13/07/2010 · 10:06 am

Blueberry, peach and almond cake

A weekend with my family usually revolves around eating delicious food and lots of it! We had quite a few birthdays to celebrate so we rolled them all into one and had a huge family barbecue, to which everyone contributed something. It felt like we ended up cooking up and eating a whole farmyard’s worth of meat…I was in heaven! Once everyone had recovered from the meat fest and tucked into desert of fresh fruit brulee (a family favourite) and Granny’s summer pudding we entered the cake round…my domain. We still had a lot of the saffron clotted cream cake left but I also made Nigel Slaters ‘cake for midsummer’, which I’d ripped out of the Observer Food Monthly magazine in June and stashed in my book of ‘must bake’ recipe clippings. It goes a little something like this…

175g butter

175g golden caster sugar

200g ripe peaches

2 large eggs

175g self raising flour

100g ground almonds

1 tsp grated orange zest

a few drops of vanilla extract

150g blueberries

Line a 20cm (8 inch) cake tin with greaseproof paper and preheat the oven to 170 degrees.

Halve, stone and chop the peaches and set aside for later.

Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. I used a handheld whisk. Beat the eggs in one at a time. If it looks like it’s starting to curdle add a small amount of flour.

Mix the flour with the ground almonds and fold into the butter mixture in a few batches. Add the orange zest and vanilla and last but not least, the blueberries and peaches.

Tip the mixture into the prepared tin and Nigel says to bake it for 1 hour 10 minutes. I like my cakes extra moist so after 1 hour I tested it by inserting a sharp knife into the middle of the cake and as it came out relatively clean I decided it had had long enough in the oven.

On Nigel’s advice I sprinkled the cake batter with golden caster sugar before putting it in the oven, creating a gorgeous sweet, crunchy crust on the moist, fruity almond cake.

This cake was super easy, light, tasty and I never thought I would use this word to describe a cake but it was…well…refreshing!

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12/07/2010 · 7:47 pm

A magnificent golden tower of a cake

Last Saturday during my weekly perusal of the Guardian magazine I discovered a whole section entitled ‘50 top cooks top recipes’ it didn’t disappoint…there were so many great sounding recipes that I plan to work my way through. But with my brothers 21st birthday looming I was specifically on the look out for a new and exciting cake recipe…the article didn’t let me down and I found Dan Lepard’s saffron clotted cream cake recipe. I’d never heard of Dan Lepard before but having had a quick swizz of his website and blog I will definitely be trying out a few more of his recipes. He describes this cake as ‘A magnificent tower of light saffron buttercake, rich with clotted cream, layered with lemon curd and topped with clotted cream frosting and more swirls of lemon. The perfect summer party cake’ I didn’t need any more convincing and I was also totally intrigued with the concept of baking with saffron and clotted cream…both firsts for me!

It was a really really hot day, which had a bit of a bad effect on my icing, together with the fact that I got a bit over excited when estimating 2-3 tbsp of water straight from the kettle oops! It tasted great but it sure didn’t look like Dan’s.

I also got a a bit creative with the lemon swirls and edible gold glitter…it was my brothers 21st birthday cake after all!

The cake turned out perfectly moist and although not everyone could taste the saffron, I personally think it added beautifully fragrant undertones to the light but rich sponge which was then cut through by the tangy layers of lemon curd.

Next time I make this cake I’d like to use my own lemon curd and I personally think if you’re using shop bought that you need more than one jar and…don’t add too much boiling water to your icing 🙂

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01/07/2010 · 9:24 pm

A strawberry & vanilla pavlova that’d make Delia proud

After my yummy J+A lunch I headed over to Hyde Park where I had a date with the Kings of Leon, oh…and a few thousand fellow Londoners :). There had been group emails flying around all morning sorting out arrangements for the afternoon. My friend Rory said that he would be bringing champagne and pavlova for us to enjoy before the gig. I didn’t quite realise how serious Rory was…he didn’t just bring a standard shop bought pavlova and a supermarket bottle of champagne or cava. Instead we were spoilt rotten with…

Once we were settled on our blankets in the sun supping our champagne like a load of old lush’s, Rory delved into his bag and produced all of the lovingly homemade components needed to construct Delia’s strawberry and vanilla pavlova …

He uncovered the meringue, made fresh that morning, spooned on the gorgeously vanilla infused mascarpone/fromage frais mixture, poured over pureed strawberries, topped with fresh strawberry halves and last but not least (I was most impressed by his attention to detail) dusted the pavlova with icing sugar….and, as I’m sure you’ll agree, it looked better than Delia’s…

and it tasted divine! Four of us managed to polish off the whole desert in a matter of minutes. It’s amazing what can be achieved with the aid of some tupperware, imagination, ‘can do’ attitude and a little bit of help and advice from Delia!

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01/07/2010 · 8:53 pm

J+A Cafe

I’ve been working in Clerkenwell for over 2 years now and am ashamed to admit that I don’t know the area at all. But recently I’ve been on a journey of discovery. On a recent reconnaissance mission I found myself drawn down a little alleyway just off Great Sutton Street and happened upon J+A cafe. Unfortunately at the time I was on the way to meet a friend so couldn’t linger but I stored it away in my memory banks for another day. That day came around yesterday, when I met a friend for lunch in the sunny courtyard of J+A…

The menu sounded amazing with loads of fresh, home made salads, sandwiches, tarts, quiches and cakes. I had real difficulty choosing what to have but finally settled on a roast chicken open sandwich on Irish soda bread with wholegrain mustard mayonnaise…

The bread, baked on site, was delicious and the chicken was succulent and plentiful. The whole meal was to die for!

My friend had a club sandwich, a triple decker filled with chicken, bacon, avocado, salad, tomato and mayo…not for the dainty or sparrow stomached…

I loved the feel of the place, the atmosphere and their quirky details like their old fashioned bottles used refilled with tap water…

and the fact that they have planted flowers in old butler sinks…

Our bill including 2 coffee’s and a soft drink only came to about £17, generally more than I would pay for a normal ‘nip out of the office’ lunch but definitely good value for money considering the amazing quality and deliciousness of the food. I have just found out that they serve afternoon tea from 3-6pm…I’ll be revisiting J+A sometime very soon!

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01/07/2010 · 12:58 pm

Almond Biscotti

I love Biscotti…they’re sweet but not too sweet, crunchy but not too crunchy and are perfect for dunking. What more could you want! I’ve tried a few different varieties in the past including cranberry and almond and date and walnut but tonight the plan was to stick to simple but delicious almond biscotti. I followed a recipe that I found on the Joy of Baking website. Here it is – 

Almond Biscotti

145g blanched whole almonds, toasted and chopped coarsely

1tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

260g plain flour

150g granulated white sugar

3 large eggs

1tsp vanilla extract

1tbsp lemon rind

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

Toast the almonds for 8-10 minutes or until light brown and fragrant. Leave them to cool for a few minutes and then chop roughly.

Reduce the temperature of the oven to 150 degrees and line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper.

Mix the eggs and essence in a small bowl.

Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Gradually add the egg mixture and beat with a handheld whisk until it forms a stiff dough. Adding the chopped almonds halfway though.

I usually form the dough into 2 logs approx 30cm long and about 2 and a half inches wide on the baking sheet. This part can get quite messy and sticky so have some spare flour handy to dust your hands.

Bake for 30-40 minutes until they are firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for about 10 minutes. Then slice each log diagonally into 1/2 inch slices with a sharp knife. Lay each of the slices on it’s side on the baking sheet and return to the oven for 10 minutes, turn over and give them one more 10 minute blast in the oven until firm.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool fully before decanting into a container. I’ve been told that they keep well in an airtight container but to be honest mine never last that long as the temptation is too strong and it would be rude not to test a couple with a nice cup of tea wouldn’t it?

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28/06/2010 · 8:20 pm

Money for nothing and your coffee for free

A few months ago I found out about a trade show that takes place in London called Caffe Culture and registered for free tickets. The time flew by and it was suddenly time for me to take a day’s holiday from work and to head over to Kensington Olympia for a day of freebies and coffee machine porn topped with a large dose of World Barista Championship excitement and a whole load of free caffeine!

Me and my friend Caz made the mistake of buying a coffee when we first entered the show not realising just how many offers we would have of a free one, and we’re not talking just any old free coffee, every exhibitor is out to show you how good their particular variety of coffee/ grinder/ coffee machine is and will do their utmost to prove it to you by giving away cups of the stuff. Don’t get me wrong we weren’t complaining although I was shaking slightly after my seventh!

We wandered around the show being force fed biscuits, cakes and smoothie samples until we thought we could take no more, being handed bags of freebies willy nilly, and being drawn to the Nutella stall like moths to a flame…

We admired many pretty things…

and saw exciting new products being pedalled 😉 …

 

We turned a corner and were suddenly found ourselves surrounded by a crowd of excitable men…quite an enjoyable experience if all be told…however they only had eyes for the stunningly beautiful La Marzocco coffee machines, the holy grail of the coffee machine world if you will…! There was a real frisson as they discussed the merits, lusted after and waited in line to get their hands on the beauties. Here is some coffee machine porn for your viewing pleasure…

In between our coffee quaffing I dragged Caz along to seminar by the coffee boys. They really know their stuff about café’s and talked specifically about a recent survey that they’ve been carrying out nationwide to discover what is the biggest challenge that people are facing in their businesses.

The main event of the day, however was not the La Marzocco’s but the World Barista Championship finals. We managed to catch four of the six finalists do their thing…I never knew coffee making could be so competitive…

Each finalist was required to prepare 4 x espresso’s, 4 x cappuccino’s and 4 of their signature coffee, whilst talking the judges through their choices and explaining what they’re doing in a timed period of just 15 minutes. I found it particularly amusing that the competition was set to a soundtrack of the barista’s choice, my personal highlight being the performance by the winner Michael Phillips from the USA. Picture the scene…the crowd grows silent, the digital time display is activated and the 15 minutes begins to tick away, when all of a sudden the music starts up quietly at first….and slowly builds into the instantly recognisable opening guitar riff and dulcet tones of Mark Knopfler singing Money for Nothing. Michael Phillip starts strutting his stuff in the arena whilst still managing to whip up 12 World Championship winning standard coffee’s. 

We watched Scottie Callahan from Australia, who really impressed me with his signature coffee by adding cardamom to his espresso, mixing in some organic sugar cane and topping it with coconut cream mmmm…

and also saw perfromances by Michael Phillips (USA), Stefanos Domatiotis (Greece) and Raul Rodas (Guatemala)…

All in all a very enjoyable, inspiring, caffeine fuelled day out in London!

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25/06/2010 · 10:17 am

9 courses of pure joy and wonderment

I’m up pretty early on my day off because I felt the urge to share with you the pure gastronomic joy and wonderment that I experienced last night at the Fernandez and Leluu Supper Club. I’m gutted to have to admit that I didn’t take photo’s of my food as I felt a little bit conspicuous in the setting of Simon and Uyen’s lovely home, which was so relaxing with an atmosphere so unlike that of a restaurant that it just didn’t feel right. I am also aware that I may be labelled as ‘one of those annoying people who takes photos of everything they eat’ and although that does sound pretty accurate I’m not sure I like it and at least can work on taking the ‘annoying’ bit out of that sentence 🙂

So I’m afraid all I can do it tell you all about the most delicious meal I have eaten in….well…forever!

We arrived at Simon and Uyen’s house clutching our bottle’s of wine and with our cash donations tucked away in our purses. Fortunately there were quite a few first timers like us so we weren’t alone in initially feeling slightly strange that we’d just rocked up at a strangers house and were now drinking wine and making small talk in their back yard.

Any awkwardness disappeared when we were lured to our tables by the intoxicating smell of fresh baked garlic bread, which I’m actually calling course number 1. There was a seating plan for the evening and Kim and I were very lucky to be sat on a table for 4 with 2 lovely supper companions.

From that point on, the wine and conversation flowed freely and we were brought out a steady stream of the most delectable dishes….9 courses in total!

Course 2 – We started with a pea soup with basil, topped with parmesan shavings and lardons of succulent ham.

Course 3 – Next up were figs stuffed with goats cheese and topped with proscuitto and pine nuts.

Course 4 – We then shared sweet potato tortilla with a tomato picante sauce and a really fresh cucumber and feta salad.

Course 5 – Then fresh and zingy carrot and chicken salad served with deep fried lotus (something I have never seen or heard of before) and prawn crackers.

Course 6 – Next we had banh cuon (thai pasta sheets) with cured ham and pork belly, which was to die for.

Course 7 – Just when we thought the meal was nearly over they places a huge plate of the freshest, most tender tuna Sashimi and chips in front of us and we were in pure ecstasy! I’ve never had sashimi before so have nothing to compare it to but 

Course 8 – We were all pretty full at this point but managed to devour a delicious bowl of beef pho.

Course 9 – The final course was a coconut sorbet with cointreau, which was exactly what was needed to finish the meal of perfectly!

Well…what can I say…I have fallen in love with the Fernandez and Leluu Supper club and will most definitely be returning if they’ll have me back. I was totally amazed at the professional standard of the food being produced in what was in reality a fairly small non commercial kitchen. We all commented on the quality of the food – there had definitely been no expense spared on ingredients and it was worth every penny of my donation. I believe that that standard of food can only be produced by people who fully appreciate, understand and have an all encompassing passion for food and I have come away from my first supper club experience completely and utterly inspired!


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20/06/2010 · 3:18 pm

Brunch the Italian Way

This morning I was introduced to a little place on Newington Green called Trattoria Sapori. I was promised ‘Italian sausage based brunch’ and that’s exactly what we got…mmmmm!

We had the Italian style breakfast – 2 eggs, 2 Lucanica sausages (Italian style chipolatas), crispy pancetta, grilled tomatoes, mushrooms with garlic (which my friend hailed as the best fried mushrooms in London!) all served on grilled ciabatta.

and Italian inspired eggs benedict – 2 poached eggs on grilled ciabatta with parma ham and hollandaise sauce (I apologise for the blurry photo…I could hardly wait to get stuck in!).

It was the perfect start to a lazy Sunday.

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Quote

Food writing is a literary activity, built upon words, sentences and paragraphs rather than flour, butter and eggs. It may refer to the kitchen and the dining room, but it is forged in the library and the study. Someone who reads is not assumed to spend weekends fishing or fighting bulls. A devotion to Agatha Christie does not require you to be either a fiendishly clever murderer or detective…And so it must be with food writing. You can appreciate its delicious qualities without feeling the least need to pick up a wooden spoon and have a go yourself. Food writing is writing full stop, and the best of it does what good writing always does, which is to create an alternative world to the one you currently inhabit. Anything else is gravy.

Guardian Review Saturday 19 June 2010

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20/06/2010 · 2:40 pm
20/06/2010 · 2:06 pm

Rhubarb & Cardamom Muffins

Recently, during my daily igoogle check up, a recipe caught my eye and lured me to a blog called Kitchen Culinaire. It was for rhubarb cardamom breakfast muffins, which looked absolutely amazing. I printed it off and stashed it away for future use!

I love a bit of rhubarb and try to make at least one crumble during the rhubarb season. This year it’s seemed that rhubarb has been more popular than ever…I was even introduced to rhubarb bellini’s at a friends party recently. She had stewed the rhubarb with some sugar, passed it through a sieve, poured some into a glass and topped it up with champagne…simple yet divine!

I have been carrying the rhubarb muffin recipe around in my handbag for a couple of weeks now with the intention that next time I was in the supermarket I would buy the ingredients but I somehow kept getting waylaid. I was re-inspired by the fresh rhubarb on sale at Kinvara Farmers Market, on my recent trip to Ireland  but after prevaricating a bit too much, I returned to the stall only to find that it had all sold out! I didn’t let this put me off and yesterday I unearthed the somewhat crumpled recipe from the depths of my bag and got around to baking the little beauties!

Kitchen Culinaire is written by a Canadian lady and therefore all of the measurements are in cups, which is still a pretty alien concept to me but I managed to work it out with the help of Delia and her online conversion tables.

I also risked making a few substitutions, which actually worked really well. So here’s my version of the recipe…

Rhubarb & Cardamom Muffins

150g plain flour

150g wholemeal flour (I used self raising flour because that’s all I had in the cupboard and just halved the quantity of baking powder)

160g granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp ground cardamom

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 fine sea salt

240ml creme fraiche (the original recipe used plain yoghurt)

8 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled (I have never measured butter by tablespoon before so I just did my best to approximate 8 tablespoons worth)

2 large eggs

175g rhubarb cut into 1/4 inch dice (This worked out to be approx 2 stalks)

For the topping – 

2 tbsp granulated sugar

1/4 tsp ground cardamom

My first hurdle came when my local supermarket didn’t stock ground cardamom. I was determined not to be put off and decided to grind my own…I slit open 25 cardamom pods, scraped out the seeds and ground them to a powder using good old fashioned elbow grease in a pestle and mortar. This made the perfect amount for this recipe (you need 1 tsp in total).

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees, make sure the oven rack is in the middle of the oven and line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper cases.

Mix the flours, sugar, baking powder, cardamom, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl.

Whisk the crème fraiche, melted butter and eggs in another bowl until smooth.

Lightly stir the liquids into the dry ingredients until just combined. Don’t over mix it or apparently the muffins will turn out very tough.

Stir in the diced rhubarb.

In a small bowl mix together the topping ingredients.

Divide the muffin mixture between the 12 cases (I actually made 13) and sprinkle over the sugar and cardamom topping. 

Bake for approx 20 minutes until they’re golden brown and a skewer/sharp knife comes out clean if plunged into the centre of one.

Allow to cool slightly and then tuck in!

They turned out to be incredibly moist and the fresh tartness of the rhubarb was balanced beautifully by the sweet, spicy topping. My rhubarb repertoire is looking pretty healthy.

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