25 May 2022

Rascals

When I chose "Yorkshire Pudding" as my nom-de-plume I had also been thinking about "Fat Rascal". The fat rascal is another baked Yorkshire delicacy made famous by Betty's tea shops in Harrogate and York. It is essentially a large scone with some ingredient twists - including citrus peel and sour cream or creme fraiche.

We looked after Little Phoebe on Monday night and took her to nursery school on Tuesday morning. Mummy and Daddy were away for the night celebrating Daddy's birthday in a country hotel near York. When they returned, they gave us two fat rascals as a reward - bought at Betty's tea shop in Harrogate on Tuesday morning. See the picture at the top.

They were very yummy. I guess that if you eat too many fat rascals you might become a fat rascal. Back in June 2005, I decided against the nickname as my body was and remains as lithe and sculpted as that of an Olympic swimmer.

Ingredients

  • 100 g butter, softened
  • 250 g plain flour
  • 75 g currants
  • 50 g mixed citrus peels
  • 1 1⁄2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 75 g golden caster sugar
  • 150 150 ml sour cream or 150 ml creme fraiche
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • glace cherries, for decoration
  • blanched almond, for decoration (whole)

Directions
  • Pre-heat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7 and grease or line a baking sheet, or oven parchment
  • Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs.
  • Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix well.
  • Add the cream and mix to a stiff paste - a firm dough.
  • Roll the mixture out on a floured board, to about 1" thickness and stamp out rounds, of about 3" in diameter. ( You can also shape the fat rascals by hand; take a piece of dough, about the size of a small egg, and make a small ball - flatten it out slghtly into bread roll shapes - like a bread bap shape.)
  • Arrange them on the greased baking tray and glaze them generously with the beaten egg.
  • Then place 2 whole blanched almonds on top with a halved glace cherry for decoration - pushing them down gently into the dough, so they do not fall off during baking!
  • Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they have risen and are golden brown.
  • Allow to cool on a wire cooling rack.
  • Store them in an airtight tin for up to 4 days.

30 comments:

  1. I like the photo of the Fat Rascals. What an uncanny resemblance to a well known Yorkshire based blogger.

    ReplyDelete
  2. You neglected to include the calorie count which is 421 calories per rascal, plus butter if you follow the suggested presentation!! That being said, I expect one would not need dinner after having one of those :) https://www.bettys.co.uk

    What a nice treat from your daughter and son-in-law, but I bet YOU would have paid THEM for the honour of taking care of Phoebe.

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    Replies
    1. Phoebe was a delight as ever - a lovely little "rascal"!

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  3. I think you were wise to have gone with Yorkshire Pudding rather than Fat Rascal. Fat Rascal sounds more like a porn site.

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  4. Anonymous11:43 pm

    I'll buy mine at Betty's, if I could afford it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Betty's is legendary but I am not sure that Australians are allowed in owing to concerns about table manners.

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    2. I'm sure Andrew has impeccable manners. Me, they'd throw out in a heartbeat.

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  5. They sound delicious, maybe I'll give them a try. but I'll have to share them with neighbours so I don't become a Fat Rascal myself.

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  6. Can you believe I have never been inside a Betty's, no matter how often I've been to Harrogate? There was always a queue outside, putting me off, but I know their stuff to be delicious.
    The directions speak of "2 whole blanched almonds on top with a halved glace cherry for decoration" - but the picture shows each Fat Rascal to have three almonds on top. I wonder what the story behind that specific way of decorating is; is it supposed to be a face with the cherry halves for eyes and the almonds for teeth?

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  7. I've never heard of a fat rascal, but next time I'm up your way I'll try to remember to try one.

    By the way, I've noticed that your comments on my blog for some reason go to spam. I will try to remember to approve them each day. I have this same problem with a couple of other bloggers, too. Who knows why? In any case, just wanted to let you know I'm aware and on top of it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have noticed my comments disappearing too Steve. I imagined that you had suddenly become hypersensitive about mischievousness. Sorry to cause you an extra chore.

      Delete
  8. Having made some of the worst scones in the history of baking, I'll give making these a miss - for the sake of wasting the ingredients!
    If I'm ever that way, I'll treat myself to the genuine article from Betty's.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Perhaps you would win a TV cooking show called "Great British Baking Disaster"?

      Delete
  9. As it's such a long way over the border I've taken to ordering the occasional fat rascal and my most favourite, fondant fancy. I've got a delivery coming next week so I can enjoy the jubilee celebrations in style!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What jubilee celebrations? I don't know what you are going on about Christina.

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    2. Eee. You're a card!

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    3. It's nice to have a laugh isn't it Christina? A bit of mischief and well-intentioned ribaldry. Something that the pompous troll you mentioned a few weeks ago would not understand.

      Delete
    4. It certainly is, Mr P. We all need a laugh! Some pompous trolls more than others!

      Delete
  10. They do indeed look yummy and I wish I'd known about them when I visited Betty's at Harrogate. They look like toothy faces.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. For me it's like looking in a mirror.

      Delete
  11. They look delicious. Never made it inside a Betty's shop, the queue outside is always offputting. Have you changed your avatar?

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love all baked goods! Maybe I'll try making some fat rascals

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you do, I would love to hear about your effort and the end result.

      Delete
  13. They look and sound delicious. Of course here in the States we would call them Fat Bastards because that's how we roll.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Remove the last "s" and I do declare you are left with a description of your last president!

      Delete
  14. Am I somewhere in your spam folder?

    ReplyDelete

Mr Pudding welcomes all genuine comments - even those with which he disagrees. However, puerile or abusive comments from anonymous contributors will continue to be given the short shrift they deserve. Any spam comments that get through Google/Blogger defences will also be quickly deleted.

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