(& about my Birthday trip to Lewes)

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Hello there everyone! I’ve been away from posting on the blog for sometime haven’t I…? Sorry (tell me you missed me) ^^.

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It’s because I haven’t had any exciting desserts to post about!

Since I gave birth, I’m feeling just plain flabby. I hate hate hate it (I can’t even face looking at the full-length mirror), & so I have been staying away from making & subsequently scoffing sugary desserts. Call me vain, sometimes vanity overrules appetite, even if it’s for my passion for cakes! Hope you understand…
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Wednesday two weeks ago was my birthday (32!), & so in that following weekend, we decided to drive to Lewes (a small town in SE England) to stay over at our friends L & W’s place as a special birthday treat. Loyal blog-readers would know that I tried & miserably failed to reach Lewes last year, but hurray! this time we managed to get there no problem, & in just over 2 hours!
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Our friends L & W has a beautiful daughter who has serious allergy to egg & nuts. If she were to accidentally eat any of these ingredients, it could be life threatening for her. It must be tough for the whole family when you ALWAYS have to check the ingredients list on the back of products, & to tell your toddler that some products are not for her to eat, when other kids can.

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I made the mistake of boasting to the family about my son’s wonderful strawberry toothpaste, that it is the only one my son likes. Their daughter wanted to try, & we were about to let her, when our friend spotted that the toothpaste has horse chestnut listed in its ingredients… It was a total shock, & then horror moment for me - that a toothpaste had nuts as an ingredient, & that I could have made their little girl very ill.

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It didn’t occur to me that a non-food product could also be dangerous for her. I was then told that even a small amount of nut-oil that happened to be hidden in the hand moisturizer that her mummy was using would swell up the little girl’s hands by contact.
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So it is no surprise that her house is a ‘egg & nut free haven’. And that we were treated to foods under that rule.

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Soon as we arrived, L made us beautiful lunch - & while we were eating it in their country-side garden, L had a chocolate cake baking in the oven. The delicious smell wafted & lingered in the air. Ahhh…, I love home-baking. Nothing like the excitement of straight-from-the-oven cake for dessert. But when L told me it’s Vegan, & that it uses vegetable oil & vinegar as replacements to butter & eggs, I felt a little wary & my excitement deflated. I felt deprived of “the real thing”. Butter & eggs gives cakes flavour, so replacing them didn’t sound at-all apetizing.

(The science: Mixture of vinegar & the bicarbonate of soda creates carbon dioxide gas & raises the cake as it tries to escape out. (you can inflate a balloon this way!) And as for the inclusion of vegetable oil: it is 100% fat in replacement of the fat from the butter that you would’ve used. Butter has atleast 80% milk fat.)

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BUT to my surprise, it was totally TASTY! It was super moist & airy too. And you know what? I can even go as far as to say that I rate the “moist-ness” better than any other chocolate cake I’ve tasted in years (except for my very own ‘Moist Chocolate Cake’ from my stall ofcourse! ^^). And that is a big statement coming from a cake-fanatic like myself. I must say though, that it lacks in the depth of chocolate flavour, but eating it with the ganache filling sorts that problem out.
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So here is the recipe that I scribbled from L’s copy of “Allergy-free Cookbook” by Alice Sherwood. (The recipe book gets a big thumbs up from L who says every recipe in it is really good.) I took the liberty of changing the measurements around a bit to make it slightly more chocolatey, & less oily. I replaced the castor sugar it suggests to light brown sugar for the molasses flavour. Oh, & converted the there-abouts ‘tablespoon & teaspoon’ measurements to proper & precise grams n’ milliletres!

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The book gives you a choice of either spreading chocolate ganache cream or chocolate buttercream (both dairy-free). Both cream recipes are at the end of this post. The chocolate buttercream was a bit too sweet for me, but it was popular with children. The amount of sugar together with the sugary cake scares the heck out of me though… - I suggest if you’re going to serve this cake to grown-ups, go for the ganache.
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Please bare in mind though that if you’re going for the ganache option, nut-free chocolate may be hard to obtain. Most Confectioners use nuts in many of their products, & they might be using the same production-line to make products without nuts in the ingredients. This is where the problem for people with nut-allergy lies. Pretty much all the chocolate bars on the market may have traces of nut, or nut-oil.

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Thankfully there is a UK-based company Kinnerton who produces guaranteed nut-free chocolate products. It is apparently sold in selected Sainsbury, Asda, Tesco, Morrisons & Waitrose stores. Or you can buy in bulk directly from them too. Kinnerton has really gone the extra mile to manufacture nut-free products by allocating nut-free zones, as well as following strict safety measures to keep it nut-free. Read all about how they did it on their website.
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There are a few moderations I’ve made to the recipe:

• Vinegar is to be added as the very last ingredient. - It’s to delay it reacting with the soda. You should get the maximum rising-power out of it that way.
• I’ve included cherries & jam. - Our friend L spread fruit jam in-between the layers & mixed cherries in to the cake, which I thought really made this extra special.
• I propose using apple cider vinegar instead of white vinegar as the book suggests. - Apparently the concentration of acidity is stronger, & without any scientific background, I’m hoping it’ll react even more with the soda & produce a fluffier sponge. - It’ll add a tiny bit more flavour to the cake too. And did you know that cider vinegar is good for treating sore throat? - Hey! A cake that’s good for illness? Now we’re talking!!
• And optionally, you can add a splash of Kirsch cherry liquor in to the ganache to add to the cherry theme!

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Egg, dairy & nut free chocolate cake Recipe:

(serves 10-12)

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Ingredients for the sponge:

• 330g of plain flour
• 400g of light brown sugar
• 12g of Bicarbonate of Soda
• 65g of nut-free cocoa powder
  

  (Note: check the back ingredients list to make sure it is nut-free. Cocoa powder is often made in chocolate factories that also handle nut products.)

• 2g of salt
• 450ml of unsweetened soya milk
• 90ml of corn or other nut-free vegetable oil, plus extra for greasing
  

  (Note: don’t use olive oil as its flavour is too distinct)

• 23ml of white vinegar
• 7ml of vanilla extract
• A large tin/ jar of pitted cherries
• Fruit jam of your choice (cherry, apricot, strawberry, raspberry, etc)

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You’ll need:

• 2 x 20cm (8 inch) round baking tins

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Method for the cake sponge:

• 1. Pre-heat oven to 180C (350F, gas mark 4).
• 2. Grease both tins with oil. (No need to line it with grease-proof paper. The oil on the tin & the oil from the cake is sufficient enough lubricant for de-moulding the cakes.)
• 3. Sift together the dry ingredients in to a bowl: flour, sugar, bicarbonate of soda, cocoa powder & salt. (The light brown sugar tends to clump, so please don’t skip sifting!)
• 4. Mix together the wet ingredients in another bowl: soya milk, oil, & vanilla extract.
• 5. Mix wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.
• 6. Stir in the cider vinegar.
• 7. Divide mixture in to two greased tins.
• 8. Spread evenly.
• 9. Evenly scatter the cherries on top of the batter. Here make sure you don’t place any cherries in the centre - this way you’d be able to cut a clean slice with a straight angle when serving.
• 10. Bake for 40 minutes, until it rises, & is firm to the touch.
• 11. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, & then turn out on to a wire cooling rack ( - I like to cool it upside down, so that the domed top becomes flat surface perfect for icing). Cool completely.
• 12. Make the dairy-free ganache or the chocolate buttercream using the recipe below.
• 13. Place one sponge upside down on the stand/ platter on which you’re going to present on.
• 14. Slather jam of your choice.
• 15. Use spatula to spread 5mm thickness or so of the ganache/ buttercream.
• 16. Pop the other sponge on top.
• 17. Artfully (painterly) slather the rest of the ganache/ buttercream on the top & the sides.

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Ingredients & method for the dairy-free ganache:

• 150ml soya cream (in place of double cream)
• Nut-free & dairy-free dark chocolate 200g
• 100g castor sugar
• 7ml Kirsch cherry liquor
  Method: Bring soya cream & sugar to simmering point & pour over the finely chopped chocolate. Mix gently with spatula (If the chocolate has not fully melted, zap it in the microwave 10 seconds at a time until melted). - Use immediately.

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Ingredients & method for the dairy-free chocolate buttercream:

• 175g dairy-free spread
• 400g icing sugar
• 90g of nut-free cocoa powder
• 10g of vanilla extract
  Method: Cream the dairy-free spread to thoroughly soft. Add vanilla extract & mix. Slowly & gradually add icing sugar & cocoa powder until creamy and smooth in texture. Use immediately.

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(In Lewes, we visited Southover Grange gardens. I was extremely happy to get a proper porcelain mug (& not the usual paper throw-aways with plastic lids) for my Rooibos tea from their kiosk! And how wonderful that everyone dutifully returns it to the kiosk when they finish! - It reminds me of drinking Glühwein from a porcelain mug at a German Xmas market, but only you’d have to pay extra first, & you’d get a little money back if you return the mug!)

(From left: Me, L, cutie girl I, W, & my boy upside down. And in the right picture, my daughter S asleep.)

(Ready to face the world with fighting pose!)

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On Tuesday 18th of March, in the early hours of the morning, the baby decided to ‘knock on the door’ to let us know that she is ready to come out & face the world.

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With that, we got up quickly & changed from our PJs. The curious thing was that I was the first to get ready. I tried to maintain calm but I must admit, I did shout about ordering people:

“What ARE you doing!? There’s no time to brush hair or brush teeth!! COME ON! COME O-N!” I mean, it doesn’t take much time to put your trousers & then coat on, right??

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The good thing was, Lady Luck was on our side. Since it was way before the morning rush hour, the ride to the hospital was super smooth, with no traffic to stop our way. Honestly, thank Goodness it didn’t take long, because the labour pains were kicking in pretty fast during the ride & I was growing anxious by the minute. - I still shudder with the thought of what if this had happened during the day? The car ride could’ve easily have taken as long as an hour…! Or what if D or my father happened to be not by me? Who would’ve driven me in then??

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Once at the hospital, things were happening quickly, & at 9.28am, she was born - instantly filling the room with a fantastic cry. The nurses straight away commented on what good lungs she has!

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I got to hold her straight away. My first sight of her was a bit blurry what with my eyes gone all watery with emotion, but I could see that she was perfect in every sense & I was soooooo happy. I think I was muttering “thank you” repeatedly.
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(She’s half-German, half-Japanese. But she’s definately inherited my Japanese almond-shaped eyes! The forehead & hair is D’s.)

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So, the name:

After a week of calling her “the baby”, we settled on naming her SAKURA. It means ‘cherry blossom’ in Japanese. But for the kanji symbol, rather than using the kanji for ‘cherry blossom’, we decided to spell it like this: 咲良, made up of two symbols, as it sits better with her European surname. Not only does the first kanji means ‘to blossom’, it also means ‘to smile’ in ancient Chinese. - May she be blessed with good smiling people surrounding her, herself always smiling. May she be as beautiful as the cherry blossom, that warms everyone’s hearts with messages of Spring’s arrival.

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Yup! Another (!) quick note to say that I’m taking a six month break from the market, starting now.

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May I take this opportunity to mention a BIG THANK YOU to all the customers who had visited my stall the last two & a half years. I cannot express my gratitude to you deeply enough. Each one of you have changed my life in a multitude of positive ways. I really can’t wait to get back come this September/ October & see you all again!! - Also, I’d like to express a big thank you to the market team. I understand there’s no such thing as a maternity-leave for street traders, so I am very grateful that you have agreed to secure my slot & have me back in six months’ time. I am so lucky to be trading at such a lovely lovely market.
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Time flies by so quick - I’m expecting to give birth end of this month!

We’ve started to get things in readiness for her. - We went to buy her first ever garment (from a Swedish shop called Polarn O. Pyret) this weekend, & D has brought down the cot-bed (that our first child used) from the attic & gave it a good wipe down.

The pram, the carry-cot, the baby bath tub, the baby car seat, the baby alarm, the bottle sterilizer, the changing table… It’s wonderfully marvelous to think that this time we have all these things already to hand - I remember first time round it was very time-consuming, stressful & tres expensive having to go shopping for all of these!

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Anyway, I’ll still be posting stuff on this blog, so please stay tuned!
t xxx

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Hi - just another quick note to say I will be at the market this Saturday!! :)

Hope to see you there!!

t xxx

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Hi - just a quick note to say that I decided to not work this Saturday…
My stomach is very tight & the discomfort is way too much, I am not sleeping very well. I feel so tired & my feet is swelling. NO-WAY can I work like I want to.

If only you could see me right now, with wacking bags under my eyes…, the face expression-less, walking up the stairs so slowly & uncomfortably, I sure look like an extra from a zombie movie. D might also be able to confirm to you that I’m recently a bit short with the people around me, which is probably not a fantastic state of mind when you’re in a serving sector…!
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I feel so down about going back on my words. I really want to work. I told loads of customers that I’d be there…

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I feel ‘defeat’… I really hate myself when I’m like this… I feel so blue… sob.
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ps: The baby is moving & kicking ALL THE TIME, which is absolutely wonderful, it’s a sign of life, that she’s healthy & active. So I’m not worried. The doctor says that all this movement signifies the baby’s active personality already. So maybe I’m carrying an Olympian Netball Captain or a female Kung-fu Master. - Although the only complaint is that my stomach feels bruised inside with her full-on punches & kicks. Just very uncomfortable all the time…

(Don’t forget! It’s Valentine’s Day tomorrow!)

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Saturday 9th of February:

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To be honest, I nearly didn’t do it.

I waddle-walk like a penguin, can’t bend over to pick things up, & I’m very S.L.O.W. at everything I do. All the typical pregnancy discomforts present, staying comfortable becoming a challenge. I really worried if I could ‘do it’, standing in the kitchen for 2 whole days & then standing/ selling outside on a winters day…

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But, my pal A (who’s the girl that started this business with me initially) offered to help me out at the stall on Saturday. If this was anybody-else, maybe I would’ve been weary, but we’re talking about Ms.A, who’s done it before, & I trust her completely. And I also looked forward to spending time with her - so much girly catch-up to do!
She’s a good woman, that A. She was even there waiting at the stall before we arrived, & helped with the setting-up, which I feared would’ve been the most strenuous task for me. (THANK YOU A!)
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The day itself turned out superbly so - I realized once again that the market-life gives me so much pleasure. There were countless “You’re back!!”’s & “I missed your cakes/ chocolates!!”. So heart-warming. Plenty of “How have you been?”’s which develops to lengthy chats, exchanging new news. It was exceptionally sweet when the two girls (sisters) who have been regularly spending their pocket money on me the past 2 years, came up & excited said: “We didn’t know you’re pregnant! Really really REALLY happy for you! Wow! Congratulations!! Soooo happy!!!”. They showed true happiness & radiated smiles so natural that only children can do. - it was positively infective.
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Perfect blue sky brought outside many many people & the market was totally buzzing. Thermometer reached 16.6c apparently, & it was the warmest day for this time of year in over a century. The cakes & the chocolates went quickly, & I sold out except for half a dozen raspberry truffles, which got munched to non-existence on the way home.

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Two blog readers came to visit my stall too (seperately). I was so happy to see them! Thank you for coming by guys.

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- Ms.J came to buy a tart for her neighbour (how nice are you!?) & then came back to the stall again later on to buy a brownie! (It was great chatting to you, & I hope to see you again for another chat!) - Ms. J has just excellently written a report on her visit to Broadway Market. Check it out on her blog!
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- And then there was Ms.R in the afternoon, who kindly gave the baby on it’s way it’s FIRST EVER PRESENT!! It’s a very very sweet Miffy book about dreams. It was so pleasantly unexpected & I was lost for words (for once)! THANK YOU! - I made Ms.R sign & date it. It’s gonna be a family treasure!
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(With so much going on, I didn’t get to photograph the market & it’s beautiful weather, so here is a picture that D took on our way home, just before 5pm, near where we live. - As some of you know, we moved to a new area recently, & as you can tell from the picture, it is on a hill with amazing views across London. (Although our house does not have a wonderful view like this, instead look on to a block of flats…). We are in love with our new area, we often talk about how it’s like KIKI’s town, what with a church at the end of the road just like the film!)

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i’m scheduling to work for another 3 weeks at the market, so I hope to see you there! t xxx

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Hello! You got any plans lined up for this coming Saturday?

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Just a quick reminder to everyone that I’ll be trading at the market this Saturday. It’s going to be one of the few times that I’ll be there (for this half of the year atleast…), so can I tempt you to hop along?

Tamami xxx

I baked this set of trains for my kid’s best friend’s 4th birthday!

I kept the icing simple with just three colours & as minimal as I can allow it. I stayed away from using sugary gum drops & other store-bought sweets because: One, as a parent I wouldn’t want my 4 year old introduced to those things yet, & Two, icing them is so much cheaper! :)

Handmade paper flags glued to cocktail sticks:

I decided it’s better if the flags were not white. It will be lost in the background, & the coloured flags would add the much needed extra colourfulness that my minimal-icing-ideology doesn’t provide. - But on the other hand, I made more work for myself & D (he helped), as I couldn’t just ’stamp’ letters on to dark coloured paper (I don’t have white ink), & had to cut each letter out & glue them!

Each child received one train each. It was easily distributed since there was no cutting slices involved. The flags were popular (”I’ve got K!” & so on). Everyone took it home with them!

(At every children’s birthday party we go to, there’ll always be another kid who’d be blowing the candles too! :)

(For the cake board base: I cut cardboard to size & covered it with white baking paper.)

(Nordicware Train Cake Pan purchased from Lakeland)

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Am I turning in to a right old woman or what?

Because when D spotted the Nordicware Train Cake Pan in the shop, I was soooo happy - like, deliriously, over the moon style! It’s really difficult to find Nordicware here in the UK, & this particular train cake pan had been on my wish-list for over a year. I once spent a whole night trawling the internet to see if anyone sells this in this country but to no avail…

BUT…! Out-of-the-blue, there it was in front of my eyes… SO, readers, hopefully you can understand my cake-fanaticism, & picture me enthusiastically charging my way to the cash-till in nano-second-flat, flared nostrils, seeing nothing but red until I successfully purchased it, until “It-Is-Mine!” (followed by manic laughter - Dr Evil style…)
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This purchase came at the perfect timing too, as the following week I was to make a birthday cake for my son’s best friend. Like always, I test-baked several days before the real bake-day, to remove any uncertainties that could potentially ruin the result. The lessons learnt from the test-bake was valuable:

• The cake batter must be piped (not dolloped in), so that the batter reaches all intricate detail of this cake pan.
• Batter must be pasted/ pushed to all the sides with a spatula to avoid ugly air-holes appearing on the train surfaces.
• Batter must be to the fullest brim to perfectly imprint the cake design.
• Must use more colours than just white for the icing, unless it’s a snowy scene you’re trying to create.
• It is best to pipe extra details like ‘grills’ & ‘windows’ or even abstract polka-dots, rather than faithfully outlining/ following the grooves of the cake.
• Mustn’t pipe too much icing on it because the cake would become too sweet - & I can imagine the parents getting worried about too much sugar consumption! (especially if it’s artificially coloured!)

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After consideration, I decided it should be a banana cake. A boring sponge won’t do (it’ll taste too normal unless there’s a delicious filling layer), nor it shouldn’t be chocolate coloured (the imprinted design wouldn’t be as visible). D suggested ‘marbled cake’ but that’ll just be ‘too busy’ with the intricate designs. - But a banana cake on the other-hand I thought, is gorgeously moist, popular with everyone & should get a nod of approval from the parents as it sounds natural & it uses less refined sugar.

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So here is the recipe for my banana cake. It is a ‘Pâte à biscuit’ sponge method. (whereby the egg is separated - yolk goes in with the sugar, & the whites are whisked to a meringue, before being combined.)
I also added the recipe for the royal icing at the end.

Both recipes are easy-peasy to make!

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MOIST BANANA CAKE RECIPE:

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Ingredients:

(quantities to fill the Nordicware train pan)

200g Ripe bananas
100g Sugar
5 x Egg yolk
5 x Egg whites
100g Sugar (to whisk in to the whites)
150g Plain flour
75g Almond powder
75g Butter
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Prepare in advance the following:

• Butter the mould (here, it is best to use a pastry brush & slightly melted butter to really get to every intricate details & grooves). And finely flour the mould by sifting it.
• Melt 75g of butter. Set aside until needed.
• Pre-sift the plain flour & the almond powder.
• Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees.

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Method:

• 1. Slice the 200g of ripe bananas, place them in a mixing bowl & use the electric whisk to purée it.
• 2. Add the 100g of sugar & whisk it together.
• 3. Combine the 5 x egg yolks. Then set aside.
• 4. In another bowl, whisk the 5 x egg whites to a stiff meringue with 100g of sugar.
• 5. Combine 1/4 of the meringue in to your egg-mixture from step 3.
• 6. Sift all the dry ingredients (flour & almond powder) in. Combine with spatula.
• 7. Pour in the 75g of melted butter & combine with spatula.
• 8. Fold in the rest of the meringue.
• 9. Put the batter in to a disposable piping bag.
• 10. Snip the end so that you get a 3mm opening, & start to pipe it in to the intricate details.
• 11. Then snip a wider opening (say about 1cm), & pipe the rest in.
• 12. Place in the pre-heated oven of 180 degrees, for approximately 18 minutes. - When time is up, check if it is done by skewering the middle of the cake. If the skewer comes out clean & is warm to the touch, it is done.
• 13. Take it out of the oven. Place a cake-cooling-rack on top. Grip both cake pan & rack, then reverse it so that the train-mould is on top. Take the cake pan off. The cakes should come out easily. (It is best to cool it right side up, to flatten the bottom of the cakes.)
• 14. Once the cake has cooled, proceed to make the royal icing.

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ROYAL ICING RECIPE:

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Ingredients:

1 x egg white

125 to 150g of icing sugar

Food colouring

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Method:

• 1. Whisk the egg white with a table spoon (not with electric mixer as it’ll become ‘too’ foamy) for about 5 minutes.
• 2. Mix 125g of icing sugar in to the whisked egg whites. This will give you the basic white icing. Experiment with the fluidity depending on wether you want to cover a large surface or wether you would like it to pipe patterns. If you want it to be thicker for piping patterns, gradually mix in more icing sugar. (In my case, I used 150g of sugar in the end, but it’s best to be your own judge here.)
• 3. If you would like it coloured, add food colouring drop-at-a-time.
• 4. Put the icing in a piping bag, snip the end off (say 2mm for pattern piping) & pipe away!

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Tip:

If you want several colours to work with, just divide your white icing at step 2 in to however-many-bowls, & then colour each bowl differently.

If the royal icing becomes hard while you’re working, add a few droplets of water to loosen it.

If artificial food colouring worries you, try to find ‘natural’ food colouring in the shops, or you can alternatively try: matcha powder for green, & cocoa powder or instant coffee for brown. (If you know of any other ways to colour naturally, please please let me know!)

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Happy Baking!

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(It’s the most creamiest, & yet most delicate Crème Caramel I’ve ever tasted in my life!)

(I didn’t have molds that were all the same, so I used my collection of Japanese tea cups instead! - The two illustrated ones are from my childhood. And the one with the writing is a soba (buckwheat noodle) sauce dish that my parents brought over from Japan over 25 years ago!)

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Since my last post:

I’ve been naughty of late. My sweet tooth never stops craving, it’s just terrible. My nearby convenience store’s got a “buy two tubs for a fiver” deal for big tubs of Häagen-Dazs (Praline & Cookie’s n’ Cream’s my favourite - what’s yours?). And I’ve been tucking in to them with a big tablespoon (no dilly-dallying with a wee teaspoon I say!), late at night, wrapped up in my blanket, fireplace on, surfing the web endlessly with the other hand, quite meaninglessly whiling away my time, browsing from a web link to another link…

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But, now that the cheap ice cream deal is over…, I decided I must start making my own desserts again that I can stick my sweet tooth in to!

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So, here is the ULTIMATE recipe for Crème Caramel that I have been indulging in lately.
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I call it ‘Ultimate’ because, I can honestly say it really is the most creamiest, & yet most delicate Crème Caramel I’ve ever tasted in my life! Every luscious spoon sends blissful melt-down of your surroundings, & before you know it, it’s gone… - & you curse yourself for not making more… Yup, ladies & gents, it’s THAT good.
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It is dead-easy to make too if you follow certain steps. Crème Caramel in basic terms is literally just a three-step method: mix, sieve & water bath, with the most simplest of ingredients (eggs, sugar, milk & cream optional). The most important trick to keep in mind is to try NOT TO incorporate AIR, as the final silky texture will suffer greatly.
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In this special recipe, I did not use any egg-whites, as per normal Crème Caramel recipes. It relies on just egg-yolks to set the liquids. This is what makes this that extra rich & thick in flavour, yet delicate, as well as the softest you’ll ever ever taste. Despite no egg-whites, it keeps its shape very well, so long as you refrigerate it for a good 4 hours.
(Note: Although, if you’re using a very big mold, it maybe better to look for a recipe that uses whole eggs &/or gelatine that will help to hold its shape better.)

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Please keep in mind the quantity of ingredients listed below makes roughly 6 to 8 individual Crème Caramels. It’s all dependent on the size of your chosen molds. The best way to know how many this quantity will make is to measure 700ml of water & fill the molds to see how many it fills.

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THE ULTIMATE CREME CARAMEL RECIPE

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Ingredients
For Caramel:

40 cc Water
80g Sugar
20cc Water

For the Crème:

250cc Double cream
250cc Milk
4 x Egg yolks
60g Sugar (granulated or castor)
A few drops of Vanilla essence OR half a vanilla pod, split length way

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Prepare this before you begin:

• Make sure your eggs are at room temperature, as cold egg won’t mix well with the milk.
• Butter inside the individual molds so that the Creme Caramel de-molds smoothly.
• Pre-heat the oven to 160 degrees.

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METHOD:
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First make the caramel.

• 1. First stir the sugar & 40cc of water to a syrup in a small thick bottomed pan. Then cook on medium heat so that the whole base of the pan is equally heated. During this time do not stir too much.
• 2. Once it starts to colour, stir with a wooden spoon. The colour will start to darken - & once you reach ‘a step or two before’ your desired darkness, take it off the heat & SLOWLY pour & stir in the 20cc of water to stop it colouring any further.
• 3. Immediately pour the caramel in to your molds before it becomes too thick to handle.
• 4. Make sure the bottom is completely covered by tilting the mold around.

Caramel Tip:
- Never let the caramel darken too much, it’ll taste too bitter. The caramel suddenly turns from sugar liquid to dark & bitter in a split second, so I advise you take it off the heat (in step 2) while it is slightly lighter still. It’ll darken ultra-quickly while you’re stirring more water in to it anyway.
- Never leave it cooking alone. It is dangerously hot.
- Never ever pour the water in to it in one go. It is highly dangerous as it will foam up like mad & increase in volume & splutter.

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Next, make the Crème:

• 5. Heat the milk & the double cream in a pan - (with half a vanilla pod if you’re using it instead of vanilla essence).

Tip: Here, never let it reach the boil. Or more precisely, never let it go over 60 degrees as the milk will form a skin on the surface. - At 60 degrees the protein coagulates when exposed to air. So skimming & throwing away this skin means you are throwing away the delicious proteins & fat molecules.

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• 6. While the milk mixture is heating, GENTLY whisk the egg yolks in a mixing bowl.
• 7. Then mix in the sugar GENTLY.

Tip:
- Always mix the sugar into the eggs straight away. Don’t leave the sugar lying around with the egg as the sugar will absorb moisture from your egg & leave dry gravelly bits.
- Always stir the sugar in SLOWLY. Do it as if you’re cutting it up, rather than whisking it, as if you’re scraping the sugar against the bowl. Crème Caramel is a dish that purely uses the solidifying power of the egg as it heats, so the finer you ‘cut’ the egg yolk up, & incorporate it in to the mixture, the better the overall texture.
- DO NOT INCORPORATE AIR whilst mixing. This is the most vital trick to make your final Creme Caramel smooth.

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• 8. Pour & mix the hot milk/ cream liquid in to your egg bowl. Add vanilla essence if you are using it instead of vanilla pod.

Tip: Pour in a small amount first & mix, & then pour some more. Let the egg mixture get used to the hot liquid little by little. Never pour the hot liquid in to it in one go. You have to be cautious as eggs solidify at 60-70 degrees, although the sugar should act as a good blanket.

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• 9. Lay a few layers of kitchen paper or a cloth inside a roasting pan, & place your molds.
• 10. Use a sieve & slowly pour the mixture in to the molds.
• 11. Remove air bubbles by tapping mold lightly on your work-table, &/ or by spoon. Lightly dabbing the bubble with kitchen towel also works well.
• 12. Lid each mold tightly with aluminium foil.

Tip:
- Laying some kitchen paper stops directly heating your Crème Caramel from the bottom.
- The temperature of the Crème mixture should still be warm (if it is cold, it’ll take longer to bake in the oven).
- Sieving the Crème mixture gets rid of air bubbles, aswell as the chalaza (the ropey strands of egg white).
- Lidding the molds with foil prevents the top surface from drying under direct oven heat.

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• 13. Boil lots of water in the kettle. And pop the roasting pan with the prepared molds in to the pre-heated oven. Keep the door ajar to pour the hot water in the pan, half to two-thirds up.

Tip: It’s best to pour the hot water in to your water-bath when the pan is already on the oven shelf. This way, it is less likely for the water to accidentally make way in to your molds while transfering from work-table to oven.

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• 14. Bake for 20 minutes at 160 degrees, & then 10 minutes at 170 degrees without the lid. After the baking time, remove from the oven. Check if baked thoroughly by gently shaking it sideways. If it wobbles too much & creases form in the middle, put it back in the oven for another 3 minutes & check again (crease form when the sides are cooked, but not the middle). ‘Bouncy’ & ’springy’ wobble is cooked.
• 15. Take it out of the water bath, & leave aside to cool. Once cool, refrigerate for a good 4 hours before serving so that it sets fully.
• 16. To demold, run the edge of the knife around the rim. Place inverted plate on it. Hold both mold & plate firmly together, then flip it so that the mold is on top. Gently shake up & down. It should smoothly come out. Let the caramel sauce pool around the set Crème.
• Bon Appétit!

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Suggestions on alternative flavours:
You can ‘flavour’ the milk at step 5 with ‘coffee’ & ‘tea’.
You can also use honey instead of sugar too.
Or why not add brandy or rum? Or what about green tea, or chocolate flavour?

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January the 6th is an important date for anyone who’s knee-deep in Cake-love. Y’see, it’s a special date to consume a particular cake called the Galette des Rois - a super delicious French cake made simply with flakey puff pastry & frangipane filling (almond cream & custard cream mix of 2:1 ratio).

(Note: some pâtisseries just use almond cream filling, & some pâtisseries sell other flavoured fillings as well as the ‘classic’ version. Ie: Hermé’s got several types, one of which is filled with his famous signature combo, the ‘Ispahan’, which is, rose-flavored almond cream, lychees & raspberries.)

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‘Scuse the pun, but the “charming” factor that gets everyone raving is that the galette hides a ‘fève’, a small ceramic (sometimes porcelain or plastic) charm. The lucky person who stumbles upon the fève in their slice is crowned the King or the Queen of the day, & get to wear the golden crown supplied. He/ she can also get to choose who can become their fellow King or Queen to enjoy such privilege together.

- I guess you can take this to your advantage & choose someone you fancy as a flirting tool! - That is if you’re single & available though! I guess I’d probably have to choose my D. - Then again… if George Clooney was attending the same party… … [!!] No, no, do not worry! (cough cough…).
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Of course, I ’should’ mention that the date means a lot more than a cake-eating fest!

January the 6th (or the first Sunday of January) is a Holy date called the Epiphany, commemorating the Twelfth Night when the Three Kings arrived in Bethlehem bearing gifts for baby Christ, thus by so doing revealing Jesus to the world as the Lord & the King (The term Epiphany means ‘to make known’).
- Although, I think nowadays many people attach no particular religious significance to the date, but just enjoy the culinary tradition of it alone. (- a bit like the modern day Christmas, non?)

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x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x
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(Medium size, measuring around 9 inch diameter was £11.00. Their large-size costs £14.00. The crown is white & gold, the traditional colour of Epiphany.)

(The fève, front & back view. The cake came with a note on which printed the following words: “BEWARE OF THE CHARM - Make sure you look out for our royal charm, hidden somewhere in this Galette des Rois, please don’t chip your tooth on it or swallow it. Whoever finds the charm in their slice is crowned King or Queen for the day, traditionally they also have to buy the next Galette.”)

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My Galette des Rois 2008 was purchased from the pâtisserie PAUL.

I guess if I was living in Paris I would have ordered mine from the likes of Hermé, or other super-artisanal pâtisseries, that are less ubiquitous. But this is London, & the only place I knew that would sell the Galette des Rois was this PAUL & Maison Blanc.

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In Hampstead, North London, these two chains exist opposite each other. In comparison, MB’s one looked rather sluggishly made, with the sides of the galette sloping outwards like a splat. PAUL’s was straighter & glossier, although the top surface was bubbled-up & uneven, the pattern poorly executed & was barely visible - definately not picture-perfect either. BUT, again, “this is London”, this is what had to do.

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Of course I could have made one myself. But y’know, dare I admit, I felt like hibernating. I know, I know, straight from my motivational blurb on my previous post about experimenting, it’s a bit embarrassing.

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But on this occasion, it turned out beautifully to my favor, because I re-realized that there’s nothing like the excitement that you get from especially travelling to “buy” a cake that you know will be delicious. And especially with this cake, I won’t know where & what design the fève might be!

(- Also, I often find that baking my own cake puts me off eating it slightly, because I know how much sugar & butter went in to it, which is… ‘a lot’!!)

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After purchasing the galette, when we were browsing in Waterstones Bookstore, I had the most wonderful experience of noticing that I received a straight-from-the-oven galette. The base of my cake box was hot to the touch, & the gorgeous smell of super-freshly baked pastry filled the air, the buttery-ness almost too over-powering. [!!] I urged D that we gotta go home a.s.a.p.! This baby’s too delicious to wait around!

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And guys. yes, it truly was heavenly delicious! The puff pastry had a glossy top, was delicately flaky, & was not too sweet, slightly salty even - it went well with the moist & sweet almond frangipane inside. After having a small bite, I decided to pour myself some Nilgiri tea. I know, I know I should stay away from caffeine, but I also knew the combo with the Nilgiri would work great to refresh the palette from the rich buttery-ness. A sip now & again between my bites. I just had to. A ‘erbal just wouldn’t be up to this job!
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PS: Gentle reminder.

Have you tidied away your Christmas decoration? Apparently “Twelfth Night is when all Christmas Decorations should be removed so as not to bring bad luck upon the home.” [!!]