lemon polenta cake {inspired by We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman} (recipe)

Recently I started thinking about the days when I used to bake and blog a couple times a week, being a blogger and somewhat of an influencer before the word influencer was used to describe what I was doing for fun. I miss it, but it is work. Fun work, but work. 

Before the blog post there is the planning/inspiration, the shopping and cost of ingredients, then the baking and the clean up. After that you have the photo taking and editing and the writing... 

Once you get the blog post up it's the self promotion. Have you used the right hashtags? Making sure you post at the right times to try and get the most views. And now so much has changed. I have to make reels or tiktoks? Who reads blogs anymore? 

I loved it as a creative outlet when I was at home with the kids, but now a days life is different. Life is always changing. 

Netgalley gifted me an ecopy of *We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman - it's a devastatingly beautiful and sorrowful story about how one's life changes when your best friend is diagnosed with cancer. 

One of the things that Edi wants is a Sicilian lemon polenta pound cake that she came across once at a bakery and never saw again. So, there is a hunt for the recipe in the book. This is not the above, but it is a damn tasty polenta cake from the gorgeous Nigella. It can be found on her website as well as in her book Kitchen. 

lemon polenta cake: 

200g soft unsalted butter (plus some for greasing)

200g caster sugar

200g ground almonds

100g fine polenta (or cornmeal)

1½ teaspoons baking powder

3 large eggs

zest of 2 unwaxed lemons (save juice for syrup)

(syrup)

juice of 2 lemons

125 grams icing sugar

Line the base of a 23cm / 9inch circle or square cake tin (grease sides with butter if needed)

Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/gas mark 4/ 350°F.

Beat the butter and sugar together until pale and soft. 

Mix the dry ingredients together (almonds, polenta, baking powder) and then beat a third of it into the butter mixture, then add one egg and beat until combined, alternate again with another third of the dry ingredients, egg, and then the last of the dry mixture; mixing well between each addition. 

Lastly add the lemon zest and then scrap into your prepared tin, I used a spatula to smooth it into the corners. Pop it into the oven and bake for 40 minutes. 

I left mine in accidentally for a few extra minutes, but when it comes out it make still look a little wobbly, but if the cake tester comes out mostly clean you are good, it also will cave a little in the middle that is normal. Leave to cool in the tin, while making the lemon sugar syrup. 

Which one makes by boiling the lemon juice and icing sugar together until the sugar is dissolved. Using the cake test or something similar using anything bigger will be destructive to the cake according to Nigella, pour the warm syrup slowly over the cake, I used a brush to spread it over the top to stop it just pooling in the middle. Leave to cool completely in the tin before taking out and cutting up into 12-16 squares/slices (depending on how you want to distribute it)! Enjoy!

> Will keep for 5-6 days and is suitable for freezing just make sure you wrap it up tight and eat within a month. 

"Everyone dies, and yet it's unendurable. There is so much love inside of us. How do we become worthy of it? And, then, where does it go? A worldwide crescendo of grief, sustained day after day, and only one tiny note of it is mine." - Catherine Newman 

* I really enjoyed this story, the writing style was different, but once adjusted to it was easy to follow. Not sure I particularly liked the characters, but that didn't stop me from relating to what they were going through and it gave me room to question how I would feel or respond in a similar situation. Also appreciated that it didn't cover up the real and horrible sides of watching someone you love die. Out now!

Coffee & Walnut Cake {inspired by the Brenda and Effie series by Paul Magrs}

It's the best when you read a great book and are inspired by what you find in the pages of that book. For me it's usually food related, but that's not always it. But it is for this post. 

Paul Magrs wrote a book called Never the Bride about an older woman who lives in a little English sea side town where weird things happen to her and her best friend. She's not all that she seems and I suspect neither is her friend. He then followed it up with Something Borrowed, it was in this book after Brenda and Effie (the two heroines I just mentioned) saved the day yet again and were celebrating in there favorite cafe, The Walrus and the Carpenter, with coffee and cake. Not just any cake an English classic more specifically this cake.

Coffee Walnut Cake: 

225g caster sugar
225g soft unsalted butter (plus some for greasing)

4 large eggs

50g walnut pieces, chopped
200g plain flour
4 teaspoons instant espresso powder
2½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 - 2 tbsp milk

Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C Fan and line and grease two 20cm / 8inch cake tins.

Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add the eggs one by one until just mixed. Mix the flour, espresso powder, baking powder, bicarb and walnuts into the batter and mix until just combined. Add the milk a little at a time until the batter is drop like constancy.

Divide the mixture between the tins and bake in the oven for 25 minutes, or until the sponge feels springy to the touch. Cool the cakes in their tins on a wire rack for about 10 minutes, before turning them out onto the rack and peeling off the baking parchment; once they are completely cool you can make the buttercream.

Frosting: 
350g icing sugar
175g soft unsalted butter
2½ tsp instant espresso powder (dissolved in 1 tbsp boiling water)
approx. 10 walnut halves (to decorate)

Place the butter into a mixing bowl and beat for a minute or two before shifting in the icing sugar and espresso mixture. Beat until smooth and lighter in color. 

to finish: Place one layer on your stand/plate and spread about half of the frosting on the first layer and then place the other layer on top and frost it before decorating the edges with the walnut halves. 

page from Something Borrowed by Paul Magrs

Up next in the Brenda and Effie series is Conjugal Rites and I can't wait to see what they get up to next!! 

Note: The recipe is loosely adapted from a Nigella recipe from her book Kitchen, also found on her website here. 

Raisin Cake with Apple Syrup {recipe} *inspired by The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

My life is always torn between books and baking and on occasion they merge.

This is one of those occasions.

The Cruel Prince was released early this year and everyone went mad for it. I love Holly Black, her Curse Worker series being one of my all time favorites, however fairies and the world of the Faerie have never been my first choice in supernatural worlds, genre, or whatever.

The book is clever and deserves all the praise it has received and I will probably read the rest of the series/trilogy but, I will do so in my own time. One thing about the Faerie world that I like best is the food. Note that if you are a human living in Faerie you sprinkle all your food with salt to counter act any spells or enchantments that may have been placed on the food. After that you are free to enjoy the delicious food they provide, the author mentions our heroine or anti-heroine (Holly Black writes a great anti-hero) eating a raisin cake with apple syrup and I literally had a light bulb moment.

Even if you haven't read the book this cake is worth a try. My apple syrup is a little thick and that was due to my timing of taking pictures, life of a blogger. So, the syrup can be made looser or thicker to match your preference.

Raisin Cake:

160g raisins
60ml apple juice
185g self-raising flour
60g plain flour
150g butter, cubed
140g light brown sugar
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
apple syrup to serve (recipe below)

Heat the oven to 180C/350F - Start by soaking the raisins in the apple juice and leave aside for 10 minutes. While they chilling and soaking up all that juice line the base of a deep 7 in (17cm) round cake tin grease the sides of your tin, I always very lightly grease the baking paper too.

Melt the butter and sugar on a low heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar is dissolved. While it's melting sift both of the flours into a large mixing bowl. Once the butter and sugar mixture is done mix with the raisins and then add to the flour. Add the eggs to the mixture and stir with a spatula/wooden spoon until just combined.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin, smooth it down as best as you can. Bake for 45-55 minutes, use the skewer test to confirm it's baked through. It will brown quicker then it will cook, so keep the golden brown color you want place a piece of tin foil over the top to help stop it from burning or becoming too dark on the top.

Leave to cool and make the apple syrup.

Apple Syrup:

2 tart apples, cored, peeled, and sliced thin
100g sugar
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp water

Place all of the ingredients in a saucepan over a medium/high heat and bring to a boil before reducing the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes or until the apples are soft and the sauce has thickened.

If you aren't using immediately take off the heat and place in a separate bowl as I left it and it thickened a little more then I would have liked. But it's all a personal preference!

Then pour over a slice of raisin cake and enjoy!

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
synopsis - Of course I want to be like them. They're beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever.
And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.
One terrible morning, Jude and her sisters see their parents murdered in front of them. The terrifying assassin abducts all three girls to the world of Faerie, where Jude is installed in the royal court but mocked and tormented by the Faerie royalty for being mortal. 
As Jude grows older, she realises that she will need to take part in the dangerous deceptions of the fey to ever truly belong.
But the stairway to power is fraught with shadows and betrayal. And looming over all is the infuriating, arrogant and charismatic Prince Cardan . . . 

*All opinions are my own, I bought my own copy of The Cruel Prince from amazon for my Kindle. For more information see my contact/policy page above!

Spiced Pumpkin Cake

One of the books on my summer reading list was Heartless by Marissa Meyer. I read it in a day or two, I was completely taken with Lady Catherine Pinkerton, the future Queen of Hearts. We all know the end of the story, but we don't know the beginning....until now.

Catherine is a keen baker, the story opens up with her making the perfect lemon tarts. We also quickly learn of her dream of opening her own bakery, but of course being a proper lady her parents have different plans for their only daughter. 

When I was trying to figure out which delicious bake to make out of the many Catherine makes I didn't know if I should go with the lemon tarts, rose macaron's, or the climatic bake the Spiced Pumpkin Cake. 

If you want to know exactly what that means then I suggest you get a copy of this book right away and give it a read! It was an easy read and I loved being taken back to Wonderland even if it was only for a short time....well until I re-read it! 

This Spiced Pumpkin Cake turned out perfectly soft and spiced. The slight tartness of the cream cheese frosting perfectly matches the cake and as Catherine did I topped it with toasted coconut. Which did give it an extra something, she really knows how to bake. 

Spiced Pumpkin Cake

165g plain flour

115g sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

2/4 salt

1 tbsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground nutmeg

115g light brown sugar

225g (1/2 can) canned pumpkin

2 large eggs

150ml vegetable oil

Heat the oven to 180C and line the bottom of two 7 inches or 20cm round cake tins. 

Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, bicarb of soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg in a bowl and set aside. Beat the brown sugar and pumpkin together until combined, using a whisk or hand mixer. Add the eggs and beat until just combined, then add the oil and beat until it too is combined. Add 1/2 of the flour mixture and gently beat until combined, then add the other half and again beat until completely combined. Pour half of the batter into one prepared tin and fill the other prepared cake tin with the rest of the batter! 

Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until sponge comes back when gently pressed or used the skewer test. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before taking out of the tins and leaving to cool completely before icing. 

Cream Cheese Frosting

170g cream cheese

45g unsalted butter, room temperature

170g icing sugar (plus 1-2 tablespoons)

1 tsp of vanilla extract 

Beat the cream cheese and butter together until soft and completely combined. Add the vanilla extract and the icing sugar bit by bit. I added a couple of extra tablespoons to my frosting to make it come together better. If it's too runny add a tablespoon as a time. 

to finish: 

approx. 25g desiccated coconut, toasted 

Place the first layer of the cake on a cake stand and spread half of the cream cheese frosting on top leaving a bit of room around the edge, when the top layer goes on it will smooth it out to the edge. So, go ahead and gently place the top layer on. Then put the rest of the frosting on top and spread nicely. Before covering with the toasted coconut. 

I toasted my coconut after the cakes came out of the oven, as it was already warm, by spreading about 25g of desiccated coconut on a baking sheet it only takes like 3-5 minutes so watch it! 

I'm not 100% sure this cake would stand up to the Queen's standards nor am I sure it would win any baking competitions, but it is delicious!! If you want to read more about Heartless check out my review in the previous post or linked here. 

Heartless by Marissa Meyer {book review}

Everyone loves a good fairytale, but it's a thing since the days of Gregory Maguire and Wicked to write all about the villain.  I have to say I'm loving the thing of villains getting their say, learning how they became the villain, but only if the villain becomes and stays a villain. Ya know what I'm saying?

And where I have a separate appreciation for tv shows/movies like Once Upon a Time and Descendants and Ever After High where the bad guys are choosing to be good and writing their own stories I can't help but feel that a really really good story is only as good as the villain.

Hero's have their own role to play, but I do like a good villain.

Heartless by Marissa Meyer

From the back cover: Long before Alice fell down the rabbit hole... And before the roses were painted red... The Queen of Hearts was just a girl, in love for the first time.

My thoughts: I couldn't help but love this book. Not only because the first chapter, well the very first page talks of the perfect lemon tarts Catherine, the future Queen of Hearts, is baking. Having enjoyed Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicle series I knew I would be surprised if I didn't like this book. Not only do we get a good idea of who the Queen once was we also get a good understanding of why she is the way she is. And I should add an understanding that makes sense unlike the wonderland she lives in. My other praise for the book is the secondary characters: Mad Hatter, Cheshire Cat, the King, the Knave of Hearts, the White Rabbit and so on were all portrayed in the best possible way to fit into the story. I was very impressed with how Marrissa Meyer was able to keep the world we know and love similar and relatable. If you like me love a good fairytale with a twist definitely give it a read! As some suggested to me make sure you have a good slice of cake ....

In fact why not make this Pumpkin Spice Cake - after reading the book you'll understand!

Harry Potter 20 years - my story {plus treats}

After being on social media yesterday and reading and watching all the hype about Harry Potter and how it's been 20 years since it's release I just felt like sharing my part of the story.

I discovered Harry Potter later then most. I was flying to my sisters wedding in Hawaii when I bought my very first Harry Potter book. We had a 5 hour lay over at the airport when my 17 year-old self start whining to my mom that I was bored and couldn't I get a book?

So I was browsing the book store  in the airport and they had a big display of Harry Potter books. Remembering my friend Sally reading Harry Potter one day at school I picked it up and read the back. I can recall the memory clearly. Having always enjoyed books about magic and creatures of the dark I thought hey this will be an easy and relaxing read for vacation and I was right!

Butterbeer Floats

After that it was a bit fuzzy about where I started reading, but I knew I was hooked while sitting next to the pool and laughing out loud. My little sister had asked what I was laughing at and I was trying to explain to her how amazing and funny this book was. Because we had other things to be doing while exploring Hawaii I hadn't sat down and read it all the way through.  While waiting to board I was reading the last few chapters in the airport when my Uncle asked me what I thought so far.

I couldn't say enough. To when he admitted he was already on book two and that his cousin Mary Grandpre was the cover artist!! I was in awe. By the time we got back to Minnesota I had finished Philosopher's Stone and immediately bought Chamber of Secrets.

Sweet Pumpkin Pasties 

I was in a dilema after this because Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire were only available in hardback. We didn't buy hardbacks, it was a lot cheaper to wait for the paperbacks. See here I did buy both books from our Kmart (only store in our little town) in hard back with my own money. Weird? anyway I couldn't wait to find out what happened next.

That is how I got addicted to Harry and his story.

Rock Cakes

I was in college by the time the 5th book was published. I pre-ordered it, but there was no midnight picking up thing going on in my town and so I had to work the day it was released. I was working at a Movie Gallery (now I'm showing my age, I worked at a movie rental place.... how times have changed) and the mall was across the street. It was dead and the guy I was working with wanted to leave to get something somewhere and so we made a deal we'd sneak off of work to get the things we wanted. I snuck over and got my book which came with a sticker of the cover (which is on a sketch book at my parents house) and cool Harry glasses. Work was still dead and I started it while working.

Golden Snitch Bomb Cake

By the time the 6th and 7th book came out I was living in the UK. For The Half-Blood Prince my husband took me to the Waterstones to pick up my copy. He didn't believe me that the line would be long so we didn't leave until like 10:30pm and were like the last in line. But it was fun being with a lot of other Potter fans!

When Deathly Hollows came out I had made good friends with Cathy, who was also a fan. I was pregnant with my first born and my Muggle t-shirt was a bit too tight because at 4/5 months I was already showing. We were dropped off my our significant others and left to hang out with all the other Harry Potter fans. Once we collected our books we didn't talk just read sitting on the steps next to the prison waiting for the boys to pick us up. I stayed up so late and I had to work the next day. As I finished my shift and was waiting for my ride I was still reading my book and this lady walked past and said you've gotten really far! I was like yes yes I have!!

Snitch Brownie Bites

This is a long post, but it's just crazy for me to think that all of this has made such an impact in my life that I remember it so very clearly.

I have read the series more then once and it's probably about time for another read. It doesn't matter how many times you read it, every time you pick it up it's like visiting it again for the first time, but it feels like you're coming home.

My story isn't one of where it saved me or got me through a hard time, but it's my story and I love reading and hearing other people's Harry stories.

When and where did you first fall in love with the Harry Potter series? If you aren't able to answer that question I hope that after reading this post I can be a part of your story.

*links to the recipes of the above pictures are underneath the pictures!

Cherry Crumble Cheesecake Bars {Curse Worker Trilogy: White Cat, Red Glove, and Black Heart by Holly Black}

"You're Only a Finger Tip Away from Another World." ~ The Curse Workers

My friend Missie and I have known each other some time and we've always liked the same things. We've always enjoyed the same TV shows, movies, and of course books. So, I was thrilled when she contacted me and asked me to be a part of her Bookies to Foodies week a couple years ago. I loved this recipe and I have been wanting to share it here with you now! 

I recently finished reading Holly Black’s Curse Worker Trilogy, having read White Cat a few years ago it was about time I read Red Glove and Black Heart. My only disappointment was not reading them sooner!

The Curse Worker Trilogy is about a young man named Cassel Sharpe. By-the-way I love Cassel!! He’s really an anti-hero, which is why I love him so much. He’s not the typical “good guy” even though he does try.

See he comes from a family of curse workers. People who can manipulate people’s emotions, change/steal memories, break people’s bones by just touching them and so on. There is a wide range of talent - some only being able to work little charms so to speak and those who have a talent that only comes along once in a generation like transformation. There are also those who do not have any talent at all. Cassel is one of those people. In a powerful family such as his he really is an odd one out.

With his mom in jail, his dad gone, and his brothers working for a big crime lord it only made sense for him to go away to a private school. It was the school food and more specifically school desserts that inspired these Cherry Crumble Cheesecake Bars!

In the Red Glove Cassel eats Cherry Crumble for dessert while dining in the school cafeteria. When I was at school and the rare occasions that I had a school dinner, I favored a packed lunch, I remember having dessert bars. So, a combination of the book and my experience so here is how I made them:

Cherry Crumble Cheesecake Bars

300g (2 cups) plain flour

100g (1/2 cup) light brown sugar

228g (2 sticks) butter, softened

360g (12-ounces) packages cream cheese

120g (1/2 cup) sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 425g can of black cherries, pitted – 213g/7oz of fresh cherries, chopped

crumble topping (recipe follows) 

Heat the oven to 180C/350F. In a medium bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Press evenly into a 9x9in square pan or a 13x 9in baking pan lined with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and the sugar until combined. Then add the eggs 1 at a time and vanilla. Stir to combine. Pour over warm crust. Evenly spread out the chopped cherries before sprinkling the crumble mixture over the top. Bake for 40 minutes or 30 minutes if using a bigger pan. Leave to cool in the fridge and serve it up!

Crumble Topping:

200g (1 cup) brown sugar

150g (1 cup) flour

60g (1/2 cup) rolled or quick cooking oats

114g (1 stick) butter, softened

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients. Yield: approximately 3 cups

If you use a can of cherries don’t waste the juice reduce it in a saucepan with a tablespoon of sugar, a tablespoon of cornflour/cornstarch, and a tsp of vanilla extract until thick and jelly like. Use it as a dip or drizzle on top!

I cannot recommend these Cherry Crumble Cheesecake Bars enough! The same goes for this series! I loved reading about Cassel and I wish I could read more about him! Thinking a re-read is in store sooner then later!

Blackberry Crumble Custard Tarts

If you have read my previous post you will already know this, but if you have come here from another source then you should know that these tarts were inspired by a fictional King Edward VI from a booked titled Lady Jane: the not entirely true story. If you'd like to know a bit more about the story and my thoughts on the book click on the title above.

This post is to talk about these Blackberry Crumble Custard Tarts...... which were super amazing! In the book the King loves his blackberries especially as pie. The thing is I am not a huge fan of fruit pie because cooked mushy fruit just doesn't appeal to me.

Brainstorming, isn't something you just learn at school, an idea other then pie was fairly simple. It went like this: use fresh blackberries, fresh berries taste great in tarts, tarts are similar to pie, custard goes well in tarts and done.

So, no these aren't exactly blackberry pie, but as the real fictional king loved blackberries in or out of pie I am positive he would have approved of these.

Blackberry Crumble Custard Tarts

Shortcrust Pastry with orange zest

250g plain flour
100g icing sugar
pinch of salt
150g unsalted butter, cold grated or cubed
2 egg yolks
1 egg
zest of 1 orange

Sift the flour and icing sugar together in a large mixing bowl, add the pinch of salt and the cold grated butter. Rub gently between your finger tips until it resembles bread crumbs - try to handle it as little as possible. *I sometimes run my hands under cold water and pat dry before this last step as my hands are generally warm.
Gently whisk the egg yolks and yolk together, make a well in the bread crumbs and add the eggs as well as the orange zest. Using a spatula bring the dough together. It will be a bit crumbly, pour onto a sheet of clingfilm and gently pat down into a square and wrap in the clingfilm. Keep it in the fridge for a minimum of an hour, but is best if kept overnight.

Quick(ish) Custard

30g caster sugar
2 tbsp cornflour
3 egg yolks
260ml double cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Using a glass or metal bowl whisk the sugar, cornflour, and egg yolks until lighter in color and you have incorporated a bit of air into them. Leave aside and heat the cream and vanilla together until it starts to produce little bubbles aka simmering. Gradually pour the now vanilla infused cream over the egg yolk mixture, whisking all the while.
Make a double boiler by placing your heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water, stir the custard until thick and creamy. Can take about 7-10 minutes. To test it use a spatula or spoon by dipping it into the custard and when you pull it out it shouldn't drip off the spoon, run your finger through the middle and if the trail your finger makes stays it's done.
Take off the heat and continue whisking for a few minutes before leaving in the fridge to cool for a minimum of 4 hours.

To Assemble: 

225g blackberries
Oat Crumble (optional) recipe found here.
Egg wash: 1 small egg, lightly beaten

Pastry: Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface, to about 3mm or .3cm and cut into rounds to fit your muffin tin make sure to leave a little over the top for shrinkage. Press carefully into the muffin cavities, no need to grease. Place in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
Take them out of the fridge and line with grease proof baking paper and line with baking beads or your choice of weight some people use rice. Blind bake for 10-15 minutes or until it starts to brown. Remove the baking beads and brush a very light layer of the egg wash over each pastry case and bake for an extra 2 minutes or so. Leave to cool completely before adding a blackberry or two depending how big they are to each case. Cover with the custard and oat crumble if using. Enjoy!

I shared these with my work colleagues and they had a deep discussion about how one of them didn't like blackberries, but were loving them with the custard and oat topping. Then I was asked what it was that was giving it that extra something and I said it was probably the orange zest in the pastry. With that revaluation it was readily agreed upon that that was what was giving it that something special. They are funny, I do love working with fellow foodies!

*recipe adapted from Sweet Tooth by Lily Vanilli

My Lady Jane: The not entirely true story by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows {book review}

It's time I confess I have been having an affair. An affair with books. Baking will forever be a love of mine, but in all honestly books were my first love. 

I have tried mixing my love of reading and baking before by adding in the hashtag #storybookbakes to my treats that were inspired by books and characters or a treat that actually appears in the story. 

Then I tried adding in my reading lists for the seasons, but I think I'd like to start reviewing books that I like on here along with a treat that was inspired by it. 

So, the first title I am going to review on here is My Lady Jane: The not entirely true story by Hand, Ashton, and Meadows.

My Lady Jane - the not entirely true story:

From the back cover: 

This is the story of a real Queen of England. Not the nasty version where her head is chopped off, but the one with lots of humour, romance, and galloping around. Lady Jane must keep her wits to survive, but it's tricky when your downfall is being plotted and your new husband forgets to tell you that he turns into a horse. 

My thoughts: 

I couldn't help, but love this story. Set in history with a lot of truths, I did my research, but with changes that make it an adventure instead of a sad tale of a girl who was queen for 9 days before being beheaded as a traitor. The story follows the cousins Lady Jane Grey and King Edward VI (son of King Henry VIII and Jane Seymour) who after he finds out he's dying names Jane his successor instead of one of his half-sisters Mary or Elizabeth. I don't want to give too much away, but the story is funny and entertaining I couldn't recommend it enough! 

If you are a stickler for history and don't like it being messed with then I wouldn't read this one! 

*Blackberry Crumble Custard Tarts - inspired by young King Edward's favorite berry - blackberries! Find the recipe here. 

Blueberry Scones

Wesley Wyndam-Pryce: I wonder if asking Ms. Chase to dance would...
Giles: For God's sake, man, she's 18, and you have the emotional maturity of a blueberry scone. Just have at it, would you, and stop fluttering about. 
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer - season 3 episode 20

I started watching Buffy when I was in high school and I was obsessed with it! My friend and I would call each other during the commercials for any "OMG" moments. We related to all the teenage angst and felt we were a part of the Scooby Gang.

Re-watching it now I am still taken into all the angst, but with less "OMG" moments not just because I have seen it before, but because I have more life experience. Now it's more like "Yup that's how it happens, that's life." Which is why it's such a great show.

Watching Buffy has been a trip down memory lane and when I decide to watch it again in like 20 years I am sure I will see it differently once again. Sometimes long for the days of having the emotional maturity of a blueberry scone, but mostly I'm glad those days are over.

Blueberry Scones

150g dried blueberries
orange juice, for soaking
150g cold unsalted butter
500g self-raising flour , plus a little extra for dusting
2 level teaspoons baking powder
2 heaped teaspoons caster sugar
pinch of salt
2 large free-range eggs
4 tablespoons milk , plus a little extra for brushing

A couple of hours or so before you start place the dried fruit into a bowl and pour over just enough orange juice to cover. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Put the butter, flour, baking powder, sugar, and a pinch of salt into a big bowl and using your (clean) fingers to gently rub the butter into the flour until just combined. The less it's touched the more crumbly it will be.
Make a well in the middle of the dough, add the eggs and milk, and gently mix with a spatula or spoon. Drain the soaked blueberries and fold into the dough. If needed add a little bit of milk, until it forms a soft, dry dough. It should be bit scruffy, the opposite of bread dough which is usually smooth and neat.
Sprinkle a little flour over the top of the scruffy dough and leave in a bowl (covered with with cling film) in the fridge for 15 minutes.
When the time is up roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until it's about 2-3cm thick. Then with a 6cm round cutter or something with about that diameter cut out circles from the dough. Place them upside down on a baking sheet. Re-roll the rest of the dough and cut out as many as you can. Brush the top with either melted butter or milk.
Bake for 12-15 minutes. They will be risen and golden on top! Leave them to cool before serving with clotted cream and jam!

Scones are one of the most controversial afternoon treats here in England; from how they are pronounced and what gets put on first the cream or the jam? I myself pronounce scone like cone with an 's' and I like my cream first then the jam. 

*recipe adapted from Jamie Oliver's Crumbliest Scone recipe - found in Jamie's Great Britain

Lemon Cake: The Lunar Chronicles

My tastes in books is very broad, I would give any book no matter the label a chance. However, I am prone to gravitate towards fantasy and science fiction. Even better if the two are mixed. Which is exactly what you get with the Lunar Chronicles.

The first book in the series is Cinder - based on surprise surprise Cinderella! Except she's a cyborg and a wanted fugitive. That's all I can say without giving too much away. I enjoyed it so much I couldn't wait to read what happened next in Scarlet. A story about a young girl who is looking for her grandmother and seeks help from a wolf. Marissa Meyer ties the two stories together very smoothly as she continued to do in Cress. The only title that might cause a raised eyebrow as it's the one name that isn't as obvious as the others if you haven't read the first two. Cress's story is based on Rapunzel and it's very cleverly done. The last but, not last title is Winter, which is based on no other then Snow White. Winter is the final book in the series and the fattest - probably due to the tying up of all the other stories as well as having a story for Winter.

In the end of the series they eat cake. I know it was a little bit random when Scarlet is like "Yo, everyone this has been a blast and so to celebrate here's a cake!" I can't say too much more without giving out spoilers and that's the last thing I want to do as this post is suppose to inspire you to read this series.

Anyhow, the cake Scarlet brings out is lemon. Therefore it made sense to me to make a lemon cake. Cake is a great comfort food and when mourning the end of a great series it good to have cake waiting for you. Just my option, but I dare you to deny it!

Lemon Cake

200g unsalted butter, room temperature
200g caster sugar
pinch of salt
2 lemons, zest
4 medium eggs
200g self-rising flour

Heat the oven to 175C and prepare two 7 inch or 18cm cake tins by lining the bottom of the tin and greasing the sides with butter. Beat the butter in a free standing mixer or with a handheld mixer, until soft. Add the sugar, salt, and lemon zest to the butter and beat together until pale and fluffy. In a separate bowl beat the eggs together until just combined. Slowly add the eggs the butter mixture. It will probably curdle when it does that just add a tablespoon or two of the flour (from the amount above not extra). Once all the eggs are added sift in the rest of the flour and beat until just combined. Divide between the batter between the cake tins and gently smooth out. Bake in the oven for 15-25 minutes. Cake should be a light brown and springy to the touch. If in doubt use the skewer test.

While the cake is baking make the lemon sugar syrup: 150ml freshly squeezed lemon juice (use the lemons from the zest and about another one or two lemons) and 150g caster sugar. In a sauce pan bring the lemon juice and sugar to a boil. Reduce the heat and let it simmer until the sugar dissolves and it thickens up a little.

When the cakes come out of the oven leave them to cool for a short while before soaking the tops of the sponge with the lemon sugar syrup. Remove from the tin and leave to cool completely before icing.

Lemon Buttercream
80g unsalted butter, room temperature
80g icing sugar, sifted
pinch of salt
40g lemon curd + 1 tbsp

Beat the butter until soft before adding the icing sugar. Beat the butter and sugar together until soft and fluffy and lighter in color. Then fold in the lemon curd.

to finish the cake: Ice the bottom layer with half the buttercream and a tablespoon of the lemon curd place the other cake layer on top and ice the top layer with the rest of the buttercream.

*Recipe was adapted from Peggy Porschen's Baking Boutique.

Chocolate Chip Brownies - Inspired by That 70's Show

One of my favorite shows of all time is That 70’s Show and now it’s on Netflix. I binged and finished all 8 seasons in a few weeks. See when it was on I only made it to about season 5 before I stopped watching due to real life commitments - like university, part -time job, participating in my sorority and hanging out … down the street.

I think the reason I love the show so much is that I relate to it. It reminds me of my life between the ages of 15-18. My parents had moved us to a small remote town in northern Minnesota. Where it was cold and not much to do.

We did what Eric, Donna, Hyde, Kelso, Fez, and Jackie did we literally hung out down the street! We had to make our own fun running around town or hanging out at each others houses hosting movie nights.

We all had crappy part time jobs and drove cars from the 70’s and 80’s and in winter would pull donuts on the frozen river and in the summer “cruised the dubs.” The Dubs was short for double as in double lanes - there was one road that had double lanes. All part of spending your teenage years in a small town.

I can’t go back to being in high school and I’m not so sure I’d really want too, but I don’t mind having flashbacks through a well written TV show! Kitty was always baking from scratch and one of the things we saw her bake over and over was brownies!

In the last season she baked them for Jackie to win over her boss (Mary Tyler Moore) and was very upset when Jackie took the credit. It was after watching that episode I had a craving for brownies and made them the next day!

I’d like to think these brownies would have passed Kitty’s approval! It’s the only brownie recipe I use these days and this time time I added chocolate chips to it! If I were Hyde I would have added a different “special” ingredient!

Chocolate Chip Brownies

300g dark chocolate, broken up
250g unsalted butter
400g light muscovado sugar
4 large eggs
140g plain flour
pinch of salt
50g cocoa powder
100g chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 180C/gas4 and line a brownie tin (8x11) or an 8in square pan with parchment paper.
Very gently melt the chocolates with the butter and sugar in a medium saucepan. Just before the chocolate is completely melted, take off the heat and gently stir until it’s completely melted.
Then add the eggs one at a time to the melted chocolate mixture. Sift the flour, salt, and cocoa powder into the pan and stir until just combined.
Then pour the mixture into the prepared tin/pan. Scatter all the chocolate chips over the top of the brownies before baking in the preheated oven for 35 minutes. If you want them a little gooier only bake them for 30 minutes.
Cool completely before cutting into squares. They are good for 3 days in an airtight container not that they will last that long!

notes: recipe is adapted from a recipe in Bakes & Cakes Magazine Summer 2013 (BBC Good Food Mag) - If you haven’t seen That 70’s Show I highly recommend watching it! The image I used of the cast comes from this website, I doubt they own it, but I thought I'd link anyway! I used milk chocolate chips to help cut through the dark chocolate, but use whatever suits you!

Strawberry Tartlets & book review of Tea with Jane Austen by Pen Vogler

If you've read my blog before you'll already know that I am a fan of Jane Austen's work and when I came across this little book titled Tea with Jane  I couldn't resist! Two of my favourite things tea time and Jane Austen.

When I say it's a little book it physically is a bit smaller then the average cookbook and only has 60 or so pages, perfect size to slip inside a bag! Don't let the size fool you, it's packed full of tea time treats inspired by the world of Jane Austen; her work and her life!

My favourite thing about Tea with Jane Austen is that our author Pen Volger includes an old fashion version of the recipe next to the updated recipe - or how we read/write/cook today!

Emma is probably my favorite Austen novel so I had to make the strawberry tartlets! They were, of course, inspired from Emma and the day that Mr. Knightley invited everyone to Donwell Abbey to pick strawberries!

With a baked strawberry custard set in a sweet short crust pastry these would make a great tea time treat or if careful a perfect picnic treat! I would like to think Mr. & Mrs. Knightley would agree!

Strawberry Tartlets

sweet shortcrust pastry:

225g plain flour
pinch of salt
2 teaspoons caster sugar
125g unsalted butter, cold and cubed
1 egg yolk
3 tablespoons cold water

Mix the flour, salt, and sugar in large mixing bowl. Add the cubed butter and using your finger tips combine the flour mixture and cold butter cubes until it looks like bread crumbs. You don't want the butter to melt, so be quick and firm when rubbing in the butter. Mix the egg yolk and water together before adding to the flour/butter mixture. Using a knife stir it all together it should form big clumps. Then using your hands bring the dough together. Add water if you need to little by little. No need to knead. Wrap in clingfilm and leave in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.

strawberry custard:

200g soft or damaged strawberries, hulled
3 egg yolks
50g caster sugar
40g plain flour
300ml milk

Grease 4 tartlet pans or a 9in/22cm tart tin. Heat the oven to 200C and take out the pastry from the fridge. Roll it out to about 1/4 inch or 5 mm thickened line the greased tartlet pans with the pastry. It's okay to leave some of the pastry having over the edge to help with shrinkage. Prick the pastry with a fork. Cover each tart pan with a sheet of grease proof paper and fill with baking beads and blind bake for 10-12 minutes for the tartlets and 15-18 for the tart tin.
Take them out of the oven and remove the paper and the baking beads and place back in the oven for 5 minutes or so.
While they are blind baking boil the milk and leave aside, cover it to keep it warm. Puree the strawberries and leave aside. Beat the egg yolks and sugar together with a whisk, until sugar has dissolved. Shift the flour in a third at a time beating well after each addition. Gradually pour in the boiled milk, whisking as you go. Return the custard mixture to the pan and heat until it just starts to boil - beat until the custard holds sits shape. Dip a wooden spoon into the mixture and pull it out. Run your finger down the spoon face, it should leave the line.
Take off the heat and beat in the strawberries. Pour into the pastry cases and bake for 10-15 minutes until the custard is set. Cool and serve! With strawberries or cream or meringues.

Suggestion: if you save the 3 egg whites from this recipe whip up some meringues to top your tarts with! Just half the recipe in this post I wrote: Waste Not Want Not!

notes: Tea with Jane Austen by Pen Vogler (check out her other title Dinner with Mr. Darcy!) was sent to me to provide a review - recipe is taken from said book with permission from the publishers, Ryland, Peters & Small. This title was published in February and is available at all good book sellers and online shops! All opinions are my own, no other compensation besides the book was given - please see my contact/policy page for more information!