Chocolate Torte

Today has been miserable :( But there are 4 things that have cheered me up..


1. Got an exciting catering job coming up  
2. my cakes were on the Apprentice last night!
3. There is chocolate torte in the house 
4. I'm going to Spain on Monday 


So back to number 3...Chocolate isn't always my first choice but when it is pouring it down outside and I've a cup of tea in my hand and a long list of things to do, it suits me just fine! 

250g dark chocolate
250g unsalted butter
6 eggs
125g caster sugar
50g almonds
pinch of salt
1 tsp of vanilla paste

Beat egg yolks with sugar until pale and fluffy. Pour into cooled melted chocolate and butter.

 Add ground almonds, a pinch of salt and vanilla and stir through.

 Whisk egg whites until soft peak stage and stir in a third thoroughly.

 Now use a large metal spoon to lightly fold in the rest of the egg whites until just combined.

 Pour into a lined and greased 23cm tin and bake for 25-30 minutes on 170C fan

 Leave to cool in tin, then dust with cocoa and serve with whatever you like! I like mine with Kirsch cherries and creme fraiche.Mmmm

Lasagne

I can just feel the pounds piling on! 

MMMmmmushrooms on toast

Gotta say, when you wake on a Saturday with a slightly sore head there's nothing better than a cooked brekkie and sometimes it's not of the Full English sort. 
Fry mushrooms until edges brown and crisp in butter, then chuck in a dollop of creme fraiche and a smaller dollop of grainy mustard. Pour onto toast, season and sprinkle with chives. yum. 

Stationery cake

I do love making cakes. Even if I don't know who they are for, I hear about the birthday girl or boy, what they like, what will make the cake personal. This one was great because it was for a woman turning 30 but her mum wanted to have a cake that reminded her of her childhood passion. Geez it was mine too! 

Apparently Hannah used to run in from school and pretend to answer phone calls, fill in petty cash receipts, write lists and take the register. This was all under her shop name of "Caroline Smart"- her mum still has no idea why. I completely understood this, my sister and I used to do this kind of stuff all the time. Occasionally I will open a book from the bookshelf and spot 15 years on there is still a homemade library slip in the inside cover, stamped all over the place where we asked our mum for a date stamp! 

I really had fun making the cake, especially the receipt roll and pencil sharpener and also the "Caroline Smart" lettering to look like fridge magnets!

Sausage Stew

I don't have much time to write a proper post but until tomorrow, remember it's British Sausage Week, so go cook some bangers! I cooked a lovely Venison sausage and mushroom stew this week, loving this chilly weather when it prompts food like this.

Eight over Eight - reopened!

I was sad to hear the news of the fire at Eight over Eight last year and have been peering out bus windows for what seems like forever for it to reopen. It's back and it's just as you would remember it from the bar to the artwork on the walls.

Jo and I managed to spend 4 hours in Eight over Eight last Sunday! They are running an offer of 50% of all food every Sunday throughout November so if you fancy something different to your Sunday Roast maybe you should pay a visit. The Korean barbeque lamb was incredible and as a big lamb fan, this was up there with the best. I would go again for this dish alone. 

If you've looked at the Black cod with sweet miso yuzu on the menu and thought twice about it at £27 try it on a Sunday in November for half price! 

Lychee and Raspberry Chewing Gum

Jazzy and I had the best day yesterday making our own chewing gum at Bompas and Parr in Whiteley's pop up factory (truly lovely boys). I was excited anyway but it was double exciting that Jasmine has never had chewing gum and she was super excited. The last photo is of Jazz chewing her own gum her words were "this is so cool, I feel like a teenager!"
So first to the flavour library with hundreds of combinations to choose from. What two flavours to choose? Beer and bacon? Cigarettes and caviar? The possibilities were endless and just sniffing the jars was a giggly experience with a 5 year old. I went for lychee and raspberry.. I dont know when I'll get the chance to make my own chewing gum again and I would much rather be able to appreciate it than feel like I'm chewing on a cigarette (could work for some people I suppose?!)

 Then we had little capsules of our flavours to take to the "factory room"...

 Picking out the colourings, the citric acid and water to mix in with the mastic and then a tonne of icing sugar and our flavourings.

 The look on the girls face was priceless, you've never seen anyone more proud of their work.

Thank you Jazz, my little sous chef.