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.

Groove is in the Heart...

...at the Dee Light Bakery in Balham. I'd read about this exciting new business on Twitter thanks to a timely tweet by Dan Lepard (who writes a column for The Guardian). Dan has a lot of great things to say about baking, so if he recommends something, I usually want to check it out. So on a cold and sunny Saturday morning I headed off to Balham, South London to investigate. Bread, pastries and lots of lovely quiches are all baked on the premises by Dee and her team.  It was a hive of activity with locals popping in for a freshly baked loaf or a Flat White. The coffee is good and that's a key test in my book, so they won me over with that. They serve Vegemite - tick! And the bread is great. Tick! It's wholesome, substantial and isn't full of air. I also grabbed a Chelsea Bun to go with my coffee that was spicy with cinnamon with just the right amount of fruit and was perfect in every way. Dee Light opened just before Christmas 2011 and I believe in not only supporting local business, but supporting local bakeries (they are a dying breed). You can grab a drink, breakfast, brunch, sandwiches and lunch. The bread is REAL and tastes so, so much better than from a supermarket. It's got a lot going for it, so much so, that I simply has to shout about it. GO TO DEE LIGHT BAKERY!

14 Ritherdon Road, Balham, SW17 8QD

http://www.deelightbakery.com/

Austrian Joy

Kipferl in Camden Passage

Hot Sausage

Walking the savvy streets of Islington (and feeling a lot like I was in Berlin) I stumbled across the coffee house/restaurant Kipferl. Situated in the heart of Camden Passage, it's a compact, modern Austrian eating house with blond rugged tables, cool lighting and not a lederhosen in sight. Cakes and coffee are a house speciality. There's a pantone colour chart for your coffee choice, but on this occasion I opted for a hearty sausage. And hearty it was. There's three choices of hot sausage with salad, bread and fresh horse radish. You can even opt for sauerkraut, but I gave that a miss as I was mindful of it's repercussions. The sausage was heaven on a plate and all for under £7. Washed down with a light pils, this is one treat I'll be repeating very soon. So now my quest for the best hot sausage in London continues. Ideas on the back of a postcard (and if you can't manage that - post in the blog comments). www.kipferl.co.uk

For the love of Marmalade

I love the bright orange glow of a jar of Seville Orange Marmalade. It's warming, citrussy and great on toast. Once again I armed myself with a few kilos of Seville Oranges and scraped, chopped and boiled them up to perfection. Lots of sugar (granulated for a clear texture) and some steady boiling and then hey presto - marmalade. 25 jars later and I'm set for another year of toast heaven. but keep reading as I aim to develop a marmalade cake recipe and will duly share the results.

Cookie Monster of Berlin

Berlin offers lots of fabulous foodie treats. A weekend break is no where near long enough to try them all. Wandering the laneways of the former East Berlin I came across this cookie machine.4 euros for a chocolate brownie whilst on the go. Such a great concept and they look so eye catching. Look out for one if you get to visit. And I highly recommend it.

70 cupcakes later

70 cupcakes, 30 brownies, hummingbird cake, coffee and walnut cake were the top sellers at todays arts and crafts fair. I only had to discount a couple of cupcakes right at the end so I didn't come home with them. That's the last of the Xmas fairs for Smiths kitchen for 2011. The rest of the year is baking for my own belly.

let the mince pie tasting begin

Christmas at MRA PR means but one thing - mince pie tasting. This year we have already give Mr Kipling's a whirl and for mass market - they weren't bad. There was plenty of filling (a touch sweet) and the pastry was a bit crumbly. But all round - they were a nice start to the season. Yesterday's outing was M&S Lattice Butter Mince Pies. I liked the lattice topping as it wasn't all pastry. The pastry itself was fim enough to hold the filling, the lattice looked pretty - there could have been half a teaspoon more mince though. But they got the thumbs up from the office too. Beating Mr Kipling by a few yards. here's a pic.

Christmas Fayre

A Christmas Fayre ensures there will be (lots of ) children. So baking for this crowd means adding decorative colour and baking lots and lots of cupcakes. But not to be outdone, parents and adults alike love cupcakes too. I just don't get it. They're quite nice - but I would much rather a big slab of cake with lashing of frosting. Having said that - I bake what sells and sell they did. All 60! The triple choc brownies were popular as was the ever-intriguing Hummingbird Cake. It was a fun day, I caught up with some old friends and most importantly, very little came home. Smith's Kitchen is next appearing at the Norbury Arts and Crafts Fair.

Pear Tarte Tartin

Caramelising the tarte

The final result

Fresh from the oven

Always a touch afraid of baking a pear tart, I have looked longingly at recipes but never ventured any further. So on Baking Mad when I was presented with no other choice than to bake the damn thing - I damn well did. Part of the fear is the bubbling sugar and butter. This to me equals a fast track to A+E. With care, confidence and a calm hand I caramelised the butter and sugar (a lot longer than I would have thought). you then place the fabulously firm pairs (yes firm) into the pan and then continue to boil. Again for much longer than I would ever have dared. The result - well the pictures do it justice. Using all butter puff pastry for the base (and yes it ok to buy supermarket puff pastry - just make sure it's all butter), you're onto a winner. I have already made this again since the course (last Thursday) and it was well received by Helen and Dave. So my new adventures as a tart-maker have just begun.

Baking Mad

Baking Mad is the perfect name for an autumnal baking day hosted by "Cake Boy" Eric Lanard. Famed for his Glamour Puds show on Channel 4, he conducts various baking courses at his cafe/kitchen location in Battersea. A birthday present for me ( yes 40) - and a whole day baking. I was in heaven. A nice bunch of people (one had flown in from Italy) we all baked chocolate, pecan and pumpkin cake, ale fruit loaf (with chocolate ale) and I learnt how to perfect a pear tarte tartin. With wine and a fabulous cooked lunch, this was a baking class with class. Eric didn't just introduce himself then hand over to an assistant. He was with us the whole day, instructing providing tips and was great fun. These courses don't come cheap, but it comes highly recommended. Thanks to Eric and his team for a fantastic day.

Triple Chocolate Brownies

From a recipe, originally taken from the Australian Women's Weekly. Served hot with ice cream and not over cooked - gooey in the middle and just firm on the top.  Sadly the recipe is not on the AWW website, but you will find it in AWW Chocolate! 3 types of chocolate, eggs, butter, sugar and SR flour.

The secret to a great brownie (that I learnt from a Jamie Oliver book) is not to overcook them. Infact, even undercook them. Check and when they are just firm to touch they will remain gooey inside. For a hot dessert, remove from the oven, cool slightly and serve. Delicious.