bakedgoods | Miss Amateur Chef's Blog

This, friends, is the moment we’ve been waiting for- spring is finally here! Beach vacation, sunshine, and sandal season are right around the corner. As the day gets longer, it’s the time to get outside and enjoy the warm weather (instead of working in the kitchen). For a quick springtime snack, light and easy is the name of the game. With this recipe, you can pull off some bakery-worthy pastries at home in just 30 minutes. Perfect for any time of the year, but I swear: they just taste better in spring!

Ingredients

1 sheet puff pastry (thawed)
1 pack Cream Cheese (8 ounces), softened
4 Tbsp Sugar
1 Tbsp Vanilla extract
1 cup canned Cherry Pie Filling
Icing sugar for garnishing

Directions

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Line a baking pan with parchment paper.
Take out a sheet of puff pastry and thaw for 10min.
Cut the sheet into 6 equal pieces.
With a knife, score ½” border around the edge of each piece of puff pastry. Use a fork to make five or six pricks into the area within the border (this will stop the center of the dough from rising).
In a bowl, mix together cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla.
Spoon about 2-3 tablespoons of mixture into the middle of each piece of dough and spread around evenly.
Add about 6 cherries into the middle of the cream cheese.
Bake for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with icing sugar before serving.

These are essentially British, delicious and simple to make… Get baking and fill your home with the smell of freshly baked scones!

It is no secret that I have always wanted to open my own cafe. And this is the sign that I will put up at the storefront when a batch of scones are hot and ready (Yes! I stole the idea from Kripsy Kreme’s neon sign!!).

Ingredients (serves 8):

Plain flour, for dusting
1.5 cups self-raising flour
40g butter, softened and cubed
3/4 cups milk
1 cup dried fruit, e.g. cranberries/ raisins (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 200°C. Sift self-raising flour into a large bowl.
Rub butter into flour using your fingertips, until mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
Make a well in the centre. Add milk and mix until mixture forms a soft dough. Add in dried fruit if any.
Knead gently until smooth (don’t overwork the dough or scones will be tough).
Pat dough into 2cm-thick. Cut out 8 rounds using a 5cm round cutter.
Place scones onto baking tray, 1cm apart. Sprinkle tops with a little plain flour.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden and well risen.
Serve warm with jam and cream.