GingeryMen

I admit, this was actually my first attempt at ginger bread men! Which is slightly shocking really as I love the taste of ginger in baking, and love decorating things so seems like the perfect duo.  I possibly ate a bit too much of the dough, as it really was amazing.  It was a brilliant recipe with just the right mix of spicey nice and sweetness.  No surprises that it was actually another Hummingbird recipe. Thanks Humingbird!

After cooling overnight the dough rolled out beautifully.  I did find however than if I over rolled it it became a bit too warm and sticky.  So I tried to work quickly.  The cutters I bought came in two sizes, large and small. The small shape worked much better (pictured above) as the arms were shorter and fatter.  The larger cutters had very skinny arms (pictured below) which meant when sliding the spatula underneath to move them onto the baking tray they became a bit misshapen.

I made the icing first far to wet so it ran everywhere, so added more icing sugar...but then made it a bit too dry.  I decided to work with it anyway.  Here are my favourite ones!  They all disappeared from the biscuit tin very fast, so I must have done something right.  I think there is something wonderfully cosy about gingerbread men, that's -okay a bit childish but also fun and wholesome.  I definitely want to experiment a bit more with different decorations in the future, especially around Christmas time!  Christmas gingerbread men...watch this space.

Cup-Cake Face - James de Gale epic

This is a bit of a delayed post as I have been stupidly busy! A few days after this event, on the 9th of September, I rushed down to Brighton to get my keys for my new student house, and then went to  Morocco for a few days with my boyfriend.  I got back last Thursday and drove down to my new house and moved my stuff in.  Not only does this mean I've had no time to blog, but no time to bake!

To cut a long story short here is what happened on the 9th of September, before things got hectic.

After going to Cake Britain I got quite excited about everything they were doing.  I browsed the organiser's blog- Miss Cakehead (Emma) and noticed that she put a friendly little p.s on her blog page saying to get in touch if we wanted to help out with Mad Artists Tea Party related events, particularly the Eat Your Heart Out 18+ pop up shop that is happening over halloween weekend in Shoreditch.

I was so excited to hear that they wanted help as soon as the following Thursday.  At first it was all a bit mysterious as to what I was actually helping with but soon enough I got all the details.  Following the success of Cake Britain, The Food Network asked the Mad Artist Teas party to get involved with their National Cupcake week.  They wanted to create the boxers face James de Gale out of 5,000 cupcakes, whilst breaking a world record at the same time. Here's what happened.

Me and the cakes!

I arrived at Westfield shopping centre for 5am.  I did indulge in a taxi from my house in South London rather than night buses and slept most of the way there - I am glad I did!

I was taken by security up to the North Atrium (which is probably a good thing as knowing me I'd have got lost along all those corridors).  I met Bruno Vincent, the photographer and sort of project manager, and Lily Vanilli.  They had all been there for ages before trying to set it all up.  There were boxes and boxes of cakes, all baked by Lily, a huge piece of lino where the cakes were going to be arranged, and a laptop which had all the info about which colour went where.  Then Emma turned up too, probably one of the friendliest people you could meet.

Models hired by Food Network to work with the boxing theme.

Each cupcake had a dollop of vanilla icing on which to stick the coloured sugar paper, which would form the pixel.  Every cake needed to have the right shade stuck down and be laid out in the right order.  (there were probably about 50+shades?)  I was doing the easy job of laying the cakes out onto the floor as they were handed to me by the team.  I'd be lying if my back wasn't a bit stiff the next day!

Me laying out cakes. The face starts to take form.

Trying to lay each cake out lining up with the row above.

The only problem was that buy the stage photographed below we had been working at it for 3 hours...which was the time it was suppose to take us to place 5,000 cakes (an attempt at a world record!)  James De Gale, was due to arrive for a photo with the finished product so we had to slightly alter our meticulous methods.

View from the balcony above.

James de Gale himself helping to construct his cupcake face.

The finished product.

The end product was pretty awesome.  James de Gale's boxing glove fist raised in victory!  As soon as we had finished everyone came to get their free cake!  Flyers had been handed out all day by the models for Food Network, advertising the free cupcake give away.  The whole thing was eaten up in about an eighth of the time it took to create but it was so worth it.  I loved meeting the minds behind the Mad Artists Tea Party, they really are a very friendly bunch and I hope to get involved with them for the Eat Your Heart Out pop up shop happening later this month.

 Infact...I've even started practising!

Unfortunate Cookies

I almost feel like giving up.  Except I know will be back in that kitchen first thing tomorrow morning.  I just don't understand it.  How hard can they be.  Fortune Cookies.

I have tried different consistencies, different oven temperatures, I have tried different cooking times and different ingredients.  I have tried double baking, whilst doing handstands and walking around with my eyes shut.

Well not quite.  Basically I have managed to get a batter that creates a great fortune cookie 'snap', colour and of course taste, but can't shape properly.  It seems to shape them, I must bring them out early, but then they never firm properly.  I feel slightly reassured that there have been very mixed reviews on the forums where I have got the recipes from, and I have come a LONG way since my first attempt yesterday.  That ended up in a a sort of macaroony yet almond less cakey crispness plastered to a baking sheet. Now they peel nicely off the sheet and have a great colour.  It is just the shaping that traumatises me.  After about baking about 20 cookies individually I actually managed to get one that looks the business.

Here it is, and until I improve (tomorrow hopefully) no one shall eat it.  It is a work in progress.

Oat and Raisin Cookies, (Americana-Hummingbird stylee)

I am officially embarking on a long relationship with the Hummingbird cookbook.  Following the delectable black bottom cupcake success earlier this week I decided to whip up some cookies.  I have tried many a cookie recipe in my time, and have settled for quite a good one that requires rolling, and a fair whack of golden syrup.  I had given up on being able to a achieve a chewiness with just the butter, flour and egg combo of cookies.  I was convinced I had a tainted touch with cookies and golden syrup was the only substance to save me.  Turns out all I needed was a good recipe.

Copious amounts of soft dark brown sugar, caster and butter were plunged together, beaten up with a few eggs and added to flour, cinnamon, oats and raisins.  The battery dough was thick, sweet and a bit salty which added that American cookie je ne c'est quoi.  The dough tasted immense. Thick, sticky, salty, oaty, raisiny goodness.  Made me feel good about autumn rolling in with all these spicy warm flavours.

I dolloped the cookies into equal amounts.  They held together well, the mixture slid off the spoon but still bound together nicely.

The recipe called for the cookies to be in the oven for only 12 minutes...mine took about 20.  I have no idea why.  I still ensured a nice soft centre, and slid them onto cooling racks to firm up slightly.

But I may have eaten one before it got to the cooling rack...oopsy.  What can I say, I love you Hummingbird <3

A trio of Carluccio's desserts

Last night I went to Carluccio's for the first time to celebrate my birthday (belatedly).  It was a delicious meal, started with Bellini cocktails and olives.  To start I had parma ham with melted mozzarella and buffalo tomatoes, followed by the most delicious sea food risotto.  

Then came to pudding catastrophe.  Their one chocolate option for dessert had sold out...What to do?

I decided after much deliberation to opt for the Panna Cotta, but not if my sister had anything to do with it...

She sneaked off to the 'ladies room' to speak to the waiter out rustling up some kind of chocolate sweet treat for me.  They managed to find a slice of chocolate cake, which at the ripe age of twenty was delivered to me with a lit tea light, restaurant lights off, and topped off with singing waiters.  I was glad my seat was facing away from most of the restaurant as my face probably would have glowed brighter than the candle flame!

I dug into the cake, taking a tiny bit of sponge first and was really surprised how it incredibly dry it was.  A snip of the chocolate icing however showed the cake to be fresh as it was soft and almost runny.  Then I ate a lovely large mouthful of both together.  The very wet icing complimented the dry sponge so well, I began to wonder whether it was a special Italian recipe.  The sponge, was crumbly, nutty. 

My sisters choice was my least favourite, a lemony custard tart.  I do like to indulge in rich pudding, but this for me was overly sweet sticky and cloying.  The pastry had also lost its bite and become soggy.

My boyfriend diplomatically went for the panna cotta so I could have a taste.  Following chocolate, vanilla is one of my favourite flavourings.  Rum and vanilla panna cotta with candied orange peel sounded right out my street.  I was worried it may be too sweet or sticky but my worries were wrong.  It was delicious.  The texture was understandably thick and heavy by the flavour was light, whilst still maintaining a lovely richness. The vanilla was subtle and authentic, and the rum added an almost zesty freshness to the after-taste. 

A delicious meal finished with dessert wine served with dipping biscuits, and a latte. Delightful.

Macaroons...the Italian way

So, I decided to tackle macaroons. Yes, I have heard horror stories, and rumours of thousands of attempts, failed, dried out, burnt.  I did a bit of google research before I embarked, and wanted to try the French recipe.  Failed miserably.  But a few hours later, and a huge mountain of washed up bowls on the drying rack, and there is a plate of (if I say so myself) picture pretty macaroons perched on the side.  

The first recipe I tried said it was 'fail safe'.  Well, clearly not safe enough for me.  The mixture was fairly standard to most of the French techniques I browsed before trying it out.  I sifted the ground almonds and icing sugar.  Whisked the egg white into stiff peaks then added the caster sugar.  This recipe called for using egg white powder also, I thought this may aid the 'fail safe' bit.  Mixing in the almond and sugar mix into the egg made an incredibly thick sticky paste that took so much elbow grease to get throw the piping bag and resulted in lumpy, rather unsightly little macaroons...even if they did taste good.  But macaroons are supposed to be pretty!

Therefore I didn't waste time filling them, but tried again with a fantastic Italian recipe.  The main difference between the Italian and the French is that you split the egg white into two bowls.  One bowl gets whisked into soft peaks and then mixed into a caster sugar and water paste, heated to 240 F.  This is then whisked for 15 minutes until cool, and forming stiff glossy peaks.  

Then you incorporate the un-whisked bowl of egg white straight into the ground almonds and icing sugar (previously combined).  This forms a paste, which you then fold into the glossy sugar meringue.  It created a lovely glossy consistency that passed nicely through the pipping bag and settled into satisfying (almost) perfect rounds.   

The recipe advised 15-25 minutes, my oven had them done in fifteen.  They cooled quickly.  They even had feet!  With a glossy top, crisp outer shell and light chewy interior.  I sandwiched them with a coffee cream...and spent the next few minutes making sure I captured this (hopefully not one hit) wonder.  

Here is the link to this wonderful recipe! 

http://www.myfoodgeek.com/2007/06/08/almost-foolproof-macarons/comment-page-2/#comment-1216

My first attempt at making Hummingbird genius

Unsurprisingly, being me, I couldn't get the delicious black bottom hummingbird cupcakes out of my head, and I knew the recipe was lurking in my Hummingbird cookbook.  Off to the supermarket I went, buying heaps of cream cheese, and chocolate chips.  I was slightly daunted by the mix of cheesecake and sponge, as I haven't ever tried this in a cupcake before.  I became even more dubious when I made the sponge mixture.  It had no egg, and as I used the electric hand whisk to combine, it actually cemented the whisks together to a near standstill (well almost).  It was the most elasticy, sticky, chocolatey sponge I have ever seen.  

I dolloped the sponge into each cupcake case and the poured a tablespoon of a rather runny, very sweet cheesecake mixture ontop.  Before the cream cheese entered that mix...I wasn't sure the icing sugar and butter were going to actually going to incorporate, but the cheese cheese saved the day.  

I popped the cakes into the oven, wary about over cooking them.  The recipe warned they can easily become crumbly if overdone.  I left them in for an extra four mintues (after the recommended time the skewer came out very wet).  I think an extra three would have done it, as altough still moist I wanted them to be slightly gooier. 

Next for the cream cheese frosting.  The cream cheese could have been whisked for a slightly shorter time as I prefer my icing firmer.  I was trying t achieve a light fluffiness, but not near runniness.  My icing technique still needs work, but I love working with an icing bag, I find it really creative and can make a normal sponge look really impressive..yes I still have a way to go (!).  Watch this space.  I finished by dusting with the recommended cocoa powder. Yum

I cheekily tucked into one for breakfast the next day.  Ultimate indulgence.  I was pretty happy with the finished taste and texture.  Next time though, a minute or two less in the oven, and firmer icing.  Thanks Hummingbird,  even though my cupcakes aren't quite as good as yours yet, you're a pretty stiff competition!

Hummingbird Bakery, Wardour Street

It was my birthday recently, and I received the Hummingbird Cookbook from my brother.  Having never been to the bakery when I opened the present, but having heard lots about it, I read the prologue and recipes with interest.  The pages of sumptuous images certainly did whet my appetite.

The first opportunity I got, I decided to take a well over due trip to one of their shops to see what all the fuss was about.  I was expecting a kitch, pink frosting colour interior shop, with a great sense of Americana. Deep armchairs, glass cake stands, and deep rich colours.  I was met with in Soho however was something a little more plastically futuristic.  Bright plastic cake stands, and candy pink kitchen cupboards hung from the walls behind the cake counter.  I was surprised to only see two seating options, one being four or five stools lining the wall where the queue snakes along, or a cordoned of armchair trio squeezed into the corner of the shop.

I was looking forward to seeing an array of pies, cakes, bakes and everything Tarek Malouf had said did so well in the shops.  However the options underwhelmed me a bit.  Everything that was on offer though, looked amazing.  There was a three tiered carrot cake, a 6" red velvet cake, two types of brownie and then the cupcakes.  The largest batch was of  the red velvet with cream cheese frosting.  The special cupcake for that day was Rose, and being a sucker for floral tastes I asked for one of them and...I wanted to try something else.  My eyes hit the smaller selection of Whoopie pies; chocolate, pumpkin (seed?) and red velvet.  I still had yet to try a Whoopie pie.  I was waiting for an opportunity where I thought the quality would be good enough, and the baker to know an authentic Whoopie recipe.  Where better than Hummingbird.  I opted for the red velvet, the sponge Hummingbird are so renowned for.  My boyfriend picked out the black bottom cupcake, a brownie like sponge, topped with a dollop of cheesecake, and cream cheese frosting.

After a rather brisk, busy but friendly till service, we walked, brandishing our mini Chinese take away boxes by their dinky metal handles and found a sunny pew on the grass in Soho square.  

Whoopie first.  I was eager to see what the 'muffin-like-lighter-denser-chewier-heavier-had-a-million-words-to-describe-it" sponge was actually like.  It was heavy to lift, and big.  I bit in, and didn't get at all what I was expecting.  It was surprising, denser than a cupcake sponge, heavy like a muffin but with a much finer consistency.  It built in the roof of your mouth a bit as you chewed.  I was chuffed with the cream cheese filling and red velvet sponge.  The flavours subtle and not over sweet.  That said, I couldn't get through more than 2/3 without nestling it back in it's box.

I took a sizeable bite out of my boyfriends black bottom cupcake.  And then another.  An immediate powerful hit of rich chocolate packed a moist brownie like punch, yet in the soft lightness of a sponge.  The chocolate chips gave something to nibble between the teeth, adding some needed bite along side the melt in your mouth cheesecake.  The sweet yet almost tangy cream cheese frosting complimented the chocolate sponge beautifully, not only in taste but also colour.  I was a little blown away, I'm not going to lie.  I began, two cakes down, to see what all the fuss was about.  

At this pointed I noticed a huge number of the surrounding  people basking in Soho square, a five minute walk from the Hummingbird store, had hummingbird boxes next to them.  A hummingbird haunt.

By this point I was pretty full, but wanted to try a bite of my final purchase, the rose cupcake.  Definitely deserving of two photographs, the icing was beautiful shade, sprinkled with crystallised rose petals.  I took a swipe of the icing with my finger and it was deliciously sweet and floral.  Took me back to days of palmer violets.  I then sunk my teeth all the way through icing, sponge, petals and all.  At first I found the vanilla sponge overpowered the soft rose all together.  Another bite showed it to be a more layered progression of flavour.  First the rose icing, as that melts away, the sponge builds in the mouth, then a hit of vanilla arrives and finally a large wash of sugar that stayed in the mouth a while after.  I was a bit let down, but I guess a strong floral taste would be over kill, yet enabling a subtle floral taste not to be over powered is a pretty challenging task.

All in all I was really impressed with the cakes I tried.  The black bottom was certainly incredible, although I think my favourite was the Whoopie pie.  It left a feeling in your stomach like you had just had a small bowl of warm pasta, but in a good comforting, substantial way, not a heavy bloated way.  I suppose I was a bit upset at the 'in-out' no-nonsense...or sitting down in the shop comfortably, malarkey.  But I suppose that's one of the best ways to make money, and Londoners want something on the go. Maybe I will try the other Hummingbird shops and see if they are done in the same way. 

I small part of me, actually a rather big part, still craves and hopes that one day, if and when I open my own shop, there will be comfy seats galore, and time to mull over you cake with a cup of tea.  Bliss.  Until that day, I shall enjoy every moment in Soho square, munching a Hummingbird cake in the sunshine.  

Cake Britain

Organised by 'Miss Cakehead', who describes herself on her blog as "a creative ‘dictator’ / creative content producer", Cake Britain produced more than just a play on words.  Inside this small white walled gallery space, a stones throw from Leicester Square tube was an array of confectionery delights.  Sponsored by Tate+Lyle sugar, in celebration of their recent switch to fairtrade produce, the exhibition consisted of roughly ten works created by a selection of artists, each with their own take on the concept of food as art.

On entering the rather unassuming gallery, I was welcomed by the sound of  The Strangeloves "I want candy".   There was an great sense of fun as people were papping away, getting as close as they liked to the kooky confectionery masterpieces.

Hung nearest the entrance was a striking piece by Miss Cakehead herself, The Futureheads vs Cakehead loves Evil.  Here Miss Cakehead lifted the lyrics from her favourite song, Oh the Chaos and used them as both a mission statement for her personal blog and also the exhibition.  About twenty lines of lyrics, spread across 6'x6' of the wall.  Propped in front of each black painted letter though was a cookie letter, coated in a wonderfully thick black icing.  Visitors were allowed to pick the letters off the wall and eat them on the spot.  This kind of consumer viewing was really interesting to watch. The cookie words were lovingly baked and cut out into fragile letters, only to be eaten, not by family and friends hot from the oven, but off a wall in a gallery near the west end.

My favourite pieces in the exhibition were the ones that genuinely played with using spounge cake, icing, or anything edible as a fun medium.  The Mad Hatters Tea Party by Amy Greenwood won the competition (of which I didn't know there was one had it not been for the plaque next to the piece).  It was a neat piece of coloured fondant work with an adorably cute dormouse, and one very tripped out caterpillar.

There were two pieces for me which really impressed.  David and Simon Smith's Carousel Deer, was created using solely Tate+Lyle sugar.  The organic rough texture of the sugar allowed the ruggedness of the wild to live through the deer sculpture.  The sugar cube patterning around the neck did not seem too geometric, but sympathetic the contours of the beast.  It certainly was a majestic centre piece, and my favourite.

Another work I particularly liked was the black slicked toucan, smeared across the floor. Used in a genuinely innovative way, the black  marzipan like icing was smeared across the floor. The flat black body juxtaposed with the flamboyant 3D beak created an excitement of scale, colour and surprise.  There was something superbly satisfying about the idea of someone plastering a black slick of icing across the floor, and then watching people tiptoeing around it.

The last creation I feel needs a mention was the Edible Garden.  It intrigued me, unsurprisingly, as it is a masterpeice by Lily Vanilli.  A combination of beautifully delicate peach-crush coloured petals grew tall next to glitter licked stamen of overly confident flowers.  A shiny black (edible) scorpion lurked in the undergrowth, but most amazingly there was an overpoweringly delicious smell of bitter cocoa.  It was the only piece I could actually smell smell, and on reading the plaque, the attention to detail went a little deeper. Edible bugs and roots of the plants lurked in the soil beneath. Amazing.  

Konditor & Cook's "Comforting Curly Whirly"

I popped up to Borough Market today - August bank holiday weekend.  It certainly was manic, hoards of people, and swarms of wasps in every tasting jar of chutney.  After filling a bag full of goodies I dived into Konditor & Cooks, reading the "deservedly legendary" awning overhead.  Inside it did look delicious, and you could grab a cake slice for about £1.70 if you look for it.  I was tempted by the lavender swirls, and the lavender and orange blossom cake.  In the end I opted for a cake behind the glass counter.  They always look so much more appealing somehow.  I chose the Curly Whirly cake.  I was feeling  like something rich and dark, and hoped it would give me a cocoa kick.  I was also allured by the description of the "Real vanilla bean frosting, surrounded in layers of dark chocolate sponge".

It was squeezed carefully into a little cardboard box and stowed away in my bag for the journey home.  I enjoyed it with a cup of hot earl grey.

The sponge, for £2.65 was worth it in terms of texture.  I could tell as soon as I lifted it from the box, the cake gave beautifully under my fingers.  It held together well, even in the mouth and had a wonderful bounciness to the texture.  Often with a light sponge I find the consequence can be that it is overly crumbly, this wasn't so.  The taste was quite delicate, chocolatey, but not overly rich, which was a good thing, as the slice was fairly generous.  It was moist without being stodgy or heavy. Perfect.

The benefit of the moist sponge meant there wasn't need for heaps of the icing.  At first I thought the thickness of icing down the centre was stingy, until I realised the sponge was perfect without.  If the cake had a downfall,for me it was in the icing.  I was really excited for a "real vanilla bean" butter icing.  Unfortunately all I could detect was heaps of sugar, and butter. A fail-safe combination maybe but I was expecting a strong vanilla accent to the chocolate.

Was it worth £2.65? For me yes.  I will definitely be going back to Konditor & Cooks to sample some more cakes.  Though maybe next time I'll try to avoid a summer bank holiday weekend.

Curly Whirly Cake