I had fully intended to keep this blog up daily, but I've missed a few days for one reason or another. Now I'm having a wee glass of white in front of the fire and having a think over the last few days...
Friday was a good day (and yes, in part, because of cake)! My husband won tickets to see Train in a private concert for Real Radio listeners - huge hurrah! I went into Glasgow to have my hair cut before the concert (fashion tip: it's very important to look one's best in order that one may stand around in the dark and listen to music), then it was off to a late lunch at Brewhaha in Buchanan Galleries. Say whatever you want about the table service (and there were two ladies at the table next to me who had quite a lot to say about it), and busy as they may be, there's no other place I know of in the immediate city centre where you can go and have a decent bowl of soup, lovely crusty roll, a pot of tea chosen from an amazing selection, a very respectable piece of lemon drizzle, sit in a cosy chair and be completely left alone to read, contemplate the secrets of the universe or write the first chapters of your next novel without suffering the scorn and looks of death from the waitstaff (who, for all the times I've been there, have been sweet to me. So there, crabby ladies with order number 9). (Concert, by the way, was fabulous, fabulous!! Even got the band's autographs, said the re-born teenager with the new haircut).
I do, however, have a confession to make (hanging head in shame). Saturday, I went to a cafe called (whisper it) the Truly Scrumptious Cupcake Cafe Bar near Torphichen. There. I've said it. There should be no shame in going to a cafe with a ludicrous name and a slightly silly, juvenile theme that even offers, I'm sure, perfectly respectable adults classes in how to make these fluffy confections in the shape of hippos (I kid you not) and even a 'It's a Boy' Cake. (sigh). Ok, I was hungry and desperate. To sum up, it seems quite popular as there was a queue when I arrived and there continued to be one for the duration of my lunch. The soup was ok, the fluffy herb and cheese roll quite lovely, really, and even the pumpkin cupcake ok, but I'll be damned if I didn't feel like I was about 30 years too old to be there. Admittedly, the service was the best I'd been offered in what feels like years, but cupcakes are cool only as a quirky side attraction, not the main show, in my opinion. And if you're going to serve them, please don't pile on the frosting about 3 inches high. I'll just be scraping most of it to the edge of the plate as, for me, it's all about the cake. Do the cake bit, and do it properly. Leave the frosting alone. It doesn't have to be pretty to be delicious. Now if you offer any cake in the future that doesn't make me embarrassed to order it, then I'll be back. 'Til then, me and what's left of my dignity are outta here.
Sunday, 24 October 2010
Thursday, 21 October 2010
Chocolate...and beets?
Interesting idea, but somewhere, something went horribly wrong. Last night, I was quite keen to dive into a lovely looking beetroot and chocolate cake. My hopes were quite high, as I am familiar with the delights of such treats as courgette bread and muffins (a.k.a zucchini bread and muffins where I'm originally from), pumpkin bread, muffins, cakes, pies (oh, I could wax lyrical about the uses of pumpkin in sweets), so I was well up for, potentially, a new addition to my favourite baking recipes. But, oh dear, something must have happened to these beautiful, bewitching beets. The cake looked gorgeous and moist, the texture was perfect, but the taste went somewhere back to the vegetable patch, more 'beet-y' than it should have. Ideally, the beets should behave in a subtle and polite, 'no, no, please, after you' good mannerly way with the chocolate, resulting in a rich, moist cake. Ah well, I must do a bit of research and try to find a recipe on my own (unless someone can recommend one...?).
To make good for the compost's gain and my chocolate-y loss, I decided to make my tried and tested banana bread with chocolate chips - fabulous! Just in case you're interested, here's the recipe:
Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips
1/3 c. butter
1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 1/3 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. mashed ripe banana (I mean really ripe, very spotty, even towards black = perfect)
Big handful of chocolate chips (I prefer Nestle's Toll House, but they're not available in the shops in the UK, so any really good chocolate chips you can find)
Cream butter & sugar. Add eggs & beat. Sift dry ingredients. Add to cream mixture alternatively with bananas, blending after each addition. Spoon into a greased 9 1/2 x 5 x 3" loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until a knife or toothpick comes out almost completely clean. Remove from pan. Best served when still warm.
Yes, I know this is all in cups and teaspoons etc., but when I make British recipes, I use this great website to convert everything for me (which can convert for American recipes as well, good stuff): http://www.onlineconversion.com/weight_volume_cooking.htm
This recipe reminds me of a faaaaabulous chocolate and banana cake that was served warm with chocolate sauce and a side of single cream, in a cute wee pitcher, oh MY! When I was a student (never mind when), my flatmate told me about her discovery of a café on Otago Street in Glasgow's West End, which, sadly, is now out of business. I used to go as often as I could to have just this cake for lunch, and now, I can only dream about it's choco-banana loveliness.
Hmmm, you know I didn't intend this to be a 'baking blog', but I'm very happy to share my favourite recipes for cakes, pies (the American, sweet kind you have for pudding). Home baking always lifts my spirits, particularly when I can't get out and about to sample some of the local cafés' fare in the pudding department.
To make good for the compost's gain and my chocolate-y loss, I decided to make my tried and tested banana bread with chocolate chips - fabulous! Just in case you're interested, here's the recipe:
Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips
1/3 c. butter
1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 1/3 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. mashed ripe banana (I mean really ripe, very spotty, even towards black = perfect)
Big handful of chocolate chips (I prefer Nestle's Toll House, but they're not available in the shops in the UK, so any really good chocolate chips you can find)
Cream butter & sugar. Add eggs & beat. Sift dry ingredients. Add to cream mixture alternatively with bananas, blending after each addition. Spoon into a greased 9 1/2 x 5 x 3" loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until a knife or toothpick comes out almost completely clean. Remove from pan. Best served when still warm.
Yes, I know this is all in cups and teaspoons etc., but when I make British recipes, I use this great website to convert everything for me (which can convert for American recipes as well, good stuff): http://www.onlineconversion.com/weight_volume_cooking.htm
This recipe reminds me of a faaaaabulous chocolate and banana cake that was served warm with chocolate sauce and a side of single cream, in a cute wee pitcher, oh MY! When I was a student (never mind when), my flatmate told me about her discovery of a café on Otago Street in Glasgow's West End, which, sadly, is now out of business. I used to go as often as I could to have just this cake for lunch, and now, I can only dream about it's choco-banana loveliness.
Hmmm, you know I didn't intend this to be a 'baking blog', but I'm very happy to share my favourite recipes for cakes, pies (the American, sweet kind you have for pudding). Home baking always lifts my spirits, particularly when I can't get out and about to sample some of the local cafés' fare in the pudding department.
Wednesday, 20 October 2010
Welcome to Day 1
So, this is what a blog is all about. Hmmm...they were wrong - it tastes nothing like chicken. I thought I'd follow up on a friend's idea to start one of these, had a 'what the hell' moment and decided to give it a go. To be clear, I don't necessarily think my life and times are particularly exciting or of note, but I thought it might be interesting to share my random thoughts and rather dubious opinions on life, the funny directions it takes and, of course, cake.
Some mornings, I wake up and one of the first things that enters my mind is a tune. It could be anything, which is a pity really, as you'd want to have something upbeat and leaves you guilty of singing (I generously label it thus) along in the shower/car/lift (delete as necessary) and gets you throwing back the covers, into your slippers before you have an 'Oh sh**, it's only Tuesday' moment. Yesterday morning it was Train's 'Hey, Soul Sister', which, for all intents and purposes was just the ticket for me, and a lucky break. Unfortunately, I don't have a 'fast-forward' or 'delete' option, so some days I get quite unlucky and the first thing that enters my brain is an annoying TV jingle that I thought I'd blasted out with conscious repression and, for good measure, marinated the rebel cerebellum cells with a half-way decent bottle of wine (decent ones are out of budget so out of the question. Mental note to amend shopping list: cut the carbs and spring for better white/red).
Today, upon waking, the cerebral station was blank, but the light was fantastic. The sun was pouring in (oh, alright, it was on the rude side of 8am), and crisp and cold outside. The day was starting out fine (even with the absence of 'Jump (For My Love)'), and after checking my inbox, I made the happy discovery that it was that same friend's birthday - joy! It was going to be a good day, because for one or both of us, there was gonna be cake.
I'm one of those people that, even after knowing someone for many years, I still feel that it's a bit forward to ask someone when their birthday is. Firstly, because at my age (let's just call it 'slightly over spring chicken'), another birthday doesn't necessarily call for the invites to be sent to all and sundry, but for more or less a quiet celebration with the current members of the household and other family/friends that can't be hushed up for love or chocolate. I feel that if I ask someone when their birthday is, they might feel an obligation to ask me the same in return, and there would be an embarrassing moment just afterwards when the conversation goes a bit quiet, and you think, 'Huh, soooo...put that in the diary. Quick, change the subject, or you'll end up talking rubbish about your star signs'.
So the happy discovery in an e-mail that today was in fact my friend's birthday lead to a most excellent day shopping for treats and sweets. In the spirit of October and it's upcoming fetes, I sneaked over and spirited the goodies to her doorstep and slipped away into the night (read: afternoon). Now, I have a chocolate and beetroot cake from the bake sale that is in need of sampling, so good night, and may your morning brain station be tuned to 'What I Like About You' (The Romantics), '...you keep me warm at niiiiiiiiiight...'.
Some mornings, I wake up and one of the first things that enters my mind is a tune. It could be anything, which is a pity really, as you'd want to have something upbeat and leaves you guilty of singing (I generously label it thus) along in the shower/car/lift (delete as necessary) and gets you throwing back the covers, into your slippers before you have an 'Oh sh**, it's only Tuesday' moment. Yesterday morning it was Train's 'Hey, Soul Sister', which, for all intents and purposes was just the ticket for me, and a lucky break. Unfortunately, I don't have a 'fast-forward' or 'delete' option, so some days I get quite unlucky and the first thing that enters my brain is an annoying TV jingle that I thought I'd blasted out with conscious repression and, for good measure, marinated the rebel cerebellum cells with a half-way decent bottle of wine (decent ones are out of budget so out of the question. Mental note to amend shopping list: cut the carbs and spring for better white/red).
Today, upon waking, the cerebral station was blank, but the light was fantastic. The sun was pouring in (oh, alright, it was on the rude side of 8am), and crisp and cold outside. The day was starting out fine (even with the absence of 'Jump (For My Love)'), and after checking my inbox, I made the happy discovery that it was that same friend's birthday - joy! It was going to be a good day, because for one or both of us, there was gonna be cake.
I'm one of those people that, even after knowing someone for many years, I still feel that it's a bit forward to ask someone when their birthday is. Firstly, because at my age (let's just call it 'slightly over spring chicken'), another birthday doesn't necessarily call for the invites to be sent to all and sundry, but for more or less a quiet celebration with the current members of the household and other family/friends that can't be hushed up for love or chocolate. I feel that if I ask someone when their birthday is, they might feel an obligation to ask me the same in return, and there would be an embarrassing moment just afterwards when the conversation goes a bit quiet, and you think, 'Huh, soooo...put that in the diary. Quick, change the subject, or you'll end up talking rubbish about your star signs'.
So the happy discovery in an e-mail that today was in fact my friend's birthday lead to a most excellent day shopping for treats and sweets. In the spirit of October and it's upcoming fetes, I sneaked over and spirited the goodies to her doorstep and slipped away into the night (read: afternoon). Now, I have a chocolate and beetroot cake from the bake sale that is in need of sampling, so good night, and may your morning brain station be tuned to 'What I Like About You' (The Romantics), '...you keep me warm at niiiiiiiiiight...'.
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