A Fabulous Fusion of Friends & Food...

How much more alliteration can I cram into one title??

Readers of my other blog will probably have spotted that one of my favourite London restaurants is The Providores. Paul & I have loved Peter Gordon's stylish, innovative, beautiful restaurant for many years now. We even had our wedding lunch there! One of my other favourite memories of the place is when we ate there together with 4 other friends for my birthday dinner about 8 years ago. Paul told the waiting staff that I was a chef & asked if Peter was cooking & if so, would it be possible to meet him? I was absolutely mortified! This was at about 8.45pm on a busy Saturday evening. Surely no chef on earth would welcome a stranger into his domain at such a time (I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't have!) Well, to my utter amazement and considerable pleasure, Mr Gordon was only too happy...he even invited me dowstairs to the kitchen, to be shown around! An incredibly generous & kind gesture. And knowing Peter a little now as I do, since he co-tutored the  Arvon food writing course I took last Summer, I realise that this generosity & warmth wasn't a one-off. The man has style!

He, together with Michael McGrath-his partner at The Providores- and 2 others, recently opened a new venture in Covent Garden, Kopapa.

Paul & I first visited a couple of weeks after opening, on Boxing Day for brunch. That's when the picture above was taken. Not a great day to test a restaurant...but we were in need of good coffee,a glass of prosecco, a plate of something tasty and full flavoured, and a pleasant space to relax.

We weren't disappointed on any of these counts. But I wanted to go back for lunch and the real Kopapa experience!

So last Wednesday, I met my good friend, Arvon compatriot & fellow blogger Hummus Boy for a late lunch in rainy, warm London. The restaurant is much lighter and more open than The Providores...more cafe-like, less intimate...with a swish dark green velvet curtain to shield diners from draughts at the door (very Salzburg!)  The Boy is a confirmed carnivore (read the fascinating recent post on his trip to Iceland a week or so ago!) so we decided on a selection from the tapas menu, to include his desired Parmesan & Bone Marrow on Toast with Chrain...and one main course:

a Tempura spicy dahl stuffed inari pocket on sugar snaps with caramelised coconut, plantain fritter, pickled green papaya & coriander (one thing about Peter Gordon's food is that the menu descriptions are novellas..and you need to be Mr Memory to recall them!) We both had work/driving to do later, so we each had a non-alcoholic Tamarillo Daiquiri to drink...

so gorgeous to look at, and sweet/sour/refreshing to the taste...it was easier to sip, as the seeds from the tamarillo caught in the straw!

We started with some stunning, chargrilled flatbreads and chunky, smoky aubergine babaganoush - something I could eat all day. I'll leave The Boy to describe the meat and fish elements of the meal...standouts for me included the plate of cassava chips with avocado, sriricha chili sauce (a thin, hot thai condiment) and creme fraiche (reading the Boy's blogpost of the same lunch I've noted with embarrassment that I hogged this plate to myself and he didn't even get one to try....

can you blame me?) The cassava was like a sturdy parsnip..sweet & mealy on the inside and crisp on the outside...the little prickles of heat from the chili, cooled down by the avocado and creme fraiche were perfect.
I also loved the char-grilled aubergine with tamarind caramel, pickled ginger and za'atar...

and wished again that we weren't sharing!! True to his nature, Peter (who wasn't cooking that day) had asked his chefs to send us up some complimentary dishes too...in the end, what had started as a chance for the two of us to meet up and chat about food, writing and life became a massive foodfest...we even had to push two tables together to hold all the plates! The day was made even more special when another mutual and very welcome friend joined us for coffee. Unfortunately, he'd already eaten! But we persuaded him to help us clear the table all the same!

So, Kopapa...not so much of a restaurant in feel or look as The Provs...perfect for the all-day dining approach. The food is light, bright & perfectly balanced...also priced incredibly reasonably for this standard of cooking. I loved it - I may be a little biased, but I still loved it. It's my kind of food, and I can think of no better place to while away a few hours in Covent Garden. I'm planning my next visit already!

Kopapa - 8.5/10

Monday Bakes...

After a lovely weekend of eating and exploring in London, it was good to get back into the warm fug of the kitchen this morning and start creating. I've just got back from my second bake of the day...16 trays of Double Chocolate & Walnut Brownies, Apricot & Ginger Flapjacks, Rocky Road...so it feels good to have those made and stacked for delivery and now I can relax a bit with a cup of tea!

Early this morning was considerably less frantic. The Coffee Tree's order was one of my favourites because they're easy to make but taste and smell so good! Raspberry Jam Doughnut Muffins....mmm!

Vanilla-speckled muffins with a ruby red raspberry jam centre. Sounds good enough?

Well, I'm sure they would be...but the finishing touch comes when they are removed from the oven but still hot...

while the cakes are still in the tin, I brush them twice with hot melted butter and the pop them out and dip the tops in sparkling white sugar crystals before leaving on a wire rack to cool slightly.

It's this process that lifts them from the good to the sublime..
They looked lovely and were greeted with a big 'oohh' when I got to the coffeeshop which is just what I like to hear!

I hope you're enjoying your Monday. Welcome to the week xo

Just words..

Good morning and welcome to Saturday! I'm in London this morning, where it's grey, overcast...but thankfully dry and even warm by recent standards (about 10c) which makes such a difference...the birds sing and everything is a little less....Winter! That's the only word!

I have no pictures for today's post. Because I left for the weekend yesterday afternoon, I made my Coffee Tree delivery for today then...and wouldn't you know it, the battery went on my camera. SO annoying because I think pictures are a necessity. BUT I didn't want to not tell you what I baked, so here I am and hope you will forgive me...we are taking lots of interesting photos today to make up for it!

Firstly, I had a special request to make more of the Mini Victoria Sponges from earlier in the week. They sold so well and everyone who tried one loved it...so I made another 10 of those (and you all know what they looked like anyway!)

Then, I made a tray of Double Mango Cake. This is a beautiful, sunny coloured dessert...it also contained ginger, cinnamon and a little allspice. I called it 'double mango' because it was made with fresh and dried fruit. Earlier this week, a very thoughtful friend gave me a present from his recent trip to Thailand of some wonderful, soft & fragrant dried mango. While we could eat our way through the whole box quite easily, I thought it would be interesting to add some to this cake and see how it turned out. It looked and smelled good...very good....so I'll await the feedback on Monday!

Lastly, I made a big, tall, Caramel Cake. Two layers of sponge (I used organic dark muscovado sugar to give a butterscotch-y flavour and extra softness to it...) filled and topped with vanilla buttercream frosting. I also made some burnt caramel sauce which I cooled and spread on the bottom layer before the frosting, and then drizzled over the top of the cake to finish with a Jackson Pollock-esque flourish!

I so wish you could see it - but I hope that you can close your eyes and imagine. I'd like to cut you a slice right now. Maybe one day?!

Have a wonderful Saturday....xo

Giveaway Congratulations & Almond Heaven...

This was the scene this morning as I placed all the names in competition for the Giveaway into my favourite coffee mug...I felt a little nervous, strangely...I so appreciate all your comments and the visitors to my blog, and I wanted everyone to win! But there could only be one, in the end - and it's one of my new 'commenters'...I'll let the picture speak for itself & just say WELL DONE to...

Nellie! I think you're in the US...but if you send me your address to: theblueangelbakery (at) hotmail (dot) co (dot) uk (of course, you need to put the @ & . symbols in there - I haven't to avoid spam mail!) then I will package up your goodies and send them to you, with my love...

I added this cute & colourful measuring spoon set to the gifts, as an added treat - I so hope you like everything & look forward to your receiving it and letting me know what you think!

So, to today's delivery...

Strawberry & Lemon Bakewell Tart. I love Bakewell Tart - because I adore anything almondy. For those who aren't familiar with it, it's a traditional British pudding. The usual recipe is for shortcrust pastry, spread with raspberry jam and topped with an almond frangipane sponge and flaked almonds. It's often served after a meal, hot with custard - or cold in fingers for tea. My version has a richer shortbread base, and this one had strawberry preserves and lemon curd under the almond layer. It just makes it a bit....MORE! And you've probably gleaned from my posts by now that if there's one thing I love it's abundance! Too much of a good thing is great in my opinion!

It was quite soft & gooey in the centre with a lovely short, crisp, buttery base and plenty of tart lemon curd oozing gently together with sweet strawberry pieces. GORGEOUS!

I can hardly believe that the weekend's here already! I look forward to hearing from Nellie soon...but thanks to everyone for reading, commenting and enjoying my blog.

Have a wonderful rest of the day xo

Carrot Cake & rejigging recipes...

Firstly, I'm sorry for the lack of post yesterday...January can be a tough month sometimes! Bills come in from Christmas, people decide to cut down, go on diets, be frugal. It's part of the warp & weft of life...and means that the coffee shop didn't need anything yesterday. C'est la vie.

Back to normal today...and here is the Carrot, Sunflower & Orange Cake that I just delivered. It was made with wholewheat flour, sunflower seeds, fresh orange zest, organic carrots...

the frosting is cream cheese, sprinkled with cinnamon. I love this cake. It's in my book...I've been making variations on it for years, and it never ever fails.
So far so good! The other part of the delivery was a little more complicated..

Cafe Latte Whoopie Pies. The whoopie pie is a fairly new phenomenon in the UK. Some people say that they will overtake the cupcake in popularity - I think not! The British are a cautious people...is it a biscuit, is it a cake? Something that mixes the two is not quite trusted...is it a cookie that went wrong? Should it be soft like that? These are some of the questions I'm asked whenever I make them - so you see the problem. But, following on from my last post, they make a nice individual cake. They look and taste good and are relatively easy & quick to bake. So I keep trying!
I usually take recipes for Whoopies from an American book I have, figuring that as they were invented in the US, this is the best place to find instruction on baking them. However, this morning I decided to try a recipe from a newcomer on the British baking scene. After 7 years of just making cakes & desserts, I can look at a recipe and tell immediately whether it's right or not. This one was not. There wasn't nearly enough flour for the amount of liquid ingredients listed, some of the equipment called for was superfluous and unnecessarily complicated. It made me cross!
I firmly believe that baking- and cooking in general - is not rocket science. Anyone can do it, with a little patience, instruction and a good recipe. I have the luxury of knowing a lot about the subject, so I could rescue these cakes and they turned out fine...but I couldn't help thinking of those without much confidence, who pick what they think will be an easy recipe and it doesn't turn out well. They will blame themselves and be loathe to try again, wasting time and ingredients. A good recipe should explain clearly, and the quantities & method should be tested, tested and tested again. It must work, perfectly, every time!

Ok, rant over! These turned out well in the end...smelt & tasted good...I think they look lovely too.

Friday tomorrow....and those Giveaway results. If you didn't post a comment on Saturday but would still like to be entered in the draw, then I'll take any new names today and add those to the entrants too. There is a little extra food related surprise to add to the package I'll be sending out - all will be revealed with the name of the lucky winner tomorrow!

Have a wonderful day, thanks for reading...I'll see you in the morning! xo

Everyone's an individual...

and I find that individual - or mini - cakes are what sell best at the coffee shop. Scones, muffins, slices, brownies, squares...something that doesn't have to be cut in front of you, but feels like it was made just for your plate, to accompany your cup of tea...

So today, I made the ultimate in single serving sized cakes...

mini Victoria Sponges...ooh, I was so proud of these! Don't they look cute?

here's a close up. I made the vanilla butter sponge cake as a sheet and cut out the rounds with a biscuit cutter...then sandwiched them with home made raspberry jam and cream cheese vanilla frosting before dusting them with a little icing sugar.
The beautiful paper cups they rest in are from a lovely, bright & pretty store in Marylebone, Central London, called Totally Swedish. They have a wonderful, though expensive, range of beautiful baking cups that I can't resist even though they're actually too big for the tins I have! These are printed with violets.....

and these with an array of coloured flowers on a black ground...gorgeous and they make good holders for these cakes, I think!

So, there you have it...a little Victoria Sponge, made just for YOU!!

I'm having a different kind of day tomorrow - so looking forward to it and I'll let you know all about it soon. There will be a baking post though, of course....

Thanks so much for reading, I really hope you're enjoying the Year of Blue Angel Baking so far....

xo

One of those nights...

Last night, I went to bed at a reasonable hour. My body was tired, but my brain was still buzzing....I'm writing a lot at the moment and I find it so hard to switch off the flow of ideas and words. As the church clock struck midnight, I gave up & came downstairs for a hot cup of Earl Grey tea. Still no luck. So I decided to be productive and bake The Coffee Tree's morning order while I waited!

It was time well spent, as it meant that I could do something a little more involved than the recipe I'd originally planned, as there was plenty of time for it to cool and settle down (I find that everything except muffins, scones & other breakfast breads needs a 'settling' period!)

Even at 2.30am, this White Coconut Cake with Fresh Lime Coconut Cream Frosting smelt very good....it's a close textured and very (hated word) moist cake that keeps well as long as it's well wrapped or stored in an airtight tin.

I kept a small slice back (they only request 9 portions of everything - I gave them 11, so I figured it was ok!) and have just eaten it after a long, cold, blustery walk across the hills with Alice...it was, though I say so myself, totally delicious!
But tonight, I think I'll sleep instead and save the baking for the morning! I was thankful to my sweet Twitter friend, Rosinda, for keeping me company last night while I waited for the cake to cook...it can feel very lonely & dark in the wee small hours, but I had her cheerful words for company & knowing she was out there really helped!

Wishing you a wonderful Monday....and a very good and restful night's sleep! xo