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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(All of the lemon tarts sold in no time despite the bad weather. Lemon & rain… People must subconsciously connect the two!?)

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It was the school holiday week & there was Halloween landing on the Friday. My friend A (with beautiful Martha Stewart-esque house) had organized a proper Halloween party for our children. There was to be fun dressing-up session, then the “trick-or-treating” tour at night, Halloween-themed foods & home-made pumpkin soup for dinner, then the grand finale with fireworks…

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I was dying to go. My four-year-old son would love it & I wouldn’t miss it for the world to see his first-ever “trick-or-treating”. – Y’see, a four-year-old is so much fun to be around, it is lovely! They understand reason compared to a three-year-old, but yet still genuinely pure at heart. Some of the stuff they come up with gets me smiling from ear to ear. For example, the costumed children all thought they were Draculas, Mummies, & Ghosts. As they were walking the “trick-or-treating”, they said “Don’t act Human! Otherwise people will find out!!” Cuuuute…
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I decided to do the market & also attend the Halloween party. To do so, I pretty much made the usual amount in just a day & a half instead of two, which is a silly attempt because I’m already at my limits, pushing myself hard to create as much as I can in the usual two full days. Y’see, every extra bit of chocolate & cake I can make & sell reflects on to my earnings. I have it in my head that, if I am to justify the time spent away from my children (at a time when they are the cutest & need me most), I want to earn as maximum as possible to make it worthwhile.
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I really felt more than tired… squishing my schedule like that, but…, my friend A’s party was superb (it really was Martha-esque!) – I’m glad we went.
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But… the stupid weather forecast who told me to expect interval drizzles that Saturday disappointed me again. It was a downright pour from lunchtime onwards. Come on weather-man, how wrong can you get every flipping time?! The chocolates & cakes didn’t sell well. Actually, to tell you the truth, I had to take home so much unsold stuff… I’d never-ever taken so much home, EVER. I felt so tired, so annoyed.

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And you know what, this Credit-crunch thing is spooking people out from buying. Especially the chocolates which they consider as “luxury” = something to cut back on in these hard times. I’m not sure what kind of sales to expect anymore… hopefully I’ll be alright when the Christmas season kicks in & people start throwing dinner parties, & give chocolates as presents. As for this coming weekend, people might be doing Bonfire parties…
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So, if you ever want somewhere to go on a rainy Saturday, please come to the market & help me get these cakes a home to go to!!

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ps: Oh flipping ‘eck… the weather forecast is rain AGAIN this coming Saturday…

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Last Tuesday I read on Dorie’s blog that Pierre Hermé sells croissants with Ispahan flavour. The picture she took of it looked sooo good, sooo drool-manufacturing, I decided to use my ‘wild-card’ & ask my Paris-residing brother to get it for me & bring it to London (I say ‘wild-card’ because I rarely want to ask him – the reason being, A, he is super-busy, & B, he is clueless about cakes!).

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This week is my lucky week. He happened to have traveled to London to see his Phd tutor about his papers. – And so there they were, MY croissants in a cute P.H. bag, with added bonus of twenty macarons (two each of ten kinds). Yessss…

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“Ispahan” is Hermé’s signature flavour, composed of rose, litchi & raspberry (Apparently he came up with this now iconic flavour-combo back in his days as a executive chef at Ladurée – & that the patisserie retains the rights to sell them too).

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This croissant version has rose-flavoured almond cream with a couple of lichis studded inside, & has freeze-dried bits of raspberry scattered on top of the white icing. Unfortunately mine wasn’t with pink icing like Dorie’s… (I want cute-sy PINK P.H.!) But regardless of the icing-colour, the taste was superb, with a mixed sensation of buttery almond cream & pastry together with the tangy raspberry bits & fruity lichis that refreshes the palate.

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Humpf… Why can’t we buy beautiful croissants like these in London?! Or, even better, why doesn’t Pierre Hermé open a shop here in London??

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Last Monday I was invited to a Heston Blumenthal event held by The Sherry Institute of Spain. I spent the evening sipping five types of beautiful Sherry, nibbling on small but very tasty Heston canapés – all in the name of “finding the perfect food pairings with Sherry”.

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((Heston Blumenthal is the chef & owner of The Fat Duck, a three Michelin starred restaurant here in the UK. He’s most famous for his scientific approach to techniques & flavours (coined molecular gastronomy) & pushing the culinary boundaries. – For example, he makes ‘aerated chocolate soufflé’ by use of a vacuum jar to increase expansion of bubbles during food preparation…!))

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I was expecting a lecture-like situ, where we all sit down facing one direction. But instead, it was like a party. After an hour of drinking Palo Cortado Sherry (the best tasting one of the evening in my opinion), topped-up with more & more Sherry (bring it on waiter!), Heston gave a speech for about five minutes, then one-by-one, different types of Sherry & suggested foods were handed to us with accompanying notes – for us to critique. Although me & my girl-pal “L” found it all a bit giggly, because the glasses & glasses of Sherry were an intoxicating 20% alcohol content, &, coupled with accompanied by “L” that I haven’t seen for a while, it became a rather merry evening!
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The Sherry & food combo’s were:

• Oloroso – paired with – Smoked mackerel & coriander seeds rillettes. – The aroma notes of prune, hazelnut, molasses & figs balanced the smoky & oily flavour of the fish.
• Fino – paired with – Gruyere fondue & ground cloves. – The stone fruit element in the wine worked well with the cheese.
• Manzanilla – paired with - Crab with paprika on toasted country bread. – Unripe peaches & green apple aroma. Crisp acidity.
• Amontillado – paired with – Pata negra ham, peaches, balsamic vinegar, rocket & marcona almonds. – Woody & spicy aroma with balsamic note.
• Pale Cream – paired with – Scotch quails egg. – Nutty, meaty, smoky, fruity aromas.

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In all, the flavours of the foods were perfectly extended by the Sherry. We were very much impressed with it all, & were hmm-ing & ahh-ing with every one of them. Undoubtedly, eating a three Michelin starred Heston food (& in his presence) was exciting, & every plate was indeed “perfection”, just like his book title.
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The most notable by far was the scotch egg. Firstly, I looove scotch egg. And this one had quails egg which I dig more than chicken egg too. AND I don’t know HOW, but the egg was still “soft-boiled”, gorgeous yolk still oozing. Pork sausage meat juicy n’ bouncy. Ahhhh-mazing.

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So I guess you’re wondering what the purpose of the event was & how I got to be there. Well, it was all about debunking the myth that Sherry is only to be drank at Christmas, & that it can be enjoyed with simple dishes that can be made at home, all year round. – And indeed, it was a definite eye opener for me. I really enjoyed drinking it, & if you can handle the alcohol, why not have it with your dinner? Count me in to the ‘convinced’ vote. – As for why I was invited, they think food bloggers can spread the word just like journalists can. Well, if it’s a fab food event like this, please invite me again – please.

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“L” & I sat comfortably on a sofa in the corner of the room all evening. I guess we ought to have mingled, but, it seemed to be full of industry-types, & what am I going to say to them? Hi, I’m just a market stall holder? Anyway, we left when it was starting to get uncomfortable – it is a PR exercise afterall. Not for two (tipsy) girls to giggle about at. There were to be two more dishes, apparently eccles cake with stilton and Sherry butter, & then a Sherry custard cream trifle with even more Sherry tastings – but any more Sherry would’ve been a bad move anyway – I’m surprised as it is that I got home without sleeping on the train! (I nearly did…)
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(We kept forgetting to take photos… because we were hungry eager beavers & needless to say, a little tipsy…)

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(New cakes in the line-up! WINTER FRUIT TART & LEMON DRIZZLE CAKE. – The winter fruit tart was a slow burner despite it being the most delicious of the lot… And healthiest too, as it uses honey to caramelize the nutritious dried fruit & nuts… But on the other hand, the lemon drizzle was a hit! I made two cakes, one to sell as slices, & one to sell as a whole. The ‘whole’ one went in no-time while I was still setting up the stall in the morning. – I’m going to make one more next week. )

(Tower of luxury brownies: for the recipe read my past blog post!)
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Last Saturday I returned to work. And it was… fantastic! I’m still buzzing from it!

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First, the weather was sunny & beautiful. Last month was super-rainy, like almost everyday, so this weekend, loads of people were out to enjoy quite possibly the last bit of sun for the year. Someone told me that the park situated at the end of the market was just simply a sea of people! No doubt armed with goodies purchased from the market. Fantastic.
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Though, it soon became so hot, that I started to get worried about my chocolate truffles. (Would it melt? Would people want to buy chocolates in the hot weather?) But, here being England, the land of chocoholics, I needn’t have worried, because by the end of the day, I managed to sell all except for 2 boxes! (One went to my neighbour who always gives us his allotment goodies. The other box, I’m munching on as I write.) I sold ALL the cakes too. Fantastic.
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During the afternoon, when I was (unnecessarily) worrying about my truffles sales, I decided to cut some of them up as tastings to offer to potential customers who stop by. I cut about 10 ‘bits’ from a truffle, & I would say I manage to get a sale at a 5:1 ratio. Quite good going I reckon. Y’see, I thought, if I was going to have some left anyway, I might as well use it up. And besides, even if the people didn’t purchase anything, you never know, they ‘might’ one-day come back to my stall because they remembered. So that’s the future sales sorted, right?
- – Mind you, it’s a funny old thing, because the act of offering ‘tastings’ is actually an art form. Especially at a food stall market. If you leave the plate at the front, it’ll easily be wiped clean in nano-seconds & crucially no sale. I once had a young lady literally cycling past & grabbing in non-stop action. Quite amusing, but rude, I thought.

- – Since then, I whip out the plate from behind the cakes only when people stop by for more than 3 seconds. Most times, this seems to pleasantly surprises them. I then look at them in the eye while they taste, & sometimes ask what they think. Most people come back with: “ahh, lovely”‘s & “oooh, it’s nice”‘s. Now & again, I get a connoisseur-type who’d give me a paragraph. The fact is, this is great. I’m genuinely interested in what they say. And if it turns in to a sale, double great!

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Through the day, there were some people who came by my stall mentioning this blog & one that came by because she read that I’ll be back. Sooooo touching! Thank you! - Loads of locals stopped by for a chat too. It’s good to know nothing’s changed. Still the smiley people that they are.
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I love Broadway market. I love the locals, I love the type of customers it attracts, & I love my fellow stall holders. Being back is great.

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Hello!

I’m going to restart trading at the market from next Saturday! (20th) Yay! It’s enough with the maternity break. Time to venture out of the coochi-coochi-koo-land & get active, pull my sleeves up, earn some dough. I tell ya, I’m sooo excited & sooo happy about restarting that I’ve got that wonderful “nervous but also giddy” feeling that is similar to when I started the market the first time round.

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I’m revved up & I’ll be armed with lots of chocolates & cakes. There’ll be the “usual suspects” (like the Flourless chocolate cake) & also one or two new products for the line-up that I am “hoping” to make (like the Caramelized dried fruits & nuts tart which I’m pondering on calling it “Winter fruit tart”, & the lemon drizzle cake that will be sold as slices).
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So if you’re around in London next Saturday, fancy popping over??

Love t xx

(Got a white edding pen & wrote direct on the bottles instead of sticking paper labels!)

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Hello, hows things? Hope life is treating you sweet.

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Thought I’d let you know of how my homemade vanilla extract turned out after the 5 week+ of brewing. – As you know, I made 3 samples – with vodka, rum & brandy – & I can say that the best one was… drum-roll please… with Vodka!! Ta-da〜!

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The clear vodka now coloured rich auburn brown, has the most heady scent of vanilla. Bliss. It’s a “happy-moment”. You know that the vanilla has been fully extracted. It has a slightly syrupy density, & when you shake the bottle then pour, you’d get loads of specks of vanilla beans. Gorgeous.

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The other two, the rum & the brandy versions, well, forget ‘em really… The distinct flavour of the alcohol drowned the delicate vanilla scent. Quite disappointing & pointless. Despite this, I think I’ll use the rum for making “rum-soaked raisin chocolate truffles” that I used to make for the market sometime ago. Just chop raisins up & soak them in rum overnight before mixing it into ganache with some of the rum liquid you used to soak with. Slightly boozy & definately heavenly.

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As for the brandy version, well…, if anyone has a good idea on how to use that up, please let me know!
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- Since the last time I posted on this blog, I’ve been busy with perfecting my triple lemon drizzle cake, like changing ingredients here & there. I’ve made it 6 times now, & finally “got it right”. It’s soooo amazingly tasty, I’m thinking of adding it to the stall cake-line-up come from this September. I’m now in a process of writing about it for this blog, which is taking ages, because I want to explain about why it uses sour cream, etc…

- I also made a “3-tier wedding cake with chocolate swirly sticks” for my best friend recently, which I will also post about in the near future if & when the wedding photographer gives me some nice pictures of it.
- SO, ’til the next time, see y’all! ^^

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(I made three bottles – with vodka, brandy & rum to experiment. In 5 weeks time I’ll know which one came out best!)

(I used clear glass jars despite the “instructable” suggesting to use dark glass to protect the extract from direct sun exposure. I’ll put them in a dark cupboard instead!)
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Do you have half-consumed bottles of vodka (or brandy or rum) sitting in your cupboard that’s been long forgotten about? Well, here’s an idea. You can infuse them with vanilla pods to concoct yourself a superior homemade vanilla extract.
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Y’see, now that I’m walking around the house with a baby sling instead of partying like an animal (!?), I decided that I might aswell turn these forgotten alcoholic beverages to good use, by baking it in to cakes & stuff. Much more useful – having a boozy vanilla extract instead…
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The supermarket price VS the cost to home-make:

A bottle of bog standard vanilla extract off the supermarket shelf can be pricey at around £4.00 for a measly 100ml. As for purchasing just ONE pod, it ranges from £1.44 for the cheapest to an extortionate £2.26.

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I figured out that this project could turn out a tad expensive. The recipe requires 30g of pods (8 to 10 pods) to 250ml. Thats hell-of-a-lot of pods… If you buy pods off-the-shelf for this, it’s like over 14 pounds for the pods, then you gotta think of how much the alcohol would cost on top of that!

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Luckily, my homemade brew costs a lot less in comparison, as my vanilla pods are cheap (I got mine from a wholesaler at £75 for 1kg), & as for the alcohol, I worked out that it costs just over £1 for 100ml. To make a 250ml, it’ll probably cost me just under 3 pounds.
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For the recipe, I followed the “instructable” & its author’s website it links to. (“Instructable” is a website where passionate people share what they do & how they do it, & learn from others. – I love whiling away my time browsing the often bizarre & original food ‘instructables’. The recent ‘I-wish-I-came-up-with-that-idea’ I found was to use a playdough extruder to make long square rods of cookie dough to make pixel patterned cookies!!)
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The instructable goes to great lengths to document the recipe for vanilla extract, & I’m not even gonna try to emulate.

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But here’s the RECIPE, nut-shell version:

• 1. Sterilize the bottle(s) by boiling them for 10 minutes.
• 2. Work out how many pods you need. It’s 30 grams (8-10 beans) per 250 ml of 40% alcohol.
• 3. Split the pod lengthways, scrape the beans & put both pod-skin & beans in to the bottle. Here, it’s best to chop the pod-skin in to fourths so it stays submerged in the alcohol.
• 4. Fill with alcohol (vodka most recommended, else, brandy or rum).
• 5. Tightly shut the lid & vigorously shake the bottle.
• 6. Shake everyday for the first week. And in weeks 2, 3 & 4, shake the bottle a few times a week.
• 7. Week 5: Ta-daaa! You’re now a proud owner of alot of vanilla extract!

Note: Shake the bottle if you want the seeds/ beans in your recipe. And top-up with more alcohol if the pod-skin gets exposed. After 6 months you can take the pod-skins out as the extraction has finished by then.

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UPDATE 17.07.08

using vodka for the extraction was best. The rum/ brandy, the distinct smell of the alcohol overpowered the delicate vanilla scent.

(& 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! (if this was a park in London, more than half would probably disappear I’m sure…) – 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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