THE BIG DAY

A few small things to remember should you ever find yourself offering to bake somewhere in the region of 150 cupcakes for your lovely friends' wedding:

- When only in the possession of one 12-cake muffin tray, don't keep meaning to buy another two or three, never quite get round to it and then think 'sod it, it'll be fine'. Anyone with a very basic grasp of maths will be able to work out that this means baking 150 cupcakes will take somewhere in the region of 9 hours.

- Do invest in an electric gadget for juicing the lemons if your cupcakes happen to be of the lemon variety. Enlist the help of anyone willing to zest said lemons or you'll grow to despise said lemons.

- Get someone else to calculate how much icing sugar you'll need or you may find yourself with a small surplus.

- When desperately prepping the decoration at midnight the night before the wedding due to the 9-hour baking stint during the day, don't use a dangerously sharp knife and talk on the phone at the same time. This is how people cut themselves.

- Don't settle for a piping bag with a smaller nozzle than you'd like in a bid to avoid spending £15 on a set of various really good over-sized nozzles. Your icing will resemble Primula.

- Try and avoid drinking Cava while baking, as this only leads to confusion and can result in not enough flour being added to the first batch of cake mix.

- Don't use the very nicest cake cases for the first batch of cake mix.

Enjoy!

GIRLIE CAKES FOR A VERY GIRLIE DAY

A few weeks ago I wrote about Alex and Rowan's impending wedding and the inordinate number of lemon cupcakes I'll be baking for the occasion. I settled on an incredibly moist and light lemon yoghurt cake recipe by the Barefoot Contessa but struggled to find an adequately concentrated rose extract to create the rose-scented icing.

However, fear not, because I was pointed in the direction of Lakeland Plastics and a rose syrup by a brand called Atkins and Potts. Even while I was handing over my hard earned cash I remained unconvinced that it would be strong enough to cope with being diluted in tonnes of butter and sugar but you'll be thrilled and relieved to hear that it did the job admirably.

And so on Sunday I baked a proper trial batch, using the actual cases, and the actual decoration I'll be using on the actual day. This was mainly so that I could calculate the quantities of ingredients I'll require for the actual event, and partly because it was Sunday, there was a bottle of pink champagne chilled in the fridge and frankly why not? We ordered the cases from here, and the crystalised rose petals are from here. They're all the way from the Grasse countryside in France, where the flowers are gathered in the morning, gently dried and then coated in sugar syrup. They taste the way roses used to smell when you were little. Heavenly.

It's fair to say I'm not normally a pink girlie girl, but for a properly girlie occasion such as the civilisation of two lovely girls, I think we can make an exception.

CELEBRATION CAKES

Is it wrong to celebrate your blog's one year birthday when you've been MIA for the last four (and some) months? Perhaps this small private acknowledgement is enough of a nod to it's actual birthday, and then in four months time it can have an official birthday, when the weather will be nicer and we can be giddy and self congratulatory. Look, if it's good enough for Nana Betty it's good enough for this blog.

In keeping with the celebratory theme, I have been doing a spot of baking. Two of my dearest friends are to be married in July and we are all beside ourselves with excitement. It is to be a small affair but nonetheless very special, with close friends, family and the sunshine in attendance. At least we hope so. Edinburgh can be a touch unpredictable when it comes to matters of climate but if the last week or two is anything to go by we might just be lucky.

Ever since Gemma created such a fabulous cake for Sylvie's wedding I've had a hankering to have a go myself, and so it is that I find myself in charge of the patisserie for this affair. To her credit, Gemma went down the traditional route and put together a very impressive three tier wonder of fruit sponges complete with marzipan and royal icing, while I will be going down the less challenging route of lots of oversized cupcakes. But there is some challenge in creating in the region of 150 cupcakes, all of which must look just right, then icing them on the morning of the big day, transporting them to the venue and positioning them just-so on their towering stand.

I want these wee cakes to be delicate and summery, and so when I saw Ina Garten (the Barefoot Contessa - an absolute marvel and what's more, living my fantasy life) make this lemon yoghurt cake the cupcakes suddenly became a bit of a no-brainer. Topped with rose scented icing, these are going to be perfect (she says, modestly).

So, I had to make some at the weekend - just to make sure they'd work as cupcakes you understand - and work they did. They're delicious. Using yoghurt and oil instead of butter ensures that the cakes have a light spongey texture, and the lemon rind gives them an extraordinary citrus flavour. Of course the original recipe is for a whole cake, which will be just as lovely.

As for the rose scented icing, I absentmindedly picked up rose essence instead of extract and as a result it didn't taste remotely like rose. This, along with a distinct lack of piping bag, meant that it was pretty much doomed from the outset. The search is now on for a good concentrated extract - any recommendations are most welcome, although I've been told Star Kay White are a good place to start. As soon as this is procured it will of course necessitate another trial batch of cupcakes... Well you have to sure don't you?

POWER TO THE PEOPLE!

We bestowed the name Wolfie upon my friend Alex back when we were at Edinburgh University. This was mainly because of her cute mockney accent, her dreadlocks, a fine line in Che Guevara t-shirts and her general revolutionary stance. Those of you familiar with the cult BBC hit comedy series Citizen Smith will remember Wolfie the Tooting revolutionary and understand. Those of you not familiar with Wolfie Smith should look here. These days, and more years than I care to specify later, Alex's anarchic ways stretch more to popping down to Waitrose for a cupcake or checking out The Gap's fine merino wool in the January sales but she'll always be Wolfie to us, and we love her for it.

Saturday was this very special lady's birthday, and true to form we decided to celebrate by getting more innebriated than any of us have been since the days when Wolfie got her name. Indeed I had intended to write this post on Sunday but it is only now that I am recovered enough to do so.

At the risk of coming over all Martha Stewart, I decided as a birthday present to make Alex some decadent treats to satisfy the penchant she has for the finer things in life these days. Well that, and the fact that I felt it was high time someone got her something other than books. And so it was that I made limoncello, biscotti, florentines and chocolate truffles, and Wolfie can lay off Valvona and Crolla for a while.

LIMONCELLO
Makes around 800ml


750ml bottle good vodka (I used Stolichnaya) or a good 40-80% proof fruit alcohol
200g unrefined caster sugar
8-12 unwaxed lemons, depending on size


Zest and juice the lemons, removing all the pips.

Pour a little of the vodka into a pan, add the sugar and heat gently until dissolved (tip: don't do what I did and inhale deeply or you will become extremely light headed...).

Take the pan off the heat and allow to cool slightly before adding the lemon zest and juice. Stir, add the rest of the alcohol and allow to cool completely.

Pour into a sterile bottle. You will have slightly more limoncello than the original 750ml bottle of vodka.

Ideally , this should be left for at least a week and shaken everyday before drinking to really allow the flavours to blend. However, I didn't have at least a week so I strained it off and it still tasted delicious the following day. Store in a cool dark place and serve very chilled.


FRUIT AND NUT BISCOTTI adapted from this recipe by James Martin
Makes around 25


250g plain flour
250g unrefined caster sugar
1/2 tbsp baking powder
50g plump sultanas
50g dried cherries
50g shelled pistachio nuts
50g pitted dates, chopped
50g whole blanched almonds
50g skinned hazelnuts
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
3 eggs, lightly beaten


Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line two baking sheets with greaseproof paper.

Mix the flour, sugar and baking powder in a large bowl.

Add the fruit, nuts and lemon zest, mixing well.

Add the beaten eggs, a little at a time until the dough takes shape but is not too wet.

Divide the dough into two sausage shapes, 3-5cm thick. Lightly flatten the sausages, and place on the first baking sheet.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly until not to hot to touch.

Reduce the oven temperature to 140°C.

While the biscotti 'sausages' are still just warm, cut them into slices about an inch thick and lay on the second baking sheet. Return to oven to dry out for about 12 minutes. Turn them over and leave to dry for 10-12 minutes more.

Allow to cool completely and store in air tight containers for about a week. These are delicious served with a shot of limoncello to dip into.


FLORENTINES
Makes 9-12


55g unsalted butter
45g soft brown sugar
2 teaspoons clear honey
25g flaked almonds, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons chopped dried apricots
2 tablespoons chopped glace cherries
2 tablesspoons chopped mixed peel
40g plain flour, sifted
120g dark chocolate


Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Melt the butter, brown sugar and honey in a pan until the butter is melted, the sugar has dissolved and all the ingredients are combined.

Remove from the heat and add the almonds, apricots, glace cherries, mixed peel and the flour. Mix well. Resist the urge to eat this out of the pan because it smells so heavenly.

Grease and line a large baking tray with baking paper (do not use greaseproof as the florentines will stick to this). Place level tablespoons of the mixture well apart on the trays. Reshape and flatten the biscuits into aproximate 5cm rounds.

Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Allow to cool slightly on the tray, then transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.

Break the chocolate up into small, even sized pieces and place in a heatproof bowl. Bring a pan of water to a simmer, then turn off the heat. Place the heatproof bowl over the pan, ensuring it does not touch the water. Stir the chocolate until melted.

Spread the chocolate on the underside of the florentines and when almost set, make a wavy pattern using a fork. Allow the chocolate to set completely before serving.

Store in an airtight container in a cool dark place if you can resist the urge to eat them all in one sitting.



CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES adapted from Nigel Slaters recipe in Real Food
Makes around 500g


450g of the finest plain chocolate you can lay your hands on
275ml double cream
good quality cocoa powder for dusting, such as Green & Blacks


Chop the chocolate finely and into even sized pieces. The individual pieces should be no bigger than the size of a pea.

Warm a heatproof bowl with hot water and dry throughly. Place the chocolate in the bowl.

Bring the cream to the boil in a small pan. Just as it reaches boiling point, remove from the heat and pour carefully over the chocolate, stirring gently with a wooden spoon.

The chocolate should melt into a thick, glossy, dark brown cream. If there are still lumps of chocolate in the mixture, place the bowl over a pan of hot almost simmering water until they melt. Take great caution not to over heat the chocolate mixture at this stage or it will split.

Allow the melted mixture to cool, and place in the fridge for about an hour or so thicken. You do not want it to become solid.

Using teaspoons, scoop out lumps of the chocolate mixture and drop them into the cocoa powder. Roll in the cocoa powder until well coated. Continue until all of the chocolate mixture is left and you have a mound of chocolate truffles. Place them in the fridge to set.

NB: If once you have brought the mixture off the heat it splits - don't panic. Add some clear runny honey, about a tablespoon at a time and stir the mixture until it is smooth and glossy again. It will feel as though it's not going to come back but it will - keep adding the honey and keep stirring. You can use this method if you want to add alcohol to the chocolates (as more often than not adding liquid to the mixture will cause it split) - add a the liquid, say a tablespoon of Brandy, to the mixture and when it splits, stir in the honey. It works, honest.

Store in an air tight container in the fridge and keep for up to three days.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WOLFIE! And er, up the revolution and all that.

TOP TEN

Now then, first things first. I seem to be having all sorts of problems with the formatting of text on my blog so please accept my apologies for the haphazard and general 'scrunched' appearance of my posts. Rest assured this is causing me no end of frustration and I am trying to find a solution.

Back to the task in hand...

A couple of weeks ago, inspired by that brilliant book High Fidelity by Nick Hornby in which the central character Rob Fleming constructs 'top-five lists' of pretty much anything and everything, I asked my friend Rowan (a fellow food lover and cook) what her top-ten (five just isn't enough) all-time must-have ingredients are. What followed was a lengthy and lively debate on what we simply have to have in our cupboards / fridge at all times or we're kept awake at night in a state of near panic.

I decided I'd blog about my top-ten list, and maybe even create a meme (and if I ever work out how to do this, I will...), and off I went to do exactly that. Who knew it'd take so long to decide on my definitive list??! I tweaked, re-wrote and scored out more times than I care to recount, and I still couldn't be 100% sure of my list's hierarchy other than that which sits at the number one spot (and no prizes for guessing what that is).

Then, on opening the Sunday's Observer Food Monthly I came face to face with their cover story, a feature called Kitchen Confidential: Inside the chef's larders which details those all-essential ingredients Britain's best chefs can't live without. After immediately kicking myself for not having posted my list sooner, I decided on better late than never and finalised said list once and for all. Number One is there in every sense of the words, the rest are in no particular order. I think.

1. GARLIC
Well of course it is. What else could be at the number one spot but garlic? How dull would life be without it? This deeply savoury, fragrant and alluring little bulb is an absolute must have in my kitchen. It makes everything taste like a little bite of heaven.

2. LEMONS
Preferably unwaxed and organic, lemons are such versatile creatures. I love them in both savoury and sweet food - they way they perk up that infamous roast chicken (oh! their natural affinity with garlic...); the way their cirtus fragrance enlivens everything from a vinaigrette to a deeply savoury baba ganoush; the tart sweetness of a zingy tarte au citron; and where would a thin hot crepe be without a squeeze of this heavenly fruit and a good sprinkle of sugar?

3. MALDON SEA SALT
The Mother of all sea salts. This small family run Essex company produces salt made in the traditional way and is prized by food lovers and chefs alike. It has a lovely clean flavour and a satisfying crunch. Whilst the current obsession with sodium intake dictates that we decrease our salt consumption, I continue to use this precious condiment with glee. Can you pass the salt please?

4. FRESH HERBS
The biggest problem is choosing which one. Coriander lends a fresh and exotic note to many a dish. Add it to guacamole for a fragrant finish. Parsley with - well just about everything as far as I'm concerned. With tomatoes? Lovely. But then so is thyme come to think of it. Bite down on a bundle of flat leaf parsley with red onion and capers and I defy you to say you don't like it. Fresh mint in a summer salad or with cucumber; rosemary with lamb; oregano in a freshly simmered ragu; tarragon with chicken; chervil or dill with seafood; a fresh basil pesto. Herbal tea - I drink this by the gallon - chamomile and lavendar, dandelion, peppermint, lemon verbena, nettle... how dull our culinary lives would be without these delicate and oh so essential plants.

5. SPICES
For much the same reason as herbs. Spices are the backbone of some the world's most exciting cuisines. Without a little spice some of the most delicious dishes would taste bland and hollow. A curry without fenugreek, mustard seeds, turmeric, garam masala? Christmas pudding without cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice? Or a chilli without cumin? Good Lord No.

6. MAILLE DIJON MUSTARD
English mustard is too strong and gives you that horrible itchy hot feeling in the front of your head. American mustard is too sweet. Wholegrain mustard is annoying for annoying people. Ok, they all have their place (cooking, as a relish, and cooking respectively), but Dijon is just right. And Maille because it's what my Mum used to buy.

7. CAPERS
A veritable taste sensation. I used to know someone who described the taste of capers as being like 'biting into a bud of petrol' but this didn't stop me and an old flatmate popping some into a shot glass and eating them with our fingers whilst settling down to a movie (nor did his girlfriend's squeals of horror). Whether salted or in vinegar I adore these tasty little creatures. When I was little I used to get up at ohmygod o'clock on a Saturday morning, creep through to the kitchen, and while other children all over the country were spilling Coco Pops on their kitchen floors I was sitting crossed legged on the floor in front of the open fridge eating capers out of the jar by the handful. Oh yes.

8. HARISSA PASTE - MALOUF'S SPICE MEZZA OR BELAZU ROSE
When a hot fragrant kick is required I reach for the harissa. What a gorgeous flavour this adds to so many things. Makes chicken even sexier, let down with a touch of water and stirred into cous cous it turns this wee grain into something unbelievably moreish. Hell it even does it for me on a cheese sandwich.

9. MARMITE
Love it love it love it. Never in a squeezy bottle but always in the glass jar, so that you have to angle the tip of your knife under the rim to get at the last of it. Marvellous on toast, or used to add depth and flavour to everything from stews to soups. The Guinness limited edition was a mark of genius.

10. MARIGOLD SWISS VEGETABLE BOUILLON
Simply because it is the very best vegetable stock around. Made only from vegetables, it has a lovely pure and rich legume flavour, with no synthetic after taste. And even though Delia swears by it I still love it and use it religiously.

11. DUFRAIS RED WINE VINEGAR
A must-have for vinaigrettes, pickling, deglazing, marinating, I have this in the cupboard at all times.

Oops, that was 11. And I still have another five I could have added.

BANK HOLIDAY BLISS

So here we are, at the end of a lovely sunny bank holiday weekend. Spent with friends, it's been quite eventful.

Friday night saw the start of the weekend in Glasgow with Carrie, who was visiting from London where she is a Features Writer for a Wedding glossy. She seems to be always jetting off to some glamorous destination on a press trip - having recently returned from Safari in South Africa, she spent last week in Paris and is off to the Seychelles next week. I, of course, am not jealous AT ALL.

Another perk of her job is to road-test 'wedding nights' in the country's swankiest hotels, and this is a perk which she often shares with friends. Last Easter weekend we stayed in a suite at the Mandarin Oriental in Knightsbridge, where we laughed our heads off during a very long and entertaining dinner in their Michelin Star restaurant Foliage. It was a veritable battle to get through the seemingly endless plates of food - not because they were bad, but perhaps stuffing our faces with cakes at Laduree an hour before our dinner reservation wasn't the best idea in the world. Indeed the food was extraordinary, but the service was even more so. I will never forget the running commentary which accompanied every one of the many courses and bottles of wine, and the waiter who was so attentive he walked me to the ladies room and then ran to the table after me when I tried in vain to get back without him noticing.

This year, she invited me along to stay in Glasgow's Hotel du Vin at One Devonshire Gardens. I've been fortunate enough to stay and eat there before and have always enjoyed it so was looking forward going again. Dinner was included and the food was undoubtedly very good, but we couldn't help but snigger at the 'air' (aka foam) gracing nearly every dish.

I decided to have a 'just one' drink with dinner, having been tee-total for the past few weeks in preparation for the Bupa Great Run Edinburgh 10k. A bottle of wine later and a declaration of that old 'in for a penny...' chestnut, I saw fit to consume my body weight in alchohol and ended the evening at 2.30 on Saturday morning, watching Super Nanny in the massive bed and nursing a Gin and Tonic... oops. Needless to say, after a breakfast of eggs benedict to soak up the offending alchohol, Saturday was spent cursing my stupidity and drinking copious amounts of water in a vain attempt to correct my wrongs.

Despite my spectacularly ill-timed fall off the wagon and subsequent hangover-from-hell, I ran in the aforementioned race yesterday and it was quite an experience. Edinburgh is a hilly city and the weather was warm and humid so it was a challenge, and Friday night's antics certainly didn't help. However it was great fun with a real sense of achievement at the end. Rowan, Alex and Richard cheered me on at the finish line and we celebrated afterwards over lunch in The Ship on the Shore in Leith. Needless to say, I won't be drinking between now and the next race on the 18th. No really...

I was flicking through the May issue of Olive magazine in the hotel in Glasgow when I came across a recipe for Chicken Baked with Globe Artichokes and Lemon. Now having already previously waxed lyrical about my obsession with chicken and lemons, I won't be a bore, but adding artichokes into the mix? Hello! I'm there! I love artichokes. When I was little my Mum used to simmer them in a big pan of water and serve them whole with bowls of vinaigrette containing chopped boiled egg. I still love to dip the leaves into this gloopy mixture before scraping off the sweet flesh with my teeth. And those beautiful chargrilled and marinated artichoke heart antipasti that the Italians do so brilliantly - I could happily eat by the bucket load. So it was a bit of a no-brainer really when I considered what to make for dinner tonight.

We are so lucky in Edinburgh to have Valvona and Crolla, a fantastic and renouned Italian specialist food shop and wine merchant (and purveyor of particularly good aforementioned chargrilled artichoke hearts). The smell alone is as good a reason as any to pay a visit and if you're feeling at all weary, a trip to Valvona's will almost certainly lift your spirits. There I found some beautiful little purple artichokes nestling amongst the vegetables and a lemon so huge and regal with it's glossy leaves intact I couldn't resist it.

I think people are often put off using artchokes because of the perceived amount of preparation required but it's really quite easy. For this recipe you need to cut off the stalk flush with the base, pull off the tough outer layer of leaves and trim the remaining ones with scissors. Cut off the pointed top, cut into quaters and remove the indigestible choke. Place in a bowl of cold water with the juice of half a lemon to stop it from going brown.

The recipe was so straightforward that I used it rather as a guide rather than a step by step set of instructions. In a nutshell: I took 4 small onions cut into wedges and layed them in the bottom of a large casserole with a couple of lemons cut into quarters, 4 garlic cloves which had been squashed and the prepared artichokes, then topped this with a good slug of white wine and a drizzle of olive oil. I then placed the chicken on top - cleaned, seasoned, stuffed full of lemons and with a little butter pushed carefully between the skin and flesh on the breast to keep it moist. Into the oven at around 190 degrees for about 20 minutes per 500g plus 30 minutes.

When the chicken was ready I placed it aside to rest, drained some of the lemony juices to eat with the chicken and stirred a handful of chopped parsely through the vegetables in the pan. Served simply with a basic green lettuce to mop up the sticky juices it was a delicious end to the day.

No dessert tonight but I must just tell you about my new favorite thing - The Ginger People's Original Ginger Chews from California. I came across these by chance on a recent trip to Beets (to buy more Clipper Chamomile and Lavendar tea - another fixation of mine) and frankly I think I need to go back and buy their entire stock. They. Are. So. Good. If like me you love the fiery taste of a good strong ginger beer and the warming sensation as it slides down your throat, you'll love these. Good for nausea too, they are are the bees knees.

HERBAL REMEDY

There are some days when you return home from work and wish you'd never bothered crawling out from under your duvet that morning in the first place. These are the days when I most crave something really reassuring - food which means home. Today was such a day.

This age of food-obsession has brought about the availability of so many different types of produce, and thank goodness for that. It is always with some disbelief then that I scan the shelves when buying fresh herbs. Parsley, basil, coriander, rosemary, mint, chives. Thyme and dill if you're lucky. And whilst I am delighted to be able to buy these in abundance, where's the tarragon, marjoram, sorrel, lovage, lemon verbena? I live for the day when I walk into a supermarket and find chervil. And so it was with pleasant surprise that I found fresh oregano and lemon thyme on my latest trip to the supermarket. Not the rarest of herbs, granted, but a nice change from the usual suspects.

So dinner this evening was free-range organic turkey roasted with lemon thyme, garlic and lemon. There is something about the taste of lemon and garlic with poultry which is so comforting. I once had the misfortune of working with someone (who will remain nameless), who delivered to me an astonishing diatribe about the over-use of lemon in cookery, and particularly with chicken. 'Lemon is for putting in gin and tonic, and nothing else' was his insightful offering. It is worth noting that this individual had the esteemed title of 'Creative Director' and professed to have a love of food. What a creative attitude indeed.

My need for solace found me reaching for the enormous bulb of fennel which was languishing in the vegetable drawer of the fridge. To me, there are fewer foods which offer the essential comfort factor I was seeking this evening. Gently baked until tender and sweet, this delicately scented bulb is my nursery food.

Simply cut into wedges before being laid in an oven proof dish and drizzled with olive oil, a splash of sherry vinegar and and sprinkle of Maldon sea salt, it also ticked the fuss-free box. After half an hour in a 180 degree oven, I spooned over the top tomatoes which had been cut into chunks and scattered with oregano before the obligitory slug of olive oil, sprinkle of salt and a stir. Back into the oven for 5 minutes or so, and it was ready.

Delicious, comforting, homely food. My spirits are restored.