cake days continued

Another day of baking cakes. Bonheur!  Chocolate cheesecake brownies, hazelnut brownies, rhubarb cake, ginger cake, chocolate muffins.  The strangest thing I find is having the feeling that things are going perfectly, on schedule, under control. Suddenly in a moment you realize there is no hope for your creation because you've slightly overcooked it - can happen in a heartbeat!  Pure potential into disaster. The brownie has turned into a cake. And you allow it to cool, settle into itself and you realize that it might indeed be nearly perfect. Crumbly on top and thick, rich and moist underneath. Hmmm is there a secret to cake baking or is a strange combination of accident and good fortune?

food writing

An interesting article in Stella magazine by Bee Wilson 'the kitchen thinker'. The secret of great food writing. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/9153339/The-secret-to-great-food-writing.html

Learn to get in touch with the silence within yourself, and know that everything in life has purpose. There are no mistakes, no coincidences, all events are blessings given to us to learn from. 
Elisabeth Kubler-Ross 

lemon salt caramel fudge

A marvellous revelation today from a patissier who happened to have coffee in the shop this morning.  Fancy, lemon salt caramel fudge cut into chunks and added to your favourite brownie recipe. He said he obtained the recipe from his David Everitt Matthias cookbook which is now dog eared.  Always a good sign.

The Dalai Lama, when asked what surprised him most about humanity, answered "Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived".

lipstick red macaroons with salt caramel

Today I felt  inspired to finally get cracking on my first batch of macaroons post 'marvellous macaroon' course in London. http://www.atelierdeschefs.co.uk/en/macaroon-recipes.php Although I think a few of my skills may have dissipated in the intervening weeks. It is a delicate process which I have yet to perfect, but imagine how boring life would be if we perfected everything immediately? The chef recommended that we use pasteurized eggs, baking tray with holes for ventilation and good quality greaseproof paper (not a non stick sheet which would cause sweating) to ensure macaroons do not stick. I obtained  the colouring powder in rouge and rose. The red colour was heart stoppingly bright rich glossy lipstick. Here is the recipe I followed:

Quanity for 35 pieces

MACAROONS

Ground almonds 250g

Icing sugar 350g

Caster sugar 150g

Egg whites 215g

Powdered food colouring 5g

SALT CARAMEL

Double cream 14cl

Salted butter 40g

Unsalted butter 110g

Caster sugar 170g

For the macaroons:

Preheat oven to 160C.

Sift the ground almonds and the icing sugar together.

Whisk the egg whites until stiff.  Add the caster sugar to the egg whites and continue whisking until you have stiff glossy peaks of meringue.  It is important not to overbeat or underbeat the eggs they should be of 'chewing gum' consistancy just so that they stretch when the whisk is separated from the bowl and then fall gently over.

Fold the ground almonds and icing sugar into the meringue mixture. Cut and fold the mixture with a spatula until it is smooth, shiny and has reached the ribbon stage.

Use a piping bag to pipe this mixture on to a baking mat or lined baking tray.

Allow the macaroons to rest at room temperature for 10-15 minutes until the macaroon shells are no longer sticky to touch.

Bake in an oven for about 10 minutes with the door wedged open slightly with some foil.

Allow to cool before filling.

SALTED BUTTER CARAMEL FILLING

Place 170g sugar in a heavy bottomed pan and allow to melt without stirring on a medium to high heat.

Once you have a golden caramel, add the salted butter and the cream.  Mix well then remove from the pan and allow to cool.

sunshiny sunday

cake days

If you had your finger on the pulse what would the world be whispering? Today I busied myself making cakes of all descriptions mostly from the Hummingbird Bakery 'Cake Days' including almond and rhubarb loaf and chocolate guiness cake with cream cheese icing.  Also a creation from Green and Blacks Organic Ultimate Chocolate Recipes The New Collection 'chocolate and raspberry cheescake brownies'. I noticed the Ottolenghi Cookbook on a bookshelf and wandered through it for the very first time - containing delightfully simple and healthy recipes. Shall definitely be grilling some brocolli with chilli and garlic VERY soon.

chocolate fondant

Nostalgia is featuring heavily in my week.  I'm officially addicted to Green & Black's white chocolate which reminds me of childhood slumber parties...  And a lovely lady left some of her New Zealand pics in the cafe for moi, there I was gazing at beautiful beaches and pohutukawa trees, spacious houses and pools in the garden wondering whatever I was doing in the UK. On the ridiculous side, someone ordered a skinny latte with caramel syrup and whipped cream which made me smile every time I thought of it and I made my first ever chocolate fondant et voila!

Ultimate Chocolate Fondant (Green & Blacks Organic Ultimate Chocolate Recipes The New Collection)
125g dark chocolate 
125g unsalted butter plus extra for greasing
4 large free-range eggs
75g caster sugar
50g self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting
Melt the chocolate and butter together in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water, making sure the bowl doesn't touch the water.  Stir until combined then cool.
Preheat the oven to 180C.  Lightly butter and flour 6X200ml pudding basins or dariole moulds.
Whisk the eggs and sugar together until light and pale and doubled in volume.
Fold the egg mixture into the cooled chocolate.  Sift in the flour and, using a large metal spoon, fold until combined.
Spoon the chocolate mixture into the prepared basins or moulds and bake for 8-9 minutes until risen - the key is to have a runny centre.  Loosen around each fondant with a knife and carefully turn out onto serving plates.
I have no special talents I am only passionately curious. Albert Einstein

lemon curd madeleines

This recipe from Rachel Khoo has absolutely made my whole day!  I wonder why it never occured to me to place a raspberry and some lemon curd right in the middle of a madeleine, it seems now like the only perfect thing to do. http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/madeleines_with_lemon_65371

No work or love will flourish out of guilt, fear, or hollowness of heart, just as no valid plans for the future can be made by those who have no capacity for living now.
Alan Watts

black gold

The euphoria of pepper.

Do not worry if you have built your castles in the air.  They are where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.  Henry David Thoreau.

sunday wisdom from christopher robin

http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheRekindledPage?page=7

eggs in purgatory

One day, when I have my very own wall, I will have 'I believe' and 'we are made out of stars you and I' written prominently so I can be constantly reminded. On the food front I happen to be devouring a chicken curry with a baked egg perched on top.  I'm quite fixated on eggs accompanying spicy dishes. Here's an all time favourite by Bill Granger...

EGGS IN PURGATORY
Serves 4
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 red onion sliced
70g cubed pancetta
400g can chopped tomatoes
175g tub puglian artichoke hearts
4 eggs
a pinch crushed dried chillies (or much more in my case)
2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
Put a large frying pan on a medium-high heat.  Add olive oil, onion slices and pancetta and cook for about 8-10 minutes, until the onion is lightly coloured and the pancetta browned.
Add tamatoes, season, then cook for 15 minutes until slightly reduced.  Add the artichoke hearts and, once heated through, break in the eggs.  Cover and cook for 4-5 minutes or pop under the grill.  Sprinkle with the dried chilli and parsley and serve.


In the end, I've come to believe in something I call "The Physics of the Quest." A force in nature governed by laws as real as the laws of gravity. The rule of Quest Physics goes something like this: If you're brave enough to leave behind everything familiar and comforting, which can be anything from your house to bitter, old resentments, and set out on a truth-seeking journey, either externally or internally, and if you are truly willing to regard everything that happens to you on that journey as a clue and if you accept everyone you meet along the way as a teacher and if you are prepared, most of all, to face and forgive some very difficult realities about yourself, then the truth will not be withheld from you. Elizabeth Gilbert.

chai tea

The latest Madher Jaffrey book has caught my eye 'Curry Easy'. Specifically a recipe for proper chai tea, as I seem to be drinking copious amounts these days.  Mid morning, if someone offers a cup of freshly brewed chai tea infusion I even favour it instead of coffee!  Chai tea latte on a menu also tempts me and I have wondered how ever it was brewed. Here goes then, and not too difficult!

Easy Masala Chai Tea

1/16 tsp ground cinnamon

1/16 tsp ground cloves

1/16 tsp ground cardamom (or 4 whole pods)

1/16 tsp ground ginger

freshly ground black pepper

3 teabags containing good, unflavoured black tea (she uses PG tips)

500mls full fat milk

4 tsps sugar

Put 750 mls cold water in a pan.  Add the ground spices, 4-5 generous grinds of black pepper and the teabags. bring to the boil.  Cover, reduce the heat to very low and simmer gently for 10 minutes.

Add the milk and sugar, stir and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat, pour through a fine sieve and serve.

marmalade martini

1 tsp bitter orange marmalade
50mls gin
5mls campari
15mls lemon juice

a dash of orange bitters
a twist of orange peet to decorate

Put maramalade in a shaker. Add gin and stir.  Add other ingredients.  Fill the shaker with ice cubes and shake hard to dissolve the marmalade.  Strain into a martini glass!

pomp de franc

Well today I found whilst wandering a lovely little restaurant called AMELIE AND FRIENDS in Chichester.  I was seduced by a simple salad of red and white beetroot, goat's cheese and roasted pecans.  Definitely one to whip up at home. Meanwhile I think I'm a little bit in love with 'pomp de franc' cakes.  Love the name, love the quirky creations including cakes in quails eggs, sushi cakes and cakes which look like vintage fair grounds as pictured above. http://pompdefranc.tumblr.com/

'It is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye' Antoine de Saint-Exupery

thick caramel crema

Barista training day and the perfect coffee extraction is described as 'thick caramel crema, pouring like honey off a spoon, extracting only the good flavours from the bean'. Who could possibly resist this description?  Planting a seed to grinding a bean can take six years and it is worth being reminded of all the people who are passionate about your coffee in between.  From farmers to roasters to the baristas who grind with a final flourish.  Quite a responsibility really. And worth checking out the credentials of where you buy your morning coffee. Fair trade (meaning beans are bought directly from the farmer for a fair price)? Hand roasted? We learnt how to execute each step with consideration for the final taste, and sampled the difference. Small things make a subtle difference. Cleaning out all residue of previous coffee, being careful not to 'burn' coffee. Perfecting milk froth for the perfect microfroth, big froth is clearly over. So now I know the secret of Monmouth milk! All those Saturday mornings faithfully queuing at Borough market for the perfect cappuccino little did I understand the art involved, but I did appreciate the taste of exquisite coffee. And many other little  morsels to tickle your fancy including the origin of flat whites - from Australia due to the influence of Italian immigrants, ristretto - smaller, stronger espresso and the birth of the Americano from Americans in Italy looking for a 'long black'. Be inspired by latte art and the reigning world champion baristas!

The least of all things with meaning is worth more in life than the greatest of things without it. Carl Jung.

rosemary's chicken marinade

A taste of childhood, of Sunday lunch.  The euphoria of escaping church and storming into the house full of energy and good spirits to the smell of Rosemary's Chicken! Rosemary is my childhood sweetheart's Mum - there is something about recipes trickling down through people and lives and countries. I love collecting favourite recipes and Mum bought this over from NZ. You can pretty much use the marinade on anything and keep it handy made up in the fridge, even roast lamb works a treat! Sometimes recipes don't work in strange hands, maybe it's the alchemy... I haven't yet managed to recreate the memory of Nana's Ginger Cake, baked in a round centreless tin, fresh out of the oven piled high with ginger wafts and slathered with melted butter even though I have the recipe.  Here is the luscious marinade recipe from all those years ago...

ROSEMARY'S CHICKEN

1 packet of chicken pieces
SAUCE  
1/4 cup vinegar  
1/2cup water  
2tblsp brown sugar
1tbsp prepared mustard  
11/2tsp salt
1/2tsp pepper
juice of lemon
1 large onion finely sliced
1/4tsp cayenne pepper
Combine in saucepan, boil and simmer 20 mins then add:
2tbsp worchester sauce
2tbsp soya sauce
1/2 cup tomato sauce
Bake uncovered 1 to 11/4 hours 150C

Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag and smile, smile, smile!

sunday wisdom from a friend

“You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.”– Christopher Columbus

the smell of spring

inspiration

A lady came into the shop today and said that the pistachio, lime and courgette cake she bought last week for her 7 year old son was so good that he thought he was going to fall over.  Wow, when was the last time you had a cake that good?

May today there be peace within.  May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be.  May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others. May you use the gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content with yourself just the way you are.  Let this knowledge settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.  It is there for each and everyone of us.

rose prince's buttery scones

The buttery version of scones I baked a while ago beautiful!
390g strong white bread flour
200g butter
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp baking powder
300mls buttermilk (or milk soured with juice from half a lemon)
Preheat oven to 220C.
Put the flour in a bowl and rub the butter into it until it has a crumbly appearance.
Add baking powder and salt and mix lightly but well with your hands.
Add buttermilk and mix with a spoon until it just about holds together, I added the zest of one lemon and a handful of raisins at this point.
Tip out onto floured work surface.
Fold the dough onto itself a few times.
Roll lightly with a rolling pin to a thickness of 3 cm.
Use a 4cm scone cutter to cut the scones, shake them out of the cutter and place on a non-stick tray or baking parchment.
Bake for about 15 minutes until pale gold and nearly doubled in size.

Voila! What a way to start the day.

a moment on the lips...

This is what my colleague had to say when I convinced her to try a madeleine crumb. Of the last madeleine on display from Heston's recipe last week. It seemed so pale and anaemic in comparison to the plump brown freshly baked madeleine's I consumed yesterday.  So here goes another batch of madeleines a la St John! Today I felt like a grounded plane after a weekend away, itching to fly again. In fact I briefly considered a career as an air hostess... the analogy sounded so appealing. Hopefully a bit of baking might sort me out. Meanwhile pictured are the glossy red lips from the divine Lulu Guiness! http://www.luluguinness.com/ProductPage.aspx?productId=LULU-0067-152-055-600

st john madeleines

Perfect freshly baked madeleines if you have 20 minutes to spare.  St Johns restaurant and bakery in Clerkenwell, London http://www.stjohnrestaurant.com/. Here is their original madeleine recipe as spotted on a blog called 'skye loves...' http://skye-loves.com/2012/03/01/madeleines/

Christian Louboutin's best advice from his father 'don't go against the grain of the wood'.

coffee in london

Is a very serious business indeed.  There is even a book written about it http://londoncoffeeguide.com/ and quirky little cafes everywhere named things like 'a little of what you fancy' and 'tina, we salute you!'. I indulged in a flat white at 'Flat white', just because I was hanging out with a fellow antipodean. And because I curious about the state of the perfect flat white. It is seriously a lot flatter than the ones I have been serving customers recently. Mine resemble more of a cappuccino than the latte finish I experienced here. Time for coffee training I think! The guinness cake with white chocolate icing was superb - I have had rich gooey guinness cupcakes floating around in my head ever since. I am however still decidedly a macchiato girl, and had a deliciously roasted affair at Prufrocks in Shoreditch in the pouring rain. It was the first time I have ever been offered the choice of 'big froth or little froth' which made my day!

marvellous macaroons

The glory of the macaroon!  A morning spent investigating the intricacies of making perfect macaroons with fellow foodies. Macaroons with salted butter caramel, peanut butter and raspberry, chilli spiced tonka bean and white chocolate and the delectable lemon buttercream http://www.atelierdeschefs.co.uk/en/macaroon-recipes.php.

the cake counter

Aside from attempting to charge a customer 1475 pounds for a sandwich the day has passed uneventfully.  But it did conclude with a delectable morsel of shortbread. I think I overlook shortbread in the general scheme of things, but children surveying the cake counter often settle upon it and choose it above the most spectacular cakes. I have an overwhelming urge to try the savoury recipe I saw this week with parmesan, sea salt and fennel... and maybe something with an orange, cardamom, pistachio twist? Picture from the delighful Madame Bricolage Etsy http://www.etsy.com/listing/87848060/boulangerie-bakery-digital-download-for

Dream a little dream...

classic madeleines

Well after experimenting with three different madeleine recipes, the classic simple allrecipes version wins so here it is exactly.  Although I'm not averse to the possibility of trying another.

Madeleines
Ingredients:
Serves 12
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
zest from 1 lemon
125g icing sugar
100g flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
125g butter melted and cooled
Preheat the oven to 190C. Grease and flour 24 madeleine moulds.
In a bowl beat eggs, vanilla and lemon zest on high speed for 5 minutes. Gradually beat in the icing sugar for another 5-7 minutes until thick and satiny.
Sift together flour and baking powder.  Fold into egg mixture gradually then fold in melted and cooled butter. Spoon batter into the prepared moulds filling 3/4 full.

Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are golden and the tops spring back. Cool in moulds for 1 minute then gently take out and cool onto a wire rack. Sprinkle with icing sugar when cool or dip the end in melted chocolate.  Viola!