French Glacé Cherry Scones Recipe

Our guest bedroom is ready, The Man has chosen himself a nice barbecue, the fun can now begin!
Friends and family are booking dates to come and visit us, and our diaries are filling up with barbecue parties. 
...(happy sigh)...
I dreamed of having a house to share it with The Man and the people I love, so I could not be happier. 
We just need a bit more sun to make it a perfect summer in our new home. Well, that might be asking for too much... ;-)


 

French Glacé Cherry Scones

Ingredients:  
Make approx. 15 scones
450g self-raising flour
1 tsp de bicarbonate of soda
100g cold butter, diced
2 tbsp caster sugar
284ml pot buttermilk
2 tbsp milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
220g 100% natural French Glacé Cherries, some halved and some quartered 

Method: 

1. Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Put the flour, ½ tsp salt, bicarb and butter into a bowl and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Mix in the sugar.

2. Quickly mix in the buttermilk, a splash of milk, vanilla and cherries and bring together to form a soft dough. Press out onto a lightly floured surface, to about 3cm thick. Cut out with 6-7cm cutters.

3. Transfer to a lightly floured baking sheet, brush with the remaining milk and bake for 10-12 mins until golden and well risen. Serve with clotted cream and jam.

Sticky flapjack recipe

Decorating a house as a couple is not so much about making compromise than knowing which battles you are unlikely to ever win and putting your energy into battles that are not completely hopeless.

After having tried for months to get The Man to agree in buying a red sofa for our future house (I may have an obsessive passion for the colour red), I've finally understood that it's never going to happen and that I might get luckier in working him on us adopting a kitten. 
If that doesn't work, I even have a secret weapon; getting his dream beast of smoker-barbecue that costs almost as much as a car (I'm serious, the thing exists and is called a Big Green Egg)

Actually, thinking about it, if I play it well, the crazy barbecue might actually get me a kitten sharpening his claws on a beautiful red sofa...!

Florence's Sticky Golden Syrup Flapjacks

Forget about healthy oat bars, these flapjacks are sticky, naughty, and that's the reason why I like them so much. 
There are crunchier than your usual flapjacks. 
This simple, foolproof recipe was given to me by Florence, my Marmelade boss (who takes her nickname from the fact that she makes the meanest orange marmelade and taught me how to make it myself). 
Make a big batch, they keep well, and there are so good they won't last long anyway!

Ingredients

110g Rolled Oats
150g muesli or granola
A small handful of any dried fruit and or nuts that you like, roughly chopped (I used 100% natural French glacé cherries, raisins, almonds and peanuts)
2 tbsp golden syrup
225g light muscovado or demerara sugar
225g butter

Method for the sticky flapjacks

Preheat the oven at 185deg C

1/ In a saucepan, melt the sugar, butter and golden syrup and mix with a wooden spoon until well combined. 

2/ Add the oats, granola and nuts and fruits and mix well until fully coated in sugar and butter syrup. Turn off the heat.

3/ Transfer to a buttered brownie or metal pie dish, press firmly onto the base and cook in the centre of the oven for about 35 min until golden on top and on the edges. Leave to cool completely before cutting into squares with a sharp knife. Store in an airtight container or cookie jar/box in the fridge for up to 3 or 4 days.

Tom Kerridge's London Particular (Pea and bacon soup recipe)

This is not a soup. This is a bedtime story. 
A recipe with a history, like I love them so.
A dish that takes you to another time, another life. It's like a good book, but that you can savour with a spoon....

A the end of the XIXth and the beginning of the XXth centuries, most big British cities and London were often covered in a yellow-green dense fog, mixing the fog coming up from the Thames and the city's chimneys' fumes. 
This fog, often qualified of a "pea-soup fog" was called The London Fog, or The London Particular. 
It's this fog that gave its name to this thick yellow-green pea and bacon soup. 

Tom Kerridge's London Particular

Pea, bacon and mint soup

This soup is delicious. 
The bacon, the vegetables reduced in malt vinegar and sugar and the mint give it a real depth of flavour and so many layers of aromas.

Ingredients

50g butter
250g bacon lardons
1 onion, diced
2 sticks celery, diced
1 carrot, diced
50g caster sugar
100ml malt vinegar
200g dry split peas
1.25-1.5 litres chicken/ham stock
1 bunch rosemary tied together
2 bay leaves
2 handfuls mint leaves, save some to garnish
2 tbsp creme fraiche
Croutons, to garnish

Method

1/ Heat up a large saucepan and melt the butter. Add the bacon and fry until browned and crispy, then remove from the pan and drain on kitchen paper.

2/ Add the diced vegetables to the saucepan and cook in the bacon fat and butter until soft. Add the caster sugar, then the malt vinegar. Bring to the boil and reduce until the vinegar has completely evaporated.

3/ Add the split peas, then cover with the ham or chicken stock. Bring to the boil. Turn it down to a simmer, then add the rosemary and bay leaves. Cook gently for 45-50 minutes, until the peas are soft and cooked. Remove from the heat and take out the rosemary and bay leaves.

4/ Blend the soup in a jug blender with the mint leaves and creme fraiche until smooth. Season and pass through a fine sieve. Serve with the crispy bacon, croutons and a few mint leaves. 

Recipe adapted from Tom Kerridge's London Particular

Beef and Guinness Stew

When I was a kid, my family nicknamed me "Miss Catastrophe" because I was so clumsy and broke pretty much everything that came into my hands.
I was tiny (my other nickname was "half-pint") but still I found it hard to fit my body and its movements into my surroundings and I would continuously bump into things, trip and fall over, and generally mess everything around.
Growing up, I became over-cautious and managed to almost hide that side of me.
Almost.

Picture me on a Sunday night, proud of my delicious smelling Beef and Guinness stew served with lovely dumplings and green peas.

A plate in each hand, I crossed the flat to joint The Man in the lounge and tripped on the stairs. From there everything moved in slow motion. The plates broken in a million pieces, tomato juice splattered up to 1m high over the wall, green peas everywhere (we still found some hidden in the room next door a week later), and the stew and dumplings widely spread over The Man's beautiful antique Persian carpet.
 
Miss Catastrophe always comes back for more trouble!

Beef and Guinness Stew

I adapted this recipe from Jamie Oliver and I like it very much before it is delicious and even easier to make than most beef stew. It doesn't call for browning the meat first, which (although it is very easy to do) I usually can't be asked to do. 

You do have to gently fry the vegs first though, but that's totally fuss free. 

Compared to Jamie's, my recipe calls for more stock and a longer cooking time, to make the beef even tenderer and the stew even better. 

It needs to cook for a long time, but it literally takes 15min to prepare. It also reheat great, so you can make it the day before if you prefer. 

 

Ingredients, for 4 people

500 g quality diced stewing beef
A pint of Guinness
A pint of beef or vegetable stock
400 g tinned chopped tomatoes
2 sticks of celery
1 medium onion
2 carrots
3 fresh or dried bay leaves
Olive oil
1 heaped tablespoon plain flour
Salt and pepper 

Method: 
If using the oven to cook your stew, preheat it to 160ºC.

1/ Trim the ends off your celery and chop the sticks. Peel and chop the onions. Peel the carrots, chop into small sticks

2/ Put a casserole pan on a medium heat. Put all the vegetables and the bay leaves into the pan with 2 tbsp olive oil and gently fry for 10 minutes.

3/ Add the meat and flour. Pour in the Guinness, tinned tomatoes. Give it a good stir, then season salt and pepper

4/ Bring to the boil, put the lid on and either simmer slowly on the hob or cook in an oven for 5 hours, adding a little bit of the stock every now and then as the sauce reduce until you’ve used it all and the sauce has reduced to the desired consistency. The longer your cook the stew, the tenderer the meat will become, so it’s worth the wait.

5/ Remove the bay leaves before serving, and adjust seasoning with more salt and pepper if need be. You can eat your stew as it is, or add dumplings to it.

Recipe adapted from Jamie Oliver's beef and ale stew

Cornwall #1: A little guide to Cornish food specialities

Most people prepare their holidays by setting up a list of the places they want to see and the things they want to do for their holidays. 
The main list that I prepare before any holidays is my "To Eat List".
When the average Jane would be upset to have visited NYC and missed the Empire State Building, Ze Pauline would be devastated to have not tried a culinary speciality the places she visits
Yes, I am that obsessed with food. 

My holidays in Cornwall being no exception, I had done my research and I had a plan. 
I am proud to declare that I ticked most of the items on my Cornish To Eat List, and God, what a satisfying experience that was.

Cornish food is amazing. 
Full stop.

If you share my obsession (or if you're just interested in knowing a bit more about Cornish food specialities) here are a few things you should try and eat if you ever visit Cornwall: 

- Saffron buns
You'll find them in most bakeries. 
Whereas good artisan bakeries are getting scarce in London these days, you'll find a bakery for every 2 inhabitants throughout Cornwall (call it Pauline Wonderland).
I'll try and make saffron buns myself soon. I'll share the recipe!

- Cornish Pasties. 
Traditionally made with beef, swede and potato, I've tried several vegetarian alternatives (vegetables and cheese, onions chive and cheese) to the traditional Cornish pasty during our trip and all were absolutely succulent.
I love Cornish pasties, and you can find the recipe on my blog here. 
In St Ives, the best are at Pengenna Pasties.
In every town, you'll find at least one bakery making Cornish Pasties. I would advise you stick to artisan pasties rather than chain-made pasties, and I doubt you will ever be disappointed.

Vegetable and Cheese Pasty

Traditional beef Cornish pasty from Pengenna Pasties in St Ives

- Cornish Clotted Cream
Savour clotted cream on a scone for a traditional Cornish Cream Tea, or in the shape of a Cornish ice-cream. 
One of the most famous local brands of clotted cream is Roddas, which also makes a lovely Cornish butter (although a bit too salty to my taste).
For absolutely fabulous scones and a delicious, yet very affordable cream tea, head for The Tea Room in St Ives. 
For delicious ice-creams, go to any shop that sells homemade clotted-cream ice-creams, like Jessie's Dairy in Mousehole.

Blueberry and clotted cream ice-Cream from Jessie's Dairy in Mousehole

The Cream Tea from The Tea Room in St Ives

- Cornish Yarg 
A lovely slightly crumbly semi-hard cheese wrapped in nettle leaves. 
And of course Cornish Blue, and Cornish brie. Available in all good supermarkets and cheese shops.

- Cornish crab, fish, lobster, mussels 
And all seafood for that matter. Extra fresh, seafood is on all good pub and restaurant menus and locals certainly know how to cook it to perfection in traditional as well as unsual ways. 
For the best crab cakes in the universe and delicious mussels and fish pies, don't miss The Ship Inn in Portheleven.
For a delicious Fish and Chips in Falmouth, go to The Harbour Lights and for yummy fish and crab soup, try the Seafood Bar.
 

Porthleven

- Stargazy pie
A pastry crusted fish pie. (That's the one thing I didn't get to try though, for lack of time)

- Local fruits and vegetables.


- Cornish cider: in all good pubs!

+ the little bonus: if you are in Falmouth at tea time, take a break in the beautiful old styled  De Wynns Tea and Coffee Shop and savour a slice of their sublime bread and butter pudding, which recipe is said to be more than 100 years old!

Nigella's Guinness and Chocolate Cake

"Celebrity Chef" is a strange concept I discovered in the UK (Since I left France, this has also massively taken off in France). Over here, chefs are (almost) as much super stars as singers or actors. 
The press follows their private lives as much (if not more) as their cooking. 
Jamie Oliver shares photos of his kids and his private life everyday on Instagram, and we feel almost close to him for that. It's part of being a Celebrity Chef.
And it's not for her cooking skills that poor Nigella Lawson recently got even more famous.
Let me tell you; British people have a thing for their chefs, and I think I might be becoming like them.

One of my big dreams of the moment is to (finally) get a table at Le Gavroche and meet Michel Roux Jr. (I did get a chance to meet him briefly at a foodie festival last summer but I was so shy and impressed that I didn't even speak to him, when I'd normally have a million questions for the man!)

In the meantime, we should gossip less, and bake more!

Nigella's Guinness and Chocolate Cake

No, this cake doesn't taste of Guinness. It tastes of marvelous and deep dark chocolate, and it's moist and light.

And it's beautiful and delicious. 

And I find it so cool to bake a cake with Guinness in it.

Ingredients: 

for the cake

250 ml Guinness

250 grams unsalted butter

75 grams cocoa powder

400 grams caster sugar

142 ml sour cream

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

275 grams plain flour

2 ½ teaspoons bicarbonate of soda

for the topping

300 grams cream cheese

150 grams icing sugar

125 ml double cream (or whipping cream)

Method to make the Guinness and chocolate cake: 

1. Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180°C/350ºF, and butter and line a 23cm / 9 inch springform tin.
2. Pour the Guinness into a large wide saucepan, add the butter - in spoons or slices - and heat until the butter's melted, at which time you should whisk in the cocoa and sugar. Beat the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla and then pour into the brown, buttery, beery pan and finally whisk in the flour and bicarb.
3. Pour the cake batter into the greased and lined tin and bake for 45 minutes to an hour. Leave to cool completely in the tin on a cooling rack, as it is quite a damp cake.
4. When the cake's cold, sit it on a flat platter or cake stand and get on with the icing. Lightly whip the cream cheese until smooth, sieve over the icing sugar and then beat them both together. Or do this in a processor, putting the unsifted icing sugar in first and blitz to remove lumps before adding the cheese.
5. Add the cream and beat again until it makes a spreadable consistency. Ice the top of the black cake so that it resembles the frothy top of the famous pint.

 Recipe by Nigella Lawson

From London, with love: Scotch eggs

Life is like baking.
You evolve step by step. Sometimes you don't notice things (or yourself) moving forward, then one day you wake up and everything is different and you have almost no idea how it happened.

One day you can't speak proper English and the next you realise you dream and joke in English.
One day you're scared to talk to strangers, and the next you see yourself giving speeches in front of a crowd.

What feels like just yesterday, another attempt at baking cookies was a disaster and I'd just become single and heart-broken (again), and today I'm baking cookies as good as Ben's cookies and I'm moving in with The Wonferful Man.

Where did that come from?
My life has changed so much, and it's been so easy and natural that I haven't noticed.

It must be a good sign, mustn't it?

Scotch eggs

Scotch eggs are one of these British dishes that can be marvelous if they're well-made, and absolutely hideous if they aren't. I'm very proud to report that these were amazing! 
They're said to date from the 18th century. They consist of a soft boiled egg, wrapped in sausage meat (I made a mix of pork and black pudding), coated in bread crumbs and deep fried. Traditionally eaten for pic nics, Scotch eggs can also be enjoyed as snack in a pub with a beer, or "on the go" like a cornish pasty.
I can't believe I managed to time the cooking of the eggs right so the yolks would still be soft, but I did it! 

Ingredients 
(make 6 Scotch eggs)

6 eggs
250g lean mince pork ( I used Waitrose's)
250g black pudding
Dried thyme, oregano, chili flakes, black pepper and salt
2 eggs beaten
100g breadcrumbs
4tbsp plain flour
Oil, for deep frying

Make the Scotch eggs

1/ Place the 6 eggs in cold water in a pan, bring to the boil and boil for 5min. Cool under running cold water and remove the shells

2/ Mix the mince pork and black pudding in a large bowl, add the seasoning (mix of thyme, oregano, chili flakes, pepper and salt - approx 1,5 tsp in total). 

3/ Divide the meat mixture into 6 balls and flatten each portion into patties with slightly wet hands (so they don't stick). 

4/ Wrap each egg in a patty, making sure the patty is sealed all around the egg and delicately rolling the ball in your hands to smooth and even the coating. 

5/ Prepare in 3 different deep plates or bowl the flour, beaten eggs and bread crumbs. Deep each ball in the flour (all around), then in the beaten egg, and finally in the breadcrumbs. Place the Scotch egg on a plate, and repeat until all Scotch eggs are ready.

6/ Heat the frying oil in a pan to 170deg C (it's ready when a bread crumb thrown into the oil starts frying), and deep fry the Scotch eggs in batches (of 2 or 3 depending of the size of your pan) for 5 min. Drain on paper towel to soak up the extra oil, and eat warm or cold. (I fried mine in the morning and re-heated them for 3 min in the oven before serving)

Scotch egg recipe adapted from The Hairy Bikers cookbook, Mums know best

My Coronation Chicken

I've been told that Coronation Chicken is a bit of an old-fashioned dish. A blast from the past.

So if you do talk to me about Coronation Chicken, I immediately imagine myself sitting at an old wooden table, taking part in a street party during the 70s, wearing flared trousers, a flower power shirt and surrounded by kids with page boy haircuts running around.

Although I only discovered it a couple of years ago, it has a very specific place in the image I have of my parents lives when they were my age. (Even though my parents never ate Coronation Chicken and aren't British, they did wear flared trousers).

Invented 60 years ago for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, coronation chicken belongs to one of these Indian inspired, traditional British dishes, created to represent the British Empire. A big hit at its creation, it still is one of Britain's all time favourite picnic dishes and sandwich fillings.

In my quest to discover and experience traditional British cuisine, I couldn't not give it a try!

Coronation Chicken

As I never do as I'm told, I surfed the web for days to look at all the recipes I could find and picked things I liked here and there to create my own take on this recipe.
It's a light version of the recipe, as I used half of yogurt and half mayonnaise.

Ingredients:

1/2 chicken, cooked and shredded ( I used the leftovers of a cold roast chicken)

a good pinch of salt and pepper
1/2 cm piece of fresh ginger, very finely chopped
1 good drizzle of lemon or lime juice
2 heaped tbsp mango chutney

a small handful of ready-to-eat dried apricots, finely chopped

1 tbsp curry powder
3 tbsp of mayonnaise
3 tbsp. Greek yogurt
1/2 handful of flaked or roughly chopped almonds, toasted
Green salad (I used baby gem lettuce) or bread to serve


Prepare the Coronation Chicken:

1/ In a small dry pan, toast the curry powder for a few minutes, until golden (it will prevent it from bringing a harsh taste to the dish). Pour the powder in a small bowl and leave aside.

2/ In the pan again, toast the almonds dry until golden brown. Leave aside.

3/ In a medium bowl, mix the mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, curry powder, mango chutney, lemon or lime juice, salt, pepper and mix well.

4/ Add the apricots and shredded chicken, mix well. Just before serving add some flaked almonds.

5/ To serve : I served the coronation chicken in baby gem lettuce leaves that I used as wraps, sprinkling some toasted almonds on top of each wrap just before serving.

In search of the Best Ever Carrot Cake

Carrot cake is one of this cakes that scares you if you have never had it before (what, a cake made with vegetables?) but rocks your world when you try it.

Carrot cake is one of my favourite cakes ever, and since I've started baking, I've tried many recipes in search of the best ever carrot cake.
I don't know if I've actually found it yet (I like to think that I can always find ever more delicious recipes), but I found one that is pretty delicious. I've been making it time and time again, and it's never failed to amaze my taste buds.

By the way, what makes a great carrot cake?
- Texture: rich and moist. the more carrots, the better!
- A clever mix of spices: cinnamon for the comforting autumnal flavours, and ginger for a kick
- A fair amount of nuts and raisins, to bring extra texture and flavours
- A delicious icing. Here, you can either opt for a rich buttery icing or a lighter cream cheese icing (I chose the middle ground with my butter-cream cheese icing)

Ready, steady, grate!

The best ever Carrot Cake
(who knows?)

This carrot cake has everything to be divine: lots of carrots, a good pinch of spices, lots of walnuts and raisins, and a delicious icing.

Sometimes, I also add half a cup of chopped pineapple (but be careful not to add too much as the extra juice might mess up the cake's consistency) 

Ingredients for the cake:

350g light soft brown sugar
350ml sunflower oil
3 eggs
1tsp vanilla extract
350g plain flour
2tsp baking powder
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
2tsp ground cinnamon
2tsp ground ginger
350g carrots, peeled and grated
120g finely chopped walnuts and raisins

For the icing:
350g icing sugar
50g soft butter
1tsp vanilla extract
150g cold cream cheese
Walnut halves and a little ground cinnamon to dust

Make the best ever carrot cake: 

1/ Preheat the oven to 170C. Lightly oil 2 x 20cm sandwich tins or silicone moulds, and line the bases of each tin with baking parchment

2/ In a large bowl, beat together the sugar, oil, and eggs with a wooden spoon until the mixture is smooth and thickened. Add the vanilla extract, sift over the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and ginger then fold in until well mixed. Fold in the carrots, walnuts and raisins.

3/ Divide the mixture between the prepared cake tins. Bake in the middle of the oven for 30-35mins or until golden, risen and the middle bounces back when lightly pressed. 

4/ Leave to cool in the tin for 10 mins before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the carrot cake icing: 

1/ In a large bowl, sift the icing sugar, add the soft butter and vanilla extract. Beat on slow speed with an electric whisk, until well mixed. Add the cream cheese and briefly beat together again until just combined (Don't over beat or it will become runny).

2/ When the cakes are cold, peel away the baking parchment. Divide the icing between the  cakes, spreading it evenly over the top of each. Stack the cakes one on top of the other. Top with the walnut halves and cinnamon. 

Not sure the cat is convinced though...

Adapted from http://www.ilovemygrub.com

For the lost souls in Paris, my friend Rohanne for the lovely blog Entre biberons and Mascaras has found for you the Carrot Cake spots in Paris.
And of course, if you know an amazing carrot cake recipe, please share it, the search is still on!