Recipe: Raspberry and White Chocolate Muffins

Raspberry and White Chocolate Muffins

Ingredients:

300g Self Raising Flour

150g Light Brown Sugar

200 g fresh (or frozen) raspberries

1 large egg (lightly beaten)

100ml (about 2 large heaped tablespoons) of Greek Yoghurt

80 ml of Milk

125ml vegetable oil

75 g White chocolate (chopped into chunks)

Method

Heat oven to 210 C (about 200 C fan)

Grease a muffin tin with a little butter. No need to grease if using a silicone muffin tin.

Sift all of the dry ingredients into a large bowl and then simply mix in the rest of the ingredients. Be careful not to over mix. Just bring it all together. Divide the mixture up so that you have about 8-9 muffins. Bake in the over for about 18-20 minutes until golden on top. Remove from the oven, allow to rest for about 5-10 minutes in the tin. Then cool on an oven tray.

Report: Great Brixton Bake Off - in the rain

It was a wet windy day in South London for the Great Brixton Bake Off. About 15 brave stall holders faced the elements with their baking wares, all vying for a chance to win a prize in the competition.

I met some great people on the way around, all happy and smiling despite the weather and it proves that there are excellent local bakers doing great things. 

The winners were:

Cakes: Mahalias Kitchen
Cupcakes: The Carob Pod
Biscuits and Bites: Lillyput
Fruit Pies: Anna Smith Bakes
Bread: Pistachio Rose

The overall winner was Anna Smith Bakes. 

Here's a round up of some of my favourite stalls.

The Carob Pod

The Carob Pod is a Mediterranean Bakery with fabulous Greek Inspired, Cypriot bakes. Not everything was necessarily traditional, but each bake had a twist or could claim an influence in Greek cooking.

Crumbs of Brixton

Crumbs of Brixton delivered excellent biscuits and was a real winner for me in terms of presentation and taste. I loved the combination of flavours and they looked fantastic.

 www.crumbsofbrixton.com

The Pan Dan

The Pan Dan is a small family-run baking business that brings a taste of Malaysian inspired cakes and bakes to London. The infusion of Pandan into the cakes was especially good.

www.thepandanbakery.com

Mahalia's Kitchen

Mahalia's Kitchen presented cakes that were impressive in size, presentation and taste. Winning the Cakes category, Mahlia's Kitchen was also my top pick for cakes on the day.

Lillyput Cakepops & Cupcakes

Lillyput Cakepops and Cupcakes has clever cakes and pops. What I loved about this stall was the presentation of the individual cupcakes in little plastic covered containers. Easy to transport home without damaging the look and presentation.

www.lillyputbakery.co.uk

The London Coffee Festival

I am a lover of good coffee and champion (when I can) independent cafes serving quality roasted beans and perfectly brewed coffee. So, The London Coffee Festival is music to my ears. In it's second year and promising to be bigger and better than before, there are some great names lined up. Nude Espresso, Sacred, Caravan, espresso machine producers, food places, chocolate specialists, coffee roasting houses with all of their fine blends even Gelupo - which serves incredible ice cream. Please don't eat all of their delicious salted caramel before I get there.

The London Coffee Festival is the flagship event of UK Coffee Week (23-27 April). UK Coffee Week 2012 provides a unique opportunity for branded coffee chains, independent coffee shops and industry suppliers to collaborate and celebrate the success of the industry while giving back to an extremely worthy cause. A nationwide programme of charitable collections, in-store activities and public events will raise funds for Project Waterfall to deliver clean water projects in coffee-producing African countries.

So, more on the London event - Last year over  12,000 coffee lovers and food fanatics, professional baristas, coffee shop owners and industry experts gathered for a unique celebration - coffee.

This year promises to offer Street Food and Artisan Markets. You can learn about coffee through tastings and demonstrations, watch the UK Barista Championships (honestly) and enjoy live music throughout the themed zones – Hyde Park, Shoreditch, Soho, The Lab, The Showroom and The Growing Community.This is one event that shows London is truly on the coffee map of the world. Tickets are from £9.50 in advance (more expensive on the door).

The London Coffee Festival
27-29 April
Old Truman Brewery
Brick Lane - London

Click here for more information

The Great Brixton Bake Off

Brixton's on the up! Everywhere you turn, you'll read that Brixton is fast becoming the food destination of choice for South Londoners. At the heart of this revolution is Brixton Village - the new hub of it all with Federation Coffee, the fabulous Breads Etc and Thai favourite Kaosarn, just some of the fantastic food options that everyone is raving about. To celebrate this, Saturday April 28th sees the launch of the Great Brixton Bake Off which promises home baked cakes, bread, biscuits and fruit pies. Stalls by local bakers will be selling their wares and stall holders are all entered into the Bake Off competition.  I have read that there will be special celebrity guest judges (as yet unannounced) who will select the best bakes and present the prizes (sponsored by local department store Morleys). Sadly, I read about this too late and was not able to get myself together to take a stall. Shame!

Head to Station Road in Brixton -  the venue for the weekly market
Saturday, 28th April 2012 from 10am-5pm
Judging takes place at 1pm 
Nearest tube: Brixton

Read more about the Great Brixton Bake Off here

Stylist Magazine: Top 10 Coffee Shops in London

London has thankfully, over the past 5 or so years seen a growth in the number of cool cafe's serving great coffee. Forget Starbucks, Cafe Nero, Costa. I am talking about quality roasted beans, the introduction of the flat white and even a latte served in a small glass. This is all familiar territory for me. I grew up in Australia and coffee culture there is honed to a fine art. To the point that if a particular barista is not serving, my friend won't partake in a coffee. Melbourne is the coffee capital of Australia and some of that style is now being served up in London (and very slowly in the regions). Stylist Magazine captured the essence of this in a great article this week and not only did a round up of our new found love of fabulous coffee, but featured a top 10 list of the best. Sadly, Lantana Cafe in Fitzrovia and Caravan in Exmouth Market were missing from that list. So I've given them my thumbs up here. A theme running through most of these start-ups is that they are run by or inspired by the Antipodean coffee culture. We musn't forget New Zealand, as coffee is big for Kiwis too. I can attest to that as I can still remember a most fabulous latte I had in Central Auckland in 2001. Seriously. 

So in the latest issue, Stylist rounds up coffee culture in the UK. OK, the chains may have got us hooked on caffeine, but as our taste buds for the black liquid matures, we are refining our requirements and it seems en masse. From the list of Top 10 Coffee Shops I have to say Flat White has a special place in my heart - I feel like I am home in Hobart (Tasmania) every time I walk through the doors. Kaffeine - a new found friend, is alive with an electric buzz every morning. It's my pit stop of choice before client meetings in the heart of the fashion district. And if I every venture "out East" then I always head straight for Nude Espresso. These are all independent, interesting British based businesses that are doing something a bit different. Visit them today and join me in the campaign for real coffee. Now.

Stylist Magazine's Top 10 Coffee Shops in London

The winning recipe from Baking Mad

 









Rhubarb Pie with almond pastry 
topped with a lattice crust

Ingredients:

250g Plain Flour

50 g Icing sugar

150 g Unsalted butter

2 large eggs yolks

A pinch of salt

1 tablespoon cold water

1 tsp vanilla extract

50 g Ground almonds

Plus 2 tablespoons of ground almonds (for pastry base)

800 g rhubarb

2 tablespoons of cornflour

100 g caster sugar

Juice of half a lemon

1 egg

1 tablespoon milk

1 tablespoon icing sugar

Crème Fraiche to serve.

1 x 20cm fluted pie tin with loose base.

Method

Turn oven to 150C.

Sift the flour, icing sugar and salt into a large bowl. Cut the butter into pieces and rub this in. Stir in the ground almonds. Add the egg yolks and vanilla extract and some of the water, bringing the dough together. Break off about 1/4 and form into a small round disc, wrap in cling film. With the remaining dough, form into a round disc, and wrap this in cling film. Chill for at least 30 minutes in the fridge or for speed for 15-20 minutes in the freezer.

Chop the rhubarb into 2cm pieces, sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of caster sugar (from the 100g) and the juice of half a lemon and bake in a shallow dish covered with foil in the oven for 15-20 minutes at 160C. It’s done when just starting to soften. Do not overcook at this stage. Remove from oven and place to one side.

Turn oven to 180C

Grease the pie tin with a little butter (both the loose base and around the sides). Remove the large disc of dough from the freezer. Roll out on a floured surface until a little larger than the 20 cm loose bottomed tin. Lift the pastry using your rolling pin and carefully lay across the tin, pressing it into the base and sides. Remove the excess pastry by trimming with a knife or rolling pin. Prick the base of the pie with a fork in 3 or 4 places.

Lay baking paper to cover the pastry and fill with baking beans and blind bake in the oven for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven, remove baking beans and coat the base with a little egg wash and bake for another 6-8 minutes. Remove from oven, sprinkle with 1-2 tablespoons of ground almond.

Mix the cornflour and 75 g caster sugar into the Rhubarb.  Place rhubarb into the pie case (as per picture).

Remove small disc of pastry and roll out flat, cut into 2 cm strips for lattice crust. Layer the lattice strips in a crisscross effect. 






Carefully egg wash the top and bake in the oven at 180 C for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove and present on a serving plate. Dust with a little icing sugar and serve with crème fraiche or ice cream.

The day I filmed Baking Mad on Channel 4

You may have heard via Twitter or Facebook that I was a contestant on Baking Mad with Eric Lanlard on Channel 4. The link to watch the show is at the bottom of this post. I hope you enjoy it. Here's the story behind the scenes.

Talking to camera before the bake

The bakers

The day I filmed Baking Mad was the culmination of much excitement, anticipation and lots of practice baking. To be honest I was a bit sick of rhubarb pie by the time I came to create my winning masterpiece. I applied to be on the show, hearing that they were looking for more men to bake. After a written application, I had a phone interview and then had to bake a cake and have a one-to-one interview with the production team. I got the call that very afternoon. So when I was given my category - sweet pies. I promptly conducted a straw poll of what pie to bake (amongst family and friends).  In my heart I was thinking it should be rhubarb or apple. I settled on rhubarb and am glad I did. It's quintessentially English and baked properly, balances sweet and tart in a pie - which I thought would appeal to Eric.

Filling the pie with rhubarb

Eric's watchful eye

So after a week's worth of practicing, I came down with flu. And before you say it - this wasn't man-flu - I had the shivers, fever, blocked nose, cough and was off my food. The morning of the show I felt rubbish, so dosed up on cold and flu remedies, I gathered my ingredients and tins and made my way to Cake Boy in Battersea. The film crew were great fun, the other contestants were really nice - nervous too. After a quick coffee - we got under way. There was lots of talking to camera and a few set up shots. The we got baking. We had just two hours, which is quite tough as you don't normally cook to a strict time limit when baking at home. Not everything went according to plan, the ovens didn't heat properly and the pastry didn't like the warmth from the additional lighting of the camera crew. I made a couple of fluff ups - my first roll out of pastry fell apart - thankfully, that was captured on camera. In a flash it was almost over. 10 minutes was called and my pie wasn't browning. I turned the oven up to 240 degrees - MAX. It browned-up and it came out with seconds to spare.

Creating the lattice crust

Rhubarb pie with almond pastry and lattice crust

There was no more to do than wait for Eric to judge. Presenting the pie to Eric was odd as he gave no feedback to you in person - he did speak to camera in private, which you see and he was complementary of my pie. Then he came out and delivered his verdict. I thought I had done well, but then I heard it. The winner is - Mark. Woo hoo. Pie triumph.

Waiting for the verdict

The winner takes it all

I stayed on to do the Masterclass with Eric himself, a Southern Chocolate Pie. I have had so many requests to bake this from friends. It's was a fabulous day and a great experience. I love it and hope you do too.

Tasting the mix

Southern Chocolate Pie

Watch Mark on Baking Mad with Eric Lanlard - 29th March 2012

In Australia and New Zealand?  Watch by clicking here !

 Or in the UK Click here to watch Baking Mad via You Tube

Caramel Cake Recipe

There are not enough recipes for Caramel Cake, most are from the States and I didn't find the ingredients or method satisfactory. I researched, experimented and came up with this. A take on a classic sponge with brown sugar to help create the caramel sponge and then to top it all off, made caramel and stirred in icing sugar for the buttercream icing. Delicious with a cup of tea and worked perfectly as a birthday cake.

Ingredients

·        225g/8oz butter (really soft)

·        225g/8oz light brown sugar

·        4 medium eggs

·        2 tsp vanilla extract

·        225g/8oz self raising flour

·        milk, to loosen

Method

1.     Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

2.     Grease and line 2 x 18cm/7in cake tins with baking paper.

3.     Cream the butter and the sugar together with an electric beater until light and fluffy.

4.     Slowly beat in the eggs, a little at a time, and stir in the vanilla extract.

5.     Fold in the flour using a large metal spoon, adding a little extra milk if necessary, to create a batter with a soft dropping consistency.

6.     Divide the mixture between the cake tins and gently smooth out with a spatula.

7.     Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden-brown on top and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

8.     Remove from the oven and set aside for 5 minutes, remove from the tin and peel off the paper. Place onto a wire rack to cool.

9.     Sandwich the cakes together with the Caramel Buttercream.

Caramel Buttercream Icing

• 45g unsalted butter
• 70ml semi-skimmed milk
• 165g light, soft brown sugar
• 180g icing sugar, sifted
• 1 tsp good-quality vanilla extract

1. Combine the butter, milk and brown sugar in a heavy-based saucepan and put on the hob over a high heat. Stirring continuously, bring the mixture to a boil. Allow it to boil for 1 minute, then remove from the heat and stir in half of the icing sugar.
2. Allow the mixture to cool slightly, then add the rest of the icing sugar and the vanilla extract and stir until it thickens to the desired consistency. It will have a slightly runny consistency, which works well with this cake. If you leave it and it starts to set, place it for a few seconds in the microwave before beating again and, if necessary, add a little double cream.
3. I dusted this with gold edible glitter for a surprise birthday cake. Mmm. 

Hello new friend...Chocolate Extract

When I was recently filming for Baking Mad on Channel 4 (watch out for more on this in the next week or so) I was introduced to a new friend. That friend (and this isn't a sponsored post) is Chocolate Extract. Think about how divine vanilla extract is and essential for so many baking recipes - well this one's a chocolate version. There's two on the market, one by Nielsen Massey and the other by Star Kay White - both produce a whole range of great extracts and pastes for baking. I have Eric Lanlard to thank for this new discovery, he mentioned this whilst baking so I grabbed a bottle and added it to a chocolate brownie recipe and you could really notice the difference. It boosted the chocolate taste and added real depth to it - it tasted more grown up.

It's a pure chocolate extract that's rich and smooth but isn't sweetened. So far I have only added it to cakes and brownies, but it would sit equally well in cookies, icing, custards and puddings. The possibilities are endless. Nielsen Massey has been in the business of making extracts (vanilla was first) since 1907 and it's been a family business since then. If you haven't tried their vanilla extract - treat yourself today. Star Kay White is also a privately run family business and has been around since 1890.  I found the Star Kay White version in Waitrose, but could only source the Nielsen Massey version online. A kitchen cupboard essential.

All you need is love

Love Cafe Menu

And I found it in St Leonards-on-Sea at The Love Cafe.  Proving that there's life in St Leonards, the Love Cafe is one of a growing number of independent shops and cafes situated on the Norman Road. What can only be described as a groovy collection of boutiques and eateries, the love spreads beyond the road itself to the seafront where there's a growing trend for inspired businesses that are the antithesis of the bucket and spade brigade.

Love Cafe pancakes

The Love Cafe has been around for about a year and a half and it's design centres on hand painted chalk board walls. Do you Love potatoes? Love chilli? Or my favourite - Love pudding? There's an eclectic mix of paraphernalia and objects from old cameras, tea pots and film posters with a Spanish feel.  It's so very relaxed and unpretentious and on Friday and Saturday they have a market outside.  It's a hub for art and artists and I feel it has marked out its home for years to come. On our visit we had American pancakes, that were served heart shaped with bacon and maple syrup. In the background they had chilled Buddha-bar style tunes playing and for a Sunday morning brunch you could want for nothing more.

http://thelovecafe.me/

National Marmalade Week

I normally yawn when I hear of yet another "National Week" usually dreamt up by someone like me who works in PR, but this one is different. It celebrates the most delicious of toast toppings - marmalade. Anyone who has read my blog will know that there's a special place in my heart for the sweet and tangy stuff. Call me Paddington Bear if you like, I just love it. So to celebrate this most auspicious week, I baked a cake - a Marmalade Cake. Originally a recipe from Nigel Slater in the Kitchen Diaries. I used my very own homemade marmalade and the grated citrus of a blood orange.Well the proof is in the pudding as the saying goes and here's the pictorial proof - now to eat!

To check out more about Marmalade Week and the World's Original Marmalade Awards (that were held last weekend), follow this link:

http://www.marmaladeawards.com/festival/2012/01/664/national-marmalade-week/

Herman Friendship Cake

I've read about it, thought about it and wished for it, then one day I got it - a Herman Friendship Cake. Well at least the basis of it. A Herman Friendship Cake begins life as a pot of yeasty sourdough mix that is fed, grown and shared around (a little bit like a chain letter). It's a yeast based mix that you stir, keep warm and feed after 5 days, then again in another five, when you split the mixture into 4. Retain one for yourself (to bake with) and then pass on the other three to your friends who repeat the process so that Herman's love is spread around the community. The resulting cake is really rather fab. It's a cake/sourdough bread (but more cake than bread) mixed with fruit and spices. My recipe (that came with him) included sugar, raisins, chopped apple and cinnamon. I have read lots of variants and you can alter according to your taste with chocolate or nuts for example.

Herman is a "he" and don't ask why - I don't know. During your care he will bubble up, you will be required to care for his basic needs (food, warmth and a good stir) and its all really rather fun. It's the closest that K and I will come ever to having children.

It traces some of its history to the Amish. The name Herman is most definitely taken from the Amish sweet cinnamon sourdough bread, whilst the process of sharing the yeasty mix is traced back to earlier colonial times. It's become quite a thing in modern Britain and is a constant source of delight on Mumsnet. Recipes for the Herman starter can be found online, but I was much happier when he came to me. The bake is fabulous warm with ice-cream (as is almost everything) and great cold. It makes a mighty beast of a cake and it was shared with love at work. We have kept an extra quarter of Herman - we rather like him, so in another 10 days of nurturing and love - we bake again.

So look out there could be a Herman living next door to you and he may very well come into your care sooner than you think.

Perfect Pancake Recipe

As Shrove Tuesday (or Pancake Day) fast approaches, people everywhere reach for their tried and trusted recipe for Pancakes. Many will simply run to the supermarket and head for the isle with the packet of pancake mix. Seriously! 5 simple ingredients - (that are in cupboards across the world) and you're there. Take flour, salt, eggs, milk and water. Mix together and hey presto. Pancakes. Here's my recipe I would like to share with you. Enjoy - with Nutella and Golden Syrup (preferably together). Don't knock it until you're tried it.

Perfect Pancakes

Makes: 6-8 pancakes

Ingredients:

• 150g plain flour
• 2 eggs
• 125ml milk
• 125ml water
• 1 pinch salt 

 

Directions:

1. Sift dry ingredients into bowl. Mix eggs, milk and water together in a jug. Slowly add to the dry ingredients. Stir until mixture is smooth and free of lumps.

2. Cover and allow to stand for at least 30 minutes.

3. Heat pan, grease well with butter.

4. When the pan is hot, pour 2-3 tablespoons of pancake mixture into pan, swirling batter evenly around pan. Flip when golden.

5. Eat.

Oooh Betty

No, this isn't a personal homage to Some Mother's Do 'Ave 'Em Betty or Betty Turpin (of Coronation Street fame).  I've been baking a Betty. A homely, traditional baked pudding that you can imagine granny making for Sunday lunch (and one that I'm sure Betty Turpin would have loved too).  

So what exactly is a betty?  It's an American dessert that dates back to Colonial American time.  A ‘betty’ is a baked pudding, made with layers of sweetened and spiced fruit and buttered bread crumbs. I have also seen it referred to as a Brown Betty and in my research have discovered that Apple Brown Betty was apparently a favourite of Ronald and Nancy Regan.

For my star turn last Sunday I baked an Apple and Blackberry Betty. Apple and blackberries are cooked in a little butter topped with soft white breadcrumbs mixed with brown sugar and then drizzled with melted butter and golden syrup. For the full recipe you need to consult Nigel Slater's book, Tender: A cooks guide to the fruit garden. http://www.nigelslater.com/tender_volume-two.asp

It was fabulous with ice cream and was more crispy and crunchy than a traditional apple crumble. There was a spoon or two left over and it was just as good served cold, not that there will be many left overs.