roll up roll up

Every other Sunday is market day at Bristol bar Start the Bus. To give it it's official title, 'The Not-So-Supermarket' is a just-turn-up-and-sell-anything kind of market and a great way to spend a Sunday. So this morning myself and Jesse took along our wares (hers jewellery, mine cakes) and set up a stall. Granted, there is always a risk that I will spend more money than I make on account of being surrounded by leather bags, silk scarves, sequinned jackets and vintage jewels for sale. When preparing for a market, it goes without saying that I love the baking that it entails. But the part that I most enjoy is meeting other stall-holders and customers, hearing reactions to my cakes (favourite one today - "My friend told me your cupcakes are amazing". He then returned for two more) and the general market-atmosphere.  

My cakes sold steadily throughout the day. Carrot cake, as always, was a big hit. We munched on a bowl of homemade chips, drank numerous mugs of tea and were joined by several different groups of friends at various points. It was a good day. I left richer, having resisted the temptations on the other stalls and brought home a few unsold goods (it wasn't a good day for flapjacks), which kept my housemates happy.  

carrot cake

for the cake

300g soft light brown sugar
3 eggs
300ml sunflower oil
300g plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
300g grated carrots
100g chopped walnuts, plus extra for decorating
for the cream cheese
600g icing sugar
100g butter
250g cream cheese
1. Preheat the oven to 170C
2. Use an electric whisk to beat together the sugar, eggs and oil. Slowly add the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, salt and vanilla extract and continue to beat.
3. Stir in the grated carrots and walnuts.
4. Pour the mixture into three 20cm cake tins lined with greaseproof paper.
5. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes.
6. Leave the cakes to cool on a wire cooling rack.
7. Meanwhile, beat the icing sugar and butter together with an electric whisk. Add the cream cheese and beat until light and fluffy.
8. Cover each of the three cakes with icing and place on eon top of the other. Spread the remaining icing all over the top and sides of the cake.
9. Finally, decorate the cake with the walnuts and a sprinkling of cinnamon.

i heart baileys

Baileys, condensed milk, 70% dark chocolate. Three of my all-time favourite baking ingredients. So needless to say, a recipe that includes all three really does get my fingers twitching for that mixing bowl. Teamed with a Baileys half-price special in my local supermarket, there was no way that these Baileys Rocky Roads were going unmade. Having returned to a hectic week at school on Monday after a blissful half-term holiday, dinners have consisted more of soup out of a tin than Nigella-esque creations. But with a market looming on Sunday I have the best excuse to spend my weekend sifting, mixing and whisking.

Right, back to those Baileys delights. I have to say my favourite part of the process was melting the three aforementioned ingredients together. Add in some butter and you have a dark, glossy mixture that is extremely hard to resist. I didn't. The result was less of the classic

Rocky Road

and more of the classic Brownie. But when it tastes this good, who's going to quibble over classification. Try it.

baileys rocky roads

200g dark chocloate

100g condensed milk

50ml Baileys

25g butter

75g sultanas

75g white chocolate (chopped)

75g crushed digestive biscuits

200g mini white marshmallows

100g white chocolate (for drizzling)

1. Place the dark chocolate, condensed milk, Baileys and butter into a large saucepan and melt.

2. Stir in the sultanas, white chocolate, digestive biscuits and marshmallows.

3. Line a swiss roll tin with greaseproof paper and press the mixture into the tin.

4. Cover and leave in the fridge to set.

5. Drizzle with the melted white chocolate, cut into thick slices and serve.

dining 80s style

I'm having a 1980s moment. This afternoon I reverted back to my childhood. With the 31st October almost upon us I got to thinking; I haven't always had such a dislike for this time of year. As a child I would relish the chance to organise spook-themed parties for me and my family (yes, it was a small party. Four people to be exact). I would deck the kitchen out with plastic bats and persuade my long-suffering parents to join in with apple bobbing and hands-free donut eating competitions (the connection between this and Halloween? Really not sure). Oh how they loved me. Needless to say, my career in events organising peaked as a 10-year old. But my love of entertaining has stuck with me. Creating and cooking for friends and family still excites me the way it did when my favourite band was Bananarama and I wore a red and purple brace.

So today I was feeling nostalgic and dusted off a few old recipes. Scone-based pizzas (hands-down the most delicious type of base there is) and 'Top Hats' made up a large part of my childhood culinary repertoire. There is no skill whatsoever involved in making the latter. The joy of these marshmallow delights is all in the assembling. And they look very pretty. They won't win any prizes for setting tastebuds alight. However, as my Grandma so cleverly did, it's a recipe to pass down through the generations.

scone-based pizza
for the base
225g self-raising flour
1tsp baking powder
50g margarine
1 egg
125ml milk
for the topping
tomato puree
grated cheddar cheese
your favourite pizza toppings
1. Sieve the flour and baking powder into a large bowl.
2. Add margarine and rub in until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
3. Whisk the egg and the milk together and add to the flour.
4. Mix to a smooth dough and roll out on a floured surface.
5. Spread the tomato puree over the top of the dough.
6. Sprinkle over the cheese and add other toppings (I added mushrooms, caramelised onions, sweetcorn and salami but you may prefer something else!) 
7. Bake in the oven at 220C for 20 mins.

a whole lot of pumpkin

Now what to do with them? As my cooking prowess lies in the field of all things sweet, I ignored initial thoughts of pumpkin soup / curry / risotto / mash, etc. Instead I opted to do this vegetable justice by pureeing it and turning it into a sweet pumpkin pie, Thanksgiving stylee. I have to say, due to limited time, I cheated and used a ready-made pastry mix. This is not ideal but when needs must..... Best served with a dollop of cream or ice cream.

I must admit I'm not Halloween's biggest fan. I find the whole celebration of all things ghoulish and ghastly slightly unnerving. Why anyone would look forward to spending their evening parading around in a Scream mask, scaring young children and adults (ie, me) alike I will never know. However, I am grateful to Halloween for one thing: the pumpkin.

I recently paid my parents a visit in Shropshire. En famille, we donned our wellies and proceeded to trudge through the surrounding countryside, walking tentatively through several fields full of menacing-looking cows on the way. We happened upon a house with a wheelbarrow brimming with bright pumpkins outside. A sign informed us they had been lovingly home-grown in the back garden. A sucker for all things homespun, money was exchanged and several of the illustrious vegetables were lugged back to the house.

pumpkin pie

450g pumpkin flesh cut into chunks

2 large eggs plus 1 yolk

75g soft dark brown sugar

1tsp ground cinnamon

1/2tsp ground allspice

1/2tsp ground ginger

275ml double cream

1.Pre-heat the oven to 180c.

2.Follow the instructions on the packet of shop bought pastry and line a cake tin with it, 23cm diameter and 4cm deep. (Or make your own - this will inevitably taste even better.)

3.Steam the pumpkin until soft and then place in a blender. Blend until you have a smooth pumpkin puree.

4.Lightly whisk the eggs.

5.Place the sugar, spices and the cream in a pan and bring to the boil. Pour it over the eggs and whisk to combine.

6.Add the pumpkin puree and mix well.

7.Pour the filling into your pastry case and bake for 35-40 minutes. It will still be slightly wobbly in the centre but will set further whilst cooling.

8.Remove the pie from the oven and place on a wire cooling rack.

Once every last morsel of my pumpkin had been scooped out I passed it on to my boyfriend, who dutifully created this masterpiece. That will scare off the trick or treaters.