Blame Nancy Silverton...

Next Friday, 30th November, the Sugar Moon kitchen & website will close for good - or at least for the time being!

It's something I've thought very hard about and planned over the last few months...it wasn't a decision I've taken lightly and it's been very emotional telling my incredibly loyal customers - many of whom have ordered 5, 10, 20 or more times!

Whether you've bought multiple or just one box over the almost 5 years of Sugar Moon, you've contributed to the success of my small business and for that I'm so grateful. It's grown and grown and is now the busiest it's ever been.

So - why am I closing?! Well, that success is the main reason. Not everybody knows, but Sugar Moon is me alone. I literally do everything from the shopping to the baking to the wrapping and packing, handwriting the gift messages on the postcards (and taking the photos for the postcards and tags too) before finally seeing the boxes off at the post office. Not to mention the admin associated. I wanted it this way, and it's been brilliant - but it's all snowballed! I am extremely fussy about attention to detail and customer service (as I hope you've noticed!) and I would hate to ever have to compromise on any of that.

Why not hire someone...or several...to help? Well, here's where Nancy Silverton comes in. It was while watching her episode of the Netflix series 'Chef's Table' (third volume, if you're interested!) that I realised I felt about Sugar Moon the way she did about her La Brea bakery. She got so busy that she had to start making the bread - previously totally handmade - by machine. And when she saw the machines kneading and stirring, she knew it wasn't her business any more. I love every aspect of the Sugar Moon brownie process, and would hate to give any of it up! Plus, like many small business owners, I'm a control freak and I know (having employed people in a different past business) that no one would care the way I do about it...because it's like a baby to me!

I also decided not to sell, for a quite similar reason. The brand identity and whole ethos behind Sugar Moon are so ME...it's very special to me and I would hate to give it over to someone else and see them change anything about it (as they undoubtably would...and have every right to!)

There are other reasons. I'm currently in training to be a psychotherapist...this is hard work and will take up more and more time. And also the platform that hosts the website is shutting down soon, which would mean a complete (and expensive) rebuild. It just seemed to be the right time.

I'm stopping now, rather than at the end of the year, because Christmas is - as you can imagine -  a very challenging time!! I only just managed it last year, and this one would be busier. I would hate to ever let anyone down or compromise on standards - so...

I am keeping the kitchen on, and also the wholesale side of the business (which is more easy to predict and flexible) If you're ever in the Aylesbury area, then you will find my brownies at several places - including The Works (in High Wycombe too!)

So - THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!! For making Sugar Moon the joy it's been. For letting me be a small part of so many joyous (and sometimes sad) occasions in your lives and those of your friends and family. I have made so many friends through the years.

If I decide to come back - and the brand (and recipes!) are mine, so I can do that - I'll be sure and let you know.

I wish you love, luck and everything good xx

A different rhythm ...

Oooh, it's hot! We've had high temperatures (for us!) for a good ten days now, and no end in sight. It's beautiful to be out in...

 no jacket required, just a pair of sunglasses in the pocket, a bottle of water and you're good to go. It's wonderful for all the festivals, outdoor concerts, fairs and fetes that proliferate in summer but...

 It's not so great when you're in a kitchen unit with the oven on and the sun beating through the transparent roof panels!! The chocolate holds up better than I do...it's well insulated with opaque lids which keep the sun off...

 I do have a fan, but it's in the packing area and really just pushes warm air around. And I have to wear protective clothing to bake in - a full coverage apron and anti-slip clogs. Not ideal!

Something has to give! So...I've changed my workday routine for the duration of the hot spell. I get up early anyway so an extra hour makes no difference - and I get to the kitchen by 6.30am. It's a beautiful time of day...still and clear and full of birdsong. Coffee, Radio 4 and oven on ...and it's all systems go! I try and bake everything so that I can switch the oven off by 11am. Then cooling and packing. And the ideal (which I've managed so far) is to leave by 2pm, just when it's really heating up! Post office run on the way home and then I get the afternoon to do admin and hopefully spend time in the garden too!

There's no point worrying about things I can't change, like the weather - I just have to adapt. And it's actually a lovely way to work while it's so beautiful outside!

Enjoy your summer xx

Summer Treats...

 To celebrate the real start of Summer (and as I write this, the sun has just broken through the clouds at last!) I thought you might appreciate a new recipe. Sugar Moon has just taken a week off to rest and recuperate...you can read more about where we went here....and, as usual I came home itching to get into the kitchen straight away! Work doesn't begin properly until tomorrow, so these were made at home, and use the best of the current fruits - you can easily adapt this recipe to use whatever you like best. Raspberries, blackcurrants, gooseberries will all work well here - perhaps adjusting the sugar levels in the topping if the berries are very tart.

Apricot & Blueberry Bars

Base:

150g wholemeal spelt flour (you can use regular plain flour or even gluten-free if you prefer)
1 (preferably free-range) egg yolk
150g butter
100g ground almonds
20g whole hazelnuts (or whole almonds if you prefer them)
75g light soft brown sugar
pinch Maldon or other sea salt flakes (optional, but so good!)

Additional ingredients for topping:

50g wholemeal spelt flour (or other flour as above)
50g whole hazelnuts (or almonds as above)
1 tbsp light olive oil (or other vegetable oil if you don't like the taste!)
50g soft light brown sugar (optional, depending on tartness of your chosen fruit)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 180c
Line a 23cm square foil tray (or equivalent tin) with baking parchment

For the base: pulse ground almonds and whole hazelnuts for a few moments in a food processor until whole nuts are in small pieces...

 Add the rest of the base ingredients to the processor...

( This is the spelt flour we usually use...I love its nutty flavour and great texture...but do feel free to substitute as it won't make much difference to the finished bars!)

 Pulse until the ingredients form clumps....then press around 3/4 of the mixture into the prepared baking tray (leaving the remaining mixture in the processor bowl)...

 ...bake the base for about 10 minutes, until it turns a light golden brown....

 ...this will help prevent a soggy bottom! Then cover the base with your chosen fruit. As a guide, I used 5 apricots (stoned and roughly pulled apart) and 150g fresh blueberries...

 Add remaining topping ingredients to the rest of the mixture left in the processor and pulse to combine. It won't clump together as much, but will start to stick together if squeezed between your fingers. Scatter over the fruit...

 ...you want it to just about cover, but I always like to see a little of the berries peeping through the crumb! That's just personal preference though. Flatten the top slightly with your palms to help it stick together a little. Then bake for around 30 minutes, turning the tray halfway through the baking time to ensure an even colour...

 Cool thoroughly (preferably overnight in the fridge) before lifting from the tin using the edges of the baking paper and slicing into bars. They will crumble a little at the top, but just scoop these up with your fingers and enjoy!

 Apricots are one of the only fruits that I think are better cooked than raw...I just adore them in season.

 These bars would actually be gorgeous eaten slightly warm as a dessert, with cream or ice cream, too! Feel free to experiment and enjoy them. I thought I'd finish with one of my absolute favourite Summer lunches - this is usually what I would eat during the week, on a baking break (probably listening to The Archers!)

A toasted slice of good sourdough (I love Richard Bertinet's loaves available from Waitrose, if I can't find any handmade) rubbed with a raw garlic clove and topped with fresh, ripe tomatoes...here I added fresh marjoram from the garden and a sprinkle of nutritional yeast flakes. And always, lots of freshly ground black pepper. Heaven on a plate! Enjoy the summer and all it offers food-wise....it won't be here for long! Sugar Moon is now back in full production...so do visit our lovely website if you haven't already.

Happy June xx

Almost Spring.....

 It's Easter on Sunday...I can't believe that even as I'm writing it! The clocks will be springing forward by an hour and we'll start to see those wonderful long days again. It seems like yesterday that we got back from Australia...the Sugar Moon website was updated and is now more beautiful than ever...then this happened:

Valentine's Day! These were our limited edition Dark Chocolate & Raspberry Brownies, that flew out of the oven and off the shelves that week. We sent out lots of beautiful boxes, with the most romantic messages inside. It's one of the aspects of Sugar Moon that we enjoy most. Handwriting YOUR messages onto one of our specially printed postcards. Each one tells a story and they are almost always happy ones! So don't forget to let us know your message, if the brownies are for a gift. You'll find our 'gift message' box when you are checking out. Sugar Moon brownies make a lovely present to tell someone you love them, you're thinking about them...to congratulate and welcome a new baby, a new house...or just because you feel like it!

 These are our brownie of the moment - Easter Mini Egg Double Chocolate. Strictly limited edition (last orders with free delivery are 10am on Wednesday 23rd March!) and absolutely gorgeous!

 To order, just go to our website and choose the Taster Menu option. Then just drop us a line (or leave a note in the Gift Message box) to let us know you'd like the Easter Specials! We'll do the rest....

 We are always devising new flavours for our retail outlets too. This was last week's Almond Amaretto Brownie for Laurie's Corner . A beautiful brownie, full of ground and flaked almonds with amaretto biscuits soaked in French Brandy too...

 But, as ever, our very bestseller at the moment is the Salted Caramel....

 ...seen above while in production! A layer of our handmade salted caramel goes through the middle of the brownies and caramelises around the edges....they are fudgey and irresistible!

 We do love to have an experiment now and then...

 Peanut Butter Swirl are beloved by many! But not much can beat a warm Salted Caramel or Double Chocolate Brownie with a cup of something hot on a chilly Spring day...

If you haven't already do visit & like our Facebook page ,where we post new flavours and special offers as and when they are available....as well as all the latest news from Sugar Moon!

See you soon and have a great Easter x

Recipe for an August afternoon...& a giveaway!

 My newest acquisition in the vast library of cookbooks that threaten to take over our home is 'The Baking Book' from the fabulous Honey & Co . You may remember that I wrote about their first book 'Food from the Middle East'...and gave a copy away here too! Well, this one is just as good...it contains some wonderful recipes - not all sweet - and I've been having such fun with it in my (not too copious) free time! I wanted to share the cake I made yesterday with you. As usual, I tweaked the original recipe. NOT because there was anything at all wrong with it - but just because I was giving it away to my family, and I know what they like! The 'real' recipe for Coffee, Cardamom & Walnut Cake has a rich coffee cream icing as a filling and on top. Delightful as that sounds, I knew that this wouldn't go down too well with 'my lot' as they prefer things less creamy and more fruity. So I followed the recipe for the cake, but added fresh apricots and finished it simply with the syrup from the original and a sprinkle of toasted walnuts after baking. The perfect marriage of flavours for a sultry August afternoon.

The cake itself is not difficult to make and has no weird ingredients...the only technique that may be new to you is making the 'burnt butter' that adds a deep, nutty note to the batter. This isn't difficult either...you simply melt the butter over a low heat and then increase it slightly, 'cooking' the butter until it turns a rich brown. It will smell delicious...sort of caramelly & hazelnutty...and you'll notice little brown specks at the bottom of the pan. These are good! Don't leave it, though...or it WILL burn, and black is not the colour you need....
                                     
 ...it should look like the photo above, in fact! It will be really hot to start with, so it may help to make it first and then set it aside while you get the rest of the ingredients together.

Coffee, Cardamom & Walnut Cake with Fresh Apricots
Inspired by an original recipe from Itamar Srulovich & Sarit Packer from their book Honey & Co - The Baking Book 

For the cake batter:

330g icing sugar
120g ground almonds
130g self-raising flour
80g roasted walnuts (plus a few extra to garnish)
1 tsp ground coffee (I used ground espresso beans)
1/2 tsp freshly ground cardamom
3 whole eggs
150g egg whites (from about 4 eggs)
140g burnt butter (see above!)
Approx 4-5 ripe apricots 

For the syrup:
2 tbsp honey (I used runny orange flower honey)
60g/ml water
50g caster sugar
a double espresso (or 60g/ml strong black coffee)

Preheat oven to 190c/170cfan/gas mark 5
Line a 9"/23cm square pan with baking parchment (or circular if you prefer!)

Stir the dry ingredients and nuts together in a large bowl, 


then add the eggs and egg whites and mix really well until smooth (I used my Kitchenaid for this) Pour in the warm melted butter (scrape in all the nutty brown bits too!) and stir carefully, then transfer to the prepared tin...

...break the apricots apart gently using your fingers, remove the stones and arrange in rough pieces lightly over the surface of the cake batter. Don't push them down, just lay them on top...

 Let the batter rest in the tin for about 10 minutes, then bake for about 35 minutes until set and golden brown...this may take a little longer depending on your oven. Meanwhile, bring the syrup ingredients to a boil in a small saucepan and remove from the heat. Once the cake comes out of the oven, brush the top generously with the syrup while still hot and let it absorb...

 ...sprinkle with the remaining toasted walnuts and allow to cool in the tin...

...before you dive in...(although it's lovely slightly warm, too...I'd eat it like that, with a big spoonful of labneh or creme fraiche...)

 Totally divine!

To celebrate this beautiful book, I'm giving away a copy to one of you loyal readers of this blog! 

All you need to do is leave me a comment on this post to qualify. I'll send it anywhere in the world, so don't worry that you'll miss out if you don't live in the UK. I'll make the draw two weeks from today, on Monday 24th August...good luck...and thanks for reading! Have a great week x

All-New Granola Bars

Firstly, my apologies for the lack of posts recently. My father died recently...expected, but very sudden at the end...and I found that amongst other things, the immediate grief really sapped my creativity. I've been ok just keeping things together...baking brownies as usual...keeping up with orders and even the Farmer's Market. But any new ideas just didn't seem to flow at all. Happily, this was a temporary state and I now feel more myself a couple of months on - so expect to see plenty of updates !

Granola/energy bars are one of those troublesome things to bake, I find. Not because they're difficult to make at all....throw a load of ingredients into a bowl, mix, bake and they always taste delicious! But cooking professionally is different. At home, no one minds if their cake disintegrates on the plate into a heap of crumbs...as long as it can still be scooped up and eaten, it's all good. But if you're buying that piece of cake, you expect it to look perfect all the way through - quite rightly, when you're spending good money on it. And here is where the problem lies. Flapjacks and granola-type bars are notorious for falling apart when cut and crumbling into an oaty heap. It's something I've battled and puzzled over for years!

Well, at last, I think I've found the way forward. I have done so much research on this topic and found  useful information in posts by Heidi Swanson on her fabulous blog 101 Cookbooks & Deb Perelman on hers, Smitten Kitchen (both are wonderful for so much more too...if you love cooking in general and have a few hours to spare, visit either or both and get lost in them!) These, together with my original and much tweaked recipe has given me All-New Granola Bars that are luscious, chewy, fresh-tasting and - most importantly - stay together when cut!! The secret is that I made the mistake of increasing the fat content, believing that this would stick the ingredients together. This is, in fact, what makes them crumble, so too much is fatal! Water is the magic ingredient...

The measurements are a bit of a combination at the moment...when they are standardised for the book I'm planning, they will be one or the other...but at the moment they are a combination of cups and metric (I have a plain metal set of US cups, which I'd really recommend you invest in if you love baking...they open up a whole new world, literally!) so do forgive me.

All-New Sugar Moon Granola Bars

1 & 2/3 cups porridge oats

1/3 cup oat flour (just whizz porridge oats in a food processor until they become a powder)

1/2 cup bran cereal (I use All Bran)

1/2 tsp sea salt flakes

1 tsp ground cinnamon

50g pumpkin seeds

50g sunflower seeds

1/4 cup broken pecan pieces

3/4 cup whole almonds, roughly chopped (skin-on or blanched are both fine)

3/4 cup pitted dates, soaked in boiling water (I just use enough to cover them)

50g flaked coconut (you can use desiccated if that's all you can find, but the unsweetened flakes are in many supermarkets and give a more interesting texture)

1/2 cup rice malt syrup OR honey

1/4 cup soft brown sugar (you can omit this if you like...I find they are sweet enough without)

1 tbsp pure organic coconut oil

60g unsalted butter

2 tbsp water (I use the soaking water from the dates)

1 tsp pure vanilla powder, or natural extract

Line a 23cm/9"square baking tin with parchment paper.

Preheat oven to 170c/325f

In a large bowl, combine the oats, oatflour, bran cereal, salt and cinnamon.

Put the seeds, nuts and coconut flakes onto a large flat baking sheet and toast in the preheating oven for 10-15 minutes until starting to turn golden brown.You need to keep an eye on them to check they don't burn, and stir a few times to distribute the heat. Remove from the oven and add to the dry ingredients in the bowl.

Gently melt together the butter, coconut oil, syrup or honey & sugar - if using - either in a small saucepan over low heat or in a microwave. When the fat has melted, remove from the heat and pour over the dry ingredients. Add the drained dates and the water and mix really well.

 It should look something like this.....you can add another tablespoon of water if you don't feel it's damp enough...

 Tip into the prepared tin...

 Pack down well using a flexible spatula...

 and smooth the surface...

 Bake for approximately 30 minutes. The top should be golden brown and fairly firm to touch, but not have a 'dried out' feeling. Remove from the oven and leave to cool thoroughly in the tin. You can refrigerate once cool, to really firm them up. Remove from the tin using the parchment paper to help you and,with a sharp knife, cut into approximately 12 bars (or as many as you like!)

 Store in an airtight box in the fridge for best results...but anywhere cool will do. They'll keep for at least a week like this.

Brilliant for lunch boxes, picnics or - as my great friend Charlie does - as the ultimate running fuel!

Hope you enjoy them....thanks so much for reading, and visit again soon for more Sugar Moon magic!

Twas the week before Easter...

Lots to show you today, from my recent deliveries to The Coffee Tree. This is a Chocolate & Salted Caramel Cake....

Dark, soft chocolate cake with milk chocolate whipped frosting in the middle & on top...drizzled with sea salted caramel....it's one of those cakes that I have to get out of the house quickly....as I'm in danger of burying my face in it otherwise!

I think it's the smooth silkiness of the frosting, the deep chocolate flavour and the crunch of the salt flakes with the ultra sweet caramel....mmmmmmm!

Toasted Coconut Cake....another beautifully fragranced offering to the Gateau Gods!

We don't get the lovely moist flaked coconut that's available in the US & Australia, so have to make do with sort of shavings that I toast myself...

Lemon Passionfruit Muffins went down a treat....all gone in 2 hours!

The actual muffins were just very lemony  quite plain...with a very zingy fruity fresh passionfruit glaze which I put on while they were still warm...

And here are two trays of my famous Cranberry Carmelita Bars. Difficult to show you because I couldn't cut into them to photograph...but imagine an oaty, buttery, crunchy top & bottom with dried cranberries, chocolate chips & caramel sauce in the middle...again, very popular (I make variations on them too...one with walnuts replacing the cranberries, which I prefer...)
So that's a little selection. There will be lots of egg-themed delights this week of course....so watch this space!

Happy Monday xo