Obsession

I made custard creams from Nigella Lawson's Feast today. A few tiny adjustments because we didn't have (and I don't like) shortening - we used butter as a replacement, and I don't own a processor so I rubbed in the fat and the egg. It was ridiculously flaky but not as delicate as her recipe suggests. The biscuits themselves could have been rolled a lot flatter than 5mm and would have been a lot nicer - note that for once it wasn't me being lax!! I did make 29 cut outs in total, the recommended is 28-30! Maybe next time I'll try the shortening. Or maybe I'll just buy a packet of custard creams... Happy Valentines (and Happy Chinese New Year!)

http://www.afternoontea.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=29&Itemid=3 There was a 25% off deal in January and so we went as a family (well sis-in-law (in pic), bro, my sis and me...) It is located nicely behind Selfridges and is just past the lobby. Unfortunately, in a way, it IS the lobby since the lifts are just there without much separation from where we were sitting. On the plus side, it was very family friendly as there were several little kids around. Also a nice place to waste the afternoon since there is a gorgeous little sofa and fire area which one couple had commandeered. Maybe with some foresight it could be booked, but I wasn't there for the romance ;) To the tea! Firstly, choice of tea was pretty good. Included the greens, rosebud, but also hot chocolate which my sis-in-law chose. Me, I went for the Assam. The closest thing to PG Tips is basically what I chose to go with afternoon tea. Anything else just feels wrong. Bonus points, it came in ...

I picked this recipe up in the Metro ages ago because the picture looked very pretty and I've been to Primrose bakery in Covent Garden once before (and unlike Hummingbird, I think the cupcakes are very nice if not particularly remarkable against home baking). I debated the merits of frosting, but decided against in the end. I'll write the recipe here as per the newspaper cutting (in my odd bullet way). Since the frosting was chocolate it wouldn't have achieved what I thought was missing from the cupcakes - a stronger orange taste. Next time I think I might have to find some orange crunchy bits or something. An orange aero crushed up maybe. It was just missing... something. Ingredients: 115g dark chocolate 90g unsalted butter 175g caster sugar 1 orange zest 2 large eggs 185g plain flour 1/2 tsp bicarb of soda 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1 tbsp milk 1 orange's juice 1. Melt chocolate and leave to one side for a sec (I use a microwave, you can use a bain-marie... mo...

Am extremely happy today. Have discovered Nigel Slater's Real Food on Youtube (under TV, Food and then it streams from 4 on Demand) http://www.youtube.com/shows?p=None&s=sftv&b=23 But, other little things I've been up to. Made a carrot cake today. The originating recipe was from James Martin's Desserts, however I made some fairly dramatic changes to it. None of the decoration, a different frosting, different flour, different flavouring, different sugar, no nuts etc etc. My version therefore is as below: Ingredients: 200g grated carrot (two big-uns..) 175g demerara sugar 2 large eggs 150ml sunflower/veg oil 200g self raising flour (I comboed baking powder and plain) 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda 1 tbsp cinnamon 120g sultanas 50g dessicated coconut Frosting: 300g cream cheese 2 huge tbsp icing sugar 1/2 lemon worth of juice Muesli Method: 1. Sugar, eggs and oil. Mix. 2. Add flour, cinnamon and bicarb. Mix. 3. Put in sultanas, coconut and carrot. Mix (Note, I did a quick s...

So for the first time ever, I headed out for some "fine dining". Well I say first time, being that usually someone else, e.g. a boss or the company pays. If we're talking company paying, we've been to Quilon (an upmarket, michelin-starred Indian) which was nice, Bank, canapes at the Savoy... the list isn't really that great for someone who works in London and in finance tbh. Hmm. So anyway, my resolutions was to try and break out a little bit. Eat the budget lunches and max out for some nicer meals. Maze was the obvious choice for me because I've been looking at the peanut butter and jelly dessert for AGES and this weekend I went there. http://www.gordonramsay.com/maze/menus/alacarte/ I decline to add any pictures because it was seriously dark in there, albeit there's plenty of pics online by other bloggers. The decor is a bit Japanese teppen-yaki, and a bit hotel lobby - both of which I spend a bit too much time at. Bathrooms are individual and okay. The...

Happy new year all! Few wee resolutions firstly... 1. Scary - not to buy any new cookbooks APART from those bought on holiday (NY is earmarked) 2. Moisturise. 3. Be frugal. Most are un-cake related, however frugality links in with non-cake book buying in a way. I bought a shiny little laptop on New Year's Eve and out of guilt feel I must make up for it by making my lunches etc. That is not to say I won't spend, but whilst I am increasing my grown-uppyness by going to places like Maze for dinner (not that expensive based on the a-la-carte) I figure I can compensate elsewhere. So what have I made this frosty new year? Honeycomb as above (oddly hard to get the sugar to 160 degrees C but persevere otherwise it fails miserably) I used James Martin's recipe "Cinder Toffee" but you can get recipes which don't call for thermometers or liquid glucose. This will store for a few days as long as you airtight it with at least two wrappings of plastic/foil and don't giv...

'Ello all. One assumes that we are all fed and... fed. Quite possibly you are hitting the mad Christmas sales like the rest of the world. I was quite petrified on entry to M&S in Marble Arch that we pretty much left as soon as we got there. Scary. Anyway, here's my baking run down - there's not much in fairness since we were mainstreaming on the savoury stuff. A chicken, some pork, a forerib of beef for boxing day. I did however make some truffles which though very yummy, pretty basic - chocolate, hot double cream and a drop of peppermint essence if you fancied it. I also made mincepies with some cranberry mincemeat from Waitrose. The recipe was from Nigella's Christmas. Since SOMEONE complained that we never get to see the failures, I want to post this. Personally I don't think of it as a failure - I KNEW it was going to bubble over, but then I wanted the volume of mincemeat that we had. If you don't want it to do this, one option is to put a lid on it (lit...