The AWW Afternoon Tea Challenge: Basic Scones

Shameless repost from my baking blog, for your Sunday viewing pleasure:

 I picked up this fabulous little baking book on special at Coles awhile ago, and pretty much everything in it looks so lush that I figure I might as well bake it all. Yep, every recipe, one at a time. A bit Julie & Julia, I know, but the Australian Women's Weekly cookbooks are so classic that I couldn't resist (fyi, it's now been re-released as High Tea). I'm starting with Scones. Which, er, is actually Chapter 2, but I'm waiting til the weather fines up a bit and we can do all of Chapter 1's Sandwiches pretty much in one go ,on a summery picnic with friends. I can't put marinated cucumber sandwiches in my 4 year old's lunchbox for playgroup and expect her to eat it, after all.

First up is, perhaps not surprisingly, Scones with Jam and Cream:

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups (375g) SR Flour

1 tablespoon caster sugar

30g (1 ounce) butter, chopped
1 1/4 cups (310ml) buttermilk

3/4 cup (240g) black cherry jam (I used some of our neighbour's homemade strawberry jam instead)

1 cup double cream

Method

1).Preheat oven to 220C. Grease a 22cm square cake pan.

2). Sift Flour and sugar into large bowl; rub in butter.

3). Add buttermilk. Use a knife to cut the buttermilk through the flour mixture to make a soft, sticky dough. Turn dough onto floured surface, knead gently until smooth.

4). Press dough out to 2cm thickness, cut out 4cm rounds. Place scones, just touching, in pan. Gently knead scraps of dough together; repeat process. Brush scones with a little extra buttermilk.

5). Bake scones about 15 minutes. Serve warm with jam and cream.

The verdict:

Difficulty: there are a million ways that people prefer to make scones, but these are an easy, surefire hit - nice and fluffy and just the right amount of golden on top.

Taste: ooh I already said fluffy didn't I! Perfectly delish with jam and cream, just the thing to sink your teeth into with a cup of tea and a truckload of girly gossip.

Mess: Floured benchtop = floured everything in sight. I am not a neat person.
Cost: Thanks to our homebody neighbour supplying the jam, everything was already in the pantry/fridge. Buttermilk is awesome in pretty much any cake so always keep some on hand!
Finger-lickin’ factor: not really a lick-the-bowl recipe, but dipping your finger into some double or whipped cream is always a nice little sneaky treat...

The outfit:

Summertime eating scones would usually require a floral frock of some sort. But I just wanted to share with you a really cool buy I nabbed at Supre yesterday. Yes, Supre. Sometimes it's a treasure trove of little gems, when it's not too busy being an overcrowded nightclub:

Supre Strapless Maxi Dress in Coral, $45

New Arrivals Update

I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with this time of year. There's SO much new stuff arriving constantly, which is really exciting and great for sales but man it's alot of hard work! We shot a mountain of new stock this afternoon, which will all be uploaded in the next few days, and a newsletter went out last night with the last fornight's worth of newbies (today has been flat chat! Looking forward to some choc chip cookies and a cup of tea later tonight...). Here's some of our fave new pieces:

Purple Ginger One Shouldered Maxi, $149.95 This is the kind of dress that makes me want to type in caps lock or with lots of !!!!! It's one shouldered, it's long and flowing, the colours are gorgeous and it's effortlessly elegant. The kind of dress that you can wear to weddings, the races, or nights out - and such a bargain for such a stunning piece!

Mini Moke Social Butterfly Necklace, $24.95 Mini Moke is Blue Juice's acessories label, and the price points are fantastic. This long flower shaped pendant has pretty cream beads and adds just a touch of summer bling.

So Sooki Hanging With My Gnomies Tshirt, $29.95  A friend asked me today if this came in adult's sizes, she likes it so much. It is pretty funky, don't you think?

Sooki Baby Etsy Dots Dress, $32.95 Not many kid's labels do black for summer. But they should, because it looks amazing. Especially with polka dots.

Indy C Metal Weave Cuff, $14.95 These add just the right amount of interest to your outfit, without being overwhelming. Available in silver or gold, they look so cool with a summer maxi or tank and cutoffs combo!

Lots of Lovely New Arrivals

Oopsies I didn't post yesterday because...I made another choccy cake and vegged out in front of the telly. Not a good excuse, but an honest one. Anyway today has been flat chat with lots and lots of new goodies, and tomorrow will be much the same (Sooki Baby, So Sooki and Indy C and Munster hopefully all online by EOD tomorrow!). Over the last few days, this is what's come in:

Allira Yum Cha Brooch, $25 Limited edition of 100, and each one is carefully numbered. Pretty spesh for just $25!

August Street Piscean Pants, $49.95 A new label which you'll see a whole lot more of in the coming weeks, these pants are flatout awesome. Comfy. Khaki. Casual. Cool. Oh did I mention comfy?

Living Doll Bree's Combat Dress, $64.95 Fact: Bree is a lovely lass who works for Living Doll. Fact: you need this dress. It's too cool for words. Except those words, obviously.

Living Doll V-Neck Tshirt Dress, $19.95 Under $20 for a really really comfy, throw-on-and-go dress that you can layer, wear to the beach of your 'kinis, or just laze around in after a few too many frozen daquiris. Oh summer, how I've missed you.

Living Doll Between The Lines Maxi, $59.95 If you haven't already got a maxi dress or 3, get this one. Universally flattering and easy to wear, plus it has cute plaited straps. Love!

Lucky 13 Caterpillar Dress, $99.95 The print is cute, the back is even cuter. Plus, Aris' shoes here look amazing so if you've got a similar pair, I highly recommend going for this look, right down to her bright blue toneails!

Street Style: Use Your Head

Ever noticed how the most fashionable people don't actually follow trends? In fact, they pretty much always wear the opposite of mainstream looks - and if you think about it, that's how new trends are created. One look I love but can never pull off is hats. I love the idea that once upon a time people wouldn't dare head out to do their shopping without a nifty hat perched on their 'do. And in summer (shade) or winter (warmth), it just makes sense. Yeah that's right - fashion that makes sense! The cool kids on the street are whacking on all forms of floppy, knitted, floral, turbaned and embellished headgear, and turning what could easily be a mainstream look into something that's definitely their own:

Pics: The Sartorialist, Style Scout,  Stylesightings,  Street Peeper, Face Hunter, Altamiranyc, Chictopia

Monday Street Style: To The Max

Nothing embodies the free spirit of the Spring season than a maxi dress or skirt - patterned or plain, for work or weekend, they're easy to wear, comfortable, and handy if you can't be bothered shaving your legs:

Still In Berlin

Street Style London

Chictopia

Stylescout

Facehunter

Monday Street Style

First of all, apologies for lack of posting at the end of last week - my little girl's birthday celebrations took precedence! Sometimes, life is just a heck of a lot more important. And fun!

What's also fun is prints. Patterns, colour, clashing. Try it, whether it be subtle or totally in-your-face.

Jak&Jil

Styleclicker

Style Scout

Stylesightings

Copenhagen Street Style

Pandora

Supre & Why You Should Go There

It's a love/hate relationship we have, Supre & I. Most of the time the pounding music, horrible fabrics and overstuffed racks make me nauseous. Ocassionally I'll find a really cool little gem hiding on the racks, waiting to be rescued, and it rarely costs more then about $30.

I walked past today and did a double take - indeed, went in. The music didn't require one to shout to be heard (never forget the time I asked an SA to get the pole thing to reach up to "the peach coloured oversized top in size S", only to have her return with a cropped red tank top. "Oh, sorry, I couldn't hear you,"...), and it was easy to walk around the store because the racks were well spaced and not overflowing. The colours were a chic winter palette of greys and creams and peach, and the SA's had all parts of their undergarments hidden. My daughter still tried to drag me back towards the door, repeating "you know I don't like this shop!" but young kids can be surprisingly set in their ways. It would appear Supre are going to have to work mighty hard to get i-Gen back on side once they grow into XXXS.

Despite all this, there seemed to be something missing. It was almost...boring. FFS, are you never happy?! I hear you moan. Yes, but rarely in Supre. There were quite alot of pieces I'd happily fork over my $$ for, and I didn't see an inane slogan or flash of fluro anywhere. Maybe boring is the new black. Maybe Supre are trying to re-model themselves. I looked at their website for some clues into this makeover, stupidly clicking the 'corporate' link thinking this contained company information, but instead it was their shiny polyester work trouser section.

Last time I passed the megaSupre in Bourke St Mall, it resembled a nightclub, complete with a roped entry - presumably to make shoplifters feel like they were nicking from a high class establishment. There was still loud music, loud clothes, overexuberant staff (and oddly, no size S Sporte leggings which is what I was looking for). The 'makeover' might just be a local thing - but, their website is worth looking at if your local store is still in rave-mode and you are in need of a quick fashion fix. It, too, has had a makeover and is a heck of alot neater. Check out these little bargains:

Batwing 3/4 sleeve top, $25

Long Sleeve Shoulder Detail Top $25

Oversized Long Sleeve Dress $25

Maxi Dress $30

Oversized Zipper Front Singlet $28