Showing posts with label sugar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sugar. Show all posts

Tuesday, 24 July 2012

Recipe: Champagne Cupcakes

I'm making these romantic and decadent fairy cakes for my parents' ruby wedding anniversary bash this weekend and thought it was about time I gave them a test run and, at the same time, featured a new dessert recipe on the Blog. I am sure the main event will be the very exciting bespoke celebration cake created by the talented Best Friend Jess (blog post and photos to follow) but couldn't resist the opportunity to do some baking!


Saturday, 21 July 2012

Recipe: Naughty French Toast

With The Boy off sunning himself in France for a week without me, rather than crying into my tea and toast I decided to treat myself to a very indulgent breakfast to enjoy with some freshly brewed coffee. I awoke to a bright, sunny day, a tidy house, and a stack of magazines to catch up on. I'd also had the foresight to stock up on brioche, eggs, milk and créme fraîche on my way home from work the night before. My conclusion? Being home alone isn't all bad and such a beautiful day calls for Naughty French Toast for breakfast!


  

Thursday, 19 July 2012

Review: A visit to Fudge Kitchen, Cambridge

Fudge Kitchen, Cambridge


I was a regular visitor to Fudge Kitchen on King's Parade in Cambridge during my student days - mainly for a quick sugar fix between lectures or to share the unique and delicious fudge experience with guests to the city - but had neglected it somewhat over the last couple of years. A few weekends ago I popped into the shop with some friends from London and wowed them with the many flavours of fudge and knowledgeable and friendly staff. The brief visit definitely consolidated my love of the confectioner, so when Fudge Kitchen HQ asked me to sample some fudge and write a review of my experience I jumped at the chance...

Monday, 14 May 2012

Recipe: Fraisier aux Biscuits Roses

Last summer I found this great recipe in a free magazine from our local Carrefour supermarket in France. I was drawn to the pretty pink dessert like a magpie to sparkly things (as is always the case with me and girly, summery treats) and painstakingly translated the recipe when I got home. I was planning to make it for my guests to enjoy with a glass of bubbly at my upcoming birthday BBQ. Unfortunately, however, I encountered two insurmountable problems along the way: the weather last June was about as good as it is now so my BBQ was rained off, and, more importantly, one of the ingredients turned out to be unavailable in the UK!! Imagine my delight when I stumbled upon the elusive missing ingredient - biscuits roses de reims - in a French supermarket last weekend. Et voila! I can now give this beautiful strawberry, vanilla cream cake a test run before summer finally decides to make an appearance... 



Monday, 20 February 2012

'Twas the night before Shrove Tuesday...

I hope there are no rules about tucking into pancakes a day earlier than is traditional as I'm taking advantage of a free evening to make a huge pile of pancakes and eat them all to myself. I'm going to Ashtanga Yoga tomorrow and it doesn't feel right to gorge on lard and sugar after pretending to be a dedicated yogi all evening. Plus, The Boy just won't accept that pancakes constitute a meal in their own right and he's away On Business at the moment. So, hoorah, it's Pancake Time! 

I've decided to go for the classic pancake recipe with a lemon and sugar combo, adding a little zing to proceedings with some delicious homemade cinnamon sugar a friend gave me for Christmas. I'm not sure whether anyone actually needs to know the recipe for pancakes but, considering that I had to Google it last year, I'll pop it down here just to be on the safe side:

What you need to make 6 large pancakes:

115g plain flour
pinch of salt
1 medium egg
170ml milk
55ml water
Vegetable oil for cooking
Lemons and sugar, to taste

What you do:

1. Sift the flour and salt into a bowl and make a well in the centre.
2. Beat the egg and pour in to the well.
3. Mix the milk with the water and slowly add to the egg, beating with a wooden spoon. Gradually incorporate the flour from the sides of the bowl.
4. Strain through a sieve into a jug.
5. Leave to rest for 30 minutes (optional).
6. Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium to high heat. Rub with a thick wad of oil-soaked kitchen paper.
7. When hot, start cooking your pancakes! You might like to try removing the pan from the heat and ladling the batter into the pan at an angle. Then, whizz it around so the batter thinly covers the whole pan.
8. When the batter begins to set and form bubbles, loosen the edges and flip!

Here are some little snaps to whet your appetite... Enjoy! :-)

Jess's Homemade Cinnamon Sugar!