Let's Make Christmas at Fabulous Fortnums!

On Friday I took part in an inspiring and fabulous food blogger's event at the iconic London shop Fortnum & Mason . It has been in Piccadilly since 1707, is the official grocer to the Royal household and is still a magical place to visit at any time - but particularly at Christmas, when the decorations are especially amazing and totally OTT...

this one is a view of the stairwell - I took it from the fourth floor....

The afternoon was organised by this wonderful woman...

Vanessa Kimbell . You may remember that I went to the launch of her recipe book, Prepped, back in June. She has ignited a campaign, via her blog and Twitter, to make this Christmas a largely handmade one...a wonderful idea in these difficult financial times - but not just for that reason. There is something so special about receiving a gift that someone you love has taken the time & trouble to make just for you! You can read all about (& join in with!) Vanessa's idea, and the details behind Friday's event on her blog.
I was quite apprehensive when I arrived at 3pm...making my way up the stairs to the top floor and trying to spot my fellow bloggers! I knew that a couple of people I'd met before would probably be going but, apart from that, the afternoon was largely an unknown quantity! We were each given a number for our entries/gifts and went into the beautiful private room that was ours for the next 3 hours. There were four tables for the different categories of presents...so I headed to place my offering amongst the others on the (heaving) baking one! Then time to get a cup of tea...
The Fortnum's colours are duck egg blue, gold & white....gorgeous. And the table set with goodies looked beautiful too...

love the silver sugar tongs...

the proper tea urns...

I avoided the chocolate and had my first mince pie of the season!
It was wonderful to find and chat with fellow tweeters & bloggers (we all wore labels with our Twitter & blog names) and get to know more about them....quite an experience! I also spent time looking at what everyone else had brought with them. The standard was incredibly high, and I found the level of creativity and effort involved quite moving...

I brought a little box of Clove Shortbread Snowflakes...

(I'll post the recipe nearer to Christmas) and Toasted Pecan Salted Caramel Brownie Cups (which I forgot to photograph...they were decorated with a gilded pecan & gold edible glitter!) I wrapped it all in cellophane and tied with seasonal ribbons..

When I saw the other entries, I knew that I wouldn't win - but I'm proud to say that I made it to the judge's tasting table!!
Ah, the judge. The fantabulous baker du jour - Dan Lepard. Author of one of my favourite new books on all things baking (reviewed a few posts back) Short & Sweet. Columnist and expert. Probably the highlight of the day was meeting and (later) chatting to Dan. He took the judging process extremely seriously and it all took quite some time...

But finally, the categories were judged and the prizes awarded. Many congratulations to the very worthy winners:
Urvashi for her Blackberry Curd
Jayne for her Damson Slivovitz
Snejana for her Mincemeat Pops and finally....
Claire who won not only best baked goods for her amaretti biscuits....but also Best in Show!! Many congratulations to her...I don't think I've ever seen anyone so shocked and delighted at winning!

Afterwards, several of us headed off for a well-earned glass of wine and more chatter...and some great gossip!
 I stayed in London overnight and after a quick breakfast yesterday morning at my local Nordic Bakery...

I headed off into the warm sunshine to do a little Christmas shopping. I couldn't resist taking a photo of the Christmas windows at Liberty...

always stunning!
Many thanks to Vanessa for arranging such a wonderful time for us all....I have the feeling that it's the first of many as it was so successful! But in the meantime, why not think about making at least some of your gifts this year? It can be nervewracking, but it's also fabulous fun...

Wishing you a wonderful week....mine is all set to be extra, extra special! More soon....xx

Mmmmmonday!

I often experiment with different brownie flavours...I try and devise a new one each month for the Farmer's Market to keep things interesting! This was my latest creation...Caramel Popcorn Brownies.  They sold very well...the popcorn is in the mixture as well as on top. One thing I found while playing with the recipe was that it works best to sprinkle the popcorn that decorates the top of the brownie after it comes out of the oven, but while the cake is still hot. This prevents the caramel from scorching...and the warmth of the chocolate means that the popcorn sticks beautifully to the top too...

So, that's one that will be repeated sometime...
Other delights this week included...

Double Almond Tarts...

Fresh Raspberry Shortcakes...the filling was a vanilla mascarpone one...I delivered these in the wind & rain of Saturday morning. They reminded everyone that it is, in fact, Summer!

Also, some old fashioned favourites. My little sister, Lucy, always used to request a Marble Cake for her birthday. I haven't made one for ages...making this one made me wonder why!

It was, as you see, chocolate & vanilla....so pretty...

I filled it with vanilla buttercream...

with more for the top and crumbled milk chocolate flake to decorate. Delish!
The other 'retro' cake I made was really popular about 150 years ago....but rarely seen today. Seed Cake was usually eaten mid morning, with a glass of sherry or madeira wine. In fact, if you visit St John restaurant in London, it still is! The few times I've eaten this cake, I've loved it. So I thought that it was a good time to resurrect it for The Coffee Tree. Mine had a lemon glaze...

and it turned out so beautifully that I thought I should share the recipe with you. It's adapted from the Three-Seed Cake in Sarabeth Levine's beautiful bakery book - so it has US measurements..

Old-Fashioned Caraway Seed Cake

Grease & line a 10" round tin with parchment paper.
Preheat oven to 350f/170c

3 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
2 tsp caraway seeds                       } stir together in a bowl and set aside
1 tbsp baking powder

10 tbsp/1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter
2 cups superfine (caster) sugar            } Beat at high speed in a stand mixer until light & fluffy in texture
2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Separate 4 large, room temperature eggs. Beat the yolks into the butter/sugar mixture one by one, beating well after each addition.

Reducing mixer speed to low, add the flour mixture to the butter/sugar/egg yolks in thirds, alternating additions with 1 cup whole milk. Scrape down bowl to make sure all is fully incorporated.

In a large, grease-free bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form (I use a hand held electric whisk for this) and fold into the cake mixture using a large metal spoon. Scrape into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake approx 1 hour until top springs back. I also insert a thin metal skewer into the centre of the cake - if it comes out clean, the cake is cooked! Turn cake out onto a wire cooling rack and invert so that it's the right way up.

For the glaze (best poured on while the cake is still warm/hot as it sets better): combine 2 cups confectioners (icing) sugar in a small bowl with 3 tbsps fresh lemon juice and stir until smooth. Pour over cake and, with a knife, gently smooth over the top...a little dripping down the sides looks beautiful too!

Leave until completely cold, transfer to a plate and EAT!! It keeps  really well for 3/4 days in an airtight tin or container.

Have a wonderful Monday! xx

Easter Week Creations...

Fresh Raspberry Shortcakes....delivered this morning & two were ordered before I left the shop! Looked so pretty...

I use mascarpone instead of cream inside...it holds it's shape better and keeps a little longer too...I'll be making these again in a month or so, when English strawberries arrive at the market...

Peach & Apricot Shortbread...buttery polenta shortbread top and bottom, sandwiched with fresh ripe peaches and tart apricot preserves...

Lemon Curd Layer Cake....I have a real weakness for anything lemon...so  I make sure there is lots of zest in the sponge and juice in the frosting so it's really sparkly & zingy in your mouth...

Malted Coffee Cake....in the UK, coffee cake means that it's coffee flavoured! I know my friend Nancy will be curling her lip at that...as she doesn't like it at all - so apologies to you sweetie & I hope you enjoy some of the other treats in this post instead!! I use malted milk powder in the sponge, and real espresso...but it's quite a subtle coffee rather than a caffeine smack in the mouth!

And with the Malteser decoration, it looks so yummy doesn't it?

Monday is ANZAC Day....more on my Mozart's Girl blog later in the weekend about that. But the traditional biscuits/cookies to commemorate the day are called....Anzacs! They are actually incredibly popular all year round at The Coffee Tree...so I make plenty...

oaty, coconutty, syrupy & crunchy. I'm giving you the recipe in case you want to make some...they keep really well in an airtight tin. Apologies for the metric measurements...

Anzacs (makes 16)

Preheat oven to 180c/375f

Line a large baking sheet with non-stick parchment

85g oats
85g coconut
100g plain flour
100g sugar
100g butter
1tbsp golden syrup/dark corn syrup
1tsp baking soda
2tbsp boiling water

Place oats, coconut, flour & sugar in a bowl and mix well. Melt butter in a small pan with the syrup and set aside. Dissolve soda in boiling water in a small cup. Add soda mixture to butter & syrup...it will foam up! Quickly add liquid to dry ingredients and mix well. Take small balls of the mixture (I find it easier to have wet hands for this) and place, spaced about an inch apart, on baking sheet. Flatten slightly with the heel of your hand & bake for 8-12 minutes, turning pan halfway through baking time. They will be dark golden brown when ready. Remove from baking sheet with a palette knife and cool on a wire rack - they will firm up as they cool down. Store in an airtight tin.

Enjoy - with love from me! xoxo