One tin cream tea

I would never in a million years have come up with the brilliant idea of baking a scone in a single tin as Great British Bake Off winner Edd Kimber has done in his book One Tin Bakes but then all the recipes can - miraculously - be cooked like that. I can't quite bring myself to call it a slab scone though which doesn't make it sound nearly as enticing as it is. So I've renamed it One tin cream tea (sorry, Edd!).

Edd writes: British folk can’t agree on how to correctly pronounce the word scone or even whether the jam or cream should go on first, so this slab scone will be sacrilege for some, but I love it, as it turns a dainty afternoon tea staple into a perfect summertime dessert.

Of course, I have kept the clotted cream, it is after all one of the best tasting things in the world. For the topping, however, I have lightened it up a tad using fresh macerated strawberries with a little hint of vanilla instead of the more traditional jam.

If you can’t get clotted cream you can also use mascarpone or whipped cream, but just do me one favour, if there is clotted cream available that is made in Devon and you’re not in the UK, then don’t buy it, it will have been sterilized and pasteurized and the flavour is a shadow of the real deal and not worth the disappointment.

SLAB SCONE

SERVES 8–10

FOR THE SLAB SCONE

500g (1lb 2oz/4 cups) self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

50g (1 ¾ oz/ ¼ cup) caster (superfine) sugar

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

finely grated zest of 1 large lemon

150g (5.oz/1â…“ sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and diced

120ml (4fl oz/1/2 cup) whole milk, plus a splash for the egg wash

4 large eggs, beaten

2 tablespoons demerara sugar

FOR THE TOPPING

400g (14oz) fresh strawberries, hulled and halved

25g (1oz/â…› cup) caster (superfine) sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste

340g (11 ¾ oz) clotted cream

Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F), Gas Mark 5. Line the base of the baking tin with a strip of parchment paper, so some excess hangs over the longer side of the tin.

For the slab scone, mix the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and lemon zest together in a large bowl, then rub in the butter until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs with a few larger pieces remaining. Make a well in the middle and pour in the milk and three of the beaten eggs, stirring to form a soft but not sticky dough.

Tip the dough out on to a lightly floured work surface, press or roll into a 23 x 33cm (9 x 13in) rectangle and transfer to the prepared tin. Beat the remaining egg with a splash of milk to form an egg wash, and brush over the top of the scone, then sprinkle liberally with the demerara sugar.

Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until golden brown. Set aside to cool completely in the tin.

Meanwhile, prepare the topping. Place the strawberries intoa large bowl and sprinkle over the sugar and vanilla, stirring together briefly. Leave to macerate for 30 minutes–1 hour, until the sugar has dissolved.

Once cool, remove the scone from the tin, spread the clotted cream all over the scone and then top with the macerated strawberries, drizzling with the syrup that is left in the bottom of the bowl. Cut into portions and serve.

This slab scone is best served on the day it’s made, soon after assembling.

What to drink: Well given that it's essentially a cream tea, a good cuppa, obviously but you could push the boat out and drink a moscato d'asti, an off-dry sparkling rosé or an 'extra-dry' prosecco which, curiously is sweeter than the 'brut' versions.

One Tin Bakes by Edd Kimber is published by Kyle Books. Photograph © Edd Kimber

Honey pastries with baked figs

I love this Spanish twist on baklava from José Pizarro's gorgeous book Andalucia - it would make the perfect end to a summer meal.

José writes: "This is my kind of dessert – packed with interesting flavours, and a stunning centrepiece for the table. It’s hard to beat roasted figs, bursting with sweetness straight from the oven, with just a touch of soft goat’s cheese and honeyfor balance.

NOTE: CONTAINS NUTS

Serves 10–12

125 g (4 ½ oz/2⁄3 cup) caster (superfine) sugar

50 ml (2 fl oz/ ¼ cup) honey

½ teaspoon orange blossom water

225 ml (7 ½ fl oz/scant 1 cup) water

150 g (5 oz) mixed nuts such as walnuts, almonds, pistachios, finely chopped

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

100 g (3 ½ oz) unsalted butter, melted

6–8 sheets of filo pastry

For the figs

8 ripe figs, halved

good drizzle of honey

4 tablespoons Pedro Ximenez sherry

handful of flaked almonds, toasted

To serve

creme fraiche (optional)

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas 4).

In a small saucepan, melt the sugar, honey and orange blossom water with the water, then simmer gently for 10–15 minutes, until slightly reduced and syrupy.

Mix the chopped nuts with the cinnamon. Lightly grease an 18–20 cm (7–8 in) square shallow tin with a little of the melted butter. Lay a sheet of filo in the bottom (trim if necessary) and brush with the butter, scatter with the nuts then add another layer of filo and melted butter.

Repeat 4 times, ending with a final layer of filo. Butter the top generously and use a sharp knife to cut into diamond shapes. Bake for 25–30 minutes, until golden and crisp.

Spoon half of the cooled syrup over the pastries as they come out of the oven. Let stand for 5 minutes, then spoon over the rest of the syrup. Allow to cool completely in the tin.

As the pastries are cooling, place the figs in a small baking dish and drizzle with honey and sherry. Bake in the oven for 15–20 minutes until tender. Serve the pastries with the baked figs and a dollop of creme fraiche, if you like.

What to drink: Although you could drink sherry with this I personally think it would be too much of a good think and would go instead for a Spanish moscatel or other muscat-based dessert wine.

From ANDALUSIA: Recipes from Seville and beyond by José Pizarro (Hardie Grant, £26.00) Photographer: Emma Lee

James Martin's chocolate and hazelnut choux buns

I love the idea of a whole book devoted to butter, surely one of the most underrated and maligned ingredients, so congrats to TV chef James Martin for pulling it off. There are so many recipes that appeal to me but this indulgent take on profiteroles has a real wow factor.

James writes: "The idea of choux pastry is simple – four ingredients brought together for either sweet or savoury dishes. It is important to dice the butter into a cold pan with the water first and bring to the boil, then immediately add the flour. Failing to do this will alter the recipe, the quantity of water needed and the finished choux pastry.

It is even more important to always use good-quality flour. It may sound ridiculous to some people, but flour as cheap as 9 pence a kilo is not food, as I have found out on many a TV show when a recipe that I have made all my life fails to work as it should. It is generally the quality of the flour that is the root cause."

CHOCOLATE AND HAZELNUT CHOUX BUNS

SERVES 8

FOR THE CHOUX

200ml water

85g butter

115g plain flour

15g sugar

pinch of salt

3 eggs

FOR THE FILLING

450ml double cream, whipped

150g hazelnut and chocolate spread

FOR THE CARAMEL

200g caster sugar

100g toasted hazelnuts, chopped

Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan)/400°F/gas 6. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.

Heat the water and butter in a saucepan until the butter has melted. Bring to the boil, then immediately beat in the flour, sugar and salt until the mixture is smooth. Continue to cook for 2–3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and transfer the mixture to a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.

Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until the mixture is smooth and glossy. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes.

Once cool, spoon eight 12cm pastry buns onto the lined baking tray. Bake for 30 minutes until golden and crispy, then remove from oven and leave to cool.

Whisk together the cream and hazelnut and chocolate spread.

Split each choux bun in half and fill with the chocolate and hazelnut cream.

Put the sugar in a pan over a medium heat; do not stir but carefully swirl in the pan until the sugar is brown and caramelised. This should take about 3–4 minutes. Swirl in the hazelnuts. Dip each bun in carefully in the caramel to serve.

What to drink: Try a young vin santo like this one I recommended the other week or a moscatel

From BUTTER: Comforting, delicious, versatile, over 130 recipes celebrating butter by James Martin (Quadrille) Photography: John Carey

Chocolate, banana and hazelnut galette

If you're a chocolate-lover - or buying a present for one - you're going to want to get your hands on a copy of Sue Quinn's The Little Chocolate Cookbook which is full of really original and delicious recipes including this chocolate, banana and hazelnut galette.

As Sue says "Antony and Cleopatra. Meghan and Harry. Gin and tonic. Chocolate and banana. Some couplings are just meant to be. This is a quick and delicious dessert you can make from pantry ingredients. Perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a cloud of whipped cream on top."

Serves 6

200g/7oz plain [all-purpose] flour

60g/2¼oz caster [superfine] sugar

50g/1¾oz ground hazelnuts

pinch of salt

125g/4½oz cold unsalted butter, chopped

2 egg yolks, lightly beaten

2 Tbsp runny honey

100g/3½oz dark chocolate (60–70% cocoa solids), roughly chopped

3 medium ripe bananas

1–2 tbsp demerara [light brown] sugar, for sprinkling

1 egg lightly beaten with a splash of milk, for egg wash

First, make your dough. Using a fork or balloon whisk, whisk the flour, caster sugar, ground hazelnuts and salt together in a bowl to combine. Transfer to a food processor, add the butter and pulse to a breadcrumb consistency. Add the egg yolks, a little at a time, pulsing between additions, to make a shaggy dough. Tip out onto a work surface, knead briefly and shape into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4 and place a baking sheet inside to heat. Warm the honey in a small pan and set aside.

Roll out the dough between 2 pieces of baking paper into a circle roughly 35cm/14in in diameter. Carefully peel off the top layer of paper. Using a bowl, plate or pan lid as a guide, mark out (but don’t cut!) a circle roughly 22cm/8½in in diameter in the centre of the dough. Using a sharp knife, cut out a circle 32cm/12½in in diameter around the marked-out circle; there should be a 5-cm/2-in border between the marked-out circle and the edge of the pastry.

Scatter the chopped chocolate within the border of the marked-out circle. Thinly slice the bananas and arrange neatly on top of the chocolate. Brush the bananas with the warmed honey and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of the demerara sugar.

Fold the border inwards, pleating and gently pressing to form a neat edge as you go. Brush the dough with the egg wash and sprinkle with the remaining sugar. Quickly slide the galette on its paper onto the hot baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes until golden and crisp underneath. Serve immediately.

What to drink:

A sticky Rutherglen muscat would be perfect with this.

From The Little Chocolate Cookbook by Sue Quinn (Quadrille, £10) Photography ©Yuki Sugiura

See also Rosie Sykes' Chocolate Banana Tahini Brownie