Whey Scones

I always have whey in the fridge (this is how I make it)as I use it to make my Honey & Oat Loaf which is our everyday bread.  It also makes a fantastic substitute for Buttermilk and is MUCH cheaper!  Scones (I think they are called biscuits in the US) are a quick and easy treat, great to whip up if someone pops over unexpectedly, or even for afternoon tea when the kids get home from school.  Using whey or buttermilk just gives them that extra oomph!  Here's how I go about it:

For a printer friendly version of the recipe (without pictures), click here.

Ingredients
2 Cups Flour
4 teaspoons Baking Powder
40g (2 tablespoons) Cold Butter
250ml Whey (or Buttermilk or Regular Milk)
Extra Flour

Method
Briefly process the flour and baking powder.  (I'm a lazy cook and believe if you have the tools at your disposal, you may as well use them!

Add butter and process in pulses until it looks like breadcrumbs.  Pour into a bowl.

Add milk and combine with a knife in a cutting action.  I prefer to do this part by hand rather than in the processor because you want to work the dough as little as possible to get it nice and flaky.  If you're not as fussy as me, you can do this part in the processor.   Just pulse it until it all comes together.

Turn out onto bench and very gently bring together with your hands.  Press out to about 1 inch thickness.

Cut with a round cutter.  You want to cut it rather than shaping it as it needs the cut edges to rise properly.

Place very close together but not touching on a tray and brush with the extra milk.  They need to be close enough together that they give each other support to rise, (sounds lovely doesn't it!!) but not actually touching as you want the air to be able to circulate between them when you first put them in the oven.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from the oven and wrap in a tea towel until cool (if you can leave them that long!)  This is what gives them that special crust.  If you leave them out on a rack to cool, they will get too hard.  (I should be in the CWA! lol!)

We love them slathered in butter and golden syrup or even better still, homemade jam and whipped cream - and served with a cup of tea on the side of course!

Homemade Ricotta and Whey

I'm not a cheese maker but have decided to add it to my skills list this year as I make as much of our food from scratch as possible. I've started off with ricotta as it doesn't require any special equipment or rennet. Our milk comes in 3 litre bottles, so these quantities are for one bottle of milk as I buy it. Here is how I make it.

For a print friendly version of the recipe (without pictures), click here

In a large pot, bring 3 litres of milk to the simmer.

Add 45ml lemon juice and 1.5 teaspoons of salt.
Simmer very gently, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes.
While the milk is simmering, line a colander with fine cotton/muslin/cheesecloth.

Remove from the heat and strain until it is the consistency you like. The longer you strain it, the firmer it gets.

Collect the liquid that strains off - this is the whey.

I pour it into glass bottles and keep it in the fridge to use in my bread. It is also fantastic for making scones (I think you guys call them biscuits??) and biscuits (you guys call them cookies). I really like it in the bread because it isn't as sweet as milk and has a slight tang which gives the loaf an almost sourdough taste. I'm in the process of starting up a new blog on my new frugal ways of living, so I will post step by step photos there and post a link here once I get it done.

So, for $3 (which is what I pay for a 3 litre bottle of milk), I get about three 750ml bottles of whey and I'm guessing about 300g ricotta. (I'll weigh it this arvo when I make some more). Considering ricotta is $8kg and buttermilk is almost $4 for a 600ml carton over here (Australia), I reckon it is a bargain and well worth 10 minutes of my time!

For other ideas of what to use they whey for, check out my Honey & Oat Bread, Scones and Pikelets.

What cheeses do you make? What's your favourite recipe to make it?

Raspberry Mousse

This Raspberry Mousse is absolutely divine!  It is sweet, yet tart and the most gorgeous colour!  The Raspberries can be replaced with juice or puree of any fruit you like. I have also made it with both lemons and limes, both of which were just luscious!  Anyway, without further ado, here is this week’s recipe.







Ingredients:



Part 1:  Italian Meringue



¼ Cup Sugar

½ teaspoon Glucose

20ml water

1 Egg White





Part 2:  Raspberry Mousse



550g Raspberries (fresh or frozen)

1 ½ teaspoons Gelatine

10ml Raspberry Liqueur

200ml Cream





Procedure:



Part 1:  Italian Meringue



Combine sugar, glucose and water in a small pan.
Heat gently, stirring until sugar dissolves.
Bring to the boil and stop stirring.
Continue to boil until liquid reaches 16oC.
Remove from heat and allow bubbles to subside.
Meanwhile, beat the egg white to stiff peak.
Slowly add hot sugar syrup to egg white while beating on low.
Continue beating until the bowl has reached room temperature (approx 5 minutes)



Part 2:  Raspberry Mousse



Bloom gelatine in 1 teaspoon of water.
Heat raspberries until they liquefy.
Pass raspberries through a sieve to remove the seeds.
Return raspberries to pan with liqueur and heat to just below boiling.
Add gelatine and mix thoroughly.
Cool.

Fold raspberry mixture into Italian Meringue.
In a separate bowl, beat cream to soft peaks.
Fold raspberry mixture into cream.
Chill.