lust after books.

so my twenties have arrived and with them another addition to my collection of baking books. and, perhaps unsurprisingly, it was the new hummingbird book.

their latest offering is home sweet home

so as i cradled my hangover yesterday i had a good look through and there are SO many things i want to make from this book! i really don't know where i am going to get started.

from my initial glance it also seems that they have become more aware of the limitations that the british audience presents - it suggests alternatives for ingredients that might be more readily available in british supermarkets.

what i also really like is that it explains a little bit about the background of the recipes - which is interesting from an english baking perspective as sometimes these american recipes can be a bit bewildering!

but moving on from books i have acquired to those that dominant my wish list...

1. john whaite bakes

i am SO excited for this book! i rooted for john the whole way through GBBO and love keeping up with his baking adventures on twitter (@JohnWhaiteBakes)

it is released on the 25th april - and i'm yet to preorder my copy as i need to work out whether i'll be at uni or home (don't want to risk this getting abandoned at a post office!) but as soon as i know this will be £10 my bank account won't miss!

2. tea with bea

i haven't had a chance to look inside this book, but the cover photograph alone is enough to get me salivating! it's had really good reviews and moves away from cupcakes which would be good to help push the baking trend further.

3. short and sweet

i've heard this is a bit of a classic and can teach you everything you need to know. it's also got 40% off at whsmiths at the moment which makes it highly tempting... goodbye birthday money!

i hope you've enjoyed this small selection of baking books. there are so many out there - have a look in book shops and find the ones that tempt you! and hopefully you can expect a post with my attempts soon

love,
nen
x

farewell to my teenage years...

so here it is - my last post as a teenager as on tuesday i enter a new decade (and quite possibly a quarter life crisis...!) i'm not entirely sure how this has happened so fast, but let's make the most of these last couple of days with some chocolate fudge cupcakes!

my school friends grace and louise came round the other day for a lunch and baking session (including a few cheeky lunch time glasses of rose - see i'm totally sophisticated enough to be in my twenties!!) once the lunch had been consumed (french bread with brie, ham and smoked mackerel pate) and gossip swapped we entered the kitchen to whip up a fresh batch of chocolate cupcakes.

we followed an equal quantities mixture of six ounces. to make the cakes chocolate you substitute two ounces of self raising flour for cocoa powder.

 spooning the mixture out

the tricky part of making chocolate cake is making sure it stays moist - as cocoa powder can dry the mixture out - however these came out sooooo moist and light! you opened your mouth to take a massive bite and your teeth just sank into little more than air, perfection!

 a complicated spooning out process...

also most people know i'm not normally one for raw cake mixture - but chocolate cake is definitely an exception!

waste not, want not!

 fresh out of the oven and smelling good 

the natural topping of choice was butter icing. the butter was nice and soft and i was able to demonstrate the back-of-spoon motion that is needed for creaming. louise asked why we didn't put it in the electric whisk, however (speaking from a lot of experience) putting a motorised whisk into a bowl of icing sugar tends to end in a lot of mess!

but once you've got a more paste like substance developing it is possible to then use an electric whisk. this is necessary if you want to make really light icing as it's impossible to get that much air in by hand. however we were going for a 'rustic' look and wanted to minimise the making-to-mouth time so did a basic mix by hand, taking turns.

i had a rummage through my baking box and found some fudge pieces from sainsburys that we decided we could put on the top of the cakes (after each sampling!)









the decorating process

so with justin timberlake playing in the background, grace and louise iced the cakes and i sprinkled the fudge pieces on top.

being as impatient as ever the cakes were cool enough to ice but still warm in the middle - which was absolutely perfect!

so while they may not be things of great beauty, they sure did taste fantastic and have kept me going while we've been tidying the house up.

all it remains for me to do is bid you a final farewell from my teenage self - i'll see you on the other side!

love,
nen
x



brilliant bakesoc news!

so i hope you are all having a lovely easter and eating plenty of chocolate and possibly a hot bun or two! this easter monday it's all about filling you in on some exciting bakesoc news!

i am the new president! *insert fanfare and confetti*

i am so excited - especially as i have april as my vice president and amanda as publicity officer so it's going to be so much fun next year! (although possibly less fun than this year as i'll now be in charge, eek!) but i am really looking forward to it - april and amanda have already had some great ideas about how to develop the society next year (including april's fantastic suggestion of a bake-related tour around exeter). and i can't wait to meet the rest of the new committee.

so that's the main piece of news. another development was the other day when we hosted our first 'make and take away to bake' class. we're still having issues getting hold of kitchen space so we thought we would host a basics class in which people would make up the raw mixture and take it away to cook at home. we began with shortbread and vanilla cupcakes - both simple recipes. there were a few hiccups - which can only be expected the first time around - but it's all great experience for next year. so here are a few photos from the class:

and finally to round off this post and to cash in on the easter vibe - here are some nest cakes april and i made to hand out at the bakesoc elections. they are ridiculously easy to make - melt some chocolate down in a bain marie and then mix that into a large bowl of cereal (we used cornflakes but rice crispies are a popular choice too).

then keep adding cereal until all the flakes are coated.

next scoop into cake cases (as it's not a wet mixture you don't need a cake tray, any baking tray or a plate will do - just something so you can place them in the fridge).

decorate with mini eggs (the best thing about easter) and place in the fridge to set.

then you're all ready to go! they are super moreish so don't expect them to hang around for long!

you can also customise the mix anyway you fancy - my mum used to put raisins in them which i really like because it adds a chewy texture amongst all the crunch.

don't forget the best part - scraping out the bowls!

so if you're feeling a bit bored this bank holiday why not whip a quick batch up? i'm sure you've got plenty of chocolate and eggs lying around!

enjoy the rest of your bank holiday everyone!

love,
nen
x

topsham take two.

it is with deep shame that i realise my last post was almost two months ago! i share the blame between my own ineptness and deadline season (which technically i am still in but have lost the will to care!)

so i return to the blog with my tail between my legs and another topsham excursion to share with you...

on wednesday the history girls and i threw down our pens, shut off our laptops and ignored the beckoning call of the library for the call of afternoon tea (not before having attended a 9 am lecture and a dissertation meeting, sad times). unfortunately the exeter bargain with the weather to always be sunny on open days failed dismally and before even getting on the train we were pretty drenched (trust me, some snow much might appreciated here just for a break from the grey skies and continual rain that has been driving us all to despair...)

nevertheless we powered on and had a little wander around the antiques warehouse - which is like a treasure trove ensnaring unsuspecting history students! but eventually the call of our (aka vicky's and my) stomachs beckoned and we headed off for tea.

sarah has become a regular at the georgian tea house in topsham and so this is where we went. it is everything you could hope for - a grand georgian house in which the living and dining rooms are converted into tea rooms. there was much deliberating (mainly on my behalf) over what to have. in the end i settled for a plain scone with butter and strawberry jam (the latter handmade which made it even more delicious). i also managed to nab a bit of clotted cream from sarah so it was a really indulgent scone! this went down really well, helped by the sharp but refreshing glass of homemade lemonade that i had with it. the scone was warm (much to my uneducated surprise) and super crumbly and really just delicious. i will definitely be going back for more!

up next, a catch-up post!
love,
nen
x

topsham teashop trip.

exeter university has made some kind of deal with the weather people: wednesdays in this term are open days and they are always sunny. whereas every other day we are subjected to the exeter deluge (which they don't tell you about in the prospectus!) so this wednesday was no exception so april and i decided to leave the exeter confines behind for an afternoon and head to topsham, which is only a short journey away on the train.

we had been before for the bonfire night display but never during the day. i can tell you it was well worth the visit! it is one of the cutest places ever, each twist of the little streets reveals something else that makes you want to pack up your bags and retire. this includes the baking delights that are available for purchase.

after a little wander around, including exploring the three-storey antiques warehouse, we visited shaul's for lunch. we both had the bacon and brie paninis which were really nice (but perhaps lacking in a sauce, some red onion chutney would have finished them off perfectly). this was our savoury stop although they had so many cream cakes on offer it was hard to walk out!

april and her panini

 

 

not a great photo but you can't complain when you finally get to see some sunshine!

so for our afternoon treat we went to the cafe. from the outside i was a bit dubious - it looks quite expensive and that can sometimes mean unwelcoming. however the story was very different once we got inside. as you walk in the door you are greeted by the very welcome sight of their display of cakes. we had to spend a good ten minutes deciding what we wanted.

then you take a seat in the delightful collection of mismatched furniture and get waited on.

we decided to share a slice of the lemon drizzle cake and the apple crumble cake. for the latter we got asked if we wanted it heated up with cream (stupid question really!) but this wasn't just a jug of cream - this was a proper dollop of clotted cream!!

the lemon drizzle cake is at the front and the apple crumble cake at the back

 



i haven't had lemon drizzle which then has frosting on top before but it was a nice combination of crunchy and creamy. the sponge itself also had pockets of lemon curd which was really yummy!

 

apple crumble cake complete with clotted cream!



unfortunately as we were digging into these gorgeous cakes we realised that our train was due so we had to gobble up the last bits and make a quick exit. (the only way to end a rather impromptu day!) so it was not quite the relaxing affair that we could have wished for but that just means we'll have to go back soon!

love,
nen
x

cat-got-the-cream carrot cake.

as i write this i am still riding the high from watching beyonce's half-time superbowl performance, ah-maz-ing! seriously, if you haven't seen it go and watch it then proceed to dance around your room to her hits!

but now onto a more cakey note... this weekend april and i furthered our baking adventures and made a carrot cake (to kid ourselves that if was perfectly acceptable to eat two slices of it a day...)

this is a cake i discovered later than most other types, because like most people the idea of a vegetable based cake was not top of my list. however once i discovered it i was an instant convert - it's so moist and light and then there's the cream cheese topping... (insert drool here!)

surprise surprise this was another hummingbird recipe, from the first book though as i think the one in cake days looks a bit fiddly.

ingredients and recipe book all ready to go

the use of oil rather than butter means this recipe has much less fat than most cake recipes. it also makes the sponge lighter, which is great combined with the texture of the chopped walnuts.

use a long bladed knife for chopping nuts. place the tip in the centre of the board and, resting your palm on the top of the blade, lift up and down without lifting the point from the board. work from side to side and occasionally rotate the board.

mix the grated carrot and walnuts in by hand so as not to overwork the mixture.

the recipe book said to bake the cakes for 20-25 minutes which, before we even started, seemed hopelessly optimistic. it took much closer to an hour. remember it is important that the cake is cooked! if the tops are catching turn the oven temperature down and cover them with foil. similarly it is best not to cook cakes on the top shelf as they are likely to catch.

another tip is to buy cake tins of the same size! makes constructing the cake much easier...!

while the cake is in the oven it's a great opportunity to make the cream cheese frosting (which does still have butter in it!)

(please excuse the scruffy hair)

once again this is a hummingbird frosting recipe so it makes sooooo much! similarly it's a nightmare to make without a cloud of icing sugar enveloping everything (including hair, clothes and glasses...)

stirring in the cream cheese

all ready to go (minus a few 'tasters'....)

another note: wait for your cakes to cool! (yeah we were impatient again!) this is important, especially with frosting and even more so with cream cheese in it. we did hold out for longer this time but the frosting between the two sponges definitely melted a bit...

the finished product







the cinnamon and chopped walnuts sprinkled on the top make a great finishing touch

going quickly...

first slice (complete with melted frosting, but hey sacrifices can be made for warm cake...)

this has definitely been one of my most popular bakes to do (i'm looking at you jamie...!) and it was claimed to be the best carrot cake someone had ever tasted! you can't ask much better than that, and it has been demolished in two days.

i'd really recommend this as something slightly different from your standard vanilla or chocolate sponges - it is so different from what people expect and i'm sure you could create a few converts!

have a good week everyone!

love,

nen

x

not so perfectly punctual pies.

well there goes my 'post a week' resolution - but i'm only a few days out so i hope you can forgive me!

for this post we are harking back to a bakesoc social from last term - pie night! this was another of our bake & bring socials, held at a swanky bar in exeter. the requirements were simple - anything vaguely pie related was allowed, sweet or savoury.

i teamed up with my history girls to create a dual pie offering - pecan and apple.

for the pecan pies we adapted a hummingbird recipe (by adapted i think we didn't have treacle as well as golden syrup so just used more of the latter, this explains why they aren't perhaps as dark in colour as expected).

a while ago i bought some individual tart cases in a sale and this was the first chance i've had to use them - it's nice to make individual portions and they can look great when arranged on a plate.

here they are fresh out of the oven

personally i am not  huge fan of pecan pie but i am assured that these were really good (although when given compliments we did have to confess that we had used ready made pastry but let's keep that on the down low!)

our second offering was puff pastry apple pies - from a lorraine pascale recipe (again we cheated with the pastry) but we did make the apple filling ourselves.

unfortunately in the rush of making two types of pie on a short deadline i completely forgot to egg wash them (having even beaten an egg in preparation...!) so they don't have the golden outside as seen on lorraine's. however they tasted really good. i love apple pastries and puff pastry is always such a treat!

note the artistic apple scored into the top!

about to go in the oven (minus the egg wash - whoops!)

on display at the social (student economy of transportation and display device in one tin!)

at the social itself there were so many gorgeous different types of pie that we all felt quite sick at the end from the amount we had eaten!

in this photo you can see the pecan pies but also the grasshopper pie and mince pies made by our presidents.

the grasshopper pie is an american creation and is quite like a cheesecake. i absolutely loved it - it was like mint choc chip ice cream in a creamy pie form (and that is one of my favourite ice cream flavours!)

the mince pies were equally scrummy - they contained cranberries and almonds which added a refreshing twist and everyone who knows me knows i do love a good mince pie!

another of the other offerings was savoury. apologies for the odd looking photo but these were shaped like mini pasties and contained spinach, feta and sun dried tomatoes (if i remember correctly!). they were moreish and i could have easily polished off many of these. (i'm still trying to hunt down the recipe).

well i hope this has made you sufficiently hungry for lunch and perhaps inspires you to make a pie of your own. they are so easy to make, especially if you buy ready made pastry (i certainly won't be judging you!)

love,
nen
x