Which is the tastiest Protestant traybake?

[FiddleFaddleDingDong]

NI Protestants are famed for their tray bakes but which is the best traybake of all?

I’m thinking something crunchy and chocolatey, a tiffin like thing. But are there unchocolatey traybakes that I just haven’t been exposed to? Are they keeping all the best recipes to themselves, strictly to be eaten behind closed doors?

And does it get a bit competitive? Does Annie cast aspersions on Doris’ traybaking abilities?

Lmao at ‘eat the other half with a spoon’ 😂😂

I come from the south of England but have lived in the north for many years. I think that 'cakes' for small, individual cakes is commoner in the south, while these tend to be called buns in the north. Buns in the south would be eg. fruity teacake type things, hot cross buns, etc.

@CountessVonBoobs @ElevenOhFive

Bay Tree Cinnamon Scones

Scones (makes 8)
14 1/2 oz self raising flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
3 3/4 Oz Marg
1/4 pint milk (maybe more)

Filling
1 3/4 Oz butter
50g caster sugar
50g sultanas
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Method
Filling first, melt butter, add sugar, sultanas and cinnamon and leave to cool

Scones
Sieve flour and baking powder, rub in Marg and add milk
Roll out to 1/2" thickness, spread on filling, roll up and cut into slices
Place on greased tray and cook at 190 for approx 15 mins.

To be on the safe side, I'd double the filling and put some on top after they're cut too.

@FlaviaAlbia you will actually make my life complete if you post the Bay Tree recipe! 😍

@hotchocdrinker I’ve had the raspberry ruffle scones in the Bob & Bert’s cafes on the north coast (although they have outlets all over NI now, including Belfast). They have raspberry ruffle bars chopped up inside, a chunk on the top and are drizzled with chocolate - glorious heated up with butter and raspberry jam 🤪

Just realised that I had a deprived childhood in England with my mother only baking Catholic fairy cakes with no icing. 🤔

Well, that's it according to my home economics teacher ElevenOhFive

I do get them every so often when I'm picking DS up and I'm early and I think they do have more filling than she said which is why is probably best doubled. Don't forget the big bit of butter on top as you eat them out of the oven

Does anyone remember "Peat" traybake? It was crushed digestives, sugar, margarine or butter and cocoa (maybe syrup too) like a cheaper version of tiffin ?

Oh, I've got the recipe for that too SapatSea, hang on

Panky doos in Portrush does amazing scones, strawbanoffee,cream egg, chocolate fudge, strawberry and lime, pineapple and coconut.

Thank you @FlaviaAlbia - you are our leader now

I concur on the catholic hot cross bun. No self respecting prod would be seen touching such papish idolatry.

My DH loves them, but he was born in England which explains it.

Not a tray bake but I have very fond memories of stewed apple in an individual pastry case with a blob of cream on top. Mmmmmmm

It was called tarmac for us but I'm pretty sure it's what you mean

I love the look of that cinnamon scone recipe - thank you so much, @FlaviaAlbia!

@WhoGivesADamnForAFlakeyBandit - I will ask mum for the lemon fudge traybake recipe when I ring her tonight.

I will do as you suggest, @MsMightyTitan.

@ElevenOhFive, that's brilliant, thank you! I've looked up Bob and Bert's and there are at least two places I regularly visit where I can try them, and possibly stock up. Generally I go over to Northern Ireland with my parents, and we stock up on bakery goods before we fly home. We invariably end up in a car park packing goodies into a cabin bag - wheaten scones, wheaten bread, apple pancakes and Nutty Krust usually...

I am going g to have to plan a trip to NI just to try a raspberry ruffle scone. They sound like heaven on earth!

And to stock up on Veda. The thing I miss more than anything else......

German biscuits and empire biscuits are the same thing. They used to be called German Biscuits all over Britain and Ireland, but in WW1 patriotic English bakers changed the name to Empire biscuits while bakers across the island of Ireland, Protestant and Catholic, kept the original name.

I know this because I looked it up on Wikipedia several years ago when English DP was very all confused when I made some.

Cherry scones
Date & wheaten scones
Raspberry & white chocolate scones
Cheese scones
Fruit scones
Plain scones

All of the above are in my mum’s local bakery every day.

Thankyou @disfordarkchocolate for the link to the raspberry and custard cake a million pages ago, I saw it this morning, got the ingredients and it's now in the oven smelling wonderful! DS and I will be having it for pudding warm and lovely

I make excellent cheese scones. The secret is to,put in so much cheddar that the scones lose all structural integrity and cannot maintain a proper scone shape. Split and buttered warm, they are delicious. I add whole grain mustard too.

I also make cherrry scones (with the dark glacé cherries), and would like to make treacle scones.

Also, I'm coming to the realisation that I'm not actually a proper Protestant. My family were CofI, and we had pavlova, apple tart, wheaten bread, and hot cross buns but no traybakes. They also voted for the SDLP and were more likely to call their children after a figure from Irish mythology or the sort of Saint who features in art or poetry than after someone from the Bible.

Today I picked up a vintage cookery book in a charity shop, one that I had seen mentioned many times on Mumsnet as being what posters' grannies cooked with. Old fashioned but with recipes that work.

Imagine my absolute joy, in view of this thread, to bring it home and open it and find this inside...

Love this thread and marking my place

My Grandad would have called things he disapproved of papist. But I don't remember him ever objecting to hot cross buns. I always ate wheaten and apple tart at my other Granny's. My mum made pavAlova all the time but it wasn't proper. MIL makes a great one.

I think they were all just too greedy to let religion get in the way of good food. :o

Please can someone let me know the raspberry and white chocolate scone recipe?

I'm trying to attone for my Catholic upbringing by making caramel squares.

No problem @lcedlatte, I'm finally going to make the real recipe next week. It's lovely the next day too as long as you wrap it up. I always use soya custard so we can have dairy free cake.