Lemon Drizzle Cake

Two evenings ago, out of pure boredom flatmate L and I decided to bake a cake, in addition to cooking a tom yum soup for dinner. It didn’t matter that we didn’t have any of the important baking utensils for actually baking a cake, oh, like a cake tin or a cake mixer. Or for that matter, a kitchen scale. All that mattered was that we wanted cake and we would bake it. A quick trip to our local 24-hour supermarket (what luxury!) and we were fully equipped for our baking adventure (minus the cake mixer, but more on that later).

I helped measure out ingredients and L mixed them up with plenty of elbow grease and many comical facial expressions with, get this – a wooden spatula. We did try my idea of using an egg whisk to beat the butter and sugar together but all it did was stick together in one huge lump in the whisk. Oops. Kudos to her for toughing it out, I lasted only a few minutes whisking.

As the recipe specifies it will look worryingly curdled initially but keep mixing and the batter does eventually become smoother. We used a 24cm loaf tin so I used an initial bake time of 40 minutes thinking a lower cake height might need less time to cook but on testing it we had to add another 10 minutes anyway so it did come up to 50 minutes in the end. Then we switched off the oven and left the cake in there for another 10 minutes, just in case.

The cake turned out delish (and so did the tom yum soup). It had a wonderful loose crumb-y texture and was so moist. We poked many holes into the cake with a fork and still the icing only penetrated the top layer of the cake. We are seriously thinking of acquiring some large bore needles and syringes from work next time to really inject more icing into the middle of the cake.

Recipe from the BBC Goodfood website

Lemon Drizzle Cake

• 225g butter , softened
• 175g golden caster sugar
• 3 lemons, zested and juiced
• 4 eggs , beaten
• 175g self-raising flour , sifted
• 50g ground almonds
• icing sugar for the icing

Prep time 40 mins

Cook time 50 mins

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Butter and line the base of a loaf tin roughly 17x8x10cm. Beat the butter and caster sugar using an electric whisk until pale and creamy. Add the lemon zest and whisk the eggs in little by little, beating well between each addition – don’t worry if it looks curdled.
2. Fold the flour and almonds into the cake mixture using a large metal spoon or spatula, and then fold in 2 tbsp lemon juice. Spoon into the cake tin and bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out without any raw mix on it. Cool for 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, mix the remaining lemon juice and enough icing sugar to make a thin icing. Poke a few holes into the top of the cake with a toothpick and drizzle some of the icing over the cake. Cool in the tin for a further 30 minutes and then remove from the tin, put on a rack set over a tray and drizzle on the rest of the icing. Cool completely.

THREE ALTERNATIVES

This mix also makes very good cupcakes – divide the mix between 12 deep cases and then bake for 18-20 minutes, or until cooked. Drizzle the top of each with the icing.
To make an orange version, use the zest of 2 oranges but the juice of only one. A little zest in the icing will help bump up the flavour.
A shot of limoncello added to the icing will add flavour and a decadent edge to the cake.

Skegness

A day trip to Skegness proved to be a relaxing day out. We toughed out the cold but sunshiney day on the beautifully deserted beach. A trip there wouldn’t be complete without having the obligatory fish and chips. The fish was incredibly fresh and delicious.

We’d spied the Skegness Natureland Seal Sanctuary on our way there and stopped by for a visit after lunch. The sanctuary accepts rescued seals and nurses them back to health first in the Seal Hospital, then in the main aquarium before releasing them back into the wild.  There was one inpatient baby seal in the hospital, which reminded me so much of a puppy. Feeding time came around and the sealkeeper (I’m taking a stab at this one) gave us a little educational talk about what they did at the centre while feeding fishies to the seals. Wildlife photography is pretty tricky isn’t it? The buggers move so fast I couldn’t get a really good picture of them in the water. The sanctuary also has a separate aquarium for other fish, aviary, and a tropical house.

I thoroughly recommend making a trip to Skegness in the off-season. Less crowds and more charm. Next time we might actually make it to the Parrot Zoo!

Sea bream with samphire, potatoes and beurre blanc

I was shopping at my local Tesco’s and saw samphire in the vegetable aisle. Of course I had to get it. Then I had to think of what to actually cook with it. Fish would be the obvious choice and by chance I had a sea bream keeping in the freezer. I remembered watching Valentine Warner in ‘What to Eat Now’, cooking a fish with beurre blanc on a little makeshift stove by the river. A quick google search later, more shopping for potatoes, white wine and shallots and I was set. This is my version of his recipe. I added the potatoes because I can’t do without any carbs and they look really pretty on the plate! It might seem really complicated to read, and to be honest there are quite a few component parts to this recipe but with a little bit of organisation it’s actually a pretty simple dish to make. The smooth and unctuous but tangy sauce really ties everything together. Let me tell you, this is as close to a restaurant dish as I’ve ever cooked, presented and tasted.

Samphire is a sea vegetable that grows along the shoreline and in marshes. Not surprisingly, it’s pretty salty and has a lovely crunchy texture.

Sea bream with samphire and beurre blanc

Serves 2

For the potatoes

500g new potatoes, cut into 1cm cubes

Generously salted hot boiling water

3 tbsp sunflower oil

For the beurre blanc

100g of chilled butter, cubed

2 medium shallots, or half a small white onion, chopped roughly

1 garlic clove, sliced thinly

1 bay leaf

3 black peppercorns

150ml dry white wine

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

For the sea bream

2 fillets of sea bream (or any other white fish)

4 tbsp plain flour, seasoned with salt and ground black pepper

For the samphire

100g samphire

Hot boiling water, NO salt added

1. Boil the cubed potatoes in the salted boiling water for 6-8 minutes, until they’re tender inside.
2. Heat up the sunflower oil in a pan over medium high heat.
3. Fry the potatoes in the pan until they are a golden brown colour. While the potatoes are frying, prepare the beurre blanc and fish. Stir them periodically while they fry.
4. Prepare the beurre blanc. Heat up 1tbsp of sunflower oil and 1 tbsp of butter over medium heat (the oil prevents the butter from burning). Add the shallots, garlic, bay leaf and black peppercorns into the pan and fry for 2-3 minutes, until the shallots have softened but not browned.
5. Add in the white wine and vinegar and boil until the liquid has reduced by two-thirds.
6. Use a hand whisk to whisk in the cold butter cubes a few at a time until all the butter has been incorporated into the mixture and the sauce is thick and glossy. The mixture must not boil at this stage. If it gets too hot, just remove the pan from the heat while whisking the butter in.
7. If you have used unsalted butter, taste and season with salt.
8. Strain the sauce and keep in a warm place.
9. Heat a saucepan over medium high heat. Dredge the sea bream fillets in the seasoned flour.
10. Fry the fillets skin side down first for 2 minutes. The skin needs to be flat against the pan to crisp up, so use your spatula to press the fish down to prevent the fillets from arching up. Turn the sea bream over and fry for a further 1 minute.
11. Boil the samphire in water for 1 minute, strain and pat dry with a kitchen towel.
12. To serve, divide the samphire between two plates. Place the fish on top and scatter the potatoes over and around the fish. Spoon the beurre blanc over and around the fish.

Chai Latte

Sometimes all you need is a chai latte and a good read.

I looked through different recipes for chai latte online and this is my version of it.

Chai Latte

2-3 servings (Edit: It only makes 2 servings!)

2 tea bags

3 whole cloves

2 whole black peppercorns

3 crushed cardamom pods

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 cups water

2 tbsp dark brown sugar

1/2 tbsp caster sugar

1 cup milk

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Big disclaimer: The ground spices and sugar are very much an estimate only, I added little amounts at a time until I got the flavour I wanted.

Boil water with all the spices for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and steep tea bags until it reaches the colour you prefer.

Add both sugars, stir to dissolve and strain the tea into cups.

Warm milk and add vanilla essence. Feel free to froth the milk up.

Add warmed milk to tea to the concentration you prefer.

I made my tea very black, and then added loads of milk. It was delicious! Listening to Ellie Goulding’s Anything Could Happen tonight.

Islandbound, Part II

At the National Museum of Iceland, I read about the daring rescue of the crew of a British trawler in the winter of 1947. Local men and farmers left early in the day and trekked through the treacherous trails to reach the site of the stricken ship, below the Látrabjarg cliffs. By then, the stranded sailors were suffering from cold and exhaustion. A storm prevented rescue from the sea, so the only way to bring the men to safety was to climb down the 200 metre cliffs with ropes – a method traditionally used to collect nesting sea birds and their eggs from the cliff face. Men who could not be rescued before dark had to spend the night at the bottom of the cliffs, while the rest camped up top as others trekked back through snow-covered trails to fetch supplies. I wander through the gallery and linger at every sepia-toned photograph. The story is full of pathos and returns my faith in the resilience of the human spirit and the kindness and generosity of strangers.

 

Did you know that the majority of females in the Icelandic founding population have Gaelic ancestry, whereas the majority of males have Scandinavian ancestry? This comes from analysis of mitochondrial DNA, which is only passed through matrilineal lines and analysis of Y chromosomes, obviously only present in males. The theory goes that the Norse Vikings on invading and settling in the British Isles took wives there and their descendants then forged a new life in the uncharted land of Iceland.

Best friend goes: “What do they mean by ‘took’?

In Iceland, the major shaping elements of nature are so prevalent around you that you cannot fail to ignore their effects.

In Iceland, Mother Nature is not the gentle, nurturing presence you might get elsewhere. Here she hammers her point home, like a mother disciplining a stubborn child who refuses to obey. You will behave!

The land undulates around us and is interrupted by hills that rise suddenly from the flat earth. Black lava rock is punctuated by vivid green moss. Driving through the countryside, you really get the sense of the birth of a new land, most of it occurring violently courtesy of this or that volcano eruption, or the more gentle but still havoc-wreaking movement of glaciers.

At Þingvellir National Park you can literally stand witness to the movement of the earth beneath your feet. Iceland lies bang on the mid-Atlantic Ridge, which separates the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates. These plates are drifting apart by 2cm every year. The enormity of this is almost too grand to comprehend as you walk along the valley of the mid-Atlantic Ridge.

Mist envelopes the land around and it’s not hard to imagine a Viking setting off on a long boat to conquer lands more westerly. Or in full battle regalia, fighting because it was in their blood and because it was what they lived for. They relied on the triumvirate of warrior gods Óðinn, Þórr and Týr, to give them protection. They carried carved talismans for this purpose. They were fearless – if they died, they would only join their slain comrades in Valhalla, to fight endless battles and await for the end of days, the final showdown with the Ice Gods. And that was glorious.

Islandbound

Or How To Explore Iceland In A Laidback Manner.

Book your flights months in advance, then forget that actual planning is involved before a holiday. Panic for a bit on checking weather forecast that Iceland only gets FOUR hours of sunshine at this time of year. Luckily not true in practice, sun thankfully sets at very sensible time of 7pm.

Engage in a very interesting conversation with best friend as to whether Eskimos live in Iceland. Adamantly declare they do not. Then proceed to confess that did not know Iceland was an island. Said best friend has still not allowed to let me live that down. Is it very wrong to assume that it’s part of the great land of Scandinavia, given their shared histories and cultures? Important lesson #1: Sometimes it’s best to let others be ignorant of your ignorance. Perhaps just nod sagely.

Get pleasantly surprised to be unknowingly upgraded to a three-bed room as opposed to booked doubles, marvel at the lovely bathroom even though the hot water is a little whiffy of sulphur because that adds authenticity to your adventure. Revel in the view of the harbour, towered over by magnificent mountains. Saunter up to your hostel reception every night in hopes that the Aurora Borealis tour will go out. It does not. Have chirpy optimism slightly crushed every night.

Have the most amazing lobster soup you will ever have in your lifetime in a little shanty on the harbour, manned by the darlingest of old fishermen. Happily he conforms to stereotype sporting an Icelandic knit sweater. I order grilled halibut. It tastes pleasantly of the freshest of fish. Best friend orders grilled minke whale, then professes to be completely amazed it does not taste of fish! Lesson #2: Whales = mammals. Mammals do not taste like fish. Ergo, whales will not taste of fish despite living in ocean and looking a lot like big fish.

Eyjafjallajökull, Hallgrímskirkja, Langjökull, Þingvellir, Þor (like Thor, axe-happy Norse god of old). The words roll off your tongue if you knew how to pronounce them in the first place.

Eat skyr. Lots of skyr. Skyr with grapes for breakfast, skyr in cheesecake. Did you know they grew bananas in Iceland? Bananas!

Try really hard not to get seasick whilst on a whale-watching tour. Really really hard. Almost fail spectacularly at one point and have barf bag at the ready but hold your nerve until you get back to the calm waters of the harbour.

Sip the most amazing, delicately spiced, soothing chai latte in a cool cafe in Reykjavik with the cool in-crowd. Admire Joseph Gordon-Levitt nattily suited up in GQ whilst best friend industriously writes postcards. Some people have their priorities right. (Btw, is it just me or has JGL suddenly become cool?)

Attempt to take a clear, sharp picture of the surreal landscape zooming past through a bus window. This will go on for a while, perseverance (read: stubbornness) is an inherent part of human nature. Then resign and just glorify in the beautiful scenery.

Scour town, nay Iceland for a beautiful (and affordable) reindeer rug before settling on a gorgeous one in soft shades of brown. Then lug it back home in a great big plastic bag. Unfurl it at home and admire how it makes your pine-effect floor look a little more luxurious. I have the rugs and wool throws, now I just need the wall-to-wall bookshelf and a library to go with it.

Fit in a dip in the Blue Lagoon before flying home. Have a mud mask. Go on, it’s good for your skin. Tough it out in the wet and dry saunas, get your back vigorously massaged by the high pressure waterfall. It’s time to go when you’re all pruney. Walk out from the Blue Lagoon all relaxed and rejuvenated, get to bus and be horrified that there are no bags in the luggage compartment. No luggage, but more importantly, no reindeer rug! Thankfully many buses identical and finally locate correct one. British African dudes find episode quite amusing as they traipse round buses with us.

Sui Kow (Dumplings)

Yes, I admit there’s only one measly picture of my dumpling. Try holding half a fiddly dumpling still with chopsticks in one hand and taking a non-blurry picture with the other on a hungry stomach and you’ll see why there’s only one picture. I usually make my sui kow with minced pork alone, but this recipe which has been modified from this recipe is so much better! There’s lots of texture going on in your mouth with this filling and the prawns add an incredible sweetness to it. It was just what I needed on a cold autumn’s day. These dumplings were so good I ate more than six of them in a go. Ok, maybe closer to eight. Ok, eight. Plus dry-style noodles.

The water chestnuts, carrots and mushrooms should be chopped finely so the filling doesn’t fall apart when you bite into the dumpling but not too fine that you lose the texture and flavour from them. My dumpling wrappers were quite thick but I didn’t have much choice in my local Chinese shop, so feel free to use thinner ones, they will taste much better.

I love eating my dumplings with black vinegar to contrast the flavours and cut through the richness of the dumplings. Every time I have dim sum in my favourite Chinese restaurant here I ask for a little dish of vinegar.

Sui Kow recipe

Makes 30 dumplings

100g medium size shrimps (net weight after shelling)
80g minced pork
3 water chestnuts, chopped
1/2 carrot, chopped
2 large dried shiitake mushrooms, or 3 medium ones, softened in hot water, squeezed dry and chopped
3 tbsps finely chopped coriander (leaves and stalks)
2 spring onions, green ends only (chopped)
30 pieces circular dumpling wrappers

Seasonings:

1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp Shaohsing rice wine
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp cooking oil
1 tsp cornstarch
Dash of white pepper powder

1. Take half the prawns and mash them up with the flat part of your knife, sliding it downwards on the chopping board away from you. Then chop them up a little to make them slightly sticky. Chop up the rest of the prawns coarsely.

2. Mix all of the ingredients together with the seasonings and leave to marinade in the fridge for an hour.

3. Prepare your little workstation. Liberally flour a baking tray or large plate. Have a small dish of water on standby. Boil some water in a pot – about 2/3 filled. To ensure your dumpling filling is adequately seasoned, cook a teaspoon of it in the pot and taste to adjust. You can always adjust food that is under-salted but not the other way.

4. Dry your hands thoroughly with a dish cloth. I found it helpful to flour mine periodically as well. Take half a heaped tablespoon of the filling and place into the centre of the dumpling wrapper. Dampen a semicircle edge of the wrapper, fold it in half and seal firmly, pressing out any air pockets. RESIST the urge to overfill your dumpling, you will rue your decision when your dumplings fall apart in the boiling water. Place the dumpling onto the floured tray, and repeat with the rest.

5. To cook, place a few dumplings one by one into the boiling water and stir gently to prevent them sticking to each other and to the base of the pot. They are cooked when they float to the top and the wrapper becomes slightly translucent. Drain them and serve them in a bowl of chicken broth, garnished with some chopped coriander or spring onions. Dip into black vinegar and enjoy!

6. To store the rest, flour the top surfaces of the dumplings and cover with cling film. Place in freezer.