I seem to have gained something of a reputation as the resident baker at my office. We recently got a new manager and we had to do one of those awkward, cringe inducing, introductions and after I had said my bit one of my colleagues shouted “he bakes too”. Another colleague also recently brought me bakeware they had no use for. She had been convinced to buy a muffin pan from “Pampered Chef” a buy-at-home company I had never heard of. It was stoneware and had never been used but was only given to me on the promise of muffins in return. I settled on this and even though I dont use the recipe websites like Allrecipes very often, sometimes you just cant deny the agreement of 4500 reviews over the quality of a recipe. These were really moist and flavourful and I loved the crunchy topping, although it was a little too sweet and next time I would reduce the sugar a bit. Keep reading →
Categories: Easy
Tagged: banana, cinnamon, crumb, muffins, nutmeg, topping
I love love love caramel and in all its forms, need some proof? Well there’s this and this, oh and this. Ive only made proper caramels once before and they were a great success, but caramel can be a little tricky so when, on the spur of the moment, I decided I fancied making them again I decided to turn to Dan Lepards All Purpose Caramel Recipe. These came out just wonderfully and they were gone in no time at all. Ill be making these again but one of the great things about the recipe is that Dan designed it so that it can be used in many different ways, as a caramel sauce, as a soft set caramel, or a firmer version. He also suggests flavour variations – Creme Fraiche and Treacle, Toasted Brazil Nut and Orange, and Olive Oil and Black Pepper which all sound wonderful too and all using the same proportions of the original recipe. Because im a a big fan of caramel I wanted to share the love so here is the Dan Lepard recipe with as many pictures as I could manage, to try and show the process. Keep reading →
Categories: candy
Tagged: caramel, dan lepard, recipe
Im not a big breakfast guy, probably because im not the greatest morning person either. My normal everyday breakfast is either cereal or, if I don’t have time at home, I grab some toast from the office cafeteria, simple and mundane and wholly uninteresting. Sometimes though, on the weekend with some spare time, there is nothing better than something more substantial and my favourite would have to be pancakes. The recipe comes from King Arthur Flour and they declare this recipe “simply perfect” and whilst I’ve tried too few recipes to agree or disagree they were pretty damn good. They suggest using malt powder but I only had sugar so just used that and I would suggest upping it from 2 to 3 tablespoons. Keep reading →
Categories: Easy
Tagged: apples, caramelised, caramelized, king arthur flour, pancakes
