What....no brownies?!

So, although life at Sugar Moon mostly consists of brownies...

 brownies....

 & yet more brownies...

 I do often bake other things...for the Farmer's Market, for friends or just for fun!
For instance, a good friend asked me to bake a big cake for a joint 65th birthday celebration for her parents....she wanted it to be both coffee & walnut and chocolate....be big enough to feed 30 and to have a nautical theme as her parents enjoy sailing.

I didn't want to create a tiered cake... for 30 people, I find that cutting squares is much easier. People (especially after a big meal) don't usually want a huge wedge of sweet stuff. So a rectangle fits the bill perfectly...but in two distinct flavours?

I got around it by making up the two cake mixtures at the same time (!) and pouring them into the cake tin almost simultaneously. I created a foil 'divide' to keep them separate as I poured, but took this away before baking...

 this was a big cake and took almost 2 hours to bake properly (a good tip that really works when you are scaling up a recipe is to lower the oven temperature and bake for longer...so the top and sides don't cook too quickly and leave a raw middle...)

 I liked the stepped effect of the finished cake....

 and then the decoration. I made a whipped white chocolate icing, which takes colour very well...this only needed a tiny teaspoon of royal blue paste but gave a great effect! The 'sand' is light brown sugar...

 which I adhered by brushing that portion of the cake with a sugar syrup..

 only the yacht, candles and shell are inedible. I was very pleased with the result...

and luckily so was our friend! I'll hear reports of the party later...

Meanwhile, I thought you might like a recipe? This is the Hazelnut & Fresh Apricot Cake that I baked for our recent Farmer's Market.

It was absolutely gorgeous....ideal, of course, with coffee or tea as a snack...but it would also be brilliant as a dessert with some creme fraiche or even ice cream I think. It will keep well for a few days, in the fridge (as the apricots are fresh ones) and will be even nicer the day after baking, when all the flavours have melded together...

Hazelnut & Fresh Apricot Cake

280g soft light brown sugar
270g ground roasted hazelnuts (I buy the skin-on ones, cheaper & fine for this recipe...& most others too! Simply toast for about 5 mins in a hot oven until golden and smelling very nutty! Then cool before grinding in a processor to a fine crumb)
50g ground almonds
50g fine semolina or polenta
75g self-raising flour
5 eggs (medium, free-range)
1 tsp ground cinnamon - optional but tastes lovely!
225g unsalted butter, melted and cooled a little
a punnet of apricots..(exact quantities don't matter for this but roughly 5/6 fruits. It also doesn't matter if they are slightly underripe as they are being cooked)

Preheat oven to 180c/160c fan/Gas Mark 4
Grease & line a 23cm loose-bottomed cake tin with baking parchment.

Simply mix all the dry ingredients together, then add the butter and eggs and mix well. I use my stand mixer for this, as there is quite a lot of mixture...but you could do it by hand with a wooden spoon, of course! Scrape into the prepared tin. Roughly chop the apricots, removing the stones (I actually just pull them apart with my fingers...I prefer a rustic look for this cake. You could slice them and arrange them evenly in a pattern if you'd like it to look more formal) and scatter or place gently over the surface of the batter. Don't push them in, the cake will rise around them beautifully.

Bake for about an hour, until it's golden brown and slightly pulling away at the sides. Check it after 45 minutes and rotate the tin in the oven if you need to, to ensure even baking.

Cool in the tin on a wire rack, then push up the bottom and remove the lining paper from the sides and bottom before transferring to a serving plate (run a palette knife under the base to help remove the base paper.)

Enjoy it...and have a wonderful weekend!

Many meals...

I've been meaning to write this post all week! So much to do...so many brownies to bake. I was musing on the fact that I still get quite excited by making tray after tray of them after 8 years...I decided that it was a good sign to keep doing what I'm doing!
The ones above were baked especially for my parents Golden Wedding celebrations last weekend...toasted pecan with lots of gold glitter!
On Good Friday, I traditionally bake something for our neighbours as an Easter gift. Last year it was hot cross buns. This time, I made loaves of the Colomba Pasqualina mixture that I described in my last post. I left them to rise slowly overnight and baked them first thing on Friday morning...then wrapped and delivered them to 6 houses while still warm...

It was a surprise...and everyone was very pleased & delighted! I have had some beautiful 'thank-you' cards this week. We have two sets of next door neighbours...the wonderful gentleman to our right is in his '90's, dapper & sprightly. He answered the door in his floor length, satin edged dressing gown & elegant velvet slippers....perfect!

Mum & Dad's party went so well, too, on Easter Saturday. 18 of their closest friends & family gathered for lunch cooked by moi. Of course, I was too busy to take pictures....& I confess that I actually forgot until it was too late - except for dessert!

I planned a middle-eastern inspired feast...as it is our family's favourite region for food. Nigella Lawson's Sephardi Roast Lamb, Sticky Garlic Potatoes & Involtini (all taken from her fabulous book 'Feast') & Ottolenghi's French Bean & Mange Touts with Hazelnuts & Orange plus (slightly adapted) Fennel & Pomegranate Salad with Sumac...I made an extra side dish of the jewelled rice stuffing from the lamb, so that everyone could have more. It looked and tasted absolutely gorgeous!

Puddings...

Fresh raspberry almond tart with creme fraiche...

those brownies....

and, of course,

a special cake! I am the first to admit that the decorations here are not the most sophisticated I have produced...but my almost-4-year-old nephew was very eager to help...& I know that it meant all the more to my parents for that haphazard sprinkling of the glitter by their youngest grandson!

The flavour was lemon - a special request from my Mum - filled with home-made lemon curd. Light & delicious and the perfect end to a memorable celebration!

Last night we had a couple of close friends over for dinner - my favourite kind of evening. Easy & relaxed & fun - and I wanted the food to reflect that. So I cooked some 'real Mexican' from Thomasina Miers' lovely book 'Mexican Food made simple'. Lamb Barbecoa (a slow-cooked dish with the complex flavours of smoky ancho chilis, very dark chocolate & red wine amongst others) Green Rice (a revelation...a paste of onion, garlic, fresh coriander & flat leaf parsley is used to add a beautiful jade colour and fresh taste to simple rice - I will be using this a lot) & a pickled 'slaw' accompaniment made from white cabbage, radishes & red onion sliced paper-thin and dressed with olive oil, sherry vinegar, more coriander & my own addition of pomegranate molasses...which cut through the rich, strong flavours of the lamb beautifully.

Afterwards, Ottolenghi's Chocolate Fudge Cake which is a deep, dark yet mousse-y flourless confection that sparked many compliments (from the first book, Ottolenghi The Cookbook) Highly recommended & very simple to make. I added some pecans crumbled on top before the final baking, for a little crunch (I can never resist tweaking recipes, as you'll have noticed!)

So, I collected my new supply of brownie chocolate on Friday...100kg, in large, white sacks of 25kg each. They will last me about 4 weeks at this busy time of year...so I'd better get on with it!

Wishing you a wonderful week xo

Birthdays & awaydays!

It's a strange fact that 3 of my very favourite men in the world have birthdays within 5 days of each other in January....first my Dad, then Wolfgang Amadeus and finally Paul! So I suppose you could say that I'm a true Aquarian-phile...my oldest friend (40 years in 2013) is also one. As my darling oldest nephew & my youngest sister were born a little earlier in January, too,  it can be a very expensive time of year in our household!

So my Dad turned 75 a week or so ago...as he has suffered ill health through most of his adult life, this is a huge reason to celebrate for all of us! His birthday is also our wedding anniversary (we married as a special surprise on his 70th!) so it's quite a day...

We just had a small family dinner at a local restaurant owned by our great friend David...Annie Bailey's . It's where Dad's surprise 70th party (and, therefore, our wedding reception!) was held...so the place is full of happy memories for all of us. I, naturally, baked the cake...

which was chocolate...with malted milk chocolate frosting...

and it was absolutely enormous! We told the guys in the kitchen to take a large slice and then the rest went home with my parents to be finished off ...which it was, eventually! A lovely, lovely evening.

Paul & I have a little tradition of going away for a long weekend near to his birthday. We try & go somewhere new, and make sure that Alice can come too. You may remember that last year we stayed in West Wittering in Sussex...this year, we chose Aldeburgh on the Suffolk coast. You can read more about the weekend on my other blog but I thought you'd like to hear about Paul's birthday lunch on this one! We went to a place we've often read about and wanted to visit...

The British Larder near Woodbridge.

It didn't disappoint. Everything was gorgeous...the menu changes daily, and they strive to be truly local. There is even a set of weighing scales on the bar and customers are encouraged to bring surplus fruit & vegetables from their own gardens...or any other produce...to be bought & used in the restaurant. Great idea!

Paul chose the venison scotch egg with homemade piccalilli & celeriac remoulade to start with...

I loved the pickled carrot & radish salad with toasted sourdough...but the real star for me was my dessert...

vanilla pannacotta with blood orange granita & a garibaldi biscuit. I can taste it still!

The granita was sharp, sweet, bitter...absolutely divine. The British larder is highly recommended and we look forward to returning!

A couple of weeks ago, I met my great friend and fellow blogger Hummus Boy for lunch at a favourite London restaurant, Great Queen Street in Holborn/Covent Garden. It's always fabulous here, to my mind...I've reviewed it before on this blog so I won't do so again. But I MUST mention our desserts...(see a theme here??)

Salted creme caramel...(only a touch of seasalt, not actively salty!) I can't believe that I ordered this (neither will Esther!) I have a lifelong aversion to anything eggy or milky...but my brain misread the creme caramel as creme brulee and when it arrived I was SO glad! Just so gorgeous...vanilla-y, caramel-y, not too creamy. A delight.

HB's featherlight 'beignets' (or tiny sugared doughnuts) with rhubarb jam and thick cream...ooh, so glad that he's the sharing type of friend! We almost clashed forks in our eagerness to devour the hot, crisp-yet-soft delights!

January was a good month - but I confess that I'm happy it's February! It's just that bit closer to Spring...and I'm planning my vegetable garden for the year. It's only tiny, so I allow myself the luxury of growing a few unusual things instead of carrots & potatoes. More soon...the ground is still hard as iron, after all!

I hope that you're full of inspiration and excitement for the seasons to come, too. xoxo

The first morning of a new life!

So that's that! After 8 years and 3 owners...the Coffee Tree has once again changed hands, but the new people have decided to go on without me. They have their own plans and ideas. A new broom! I wish them every good thing....but I can't pretend that the past week hasn't been a strange one!
For the final few days, I thought I'd deliver some old favourites from the past...cakes that have been requested and loved many times...

like good old Blueberry Buttermilk Muffins...

and Chocolate Salted Caramel Cake....
In the middle of the week I also had the Farmer's Market - it was half-term too, and I thought the Hallowe'en theme was appropriate!

and if you read my last post, Robin's banana date cake sold out by lunchtime!

Then it was back to thinking of the Coffee Tree's final days. There was a farewell drinks party on Friday evening at the shop, full of everyone I knew...so many sweet comments and people who's lives I've shared a little of over the years. I was given cards & presents...a beautiful white orchid...I shed a few tears.

And Saturday dawned - a beautiful, sunshine day. I was up early as usual, as I wanted to make sure that everything was perfect for my final delivery - the most popular items of all, really:

Victoria Sponge Cake (with non-traditional decoration...but I couldn't resist!)

 

my famous cheddar scones....(pictured on their stand at the shop)

and finally...I wanted something fun, so I made these vanilla cupcakes...

that said it all in as many ways as I could think of!  I popped in a few times that day- some customers who had moved away made a special journey back to say goodbye, so I had coffee and a chat with old friends. And then it was time to really say goodbye, with a hug and a few sobs! Thanks to Sue & Barry, Roy & Sandra for being such fabulous, loyal customers. We've shared so much over the years - while supplying them I've got married, had a heart attack, two nephews have been born...we've all been through good times and bad together and supported each other through everything. I wish them all a happy & fulfilled retirement!

Monday morning - today felt very strange, will continue to feel so for a while yet, I think. I have been so programmed into always thinking of the next thing to bake for them, searching for new ideas to try out, planning my work day around them. The only customers who never gave me an order - I always just baked what I thought (hoped) would be right...and, thankfully, it usually was! A great freedom, but also a great responsibility in that arrangement.

Anyway...I'm looking forward now, as always (the only way to look!) So much to do and accomplish - I have a book to finish, I'm baking christmas cakes this week, and I have so much to plan and prepare. But I'll always think fondly of my time with The Coffee Tree...and everything it's given me over the years.

I hope you have a wonderful week and a faaaabulously spooky Hallowe'en! xo

A cake mountain....!

 It's been too long since my last post...a combination of being really busy & having my sister and her children visiting from Australia....but I've been taking photos along the way, so it's time for a bit of a catch up! These Blackberry & Apple Crumble Slices were on the menu at The Coffee Tree in mid-September...while the weather was autumnal (it's been in the 80's for the past week....although cooler today)

and then I devised some Caramel Walnut Shortbread Bars...

I halved the sugar in the shortbread part, to offset the gooey sweetness of the caramel...yum!

Another old favourite was on the cake stand last weekend - my most requested cake, Mango & Coconut...

it's the one that everyone remembers....I think maybe because the cake is white & soft & very coconutty...and it contrasts so beautifully with the vivid orange of the mango puree. Whatever it is, it's always greeted with 'oohs' & 'aahs'....which is the sound you grow to love when delivering cakes!

At the end of September, our local council holds a Breast Cancer Awareness day in the town....and for the past two years, I've supplied 100+ pink-iced cupcakes which are given away in the street during the morning. Luckily, my beloved sister Esther was around this year and took over the decorating duties - anything goes, as long as it's pink!

Thanks Est!

Some of the muffins I've made recently were the Plum & Almond delights that I've posted many times before, taken from Ottolenghi's first cookbook (always gorgeous, especially at this time when the plums are at their peak) I also baked these...

Peach & Raspberry Muffins, to use up the last of the late summer fruits. Ripe peaches bake beautifully, I think...

and so I also use them in this Blueberry Peach Bakewell Pudding, which I make as a dessert for a local pub, The Crown

it's gluten-free,too, which I find is becoming an essential option on menus and the market stall these days...so many people have a gluten or wheat allergy or intolerance. This dessert is delicate & delicious...so no one will feel they've missed out!

I was sorely tempted by this Hazelnut Chocolate Shortbread...made with ground hazelnuts and topped with a dark chocolate ganache. (Almost) irresistible - it's lucky that it was for an order. A hole in the middle of the tray is a big giveaway...!

While my sister was busy decorating the pink cupcakes, I was fully occupied too...wrapping 200 Double Chocolate Brownies in cellophane and tying with silver & pale blue ribbons. These were a special order for a wedding...our friends, Olly & Claire were married on September 25th...and these were to be take home gifts for their guests...

they glittered with silver & pastel blue too (it doesn't photograph well, for some reason) Paul & I delivered them in London, in two enormous boxes...200 brownies are incredibly heavy! But the wedding went beautifully, I'm very happy to say...and Claire told me that the brownies helped to make it a wonderful day!

Banana Cake is always a favourite. My niece & nephews adore bananas, which are currently incredibly expensive in Australia (they are grown there in the Northern Territory & the crop has been badly affected by weather this year) So while they were here, they ate as many as they could! I was left with some overripe ones in the fruitbowl...and this was the result...

frosted with cream cheese. Lovely.

Chocolate & orange is such a classic combination (although one of the customers on my market stall was eager to tell me that 'they don't go together, love'!!) and I put them together again for this gorgeous cake...

that didn't last long at The Coffee Tree!

Last Tuesday was Farmer's Market day...I had two fabulous helpers in the shape of my niece, Scout & my oldest nephew, Kip...they did brilliantly, taking the money & sending everyone off with a cheery 'enjoy your cake!' My brownie of the month for September was...

Toasted Pecan & Caramel. It was VERY popular! I even tried a little myself (almost unprecedented!)

I adore pecans (actually all nuts) but one of my other very favourite cake flavours is lemon....

and this was a lemon & poppyseed layer cake, filled with fresh lemon curd...

and finished with a lemon glace frosting. Oh. My. Goodness.!

Almost the end now!! This was a fabulous creation (though I say so myself....ahem)

Coffee Caramel Cake. Coffee sponge, with espresso buttercream and a homemade caramel spread that dripped artistically...

and looked, I think, very enticing!

So that's it - a potted history of the past month. Of course, I baked lots more...but mostly trays & trays of brownies, flapjacks & carmelita bars...not very interesting to post. Let's call these the highlights!

I'll finish with a tribute to my beautiful 9 year old niece, Scout. She was so helpful during the time she was here...usually awake first and always eager to lend a hand with deliveries. She also illustrated some of the labels to go with the Coffee Tree cakes for me...

I created Australia Slice for her, and for her brothers. Delightful children. I miss them so very much now that they are, once again, 12,000 miles and 24 hours away.

But life goes on...and so does the baking!

Happy week to everyone...it's great to be back xx