Sachertorte Cupcakes and Home Bake Box Review

I've written before about the Home Bake Box mini box I ordered and made macarons from; I subscribed for a second month to see what I got and once again it was something I'd made before, though this time much more successfully than the macarons: Sachertorte.

Again all the ingredients were neatly weighed and packaged in little labelled bags with a recipe card. There was also a note saying that when they had packaged the first few bags of jam they had leaked so they were double bagged, and wouldn't be sending jam through the post again!

When I made it before, I made the traditional round cake with the word Sacher written on the top. This time instead of suggesting we pipe that word (which is how I thought it was always made), we were given some gold leaf to decorate the top. I was also interested to see the recipe gave instructions for making three different sized cakes, either a larger single layer, a smaller two layer cake, or cupcakes.

Since I had made it before I thought it might be fun to try out the cupcakes. There's not a lot of point me posting the recipe here as it isn't a recipe as such - the sachets were labelled things like 'cake mix' so I couldn't tell you exactly what quantities of which ingredients you need.

The method was quite interesting in that I had to beat the egg whites - this made for a really light and fluffy cake.

 

Almost there...

 

The cupcakes before and after baking. Afterwards, I spread a little of the apricot jam as a glaze on top.

Finally I had to make a chocolate ganache to cover the top but couldn't see the amount of cream I needed to add to the chocolate that was provided. By this point I had gotten so used to all the ingredients being pre-measured that it never occurred to me to turn over the recipe card and look on the back, so I just guessed how much cream to use (I was getting impatient by this point) and my chocolate ganache ended up too runny. It still worked ok, but was a little thinner on top of the cupcakes - you can still see some of the apricot jam in places.

We were also provided with a small piece of gold leaf and instructions to use scissors or tweezers, not our fingers. So I used scissors but when the pieces stuck to the scissors and I tried to get them off with my fingers they stuck to my fingers - doh! This was the first time I had used gold leaf - I know it's normally pretty expensive - and it's not something I'd be particularly bothered about using again unless it was a really integral part of a cake decoration.

Here are the finished cupcakes, with all the gold leaf that I could get onto them (the rest ended up stuck to my fingers!) - they tasted a lot better than they looked!

Read More

F1 Round-Up: Abu Dhabi

We've come to the end of the Formula 1 season with the last Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi. Britain's Lewis Hamilton won the championship, which made my fiancé happy, and I've had the opportunity to cook and bake dishes from all sorts of different countries. I hope all those of you who have taken part enjoyed it!

The most recent challenge then was Abu Dhabi - one that had me hunting on Google for suitable recipes. This lamb in pomegranate sauce recipe I found was delicious and easy to make if you use store-bought pomegranate molasses which I found easily in Sainsburys.

Suelle from Mainly Baking made Muaddas: a dish of rice and lentils with fried onions from a cookbook on Middle Eastern recipes that she had at home. She served it on the side with a vegetable casserole.

To mark the end of the Formula 1 season itself I posted this Ferrari car cake I'd made my dad for his birthday, which I was quite pleased with. I used my airbrushing kit (for cakes) to paint it red!

Read More

Meal Planning Monday - Week 50

Monday

Lunch: sandwich or homemade soup

Dinner: fish and veg and new potatoes for me, gammon and mashed potato for him

Tuesday

Lunch: at a company event

Dinner: chicken curry

Wednesday

Lunch: homemade soup or pasta

Dinner: sandwich before cake decorating course

Thursday

Lunch: sandwich

Dinner: out with a friend

Friday

Lunch: sandwich (production day at the agency which does our monthly magazine)

Dinner: working late: maybe frozen pizza

Saturday

Lunch: jacket potato with hot dogs

Dinner: slow cooker sausage casserole

Sunday

Lunch: Pre-Christmas pub lunch with friends

Dinner: probably won't want much - something like beans on toast perhaps or toasted sandwiches

Read More

USA Travel Review - Memphis Part 2

The current Duckmaster

The duck parade at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis is world famous even though most people have probably never heard of it. It all stemmed from two gentlemen who had a duck (a live one) to use as a decoy when they went duck hunting, and accidentally left it in the hotel, and when they remembered, they decided to put it in the hotel's fountain and beat a hasty retreat. When the hotel manager found out he was horrified, expecting to hear complaints from guests, but instead they loved the ducks and asked for them to stay.

There was a hotel porter who had previously been an animal trainer with the Ringling Brothers circus and offered to try and train the ducks; the hotel manager said if he could, he could have a job as Duckmaster as long as he liked. And he held that position for about 30 years!

Today the hotel is on its 4th Duckmaster and twice a day, at 11 and 5pm sharp, you can witness the duck parade. The ducks come down in the lift and parade - to music - along a red carpet into the fountain. At 5pm they get out and go into the lift (the Duckmaster presses the button) and go to sleep on the roof of the hotel!

While we were in Memphis I really wanted to see this and it's worth me giving a few tips for anyone else who is interested as logistically it's not the most straightforward. The hotel is centrally located and easy to get to (we went by Uber); you do need to get there at least 40 minutes if not an hour in advance. We took some seats on comfy chairs in the lobby bar off to one side of the fountain, but what we didn't know is that they rope off the aisle where the ducks walk, and if you are seated, you are not allowed to stand up and move closer! So even though my fiancé and future mother-in-law had a good view when they sat down, by the time the parade started, people were sitting in other chairs in front of them and totally blocking their view.

People waiting to see the ducks

As soon as I saw the rope going up I thought I'd keep an eye on it and go and stand in the section where they allowed people; five minutes later I turned around again and it was full! I went and stood behind someone and realised I couldn't see but may as well stay there; luckily after ten minutes of waiting it became clear this lady wasn't sure what everyone was waiting for and didn't want to be there that long so she excused her way out of the crowd, leaving me at the front by the red ropes. Children are allowed and actually encouraged to sit on the floor in front of the rope so they have a great view.

Ducks in the Peabody fountain

I read on Trip Advisor that you can also sit on the mezzanine level to watch but I would caution against that. We went back in the afternoon - my camera didn't work in the morning and I was so disappointed I didn't get photos, as we weren't far from the hotel we went back in the afternoon! That time, my MIL sat up on the mezzanine and could see the fountain, but the rest of the parade route was obscured by the ceiling that she was facing so she could only see the very beginning. Really the best thing to do, if you can bear it, is get there early and the minute they put the red rope up, go and stand next to it - and maybe take a magazine or your guide book so you have something to do for the next half hour or so!
The hotel also has a small museum - it's where Elvis signed his RCA contract - and a duck themed gift shop, which is expensive but cute. It's definitely worth trying to see the duck parade if you are in Memphis!

Our next stop was the Rock 'n' Soul Museum, which is walking distance from the Peabody. It has a really interesting collection, ranging from the original lyrics to Heartbreak Hotel and Elvis' guitar to a mink coat owned by Isaac Hayes.

 

By now we'd built up quite an appetite so walked along the famous Beale Street - once voted the most iconic street in America by USA Today.

Beale Street, Memphis

It's full of Blues clubs, restaurants and quirky shops. We had lunch at Miss Polly's Soul City Café, as I had seen it recommended on Trip Advisor.



Chicken and waffles

I had chicken and waffles with a side of mac and cheese, which was lovely (and chicken does go with waffles, bizarrely- it's not a combination I've ever seen before in the UK!). It was only $9.99 for a chicken breast and leg, buttered waffle and one side item which was pretty cheap. My mother in law had fried green tomatoes and sweet potato fries, which she really enjoyed, but the portions were huge!



Fried green tomatoes

 

We then took a taxi to the Stax Museum. I'd never heard of the Stax record label before but I did know of many of their artists, including Isaac Hayes. The museum is on the site of the original recording studio which you can enter as well as look at various types of memorabilia and listen to records.

After a bit of a break back in our hotel in the Harbor Town area of Memphis, we went across the road (literally, a few feet from the hotel) to Tug's. My mother in law had been there before when she stayed at this hotel a few years back (the reason we were there again as she turned 60 this year) and she recommended it.

My MIL's salad

The food was OK but the dishes I ordered weren't quite how I had pictured- I had gumbo, which was not quite as I expected (more like a French onion soup in appearance, but very fishy in taste) but quite nice, and I couldn't resist a side of fries with cheese and bacon - they normally do this so much better in the US than the UK - but in this case the fries came with grated cheese and not the cheese sauce I had hoped for.

Cheesy fries

This is gumbo, apparently

My fiancé's burger

Next it's off to Natchez on the Mississippi followed by New Orleans!

Read More

Chocolate Santa Lollies: Edible Gifts for Christmas

One of my favourite things about Christmas is the opportunity - or excuse - to make edible gifts for friends and family. I was sent this Wilton chocolate Santa mould to review by Cakemart, the online cake decorating equipment store which trades in Germany as Mein Cupcake.

The Santa mould, currently £4.86, is really easy to use: you just melt some chocolate or candy melts, pour into the mould, pop in a lolly or cake pop stick and put them in the fridge to set. They came out of the moulds so easily as well - I was worried they would stick or break but I had no problems at all.

The mould itself is clear plastic but the pack comes with a piece of card on the front giving ideas for how you can decorate the lollies. I was a bit confused by the wording on the front: "Mold contains 3 designs, 3 cavities", because it made 10 lollies and they were all the same design, unless I'm missing something....

The finer details of Santa's face were a bit too tricky for me to manage - you'd need very precise piping skills I think! Instead I meted some Renshaw red Colour Melts and piped the hat and then melted some white chocolate which I poured over the top to fill the whole mould, inserting the stick at the same time.

 

For my second batch I used plain chocolate and didn't decorate them at all.

 

Each batch only took about half an hour to set in the fridge.

I then wrapped each one in a cellophane cake pop bag and tied them with festive ribbon. I am organising my work Christmas lunch this year which is very early as it was the only date everyone can do, so I plan to hand them out to each person or put one on each place setting. This is definitely a handy mould to have for relatively quick and certainly easy edible gifts and one I'm sure I will use again!



I'm sharing these with the Food Year Linkup, hosted by Charlotte's Lively Kitchen, as it's coming up to Christmas!

 

I'm also sending them to Treat Petite, hosted by Stuart at Cakeyboi and Kat at the Baking Explorer, as their theme is red and green, or anything Christmas.

 

 

These also fit in with this month's We Should Cocoa, the chocolate recipe challenge created by Choclette of Tin and Thyme. It's hosted this month by Munchies and Munchkins, who has chosen the theme of Christmas.

 

 

Thanks to Cakemart for sending the Santa mould to review.

Read More

Restaurant Review: Woodcote Green Garden Centre, Wallington, Surrey

I’m officially old. I had my sister and a friend staying at the weekend recently and we’d been out for drinks on the Friday night – and were very pleased to find a quiet bar where we could sit at a table and hear ourselves speak – and then wedding dress shopping on Saturday (you may have gathered by now that I’m engaged!). On Sunday, my sister had been mulling over getting the train into central London to go to an exhibition, but decided she would rather have a quieter day and do something locally.

 

I live in a small town in leafy Surrey and when she asked what there was to do locally, the only thing I could think of was the garden centre. Yes folks, I’ve turned into my parents (well, at least I didn’t suggest we go to B&Q).

 

But Woodcote Green Garden Centre in Wallington is amazing. They have live reindeer at Christmas, a week of half-term Halloween activities and a horticultural show where you can enter all sorts of categories from best delphiniums to funny looking carrots by way of Victoria sponges and scones. I entered once and was thoroughly beaten by members of the local WI and every year since then I’ve either been on holiday or moving house when the horticultural show takes place (honest!).

 

The garden centre has expanded its shop and café area over the past year or so, and when we arrived in the café I was a bit confused. I only saw sandwiches, cakes and a board listing jacket potato fillings, but was sure they did more hot food options than that. Also, the café didn’t look particularly big and I thought they had expanded it. To the bemusement of my friend and sister I rang my fiancé at home, as I knew he’d been there more recently, and explained to him why I felt confused. It turned out I was in the wrong café – it’s such a popular place that they now have two!

 

We decamped to the other side of the garden centre, passing the Christmas decorations, fireworks, pet area and one or two actual plants as well, and got one of the last tables in the other café. This one had proper menus on tables, though you order and pay at a counter and the food is then brought over to you.

 

There was quite an extensive menu as well for a garden centre café: I had a goats cheese burger on a garlic bread ciabatta with onion marmalade (£7.50) which came with tomato salsa and coleslaw. I asked for it without the salsa and coleslaw and unfortunately it came without the onion marmalade either! My sister had the same thing and hers did have the marmalade; as the ciabatta was cut in two (so it wasn’t really a burger, more of a toasted sandwich containing a goats cheese in breadcrumbs) and she swapped half so I could try it with and without the marmalade – it was much better with! The menu didn’t specify that it came with anything but it actually comes with chips (which they probably should mention really) so made a very filling meal and one that was very enjoyable. In fact it was so good that the next time my parents come to visit I think I will take them to lunch at the garden centre!

 

Read More

Theatre-themed Wedding Congratulations Card

I made this card for the wedding of a good friend whose wedding colours were red and gold, and she had told me in advance they were having a theatre-themed wedding. Their invitations were beautifully designed and looked like playbills, so I wanted to make a card along the same lines.

I knew I wanted the theatre curtains to be the focus so chose a rectangular card blank and cut out some red card -it looks a bit pink in this photo, but is red. I cut side sections which I glued on first and then the drape across the top, and used a small part of a gold border sticker to make the curtain tie backs.

I used some gold hearts in each corner of the card though in retrospect it didn't really need them. I had a bride and groom topper, made from paper but quite intricate, which I had bought on Ebay -there had been 4 or 5 in the pack but I'd used the others over the years. I also had a die cut wedding cake which I finished with a little bit of another gold border sticker, and finally the words 'on your wedding day' which I helpfully happened to have in gold as well!

Read More