NYT Crumpets and Clotted Cream and Marmalade

[oakjoan]

These recipes were in this past Wednesday's food section of the NYT. I made them for breakfast today. Well, I made the crumpets starting last night.

They looked pretty ugly because I didn't have anything to use as a ring to shape them as they cooked. I tried a jam jar ring, but the dough got stuck in the indentation and made a mess when I tried to turn them over.

So I went for free-form. The dough has half whole wheat and half white flour and is very simple to make. When it had risen, I put the bowl into the fridge and got it out this morning. Let it sit for a bit to warm up. Then I plopped some dough and tried to spread it around to make a lame approximation of a round....

So when they're done you split them and spread "clotted cream" on them. The author calls for cream and mascarpone, but I just couldn't bring myself to put all that rich, fatty stuff into the spread. So I used some mascarpone and some low-fat cream cheese.

One is also supposed to serve blood orange and Meyer lemon marmalade on them, but I didn't hat the time. Today, I DID have the time to make the marm. and it's cooking right now. I can't wait to try it because these 2 fruits are among my faves.

Will report back.

[rockycat]

I made the marmalade yesterday and served it for breakfast this morning with biscuits (I live in the South, after all). The marmalade went over very well, even with my child who does not like "things" in her jelly. The Meyer lemons give it a beautiful floral scent. I really enjoyed it and will be making it again. Just not soon, since we don't use enough jams/preserves/marmalades to finish it up within a month.

If you do make it, though, be aware - the stated amount of fruit gave me 4 1/2 c., not the 2 1/2 c. stated. I chose to scale up the amount of sugar and water. When I do it again, I will just stop cutting at 2 1/2 c.

[NYCkaren]

Because I have a mania for buying cooking gadgets I will never use, I do have crumpet rings. I think I got them on eBay. At least they were cheap and don't take up a lot of room. But as a female who does watch football I was too annoyed by this Melissa Clark piece to clip the recipes. "I couldn't care less about the Super Bowl so I'm going to have a tea party." Spare me.

[oakjoan]

NYCkaren: Yikes! I didn't even read the article. I am also a female who watches football and I've NEVER had a tea party.

[buttertart]

The article was annoying even to a female who never watches football and whose husband cares even less about it than she does. Twee is not becoming.
i wondered about the brown sugar in the marmalade, I think I'd prefer it with all white.

[rockycat]

Demarara sugar is not the same as brown sugar. However, the raw sugar did give the marmalade a slightly caramelized note. Whether you like that or not is a matter of taste. I liked the recipe as written but I'm sure I would like it with all white sugar, too.

[oakjoan]

If you saw my husband and myself (especially in the morning) you'd laugh out loud at the idea of us having a tea party. I did really like the crumpets and the marmalade (especially since I have a tree laden with Meyer lemons. All in all, despite the NO JAM ON CRUMPETS law, we liked these a lot. Would it make you Brits feel better if I called them STRUMPETS? or CRUMPSTERS?

[buttertart]

rockycat, I know what Demerara sugar is, I couldn't be bothered to check whether it was Demerara or turbinado in the recipe so wrote brown.
oakjoan, strumpets! Yes!!!

[piccola]

Meh, I don't particularly identify with the urge to throw a tea party, but I have nothing against it. Besides, crumpets are tasty.

[nemo]

oakjoan:

As an aside, I've been stockpiling water chestnut cans for similar applications. They're one of the few cans left on the grocery shelf that can be opened top and bottom, leaving a fairly clean ring. Also good for tamping layered salads or first course things. They also work well for cutting out puff pastry rings (score a circle in the top with a smaller biscuit cutter), lovely vol-au-vents.

They might cut the perfect circle of pie dough for a muffin pan, but I haven't tried that yet.

[sancan]

Nemo - Thank you, thank you, thank you. I've been covered up with regrets for not stockpiling other kinds of cans. Didn't know water chestnuts were still made the old way. I'm gonna go buy a bunch.

[smartie]

I have never heard of crumpets with clotted cream and marmalade. We Brits have them toasted then buttered and maybe some strawberry jam or Marmite. Hmm.

[oakjoan]

smartie: When I said "they''re SUPPOSED to be served with blood orange and lemon marmalade, I only meant that the NYT article said to serve them that way. The author didn't say that they were authentic or anything.

To Nemo: What a great idea. I wasn't about to go to some cooking store and buy rings.

[greedygirl]

Indeed. Butter only on my crumpets, please.