Monthly Archives: June 2013

Great little buns

I couldn’t decide which recipe to make so I made a combination of flavours with a method I knew would work and hey presto, there they were, little lime and coconut drizzle cakes, with a dash (ok, splodge!) of lemon glace icing!

I used 6oz of marg and sugar creamed together, with 3 large whisked eggs added gradually and whisked well with a little flour in between. The key here was the zest of two limes mixed with the 6oz self raising flour and a teaspoon of baking powder. At this point, I added the 50g or so of dessicated coconut was mixed with the flour and lime zest.  I folded in the last of the flour mixture in two lots and then sloshed in a bit of semi skimmed milk and loosened off the mixture.

The muffin tin was filled with the cases suitable for ‘buffins’; bigger than a fairy bun but smaller than a muffin as they’re just too big. The mixture easily filled the dozen cases so they required 20 minutes to cook properly. The juice of the two zested limes was used with 40g of sugar to make a lime drizzle which was added to the little buffins on exit from the oven!

So the lime drizzle was added to the freshly cooked lime and coconut buns and then they were cooled and one was tested by Mr Crumbs:  “Moist enough” was the verdict; and so that was it, only the lemon glace drizzle to add to them by way of titivation! It was a bit ‘spodgey’ but it would pass for ‘abstract’!

An there you have it! Canny little buns, without faff!

Limonata

So much of the enjoyment we associate with food and drink comes from the memories that go with it, some more vivid than others. Here is a ‘crumb’ of a memory which translates in to a different product decades later, and yet is still the signal of summer for me.

This is the can lid cover.

Tastes_of_Italian_Summer

San Pellegrino is in the north of Italy, and is the natural source of spring water that is lightly carbonated. I don’t like too much fizz. The info about the place is here. The distinctive dark green glass bottles for the plain slightly sparkling mineral water, have always been my association with Italy, and also lemons. After all, what could me more Italian than the red white and green packaging?

Whilst in Italy on a family holiday at the age of 11, I can remember asking for lemonade and being given something very different; it was sharp, very lemony but with some sweetness to it. A slightly greeny yellowy colour, I remember viewing it rather suspiciously. Today, this would be a bit like cloudy lemonade, (too sweet for me) or bitter lemon (artificially sharp) as I now realise, but in fact it was something different. It is only limonata that comes close.

Limonata is spring water with a high percentage of lemon juice in it. It does have the added sugar in it, (not as much as coke or similar) but it’s the taste of summer for me with a vibrant flavour and best enjoyed in the sun! My portable summer in a can!

[PS On offer at Sainsbury’s at the moment!]

 

“Cook little cake, cook!”

Cake club is only three days away and inspiration deserted me. Then I flicked through The Great British Bake Off recipe book  Well a loaf cake will be easy enough I thought, having already done a version of the recipe last October. I decided to revisit the Chocolate Chilli loaf cake.

This time, I would revamp the flavours, giving them more oomph and frankly, more taste! Attempting to get more chilli taste and warmth in to the chocolate loaf cake should not be too difficult as I had been tentative with flavours last time. Not so this time as the theme is ‘Fire and Ice’. Working towards the ‘fire’ idea, I added a little more (ok quite a bit more) ground ginger and Tabasco sauce than the recipe recommended.

In working through the recipe, I was glad to finish off some ingredients from the cupboard and use more of the new ground ginger from the jar and also some of the recently opened baking powder. I measured the baking powder and the bicarbonate of soda carefully. All the other ingredients were as before, and so was the 900ml loaf tin. Ok it did not have the dimensions that were helpfully given in the recipe book, but I thought it would be adequate capacity for a cake I’d cooked before with no problems.

No those of you ‘of a certain age’ or older, may appreciate the reference in the title of this little note, and therefore you can see where this story is heading. If not, I urge you to read a children’s book, (published in the year I was born!) of this name. To buy what is now regarded as ‘vintage’ then look here. [I strongly object to the story being made in to a Bl**DY POWERPOINT by an author giving the story a contemporary edge!]

Worked it out yet? I was delighted with my rich cake batter, and loaded the tin and two tasting bun cases to assess the heat of the chilli! I thought this was going to be my best cake, AND I would get to taste test it in about 15 minutes when the buns would be ready. “Cook little cake, cook!” When I approached the oven to retrieve the little buns, sitting in a low tin, this is what I saw in the oven (obviously NOT porridge!). I gasped in horror, in the manner of the woman in the picture, but without the headscarf!

I was quite shocked. This was to be the cake for the cake club evening. All my chocolate and ingredients were in there. One of the little buns could be rescued but the other was swamped by batter oozing out over the top of the loaf tin. No matter how I tried to scoop up the mixture and stop it overflowing, it still kept coming over the edge. Lots of cake was lost in the oven tray below!

“Stop little cake, stop!”, I said to the oven, and eventually, the cake stopped oozing in to the tray below and the rest of the cake cooked beautifully with a layer of biscuity edge that was quite delicious when I prized it off! Although the cake had a good trough in its centre, the whole thing was cooked and looked perfect when upside down! It’s safely packed away ready for decoration later this weekend.

ChocChilliPeppermintLoaf_June2013I couldn’t resist some dark chocolate mint sticks for on the top of the peppermint icing! The cake was well received at the cake club though I was still disappointed with the last of chilli warmth! Anyway, I like peppermint!

And all’s well that ends well- for now!

PS: The cake was finished off and a couple of spare slices were saved in the freezer. The cake plate was left covered in crumbs. It did occur to me for these crumbs to be used for something but having dried out, I couldn’t really think what they could be used for, and then…….

Crumbs_for_breakfastWell it’s a bowl of blueberries, yoghurt and muesli and the crumbs were being added. It was going to be a flavour experiment.

Cake_Improved_BreakfastThe bowl of yumminess! In fact the slight peppermint flavour came through the chocolate cake crumbs and enhanced the breakfast with the fruits and yoghurt! Unusual crumbs and stuff!

Energy bars!

Apologies upfront for the photographs-

Ok so take a look at this:It’s from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s ‘River Cottage Everyday’ cookbook, and it’s a wonderful collection of recipes. The recipe is here and is well worth the outlay!

IMG_0196Seems like quite a simple recipe for some seedy oat bars that are marginally healthier than flapjack!

IMG_0197Now the dry ingredients and the tin are ready, it seems quite easy to melt the rest of the ingredients ready to mix!

IMG_0198This is the selection of ‘wet’ ingredients. Everything is melted very very slowly and stirred occasionally. The coarseness of the peanut butter is visible here with some butter still to melt!

IMG_0200The melted mixture has just been added on top of the dry ingredients. This is when a strong arm is required for mixing!

IMG_0201With mixing started, the range of ingredients reveal themselves and it starts to smell amazing!

IMG_0202As mixing progresses, there is a gradual stiffening of the ingredients and the spoon is harder and harder to push through the oat and fruit mix!

IMG_0203In to the tin, and the mix is roughly smoothed out to the four corners. It’s not easy to spread but not too important initially!

IMG_0204With a bit more time, the mixture is pressed in to the tin and its corners, trying to flatten the surface without dragging it! It’s tricky to make it exactly even but it’s not too difficult to estimate and even out the top.

IMG_0205Only crumbs left on the board. Now where are those spare seeds that Hugh insisted we reserve for at the end?

IMG_0206The final seeds are shaken on the top of the smoothed mix before baking. This is the baked mix and it’s just golden on the top, and the edges are slightly more ‘done’ just as the instructions indicated!

IMG_0208After letting the slab cool completely, the slab is cut in to 16 but it could have gone in to more as each is quite filling and full of flavour!

IMG_0207So this is what it looks like inside. The fruits and nuts are clearly visible; there are plenty of seeds too and so it’s crunchy, chewy, fruity, spicy, and sweet……yummy!

IMG_0210Two layers in the tin, and they are supposed to keep for up to a week! They didn’t of course, because Mr Crumbs had to test them before packing them off to Scotland for his Munro bagging adventure!

Well recommended!

A regional recipe.

In the June edition of BBC Good Food Magazine, I found an advert for a recipe from my homeland, Northumberland! Now I was not aware there were too many specific cake recipes linked to the area, and no, the origin of Greggs bakery in nearby Gosforth doesn’t count!

The recipe for a Felton spiced loaf, refers to a local village up the A1 main road north from my home town of Morpeth. Having visited the Running Fox Bakery in Felton to sample the loaf cake, I was really disappointed to learn that the loaf is not always produced due to lack of demand. I am not sure why. I am not a fruit cake fanatic at all and this loaf cake is soft, buttery, comforting and tasty without being heavy at all.

Here’s the Felton spiced loaf recipe from the Baking Mad reference at the foot of the magazine page. I omitted the dusting of icing sugar at the end. Also, the detailed dimensions of the loaf tin are welcome though I used the loaf tin I had to hand. The loaf did rise and the spices were subtle but evident. Perhaps next time, I would add some lemon zest and more spices!

Photo to follow!! Is your mouth watering yet?

Here’s how it came out: FeltonSpicedLoafSlice FeltonSpicedLoaf

Well I was actually quite chuffed. It’s just like the picture I thought! The loaf made many generous slices; slices for dearest friends near home and further away, the postal service delivering the loaf in good condition to my knowledge! Great for the freezer too, I can’t imagine why the Running Fox Bakery at Felton does not receive more demand for such a versatile treat!

PS. If you get the chance to visit the Running Fox bakery, I would urge you to plan to spend some time because there is an amazing tearoom to sample and a whole range of loaves and cakes to take away!.

 

Bingley BBQ- summer at last!

A good forecast for the day meant it was time to plan to walk to some trig points in Wharfedale and ‘earn’ a tea shop stop later on… Much later on as it turned out! It was quite a long way from Grassington to the top of the moors, back to Yarnbury, then the long straight lane back in to the village. Mrs Crumbs was wilting and complaining slightly.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA This is the view back towards Grassington and the hills behind Skipton are clearly visible. Sharp Haw or ‘Skipton Pointy Hill’ was noted as a ‘must do’ walk, as was the ever present Pendle Hill (not in this view).

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThis view looks uphill towards the moor, through some partly exposed limestone pavement. There are a number of flowers (yet to be identified!) that we observed as we paused to let a number of keen runners go by. (There might be more flowers to add in here later!) There were at least 200 runners and all very fit! We carried on with only a handful of other walkers seen all day!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA There were plenty of lambs still staying close to their mums. This is quite high up the dale so spring came even later here than the low lying farms! The Littondale ridge is visible here. Great views towards our favourite areas of Littondale and Upper Wharfedale where we have enjoyed great walking.

Some time later….we arrived at our tea stop. The ginger and carrot cake proved too tempting but unfortunately, no photograph here! The tea shop specialises in vegetarian and special diet cuisine and is certainly worth another visit to explore the menu further.

A lovely warm day and we were getting carried away with the idea of sitting out in the yard with a glass of wine, enjoying summer! It was all the encouragement Mr Crumbs needed to decide on a bbq for tea. There was an old bbq at the bottom of the cupboard left over from last summer, or was it the summer before? Would it light? Would it stay lit and actually heat up sufficiently to cook the meat, whilst I make the obligatory potato salad, given that one bbq didn’t work last year?!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAWarm enough to sit outside, Mr Crumbs is settled with his wine and his fire lit! Mrs Crumbs is busy making potato salad. [Note: New recipe for potato salad included finely chopped gherkins and capers with the mayonnaise and black pepper!]

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAMr Crumbs with cooking in progress, and more wine in progress! The fire was hot, or hot enough we thought!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAFood cooked and piled up, with seconds too, and the fire reaches its peak! Look at those white coals! The twigs are rosemary Mr Crumbs pruned from the shrub to his left. Various other spices were added to the hot coals as we enjoyed the last warmth of the evening with the wine and the rosemary was certainly the most aromatic and enjoyable, especially when sitting right in the smoke!!

Hopefully one of many bbqs for this year :-)