Things I love Thursday: Baking Books

I probably don't have the biggest cook book collection in the world (although the way my Mum goes on you'd think I did.) But I have to admit I probably have more than I need... They are piled up on my shelves full of recipes and projects that I would love to try but just can't find the time to do.

The Vintage Tea Party is my absolute favourite - I just want to live in its beautiful pages

But when I bought my friend the Clandestine Cake Book as a birthday present, I found it very difficult to part with. It was quite hard to wrap it up and write someone else's address on the envelope. So when I heard the book calling to me from the shelves in Tesco at a fraction of its retail price (damn you, Waterstones, and your full prices!) it might have just fallen into my trolley and made it all the way to the checkout and then home.

I won't go on about the Clandestine Cake Club here as I think most people who are interested in baking are now aware of the concept. It was set up by Lynn Hill in 2010 and is basically groups of people meeting up all over the world and bringing along delicious homemade cakes to a pre-decided theme. The one rule being it has to be a cake. Currently there isn't one local to me and it's definitely something I would love to get involved in setting up. I think it would be a huge step for me and would do wonders for my confidence. My excuse is my odd working days but I realise that's a lame cop out.

You can find all the info you need about the CCC here

The book is fantastic: there is so much lovely looking stuff in there. The thing that caught my eye straight away was the lemon, parsnip and hazelnut cake. Yum! I love the sweetness of roasted parsnips and can't wait to try them in a cake. The blue velvet cake is amazingly striking and I can't wait to fake an occasion so I can give that a go. The book has also made me see how much I need a bundt tin in my life! Maybe even a heart shaped one. A heart shaped cake covered in glacé icing and glitter?! What! Amazing.

I have already had a go at the toffee cake (I bought dates to make a date & walnut loaf for the nice gentleman who brings me eggs at work and thought I would never use them again!) but more on that soon.

The only problem with the book is that it's not helping me work on other sides of baking like bread or pastry and is just helping me continue my cake obsession but if those are the rules...

Vicky xx

I love: wearing gloves to colour fondant *squish* pilates  Super Mario Bros Wii  House (I always love House)  red lipstick headscarves  early morning pre-work jogs  cringing over so-bad-they're-good films, I'm lookign at you Pitch Perfect (loved it!)  train trips to Newcastle eating biscuits with my favourite people parmentier potatoes a cold glass of wine on a sunny evening  summer dresses  watermelon  making plans for visitors  The Temptations  

Weekend Baking: Rose Water, Pistachio & Raspberry cupcakes

I've called this new feature 'Weekend' Baking but don't worry - I'm not confused about what day of the week it is! Working at a tourist attraction means my working week runs from Thursday - Monday so I have my weekend on a Tuesday and Wednesday. So these tend to be the days I get to play in the kitchen.

When it comes to baking I'm still at the stage where I need to stick to the recipe but I'm hoping the more practice I get the more I will be able to be one of those clever people who just adapt recipes and make stuff up if they feel so inclined!

So here is my first weekend bake:

Rose water, pistachio & raspberry: this is a Middle Eastern combination of flavours that I kept coming across and so decided that it was a sign that I had to give it a go, and I'm glad I did!

Rose water is something I have used before but for the life of me I can't remember what I did with it: must have been a mind-blowing creation... But still I am a little bit scared of it; it's one of those things that has such a distinct flavour and aroma I worry about over using it.

I did a little research before I got started and found that 3 teaspoons of rose water was enough and that I could easily add it to my own plain sponge recipe. Some recipes also suggested using lemon juice, sometimes as much as the juice of one lemon, but I wanted to make sure I didn't overpower the taste of the rose water and just went for a couple of tablespoons (as much as I would use in lemon sponge.)

The smell of rose water is fantastic: it's that soapy, floral smell that reminds me of floral gums or cherry lips. My work colleague's perfume is also laced with it and it always leaves a wonderful smell in the office. For me its tradition personified in a smell. The smell of it as it came out of the oven and when they cake was cooled was just as lovely as when it's in the bottle.

Once you get over the faff of de-shelling the pistaschios, you can appreciate the further element of middle eastern flavour, as well as a wonderful texture and colour. I loved the way they looked crushed and sprinkled over the cupcakes, contrasting with the white buttercream and pink raspberries. 

Raspberries are one of my favourite fruits and I don't find them too sweet so it was the perfect accompaniment to a cake that, overall, wasn't (buttercream aside) overpoweringly sweet.

The cupcake itself was light and moist and just the right amount of rose water came across in each mouthful. The best way to eat this is taking a big mouthful and making sure you taste every one of the ingredients together because the combination of tastes and textures is delicious. I would definitely make these again: for such a powerful ingredient it was such a delicate cake and would be a perfect partner to a glass of champagne on a sunny afternoon. I enjoyed mine with a cup of tea but a girl can dream...

Recipe (makes about 15) 

Cake:

6oz/150g caster sugar
6oz/150g margarine
3 large eggs
3 tsp rose water
2 tbsp lemon juice
6oz/150g self raising flour
100g chopped and shelled pistachios 

Buttercream: 

16oz/400g icing sugar 
4oz/100g softened unsalted butter
2tsp rose water
a few tbsp milk as required 

To decorate: 
30 - 35 raspberries, enough to put a couple on each cupcake
50g pistachios, roughly chopped


- cream sugar and margarine until pale and fluffy
- add rose water and lemon juice to the cracked eggs and add a little at a time to the    
  butter mixture, add a spoonful of flour at intervals to stop mixture curdling
- gently fold in half the flour 
- fold in the remaining flour along with the pistachios
- add to cupcake cases and bake on gas mark 4, for 15-20 minutes until springy to touch 
  and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean

- to make the butter cream, cream together butter, icing sugar and rose water until mixed
- add a tablespoon at a time of milk to create your best consistency for piping

- to decorate pipe swirls or spread buttercream on to the cooled cupcakes
- top with a sprinkling of pistachios and finish with a couple of raspberries

Vicky xx

I like driving in my car (and then eating it)

It's two car cakes for the price of one in this post!

The first is a VW Campervan cake I mentioned a while ago, and the second is a car full of pigs.

Let's get started with a VW Campervan I did for a retirement party that required a golden Labrador and a surf board. The colour choice was left to me and it was a no-brainer: when I think campervan, I think green!

I have to admit it was a little intimidating being asked to do a cake like this because the vans are so iconic; everyone knows what they are suppose to look like!

Which is a shame when I got the shape a little off!

I rounded each end from the top to the bottom but it just completely slipped my mind to round the front and back off. This meant the van looked a bit boxy. I only realised when I had the icing on and was a little disappointed.  I did still manage to get the van details on and it looked the part but I'm waiting for another campervan order so I can get it right!

I enjoyed making my first fondant pooch but there was an incident with the little pooch after it mysteriously gained a finger nail mark in one of its legs. I think it was my Mum in a horrific act of sabotage but that has yet to be proven. Some early morning surgery sorted him out.

I loved the look of the surf board and was pleased with the surfery vibe it had.

I think overall the feel of the cake was what I wanted and I’m trying not to be too mad at myself about the shape – it was a first attempt afterall!

Moving on the next cake, we have a Peppa Pig mobile!

Learning from Campervan, one of my first jobs was to make sure that the front of the car was rounded! I quite liked the shape of this one; my only issue this time was that I forget to put wing mirrors on the car: an oversight on my part that no one noticed!

My pigs suffered a little from being constructed while being the car. I think the best thing would have been to make them first, get the details on, then pop them in but I think at the time I was more concerned about whether they were going to fit and if the sizes were going to be proportionate to one another.

The thing I do need to tell you about with this cake is my absolutely ridiculous error that occurred when I was putting the name on the board.

I think you can already guess what’s coming…

Wanting to get Ruby’s name in the right place, I started from the end and spelled it  backwards: ‘Y’  ‘U’  ‘B’  ‘Ooops!’

‘Well, what did you do that for?’ was the helpful comment from the mother.

This is one downfall from piping names in royal icing – you can’t just move the letters about. Luckily it was white, and luckily it didn’t look too bad. It looks horrific in the image as my mum’s fancy camera picks up EVERYTHING, but in the natural light of day it wasn’t noticeable.

I enjoyed doing these cars; both different but both fun and I think I have learned from both of them: round the fronts and don't forget the wing mirrors!

Vicky xx

Things I Love Thursday

One of my biggest blog, and life, inspirations is Gala Darling. Her blog is so full of quirky and magical things and it is a pleasure to read. You too can share in the joy here.

One of the things she champions is being grateful and positive, and one of the ways she does this is through her weekly post 'Things I Love Thursday' and she welcomes and encourages her readers to do the same.

http://www.behance.net/gallery/Graphical-Words/3576901

The birth of this new feature on my blog is an active reaction to Tuesday's post. I have a lot to be grateful and positive for (cake included) and I wanted to share that through images that have made me smile, songs, silly videos, whatever!

I've had a little time to gain a little perspective on how I have been feeling and am doing alright so far, after a minor setback with a cake over the weekend, But then it's all about baby steps. I even made a cake I could honestly say I liked!

http://fittingintohappiness.tumblr.com/post/5380031582

This week I have had a little change of scenery at work and returned to Helmsley Castle where I worked when I first started with English Heritage. Helmsley Castle has a big retail space so it has a completely different feel to it compared with being within the peaceful and atmospheric ruins of Mount Grace Priory.

It was nice to have a bit of a change though and to wander around my castle again.

Warrior scultpures by Malcolm Brocklesby standing guard at the south barbican

The east tower

The recent warm weather has meant that the castle walls are covered with the tiny purple flowers of Fairy Foxglove. It's such a delicate and pretty contrast to the strong and imposing walls of the castle.

Fairy Foxglove climbing the castle remains

However, it wasn't my reunion with the castle that made me excited about being back in Helmsley, it was my trip to my favourite bakery, Cinnamon Twist! I had already planned that I would be consuming my favourite raspberry danish but this plan was soon scuppered when I found out that they had been replaced with a blueberry and mango danish. It was still delicious though and TWO of my 5-a-day! I did have to have a cheese scone as well, you know, just to ease the pain about the raspberry danish.

I enjoy my treats sat in the market square on the steps of the monument, along with the many tourists to Helmsley, just people watching: due to the country roads that lead to it, Helmsley is a hot spot for bikers and they always make for interesting watching. I also started reading Around The World in 80 Days but am not sure how long I will last with it before I have to return to something heavily featuring wizards, dragons and attractive beadrded rouges.

But pastries and pretty flowers aside I was happy to be back where I belonged at the weekend.

Mount Grace Prioy's Manor house

I love: the fantastic, super supportive and wonderfully encouraging comments I have received from people over the last week blueberry & mango danishes cheese scones sunshine Abba, for real    Game of Thrones (the TV series - I can't read the books for fear or providing spoilers to the boyfriend!) cherry wine Linda McCartney cheese & leek plaits all things cat related Karen Miller - Kingmaker Kingbreaker yellow nail varnish pretending I am a super important business women reading both inspirational and practical stuff 








 

A Promise To The Universe (& To Myself)

So this is going to be one of those personal posts but I think it's become 100% necessary for me to do a little reassessing.

I am a perfectionist but, and this is a recent realisation, I am also a pessimist. This makes for an explosive combination. I will see the bad before I see the good, I worry before I have any reason too, I see the faults rather than the perfectly executed parts. I fret constantly that I will be letting someone down and that I've proved myself not good enough.

This has come to a head a bit this week as I have found this week's cakes remarkably difficult. Not particularly the cakes themselves but the feelings I've had towards them which have been sad and troubled. 

From the tears and shouts and stress that were coming from my kitchen on Friday night, you'd think I'd made a cake so horrific it belonged in the bin. And from the words directed  at my cake last night as I was lying on my kitchen floor, you'd think my Winnie the Pooh looked like an actual turd. This culminated in a confession to my boyfriend that I didn't know if I was going to do the next lot of cakes.

This is not the first time this has happened. I know people sometimes aren't happy with things they've done but for me it seems to have become a habit. Even looking through some of my posts about my cakes, they are so spattered with negative comments and put-me-downs that it's no wonder I feel the way I do about them. I start out with such huge expectations of myself, and it's completely crushing when I don't feel I'm living up to them.

I have managed to convince myself that doing this is the only way I am going to get better and to learn. How can I improve if I don't scrutinise myself over everything and if I don't strive for perfection?

But now this is spilling into other areas of my life and that's just not on. 

It has crossed my mind a few times whether I should just stop altogether. Is it worth it? Why should I bother? I will (obviously) never be good enough.

I think the very fact that I never act on any of those thoughts means that I know in my heart I don't want to give it and that it is worth it and that I bother because I love it and I am good at it. We all have off days, I just need to make sure I am not always having an off day and that I need to see the rainbows instead of the rain. 

I've gone through this process before but I find it so easy to slip back into the world of negative thoughts. So maybe if I put it out there to the world, if I owned up to how I'd been feeling, I would be more driven to make a change and to stick to it. I want to make the world happy through cake and I can't do that if my own cakes aren't even making me happy.

So here I am: promising that I will make a change. One step at a time. And during those steps I am going to soak up every positive thing I can find. I have spent an inordinate amount of time doubting and picking at myself that I know it's going to be hard. But it's vital that it gets dealt with. I know it will take time but I also know I can figure this out and find the confidence to get to where I want to be.  This is suppose to be a journey and   I swear I will enjoy it.

I have had nothing but positivity from some lovely people since I started Tallulah's, and to anyone reading this it upsets me to think it may come across like I have just dismissed and disrespected your kind comments. I am forever grateful for the support of anyone I have come into contact with and hope that our mutual love and encouragement will long continue.

Vicky xx