new things

Just thought I'd do a quick round up of some new bits and pieces I've bought in the last month.

New fabric! Both ordered from Frumble, a seriously dangerous website for me to visit as I have no self control when it comes to novelty prints. Cats and cameras people, CATS AND CAMERAS!

I am absolutely besotted with the fantastically named "disco cat" fabric. It couldn't be more awesome if it tried: yellow, polka dots, cats and musical notes! Such a *me* fabric. I want to make another Elisalex dress with it and have ordered enough to add sleeves. It's a heavier weight cotton, almost more of a calico/furnishing fabric, so it'll be lovely to work with. Still unsure what to do with the camera fabric, which I mostly bought because it has a Diana camera on it. I could only get 1.25 metres so it'll probably turn into a skirt.

Still on a sewing theme, I found this dungaree shorts pattern in a charity shop last month for 10p!

Imagine having lilac polka dot dungarees. Groooovy. I've always lusted after dungarees however I'm aware they're not that comfortable or flattering if you have a chest (damn you chest!) so I don't know whether I'll use the pattern. It was worth buying for the cute illustrations alone.

Since cutting my hair shorter a few months ago I've rediscovered my love for scarves which is annoying as I charity-shopped most of my old, non winter scarves at the end of last year. My mum, being the thoughtful person she is, bought these two floral beauties for me a couple of weeks ago from Debenhams.

I've been alternating between them most days and have received so many compliments! They also look lovely hanging on the back of my bedroom door.

In other news I've almost finished my latest dress. I'm really pleased with it as it fits so much better than my last dress. Just need to hand finish the bodice lining and skirt hem and I'm done. Blog post coming soon! :)

lemon curd swiss roll

For Father's Day last weekend Dad requested something lemon-y. I sense people may groan at the amount of lemon bakes I produce on this blog, but hey, my family *loves* lemon. Rather than bake my fail safe lemon drizzle I thought I'd go for something slightly different, a swiss roll.

A swiss roll filled with homemade lemon curd. Mmmmmmm.

Every time I make a fruit curd I think "I should make curd more often!" It's so easy and tastes so much better than shop bought which for some reason I always seem to forget. It's just taking the time for that extra little step in baking. I'd like to try making pineapple curd next to fully embrace summer flavours.

I had forgotten how wonderfully airy fatless sponges were. This swiss roll was so light! I loved the contrast of the crunchy, sugary crust with the fluffy sponge and tangy, sweet curd filling. 

Admittedly my swiss roll isn't the most technically proficient. I rolled mine a bit slack which caused a massive, unsightly crack. I sneakily hid this on the underside so all was ok. I also added so much curd that it squidged out everywhere, but then again I don't think that's a bad thing. Nobody likes a stingey filling.

I can happily report that Dad was delighted with his Father's Day swiss roll and we polished it off within two days. It's worth noting that swiss rolls are best eaten on the day of making as it did lose its freshness the following day (although still perfectly edible.) If there are a few of you eating I'm sure this won't be a problem!

Swiss roll with homemade lemon curd

Swiss roll recipe by Mary Berry. Lemon curd recipe by Delia Smith. Those ladies are the best.

For the lemon curd:

grated rind and juice of 1 large, juicy lemon 

75g (3oz) caster sugar

2 large eggs

50g (2oz) butter (I used slightly salted)

 

Place the grated lemon rind and sugar in a heatproof bowl. In another bowl whisk together the lemon juice and eggs then pour this mixture over the sugar. Add the butter cut into small pieces and place the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir frequently until thickened (about 20 minutes) and leave to cool whilst making the swiss roll.

For the swiss roll:

3 large eggs

75g (3oz) caster sugar

75g (3oz) self-raising flour
grated rind of 1 small lemon

Preheat the oven to 220C/Fan 200C/Gas 7 and line a 28 x 18cm (11 x 7 inch) tin with baking parchment. Whisk the lemon zest, eggs and sugar until the mixture increases in size and the whisk leaves a smooth trail when lifted. This takes a good 3-5 minutes and it's best to put your whisk at its highest/fastest setting as you want to add as much air into the mixture as possible. Sift in the flour and very carefully fold it into the mixture, taking great care not to knock out all the lovely air you just beat into it. Once incorporated, pour the mixture into the tray, tipping it gently from side to side to evenly spread the mixture into corners and level out. Don't be tempted to spread it with a knife! 

Bake in the centre of the oven for 10 minutes or until the surface is golden and the sides come away from the edges of the tin. While the cake is in the oven, unroll a piece of baking parchment slightly larger than the tin onto a work surface and sprinkle liberally with caster sugar. Once the swiss roll is cooked, invert it straight onto the sugared surface and quickly loosen and remove the parchment from the bottom of the cake. Trim the edges of the sponge (if needed) and mark a score about an inch in from one of the shorter ends (but don't cut right through) as it will help to roll up the cake.

Leave to cool slightly before spreading with curd then roll up the cake firmly from the scored end. Don't try and answer the phone whilst doing this like I did. It wasn't a good idea, you need both hands! Eat whilst fresh and fluffy :)

Celebration brownies!

My friends threw a small house party last weekend so I baked these party-worthy brownies stuffed with Celebration chocolates to take with me. I cut them into party-friendly, bite-size squares with the theory that it's acceptable to eat more than one if they're smaller! I think everybody had fun guessing which chocolate bar flavours they had in each brownie portion.

Another person at the party had baked millionaire's shortbread and chocolate orange cupcakes so there was a lot of chocolate going around. I think it's safe to say that sugar hangovers were as likely as alcohol related ones.

A few of the celebration chunks looked rather impressive fresh from the oven, the Milky Bar pieces in particular as they billowed out like puffy marshmallows! It was almost a shame to watch them deflate as the tray cooled although the finished appearance was still very attractive. I love the shiny, flaky, erupting surface.

For these brownies I used a (slightly adapted) Nigella Lawson recipe, more or less the same as the last brownies I made. My only changes were adding chopped up pieces of Celebration chocolates and 40% cocoa solids milk chocolate for the batter instead of a darker chocolate.

In hindsight I probably would have preferred a slightly darker chocolate, or a mix of milk and dark, just to give a richer flavour. I may have slightly overbaked this batch too as they weren't quite as squidy as previous batches. They were by no means dry though and I still had difficulty peeling them off the parchment paper!

What's your favourite brownie recipe? Can Nigella's recipe be defeated?

banana and coconut muffins

I was tempted to call this post "experimental banana baking and cupboard clearing night" but that seemed rather long winded.

Earlier this week I discovered an interesting array of almost out of date ingredients in the baking cupboard and some black bananas on the worktop so an evening of baking was in order. I ended up producing an almond and dried cranberry banana loaf (more or less the same as this recipe) and these banana and coconut muffins.

It got me thinking that I rarely use coconut in my bakes. It's not that I don't like coconut, it's just not a flavour I tend to go (coco)nuts over.

HAHA, see what I did there? *everybody groans*

Although my cobbled together recipe isn't perfect (neither are my half-assed foggy evening photographs) I really enjoyed the banana and coconut flavour combination. It's subtly sweet and feels a little bit tropical. Like most muffins these were best fresh from the oven although I also enjoyed one reheated the following day for breakfast with the remaining coconut yoghurt. However I found they lacked something when cold so I added a simple glaze (icing sugar mixed with a splash of fruit juice) which perked them up a bit.

I imagine they'd also be lovely eaten with a fruity curd. If I were to make these again I'd feel tempted to add something else into the batter; perhaps some chopped pecans or small pineapple chunks for extra texture or juicy-ness.

My muffins didn't rise as much as I had hoped either. Muffin making confuses me as I'm sure I read somewhere that the less you mix everything the better as you're not going for the airiness of a sponge cake. That said, surely it needs a bit more rise? If you don't mix enough you'll just be left with a stodgy lump.

Perhaps they needed a higher temperature in the oven too. I'm still trying to get used to my new oven temperatures. I've always used gas ovens so changing to electric has been a bit confusing. The cave woman in me is saying "but there's no flame.... where is the heat coming from?!"

I know you're laughing. I'm an idiot.

Banana and coconut muffins

125g self raising flour

90g golden caster sugar

40g (roughly) dessicated coconut

a good pinch of cinnamon

a few drops of vanilla extract

50g butter, melted

1 large egg

1 banana, mashed

60ml coconut yoghurt

for a simple icing glaze:

a couple of tablespoonfuls of icing sugar

a splash of fresh fruit juice. I used a tropical flavoured one.

Preheat the oven to 180C/170 fan/Gas 4 and line a muffin tin with about 8 muffin cases. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix together all the wet ingredients in a jug then pour into the dry ingredients. Mix everything together until combined. Divide the mixture between the muffin cases, filling each one about 2/3 full, then place on the middle shelf of the oven for about 30 minutes or until risen, golden and firm to touch. Leave to cool in the tray for a few minutes before turning out to finish cooling on a wire rack. 

Enjoy warm from the oven or cool with yoghurt, a fruity curd or a simple fruit flavoured icing glaze. 

blueberry and lemon layer cake

This felt like a purely selfish bake. I had no reason to bake a triple layer cake, which I usually feel deserves an "occasion", I just really wanted one.

It was only 6 inches in diameter though. A satisfying size and height of cake without being massive.

I based this cake on a tasty cake I ate in Edinburgh earlier in the year and also one I bookmarked on Sweetapolita ages ago. I loved the look and flavour of a lemon layer sandwiched between blueberry studded layers. Although my layering isn't as distinct as Sweetapolita's I still think it makes an attractive cake.

I couldn't decide whether I wanted to use lemon curd or blueberry jam with my lemon butter icing between the layers. In the end I went with both: jam between the bottom and middle layer and curd between the middle and top. They both offer something different flavour wise so I think that was a good choice.

I also toyed with the idea of going for a smooth icing coverage to finish the cake. After a few attempts I came to the conclusion that I don't own a large enough palette knife, I don't have the patience (or skill?) required and ultimately I don't particularly care! I actually really like textured icing. It looks homely and inviting and takes me less time to do therefore I get to eat cake quicker. And that's the most important thing, right?

Flavour wise this cake is a real sharp, sweet and tart sensation for the taste buds. Mum even declared "this is one of the best cakes you've made in a while". I'll take that compliment! I must admit I prefer sweet and sour flavour combinations to sweet and salty, although I'm expecting people may throw their cooking utensils at me for admitting that. Don't get me wrong, salted caramel is good, but I find it hard to go past a sharp and sweet lemon bake.

Now if you excuse me I'm going to go and scream into a pillow. It has been one of those days...

Blueberry and lemon layer cake
I baked this a couple of weeks ago and stupidly didn't write anything down so my memory of this is a bit sketchy. I think this is what I used though!

200g caster sugar
200g stork margarine (or butter)
3 large eggs
200g self raising flour
zest of 2 lemons
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp milk (I think!)
2 small packets of blueberries (I think they were about 150g each)

icing and filling:
450g icing sugar
150g butter (I use slightly salted)
lemon juice to taste
lemon curd
blueberry jam

Preheat the oven to 180C/170 fan/Gas 4. Grease and line three 6 inch round cake tins. Beat together the sugar and margarine/butter for 5 minutes until pale, light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and mix well between each addition. Sift in the flour and add the lemon zest and 1 tbsp of lemon juice and milk. Mix until everything is smooth and fully combined. Divide the mixture between the three tins. Coat a packet of the blueberries in a small amount of flour (to stop them sinking in the mix) and lightly press the blueberries into the surface of two of the cake mixes. I can't remember if I used the whole blueberry packet, but I basically just pressed in enough to roughly cover the surface. 

Bake in the middle of the oven for about 20 minutes until risen, golden, springy to touch and the edges of the cake have come away from the tin. I only have two tins so the plain lemon layer was baked separately afterwards. If I remember correctly, I think the blueberry sponges took longer to bake, possibly up to 30 minutes, probably due to the addition of the blueberries to the mixture. Once cooked, leave to cool in the tins for a few minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

For the icing, beat together the icing sugar, butter and enough lemon juice to achieve a nice spreadable consistency. Use to sandwich between the cakes (along with the jam and/or curd!) and coat the top and outside of the cake. Decorate your cake with any remaining blueberries.