Diet Recipes Blog

Basic Scones recipe – 192 calories

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups self-raising flour, plus 3 tablespoons self-raising flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon milk, beaten together
1/2 cup cold butter
3 tablespoons sugar

Preparation:
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) and grease a baking sheet.
2. In a bowl, mix together the flour and salt.
3. Rub in the butter with your fingertips, until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs and there are no lumps left.
4. Stir in the baking powder and sugar.
5. Add the milk (a little at a time), stirring with a wooden spoon, until the mixture begins to stick together.
6. Pull the mixture together into a ball and plop onto a floured surface.
7. Knead lightly to form a smooth ball.
8. Place the dough on a plate and let it rest in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes.
9. Roll the dough out onto a floured surface until it is about 1/2 inch thick.
10. Using a round cookie cutter or a drinking glass dipped in flour, cut the dough into circles 2-1/2 to 3 inches across. (When you lift the cutter from the dough, be careful not to twist it! If you twist, you will twist the gluten in the dough and make it hard for the scones to rise straight up when they are baking.)
11. Place the scones on a baking sheet and brush the tops with the beaten egg (only brush the top, without letting the wash drip down the sides of the scones).
12. Bake for about 10 minutes until golden and well risen.
13. Remove the scones to a cooling tray.
14. Serve warm (with butter) or cool (topped with fresh strawberries or other summer fruits).

Recipe preparation instructions…

British-Style Pancakes recipe – 94 calories

Ingredients:
2 eggs
50 g butter
200 ml milk, mixed with 75 ml water
110 g plain flour, sifted
1 pinch salt

To serve
lemon wedges, to taste
lemon juice, to taste
caster sugar, to taste

Preparation:
1. Sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl.
2. Make a well in the center of the flour and break the eggs into it, then whisk the eggs into the flour.
3. Slowly add small quantities of the milk and water mixture, whisking all the while to get the lumps out of the flour (the batter should be like a thin cream when you’re done).
4. Melt the butter in a frying pan.
5. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the melted butter into the batter and whisk it in, then pour the rest into a bowl and use it to grease the pan (using a bit of paper towel to smear it round before you make each pancake).
6. Heat up the pan over high heat, then turn the heat down to medium.
7. Spoon the batter into the pan, using just less than 1/4 cup for a 10″ pan (don’t make the pancakes too big, or they’ll be hard to flip).
8. As soon as the batter hits the hot pan, tip it around from side to side to get the base evenly coated with batter – it will only take a few seconds to cook.
9. When it is golden brown underneath, flip to the other side and cook for a few more seconds.
10. Place the pancake on a plate and cover with a clean kitchen towel to keep warm while you make the rest.
11. To serve, sprinkle each pancake with freshly squeezed lemon juice and caster sugar, fold in half, then in half again to form triangles (or simply roll them up). Serve sprinkled with a little more sugar and lemon juice and extra sections of lemon.

Recipe preparation instructions…