turn the ingredients together until you’ve got a nice soft dough. Now reach into the bowl with your hands and give the dough a quick, gentle kneading – 3 or 4 turns should be just enough to bring everything together.

5. Toss in the nuts / fruit and knead another 2 to 3 times to incorporate them.Lightly dust a work surface with flour and turn out the dough.

6. Dust the top of the dough very lightly with flour and pat the dough out with your hands or roll it with a pin until it is about 1/2 inch high. Don’t worry if the dough isn’t completely even – a quick, light touch is more important than accuracy. Cut the dough into the desired shape and size. If using a biscuit cutter, cut out as many biscuits as you can. Try to the cut the biscuits close to one another so you get the most you can out of this first round.

7. By hand or with a small spatula, transfer the biscuits to the baking sheet. Bake the biscuits 15 to 20 minutes (depending on size), or until they are tall, puffed and golden brown.