A quintessentially English breakfast or afternoon teatime treat, crumpets are great with lashings of butter and jam and a pot of tea!

MAKES 8 CRUMPETS

200g plain flour

100ml warm milk

100ml warm water

50g butter

1 tsp caster sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp fast-acting dried yeast

Crumpet rings or circular pastry cutters.

Step 1: Sieve the flour into a large bowl and add the salt and sugar.  Make a well in the middle and add the yeast.

Step 2: Pour in the milk and water and mix into a thick, smooth batter. Cover with a tea towel and leave in a warm place for an hour.

Step 3: Stir the mixture well and heat a frying pan over a low heat, melting some of the butter.

Step 4: Place the crumpet rings onto the frying pan and half fill with the batter.  Fry for about eight minutes, until small bubbles appear on the surface of the batter.  Remove the rings and flip the crumpets, cooking until they are golden brown on both sides.

Scones are jam’s best friend and no picnic or afternoon tea party is complete without some homemade ones.  We go through thousands of them at The SuperJam Tea Parties.  Try serving these fresh out of the oven with a generous dollop of clotted cream and plenty of jam.

MAKES 8 SCONES

250g self raising flour

a pinch of salt

75g butter

30g caster sugar

150ml milk

50g raisins

25g glace cherries, chopped

25g candied peel

a jar of jam, to serve

Step 1: Heat the oven to 200 degrees / gas 6

Step 2: Sift the flour into a bowl, add the salt and then, using your fingers, rub in the butter.

Step 3: Stir in the sugar and fruits, add the milk gradually, mixing it in with your fingers.  Keep adding the milk until you have dough that doesn’t stick to your fingers any more.

Step 4: Give the dough a wee knead on a floury surface, then break off clumps of it by hand (you could flatten it all out and cut perfect little circles out with a cutter, if you prefer) and pop them onto a greased baking tray.

Step 5: Brush the scones with a little milk and bake them for around fifteen minutes, or until they’ve risen and are nice and golden.

Welsh cakes are a really simple, tasty treat.  Originally baked over an open fire, they are traditionally served with butter and preserves.  Eat them up while they’re still hot!

MAKES 6-8

150g self-raising flour

50g caster sugar

25g currants or raisins

25g butter

25g lard (or butter if you prefer)

1 beaten egg

Pinch of salt

½ tsp mixed spice

tablespoon whole milk

Step 1: Put the flour, sugar, spice and salt into a bowl and rub the butter and half of the lard in with your fingers.  Add the currants and then rub in the egg and with your fingers until you have nice stiff dough, similar to short crust pastry.

Step 2: Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to about 3cm thick.  Cut out circles using a cutter.

Step 3: Melt a little of the lard in a pan and fry the welsh cakes on each side until golden brown.

Step 4: Sprinkle them with caster sugar and serve with jam.

No doubt this recipe will bring back memories of school dinners for a lot of people.  It is a really simple, classic pudding and is a real comfort food, especially when you serve it with some delicious blueberry and blackcurrant jam!

SERVES 6

750ml whole milk

60g semolina

30g caster sugar

20g butter

Nutmeg

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 175 degrees, gas 3.

Step 2: Heat the milk in a pan until warm

Step 3: Add the semolina and cook slowly on a medium heat, stirring all the time until it thickens.

Step 4: Add the sugar and butter, continuing to mix until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves.

Step 5: Pour the mixture into a well-greased ovenproof dish and grate the nutmeg over the top.

Step 6: Bake in the oven for around thirty minutes, until golden on top. Serve with a generous dollop of jam.

Sometimes, nothing beats a slice of freshly baked crusty bread with a generous layer of butter and jam.  This bread is great with soup or for sandwiches and is best eaten the same day its made.

MAKES ONE LARGE LOAF.

 400g strong white bread flour

200ml warm water

20g butter, melted

10g active dry yeast

½ tsp salt

½ tsp sugar

Step 1: In a bowl, dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water and allow to stand for about ten minutes.

Step 2: Combine the yeast with the milk, butter, half of the flour and the salt and mix until smooth.  Add the rest of the flour and mix it all until you have consistent dough.

Step 3: Turn it out onto a floury surface and knead until it is soft and smooth, which takes about ten minutes.  Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, covered with a tea towel and leave to rise to double its size in a warm place for around an hour.

Step 4: While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 200 degrees (gas 6).

Step 5: Place the dough into a lightly greased baking tin and put your loaf into the oven for around thirty minutes, or until golden brown.

These simple biscuits, sandwiched together with jam and topped with icing sugar and a glace cherry were one of my favourite treats as a kid.

You can top them with candied peel or chocolate buttons or, in fact, whatever you like!

MAKES 6 EMPIRE BISCUITS

175g icing sugar

125g plain flour

100g butter

75g raspberry & cranberry jam

50g caster sugar

25 ml water

3 glace cherries

½ tsp vanilla essence

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 175 degrees, gas 3.

Step 2: Cream the butter, caster sugar and vanilla essence together until smooth.  Gradually sift and stir in the flour, until well blended.

Step 3: On a floured surface, roll out the dough to about 1-2cm thickness.  Using a cutter or an upturned glass, cut out about 12 circles from the dough.

Step 4: Bake for around fifteen minutes, until golden brown.  Once the biscuits have cooled, sandwich them together with the jam.

Step 5: Mix the water and icing sugar together until thick and smooth.  Spread on top of the biscuits and top with half of a glace cherry.

More recipes like this one are available in The SuperJam Cookbook.