i've moved

I have been working hard over the last few weeks to build myself a brand new website. I have transferred this blog over to the new site, plus there are now added extras! Please click on the link below to check out my brand new Pass the Teapot website.

Thank you blogspot. And goodbye.

http://www.passtheteapot.co.uk

rocky road tiffin

Rocky roads are one of my all time favourites, (are they cakes? or biscuits?) both to eat and to bake. Which is ironic really as there is no actual 'baking' involved. My favourite part of the rocky road process is the melting of the chocolate. It's like being a child all over again. There's also something quite therapeutic about recipes that require throwing all of the ingredients into a bowl and simply mixing. So whilst searching through my cupboards for some cake-related inspiration I pulled out a sticky tin of golden syrup. My thoughts turned to chocolate tiffin. So came about my most recent creation, an amalgamation of tiffin and rocky road. Fit to bursting with biscuit, raisins and marshmallows, what's not to like?

rocky road tiffin
500g Cadburys milk chocolate
175g butter
4 tbsp golden syrup
150g digestive biscuits
100g cornflakes
100g sultanas
100g marshmallows
100g white chocolate (optional)
1. Place 300g of the milk chocolate into a large heatproof bowl with the butter and syrup and melt over a pan of simmering water.
2. Crush the biscuits and cornflakes and chop up the marshmallows. 3. Stir all of the ingredients, except the white chocolate, into the melted chocolate mixture until evenly coated.
4. Pour the mixture into a into a 23cm square baking tin lined with greaseproof paper and level with the back of a spoon.
5. Chill in the fridge for 3-4 hours.
6. Melt the remaining 200g of milk chocolate and pour this over the chilled mixture. Chill for a further couple of hours until set.
7. If using the white chocolate, melt it and drizzle over the top of the cake. Chill until set and ready to be sliced and served.

evening post

On Thursday, 28th April Pass the Teapot was featured in Bristol's Evening Post. I was so happy with the result and have journalist Mark Taylor to thank for writing such a fantastic article. I think  this deserves a post all to itself.

harbourside market

The bank holiday weekend saw the launch of the Harbourside Market in Bristol. A 3-day event that featured all manner of talented people selling their wares and an event that I felt honoured to be given a stall at. The market lines both sides of the walkway along the river and I chose view over shelter by setting up on the side closest to the river. Weather-wise, we were lucky that the forecasted rain stayed away, with the only slight irritation being the incessant wind which was relentless in its bid to blow away carefully placed products. I was lucky - cakes tend to weigh things down - so the most I had to contend with was flyaway bunting. Oh and my very wind-burnt cheeks at the end of the day.

New additions to the stall included a lemon and semolina cake and a jar full of ginger shortbread biscuits, which went down particularly well with the under-5s. As usual, carrot cake was the best-seller, which had sold out by lunchtime. The Harbourside Market will run every Sunday from now on and it's one I hope will become a regular in Pass the Teapot's market diary.

a royal cupcake

When I heard the news that Prince William had proposed to Kate, I was pleased for them, of course, as I would be for any bride and groom to be. When I heard that everyone would be given a day off because of it, the thought of an extra lie-in caught my interest, sure. But that's where my excitement ended. I did not anticipate the crazed wedding fever that has gripped the entire nation. For the past few months I haven't been able to walk 10 metres without facing a Union Jack, celebratory bunting or a commemorative piece of crockery. Big companies have cashed in on what is essentially just two people getting married. Doesn't that happen every day? I mean, Kate dolls? Please. Who is buying this stuff?

But despite my cynicism, the wedding build-up has been firmly fixed on my TV since 8am. Elton John has just arrived. People are cheering. Lots of Americans have camped out next to Buckingham Palace. They're interviewing a magician that went to school with Kate. Is that really necessary? It's not even 10am and my friend has arrived armed with a bottle of Pimms, waving a Kate and Wills Union Jack. There is a sense of celebration in the air. I'm not fussed about what Kate is wearing or how many steps she takes down the aisle, but I did put Kate and Wills' faces on a cupcake.

my cakes are in a cafe

This morning I delivered a batch of 'I Love Bristol' cupcakes to The Daily Meal on Gloucester Road. It opened just over a week ago and the quirky decor and delicious food on offer caught my eye. I popped in with some samples and the result is a batch of my cakes sitting prettily for sale atop their counter. Fingers crossed they go down well with The Daily Meal customers.

dedicated to mini eggs

It's Easter and for me, that's a good enough excuse to bake. In fact, out of all of the holiday seasons, Easter lends itself nicely to such an activity. I considered what to make. Simnel cake, chocolate nests, hot cross buns... and settled on the less traditional Mini Egg cookie. As a life-long fan of the Cadburys Mini Egg, a post dedication is long overdue. And what better time of year to put them in a cookie and write about it. I'd go as far as to say that when surrounded by freshly baked cookie dough, the Mini Egg really does come into its own.

So here they are. And yes, that is a burnt one you see in the background. I made these in my parents' kitchen and, not being used to the oven, I set the temperature to 220C instead of 170C. Luckily I redeemed myself with a second batch.

mini egg cookies

225g butter

350g soft light brown sugar

2 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

400g plain flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

150g Cadburys Mini Eggs

Preheat the oven to 170C

1. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

2. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well with an electric hand mixer.

3. Add the flour, salt and bicarbonate of soda and mix well.

4. Mix in the Mini Eggs until evenly dispersed.

5. Arrange the mixture on a well-greased baking tray in small round balls, spaced apart to allow for spreading.

6. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

And while we're on the Easter theme, here is a picture of the best Easter eggs I have seen. Marks and Spencer's eggs, Eggward and Eggna.

i bought a teapot

I found it in a charity shop in Ludlow. I filled it with flowers. I think it will look pretty on my stall.

mocha delight

I made a mocha cake at the weekend. I've never made a cake with coffee in it. Probably because I'm not a big fan of anything that is coffee flavoured yet sweet at the same time. I like my coffee sugar-free. Keep the two things separate I say. So for this reason, I was probably a little light-handed when adding the strong espresso to the mixture. The result was a cake that tasted predominently of chocolate with just a hint of coffee. Never a bad thing but only just worthy of being labelled a mocha. Note to self for next time. Special shout-out here goes to the mascarpone icing. I could eat it by the spoonful.

mocha cake with mascarpone icing
for the cake 
250g butter
225g caster sugar
225g self-raising flour
2 tsp baking powder
30g cocoa
4 eggs
80ml milk
3 tbsp strong espresso coffee
for the icing
250g mascarpone
200ml double cream
1 tsp strong instant coffee
3-4 tbsp icing sugar

Preheat the oven at 170C
1. Beat the butter and caster sugar together until light and fluffy.
2. In a separate bowl, sieve together the flour, baking powder and cocoa.
3. Lightly beat together the milk and the eggs.
4. Slowly add the flour mixture and the egg mixture to the butter and caster sugar and continue to beat the whole time until you have a smooth mixture.
5. Divide the mixture between 2 round 20cm cake tins and bake in the oven for 35-40 mins until risen.
6. Turn the cakes onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely.
7. Meanwhile, make the icing by whisking together all of the ingredients together until thick and creamy. Spread the icing on the top of one of the cakes and sandwich the two cakes together. Spread the rest of the icing over the top and around the sides of the cake. Smooth over with a palette knife and decorate with grated chocolate.

flying around

I've been playing about with the design for my new flyer and I think this may be the one I settle on (new website coming soon, hence the different address).

Front.....

 and back...

i've been spending

This may turn out to be my most boring post to date. Here goes. Today I've been shopping for Secret Garden Party essentials. Mugs were my main aim for the day and having done my mug research I settled on Ikea as the cheapest mug around. So there it was that I headed to buy a load of them. As I arrived, the big Tesco next door drew me in and low and behold, there were mugs in abundance for a whole penny cheaper. Every Little Helps and all that. And - bonus - they looked nicer too. Straight up and down, nothing fancy about them, the kind of mug I like to drink my tea from.

I cleared them out of their stock of mugs and went on my way. Today's purchases also included napkins, tin foil and (the one I am most excited about), some big cookie jars that, once filled, will look ever so pretty on the stall.

Ok, most boring post ever, but for the sake of a very exciting event. I wrote mug 6 times in this post. 7 times. Here are some of the world's most boring photos to match....

fit for a billionaire

In honour of my friend's birthday, this weekend our flat hosted a party. Guests brought tapas dishes until we could fit no more in the kitchen. We ate, we played loud music and we danced. And at some point amongst the preparation I found time to make a birthday 'cake' - my replication of the aforementioned Starbucks 'salty caramel square'. I took it one layer at a time and the result was a much richer, more decadent version of the classic Millionaire's Shortbread (a Billionaire's Biscuit perhaps?) With a golden syrup, biscuit and butter combo of a base, a creamy caramel layer with biscuit and pecans, all underneath a topping of milk chocolate and more pecans, this makes for a treat suited to those who prefer them sticky and sickly. 

I would also like to take this opportunity to celebrate my new baking tool. A hand held blender is without a doubt the most used gadget in my kitchen and so it was inevitable that the life of my £5 Tesco Value one would eventually come to an end. Its replacement comes in the form of this rather more attractive Dualit version, complete with retractable power cord, 5 speeds and dough hooks. It's sad, but I'm excited.

a mother's day market

Today was market day. It was also Mother's Day and I combined the two by spending the day selling cakes with my mum. Well, with my sister to be more precise, but my mum popped in for a cup of tea and some cake. Lots of cake, as gifts. In fact, she was my best customer, taking home six cupcakes in a box "to freeze for when I have guests". Biggest seller today was the carrot cake. No surprise there, it's always a winner and will definitely be featuring heavily at Secret Garden Party. Other big hits were a couple of new recipes I tried out, including muesli bars (not nearly as healthy as they sound) and millionaire's shortbread with salted caramel. The salt in these is very subtle but goes so well with the super sweet caramel. Mums will love it so I've included the recipe below.

I branched out from cakes this week and also made a few cards to sell. My sister has been busy sewing together some gorgeous little hearts too which made a great addition to the stall.

millionaires shortbread

225g plain flour

85g caster sugar

315g butter

397g tin of condensed milk

4 tbsp golden syrup

1 tsp Maldon sea salt

200g plain chocolate

Set the oven to 170C

1. Mix together 200g of the butter, the flour and the sugar until it is has a sandy consistency.

2. Press the mixture into a baking tray, using the back of a spoon to compress it. Prick with a fork and bake for 5 minutes at 170C. Turn the oven down to 150C and bake for a further 30 minutes or until the shortbread is golden brown.

3. Meanwhile, make the caramel by melting the rest of the butter, the golden syrup and the condensed milk in a large saucepan over a gentle heat. Once it reaches boiling point, simmer for 10 minutes, stirring continuously to prevent it from burning.

4. When the shortbread is completely cool, layer the caramel on top and sprinkle over the teaspoon of sea salt. Put in the fridge until cool.

5. Melt the dark chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and pour this over the caramel to create the third and final layer. Leave to cool completely and cut into bars. A long process but totally worth it!



SGP

 

A few months ago on a dreary Sunday afternoon, I came across an online application form for market stall space at Secret Garden Party. I filled it in with very little hope of actually being successful and forgot all about it. This week, I received an email inviting myself and my cakes along to the festival. When I read it I nearly fell off my chair. Excited does not even come close to how I'm feeling. So it is that I shall be taking a truckload of cakes and a small team of friends down to a sunny (hopefully) field somewhere in Cambridgeshire for 4 days of trading. I am already counting down the days until July 21st (101 to be exact). During that time I have a great deal to think about. My main concern is not which cakes to make but how many (with a capacity of 25000 this is a slightly larger affair than my usual markets). How to store 50 plus cupcakes is also a slight worry. Practicalities aside however, what I am most looking forward to is dolling up my stall for the SGP crowd. I have already been having thoughts about flowers in vintage teapots and garlands made up of of tiny teacups hanging from the marquee. My little stall is getting bigger...

birthday cupcakes

Yesterday I spent the morning baking and decorating 24 cupcakes for my friend. It was her daughter's 4^th birthday party, hence the dolly mixtures and jelly beans. Half vanilla, half chocolate, all with a swirl of cream cheese icing. Here they are, all boxed up and ready to be collected. I improvised the chocolate icing by stirring in some melted Lindt dark chocolate. I've included the recipe here. It's also perfect for sandwiching a chocolate sponge cake together. 

chocolate cream cheese icing

300g icing sugar

50g butter

125g cream cheese

50g dark chocolate, melted

1. Beat the icing sugar and butter together with an electric whisk.

2. Add the cream cheese and the melted chocolate and continue to beat until the icing is soft, light and fluffy.

dissecting a starbucks

I have been busy dissecting this Starbucks cake. My friend spotted it the other day and has set me a challenge to replicate it for her birthday. It's official title is 'Salted Caramel Sweet Square', I presume due to its layer of salty caramel, sweet biscuit base and chocolate topping. And it's a square.

So I have been carefully picking this little slice apart. I will begin at the bottom. A basic biscuit and butter base, much like you'd have on a cheesecake, so that's easy enough. Next is a layer of caramel. I can't say I could taste any saltiness in it, but I like that idea so I'll add a pinch to mine. Interspersed amongst the caramel were tiny biscuit balls and pecan nuts. Nice touch. The top was a layer of drizzled chocolate and scattered pecans. Out of interest, I looked at Starbucks' website, where a list of ingredients for their Salted Caramel Sweet Square included carrageenan and palm kernel oil. Yum. They also state that this cake is "topped with a layer of pretzels", but I looked hard and couldn't find one. 

In conclusion then, this bar is very much like the classic Millionaire's Shortbread, but with added salt (apparently), biscuits and nuts. Not much to dislike there. I'll let you know how I get on....  

hello spring

Today is the first day of Spring. There is cherry blossom on the trees, you can leave the house without a coat, sit outside a cafe without wanting to hug a heater. It's not dark when you leave work, festival line-ups are announced and thoughts turn to holidays in the sun. There are snowdrops and lambs in the fields, and chocolate eggs on the supermarket shelves. 


I spent the eve of the March Equinox in London. My friends took me to Columbia Road flower market, where we browsed the most beautiful little shops and ate calamari and king prawns out of paper cups. We stopped for coffee and noted the intensity of the sun on our backs. Here are some of the best things that I saw.

red velvet cupcakes

As it's Red Nose Day, I felt inspired to make these Red Velvet Cupcakes, so called because of the deep, scarlet colour of the sponge. This recipe comes courtesy of one of my favourite cookery books, The Hummingbird Bakery. I added my own little wine gum noses.

red velvet cupcakes
for the cakes
60g butter
150g caster sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
10g cocoa powder
20ml red food colouring
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
120ml buttermilk
150g plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 1/2 tsp white wine vinegar
for the cream cheese icing
300g icing sugar
50g butter
125g cream cheese

Preheat the oven to 170C
1. Put the butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat with an electric whisk until light and fluffy.
2. Slowly add the beaten egg and continue to whisk until well combined.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, red food colouring and vanilla extract to make a thick, dark paste. Add this to the butter mixture and mix thoroughly until the whole mixture is coloured.
4. Pour in half of the buttermilk and half of the flour and beat well. Repeat this process with the rest of the buttermilk and flour.
5. Add the salt, bicarbonate of soda and white wine vinegar. Beat the mixture until well incorporated and continue beating for a couple more minutes.
6. Spoon the mixture into 12 cupcake cases, filling them two-thirds full. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes.
7. Leave the cupcakes to cool. While they are cooling, make the icing. Beat the icing sugar and butter together with an electric whisk. Add the cream cheese and continue to beat until it is mixed well. Beat for at least 5 minutes to produce a light and fluffy icing.
8. When the cupcakes are cool, spoon the icing on top, or use an icing bag and nozzle to create a swirly effect.

chocolate and salted peanut cheesecake

A few people have asked me about the recipe for the cheesecake I made for my dinner party. So here it is. I have a friend who has celiac disease so I used gluten-free digestive biscuits for the base. But bog-standard McVities work just as well.

chocolate and salted peanut cheesecake

for the base

200g digestives

75g salted peanuts

50g butter

2 tbsp golden syrup

for the filling

150g dark chocolate

200ml double cream

2 eggs

100g caster sugar

500g full-fat cream cheese

150g crunchy peanut butter

Heat the oven to 150C

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan and then whizz it together with the digestives, peanuts and golden syrup in a food processor.

2. Press this mixture into the base of a 20cm springform tin, lined with greaseproof paper, and place in the fridge.

3. Put the chocolate and cream into a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water and leave it to melt.

4. Whisk the eggs and the sugar together until pale and fluffy. Beat in the cream cheese and peanut butter, then fold in the chocolate and cream mixture. 

5. Spoon this mixture onto the biscuit base and smooth flat with the back of a spoon.

6. Place a roasting tin half-filled with boiling water in the bottom of the oven. This may seem like a bit of a faff but it stops the top of the cheesecake from cracking. Bake on the middle shelf for 1 hour 15 mins. It should be just set but slightly wobbly in the middle.

7. Cool in the fridge immediately and decorate with chocolate curls and crushed peanuts. 

sunday roast

With it being a Sunday I thought I would dedicate this post to the Great British Sunday Roast. Indulging in this traditional feast is one of my all-time favourite pastimes. Wake up late on a Sunday (if my body clock will allow), make a pot of tea, pop out for a Sunday paper and stroll down the road for a roast. It's good to avoid driving anywhere if possible - the walk back does wonders for the post-roast bloat.

So a couple of Sundays ago I was relishing the day ahead, having arranged to meet up with some friends at The Social, a new-ish bar on Gloucester Road. Having spent the night before there trying out their drinks menu we decided to give the food menu a try too. Now it's always a risk trying out somewhere new. I am usually a stickler for sticking to what you know or, better still, cooking one yourself. But every now and then its good to branch out, with the aim of widening the available 'good roast' options on a Sunday. So let’s cut to the chase. This was possibly THE worst roast I have ever had the displeasure to eat. We arrived, we ordered (chicken for me, beef for most of the others), we sat down and we waited with anticipation and hunger. Our food arrived not long after and it was plain to see that this was not going to be the gourmet treat we had been hoping for. We stayed positive and tried hard to praise the plate of food that lay in front of us. But it didn’t take long before the criticisms were flying. I think a simple list is the best way of relaying to you how terrible this food really was:

1. There was very little of everything. Which actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
2. The (unidentifiable) vegetables were boiled to within an inch of their lives and seemed to blend into one another, much like baby food.
3. The roast potatoes were undercooked and the skins were, well, just boring. I want crispy, crunchy bits on my potatoes please. 
4. The Yorkshire pudding was solid and kind of crumbled as you cut into it.
5. The chicken was tasteless, limp and pale. The beef looked anaemic. The vegetarian of the group described her nut roast as 'sandy'. Delightful.
6. I have saved the worst until last. The gravy. It was like no gravy I have ever seen. In fact it resembled less gravy, more the water that is left in the greasy pan after you have soaked it overnight, boiled up nice and hot. And that was poured all over our plates. We had (before seeing any of our food I hasten to add) requested more gravy, and here is what that extra portion looked like. I think the photo says it all.

Yes, those are globules of grease floating on the top. Needless to say we left hugely dissatisfied and still hungry. To the point where I went home and made myself spaghetti hoops and cheese on toast, which was tastier and didn’t cost me the best part of a tenner.

But the interesting thing is what happened when the waitress came over to clear our plates and ask if everything was ok. We all sat there, grinning through gritted teeth and nodding. There were definite mumbles of “it was great, thanks.” We talked about complaining, we certainly knew we should complain. Not in an aggressive, I-demand-my-money-back-or-else kind of way, but in a 'constructive', please-don't-ever-inflict-that-gravy-on-any-other-customer-ever-again kind of way. But was anybody 'brave' enough to say anything? Nope. Actually, I tell a lie, one of us did finally pluck up the courage to (politely) tell the chef what we really though of our meal. But the rest of us made sure that we were out of the door and halfway up the street before she did it. The Sunday Roast is one of Britain’s greatest traditions. Our inability to complain is not.