Mothers Day is important to us as we have great respect for the 'Mother' of this company Gill Orde who started catering from the family kitchen over 30 years ago. 

It's a special occasion where you get to do something special for those important women in your life. We've got some recipes you could try to create an amazing homemade afternoon tea treat for them. Children can help with all of these recipes but make sure they are supervised with hot sugar.

Fruit Scones

225g Self Raising Flour

55g Unsalted Butter

25g Caster Sugar

150ml Milk

25g Raisins and sultanas

Pinch of Salt

 

1. Cut the butter into small cubes and set aside.

2. Mix the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl.

3. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

4. Add in the fruit.

5. Add all of the milk and mix together until you have a dough.

6. Roll the dough to about an inch thickness and use a cutter to cut into rounds (or stars, or hearts...)

7. Brush the tops with a little milk to glaze.

8. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180C for 13-15 minutes.

 

Serve with butter, clotted cream and jam.

 

Strawberry Tarts

Pastry

250g plain flour

50g sugar

175g butter

1 large egg (beaten)

1. Place flour and sugar in a food processor and blitz together.

2. Add the chilled butter to the mixture 

3. Add the egg.

4. You should have a ball of dough but if the mixture needs it add a little water.

5. Clingfilm your pastry and pop in the fridge.

6. Grease your tart tins and preheat the oven to 200C

7. Line each tin with pastry and prick the bottoms.

8. Bake for 15-20 mins and then leave to cool.

 

Filing

1kg Strawberries

200g creme fraiche

1.5 tablespoons icing sugar

1 vanilla pod

2 tablespoons caster sugar

235ml water

 

1. If your strawberries are tart then sweeten them with a sprinkle of caster sugar then slice.

2. Mix the creme fraiche with scraped vanilla pod and icing sugar, leave to chill in fridge.

3.Make a sugar syrup by boiling caster sugar with water for two minutes, allow to cool.

 

When you are ready to assemble spread the creme fraiche mixture into the tarts and arrange the strawberries on top. Finish with the sugar glaze.

 

Shortbread

125g Unsalted Butter

55g Caster sugar

1/2 vanilla pod (or 1/2 tsp vanilla essence)

180g plain flour

 

1. Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla together until white and fluffy.

2. Add the flour in batches and mix.

3. Roll shape and put in tot he fridge to chill.

4. For rounds roll the dough into a sausage shape and cut. For shapes roll the chilled dough out and use cutters. Chill again if the dough gets sticky or uncooperative.

5. Place onto baking sheets and bake at 180C for about 8 minutes.

 

Happy baking and tag us in any pictures you add onto social media of your creations.

(if you aren't much of a baker then remember that the afternoon tea at Ochiltree's at Abbotsford is delicious!)