Cheese Spelt Scones

- Michael 3 Comments

Spelt Cheese Scones

I had another of those plan-less summer Saturdays that I mentioned in my last post, and guess what, it rained again. That meant I was back to baking. I’ve had a craving lately for scones, and after we’d made spelt dosa with curried paneer for breakfast, I had a whole load of spelt flour leftover. I’ve not used spelt flour with scones before, but after a little searching I found a few recipes which looked pretty great. One of them was full of honey and oats, which I’ve bookmarked for later. However what I really wanted was something filled with cheese, so here’s a recipe for cheese spelt scones. Read more

Vanilla Butter Knots

- Michael 10 Comments

Vanilla Butter Knots

I love dough wrapped around in coils, or tied up in knots. I like it when it’s all soft, filled with cinnamon, or cardamom and eaten with a strong cup of coffee on a winter’s day. I also love the basic flavour of vanilla. Not that cheap vanilla you find in awful buttercream, but proper vanilla, not from an ‘essence’ but from actual vanilla pods. Combine these two basic concepts and you’ve got something special; a Vanilla Butter Knot. It’s not quite as heavy as a cardamom knot or a cinnamon role, but it’s soft and not overpoweringly sweet. It still goes great with a flat white, or alongside a cup of earl grey in the morning.
Read more

Tahini Chocolate Bundt With Tahini Frosting & Sesame Brittle

- Michael 2 Comments

Chocolate Tahini Bundt Cake

I don’t read enough food magazines. When I went to the states earlier in the year I bought a copy of Olive Magazine for the flight. it had a couple of recipes in it which jumped out and, after I got back, I gave some a go. One of these was this particular recipe. It’s one from the Boy Who Bakes and is indulgent on many different levels. If you’re not a fan of sesame then you’re going to have to stop now, because there’s sesame in every single aspect of it, from the cake itself through to the glaze and the brittle, which also makes it a mouthful to say; Tahini & Chocolate Cake with Tahini Frosting and Sesame Brittle may not roll off the tongue, but boy does it taste good.
Read more

Travel Diaries: Berlin June 2017

- Michael 3 Comments

Berlin Buildings

I love going back to cities I’ve been to before. It always gives me a completely different perspective. The first time around I’ll usually tick off a bunch of particularly touristy things, immerse myself in more of the history, go to a particular monument or climb that well known hill. The second time around is usually a bit different. I use it as a chance to actually properly get to know a city; where people go to eat, how they spend their lazy days, which bars or parks are best for relaxing or which markets give you the best stalls. I went to Berlin a couple of years ago and when I decided to head back that was exactly what I did. Last time I went I stayed on my friend’s couch, and while staying with a friend did give me a different view into Berlin, I still ended up doing a lot of the normal tourist things, from walking tours to museums. This trip, well lets just say it involved my body weight in food, hardly any central Berlin, hammocks and quite a lot of wine…
Read more

White Chocolate & Raspberry Cake

- Michael Leave a comment

White Chocolate & Raspberry Cake
In case you haven’t noticed, summer is here. In England right now it’s hit the kind of temperatures we spend the whole year complaining we don’t get, and then the few days it does we say things along the lines of; ‘can’t function’ and ‘I’m not built for this kind of heat’ while we sit in the shade in a beer garden or lay on top of the covers at night. I decided to bake on what was the hottest day of the year so far, so all of these things were uttered in the first 5 minutes. In all fairness, I baked this cake at about 8am, when the full heat of day hadn’t hit, but the oven was happily sat there making up the difference as it pre-heated. I had decided to make something fit for summer and baked a White Chocolate & Raspberry Cake with White Chocolate Buttercream and Pistachios.
Read more