Friday 18 June 2010

Sweet tart...

If you travel on the the boat between Scilly and the mainland on a flat day, it's magical. The Scillonian has a bad reputation which I think is unfair. The amount of times I've seen people wolfing down pasties declaring they never get sea sick only to be seen staggering around the main deck twenty minutes later a moss shade of green. You are travelling thirty miles into the Atlantic for goodness sake.

There's a technique to it. You have two options. One: stay on deck and don't move. If you're doing this, wrap up warm and wear a lot of sun lotion. Option two: go downstairs and keep going. There is a little room at the bottom with beds, blankets and pillows. Take sea sickness tablets and go to sleep...preferably for 2 hours and 40 minutes and wake up on the mainland.

When I leave the islands I'm generally taken on board crying and holding on to the ankles of my family. I go straight downstairs so I don't have to see myself leaving Scilly. But occasionally I wake up in time to watch the voyage along the south coast of Cornwall......


Last night mum and dad came over and I drove down to meet them in Penzance....


We went for dinner at The Navy Inn. I had Monkfish with Mushroom Risotto. It's just a stone's throw from Newlyn the best fishing port in the world and the monkfish was fantastic. Mental note: must cook more fish....

We had a bit of a wait before they docked so we sat crossed legged on the harbour eating these....

Strawberry and Clotted Cream Shortcakes.....(Makes 15 to 20 depending on how thin you like the shortbread)

150g plain flour
100g cornflour
70g caster sugar
125g salted butter
1 big pinch Cornish sea salt
150g strawberry jam
1 large punnet of strawberries (with about 10 strawberries in it)
1 200g tub clotted cream

Put the flour, cornflour, sugar, butter and salt in a food processor and whizz together.


Pull the mix together with your hands until it becomes a dough. Roll out until it's about the thickness of a one pound coin. Cut into circles about the size of a jam jar lid.


You should have preheated the oven now by the way to 180'c. Grease a bun tin and place the circles in each hole. Prick with a fork. (I have no idea why you do this. I do it because it's been drummed into me. If you know..tell me!)

Bake for about 15 minutes until light brown. Take out of the oven and leave to cool for 20 minutes. Run a knife around them just to make sure they haven't stuck to the tins. Put a small tsp of good quality strawberry jam on each shortcake and pop back in the oven for 10 minutes.

Take out of the oven and leave to completely cool. Top with a small scoop of clotted cream and half a strawberry.



3 comments:

  1. I've got some clotted cream in the freezer and strawberries left over from lunch and I've given up on my diet so I think I'll try this. Sounds great
    Auntie Flo

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  2. These look super scrummy. The reason you should prick pastry is that if you don't it is likely to rise up in places creating an uneven & pockmarked pastry - or something like that anyway!

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  3. Oh thanks Choclette! When cooking I frequently do stuff I have no idea the reason are behind! ( I dont think this makes sense!)

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