I'm sure you've all noticed the distinct lack of posts or comments from myself these past few weeks. Well, I have a reason, and a dammed good one I think.
I'm opening a shop!! That's right, myself and my bff Kay are finally realising our dream and opening Pet Lamb in the heart of Newcastle. There's been a lot of stress, a lot of excitements and a lot of hard work, especially since July is our busiest period for events but we're finally seeing all of our hard work take shape! I can't wait to share some photos with you guys!
But wait, that's not it! Not only am I opening Pet Lamb, working myself into the ground with fairs and events but I'm also writing a book! Me, a proper book that's going to be on sale and everything. I'm not sure how much I'm allowed to share with you at this point but I can tell you it's going to be a part of the already very popular Bake Me I'm Yours series. It's all go right now and as hectic and stressful as my life is at the moment, I wouldn't change it for the whole world.
Keep sweet dear readers and I'll be back soon :)
Mint Choc Chip Ice Cream
I know the weather hardly justifies ice cream at the moment but it's July damnit and I'll make ice cream if I want to! Since being a little girl my ice cream flavour of choice has always been mint chocolate chip covered in chocolate sauce. Something about the bright green treat just transports me back to sunny days at the beach, something which never seems to happen these days.
When I decided to have a crack at making my favorite frozen treat I took to the world wide web in search of recipe inspiration. I settled upon the wise words of David Lebovitz, after all he is an expert in the subject. I was originally planning on using peppermint extract to flavour my ice cream but after reading Davids article on fresh mint I decided to give it a whirl. The resulting ice cream is a far cry from the green version I was so used to. It had a much more sophisticated flavour and was delightfully refreshing. I don't think this ice cream will ever overtake the synthetic version I love so dearly but it's certainly up there with the best of them.
Mint Choc Chip Ice Cream:
For the mint ice cream:
1 cup (250 ml) whole milk
3/4 cup (150 gr) sugar
2 cups (500 ml) heavy cream
pinch of salt
2 cups packed (80 gr) fresh mint leaves
5 large egg yolks
For the chocolate chips:
5 ounces (140 gr) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
Method:
In a medium saucepan, warm the milk, sugar, 1 cup (250 ml) heavy cream, salt, and mint.
Once the mixture is hot and steaming, remove from heat, cover, and let stand for an hour to infuse the mint flavor.
Remove the mint with a strainer, then press down with a spatula firmly to extract as much mint flavor and color as possible. (You can also use well-washed hands to do it as well, making sure the mixture isn’t too hot to safely handle.) Once the flavor is squeezed out, discard the mint.
Pour the remaining heavy cream into a large bowl and set the strainer over the top.
Rewarm the infused milk. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, then slowly pour some of the warm mint mixture into the yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed yolks back into the saucepan.
Cook the custard, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. If using an instant read thermometer, it should read around 170ºF (77ºC).
Immediately strain the mixture into the cream, then stir the mixture over an ice bath until cool.
Refrigerate the mixture thoroughly, preferably overnight, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
While the mixture is freezing, melt the chocolate in a small bowl over a pot of simmering water, or in a microwave oven on low power, stirring until smooth. Place a storage container in the freezer.
When the ice cream in the machine is ready, scribble some of the chocolate into the container, then add a layer of the just-churned ice cream to the container. Scribble melted chocolate over the top of the ice cream, then quickly stir it in, breaking up the chocolate into irregular pieces. Continue layering the ice cream, scribbling more chocolate and stirring as you go.
When finished, cover and freeze until firm.
Garden Kitchen
I'm sure you all remember my last mouth watering post on the Garden Kitchen featuring their novel take on afternoon tea, the Garden Picnic. I instantly fell in love with the place, everything about it just spoke to me so when I was asked to return and try out their main menu I accepted with appropriate glee.
Upon arrival Kris and I were shown to our table and offered to try one of their delicious selection of cocktails. Sadly since Kris had the car he was unable to partake but that certainly wasn't going to stop me. I ordered a delightful rum and blackberry cocktail served in a wee jam jar while my sober guest settled with his favorite Fentimans Dandelion and Burdock.
We perused the menu carefully, there was so much I could have devoured with gusto, eventually I settled on the welsh rarebit followed by the garden vegetable risotto while Kris went for chorizo and prawn chowder followed by the garden burger.
Our starters were delicious beyond words but the mains were spectacular. My risotto was studded with the welcome addition of almonds adding some surprising bite to what would normally be quite a smooth dish while Kris' burger was cooked to a perfect pink in the middle.
Upon finishing our meal we were too stuffed to indulge in desert so the lovely staff escorted us down to their newly opened Garden Shed to choose a cake and coffee to take home. The Garden Shed is the little sister of the already super popular restaurant offering tea, coffee and delightful sandwiches and cakes to take away. Perfect for city folk always on the move. I chose a slice of lemon drizzle cake while Kris surprisingly went for the chocolatest thing he could find, a snickers brownie. Sadly I didn't get a chance to snap any pics of these as they were devoured in the car after an afternoon of looking at bedroom furniture but trust me, they were delightful!
If you ever find yourself in Newcastle, stuck for a good lunch I can wholeheartedly recommend the Garden Kitchen or for a more casual lunch on the go, Garden Shed. Friendly service, fab food and a fantastic environment. This place really has got it right!
Slow Cooked Cola Pork
When I uploaded a photo of this delicious cola pork to Instagram yesterday I was inundated with requests for the recipe. To be totally honest with you, this is probably one of the easiest meals I've ever made but easily one of the most impressive. God bless whoever invented the slow cooker I say, meltingly tender pork is merely minutes preparation away, and you know, ten hours of cooking. With this meal, the longer the better in my eyes. I often pop this in the crock pot before I go to bed and shred it the next afternoon.
Slow Cooked Cola Pork
Ingredients:
1.5kg pork shoulder, skin and fat removed
1 bottle cola
1 bottle barbeque sauce (I use Jack Daniels Smokey sauce)
2tbsp chipotle paste (I use Trees Can't Dance)
Method:
Cut the pork shoulder into two equal sized pieces and place into the slow cooker. Cover the pork with cola until almost covered, leaving the top part poking out. Cover the remaining visable pork with the bottle of barbeque sauce and chipotle paste, pop the lid on and set the cooker to high for ten hours.
After ten hours remove the pork from the sauce and leave to rest. Place the sauce into a large saucepan and reduce by at least half depending on how you like your gravy, this could take up to 45 minutes. Once reduced shred the pork and add it back to the sauce and stir to coat. Serve the pork on lightly toasted buns.
Orange Blossom & Pistachio Cake
My it's been a busy week for us Brits hasn't it?! At least, it has been for poor little me. Markets to attend, Birthdays to celebrate, cake clubs to partake in, jubilee street parties to organise and last but not least a fierce cold to fight off. All this in the space of a week has lead to a very tired Katie, the only thing to perk me up is knowing I discovered this gem of a cake.
I made this cake for the Newcastle branch of the famous Clandestine Cake Club movement currently taking the UK by storm. The theme was English country garden and despite the fact you'd probably never find pistachios nor oranges in a typical English garden I felt it sounded too delicious to overlook. To tie it into the garden theme I decided to crystallize some beautiful yellow roses to adorn the top of the delicious cake, but if you can't be bothered to paint flowers don't worry, this cake is just as yummy without them.
Pistachio & Orange Blossom Cake
(from Bake & Decorate - Fiona Cairns)
Ingredients:
For the cake:
175g unsalted butter, softened
100g unsalted pistachios, toasted
70g self raising flour
1tsp baking powder
200g golden caster sugar
zest of 1 large orange
4 large eggs
70g ground almonds
2tsp orange blossom water
For the syrup:
Juice of 1 orange
45g golden caster sugar
1tbsp orange blossom water
For the frosting:
250g mascarpone
zest of 1 large orange
1/2tsp vanilla extract
1tsp orange blossom water
30g golden caster sugar
Method:
Preheat oven to 170C fan. Lightly butter and line a 20cm springform cake tin. Grind the toasted pistachios in a food processor till fine.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. In an electric mixer, cream together the butter, sugar and zest until light and fluffy and slowly add the eggs, one by one mixing between each addition. If the mixture begins to curdle add 1tbsp of flour between each egg. Fold in the almonds, pistachio and remaining flour followed by the orange blossom water.
Pour the batter into the cake tin and bake for 40 - 50 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
Meanwhile, make the syrup: tip the orange juice, sugar and orange blossom water into a small saucepan and heat till boiling. Reduce the liquid until thickened and syrupy.
Immediately after the cake comes out of the oven prick it all over with a skewer and drizzle over the reduced syrup. Leave in the tin till completely cooled.
Turn the cake upside down on a cake stand so the bottom now forms the top. Beat together all the ingredients for the frosting and spread it on evenly with a palate knife.
