Snow, sleet and rain

It seems the majority of the country has been snowed in these past few days, and for once, we're not getting the worse end of the weather stick up here in Newcastle. But I'd rather that were the case. The most we've had to deal with is a thin veil of snow and tonnes of rain so unfortunately, life must go on.

I have to admit, I'm much more of a winter baby than a sun worshiper. Cold>warm in my humble opinion, it could be the love I have for woolly tights, mittens and hats that sway me, but I'd much rather bundle up than dress down. This being said, I was obviously super jealous when I heard the excited cries of 'Snow Day, Snow Day'. Excitedly, I rang work and checked my uni emails on the off chance we also were to grind to a stand still but, no such luck. Damn! So, I bundled up and headed to my soggy doom ... a literature lecture. Stupidly I accentuated the curls in my naturally dried hair, by the time I got into university the words hedge and backwards ran through my drenched head.

What else do you need on a day like that but pie?! It's the only thing comforting enough to make a soggy Katie smile again.


Luckily I decided to nip into Marks and Spencer on my way home and the little bloody mind readers made my day in the form of a recipe card for Chicken and Leek Pie. Thank you M&S! I had the majority of ingredients to hand at home so I grabbed some leeks, apple juice (oh apple juice, how I love thee) and went back to brave the rain.

I added bacon and mushrooms to the recipe and boy, did it turn out well. I was loving the addition of mascarpone instead of a stock base, it gave the pie a beautifully rich tang.

You can find the recipe here on the M&S site along with the rest of the series. Check out the rhubarb meringue tart, I'll be giving that a go very soon!!

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101 apologies

I feel I owe Amazon.com a letter of apology. A few weeks ago, in a fit of boredom, I ordered a small selection of those 101 bla bla cookbooks from the BBC Good Food line from our favorite Internet superstore. A week later I was getting a little aggravated at the lack of packages dropping upon my doormat, but as I'm sure you all know, Amazon are shockingly slow when you opt for the free delivery they now offer, so I decided to give it a few more days. Another week later, nothing had arrived! As a friends hen night is coming up, I decided to beat all the other girls to the punch (the theme is purple and I could see me turning up in a dress everyone else had decided to buy) and purchase my dress a month early, feeling saucy I even forked out a bit extra for next day delivery. The next morning the postman arrived before the birds had even started tweeting, and on a Saturday of all days, so of course I slept through his gentle rapping upon my door. I awoke to a 'Sorry we missed you' note, a bill from BT and no cookbooks. This was the straw that broke the camels back, so to say, and I started on an angry email to Amazon demanding my money back. Hell hath no fury like a woman robbed of her cookbooks!

Monday finally rolled around and I took a detour to the post office on my way to work. When I eventually received my package, after arguing that Katie is short for Catherine and I wasn't trying to rob an innocent girls package I saw a small Amazon package was strapped to the huge bag. Uh oh. Indeed it was my cookbooks and it was the fault of the damned Royal Mail and not the poor people from Amazons fault. It seems my package was to large for the letter box and taken back to the sorting office without my knowledge. How very annoying!

But, I got my books so everything worked out. For me, anyway. To calm my annoyance at the bloody postal service I set about making a Cinnamon Nutella Cake from the book 101 Cakes and Bakes. This was probably the easiest cake I have ever made, I could probably even trust my Kris to prepare it without setting the kitchen alight. Throw everything in a bowl, mix and bake! Easier than a box, even! Not only is it quick and easy, it's also a delight to eat. A beautiful wintery cake, perfect with a cup of tea and a nice afternoon film.

The recipe is also available online at BBC Good Food

I omitted the nuts as Kris won't have anything to do with them, silly sod!

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Bundt Cake Bliss

My new favorite cook book is one that has been sitting on my shelf, untouched for months; Bundt Cake Bliss. This wonderful book escaped my attention for so long due to the fact it contains no pictures (I'm a massive child at heart), and I do believe that all cookbooks should contain at least a few mouth watering images; it gives us something to aim for, something to compare our results. Despite its lack of visual aids this book is a dream to read. Starting with the history of the bundt before explaining all you need to know about preparing the tin and baking these unusual cakes all wrapped up in a delightful 50's style package. But despite it's aesthetic appeal, this poor gem has sat gathering dust till Kris dragged me on a shopping trip to search for some black photo frames for the studio's ever depleting stock.

I'm not sure if TK Maxx is a nationwide store, but if it is, I would certainly recommend it to you, dear reader. It's a veritable treasure trove of kitcheny goodness and not only that, but it's oh so cheap! (I picked up a 4 pack of Lindt 70% chocolate for £2.50, that's reason enough to go!!) It's always my first stop for cake tins and such, perfect credit crunch shopping. While Kris was digging through the mountain of photo frames the store carries, I was left to browse the kitchenware department without the reluctant sighs of my lovely fiance, hurrah! Elbows deep in cake tins of all sizes, I discovered something I not only didn't own, but desperately wanted, a bundt tin. Not only this, but the base unit, which I had no intention of using, was severely dented allowing me to wangle and extra 25% off the already low low price. Happy and content I trotted home with my £2.99 bargain under my arm.

As I mentioned before, the credit crunch is having a major effect on every ones life in good old England. Because of this, trips into Newcastle's famous nightlife have pretty much ground to a halt, I'm lucky if I get out once a month these days. Not to let the lack of available funds get me down I dragged our very best friends to indulge in a night of baking and a mass of pear cider we recently acquired from Ikea. Who needs to go out when you have a lovely warm house and enough booze to sink a small ship?! Obviously, the girls baked while the boys shot each other on the Xbox before settling down to munch on our drunken efforts. And, they weren't half bad, considering....

If we neglect the hideous, quasimodo-esqe bulge I was forced to trim from the base that is ;)

Recipe adapted from Bundt Cake Bliss!
Cake:

400g caster sugar
375g plain flour
225g unsalted butter
225g milk
4 eggs, beaten
2tsp baking powder
zest of 3 lemons

Glaze:

1tbsp juice from a lemon
around 150g icing sugar (I didn't bother measuring, just threw it in a bowl and got to it)


Preheat oven to 180C/160C gas then prepare your bundt tin with butter and flour. Cream butter, sugar and lemon zest till light and creamy.

Add eggs one at a time beating hard after each addition, be careful not to let the mixture curdle.

Alternate the flour, baking powder and milk a little at a time mixing after each addition till just combined.

Spoon mixture into tin and level with the back of a teaspoon. Bake in the preheated oven for 1hr/1hr 10 mins or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.

Allow to sit in tin for 10 minutes then turn out onto a cooling rack and leave till completely cool then drizzle over the glaze and dust with a light sprinkling of icing sugar.

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Fudgy chocolate cupcakes

It's been a month since Christmas and the looming presence of a gigantic bag of sweets is still hanging over us. No matter how much I eat, give away or bake into cakes, the bag just isn't getting any smaller. I believe the bottom is actually an undiscovered void, a tear in the space time continuum leading into an alternative universe containing nothing but candy! I may well alert this to the attention of Stephen Hawking, I'm sure he'd be veeery interested. But, as grand as this may sound, you don't half get sick of curly wurlys and milky ways fast!

In an effort to get rid of a small portion of this never ending confectionery I decided to make some fudgy cupcakes. Not only do I rid myself of that huge hamper of fudge, but I delight some friends in the process. Nobody is more welcome in a home than the person clutching a tin of freshly baked cupcakes. In fact, I had to abandon the tin as everyone refused to let me leave till every last cake was gone. Poor tin.

I adapted a recipe I found on Waitrose.com, I increased the amount of syrup in the cakes and whipped up a simple chocolate icing to mix things up a little.

Fudgy chocolate cupcakes:

100g soft butter
100g light brown soft sugar
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp vanilla extract
25g golden syrup
100g self raising flour, sifted
2 medium eggs, beaten

Chocolate icing:

125g good quality dark chocolate
25g golden syrup
35g unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 180C fan/200C. Place paper cake cases in a 12-hole bun tin. Beat the butter and sugar together with an electric whisk or wooden spoon for 2-3 minutes until pale and creamy. Beat in the ginger, vanilla and golden syrup until combined.

Gradually add a little flour and some of the egg, beating well after each addition. Repeat until all the flour and egg has been added. Spoon into the paper cases and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden and well risen. Place on a wire rack to cool.

Make the icing just before you are ready to ice the cakes. Melt the butter and chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water (making sure the bowl doesn't come into contact with the water). Once melted stir in the golden syrup and leave to harden slightly, making it easier to work with. Spread the icing over the cakes and decorate with chunks of fudge, or crystallised stem ginger.

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Obsessed with beets

I actually think I'm obsessed with beetroot! I eat it morning noon and night, pickled, boiled or mixed in cake, I love it! Imagine my delight when, a few month ago, the lovely Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall featured a recipe for beetroot brownies on his show River Cottage Autumn. I'd already accustomed myself to the beetroot chocolate relationship so it didn't come as much of a surprise to see the two living in such close proximity, but Hugh's recipe was so much simpler than the beetroot cake I usually make. I had to try it!

Not only was this incarnation much easier to produce but it was so much tastier too. I had to bake my brownies for a bit longer than Hugh recommends as the tray I used was slightly smaller than the one in the recipe but they were so moist and, well, I can't even describe the taste, you'll just have to try them for yourself. Trust me, you won't be sorry.

They were so tasty, I even had to half a square with my cat, Marmalade. By the look on his face, I think he enjoyed it :)

You can find the recipe for Chocolate Beetroot Brownies here.

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