I wanted to make something special to honor my father on Father's day this year. Although he may be thousands of miles away physically . . . he is never much more than a breath away in my heart. He has always been my biggest fan. He calls me the "Apple of His Eye." He probably says the same thing to my sister and my brother too . . . but that doesn't matter to me. When he says it to me, I feel like the only apple of his eye, and that's what counts . . .
My father taught me many things when I was growing up. He taught me the value of laughter and the value of tears . . . yes, my father was never afraid to show his heart to any of us. I am grateful for that.
I get my love of reading from my father. I have lovely memories of him telling me stories when I was a very small child, and reading to me from my books . . . I am just like him. He is always reading more than one book at a time, and so am I. I am grateful for the gift of the love of reading. If you love reading, you are never alone . . . and there is no end to the places you can go and see in your mind. He taught me that books are your friends.
He also taught me to love music. My father has a deep love of music and plays several musical instruments. When I was a young teen I learned how to play the clarinet and I have many many fond memories of us playing duets together on rainy afternoons. Those were truly special times for us, and I keep them in my heart like the treasures they are.
It's from my father that I get my love of fish and chips, and toasted cheese and bologna sandwiches . . . and the combination of maple and walnuts. We are both nuts about maple and walnuts together (no pun intended). It is our favorite flavor combination, and we will take it any way we can get it, Maple Walnut Ice cream being one of our greatest loves of all . . .
And so . . . in honor of that great love which we share with each other for all things maple walnut, this Father's Day I created a special Maple Walnut Scone for my dad. They are stogged full of maple syrup and toasted walnuts . . . and buttermilk, wholesome oats . . . and love.
Oh, I know . . . he's thousands of miles away and he can't really taste them . . . but I honored him in making them. The Toddster says it's ok that Dad can't eat them from that far away . . . he'll eat his for him. Yep . . . the Toddster loves Maple and Walnuts too . . .
They do say you marry men like your fathers. Happy Father's Day!
*Maple Walnut Scones*Makes 8 large sconesPrintable RecipeBeautiful light and fluffy scones filled with the lovely flavours of Maple and toasted walnuts. Delicious!For the scones:180g of plain flour (1 1/4 cups)140g of oat flour (1 cup, see note)1/2 tsp fine sea salt2 tsp baking powder1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)50g of golden caster sugar (1/4 cup)(If you have it you can use maple sugar)60g of toasted walnut pieces (1/2 cup)85g of cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks (6 TBS)1 large free range egg125ml to 160ml of buttermilk (1/2 to 2/3 cup)2 TBS maple syrup1/2 tsp maple extract1/2 tsp vanilla extractFor the Glaze:280g of icing sugar, sifted (2 cups)maple syrup
hot watermaple extract
Chopped toasted walnuts to garnish
Note: In order to make oat flour, put several cups of old fashioned oats into the food processor and blitz until finely powdered. Store in an airtight container in the freezer.
Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Line a large baking sheet with baking parchment. Set aside.
Measure the plain and oat flour into a bowl along with the salt, baking powder, soda, sugar and nuts into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to combine. Drop in the butter and pulse several times until the mixture is grainy. Beat the egg, maple syrup, and extracts together in a measuring cup. Add buttermilk to measure exactly 240ml/1 cup. Add the wet ingredients slowly while you pulse the machine, mixing only until the dough begins to come together. Tip out onto a lightly floured surface. Bring together into a circle 8 inches in diameter. Cut into 8 wedges. Carefully lift the wedges onto the prepared baking sheet. The dough will be wet, but don't worry about that. Try not to add too much flour when you are working with it.Bake the scones for 18 to 20 minutes, until golden brown and firm on top. Remove to a wire rack to cool.
To make the glaze whisk the icing sugar together with enough maple syrup, a few drops of maple extract and enough hot water to give you a thick glaze. Spoon over top of the scones and sprinkle with a few toasted walnuts if desired. Store in an airtight container.
