英式烘茶餅葡萄乾飽 English Toasted Teacakes

說出來你可能不會相信，在眾多美味的英式茶點中，我可以經常吃也不會厭倦的，就是最簡單的烘茶餅葡萄飽。

You may not be believe this; of all the delicious English cakes and sweet breads, the one that I never tire of having alongside my cup of tea, is the humble toasted teacake.

初來英國時，對英式糕點沒多大興趣。認識茶餅是因為認識了小燕。

開學不久，學院的活動大堂竟宣佈以後將停止供應免費的咖啡和茶。無可奈何之下，我只好忍痛掏出 8 便士，去飯堂排隊買咖啡。就是在那天，結識了全校唯一的另一位中國同學，在教育系進修碩士學位的小燕。

When I first arrived here, I didn't particular like the English cakes and sweet foods. Getting to know teacakes started when I met my friend Siu Yin.

Not long after college started, I remember one day the student union suddenly announcing that they would stop providing free tea and coffee at break time. Reluctantly, I took 8 pence out of my purse and joined the queue at the canteen to get the cup of coffee. And was on that day that I bumped into Siu Yin - the only other Chinese student at the college. She was studying her master's in education at that time.

那時的小燕三十五歲，比我大十四年。在香港時已是一間幼稚園的副校長。她人如其名，嬌小玲瓏；思想也遠比才二十一歲的我天真浪漫。

她來唸書是為了暫時離開向她求婚的男友，好給彼此一個考驗。她考慮的理由雖說因為對方不是基督徒，恐怕思想上有矛盾。但聽她談起舊事，我想她始終難忘她那段苦澀的初戀。

Siu Yin was 35 years old then, 14 years older then me. She was pretty and dainty, just like her name. Although I was younger then her, she had a more youthful and romantic view on life and things in general.

She was working as a deputy head at a kindergarten in Hong Kong before she came over to study. She said she wanted to take time to think over a proposal from her boyfriend. Since he wasn't a Christian, she worried about the impact this would have on their relationship. Listening to her talking about her past, I knew she simply couldn't forget about her first love, a very traumatic experience which stayed with her all these years.

遇著我不用做功課或做工的週六早上，小燕會來找我喝茶談天。她知我的餘錢不多，給她訪尋到小巷裏一間賣衣店樓上的小茶室，氣氛很好卻收費便宜。那裏做的烘茶餅香軟鬆脆，每次我們去坐，都會每人要一個來伴茶。在我們做學友的两年期間，『去「二樓」吃茶餅』成為我們課餘閒談的好去處。

小燕常談起她的初戀。她從來沒提他的名字；我只知他從事出版業，大她五年，她很愛他，但她家裏積極反對他們來往。那天我問她：「你已是成人了，家人怎能干預你的感情事？」

她難過地說：「... 到後來，他依靠藥物的無助和情緒的不穩定 ... 已到了我愛莫能助的地步 ... 」。

On the weekend morning when I wasn't working on homework or my part-time job, Siu Yin and I would meet up to have tea and a good chat. She knew I didn't have a lot of spare money, so she found this little tea shop on the 2nd floor of a boutique, which had a lovely interior and was reasonably priced. They made the best toasted teacakes in the area. Every time we go there, we would each have one to go with our cup of tea.                                              

Siu Yin always talked about her first love. She never mentioned his name, I only knew he worked in publishing; he was 5 years older then her, and she loved him deeply. But her family were strongly against their relationship. I asked her that day," You're a grown woman, and how could your family interfere with whoever you wanted to go out with?"

She said sadly," ... in the end, his dependency on prescription medication and the mood swings, escalated to the point that I could no longer cope or help him ... "

與小燕談起的這件事令我難忘至今！小燕回去後與多情守候的男友結婚了。愛情事業两得意，後來還成為一間小學的校長。

婚後我帶丈夫一起上「二樓」嚐烘茶餅，不知是否店主換了的緣故，吃的時候，滋味竟完全不一樣了。但我對烘茶餅的鐘愛，多年來始終沒有減退。

I listened in silence, talking about this with Siu Yin stunned me completely! After graduation, Siu Yin went back and married her loving boyfriend. Her career went from strength to strength too. she became the headmistress of a primary school.

After we got married, I took my husband to visit the 2nd floor, and tried to re-capture the flavour of my student day's tea-time favouite. I don't know whether it was due to the shop changing hands or other reasons, but somehow the teacakes didn't taste the same. Having said that, my love for toasted teacakes has not diminished over the years.

英式烘茶餅葡萄飽  
( 做 8 - 12 個 )

材料：

• 高筯麵粉 Strong white bread flour 500g
• 鹽 10g
• 砂糖60g
• 肉桂粉 1 茶匙
• 速效酵母 Instant yeast 10g
• 軟化無鹽牛油 50g
• 冷開水 300ml
• 菜油 2 湯匙
• 大粒葡萄乾 100g
• 大粒雜果乾 100g
• 蛋 1 隻打勻作塗麵包面用

English Toasted Teacakes 

( makes 8 - 12 )

Ingredients:

• 500g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
• 10g salt
• 60g caster sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 10g instant yeast
• 50g unsalted butter, softened
• 300ml cool water
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 100g large sultanas
• 100g dried mixed fruits
• 1 egg, beaten, to glaze

做法：

1.  大碗中加進麵粉，把鹽、糖和肉桂粉放在一旁，酵母粉在另一邊。中間加進牛油和 3/4 的
     水，用手把所有材料拌勻，有需要的話，逐少逐少的把餘下的水加進。搓揉數分鐘成一個
     麵團。

Method:

1.  Place the flour in a large bowl, add the salt, sugar and cinnamon to one side of the bowl and the yeast to
     the other.  Add the butter and 3/4 water, and turn the mixture round with your fingers. Continue to add
     water, a little at a time if necessary. Keep kneading for a few minutes until the mixture forms a rough
     dough.

2.  搓麵板或桌面塗少許的油，把麵團放上繼續搓揉 5 - 10 分鐘。從濕潤搓至光滑。大碗內抹

     油，把麵團放回，用塗了油的保鮮紙蓋著，讓其發大至 2 倍左右 - 至少 1 小時。

2.  Spread the work top with a little vegetable oil, put the dough onto it and begin to knead. Keep kneading

     for 5 - 10 minutes. Work through the initial wet stage until the dough is soft and smooth. Put the dough

     back in the lightly oiled bowl, cover with a lightly oiled cling film. Leave it to rise until at least double

     in size - about t 1 hour.

3.  烤盤上塗油或鋪上烘焙紙。把葡萄乾、雜果乾加進升起了的粉團，在碗內搓揉 2 分鐘；倒

     在灑了少許粉的板或桌面，繼續搓揉至果乾全部均勻搓進。

4.  把粉團分成 8 或 12 份 ( 茶餅大小隨個人喜愛)，按至圓球；用擀麵棍輕壓成 1 吋左右厚

     度。

3.  Lightly oil or line the baking trays with baking parchment. Add the sultanas and dried mixed fruit to the

     risen dough in the bowl and start working them into it. After a couple of minutes, tip the dough out onto a

     lightly flour surface and knead until the fruit is thoroughly mixed in.

4. Divide the dough into 8 - 12 pieces ( depends on how big you like your tea cakes). Shape each into a

    ball, use a rolling pin to flatten them out to 1 inch thick. 

5. 把茶餅放在烤盤上，用塗了油的保鮮紙輕蓋著讓其發大 1 小時左右至两倍。預熱烤爐至

    190C / 375 F / Gas 5,  把蛋餅塗上蛋液。置烤爐內烤約 15 分鐘至表面金黄勻稱便行。取出

    放網架上待涼。

5. Place teacakes onto baking trays, loosely covered with a piece of oiled cling film and leave to rise for 

    about an hour until the teacakes are doubled in size.  Meanwhile, heat up your oven to 190C / 375F / 

    Gas 5. Brush the teacakes with the egg and  bake  for approxmately 15 minutes until risen and golden. 

    Cool on a wire rack.

自己動手做的茶餅，新鮮出爐時香軟微甜，抓著放進口裏已很好吃。隔天把它切開，放進 toaster 或 under the grill 烘一下，塗上牛油；熱熱的甘香酥脆，伴一杯奶茶。簡簡單單的，已可成為一份美味而滿足的早餐、下午茶點或小食。

When baking your own teacakes; soft and slightly sweet, eaten on their own fresh out of the oven is already a treat. Split it the day after, toast lightly in a toaster or under a grill, and then spread with butter. The melt in the mouth scrumptious taste are just so endearing. With a cup of tea, you can have a toasted teacake for breakfast, afternoon tea or as a snack anytime of the day.