All the Sugar Moon Christmas Ordering Details...and some other stuff!!

 November 19th 2017...and I'm horribly aware that I haven't updated this blog for very nearly a whole year! Well, here I am to rectify that! 

This has been an incredibly busy and different year for me and for Sugar Moon Brownies . On a personal level, life has been turned wonderfully upside down by the fact that my beloved middle sister and her three children arrived from Australia last December. They have been living very close to us and our lives have become beautifully linked in all sorts of ways. The joy of having Esther popping in on a Sunday morning for a cup of tea is one that only those with dear relatives that have emigrated will understand. Such a simple pleasure, but one that is so precious when for so long it's been impossible. Unfortunately, they will be going back in January (which I can't now bear to think about) but it's been so amazing....

And already it's Thanksgiving in the U.S on Thursday - we shared an early celebration with our dear American friends last year before they sailed home...this was my attempt at a seasonal table!

 The year turns...the days shorten...the morning mists descend...the leaves turn all shades of red, brown and gold before they fall...

 ..and thoughts turn to cosy 'hygge' evenings...comfort foods...plates of warmed Sugar Moon brownies by the fire..

 perhaps planning early for Christmas which will be upon us in little more than a month now...

 Sugar Moon has had quite a year too! As well as sending out literally hundreds and hundreds of boxes to addresses all over the UK, we moved to our new unit kitchen in early May. If you follow our Instagram or Facebook accounts (thanks so much to all of you who do!) you will have seen more details of this...we used to share a commercial kitchen with another company which worked brilliantly at first. But as Sugar Moon has grown, it became impractical and so we have moved to a small industrial area very close to where I started baking commercially almost 14 years ago (as The Blue Angel Bakery in those days!) I used to be at Unit 7, and am now at Unit 11...so it feels like coming home in many ways! If you are ever in the Aylesbury area and would like to visit us then please do let me know - via the social media accounts linked above or through Twitter or give us a call on the number on the contact page of our website - just to check I'm around. The kettle will be on and you may even get a warm brownie to go with your mug of coffee!

Another innovation this year has been our hand drawn and painted seasonal recipe gift cards...a snippet of the Autumn version above! The Christmas ones will be ready soon. Just a little extra from us to you...because we really do value our customers above everything else at Sugar Moon ...

And now to those Christmas ordering details...(deep breath!!)

PLEASE, PLEASE be aware that the post is incredibly busy throughout the whole of December - I know that sounds obvious, but packages that usually arrive next day can often be 4-5 days at this time of year. IF YOU NEED THE BROWNIES TO BE THERE ON A CERTAIN DAY...or even just WANT them to be...PLEASE consider using our 'Guaranteed Date' post option. Yes, it does cost more this way. But we don't make any money from it at all...we just pass on the actual cost. And it's the ONLY WAY to make sure that the brownies are where you want them when you need them to be! You can select this option when you check out - just click on the drop down and select the delivery date you'd like (from the box to the right) and the postage will be added on automatically. We HATE anyone to be disappointed and we'll do our very best to get the brownies to you or your recipient as quickly as we can - but we need your help to do this!!

For Christmas delivery : LAST ORDERS ARE AT 10AM on MONDAY 18th DECEMBER. All orders will then be baked and sent out in time for Christmas. Don't forget to include a gift message for your lucky recipient if they're for someone else! 

REMEMBER - YOU CAN ORDER AT ANY TIME FOR DELIVERY IN CHRISTMAS WEEK - JUST LEAVE US A NOTE IN THE 'SHIPPING INSTRUCTIONS' BOX AT CHECKOUT (OR EMAIL US) TO LET US KNOW THAT THEY ARE FOR CHRISTMAS AND IT WILL BE DONE! YOU CAN THEN TICK SOMETHING ELSE OFF YOUR 'TO DO' LIST!

Throughout December - if your order is NOT for Christmas, then PLEASE DO LET US KNOW by emailing or leaving a note to us in the gift message box. Otherwise your brownies will be packaged in festive wrapping which may not be appropriate if they are for a birthday or other occasion! We'll check with you anyway in our acknowledgement email, but the more information you can give us the better!PLEASE ALSO BE AWARE THAT IN DECEMBER ONLY, IT MAY NOT BE POSSIBLE TO BAKE AND SEND ORDERS THE SAME DAY AS WE USUALLY DO IF ORDERED BY 10AM - WE WILL, OF COURSE, DO OUR VERY BEST AND IF POSSIBLE WE CERTAINLY WILL - BUT IT CAN'T BE GUARANTEED ABSOLUTELY AT THIS EXCEPTIONAL TIME OF YEAR!!

I hope that all makes sense - if you have any more questions or anything at all, then please do let us know. You can email us at : hello@sugarmoonbrownies.co.uk 

You can find us on Facebook HERE 

and we are on Twitter @SugarMoonUK and Instagram @SugarMoonBrownies ....

As always...thanks to EVERYONE who has ordered from Sugar Moon Brownies during 2017. We truly wouldn't be here without you, and we are more grateful than you will ever know for your support and, in many cases, friendship. The world of a small independent business can be a difficult and sometimes lonely one. But the pleasure of supplying and interacting with so very many wonderful people truly makes it a very special experience!

Enjoy what remains of the Autumn and 2017 xx

Courgettes & Christmas...in September!

 This is a time of year for abundance...our tomatoes are ripening so fast, that I pick them twice a day...

I have given many away, but they keep coming! 4 types this year...marmandes, plums, golden cherry & little grape ones, like mini red lightbulbs...so sweet, we eat them straight from the vine. A neighbour has the same 'problem' with courgettes...too many ripening at once to be able to use them quickly enough! So we did a swap...and after using some in conventional recipes, I thought I would bake a courgette cake. After all, we use carrots & beetroot quite routinely in baking nowadays, so why not? I turned for the recipe to an old friend...

 ..as you can see, my copy of Nigella's brilliant book has been extremely well-used! Her version of the cake is baked in round layers and has a lime curd filling and cream cheese frosting...but I wanted a plainer cake, a loaf cake to slice for everyday tea...so a little adaptation went on (as always!) I also added lemon zest and a lemon syrup glaze to finish (I almost forgot to say that made this way it is also dairy free if that's important to you!)...so here is the recipe for a

" Sugar Moon via Nigella Courgette Cake"

2 medium courgettes (about 250g) grated - but not peeled
2 large free-range eggs
125ml sunflower oil
150g caster sugar + 1 tbsp extra for the lemon syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract - I use pure vanilla powder from Ndali
225g self-raising flour
1/2 tsp each baking powder & bicarbonate of soda
pinch of salt
zest & juice of 1 unwaxed lemon

Line a 2lb/1kg loaf tin with baking parchment
Preheat oven to 180c/350f

First place the grated courgette in a colander to drain off any excess water...(for best results, grate them by hand on the coarse side of a regular box grater)

 In a large bowl, place the oil, 150g sugar, eggs, vanilla and lemon zest and mix well together - I do this in my stand mixer using the beater attachment...

 Next measure the remaining dry ingredients...

 ...and add to the liquid...

 ..mixing until well combined...

 ..it will be quite thick and glossy. Now mix in the grated courgette - I use my silicone spatula because it gets right down to the bottom of the bowl...

 ...and scrape into the prepared loaf pan.

 Bake for about 45mins - 1 hour...this depends on your oven, but it should be well-risen, golden brown and spring back in the middle when pressed gently with a finger...

 Remove from the tin and cool on a wire rack. Make a syrup by gently heating the lemon juice and remaining tablespoon of sugar and brush over the surface of the warm cake to glaze...

 Leave to cool completely before slicing...

 ..it is gorgeous inside, with emerald flecks...very light and moist. It won't keep for too long because of the fresh courgette, but definitely for a couple of days if well wrapped and airtight. Or you can freeze it for up to a month...

ENJOY!!

We have also started baking Christmas cakes! These are really popular on the farmer's market stall, where some are sold undecorated to be passed off as home-made (and why not?!) and others will be glittered and glazed and gilded...

 I started off by baking the really rich, alcoholic cakes as these have the best keeping qualities..

 French brandy, Jamaican rum and Portuguese port goes into these babies...the fruit is soaked in all three for a whole week first....then they are 'fed' with yet more rum & brandy after baking...before being double wrapped and stored in a cool, dry place for the next 3 months. I will unwrap and feed them with alcohol a few more times. So they are really quite special!

There will be other versions too...some with no alcohol at all...but these smell absolutely divine and started me thinking about more Christmas baking. But then I looked out at the warm, golden September afternoon...and resolved to forget about it for just a few more weeks!

I hope you will try the courgette cake...and if you bake anything from the Sugar Moon Blog, we'd love to hear how it turns out! It was great to get your views and comments on the blueberry brownies and other flavours...Have a great week...and if you would like to try some of our remarkable brownies, then do visit our website here!

A Friendship Cake....

I met my longest-standing friend,Isobel, on my first day at a new primary school 42 years ago! Of course, the closeness of school years can't continue forever - those days when I would say goodbye to her on the school bus and then call her the minute I got home to continue our conversation....but we have been in each others lives in some way from that day to this. She and her husband, Brian, now run a successful & delicious crumble business based in beautiful Somerset - so our lives aren't so very different once again (although Isobel also has two young & gorgeous children to juggle!)

When she used to come to our house for tea, there was one cake that my Mum would bake that Isobel absolutely adored...& to this day my mother still refers to this as 'that cake Izy loves'! So, as the days are somewhat autumnal right now, I thought that I would reproduce the recipe here (with a few tweaks) in honour of our friendship. This one's for you, Is! xx

Blackberry Streusel Cake

For the streusel topping:

100g plain flour (you can use spelt/wholemeal if you have it)

80g butter

1 heaped tsp ground cinnamon

50g light brown muscovado sugar

For the cake:

200g self raising flour

100g light brown muscovado sugar

200g butter

3 free-range eggs

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (optional - but I love cinnamon!)

About 250g blackberries (preferably picked from a sun-drenched bramble bush! You can use raspberries or blueberries too, if blackberries aren't in season)

Line a 23cm square pan with baking parchment.

Preheat oven to 175c

First make the topping; just place all the streusel ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until it forms large crumbs...

 tip into a small bowl & set aside. Without washing the bowl of the processor, add in all the cake ingredients (except the fruit) & whizz to a smooth, silky batter..

 It won't be too liquid as it needs to hold up the berries & topping! Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan and level the top roughly...

 then stud with the blackberries...you don't have to be too precise, but try & make sure that there's an even covering of fruit all over the surface...

 finally scatter the streusel over the berries...

 distribute it fairly evenly over the top...don't pack it down, and I think it looks lovely when a few blackberries show through the crumbs too! Bake in the preheated oven for around 45 minutes...the streusel will look golden brown, the middle will be slightly domed. You can test by pushing a skewer or cocktail stick into the centre & checking that no wet dough is sticking!

 Then cool in the pan on a wire rack...however, this is so delicious served slightly warm so feel free to cut it then and enjoy a slice...perhaps with cream?

 Store in an airtight container, or wrap in foil securely...it will keep in a cool place for a couple of days (not longer, as the fresh fruit will deteriorate.)

 I recommend eating a large square, with a big steaming cup of coffee,sitting in the August sunshine in a garden somewhere...if you are sharing with a friend, so much the better (it doesn't have to be Isobel, although she would be my choice....)

Enjoy! And now I'm back to the brownies...also delicious with friends! xx

Beautiful Soup!

The days are beginning to feel a little Autumnal now. Yesterday was beautifully hot, but there was a cool edge to the wind and the garden is looking a little ragged and faded. Today is overcast and I have to stay in as the attic is being insulated...lots of crashing going on overhead!The Farmer's Market in Marylebone was wonderful on Sunday - stalls piled high with the new season's corn cobs, English plums, bunched ruby beetroot and apples, but still there were late Summer bouquets of old-fashioned deeply scented roses and wonderfully warm-greenhouse-smelling tomatoes, the best of two worlds...it was hard not to buy everything!

Today I've decided to make a soup for lunch, thick with vegetables and pasta and sprinkled with pecorino cheese just before serving.

Cavolo nero cabbage is something I always buy when I see it. Trim the leaves from the tough stalks, wash & chop into thick ribbons and cook immersed in the tomatoey broth of the soup. I also love it cooked in olive oil, chili and garlic and stirred into pasta.

yellow courgettes - just because I adore their sunny cheerfulness against the red and dark green of the soup, cut into dice.

I try not to use tomato puree from a tube in this soup as I find it can be a little metallicand overbearing, but the tomatoes are so ripe and full flavoured that they need little help anyway. I stir in some orzo pasta, the kind that looks like little grains of risotto rice, to thicken the thin broth and add their unique, silky 'mouth feel'.

I have a chunk of Pecorino to grate roughly on top of each bowlful

plenty of ground black pepper, roughly chopped flat leaf parsley - and that's it! Along with the white sourdough loaf that I also bought, which I'll toast and drizzle with some grassy extra virgin oil and sprinkle with a little Maldon salt flakes....absolutely delicious.

I'm also making several batches of Triple Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies today, and then I have to think of a big cake to make for the coffee shop tomorrow....I'll let you know!

Hope you're having a gourmet day too....xo