I've got the measure of you

Quick post today peeps as I haven't had time to bake yet.  Enjoyed a great day at the Irish Food Bloggers event in Bord Bia organised in conjunction with Donal Skehan.  Will write some more about that next week.  Will also post at least one yummy recipe over the weekend so keep your peepers peeled.

For now I am going to share some knowledge that I forgot I had.  I often stumble upon some yummy recipes and think, oooo I can't wait to make that, and then when I read through the recipe I see it is American and I get a bit confused about the conversion of cups to grams or ounces.  A couple of years ago I was flicking through my latest copy of Ideal Home magazine and they had conveniently printed a conversion table for this situation.  I snipped it out and stuck it into the back of my pretty little recipe journal and then forgot all about it until the other night when I was having a little looksie in said journal.  So here it is, which means you have no excuse now if you want to bake a stateside recipe. Print this post if you like and stick it somewhere so that you always have it to hand when you just HAVE to bake that chocolate cake or peach cobbler. Enjoy.

 AMERICAN                                  IMPERIAL                           METRIC


1 cup flour                                       5oz                                       150g

1 cup caster and granulated sugar     8oz                                       225g

1 cup brown sugar                           6oz                                       175g

1 cup butter/margarine/lard              8oz                                        225g

1 cup sultanas/raisins                        7oz                                        200g

1 cup currants                                   5oz                                        150g

1 cup ground almonds                      4oz                                        110g

1 cup golden syrup                           12oz                                      350g

1 cup uncooked rice                         7oz                                        200g

1 cup grated cheese                          4oz                                        110g

1 stick butter                                     4oz                                       110g

Sorry, had issues inserting a table.  Will try again or take a pic of the original to insert instead.  The info is all here though so that's more important than aesthetics now isn't it.

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary

I decided to finally plant some herbs this summer having procrastonated for the past 4 years since having the garden landscaped.  I had to pay a visit to my local garden centre at the weekend to pick up some terracotta pots for my popover post so, decided to kill two birds with one stone and pick up some herb seeds while there.  I started some mint plants last year which grew really well but following a weekend stay in my brother in laws house following a Mojito emergency the poor things were in a pretty sorry state.  But, I have managed to revive them with weekly doses of some tar like tea.  I'm hoping for some similar success with this new batch of seeds so have my fingers well and truly crossed.

I purchased a starter pack that contained 12 different varieties as follows:
Oregano
Parsley Envy
Rocket
Bush Basil
Thyme
Lovage
Chives
Lemon Coriander
Sage
Rosemary
Coriander
Mint

I also bought another pack of Basil (I kinda love Basil) and some Dill.

I am looking forward to some nice breads later in the summer with various herb flavours, and they will also make a nice addition to salads, meats and fish.  Now all I have to do is to remember to water them!

I pity the fool!

I remember pots of rhubarb stewing on the hob at home for my dad when I was growing up.  I even remember my dad growing some in our back garden (if you saw the size of our garden you would be impressed by this achievement) for a few years.  But I never actually tasted it back then.  My dad would have a bowl of it swimming in custard but something about it just never really appealed to.  I spotted some bunches of rhubarb on Sunday while I was buying some fruit and knowing that Mr Boo enjoys all things fruit related I picked up a bunch to try.

I started with a basic rhubarb fool recipe and then made a couple of additions and the result was pretty good if you ask me.  You didn't?  Well, I'm telling yiz anyway so whist.  The fool recipe I used required double cream to be whipped but both himself and myself were in agreement (for once) that this was a little too heavy so I am going to use single cream for the recipe below. 

Rhubarb Fool with Custard Crunch
(Serves 4)

5 or 6 Stalks of Rhubarb
300g Caster Sugar
500g Tub of Single Whipped Cream
150g Ginger Nut Biscuits
500g Tub of Custard

1.  Preheat the oven to 190°C/374°F/Gas 5.
2.  Roughly chop the rhubarb and put into an ovenproof dish.
3.  Scatter the sugar over the rhubarb and cover the dish with foil (you do not need to add any water to this mix).

4.  Place the rhubarb and sugar into the preheated oven for between 45-60 mins until the rhubarb is nice and soft.
5.  Once the rhubarb is cooked remove the dish from the oven and strain the resulting syrup from the dish into a jug.  Set the syrup aside to cool but do not refrigerate it as it may crystallise and loose it's colour.

6.  Puree the rhubarb until smooth and set aside to cool.

7.  Place the ginger nut biscuits into a zip lock bag and pound with a rolling pin to crush.

8.  Once the rhubarb and the syrup have cooled place the whipped cream into a bowl.
9.  Add the rhubarb and half of the syrup (retain the other half for serving if people require more) to the cream and gently fold through to give a raspberry ripple effect, don't combine completely.
10. In a sundae glass or similar serving dish place a good dollop of custard into the bottom.
11. Place a layer of the crushed ginger nut biscuits on top of the custard.
12. Place a layer of rhubarb fool on top of the biscuits followed by another layer of biscuits.
13. Continue this pattern until the glass is full.
14. Garnish with a small sprinkling of biscuits and a drizzle of the reserved syrup.

This would make an ideal summer dessert for dinner or even Sunday lunch.  The prep work can be done in advance and assembly prior to serving to save time.

If you yield a very large amount of syrup from this recipe you could try adding some to some Champagne or Prosecco for a nice summer cocktail.

Bord Bia Pork Pack

I have been invited to attend a food blogger event by Donal Skehan of the Good Mood Food Blog  this coming Thursday, and as a result Klara from Bord Bia sent me an Irish pork pack in advance of the event.  I say a pork pack, it was a loin of pork to be precise.  As there are only the two of us in the house I knew we would not get through the beast in one sitting so decided to spread it out over two meals.  On friday night Mr Boo carved off two steaks and trimmed them of any excess fat.  They were cooked as follows:

Lemon, Thyme and Garlic Pork Steaks

1 handful of thyme, picked
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 clove of garlic
zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp olive oil
2 pork steaks or chops

(the marinade recipe will stretch to 4 cuts of meat)

1.  Pound the thyme in a pestle and mortar with 1tsp of salt.
2.  When the thyme is pulped add the garlic and 1tsp of black pepper and pound again.
3.  Stir in the lemon zest, juice and olive oil.
4.  Smear the mixture over the meat and leave to marinade for at least 10 minutes or longer if you have time.
5.  Heat a pan to a very high heat and fry on both sides for 4 minutes each.  They should be golden and nicely charred but be careful not to burn them.
6.  Remove from the heat and rest for 4 minutes.

I served these with Donal Skehan's Zingy Purple Potato Salad (obviously I didn't have purple potatoes) and some rocket.

Last night the remaining pork was roasted, and two very hung over people received a welcome invitation to come and help us eat it.  The recipe is as follows:

Before this we all got stuck into some popovers from my previous blog post

Rosemary, Thyme and Garlic Roast Loin of Pork

2 tbsp of Salt and some fresh black pepper
3 large cloves garlic, sliced finely
8 stalks rosemary, stripped
1 handful thyme, picked
4tbsp Olive oil
Pork loin

1.  Place the salt, pepper, garlic, rosemary, thyme and olive oil in a bowl and stir until well mixed.
2.  With a sharp knife pierce the pork all over.
3.  Pour the oil and herb mixture onto the pork and rub all over, pushing the herbs and garlic into the pierced holes.
4.  Heat some oil in a pan and brown the meat all over on a medium heat to seal.
5.  Place in a roasting dish and roast fat side down for 30 mins.
6.  Turn the meat and roast for another 20-30 mins until cooked through.
7.  Remove from the oven, cover loosely with foil and allow to rest for 10 mins before serving.

I served this with a creamy potato gratin and some roasted carrots. Yum.

I have no pictures of this as my camera had died, sorry.

BLT Prime Popovers

On our last trip to New York, in August of last year, myself and Mr Boo had a very indulgent time altogether.  We were there alone so had no one but ourselves to please and could follow our own schedule and abandon it at will if the fancy took us.  We made reservations for dinner for each night of our stay at least a month in advance of travelling and had decided on suitable eateries for lunch.  We planned our days activities around our luncheon venue so as to find ourselves in the vicinity just about the time our tummies would start to rumble and mapped out bars to stop at on our travels should an unmerciful thirst take hold (we were thirsty enough to mark approx 80% of them off our list).

The days flowed by in a swirl of champagne bars, scrummilicious restaurants, cocktails sipped on hotel rooftops and copious amounts of cupcakes and ice cream.  The day the evil red wine struck was no different.  We started off with a Frappucino in Starbucks as we strolled from our hotel to Grand Central Station.  From there we took the subway to Canal Street where we disembarked and climbed the stations steps to emerge again into the glorious sun.  We strolled around China town to soak up the wonderful atmosphere and the hustle and bustle of all of the 'designer' shop fronts.  A little turn off and we were on Mulberry Street and transported to the heart of Little Italy, restaurant after restaurant bustling with tables full of families settling down for lunch.  A couple of blocks in we stopped at a restaurant with a bakery for some mouth-watering cannolis and on we travelled happily munching our sweet delights.

Before turning from Mulberry Street to East Houston we always like to duck into The Market NYC and this time was no different.  As well as picking up some quirky pieces made by emerging fashion designers it also offered some welcome respite from the stifling midday heat.  With my new jewellery in hand we continued on our way, turning onto East Houston and walking the few blocks to Katz's deli (the venue of the famous "I'll have what she's having" scene from When Harry Met Sally).  We took our tickets at the door and then entered the mayhem of meat cutters shouting, waiters shouting, bus boys shouting, customers shouting, there always seems to be a lot of shouting in here.  We joined a queue and when we reached the counter the giant behind promptly carved some slices of corned beef for us to sample before ordering.  While he was making up our order he made a very crude comment to Mr Boo that made the crowd behind us howl with laughter and me blush uncontrollably.  Good job I am not easily offended, but that's New York baby, and it is best to just roll along with it.  Once suitably stuffed we headed out in search of liquid refreshment.  An afternoon of bar hopping and shopping led us back to our hotel to shower off the heat of the day and fabulise ourselves for the evening.

A quick cab ride brought us to our first destination of the evening, the Rose Bar in the Gramercy Park Hotel, for a couple more mojitos, and then we ventured around the corner to BLT Prime.  Once seated we ordered a bottle of bubbles and a steak each (you don't visit BLT Prime and not order steak).  Our champagne was poured and popovers were brought to the table to tide us over whilst the cow was being wrangled out back.  I had never had a popover before and OMFG they were scrumptiously, mouth-wateringly I could happily cancel my order and just eat these all night, delicious.  Smothered in butter and sprinkled with some sea salt we both devoured them and expressed our longing for some more.  Our steaks were soon delivered to the table and the Somellier promptly followed with the red wine we had ordered to accompany our meat course.  It was a beautiful red.  Velvety smooth, full berry flavuors that went down very easily, oh how easily it was guzzled.

The most amazing steak of my life and one glass of red wine later and I was finished.  No good to anyone.  A giggling, bleary-eyed vision in fuchsia, sitting like a mischievous child on a bold step.  I giggled my way through dessert and spoke a little too loudly about the NBA player and his squeeze at the next table that had never heard of garlic and asked for an explanation from their very patient waiter (seriously, they were only short of asking him to explain what water is).  We finished our dessert and bubbles and Mr Boo very wisely decided it was time to get me home to bed.  I insisted I was fine as I didn't want to cut short a night of our holiday, but after trying and failing to pose outside for a photo with the beautifully lit Chrysler building in the background I conceded it was indeed time for bed.

Sleep came very easily to me that night once Mr Boo managed to steer me to the bed and stopped me from giggling uncontrollably.  Alas, it was not to last.  At approximately 4am I found myself in the dark and kneeling on the floor in front of the mini bar in nothing but my undies trying to decipher which bottle was water and which was JD, not my finest moment I admit.  15 minutes later and I had it sussed and retrieved the 2 teeny weenie bottles of aqua from amongst the melee of alcoholic beverages.  A further half an hour sprawled across the vanity in the bathroom praying for death and I managed to crawl back to bed only to be woken the next morning by a disgustingly chirpy (and highly amused) Mr Boo, rearing to go and completely unsympathetic to my plight.  A while later a very delicate me emerged into the baking heat, sunglasses on, and vowing never to drink again.  Two hours later having consumed litres of water and cranberry juice and still praying for death I caved and asked the very nice barman in Cipriani in Grand Central Station to make me a Bellini.  It was akin to the elixir of life and instantly stopped the world from swaying so nauseatingly.  Our holiday regained it's momentum and I have since declined all offers of el Diablo's nectar and will continue to do so.

I learnt some very valuable lessons on that trip:
1)  I can drink bubbles and mojitos in vast quantities without any adverse affects.
2)  Red wine is the work of the devil and is not my friend.  Bold, bold vino rouge. Bold.
3)  The hair of the dog really is much better than rehydrating with water and trumps alka seltzer with ease.
4)  Red wine is evil and is not to be consumed by me EVER again.
5)  BLT Prime makes the best steak I have ever tasted.
6)  Red wine is the devils nectar.
7)  I love popovers.

The following recipe is American and so is measured in cups and not grams/ounces.

BLT Prime Popovers
(Makes 6 but recipe can be doubled to yield 12)

For this recipe you will need a popover tin, something I haven't managed to acquire in Ireland even though I have tried kitchen supply stores in Dublin, stalked the kitchen aisle of my local TK Maxx every weekend in the hope they might magically appear and googled to no avail.  They are available on Amazon but I bypassed that option and visited my local garden centre and purchased 6 small glazed terracotta pots and saucers. *

2 cups of Milk, warmed
4 Eggs
2 cups of Flour
2tsp Salt
1 cup of grated Gruyere or Cheddar Cheese

1.  Place the popover pan or terracotta pots into the oven and preheat to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4 (if using terracotta pots line with greaseproof paper.  Pictures posted below).
2.  Gently warm the milk over a low heat and set aside.
3.  Whisk the eggs until frothy and slowly whisk in the milk (do this slowly so as not to cook the eggs).
4.  Sift in the flour and the salt and combine until mostly smooth.
5.  Once the mixture is combined, remove the popover pan from the oven and brush each pan with a little oil.  If using terracotta pots brush the greaseproof paper with a little oil.
6.   While the batter is still warm transfer to a jug and pour into the popover pan/terracotta pots until 3/4 full.

7.  Sprinkle approx 2 tablespoons of cheese on top of each popover and place in the oven for 50 mins, rotating the pan a half turn after the 1st 15 mins.

6.  After 50 mins remove from the oven, if a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean they are cooked.  If not return to the oven for a further 5 minutes.
7.  Allow to cool for a few minutes, then serve immediately with some butter and freshly ground sea salt.

To serve popovers for breakfast leave the cheese out and serve with butter and jam.

*As with all new kitchen utensils wash terracotta pots in warm soapy water before using to ensure all garden centre dwellers have been washed away.  Line with greaseproof paper as the batter will stick to the sides when baking.

To line terracota pots with greaseproof paper:

Cut a square of greaseproof paper

Fold the square in half

Then in half again to form a smaller square

Now fold in hald diagonally to make a triangle

Place point side down into one of the pots and mark a point approximately 1" above the rim

Cut off any excess above this point

Fold in half again to make a skinny triangle

(these fold lines will make it easier to place into the pots)

Open out the paper and stuff it into the pot, use the fold lines to flatten it inside the pot

Turn the top down over the edge of the pot

Brush some oil on the greaseproof paper before pouring in the batter.

Peanut Butter Cups (GF)

Probably my favourite place in the world (aside from home) is New York.  I have been every year since 2004 and think were I confined to one holiday in a year that it would be my destination of choice everytime.  I don't think I could sum up it's attraction in one word or even 20 for that matter, it just has a hold over me that draws me back time and time again. 

The excitement at the moment the shiny black limo emerges from the tunnel from New Jersey to Manhattan has yet to fade.  Stepping from the car to the pavement and taking that first glimpse of the sky high buildings all around, and being greeted by name by the hotels concierge, as though you are an old friend returned, fills me with a great sense of belonging to a city so far from home.  The city just intoxicates me.  Invades every ounce of my being and assaults each of my senses.  From the blinding lights of Times Square, the smell of pretzels wafting from the carts of street vendors, the noise of a million (well maybe not a million but close) honking horns emanating from yellow cabs, the heat rising from street vents above the subway and the (imagined) taste of delicious confections lined up in bakery windows as I pass by (we usually save sampling the wares for Billy's Bakery in Chelsea). 

I love to walk the streets of New York hand in hand with my gorgeous man, pounding the concrete of familiar block after block and spotting new little gems that have evaded our sight on past visits.  I have been in both the depths of winter, -15°C, and the height of summer, 28°C, but I cannot say which I prefer as both have their merits.  I love the ritual of layering up in winter before venturing out to snowy sidewalks, entering a bar or restaurant for some much needed heat rosy cheeked, stripping off the 50 million layers and savouring the warmth of the room and the people all around.  Equally, I love the freedom of waking in the morning during summer and slipping on a delicate flowing summer dress before venturing out into the stifling heat (serioulsy, not a breath to be had) and walking the streets frappucino in hand or braving the oven like temperatures (and rather unsavoury smell) of the subway.  The antidote to such extreme temperatures, an ice cold mojito guzzled on a roof top bar enjoying the cities skyline from a birds eye view.

Each visit is planned with much anticipation at the prospect of visiting favourite haunts yet again and also trying new eateries and bars and seeing the city from a slightly different angle.  One favourite haunt that is never snubbed in favour of a new and shiny upgrade is the Hershey store in Times Square.  Now, I'm not the biggest fan of American chocolate.  I know, I know, I'm sorry to any stateside readers, but it is not to my liking.  It is a bit on the sweet side and doesn't possess that deliciously rich creamy luxury of it's European counterparts.  I am however, rather partial to a box of Milk Duds and a mountain or 3 of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.  I know these are available in Ireland now but I still can't step foot back on the plane without at least a months stash safely stowed in my suitcase.  Between visits to tide me over sometimes, there is nothing else for it other than to whip up a batch with my very own hands.  For the know how keep on reading.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

for the base:

50g Soft Brown Sugar
200g Icing Sugar
50g Soft Butter
200g Smooth Peanut Butter

for the topping:

200g Milk Chocolate (chopped)
100g Dark Chocolate (chopped)

also required 45-50 paper petit-four cases (teeny tiny cup cake cases in other words)

1.  In a bowl, mix together the brown sugar, icing sugar, butter and peanut butter using an electric whisk until the mixture is the consistency of a sandy paste.

sorry, forgot to take a picture of this mixed together

2.  Using clean hands place a teaspoon size disc of the paste into the bottom of the petit-four cases (I used a melon baller and a teaspoon to do this instead.  You should have enough mixture to fill between 45 and 50 cases).  Press the mixture down to form a smooth layer in the bottom of the case and place the cases into the indentations of a mini muffin tin (if you don't have a mini muffin tin place the cases onto a flat baking sheet).

3.  Melt both chocolates in a heat proof bowl over a pot of gently simmering water (do not allow the bottom of the bowl to touch the water).

4.  Stir the melted chocolate together to combine and set aside to allow to cool slightly.
5.  Spoon 1 teaspoon of the chocolate mixture into the petit-four cases covering the sandy base.

6.  Place in the fridge to set for 30 minutes before devouring.

Cough Cough (I know, STILL)

I might have mentioned a time or 20 that I have had a bad cough the last couple of weeks.  Well, 15 days on and it still hasn't completely left me.  It would seem it has grown rather fond of me and is reluctant to end our relationship just yet.  I, on the other hand, have had more than enough and Mr Cough and all your little sniffly nose, achy ear, sore head chums, it is OVER.  I'm kicking you to the kerb.  Dumping you. Have you got the picture? 

In an attempt to kill off any last lingering carresses on your part I am sending in the big guns.  Vitamins and minerals shall be coarsing through my system this week, appetite or no appetite, through the medium of large steaming bowls of homemade vegetable soup.  Now it would be rude to eat a big bowl of scrummilicious soup without a little soakage, as it were, to compliment it.  For this reason I have decided the only thing up to this job has got to be a couple of deliciously fresh slices of homemade walnut bread.

*Please read on after the recipe for some notes and observations I made.  The recipe is adapted from a Jamie Oliver one and it is obvious he has minions to run around after him cleaning up his mess, so for a cleaner baking experience and a saner you I have made some amendments after the original recipe.

Walnut Bread

500g Wholemeal Flour
500g Strong White Flour
625ml Tepid Water
30g Fresh Yeast or 3 x 7g Sachets Dried Yeast
2tbsp Sugar
2 level tsp Sea Salt
455g Walnuts Peeled (crush half until coarse and the remaining half to a fine powder)
115g Butter (at room temperature)

1.  Pile both types of flour on to a clean surface and make a large well in the centre.  Pour half of the water into the well, then add your yeast, sugar and salt and stir well with a fork.
2.  Slowly, but carefully, bring in the flour from the inside of the well (be careful not to break the walls of the well so as not to allow the water to escape).
3.  Continue to incorporate the flour into the centre until you get a stodgy, porridgey consistency.
4.  Add the remaining water and continue to mix until it is stodgy again, be a little more aggressive with it at this stage incorporating all of the flour, making the mixture less sticky.
5.  Add in the walnuts and butter at this stage and mix well to incorporate.
6.  Flour your hands and pat and push the dough together (if more water is needed at this time add a little to adjust)
7.  Knead the dough for 4-5 minutes until you have a silky, elastic dough.
8.  Flour the top of the dough, place it in a bowl, cover in cling film and allow it to prove for half an hour until it has doubled in size (ideally allow it to prove in a warm, moist, draught free place).
9.  Once the dough has doubled in size knock the air out of it by giving it a bit of a bashing.  At this stage shape it as required be it into a round, a loaf or smaller individual servings.  Leave it to prove a second time for 30 minutes.
10. While the bread is proving for the second time flour a baking sheet and preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4.
11. Once the dough has doubled in size dust the top with some flour and gently transfer to the prepared baking sheet.  Place in the preheated oven and bake for approx 30 mins until lightly golden (to check that it is cooked tap the bottom, if it sounds hollow it is cooked, if it doesn't pop it back in the oven for a further 5 minutes and check again).
12. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool for 30 mins before getting stuck in.

*Above is the recipe and instructions that I followed, but I have to be honest, it was very messy and I got a bit stressed with flour and water going in all directions and then trying to incorporate the walnuts.  The next time I make this bread (and I will make it again because it is completely yum) I will probably do it as outlined below.*

1.  In a very large bowl (use the biggest bowl you have as there is a lot of flour) add both types of flour and the walnuts.  Give them a quick stir to mix them all together.
2.  Make a well in the centre and pour in half of the water.
3.  Add the yeast, sugar and salt to the water and give a little mix to combine.
4.  Slowly start to bring in flour from the inside of the well until you get a stodgy, porridgey consistency.
5.  Make another little well and add the remaining water and continue to bring the remaining dry mix in until you again reach a stodgy, porridgey consistency.
6.  Cut the butter into rough 1cm cubes and dot all over the mixture and then mix thoroughly to incorporate throughout the mixture (make sure your butter is quite soft to make this easier, mine had been out of the fridge for over an hour.  Also I mixed everything by hand so that I could really attack it and give it a good mix).
7.  Place the mixture on to a clean work surface and knead for 4-5 minutes until you have a silky, elastic dough.
8.  Flour the top of the dough, place it in a bowl, cover in cling film and allow it to prove for half an hour until it has doubled in size (ideally allow it to prove in a warm, moist, draught free place.  I popped mine into the hot press).
9. Once the dough has doubled in size knock the air out of it by giving it a bit of a bashing. At this stage shape it as required, be it into a round, a loaf or smaller individual servings and place onto a floured baking sheet. Leave it to prove a second time for 30 minutes. (this recipe yields a monster loaf so if it just for 1 or 2 people I would advise dividing in 2 before baking and freezing one loaf for later use)
10. While the bread is proving for the second time flour preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4.
11. Once the dough has doubled in size dust the top with some flour and place in the preheated oven and bake for approx 30 mins until lightly golden (to check that it is cooked tap the bottom, if it sounds hollow it is cooked, if it doesn't pop it back in the oven for a further 5 minutes and check again).
12. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool for 30 mins before getting stuck in.

Happy Birthday E (7)

A certain little someone I know is turning 7 tomorrow.  I decided to bake her a pretty little pink cake today to kick start celebrations for her birthday weekend.  She is a standard 7 year old who loves all things pretty, princess and pink so I decided to bake her a pink sponge cake with pink frosting and lashings of sparkles and prettiness.  All went well barring the colour of the sponge which remained decidedly un-pink really(after adding 6 drops of red colouring following the milk at stage 6 of the recipe I decided to call it quits and rely on pink frosting to provide a suitable princess themed cake).  It would seem sponge cake requires rather a lot more colouring than frosting and icing so next time I will lace it with the stuff.  It was a rather pretty little cake none the less and the sight of her little eyes lighting up when she saw it was approval enough for me.  Happy birthday E, have a fabulous princess day.

Madeira Cake with Pink Frosting

for the cake

175g/6oz Unsalted Butter (softened)
175g/6oz Sugar
3 Eggs
1tsp Vanilla Extract
225g/8oz Plain Flour
1tsp Baking Powder
2tbsp Milk

for the frosting

80g Butter (softened)
250g Icing Sugar
1-2drops Vanilla Extract
25ml Milk
approx 4 drops of Red Food Colouring (I used liquid colouring in this recipe)

1.  Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas 3.
2.  Line the bottom of an 8" round cake tin with grease proof paper and grease the sides with butter.
3.  Place the butter in a bowl and cream using a hand held electric whisk.
4.  Add the sugar and beat for a minute.
5.  Add the eggs individually while continuing to beat, and then add the vanilla.
6.  Fold in the sieved flour and baking powder, and then add the milk. (red food colouring was added to the mix at this stage but did not make a difference to the colour after 6 drops so was abandoned)
7.  Transfer the mixture into the prepared tin and place in the preheated oven.  Bake for 55-65 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
8.  Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
9.  While waiting for the cake to cool make the frosting.
10. Place the icing sugar and butter in a bowl and beat with a hand held electric whisk until well combined.
11. In a seperate bowl combine the milk and vanilla extract and then add to the butter mixture a couple of tablespoons at a time.
12. When all of the milk has been incorporated add in 4 drops of food colouring and then turn the whisk up to full speed and beat for at least 5 minutes until the frosting is light and fluffy.  (if you would like a deeper colour frosting add in more food colouring 1 drop at a time and incorporate fully before adding more)*
13. Once the cake has cooled spread the frosting all over using a spatula or palette knife and decorate to your liking.

* you can use any food colouring of your choice to adapt the cake to be suitable for a boy or an adult.  I have used liquid food colouring as it is what I had available to me but you could use paste, powder or gel colourants and adjust quantities as necessary.

A little pinktastic I know, but for a 7 yr old it was frosted perfection!

The night a superstar met my mam

I caught some snippets of Gerry Ryan's funeral this morning via rte.ie.  I was struck by the dignity of the service and the lack of pomp and ceremony that surrounded a man, who I for some reason had in my mind as one of arrogance and smugness.  I now realise I may have reached this assumption based on edited snippets of him on TV I had seen in my teens that coloured my judgement, meaning I never really took to the man.  On reflection, and having heard those close to him and who loved him speak of him in the past few days I was obviously only privy to the bravado and not the loving family man and friend.  However I digress, the point of this post arose when the revered Bono sang via some form of technological link up from New York.  Now maybe it is just me but I thought he over did it a bit, dragging the end of the song out with lots of oooh oooh oooohing in high notes and the like, but he is always a bit of an arse in my mind.  Hearing him sing however brought to mind a funny memory for me.  Where am I going with all of this you are probably saying to yourself, I shall tell you without further ado.

About 10 years ago now, on Christmas Eve, I was sitting at home with my sister.  My eldest sister may have been there too but I only remember there being the two of us in the sitting room.  So there we were in our new Christmas Eve jammies, Mr Boo and her husband (we were both still only courtin' at the time) had been sent off home to wrap our pressies and we were a buzz of excitement at the prospect of Santa's impending visit. 

The phone rang and my sis picked it up.  She always answered it, she's the chatty one and I'm the family mute you see.  On the other end was what seemed to be a manic woman speaking in a hushed whisper.  It was in fact our mam who was at a Christmas Eve party and had excused herself to the bathroom but was in fact in the bedroom making a sneaky phone call.  Friends of my parents were holding the party in question in a salubrious suite in a very nice Dublin hotel.  Whilst people were mingling at the bar or around the Christmas tree, mam and her friend took up residence in the adjoining bedroom to ring her girls to share with them some gossip that just wouldn't wait until she got home.  The following is a rough transcription of the conversation that followed: (I would like to apologise in advance for the bad language and just state that my mam wasn't really one for swearing except the occasional use of the F word)

Loud whisper, "Hello, hello.  Can you hear me?"
Sister, "Yes mam, what's wrong?"
Loud whisper, "I'm in the bedroom so I can't talk too loudly in case anyone hears me"
Sister, "But mam there's a party in the other room, who is gonna hear you?"
Loud whisper, "You can never be too careful with these things.  Are you both there, can you both hear me?"
Sister gestures me over, "Yes mam, we're both here, we can here you".
Me, "Hi mam, are you having a nice time?"
You see, had I not spoken she would have asked for confirmation I was there and that I could in fact hear her, so I thought I'd save her the trouble.
Loud whisper, "You'll never guess who's here?"
Holy sweet mother of Jesus, never play a guessing game with my sister, it could go on for all of eternity if you didn't interrupt her with the correct answer.  She is the type of person that if you start a conversation with "you won't believe what happened to me today", she will continue to interrupt you with various ridiculous scenarios at 5 second intervals.  That's when the guessing began.  Thankfully my mam hadn't time for this so she cut her off fairly quickly.
Loud whisper, "Bono, Bono is here, and the other fella, what's his name?"
In unison, "Bono, seriously?"
Loud whisper, "Yeah, Bono.  And the other fella."
Me, "The Edge?"
Loud Whisper, "Yeah, him."
In unison, "Wow, what are they like? Oh my God, I can't believe we're not there with you!"
Loud whisper, "Well your man Bono is a bit of a w***** really."
In unison, and in complete disbelief at the shocking language that has just left our mothers mouth, "MAM!"
Loud whisper, "What? He is, you wanna see the way he shook my hand, you'd get a better shake off the queen, and the size of him.  No, he's nothing but a w*****.  Thinks he's great he does, swanning around.  The other fella is alright."
Silence at our end at the revelation that our mam was spending Christmas Eve in the presence of half of U2 and that she was branding Bono with the W word.
Loud whisper, "Have to go, someone's coming." Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeppp

So there we were, two fine young things (in our minds anyway) sitting at home in our flannelette pyjamas, our mam out partying with rock stars.  We waited up for her and my dad to return home that night and she again confirmed the above and would not be swayed on her opinion of him.  My mam didn't tolerate nonsense in anybody, regardless of wallet size or public standing and it would seem Bono was no exception.  Rightly so in my opinion.  He might sing a nice tune, and he might have raised a few million here and there for charity but if you can't do a decent hand shake and lower yourself to share a few civil words with the mere mortals on Christmas Eve well then you just didn't cut the mustard with my mam and were regarded as nothing but a w*****.

I had the pleasure of meeting them a couple of years later and can confirm she was in fact correct about Mr Bono, but The Edge was completely charming and lovely and I have not since washed my left cheek *faints dramatically at the delicious memory*.

It doesn't matter if it's cock eyed, it's the taste that counts!

I love this ad



It for me encapsulates the essence of baking. Who cares if it doesn't always look like perfection personified? It is how it tastes that is truly important.  Sometimes it might not come away from the tin cleanly, someimes it might crack as it cools, sometimes it might fall apart as you slice it in half to ice.  So what, that is what icing and frosting were designed for.  Just lash on a generous amount to glue it all together and hide the war wounds and who is gonna know?

So, dust off your apron and get out your mixing bowl and just give it a go.  Go on, there's nothing to be afraid of, and you might even enjoy it.