Best cupcakes ever

If you can't watch BBC television - you are missing a real treat. In fact I would venture to say, "You are missing the best show ever"...The Great British Bake Off.

I am so happy to be in England now that Series 2 is showing. 

To ease the distress of having to wait one whole week for the next episode, we started searching online for ways to keep baking feeling going. 

The Bakewell tart cupcake recipe ticked all the boxes for our first attempt from the BBC website.

Holly Bell inspired us to try her recipe, albeit our way - with less than perfect icing (sorry Holly).

Holly and Janet are my favourite contestants - hope they stay in till the final.

It was love at first taste. 

These Bakewell tart cupcakes are the easiest and tastiest we have ever made.

 Alice and Louise carefully scooped out a little hole in the centre, to be able to drop a tiny dollop of raspberry jam. Tilly was on hand to eat every little crumb that was removed - and let them know if they were not quick enough to supply her.

Twelve cupcakes quickly disappeared

Here is Holly's recipe with a couple of changes :

Raspberry Bakewell Tart Cupcakes

The mix:

75g margarine - at room temp

75g butter- at room temp

150g caster sugar

100g self-raising flour

3 free range eggs- at room temp

1 teaspoon baking powder

60g ground almonds

1 Tbsp milk

After baking:

good quality raspberry jam

Icing:

200g icing sugar

2-3 Tbsp lemon juice

12 raspberries

How to:

1. Preheat oven to 180C/350F/Gas4. Use paper cases in a 12 hole muffin tin.
2. Cream the margarine and butter in a bowl till light and fluffy. (I thought this was a typo as I always have creamed butter and sugar together first - but now I think this makes the cupcakes extra light)
3. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well until combined
4. Spoon the mixture into the cases - just half full. Bake for 15-20 mins. They will be golden brown and when tested with cake skewer, it comes out clean when they are ready.
5. Remove from oven, cool on a wire tray and try to resist for 10 minutes.
6. Use an apple corer and a tiny teaspoon to carefully remove a plug from the centre of each cupcake. Fill the hole with good raspberry jam.
7. Make the icing by sifting icing sugar into a bowl and stirring in the lemon juice. Carefully spoon it onto the top of each cake and try to cover the top of each cupcake neatly. (I failed to do this to Holly's standards, but will try harder next time)
8. Add a fresh raspberry onto the centre of each cupcake and enjoy!

Info for other GBBO junkies:
Be sure to read Red, Red's blog on cupcakes.
For info on the contestants: Maison Cupcake
Holly's blog
Mary-Anne's blog
Jo's blog
BBC food blog
Miranda (from series1)
Jason's blog

Need the book?

Available at Amazon

Want to watch the show from outside the UK? Find the link here

Let me know if you get hooked on it too.

Sloe Pickings

The hedgerows around our house are offering us the double pleasure of blackberries and sloes at the moment. 

Don't let these blueberry lookalikes fool you - they are not something to pick and eat from the bush... far too bitter.

 But if you happen to have a litre of gin going begging, then it is simple to make a delicious liqueur with sloes. If you start now, you can be ready to serve at Christmas. 

Image: Ingrid

Recipe:

1. Pick approx 500g of sloes from mid September through to October. Wash them.
2. Prick each sloe a couple of times with a needle. (This lets the juices out and the gin in.)
3. Find a glass jug or jar (which holds in excess of 1 litre)
4. Add the sloes, 220g of caster sugar and 1 litre of gin.
5. Stir/shake well and cover.
6. Leave in a dark place and shake/stir every other day for one week.
7. Now just shake once a week for 2 months.
8. Strain the liquid through a muslin cloth and pour into a sterilised bottle. 

Some people recommend leaving the sloe gin for a year but I don't have that much patience.

Christmas 2011 will hopefully see this on our table. You are welcome to drop by if you're passing.

Maybe I'll get another litre soaking in October and keep that for next year.

Image: Ingrid

Sloe Facts:

Sloes grow on the blackthorn bush, and are found in Europe, New Zealand and eastern North America

The fruits are best picked in late September and October, especially after the first frost. 

Image: Ingrid

Hope you can find some sloes to marinate or a local fruit to create a delicious tipple for the winter months. Love to hear if you do anything similar in your part of the world.

I don't want to force you ...

But now is the time for action if, like me, you love to have hyacinths blooming on your windowsill in the middle of winter.

Images: IKEA, Absolutely White, Anetteshus, Sad Ferret

Reading the autumn edition of Sarah Raven's inspiring garden catalogue made me realise that mid September is the deadline for forcing some hyacinth bulbs of my own.
In the past I just bought the hyacinth plants in winter and had one or two on my windowsill.

This year I am thinking abundance, and abundance hyacinth-buying in December is expensive. Hence the bulb catalogues and the haste to order.
Actually we only have to rush if we want them flowering at Christmas, as it takes 14 weeks to get your dormant bulb into flower.

I really love the way a few hyacinths on your windows in January bring colour and scent to the house once the Christmas decorations are put away.

If you want to try a little forcing along with me, these are the basics:

1. Order bulbs from catalogue or buy from garden centre.                                                                        I recommend Sarah Raven and Peter Nyssen for fellow Brit readers. (I love the photos in Sarah's and the prices in Peter's!)
2. Use special bulb fibre to fill your container about three quarters full. You can also grow the bulbs without fibre, in a special glass vase filled with water.
3. Place the hyacinth bulbs in individual pots or closely together in a larger pot.
4. Add  enough bulb fibre to barely cover the top of the bulb and water the pot.
5. Pre-chilling: Now your pots need to be chilled for 12 weeks at a temperature under 40F / 5C ...but above freezing! You can do this in a fridge - but if you are going for abundance like me, this is a non starter. They are best in a cool, dark garage or shed. 
6. Forcing: After 12 weeks bring the pots inside for blooming. First, water thoroughly and then keep them in a COOL place for 2 weeks. (No worries if it is not very light at this point). Just don't over water.
7. When the shoots are 4-6 inches (10-15cm), move the bulbs to a slightly warmer and lighter place. Best to force slowly rather than shock them with a blast of heat. 
8. After blooming, the bulb cannot be forced again next year. Either add to the compost heap or tenderly nurture it and plant in the garden in autumn.

Read more here and here to get the full story of forcing a hyacinth to bloom.

Image: Sad Ferret

I'm off now to get ordering, I going to be all white this year. Maybe there will even be one in a tea cup.

What can I do with a marrow?

Ever asked the question "What can I do with a marrow?"?
Translation for the USA "What can I do with a summer squash?"

My answer is "Stuff it!"

Marrows are like London busses, one minute your garden is barren and the next minute there are loads of them coming along.
Yesterday I stuffed my first one and it was rather tasty, if I say so myself.
In case you feel tempted to stuff one yourself, this is how I did it.

Stuffed Marrow with Chorizo and Couscous


1 large marrow (summer squash)
100g chorizo sausage, sliced and chopped
1 red onion
mushrooms, chopped - 3 big ones or more smaller
1 cup of dry couscous
1 lemon - juiced
1 red pepper, chopped small
2 red vine tomatoes, chopped
big handful of fresh parsley
clove of fresh garlic, squashed
grated cheese for topping
2TBsp extra virgin olive oil
a bit of spice e.g. Ras el hanout or paprika

Action:

1. Preheat oven to 200C/ 390F/Gas 6
2. Cut the marrow in half lengthways. Peel the skin off and scoop out all the seeds and pith from centre (discard). Sprinkle salt over the marrow and leave for half an hour. This draws out any bitter juices from your marrow. After half an hour rinse the salt off the marrow and pat dry.
3. Add the cup of dry couscous to a medium/large bowl, pour over the juice of one lemon and then add enough boiling water to just cover the couscous. Cover the bowl with cling film and leave until all the liquid is absorbed.
4. Chop the onion up small and add it together with the chopped chorizo to your large fry pan in which you have heated about 2 Tbsp of olive oil. Fry for a few mins till the onion is softened but not brown.
5. Add the chopped red pepper, tomato and garlic and fry for a couple of mins and then add the mushrooms frying for a couple more mins. Take off the heat.
6. Once the couscous has absorbed the liquid, fork it over lightly and add the fried chorizo/vegetable mixture to the bowl too. Add a large handful of chopped parsley and a little of a spice that you fancy. I had some Ras el hanout to hand (Moroccan spice mix) but could have added a dash of paprika or cumin. Experiment!
7. Lay your two marrow halves in an oven proof dish and fill both halves with all the mixture. Sprinkle some grated cheese on top of each half and pop into the oven at 200C. I prefer to cover mine with foil for 20 mins and then take the foil away and leave it to brown nicely for another 15-20 mins.
8. No two marrows are the same, so you need to test the marrow with a sharp knife to judge how long to cook it. The flesh should be soft but firm. It took longer than I expected so don't be taking it out too soon and blaming me because you ended up eating raw marrow!

Serve this with a nice green salad and some crusty bread and you have enough to feed 4 gannets or up to 8 with modest appetites.

Variations: add feta cheese, pine nuts, chopped fennel bulb, raisins, chopped apricots, mix up the herbs with mint, oregano and basil. So many possibilities to be adventurous with.

Love to know if you try it and like it.

Thanks AWT at the BBC for the inspiration. 

Even though in his photo you can see the marrow in raw and unpeeled! 

Early Morning

Just wanted to share with you the beautiful morning that has dawned here in Suffolk.

Hipstamatic on Ingrid's iPhone

It is starting to feel like home now.

One container emptied this week and the next one is due on Monday.

Maybe you can spot some touches of China starting to appear 

as we empty the 500+ boxes - only 400+ to go!

I'd best put away the iPhone and computer and get stuck into the next box!

Find your support...

“No one ever got anywhere by themselves. Find your support and keep them close.”

 Anon

Some of my support team

This quote jumped out at me today from the inspiring writing of Scott's blog. It seemed to be a good reminder at this sad time that there are many people supporting each of us, when we need it most.

 When the going get's tough it feels instinctive to hide one's self away or become so busy with life's details. Either way, there's a reluctance to make contact with friends and family. 

When life deals us challenges the only way is to move forward and to move anywhere at all can be very challenging.

 So this is going to be my mantra for now... "Find my supports and keep them close".

How do we find our support? 

• We let people know that we need support
• We start to find a direction we want to go in
• We take a first step
• We look around and recognise who makes contact with us
• We take another step
• Gradually we find we are moving in a new direction.

Remember we don't need to know our final destination, it's the journey and who we meet along the way that count.

Thank you for all the kind words of support since my mother died, it has really helped. I appreciate the kindness of both friends, passers by and strangers, who are just friends I have yet to meet.

In memory

Sadly my lovely Mum died last week. 

She would follow this blog on her iPad and even made a guest appearance once.

Hug someone close to you today.

Apologies for my absence, but will be back again in August.

Let's start getting organised

The thought of several containers arriving in the next month (yes I did say several) is making me feel a little edgy.
Will we find a place for all our things?
Is the garage big enough - in case it won't all fit?
How much can stand outside?
As you can imagine ORGANISE is the key word on my brain.

I started here ...

at my Organise pinboard

Went on to this great blog Storage and Glee
who had lovely ideas like this

via

and ended up writing this blog
to encourage you, dear reader, to do what I have failed so far to do ...

sort out the piles and put the laptop away.

P.S. Any tips for fitting a mountain into a mole hill gratefully received.

I've come a long way in a week

Last week this was my world ... 

millions of people living within a thirty mile radius of me, with all the energy and distraction that provides.

 This week ...

I hung out my washing on a clothes line - the first time for 9 years (the air in Beijing was too dusty/dirty).

Back story for those who don't know me: 
We have lived in Beijing for the last nine years - loving almost every moment of it. I don't miss the crazy drivers or polluted air. Now we are back in the Uk after 13 years away (Copenhagen prior to Beijing).  Our home is in Suffolk, where there are more pigs than people, so we can be sure of bringing home good bacon and enjoying the clean air.

Oh to be in England ...

Adsoftheworld

After 13 years away, we are back in England and planning to stay a while.
Whether you are from the Uk, have been to the Uk or just love "Four weddings and a Funeral" - there should be something to sum up your view of the UK on the map above. Would love to hear your thoughts.
 (Thanks Astrid for sending me this and getting me back in my groove).

It's been a long 5 weeks  away from this blog, but if you saw how far we have travelled in those weeks I think you will understand my absence.
Hope that you will join me again soon.