(Meeaaoow…)

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Here’s a belated picture of this year’s Jack o’ Lantern for Halloween.

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I TRIED to carve a cat this year, complete with the body, but, when I realized that the cat’s eyes are suspiciously looking similar to “the eye” in Lord of the Rings, I kind of lost interest in finishing the project…
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The more I look at it, the mouth looks like that of the cheshire cat from Alice In Wonderland, a little vampire touch with the fangs, & it could look X-massy too, what with it’s snowman bod… LOL! One confused Jack o’ Lantern this year then! Oh well, I tried didn’t I, & they say that’s the important part…, right…??

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Anyways, did you have a wonderful Halloween?

I couldn’t go to my favourite A’s fang-tastic party this year because our little one got sick at the very last minute before leaving// It was a shame because I just love going trick-or-treating with the kids… Let alone missing the Martha-esque home-entertainment that A is famous for… You wouldn’t believe what a downer that was! – Then again, atleast our son got to go though! It would’ve been a real shame if he didn’t.

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Last Saturday I finally started to sell my hot chocolate again now that the weather is proper cold! The basic recipe is 1 part cream, 1 part chocolate, 4 parts milk. – I pour it in a simple white paper cup & then sprinkle dark chocolate shavings on top for the lux effect!
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And here is a picture of the wooden hare (not rabbit! The ears are long!) that I have been selling since the beginning of Summer. It is hand-carved, imported from Germany & the arms n’ legs are dangly. I’m glad to say that it’s going down really well & my stock is running out fast…
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Right now it’s 1:30am on Friday night, & I ought to be in bed, ready for tomorrow’s market! (The weather forecast says it’s 90% rain… oh joy…) I’ll add more to this write-up next week when I get a chance! Good night!!
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xxx

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Hi! Does anyone know where I can purchase The Irish Times newspaper in London?
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I think there might be a mention about me & this blog in this Saturday’s The Irish Times Magazine (that comes along with the newspaper)! And I want to get my hands on a copy or two…

I managed to hurt my ankle pretty bad…
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It actually first started to hurt about 2 months ago.
At the time I decided enough’s enough, I didn’t like the Chubsy-Ubsy in the mirror, so I went on a diet. – I jogged everyday & ate low calorie & healthy foods. I would read every food label for calorific content, & do a bit of maths to make sure I am within the daily set limit. (by the way, did you know that baby biscuits make a really tasty low calorie snack?)
And every time I jogged, I could push myself a little further than the previous day & I loved that feeling of accomplishment. But being an obsessive character that I am, when I decide on something, I have a tendency of doing it excessively.
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Two weeks of that went by. But one morning, when I woke up, my left foot hurt. I thought that I sprained it perhaps, so I put jogging on hold (& subsequently the low-cal healthy eating too…!) but never saw a doctor about it. Besides, I am so busy with the children & then the stall work, I didn’t give it much thought despite it hurting.
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I know I know, now I feel pretty silly about leaving it unattended like that. Because last Sunday morning, as I got out of my warm bed & ran to the toilets, I pulled on the sore muscle big-time. Like, BIG-time that I couldn’t walk… This finally made me go to the doctors though. I was told it’s Achilles Tendonitis, a sports injury. – I never thought I’d be suffering a SPORTS injury of all things!
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So guys, no Market this week, I’ve gotta rest my feet. But hopefully next week okay?
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I seem to be having a string of bad luck this year.
- Two weeks ago my iPhone got nicked in the bus which made me very upset. Like, why steal? Did they look through the family pictures on it? Don’t they have any guilty conscience? It was an invasion of my privacy & I felt uncomfortable & insecure for a while. It was also new, after having the last mobile for 8 years.
- Just before the Summer my laptop got broken by my son spilling a mug full of tea… I had that laptop for 5 years & I was proud of it.
- Our Dvd player got broken by our little one.
- Earlier this year I was pretty ill too.
- And now this.
Maybe I read too much in to this, but in terms of yin and yang, this year feels rather yin. I can only hope next year is yang.
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(Children’s story book: “ノンタンのたんじょうび”) 

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I love this book. 

In this 1980 Japanese children’s book titled ‘Nontan’s Birthday’, a white cat called Nontan receives a surprise birthday party organized by his friends.

“I wonder what they are doing?”

Sensing something is up, Nontan tries to get a sneak peek at what his friends are up to but fails to see anything as they shut the curtain!

At the end, he is invited in to the house to find the table full of cookies shaped like him!

“Woow! Amazing! Me as cookies! Thank you!” 

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((Lucky cat. I wish somebody did a surprise for me like that too!))

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The inside front & back pages has a really good cookie recipe that I want to share with you. It is ultra simple to make & its taste takes you back to sweet memory of childhood.

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Nontan Cookie Recipe (with my extra notes): 

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Ingredients:

> 80g of room temperature unsalted butter   
> 80g of castor sugar   
> 1 egg   
> 200g of flour   
> 5g of baking powder
> extra flour for dusting the surface

> raisins/ nuts/ etc for decoration optional

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Method:

• 1. Cream the room temperature butter in the mixing bowl (cream it to the extent of it being as soft like mayonnaise).
• 2. Add the sugar & thoroughly mix until very airy & very creamy.
• 3. Mix in an egg.
• 4. Sift in the flour & baking powder to the mixture & fold it in. (Here, don’t be tempted to over-mix. Stop soon as you can’t see the flour. The flour will form gluten & the cookies will not rise as much & turn out tough!)  
• 5. Wrap the cookie dough in cling-film & refrigerate for more than 30 minutes. (It loosens the gluten & the butter within will get solid again. If you don’t rest it the texture & the flavour will be sacrificed. Also, top tip for wrapping it in cling-film is to flatten it so that it cools quicker.)
  
• 6. Flour your work surface. Take ⅓ of the dough at a time & roll to 5mm thickness. (You wouldn’t want to roll it out all in one go because it’ll take up space & the dough won’t keep cold.)
• 7. Now have fun & make Nontan shapes. The book has the following suggestions;
  … Cut 5cm squares & use a toothpick to dot a face pattern on it.
  … Shape the dough like a face & use nuts/ raisins as the eyes & the mouth.
  … Cut a cardboard contour of the face & using a knife, cut around it on the dough.
  … Take some of the dough & add cocoa powder. Shape a big Nontan face & then use the cocoa dough for facial features.
• 8. Place on a baking sheet & bake in a pre-heated oven of 180 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes. (Half way through, you might want to change the direction of your tray in the oven so that it is evenly baked.)
• 9. Once baked, take the baking sheet off the tray & cool on a rack.

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My son loves to make Nontan cookies. And I love that he enjoys baking, even if he’s handling the dough ’til it’s melting, or patting it so hard that it is too thin… not forgetting to mention the flour-y mess EVERYWHERE…

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Normally my cookie baking rules are: 

• to measure the ingredients precisely to the gram.
• to handle it less as possible. For example, never roll the same dough out more than twice because the extra flour from the work surface would muck up the delicate ratio of flour. it will also deteriorate the dough.
• to work quickly as possible, so that the butter in the dough doesn’t melt & deteriorate texture & flavour.

But for home-baking with my son, I’ll throw all those rules out of the window any day…!

(Glass of milk, a must.) 

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It was an eye-opener of an idea that he stuck the sprinkles in the holes to create rainbow-coloured facial features. He also gently pressed half of the fluted cutter to emboss a smile!(bottom left)

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In many occasions I feel blessed that I run a Market stall. It is because, not only is it a special time when I get to do a “me-thing” away from the house chores, it is also a time when I get to meet all sorts of people. Come Saturdays, I get to meet fellow stall-holders to whom I love chatting to, meet dear friends that come visit me, & then there are customers who drop by my stall who I love engaging in a bit of chat with.
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One such lovable customer I love talking to is E who is a regular face at my stall. After several visits & chats, we found out more about each other. She is a doctor, & bless her she would ask about how my children are doing every time, & if I tell her that ‘oh, baby S has a cold’ or something, she would always give me proper advice.
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Two weeks ago, on another of those across-the-table chats, she mentioned that her friend is the Chef Patissier of Browns Hotel. Browns Hotel?! Isn’t that where the reaaally famous Tea Room is?! When I expressed “Ooooh!” sounds amongst other words of excitement, E promised to get me in contact with the Chef.

Cut the fore-story short, Chef Patissier F kindly allowed me to visit him at the hotel. So last Monday off I went to Mayfair London, donning on nice pair of heeled shoes so that I don’t look out of place in the posh hotel.
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(Browns Hotel is London’s first ever hotel) 

(A blurry picture of the tea room that I took extra quick because I didn’t want to disturb any of their customers! It was 1pm, 2 hours before the tea service so it wasn’t crowded yet. On the left there’s a baby grand piano.)
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As I briefly wait in the reception for F, I see how grand the place is aswell as their clientele affluent & feel glad that I wore nice shoes. As I thumb through their leaflet I read that Queen Victoria & Winston Churchill often took tea here, Rudyard Kipling wrote ‘The Jungle Book’, & Alexander Graham Bell made the first successful UK telephone call from the hotel.

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(F is on the right)

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F turned out to be very friendly, & very generous. And we clicked right away. As we talked ingredients, merits of Italian meringue over French meringue for macarons, shelf-life of handmade truffles, he would hand out things for me to taste. Truffles made with single origin Varlhona & Amedei was truly divine. I couldn’t remember when I last ate a Criollo. I learnt that truffles shouldn’t be stored in a fridge as it’ll change the texture of the ganache.

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As he explains the ratio of fruit to sugar for jams (100 fruit: 80 sugar), I got given a table-spoon of homemade strawberry jam that was delightlful. Then on to tasting a chocolate macaron which had whipped ganache middle & I listen intently as possible to his recipe whilst I gorge on it. Hmm. I love chocolate macarons…
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This year Browns Hotel English Tea Room won The Tea Guild’s Top London Afternoon Tea Award & I can easily see why. F’s pastries are all made expertly, with the best ingredients & it tastes amazing. The tea room decor has original wood paneling, cosy fire places & it oozes sophistication & history. The location of the hotel is a stone’s throw away from Piccadilly Circus & it’s perfect for stopping by after shopping. Now, I don’t think I’ll ever get to stay there since it costs something like half-a-grand per night, but on hearing that F had already made the Christmas fruit cakes earlier this Spring & has been topping it up with brandy regularly ever since, well, my curiosity will likely take me back to the hotel this Christmas just for that…!

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It was super nice of F to meet me just before he gets very busy with the tea service. What also made me happy about all of this is how my stall customer have cared for me enough to think better for me & connect me to him. I feel blessed. And what’s more, now I have F to telephone when I have pastry questions!
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(Mass amount of plain & fruit scones)

(More pastries that I tried in the kitchen)

(Here’s even more that I took home! And yes, I skipped dinner that night.)

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(Wine poached pear, sliced then arranged like a rose, above a layer of chocolate ganache – Adapted from a recipe from the book ‘The Seven Deadly Sins of Chocolate’ – Picture taken back in Summer 2006)

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Whilst doing the market for 3 years, there’s been variety of cakes & chocolates that have appeared upon my stall table. Most stay popular & remain in the line-up – like my Flourless Chocolate Cake that I have been baking since I started the stall. It’s a pure fixture, that one. I roughly make 4 to 8 of these 8-inch’ers each week, which must mean that I must have made about 800 of them by now?! (crazy number, crazy notion)
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But sadly, some get withdrawn (‘getcha crumbs & get out of ‘ere!’). Mainly because they didn’t sell well enough & I preferred to transfer the time making them to making the more popular ones instead.
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Indeed, there are also other reasons for pulling those products. For instance, cherry clafoutis (de-stoning mass amounts of cherries was cumbersome & it stained my fingers), opera (too time consuming to make all the layers & the costs became too expensive that I had to charge more), & the ‘wine poached pear rose & chocolate ganache tart’ – which got the people oohing as they see it, but only occasionally netted me the crucial sale…! They would say: ‘The tart looks too good to eat’ (they really do say this for real, not kidding!) & opt for safer options like ‘pear & almond tart’ instead. I still love this rose tart to bits though. The pear fruit goes really well with rich chocolate cream. I guess if I know that it can be sold in bucket loads, I would’ve stuck to it.
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(Picture of cherry clafoutis, the wine poached pear & chocolate tart & pear tart – picture taken back in Summer 2006)
(Cherry clafoutis, 8 inch’er – Picture taken back in Summer 2006)
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The tell-tell sign for me to be convinced that they remain in my line-up is obviously its sales numbers, but, also importantly, it is when & if there are specific customers that come back for more of that same product, week after week with great reviews. The ‘Summer Fruit sponge’ (sponge colourfully studded with lots of raspberries, blueberries & blackberries) & the ‘Caramelized Banana Cake’ (whole pieces of bananas were caramelized before incorporated in to the batter) that I had sold for over a year was not the case, it was delicious, & it sold well, but never had the crowd wowing, & eventually I also lost the love for it.
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Whereas this ‘Baked Cheese Cake’ I raved about sometime ago in an earlier post is. Totally is. I really have to let you know the recipe asap & spread this deliciousness! So stay tuned!!

(La Fromagerie on Moxon Street. – I sneaked this shot with my new iPhone camera!)

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Back in the beginning of June, I wrote a quick article on Jauntsetter about where to go & what to do in London. Jauntsetter is a weekly e-newsletter for New York women, packed with great travel tips & recommendations. Check their website out & see if your city has been featured!
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Here’s the article:
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Tamami’s Perfect London Weekend:

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Saturdays:
Well obviously, my first recommendation will have to be Broadway Market where I have my chocolates & cakes stall! It’s a once-a-week Farmer’s market in the heart of east-end London. It currently has about 80 stalls, a third of which are non-food stuff like cool vintage wear, independent designers’ hats, dresses, handbags, etc. Walk alongside the canal to get there or get a direct bus from Angel. You can buy goodies to take to the park opposite and mingle with the arty locals & young trend-setters. Soak in the bohemian atmosphere. Later, head to the pubs (on the market) where people spill out to the streets, sitting on pavements in the summer.

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Sundays:
Check out the British art galleries in style. First see what’s on at the Hayward Gallery (past exhibits include Bruce Nauman and Dan Flavin), then stroll alongside the river to Tate Modern. Head to the stylish top floor restaurant for lunch and insist on the window seat to enjoy the fantastic river view with St. Paul’s Cathedral opposite.

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Another Sunday fave is to go to Columbia Road Flower Market. Get down-to-earth mug of tea from a cafe in the courtyard on Ezra Street & enjoy the day.

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If you haven’t purchased any huge plants to weigh you down, head to Brick Lane (just a 10 minute walk away) to buy the famous bagels at the Brick Lane Beigel Bakery. It’s super cheap at 20p per plain bagel. People buy in dozens so that they can freeze them at home. The Salt beef bagel (£2.60) is also a legend.
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After you’re satisfied with a bagel, turn in to Cheshire Street off Brick Lane for serious bit of shopping in the small selection of independent shops such as ‘Shelf’ & ‘Labour & Wait’.  If you go to the opposite side of Brick Lane, you’ll find yourself in the world of early Georgian architecture with narrow cobbled back streets (Fournier Street area). Think, Jack the Ripper walked these same streets back in 1880′s!

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Shopping:
Marylebone High Street is great fun. Browse Skandium designer furniture store and Divertimenti kitchen store, dream that you have hundreds of pounds to spend here and then do lunch with your girlfriend at La Fromagerie (2-6 Moxon Street, off Marylebone High Street) where you sit at tables amongst the delicatessen.

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If there’s room in your tummy, buy yourself a very decent hot chocolate from Paul and head towards Wigmore Street to check in on Margaret Howell clothing store. Then cross the road to St. Christopher’s Place to drop in on Marimekko to see if there are any good offers on their fabrics.

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The best time of the year to come to London:
…is definitely during the Open House event (this year’s dates are 19th & 20th of September 2009). There will be 700 buildings of architectural interest across the capital opening it’s doors, completely for FREE! You get to go in to places usually never available to public viewing! Dream-come-true for one nosy person like myself!

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And talking of being mentioned in other places, sometime back in February, this blog got mentioned in Time Out magazine! I was so proud. (Check out the article in their online archive). Many thanks to Lady C!

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& God knows when the last time I sold out without giving any discount…!

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Recently in London, the weather is hot hot hot, reaching 25 to 30 degrees, every day. – It’s proving a bit hazardous for me, as last week, my chocolate tarts melted despite being in the shade of the tarpaulin sheet roofing. – So this week, I skipped making them, & concentrated on making more fruit tarts instead (x1.5 more than usual). This decision obviously payed off! – Phew!! Otherwise, what am I supposed to do with all them fruit tarts??
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I also didn’t make lemon tarts at all because of the eggy-cream which would spoil too easily in such a hot weather. And I made slightly less of the brownies too, because I recently noticed that people seem to lose appetite for gooey chocolate in extreme weather like today. Funny old thing about the relationship of hot weather & food is that even “I” wanted to eat healthily – opting for the veggie salad lunch from a few stalls to my right. I also bought a big bottle of water to keep hydrated.

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Today, MORE bloggy visitors came by – like the American lady from Berlin, mother & daughter who BOTH read my blog, & a Japanese lady. TTTTThank you!!
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Last week I finally changed my mobile, after using the last one for 8 years! (This time I got the fancy new iPhone. C’mon, I deserve it…) My old phone has many old text messages that I couldn’t bring myself to delete – for example, there’s one that was sent from my D when our first child was born & I had to stay over night at the hospital without him. – The one below is another that I kept – sent to me from D all the way back in ’01. I just love the way he spelt coffee! As if like Al Pacino in his gangster movies!!

(Image courtesy of Ms.M – I always had problems photographing my chocolate bird tart – but look how beautifully Ms.M shot it!)

(Image courtesy of Ms.M – Apparently these serveware (from Boleslawiec, Poland) are hugely popular with the Japanese crowd recently. I can see why! It is soo rustic-cute!)

(Image courtesy of Ms.M – And this is my new tablecloth. It is natural linen with blue stripes)

(Image courtesy of Ms.M – And look! There’s the new cheese cake!)

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More & more I seem to write less frequently here – I don’t know exactly why not, because I actually have tonnes to write about!

Like…

I’ve been wanting to write about how I came to perfect my new ‘Baked Cheese Cake’ by slightly adjusting it week-by-week, 10 grams of this & that one week & oops, let’s go back a 10 gram another week, until I finally settled to its best ingredient ratio (It took 6 weeks of tinkering to perfect the creamy texture). And I want to write about how my regular customer (body builder with heavy tattoos) have been buying these cheese cake slices from its week 1 debut. And about how he ONLY buys cakes from my stall…!
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And then I want to tell you about how I came to sell wooden rabbits alongside my cakes, &, &, &… the article I wrote for somebody else’s website about London, & about the little mention about me in a very famous weekly magazine… &, &…
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& as for this ‘Baked Cheese Cake’, now that it is publish-ably good, I’ve been meaning to post the recipe here on my website, but yep, you know me folks! There’s probably going to be a looo-ng wait ahead ’til we see that post…! (Just like how it took me 6 months to post the Lemon Drizzle Cake recipe!)
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Well… instead, I’m gonna tell you about my bloggy visitors. I’m starting to get a fair number of you guys visiting me at my stall now – it is so totally amazing! THANK YOU! There’s been Londoners, aswell as people from outside London – & quite a number of French people using the Eurostar, some Germans, & a few Americans! They all mention this blog & say that’s how they made a point of scheduling Broadway Market in their visit! THANK YOU! – If there are any readers who would also like to come to the market in the future, please come by the stall & let me know that you’re a reader – I’m always up for a chat!

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About a month ago, a Japanese blogger came by my stall (early in the morning!^^ な〜んてね!また来てね！) & took Ah-MAZING pictures. Seriously good. When I saw these images on her blog page, I thought to myself “I want these…”. So I asked for her permission to use it on here. I’m sure you’ll all agree that this Ms.M has huge talent!

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Ms.M used Nikon D70 for these but recently upgraded to D90. Since then I’ve been pondering on getting myself a SLR camera like hers (I currently have Canon G9 – & now & then sneakily use D’s D80 for my blog pictures). What sealed the deal for my shopping conviction was when Ms.T, another blogger, came by my stall & showed me her Lomo LC-A camera. I’ve been a huge fan of her nostalgic-looking pictures on her blog – & so my thought turned to getting Lomo LC-A instead of SLR which would be alot pricier at £800+.

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Also, the thought of going back to old-skool 35mm film made the idea twinkly romantic – it may be cumbersome to have to go get it processed everytime, but there’s that magical moment of getting the prints back – tangible, to hold in your hands, not the digital RPG representation on your computer screen.
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Then! (yes, the story continues!) My cheap-skate mindset got hold of me when I read on the interweb that Olympus XA2 is a good & cheaper alternative to Lomo LC-A.

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So from considering an 800 quid SLR camera to then a 150 quid Lomo, settling on a 10 quid 80′s camera from ebay (it should arrive next week!) …
… That, my friends, is how one can ride this recession…! I mean, I just saved myself 790 quid! (in principle…)

I bought 6 types of jams last weekend. They are made by the French Jam Queen – Christine Ferber. I’ve been a fan of hers for ages. My two books on her I treasure to bits. And oh boy, the jams…, it’s so heavenly I tell you, the jar we had last time was finished in no time – despite me fending off family members – getting seriously upset if they were to dip in their dirty butter knives, which could spoil it. (There is nothing more disheartening to see old toast crumbs & a smears of butter in your jam jar!)
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At 7€50 (around £6.70) for a 220g jar, it certainly is at the highest end of the market. But, its oh-so-loose texture that you’ve never ever encountered before & its bursting fresher-than-fresh fruitiness should convince you that it is one of those purchases that justifies itself, if you weigh out the price tag to the numerous happiness you will get out of it.

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The flavours I got this time are:

• Gelée de cassis et groseilles d’Alsace (Jelly of blackcurrant & Alsatian red currents)
• Framboises d’Alsace et kirsch (Alsatian Raspberry with kirsch liquor)
• Rhubarbe d’Alsace, fraises d’Alsace et fleurs de sureau (Alsatian rhubarb with Alsatian strawberries & elder flowers)
• Rhubarbe d’Alsace, ananas, mangues et fruits de la passion (Alsatian rhubarb, pineapple, mango & passion fruit)
• Cassis d’Alsace (Alsatian blackcurrant)
• Gelée de pommes d’Alsace à la cannelle (Jelly of Alsatian apples with cinnammon)

I was battling with the little French I know to take a wild guess at the flavours written on the jars in the shop – so it’s kind of news to me now that I’ve translated them! ^^ Now I know what they are!! Oooohh, which one shall be my first victim??
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(She is also famous for her tarts!)

(The cute packaging kills me.)

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During our Paris trip, we also went to a cafe/ tea room called Mamie Gâteaux (66 rue du Cherche-Midi 75006 PARIS). I have their Japanese recipe book & I always wanted to go there, so I was so happy to finally go! It was really nice. Loved the decor, the food, the atmosphere, everything. The hot chocolate came in a Café au Lait bowl with mini madeleine! Ahh, Le Paris!

The thing about being a working mum is that some things end up being on a back-burner. Be it that towering pile of washing that needs folding or that strawberry plant (looking terribly sorry) which desperately needs watering. I look at these & think: “yes, I’ll do it when I get around to it”, but the fact is, I just about get around to it when it is soooo unbearable to look at, something has to be done or else…
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I think to myself, well, it’s alright, it’s inevitable, they are not nice to live with but I’ll get by. C’est la vie. (D might have a different opinion here…!) BUT! When it comes to spending quality time with my children – well, that shouldn’t get forfeited because of mummy working right?. Surely a breach of unspoken contract. I start every morning with that belief system, but recently… …:
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The other week my son asked me to put together a Thomas the Tank Engine cut-out. It looked really fiddly. I said, “Later, Love. I’m just washing the dishes”. He asked me again on another occasion – I said, “Maybe when baby S is having a nap because it’ll be difficult to concentrate if she’s around.” Then next it was “Maybe after dinner.” And then he’ll say “What about NOW, Mommy?!” I sigh “It’s too late now, it’s bedtime”.

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Thursday, Friday & Saturdays I work full hours +, so by the time I managed to stick together his Thomas was a shameful five days later. I know… I’m crap. And I’m not happy about it. Ever since my second baby is around, I’m just so extra busy, my son is getting less & less of my time. You might say it’s normal, but… when he WANTS TO LEARN how to use a chopstick, I SHOULD be able to spend some time with him to teach, not say “maybe another time…” like I do…

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I just don’t know how I’d cope as the children will need more & more of me as time goes. They’ll need help with homework & general guidance. And I can’t rely on their grandparents to look after them all the time. Something will have to give. Which reminds me of:
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A couple of months ago there were three shops/ restaurants asking me to start (wholesale) supplying cakes to them. Plus, I was invited to participate in a chocolate festival too. It really would have been a wonderful opportunity to expand my business. I’ve heard of success stories of similar beginnings. But HOW could I do it? I’m already up to my neck with everything – with cramming in work, parenting, & housekeeping. I could start employing someone for baking more, & a driver for deliveries. Maybe rent a bigger kitchen. I could even start another market too if I go down that road. I know exactly how to go about it. I could easily double my income. But no. It’s just too much. Too much. I can’t justify giving away anymore Mummy-time.
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These thoughts got me a little depressed at the time. Not sure exactly why. Maybe because it was a reality check that this is as far as it gets… Maybe I won’t be doing the market for long? When I see young families down the market, I occasionally feel wracked with guilt that I am forfeiting Saturdays (a family day) for my work. Maybe I ought to work at a supermarket check-out during school hours instead.
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Anyway, last weekend the side mirror of our car broke off (don’t ask how), & I’m transport-less to the market this coming Saturday.

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And, remember I told you that my brother lives in Paris? Well, it seems like he won’t be for long.

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So put the two together, the decision came about to take possibly the last opportunity to visit him there – with just my son, just the two of us, traveling on the Eurostar train that my son has been obsessively talking about the past two years (boys, eh?). We’ll be visiting Euro Disney! I’m planning on quality time with him all weekend!
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So, no trading this Saturday I’m afraid. Hope you understand…

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(By the way, have any of you been to Euro Disney? Any tips? Like, should I purchase the tickets in advance or just buy it at the entrance?)

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Update 06.05.09:

I just purchased the Euro Disney tickets online!

Update 10.05.09:

Just came back! Euro Disney was great!

(For the extra glossy icing, I put the iced cake back in to a pre-heated oven of 230 degrees for just under 1 minute. – By doing this, the moisture evaporates a little & the icing becomes slightly crystalized, & shinier!)

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I’m the type that take cook books to read in bed. I have piles of them by the bedside.
I read through these books like a bible. And when I find recipes that are worth careful reading, I imagine every step in my mind… – I imagine what it must taste like. – And when it’s a “really” good recipe, I close my eyes & start to add or change the recipe here & there, think of how to serve them, & to whom, at what kind of occasion.

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Imagining about food, (especially with sugary content ^^) is my all-time stress-buster. Must admit, it HAS been known to have the dis-advantage of me hoping out of bed to raid my food cupboard at times (!), but the best thing about this imagination-game is when, sometimes, my trail of thought affects the contents of the dream I am to have that night.

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Whilst in my dream world, the said recipe gets wilder and wilder, & the story surrounding it most certainly strange, a bit like Alice in Wonderland actually. So far there was a nice guest appearance from Monsieur Hermè, who was slurping fizzy cola from a paper cup with some faces I knew from 15 years ago (that I thought I had forgotten about), critiquing the recipe in question! At a food court in a mall of all places! Lol…
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The other night I read a recipe book in bed as usual.

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And I got very much fixated on carrot cakes. I like ‘em moist. The cream cheese frosting, a must. No raisins, but lots of walnuts. Easy on the spices.

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By now, I was hoping to dream more about it in my dream, but my dream story must have had a twist, – because when I woke up the next morning, as odd as it may sound, my fixation was not CARROT cake anymore but LEMON cake instead.

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When I woke up, I was like: – So that’s it. Here I am totally fixated on lemon cakes. Gotta bake it. Like, now. – But what kind of lemon cake? Should it have lemon juice &/or just zest? Which cake tin? Round? Square? How should it be garnished? Lemon Icing? Drizzled? What’s the best lemon/ sugar ratio for lemon syrup? … Hmm! It’s like trying to solve a good puzzle! I Love it.
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x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x .
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So here it is, my lemon cake recipe after numerous test-bakes & sacrificial loosened belts for the cause.

It is super moist thanks to the drizzle, & the sponge is flavoursome because some of the plain flour has been replaced with almond powder. It also keeps exceedingly well. Please take note, there’s lemony notes everywhere, what with the zest & the juice in the cake batter, the lemony-sugar syrup drizzle, aswell as more juice in the crunchy icing top. There’s the optional candied lemon strips for the garnish too. – IT’S pretty LEMON-MAD (but not in a OTT way).
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What does sour cream do to the cake?

As well as contributing a fresh & tangy flavour that’s just a perfect addition for a lemon cake, sour cream, being an acidic ingredient, tenderizes the gluten formed in the cake batter, which in effect, results in a finer, dense & moist sponge.
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Why clarify the butter in the cake recipe?

When you gently melt the butter, the 15% water content evaporates & you are left with three layers, separated by density. The top layer is fine foam of whey proteins that floated up, the middle is clear highly purified liquid, & the bottom is cloudy white residue of more milk solids.

The middle layer is the “clarified butter”. It’s unique points are:

• It has a higher smoke point. It can be heated to 200 centigrade before burning (for example this is perfect for pan-frying, & for making pale coloured crepes!). This is because we’ve removed the milk solids which burns easily.
• The highly purified butter gives the cake a concentrated butter flavour. Also slightly nutty fragrance. Typically financiers, madeleines & genoise sponge uses clarified butter.
• It won’t get rancid as quickly as un-clarified butter, since the water content & the impurities had been removed.
• The cake becomes moist & tender because the butter relaxes the gluten in the flour.

To make the clarified butter:

First work out how much to melt. You should melt 130%+ of what the recipe calls for. (My lemon cake requires 100g of clarified butter, so I’ll be melting 130g.)

• 1. Melt butter in a saucepan or microwave.
• 2. Skim the foam/ froth (whey proteins) that surface with a spoon. The best way to skim efficiently is to use the back of a spoon to gently push the froth to one side of pan & then spoon it out.
• 3. Leave aside a little to let it settle in the pan.
• 4. Finally gently spoon out the clarified layer, leaving the milky residue still in the pan.

The star tip here is to have it warmer than body temperature when time comes to use it. The warm liquid will be runnier to mix better with the batter (just like how oil is gloopier when cold, but watery when heated up). Melting & separating the layers is a little extra work to do, but it will make a difference!

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Another mundane but important tip is that you really will be better off if you weigh out all the ingredients beforehand.

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Lemon Drizzle Cake with Lemon Icing Recipe:

(8″ cake = 7 to 8 slices)

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Ingredients:

(quantities for 8″ round baking tin or something similar)

200g eggs (about 4 eggs)
240g sugar
a pinch of salt (3g)
135ml sour cream
20ml of lemon juice
190g plain flour
40g almond powder
5g baking powder
100g of clarified unsalted butter (have prepared 130g to skim from)
zest of 1 unwaxed lemon

For the lemon syrup to drizzle:

50ml lemon juice
60g castor sugar

For the lemon icing:

35ml lemon juice
200g icing sugar

For the garnish:

skin of 1 unwaxed lemon
50g sugar
roughly chopped “extra green” pistachio

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Things to prepare beforehand:

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x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x .

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Method:

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Hi.
I ‘d just like to let you know that I won’t be trading this Saturday. Yes yes, I know, it’s the Easter weekend, & business would probably be great, but I’ve been steadily developing a cold since two Saturdays ago (the day that was cold & hailing). I’ve kept it under control since then, working through it nevertheless, but today, I’m seriously feeling under the weather. On top of that, there are other factors that add to my decision. – My parents are away & I have been paying for childcare whilst I work. Plus, D’s best-mate is coming to stay over this Easter weekend which would be totally fun, I really like the guy, but the house is a right old tip… & this cold is making me feel unmotivated to do anything about it…

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So anyway, hopefully I will be able to use this spare time at home to finally post the ‘Lemon Drizzle Cake recipe’ (with process pictures!) that’s been in the pipeline since last October. The cake is the same one that I sell on the stall, & have several self-proclaimed fans/ followers that come back week-after-week for a slice. Funny thing is, all of these customers are male – so my presumption is: ‘lemon drizzle’ is the one cake to make for male guests…!?

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I hope all of you have a fantastic Easter weekend! And I apologize if there were any bloggy-visitors who were planning to come to my stall this Saturday. Sorry, & I really hope to see you another time…
t xxx

HIIII!!! I’m just soooo excited! I just had to share the news with you…!

I just bought a hot chocolate machine online, & am going to start selling hot drinks from this Saturday…!!! It’s sooo gonna be the best – simply proper couverture chocolate, milk & double cream (no, not cocoa powder in sight). I’ll make it thicker than your standard kind, it’ll be like liquid ganache. Oooh, imagine… I’ll place the machine just next to my truffles & the chocolate boxes – isn’t that like, totally choccy heaven or what!?

Anyway, hope it goes well. I hope I won’t be stuck with gallons of chocolate drink at home time…! I feel giddy with excitement, but anxious with worry too…

(Think Easter eggs with chocolate buttons inside, only in a heart shape! – I obviously can’t pipe straight lines, but hey, just call it ‘part-of-the-charm’ will you?!)
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(Displayed with ‘white chocolate heart discs’ with strawberry & pistachios. A strawberry tip: when assembling, ruffle the leaves up to make it look ‘alive’.)
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For this year’s Valentine’s Day I made just two chocolate hearts, & two-dozen of white heart discs with strawberry/ pistachios. I also made a lot more of my usual heart shaped tarts, especially more with the red raspberry fruit on top, which I knew would be a good seller today.

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And indeed, the day was fantastic, with lots of men going for the obvious red heart tarts & co. Some of them had beautiful flower bouquets too (lucky ladies).

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I always knew today would be great for my stuff, but what I didn’t expect was the overwhelmingly high level of business I was to have. – I mean, the ‘fruit heart tarts’ sold out by 12 noon, & as for the strawberry heart discs, it disappeared by 1.30pm. At the end of the day, I pretty much sold all the truffles too!!

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Today, London is loved up, & I am proud to think that my chocolates & cakes have featured a little in their romance…
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Now that Valentine’s is over, the next big calendar event is Easter in April, when I get busy with making Easter eggs & bunny-shaped chocolate bars. But first, I’ve got a 3-tier Wedding Cake order for March! It’s for the son of my dear customer whom I like very much – I am so happy to be asked to make it!

Hello. I’d just like to mention that I’ll be back trading tomorrow! I know it’ll be FREEEZING, quite probably covered in snow… – I hope that the weather doesn’t put people off coming out, because I (as usual) have made more than I can sell… (do I ever learn??)

(truffles on display)

(my stall with two handsome chaps that work the French cheese stall behind me.)

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Howdy. Happy New Year.

Are you enjoying your holiday? Me? Well…, I WAS thinking;
“yay! no more work & no more Xmas dinner mayhem! Tis the time to slow pace & rest!” … But instead…, my body decided to go in to ‘rest’ literally & got me bedridden with the most drowsy flu for three days. It was the “achy-everywhere with heavy-head” kinda flu, & not the fun “stay in bed & catch up with a spot of reading while partner-brings-hot-milk” type.

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Well, if I tell you that I made twice as much as usual on the last Saturday (20th) at the market, maybe you’ll realize that I put in twice the workload for it. Hence it is maybe not much of a surprise that my body thought it best to stick me in a bed to re-energize before the New Year’s Eve wake-up-athon (which this year’s lasted til 3.30am, hick!).

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I sold:

32 boxes of assorted chocolate truffles, 16 flourless chocolate cakes, 3 lemon drizzle cakes, 14 eight-inch tarts, 12 five-inch tarts, as well as the individual heart-shaped ones & the usual tower of brownies.
That is, in ingredients terms, I used about 12 kilograms of chocolate, roughly 8 kilograms of sugar & 6 kilograms of butter.

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It truly was the record mega make-athon ever. When I list the things I’ve made like this, even I must say, it’s unbelievable. When some customers ask where I make it, & I say at home, with a standard home-oven, they’re surprised that I can produce so much, & as D puts it, at this rate, one-day, the oven is gonna go caput…, quite possibly soon.

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I piped, rolled & coated over 500 chocolate truffles. Remembering my lesson from previous years’ Christmas market day, I pre-packed 20 boxes on Friday night. I think I finished around 2.30am.

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Come Saturday, I asked D to drive me & the goods to the market earlier than usual to set-up. THIS day is THE best sales day of the year for a cakes & chocolate stall like mine. As I’m going to take all of January off, tis the time to do as much as I can.
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The chocolate boxes went one by one. But hang on? Isn’t the pace a bit slow? My sleep-deprived head spun thoughts of “Oh no…!?”‘s… The cake sales were slow on the up-take too. Afterall, it was a gappy 5 days more to go til Christmas, & then there is the purse tightening credit-crunch… It felt as though there were less visitors this year.
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Nevertheless, eventually I sold out on the truffles. The last 4 boxes went to my dear regular customer E who also bought 4 boxes last Christmas. She tells me that it was so popular with her folks last year that she’s back for the same! Bless…
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I glance at the wall-clock in the burger shop situated opposite my stall. Truffle sell-out time this year was 1:30pm. In Year 2006, I finished selling truffles at 11:30am, then Year 2007 was at 12:40pm. It’s taking longer to sell every year it seems, but then again I’m making more & more every year so maybe these numbers don’t really mean a thing.

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I should somehow make like 700 truffles next Christmas market… (Although, the Saturday will fall on the 19th – 6 long days til Christmas Day… hm…)
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Eventually, with a bit of struggle (shouting “saaale…!”), the cakes went too. Huuuge relief, that, especially when I think back to what happened on:
The previous Saturday (the 13th), it was the complete opposite. It wasn’t my worst-ever sales day to date, but it certainly belonged to that end of the spectrum.
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Double rain drop sign was a permanent show on the weather forecast that week, & no surprises, that Saturday started with pouring rain. The tarpaulin roof cover had holes & some of my chocolates & cakes were rained on. I was furious & frustrated. I urged the market-boys double up my roof cover. They eventually did a good job.
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Half the market stalls decided to not show up (or went home in the morning), & the customers certainly had better things to do than do shopping in such a horrible rain. Only the hard-core locals were there & I stayed til 5pm, but I still had loads left. Me & my damaged goods went back home pretty sorry for oneself…

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So anyways, I was one ultra-happy-woman to do so well on the 20th. I took in record sales too. Well, only a £2.90 more than the previous years’ actually! But hey, a record is a record right? ;-)
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Like I mentioned earlier, I’m taking all of January off. My first work-date of the year will be February 7th, in time for selling chocolates for Valentines Day. Hope to see you romantics then! t xxx

(Santa’s presents set up in the fireplace as if he shot it down our chimney… yeah right, how imaginative mum… And notice the unsightly Christmas tree which got mangled by our 5 year old boy… The decoration swapped around, the bead strings yanked… It used to have 10 beautifully iced heart-shaped ginger cookies, of which there is now 1 left… Sigh, how I wish for my beautiful Christmas…!!)
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Merry Christmas everybody!!!!!!

Are you having a good time? Or if you’re reading this post-Christmas, did you have a good time? What did you get up to? Enjoying the holidays?
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Here I am, writing this at 5am, after getting up from bed to set up Santa’s Christmas presents for the children to find when they wake up. I’m still stuffed from last night’s party food. I also ate too much of the truly wicked Sticky Toffee Pudding that our neighbour brought around. It was sooo delicious, I had seconds & thirds. As the proof, my body weighs heavier I’m sure of it… They do say “a moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips”… but I don’t have the ears to listen to that.
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Mind you, the good thing that came from this belt-loosening experience is that I have found the next item that I would want to sell at the market. Yes! Sticky Toffee Pudding! Yum! I’ve already got the recipe from our neighbour. It’s a recipe by Simon Hopkinson, the acclaimed head chef of Bibendum in London. I’m gonna try it out, maybe change it here or there, & look in to how it is shaped, ie: is it baked individually in a pot? or shall I slice portions from a big cake, & so on.
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Anyway, right, off to bed again now!
I’ll write about how my last two markets went next time alright?

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Sweet dreams…

t xxx

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Hello〜!

Quickie note to remind you that there are only two more Saturdays (13th & 20th) this year before the Christmas break! The market itself will be closed on the 27th, & then back to usual trading on the 3rd of January 2009.

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Although…, I’m thinking of not working throughout January, so if you wanna sample Coco&Me goods, make sure to visit me this side of the year!!

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Last Saturday, the Christmas season had finally begun (yay!) & the chocolate sales was marvelous (woo-hoo!) & the big 8-inch cakes sold pretty fast too (yesss)! – With that as the indication, I’ll be making loads & loads more the next two weeks. I’m hoping that it’ll be just as mad as last year’s Christmas rush (read about it by clicking here) when all the chocolates sold by mid-day!

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I’m sure to post more on this blog when I have more time after the 20th, so in the meantime, here’s a sneak preview of the picture of a Coco&Me wedding cake I’m hoping to write about. ‘Til then, ciao!
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