Home Made Jammie Dodgers

I recently saw an advertisement in the Metro for Strawberry Tea. This is an annual fund raising event for Breast Cancer Care. Like many people, breast cancer has affected someone in my family.

I managed to talk my work into having a Bake Sale in honour of this wonderful charity. So on Wednesday 7^th September, a few of us put on our pinnies and rolled up our sleeves and baked our hearts out.

By the end of the day we had raised £178.50.

49,000 people are affected by breast cancer every year.

The money we raised will make a huge difference to people living with breast cancer. Breast Cancer Care offers expert information, practical support and a friendly ear to anyone dealing with the confusion and fear of this life-threatening illness. It's online, over the phone and face-to-face support is free, thanks to the generosity of supporters.

October is Breast Cancer awareness month so please support the many charities out there doing there bit for this cause.

http://www.breastcancercare.org.uk/events

One of the yummy recipes featured on the Breast Cancer Care website is homemade Jammie Dodgers. I went with a heart shaped cookie cutter rather than around one and I thought they turned out really cute.

I also made Jammie Dodger Cupcakes, Raspberry and Lime Loaf and Cosmopolitan Cupcakes to keep within the pink theme.

Homemade Jammie Dodgers

(Makes 12-16 biscuits)

Ingredients:

250g Unsalted Butter, softened

350g Plain Flour

125g Icing Sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

Pinch of Salt

200g Strawberry or Raspberry Jam

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Beat the butter until it is light and fluffy. Add the flour, icing sugar and salt. Combine all the ingredients until you have a nice dough. Wrap the dough ball in cling film and chill in the fridge for 1 hour.
3. After chilling, roll out the dough and cut into rounds with a circular-shaped cookie cutter. Place half of the biscuits on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
4. For the other half of the biscuits, cut out a heart shape in the middle and place on a second lined baking tray.
5. Bake both sets of biscuits in the oven for 6–8 minutes. Leave to cool.
6. Spread half of the biscuits with jam and cover with the heart-shape biscuits.
7. Sprinkle icing sugar on top.

Jammie Dodger Cupcakes

Whilst trawling through the internet one night I came across a cupcake site where someone had the idea to make jammie dodger cupcakes. Sorry but I can’t remember who it belonged to but I loved the idea. I don’t recall there being a recipe as such but the concept of creating the cupcake.

I used my tried and trusted sponge mix for the basis of this cupcake then put jam in the middle of the cake topped off with a strawberry buttercream and decorated with shortcake heart. These hearts were the cut outs from the home made jammie dodgers as I didn’t want to waste them. There was also a small amount of biscuit dough left over which I baked and used from crumbling over the top of the cakes.

Jammie Dodger Cupcakes

(Makes 12 good sized cupcakes)

Ingredients:

250g Butter, softened

250g Caster Sugar

250g Self Raising Flour, sifted

4 eggs

2 tsp Vanilla Essence

Raspberry or Strawberry Jam

12 Shortcake Biscuit Hearts

Broken Shortcake Biscuits

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 160C / gas mark 4. Grease 2 round cake tins or if making cupcakes, place cupcake cases in a 12 hole muffin tin.
2. Put the butter and the sugar in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy and well mixed. Turn the mixer up to high speed, slowly add the egg and beat until everything is well incorporated.
3. Add the flour, baking powder and vanilla essence and continue to mix on a medium speed until
4. Divide the batter evenly between the tins (or cupcake cases). Bake in the oven for 25 minutes for sponge, 15 minutes for cupcakes. A skewer should come out clean.
5. Leave to cool slightly before transferring to a wire rack.
6. When completely cool core the middle out of the cakes and insert some jam (I find the squirty bottles of smooth jam best for this)

Strawberry Butter cream

Ingredients:

110g Butter, softened

500g Icing Sugar, sifted

Strawberry Flavouring

Pink Food colouring

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter, a few drops of strawberry flavouring, a few drops of food colouring and half the icing sugar until smooth – this can take several minutes with a hand mixer. Gradually add the remainder of the icing sugar and beat again until the buttercream is smooth and creamy.
2. Ice the cakes with the buttercream.
3. Blitz the shortcake biscuit in a food processor until it is fine crumbs. Sprinkle generously over the cakes then decorate with a shortcake biscuit heart.