Mills and Boon Historical author Nicole Locke writes about delicious highland warriors, courageous heroines ahead of their time and their fiery attraction.
On today’s blog, Nicole talks about baking bannocks that featured in a key scene in her new romance, The Highlander’s Bridal Bid.
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I’m a great cook. In fact, I can look at ingredients, not bother with the recipe, and something delicious is served. Only a handful of times in my daily cooking have I made a mediocre meal. And I say this, completely bragging, because you have to know where I’m coming from.
I can’t bake. I really can’t bake. I so cannot bake that even if I measure with the utmost care, test the air’s temperature and humidity, angle a thermometer around my oven for heat differences, and do a sacrificial salt throw over my shoulder for good luck, whatever I’m baking still won’t turn out.
So, of course, in celebration of my release, The Highlander’s Bridal Bid, I wanted to bake.
But they are Bannocks! So I foolishly thought I’d be safe because traditionally they’re made with a cast iron pan on the hob/fire. Better yet, most don’t require yeast!
However, Bannocks are awfully close to a bakery good, and there’s flour involved. I swear that stuff is out to get me. In fact, now that I think about it, I often mess up with my floured gravies too. Evil flour.
Even so, I’m stubbornly celebrating because I wanted to experience the true flavour of my favourite scene in the Bridal Bid.
It’s towards the end when Anna, the heroine, is truly not happy with Camron, the hero. You see, she was betrayed in the past, and Camron just wants her to realise not all men betray…and she needs to trust herself.
So during Beltane festival, when everyone else is reaching into a large sack to pull out a piece of Bannock bread (the burnt bits are where the luck is!), Anna reaches into Camron’s sack to chuck some hard crust at him, only to come out with a handful of flower petals.
She throws them at him anyway. Again and again…in between having words with him, until she gets to the very bottom of the large bag—
To which Camron closes the bag around her, throws her over his shoulder, and takes her off so they can have a proper, ahem, talk.
How could I not risk baking for that scene?
Except, my challenge doesn’t end there. I thought there was only one kind of Bannock (yes you can toss bread at me now). So that meant I had to try a few recipes.
Thus, I tried the fluffy fruit Selkirk variety, and the oaty Hebridean kind. I know there’s other kinds, but please have mercy on me.
Did they turn out? No. Did they have hints that they’d be good if someone else was making them? Absolutely.
So I had a flavour of what those Beltane loaves could have been like. And since I spent all day doing my least favourite thing, I was quite cranky at the end when none of them turned out.
So you could say, I was “not happy” just like Anna was in the story. Win win!
Now, if only I can get my husband to buy me flowers, or better yet, toss me over his shoulder…and take me out for dinner.
And in case you want to give Bannocks hope because I know they would be good, here is a recipes I used: https://www.scotchandscones.com/scottish-bannocks
Nicole Locke
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The Highlander’s Bridal Bid by Nicole Locke
