The illusionist reveals....

I am not sure if Neil Burger ever plans to release the sequel to his movie "The Illusionist" but my husband and son are already watching its making-of every second day at our home cinema - only instead of Edward Norton playing the illusionist role, they have me!!!!

They say women are magicians. I absolutely agree to the statement. We are born with this talent of changing things within fraction of seconds -  let it be our looks, our moods, our homes, discussions, and what not. And being married and a mother of a smart boy who is as demanding as his father, you actually get plenty of practice to polish these skills!

You might have noticed my recent "obsession" with morning delights (For those of you who havent or havent bothered to click the links: its been the main focus of my bolgtivity all this month of Januray:). Not that I had planned this breakfast series before, it was all just a result of the dull expressions that usually appear on the faces of my men on getting same things for breakfast repeatedly after a while. In order to keep my small audience more engaged and interested, I had only been making a conscious effort to add more variety to my morning show. But trust me folks, its not easy to NOT "offer the same stuff more than two days in a row".You just run out of ideas!

So, what I have started doing now is creating illusions by using the same old igredients and making them appear like new:P Check out the ingredients listed in the recipe below, do they remind you of any recipe Ive blogged lately???


2 cups plain flour
1 tbs baking powder
10 tsp fine granulated sugar
A pinch of salt
1/4 cup +2 tbs milk
1/2 tbs vinegar
1 egg
7 tbs cold butter (ca. 100 g)
Few drops of vanilla essence
3/4 cups dried cranberries (see tips)
1 egg yolk
2 tbs granulated sugar to sprinkle on top, optional

Yes, I am using almost the same ingredients as in the Best Pancakes recipe, only with a little change in quantities and a different cooking technique.

Cranberry Scones

Method:


Combine milk and vinegar to make soured milk and set aside for 5 minutes.

Sift flour and baking powder in a large bowl. Add in sugar and salt.

Cut the cold butter in cubes and rub in with the dry ingredients using your finger tips until the mixture resembles course breadcrumbs. Tip: You may use your food processor for this. Try to work quickly, few bigger lumps of butter are better than overmixing!

Add in the soured milk, egg and vanilla to this. Combine all the ingredients with an electric mixer (dough-hooks on) just enough to form a dough.

Also add in the cranberries and transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Tip: In case cranberries are not available, you may like to substitute these with chocolate chips, raisins, fresh blueberries etc.

Cut the dough in half.

Stack the two halves on each other and press down with your hands.

Again cut the dough in half and stack the two parts on each other. Pat down and repeat the procedure one more time. This will make your scones rise higher while baking.

Roll out the dough into a rectangle (about 2,5 cm thick and 6 cm in width).

Cut into small triangles.
Tip: In case you wish to serve the scones later, pop them into refrigerator at this stage until baking.

Brush with beaten egg yolk and bake in a preheated oven at 200 C for 15 minutes until golden and slightly crispy on top.
Tip: I have also sprinkled extra sugar on a few to add a little crunch on top before putting in the oven.

Remove from oven and serve immediately with clotted cream, whipped cream, lemond curd, fruit jam of your choice, chocolate syrup OR JUST PLAIN !!!!!

Let the new feat of magic astound everyone, including youself!!

Love