Where it happens...& giveaway results!

What a week it's been so far...although the last one really didn't end for me until yesterday afternoon! It was a 9 day week, strictly speaking. That's because yesterday was my monthly Farmer's Market day, here in Aylesbury. I've had a stall on this market for almost 8 years....and I love doing it, although it means a lot more work than usual. I start baking on the Saturday before (earlier in Winter, when it's cooler & I make more items that benefit from maturing, like fruitcake and sticky parkin..)

 And of course, it's not just brownies on the stall...so I get to be really creative and try out all the recipes that I find or devise & ache to bake! This was a divine Saffron Lemon Cake, from the book I told you about a couple of posts back...Honey & Co ...

 those are tiny strands of saffron above...they add such flavour & colour to this gorgeous confection. In the book, Sarit Packer (whose recipe it is) describes it as glowing..and it truly is!

 The cake above was a Fresh Apricot & Hazelnut one....I replaced almost all the flour with roasted ground hazelnuts. I love to be seasonal in my choices for the market, and in my opinion apricots are one fruit that tastes so much better cooked than they do raw, when they can be disappointingly 'woolly' in texture. I sell these cakes by the slice...and they sold out by lunchtime, I'm happy to say (the market runs from 9am-2pm.) I always have big towers of bestselling Double Chocolate & Walnut Fudge brownies for sale...but I l have always also had a 'Brownie of the Month' for regulars who like to taste something different. July's flavour was Fresh Raspberry Meringue....here is a tray before baking...

 that's freeze-dried raspberries on the top, which gives a beautiful 'zing' of pure berry flavour. They were a hit!
I'm happy to say that Sugar Moon Brownies are proving very popular already, even though it's early days...one recipient of a birthday gift pack (the 'taster' option, which offers 3 random flavours to try) posted this wonderful montage on her Twitter feed...

 It made me very proud...& thrilled that she enjoyed them so much!

As it's been so hot here in the UK, I thought I'd show you how delicious a brownie can be, even on a sultry day...

 ...this was a Toasted Pecan, slightly warm...with clotted cream ice cream & homemade caramel sauce....who could resist that?!

I wonder whether you might like a glimpse of the kitchen where I bake these delights? Many people assume that I use our kitchen at home. This would be virtually impossible! I bake so many trays that my domestic oven, great as it is, would just conk out...

No, this is where it all happens! I am very lucky to be able to rent a beautifully equipped kitchen unit that has everything I could possibly need, including storage for my essentials...including the chocolate that I use in vast quantities (it comes in 25kg sacks!)

 This is the view...farmland...& LOTS of rabbits!

 Outside is calm & peaceful...red kites nest in these trees...

 The unit is based on a former WW2 airfield...it's a heritage site, and although there are many businesses based here (including a rocket testing facility!) you can still see many fascinating traces of the history of this place...

 Bunkers, mess rooms, even the control tower still stands...

 ghosts everywhere! Recently, a memorial was unveiled to commemorate a US bomber crew who crashed on this site...the pilot bravely diverted to avoid coming down onto a nearby town, and therefore saved many lives. Stories all around me as I work. It makes it even better, I think.

 Plenty of space to fill the trays...(they are made in batches of 4)..

 And a brilliant oven that can hold 16 of them at a time. However, once I have made the 16th I usually find that the first 4 are ready to come out...

 The oven is a Unox BakerLux ...an amazing piece of equipment that injects steam or dry heat...whichever is appropriate for the recipe...

 brownies need dry heat. Then they are cooled, before the worst part of my job....

 putting the lids on the trays! Tedious & wrecks the finger pads. But my hands are terrible looking anyway after 20 years of professional cooking...and the radio eases the boredom!

Then they are labelled with flavour & baking date and stacked for (brief) storage.

So, a glimpse at where it happens!

And now, those giveaway results - apologies that they are a little late due to the market preparations. My approach is very unscientific...I write out all the names on strips of paper, put them in a large mug & pick one out! For the brownie pack, there were only 3 eligible entries....& the winner is ANNE HAMILTON! Anne, if you email your address (or the name & address of your recipient if you would like them sent as a gift, together with any message you would like to include) to me at hello (@) sugarmoonbrownies (dot) co (dot) uk ...(obviously I have doctored the address to prevent spammers!) then I will send out a box of 12 brownies in 3 assorted flavours asap!
The winner of the 2 beautiful books (lots of entries for these...I'm so sorry there's only 1 winner, I will hold another International giveaway soon!) was SYLVIE who is in France! Sylvie, please email me at the same address & let me know yours!

Thanks so much to all who entered and to all who read and enjoyed the posts and left such great comments. They are all very much appreciated!

Until next time.....x