1 December 2011

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas - with a Hotel Chocolat giveaway!

Hello all, it's 1st December today, so I can officially start to think about Christmas! Not that I've had time to think about much else over the last month, not wanting to do things by half I've moved both house & office. But now everything is pretty much sorted it's time to focus on the festivities.

I was very excited to have the chance to be part of Hotel Chocolat Christmas campaign. I'm already a big fan of their chocolate, in particular tiddly pots & cherry deluxe....mmm! So when I was asked if I would like to sample one of the products from their 2011 Christmas range, I didn't need to be asked twice.
I chose a selection of Winter Dessert chocolates which included Apple Strudel, Chocolate Souffle, Christmas Mess & Caramel Pecan Pie. They are definitely chocolates to be savoured & utterly delicious. I preferred the souffle & pecan pie choc's, but that's just because I like darker chocolate. My mum, who I shared them with (it was more than my life was worth not to share!) loved them all, but she has a real sweet tooth. They would certainly make a lovely after dinner treat to enjoy with coffee & if you have guests, I'm sure you could entertain yourselves trying to guess the flavours. You may be surprised how like the dessert they actually taste!

Other things that have caught my eye from the range (family & friends take note :-) are tiddly caramel penguins & mulled wine cherries but really there's just too much to choose from.
I did think it a little bit mean just to write a post about me getting to try some delicious chocolate, so I have an early Christmas treat for you! I have another box of the Winter Dessert chocolates to giveaway to one lucky reader. All you have to do is take a look at the full Hotel Chocolat Christmas range & leave a comment telling me which treat you would like to find under the tree this Christmas.

You can also email your entry to rebeccabakescakes@hotmail.co.uk

Entries need to be in by 23:59 on Wednesday 7th December 2011. Winner will be chosen at random with the help of a random number generator!

Good Luck! Rebecca x

If you want to find out more about Hotel Chocolat you can follow them on Facebook & Twitter

All pictures courtesy of Hotel Chocolat

27 October 2011

Bangers and some rather gruesome looking mash!

Evening all, I've stopped laughing just about long enough to bring you this post! My dinner tonight was quite possibly the most ridiculous looking thing you've ever seen so here it is in all it's glory! It's all down to my latest discovery, Purple Majesty Potatoes grown by UK spud farmer, Albert Bartlett & bought from Sainsburys. Their natural purple colour is down to these particular spuds being high in anthocyanins, the same thing that gives blueberries & red cabbage their colour. This makes them rich in antioxidants & lets face it we all know they're good for us (even if no one I know really understands why??)

It was really tasty although I have to be honest, eating purple mash might take a bit of getting used to. They'd definitely make a great Halloween tea! Or, given they turned the water a bright shade of turquoise, might prove quite useful if tie-dying were ever to make a come back! Have a good evening, Rebecca x

20 October 2011

Chocolate week, baking week, is there any week that isn't a week, cookies!

Hello. You may remember a few weeks back was National Cupcake Week, in honour of which I created some peanut butter & jam cupcakes. Well I posted a piccie of said cupcakes on the Baking Mad Facebook page & ended up winning a pack of orange flavour buttons which I probably got a bit too excited about. If you're not a fan already I'd recommend joining, they often run giveaways & competitions. The Baking Mad website is also worth a look for all things related to baking & cupcake making!

So they are the inspiration for this weeks recipe, which I created to celebrate both Chocolate Week (last week) & Baking Week (this week) It never ceases to amaze me the number of 'weeks' we actually have, although I feel there's a critical one missing. I think we absolutely have to have a 'National Eat Crisps Week' where every meal has to be accompanied by a potato based snack! Who's with me??

The orange buttons are made from cocoa butter & made a great cookie topping, I also added some natural orange essence to the cookie dough mixture to create the perfect chocolate orange cookie.

100g unsalted butter
140g caster sugar
1 egg
140g SR flour
25g cocoa powder
2tsps natural orange essence
Pack of Silver Spoon orange flavour buttons

1. Cream the butter & sugar until light & fluffy, then beat in the egg gradually until you have a lovely smooth batter.

2. Sift in the flour & cocoa powder & fold together, finally add the orange essence.

3. Place small dollops of cookie dough onto a baking sheet, add some buttons to the top. Don't worry it they look a bit squished, they'll spread out when the cook.

4. Bake in the oven at 180c/GM4 for around 10-12 minutes. Leave to cool completely & crisp up.

Looking at the finished article they would probably be quite good for a Halloween party if you were that way inclined? As my friend pointed out, there were a few of them that ended up looking like something out of the Mighty Boosh, google it, you'll see! Enjoy, Rebecca x

3 October 2011

Fruit tarts - made with a little help!

Ok, so lets get the obvious out of the way...what is up with the weather!? It's usually around this time of year I'm dusting off my boots, adding an extra layer & wondering whether I really can get another season out of my coat? Instead, yesterday I was in shorts, barbecuing! I for one was very confused by it all. Anyway it was this impromptu BBQ that led me to making this dessert which I wanted to share with you.

Summery desserts in October - what's going on?

I was plodding around the aisles of Sainsburys looking for dessert inspiration when I came across their new range of chilled dessert ingredients. Ready made pastry, compotes, ganache, creme patisserie & the like. Now I make no secret of the fact that I can't make pastry, I always blamed it on the fact I have hot hands, but recently I was told that it could in fact be related to my hormones! Apparently the level of oestrogen you have in your body effects your ability to make pastry...I'm not sure that's ever been medically proven, or if it's simply an elaborate old wives tale, but I'll take it as an excuse!

So, grateful for a helping (non hot, low oestrogen) hand, I picked a pack of ready rolled dessert shortcrust pastry & a pouch of creme patisserie. I was given a set of individual loose bottom tart tins for Christmas, so this was the perfect opportunity to try them out & make yummy fruit tarts.

I lined the tins with pastry & in the absence of baking beans prodded the bottom with a fork to stop it puffing up, then baked them for around 12 minutes. When they'd cooled completely I squished in the creme patisserie then topped them with sliced pineapple, grapes & strawberries.

As much as I consider myself a scratch cook, there are some things that I look at & think why bother when the convenient version is so good. The fruit tarts were absolutely delicious & at 45p per tart (excluding fruit which I was buying anyway), they were excellent value for money. Have a good week & enjoy the sunshine while it lasts! Rebecca x

14 September 2011

As if I need an excuse to eat cake....it's National Cupcake Week!

It seems pretty much every day or week in the year is dedicated to some food group or another, to the point that it's getting a little bit daft. I mean Caesar Salad Day & Split Pea Soup Week, really? One of the more sensible events is National Cupcake Week which runs until this Friday, the ambition is to celebrate bakers creativity & passion, supporting & promoting local independent bakers as well as teaming up with some of the bigger boys of the baking world to raise money for CLIC Sargent. Hurrah for Cupcake Week I say! I never need an excuse to eat cake, but I've needed to find some fresh motivation to get back into my baking...consider me re-motivated.

So this was a complete experiment! I wanted to try & combine two of my favourite flavours in a cupcake, peanut butter & jam, or jelly if you're from tuther side of the pond? I don't normally keep peanut butter in the house, purely for the reason that it tends to disappear quite quickly, from jar to spoon to my tummy! I used my basic cupcake mixture as a base & gradually built up the flavour using crunchy peanut butter to add some texture. For the jammy bit, I made a light & fluffy butter cream flavoured with strawberry jam.

For the cakes
250g butter
3 eggs
275g caster sugar
350ml natural greek yoghurt
1tsp vanilla extract
100g peanut butter
450g plain flour
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
2tsps baking powder

For the frosting
150g butter softened
250g icing sugar
Dash of milk
2tbsps strawberry jam

1. Melt the butter in a large bowl, beat together the eggs, vanilla & sugar then add it to the melted butter, stirring well. Next mix in the yoghurt, then add the peanut butter.

2. Sift in the dry ingredients & fold together. Spoon into paper cases & bake at 180c/GM4 for around 20 minutes. Lift out & leave to cool while you prepare the frosting.

3. Cream together the butter & sugar with a fork until smooth & creamy. At this point I switch to a spatula to mix in dash of milk to loosen it up a little. Finally beat in the strawberry jam until fluffy & a gorgeous shade of pink.

4. Frost your cakes as you wish, mine always look a little rustic! For the larger cakes I topped them with a chunk of a Reeces Peanut Butter Cup!

The little star shaped cakes I made using some silicon moulds which were a pressie for my birthday. I was always a bit sceptical about silicon bakeware, but they worked really well, the cakes popped out really easily & they washed up a treat...think I might be a convert?

So what's the verdict? DELICIOUS! The saltiness from the peanut butter in the cake is really balanced by the sweet sticky jam in the frosting. It's got me thinking about other combinations I could have a crack at....any ideas, please share, always up for a challenge :-)

Hope you enjoy what's left of Cupcake Week. Eat cake! Oh & if you were wondering Caesar Salad Day is July 4th & Split Pea Soup Week is in November, might give that one a miss? Till next time, Rebecca x

7 September 2011

A Delicious menu to get me back in my foodie groove!

Do you find every now & again you suddenly get hit in the face with the fact that you're on a bit of a treadmill, seeming to do a lot & not much all at the same time? Well that's exactly what happened to me at the weekend! I feel like order has been lost & chaos reigns in my life at the moment. It's a scary reality to realise your stable diet for the last month has pretty much been cheese on toast, marmite spaghetti or, & I'm quite ashamed to admit this, Heinz ravioli eaten cold straight from the tin! With everything feeling so chaotic, I'd lost my enthusiasm for food, which is not like me at all. It was time to take stock & get control back - I do realise there is a risk that this post will appear to make me look like a control freak....I'm not I promise :-)

So I dusted off my pile of Olive & Delicious magazines that had accumulated still in their wrappers & set too looking for fresh inspiration. It always makes me hungry reading these mags, so I fuelled up with one of the few remaining things in my kitchen, a bowl of Coco Pops Rocks, (good grief it's not getting any better is it???) & marched off to the supermarket.

I'd decided I was going to cook dinner for my Mum, so patched together a menu from the July issue of Delicious. I wanted to share my creations with you in a bid to get myself back into my foodie groove & spur me on to do more.

To start I made Traditional Andalusian Gazpacho soup which was taken from Rick Stein's Spain book, complete with homemade croutons. It was the first time I'd made croutons & honestly, once you've tried them you'll never go back, dead simple to make too!

Main course was taken from the same Rick Stein feature, Lamb-stuffed aubergines with Moorish spices & manchego cheese, which I served with a green salad. Manchego is one of my weaknesses it was completely delicious paired with the lamb & succulent aubergine.

For dessert I chose a Fig & Raspberry tart which was yummy served warm with creme fraiche. It had an almond base so turned out a bit like a really posh bakewell tart.

The result was a big success! I've had a look around the wonderweb, but haven't been able to find any of the recipes, sorry :-( That said based on the dishes I tried, Rick Steins book could be worth a closer look.

So I'm feeling part way back on track, my fridge is full of fruit & veg & I'm actually cooking again! I'm feeling the restorative powers of having blogged & can feel the healing foodie vibes coming back at my from the blogsphere! I just need to sort out a hair cut, some exercise, tackle my paperwork, the mound of ironing & we're all good. For now, yours, a slightly more organised Rebecca x

p.s. I only have to look after me & get overwhelmed at times, Mum's & Dad's I don't know how you do it!

21 August 2011

The most glorious cake I think I've ever eaten!

August has been a really busy month, but thankfully I've managed to have a couple of days off to celebrate my 30-somethingth birthday this week! As a treat we ventured down to Brighton to take in some sea air & to visit Bar du Chocolat on Middle Street. If you're not familiar with it, Bar du Chocolat is part of the Choccywoccydoodah family. It would be impossible to even try & explain the amazing cakes they create, so instead I'll point you to their website, I'll guarantee you'll be drooling into your keyboard. We went for afternoon coffee & cake, & it was absolutely glorious!

I enjoyed a slab of dark coffee cake, served with a generous drizzle of melted chocolate & vanilla ice-cream.

Mum opted for sticky ginger cake, served with drizzled melted chocolate, raspberry coulis & vanilla ice-cream.


It was absolute cake heaven, I'd thoroughly recommend popping in if you're in the area, just maybe pass on lunch first! Till next time, Rebecca x


30 July 2011

Boozy Barefoot Cupcakes

Increasingly I am being approached by companies to receive samples of their products, I have to admit it gives me a touch of the warm & fuzzies that someone has read my blog & wants me to try out their stuff! That said I am quite fussy & have probably said thanks but no thanks to more offers than I have accepted. (One day I might build up the courage to share the most random offer I have ever received!) If it's an exciting new product or a brand with a unique point of view, then I will usually say yes. What I promise to you is that I'll always be honest when I have received a product to try & I will always give you my honest opinion. Policy statement over :-)

It seems one of the big baking trends at the moment is using alcohol in recipes, so when Barefoot Wines sent me a cupcake recipe using their new Moscato, I thought I'd see what the fuss was all about? I had to convert the recipe to metric from cups & sticks, but the quantities seemed to work out ok.

For the cakes
120g butter
225g caster sugar
2 eggs
60ml milk
60ml Barefoot Moscato
1tsp baking powder
200g plain flour
Pinch of salt

For the frosting
250g mascarpone
500g icing sugar
2 tbsps Barefoot Moscato
1tsp vanilla extract
Chocolate sprinkles for decoration

1. Cream together the butter & sugar until light & fluffy, gradually beat in the eggs then the wine & milk until you have a lovely smooth & creamy batter.

2. Sift in the flour, salt & baking powder & mix until all combined. Line a 12 hole bun tin with paper cases & divide the mixture evenly. Bake in the oven at 190c/GM5 for 14-18 minutes until well risen & just turned golden on top.

3. To make the frosting, beat together all the ingredients until smooth. I found chilling it in the fridge until ready to use made it a little easier to handle. When the cakes are completely cooled, top with frosting & some chocolate sprinkles.

The result is a lovely fluffy, buttery cake, I can't honestly say I can taste the wine, but it certainly adds a certain something to the flavour. Enjoy with a delicious chilled glass of the left over Moscato, well you can't let it go to waste can you? If you're inspired to try out cooking with wine, have a look at the Barefoot recipe archive.

Before I go I just wanted to share one other thing with you. Barefoot Wines began in California in 1965, their ethos 'there's no point in doing well if you're not doing any good' is evident in the number of community projects they are involved in. I was especially interested in their Barefoot Friendly Beach Rescue Tour. I grew up on the beautiful North East coast line & cannot imagine why people would want to spoil it by dumping rubbish on it. The reality is they do, so Barefoot have teamed up with Surfers Against Sewage to encourage volunteers to come along to beach clean up events. Click here for more details of this great initiative.

Till next time, Rebecca x

Tynemouth Sands - Barefoot Friendly Beach Rescue Tour visits on 26th August

27 July 2011

An apology from me....

Hello, it's been a while? Just a short post from me to say sorry for the recent radio silence! My day job has kind of taken over my life at the moment, add to that birthdays, holidays & contending with a bad back & I'm afraid to say I haven't spent much time at all in the kitchen.

Baking is what I do to relax, so needless to say I'm not feeling all that chilled at the minute & I swear my Kitchen Aid is sulking due to lack of use! So tonight I'm taking affirmative action & will be heading back into the kitchen, the cupcakes are calling me.

Thanks for sticking with me & I promise there will be some lovely treats to drool over on the blog in the next few days. Take care, Rebecca x

Oh & in the meantime, here's my favourite ever cake related comedy sketch, Enjoy!

18 June 2011

Eee I eee I oh....old McHodgson's trip to the farm!

This week I'm feeling all at one with the land after being invited to spend an afternoon at Millets Farm Centre in Frilford, Oxfordshire. Not knowing quite what to expect when I got there, this was unlike any farm centre I'd been to before. There's a farm shop packed with fruit & veg grown on site, a selection of local produce sourced within 50 miles & an assortment of other foodie goodies. There's also a garden centre, restaurant, farm zoo, children's play area, trout fishing lake, 10 acres of woodland & wetland walks, a craft gallery & if that's not enough to keep you occupied there's 50 acres of pick your own fruit & veg...phew!

I was invited to explore the PYO fields & learn a little more about what it takes to successfully grow such a wide selection of crops. Our guides were the very experienced & knowledgeable Orlin Atanasov & Les Britten. Orlin looks after the fruit, Les looks after the veggies! I love PYO farms, so much so that I even visited one on my birthday last year...I know not very rock & roll. That said I'd never given much thought to the work that goes on behind the scenes to bring you all that lovely produce.

Now I'm a bit of a novice when it comes to gardening of any nature, I live in a flat and my basil plant is about as good as it gets! So I thought I'd share some of the interesting facts I picked up, along with some of my favourite photos of the day.

Teepee's for peas! A favourite fun pass time for Rooks is pulling up broad beans, they don't eat them, just pull 'em up!

Beautiful beetroot, one of my favourites, but unfortunately not ready for picking yet :-( Orlin & Les will choose several different varieties of one crop so that the season is staggered, bringing us more delicious produce for longer!

This is the start of the brussel sprout crop, this lot will be ready for Christmas. They have a bunny barrier round them, I always thought bunnies liked carrots not sprouts?

Rhubarb or beebarb as we call it in our family. Apparently it's like a weed & will completely take over your garden if you let it.

The most delicious raspberries I think I've ever tasted, these are a variety from Canada.

Succulent cherries, yum! I can see why they call the fruit of coffee plants cherries, these look almost identical!

I'd like to say a big thank you to Jo & the guys at Millets Farm for inviting me along, I had a lovely afternoon. If you find yourself in the Oxfordshire area, the centre is well worth a visit. Have a look at their website for details of special events. I'm intrigued to experience the Maize Maze which is due to open mid July! Take care, Rebecca x

I wonder how long the waiting list for a Windsor allotment is?

15 June 2011

Celebrating the launch of PREPPED!

Last week I was lucky enough to be invited along to my first ever book launch. I was probably a little over excited about it as I'd actually been involved in testing one of the recipes for the book...oh & it was hosted in the Knightsbridge branch of Rococo Chocolate, so how could a girl say no?

PREPPED! is written by the lovely Vanessa Kimbell & promises that with a little prep, you'll be able to knock together culinary masterpieces from your own kitchen at the drop of a hat. I'm all for that!

The recipe I tested for Vanessa was the delicious Orange & Cardamon Barfi (page 233 of the book!) It was great to finally see it in all it's printed glory, especially when I saw that Vanessa had incorporated some of my testing comments into the final method. Here's a link to my original post.

It really is a lovely book, packed with beautiful photography & recipes helpfully grouped by flavours & ingredients. Top of my list to try out are Vanilla Vodka & Spiced Tomato Jam....yum!

It's published by Spring Hill & is available now from Waterstones & Amazon To find out more about the author, pop over to Vanessa's blog.

Good luck Vanessa, it surely has been a labour of love & I wish you every success with it. Rebecca x

6 June 2011

Rebecca Bakes Bread....and it was edible!

Bread, glorious bread, all hail the mighty loaf! For those of you who have been reading for a while you will have realised that I have a lot of favourite foods, but bread has got to be my biggest downfall! Whether it's mothers pride, a crusty cob or gourmet loaf with bits in I love it all. Not good for a girl who has a tendency to hold on to a few excess pounds! I have made my own bread in the past, but I'll be honest I've cheated & used a breadmaker. The breadmaker was sacrificed from my kitchen to make way for my beautiful Kitchen Aid mixer & seeing as that came with a dough hook, I thought it was time I tried it out.

I was going over to Mum's for dinner on Sunday to try out Marks & Spencers new giant ravioli, yes that one off the telly. It was like gold dust trying to find it, whoever said TV advertising isn't effective anymore clearly underestimated the pulling power of an M&S ready meal! I have to say it was delicious...but I digress, the relevance is that I decided to make an olive ciabatta to go with the coveted giant ravioli.

I didn't follow a recipe, I just messed around with quantities based on what I remembered from using the breadmaker. This is roughly what I used...

450g strong white flour
400ml warm water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 tsps quick action yeast
2 tbsps olive oil
Handful of chopped green olives

There's not much of a method involved, I chucked it all in the mixer, with the exception of the oil & olives, combined it using the dough hook until it turned into a lovely stretchy dough. I added the olives, then finally drizzled the oil over the top. Next is the hardest bit for me...waiting! I covered the bowl with a tea towel & popped it in the airing cupboard for about an hour, after which it had pretty much doubled in size.

OK so doesn't look all that appetising at this point!

Using extra flour to stop it sticking, I gave it a quick knead to combine the oil then shaped it into something resembling a loaf. It baked it in the oven at 180c for about 45 minutes.

Ta da! Was really chuffed with my loaf & it tasted lovely too. There's something very satisfying about baking your own bread & it really is easier than it looks! Do you have a favourite loaf? Till next time, Rebecca x

And the winner is....

A couple of weeks back I ran a giveaway for a fab vintage vinyl cake stand hand made by yours truly! Thanks to everyone who entered & for sharing your innermost musical secrets, you certainly gave me a good giggle :-)

The random number generator has spoken & I'm happy to announce the winner is....

Liz of Me and My Shadow!

Liz & her daughter wasted no time in putting it to use & sent me this photo of the cake stand in action, stacked up with rather delicious looking cupcakes.

Hopefully I'll be able to bring you another giveaway soon, just need to wait for crafty inspiration to strike again! In the meantime, I'm open to taking orders for more vinyl cake stands, got to be a market for them somewhere? :-) Rebecca x

28 May 2011

Date night dinner at The Hinds Head!

Well it seems I must have been a good girl recently & the foodie fairy (otherwise know as my OH!) rewarded me with a reservation at The Hinds Head in Bray, if you're not familiar with it, it's owned by Heston Blumenthal. It's a beautiful old building that's steeped in history, located in the heart of Bray village, the most notable claim to fame is that Prince Phillip had his stag do there!

The menu is a mix of pub style favourite, historic British recipe revivals & in true Heston style some more unusual dishes. We had a lovely evening, the staff were great, the restaurant was gorgeous & the food was delicious. In true food blogger style I took pictures of everything & thought I'd share them with you. Sorry not the best quality, but you get the idea :-)

So we started with a drink in the bar & this was not your average G&T! Mare is a Mediterranean Gin infused with olives, thyme, basil & rosemary. It's served with the usual tonic plus a generous chunk of orange & a sprig of rosemary as your swizzle stick! The flavours are quite subtle but it's delicious.

For my starter I chose Pommes Dorres' Pork Meat Fruit, Apple, Boar Salami & Grilled Bread. It looked like a work of art!

I wasn't quite sure what the to expect when I cut into that gorgeous glossy little apple, it was actually an apple jelly filled with delicious pork.

For my main I went with a traditional (some may say boring?) steak, it came served with triple cooked chips & a bone marrow sauce, we also went for a side of baby spinach with pine nuts & parmesan. It was incredible, quite possibly the best steak I've ever had!

Dessert was a Spiced Chocolate Wine 'Slush' with Millionaires Shortbread. By this point I was beside myself with excitement & was maybe making my OH feel a little embarrassed at my picture taking & general over enthusing!

I even got this little card with my pud to explain the origins of chocolate wine.

I thoroughly enjoyed our evening at The Hinds Head & would highly recommend it for a visit. Maybe next we can graduate to The Fat Duck which is only a couple of doors away. Thanks M! Dinner from my kitchen this evening is going to be dull in comparison, oh well, till next time, Rebecca x

23 May 2011

Blog Giveaway - Vintage Vinyl Cake Stand!

I've gone all arts & crafts on you this week to bring you...fanfare please....a Rebecca Bakes Cakes blog giveaway! Now I have been known to have an original idea every now & again, however I have to hold my hands up & confess that this idea has been stolen with pride from a good friend of mine. It combines two of my favourite things, music & cake, so when I saw these stands stacked with cupcakes at her daughters' party, I had to have a go at making one myself.

Trawling the charity shops of Windsor looking for vinyl was an experience in itself, turns out the residents of the Royal Borough seem to be quite fond of Howard Jones & Engelbert Humperdinck (way too much Humperdinck) I picked records I knew & loved, so my stand ended up with a rather eclectic mix of the original film soundtrack of Mary Poppins, Tears for Fears - Shout & Love Affair - Everlasting Love. Make of that mix what you will...

I've also made a special 80's edition to give away to one lucky reader! This stand combines, Erasure - Circus, Danny Wilson - The Second Summer of Love & Owen Paul - My Favourite Waste of Time. It's a marvellous medley of 80's pop! To be fair I don't really know the Danny Wilson track, but 10" vinyl is remarkably hard to come by, so had to take what I could find :-)

It's very sturdy & dead easy to dismantle so you can store it flat. I love a traditional chintzy china cake stand, but this vinyl version will definitely make a bold statement on your tea table & is sure to get people talking about the tunes!

To be in with a chance to win my 80's-tastic vintage vinyl cake stand, just leave a comment below or email me at rebeccabakescakes@hotmail.co.uk to say you're in. If you want to share a guilty music secret, then feel free, I won't judge! Quite frankly I have too many to mention, but to get things started I queued on Oxford Street for hours to meet 90's boyband Let Loose, I've been to see Cliff Richard not once but twice (with my Mum!) & I am the proud owner of a CD signed by Shed Seven. You get the idea, it's musical catharsis!

Competition will close at 11.59pm on Sunday 29th May 2011. International entries welcome! Good luck, Rebecca x

12 May 2011

Forever Nigella - Salad Days!

This months Forever Nigella challenge is being hosted by Dom at Belleau Kitchen, the theme being Salad Days! Gone are the days of salads being some limp lettuce, tomato & cucumber with a radish or two thrown in if you were feeling adventurous. They are no longer a greying garnish, but a meal in themselves packed full of good stuff!

My entry is an interpretation of Nigella's recipe for Red-leaf, fig & serrano ham salad from the Nigella Express book. You might look at it & think there's no figs or serrano ham in it, crazy lady it's nothing like it! But I promise you it was reading this recipe that led me to putting these ingredients together.

For my WIGIG Salad, you'll need..

A selection of salad leaves, mozzarella cheese, proscutio cotto ham, some lightly steamed British asparagus & a drizzle of olive oil & balsamic vinegar. We have just entered the fabulous British asparagus season which sadly only lasts for three months, so I try & enjoy as much of it as I can, because when it's gone it's gone - hench it's name, WIGIG! There's a greab web site dedicated to the tasty veg, take a look for lots of useless asparagus facts & recipes.

There really isn't any method to this, just chuck it all together (in an artistic fashion of course!) & enjoy. Till next time, Rebecca x


10 May 2011

Posh microwave popcorn!

With the exception of the film, popcorn is probably my favourite part of going to the movies. Actually come to think of it there's probably a few films that I would have walked out of if I hadn't had a popcorn tub the size of my mop bucket to chomp through! I've tried to make popcorn at home but it's never been great. Microwave popcorn tastes a bit plastic & the time I tried to pop my own, I ended up having to send a pan to kitchen heaven with a irreversibly scorched bottom! So when I was mooching around Great Portland Street killing time before a meeting I was excited to find ZaraMamaS Gourmet Popping Corn. It's a completely natural dried corn on the cob that comes with a bag so you can pop it in the microwave.

Put the cob into the bag & tie up the top

Pop it in the microwave for 2 minutes until the popping stops...

...you get a lovely fresh bag of popcorn

The kernels just pop themselves off the cob!

It's really tasty & I like the fact you can season it yourself. I split my batch in two & seasoned half with salt & pepper, the other half I drizzled (ok maybe more than drizzled!) with maple syrup which was absolutely delicious! ZaraMamaS products are available from deli's & farm shops across the country, have a look at their website for more tasty treats. I'm off to pick a movie to watch with my popcorn, Rebecca x

1 December 2011

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas - with a Hotel Chocolat giveaway!

Hello all, it's 1st December today, so I can officially start to think about Christmas! Not that I've had time to think about much else over the last month, not wanting to do things by half I've moved both house & office. But now everything is pretty much sorted it's time to focus on the festivities.

I was very excited to have the chance to be part of Hotel Chocolat Christmas campaign. I'm already a big fan of their chocolate, in particular tiddly pots & cherry deluxe....mmm! So when I was asked if I would like to sample one of the products from their 2011 Christmas range, I didn't need to be asked twice.
I chose a selection of Winter Dessert chocolates which included Apple Strudel, Chocolate Souffle, Christmas Mess & Caramel Pecan Pie. They are definitely chocolates to be savoured & utterly delicious. I preferred the souffle & pecan pie choc's, but that's just because I like darker chocolate. My mum, who I shared them with (it was more than my life was worth not to share!) loved them all, but she has a real sweet tooth. They would certainly make a lovely after dinner treat to enjoy with coffee & if you have guests, I'm sure you could entertain yourselves trying to guess the flavours. You may be surprised how like the dessert they actually taste!

Other things that have caught my eye from the range (family & friends take note :-) are tiddly caramel penguins & mulled wine cherries but really there's just too much to choose from.
I did think it a little bit mean just to write a post about me getting to try some delicious chocolate, so I have an early Christmas treat for you! I have another box of the Winter Dessert chocolates to giveaway to one lucky reader. All you have to do is take a look at the full Hotel Chocolat Christmas range & leave a comment telling me which treat you would like to find under the tree this Christmas.

You can also email your entry to rebeccabakescakes@hotmail.co.uk

Entries need to be in by 23:59 on Wednesday 7th December 2011. Winner will be chosen at random with the help of a random number generator!

Good Luck! Rebecca x

If you want to find out more about Hotel Chocolat you can follow them on Facebook & Twitter

All pictures courtesy of Hotel Chocolat

27 October 2011

Bangers and some rather gruesome looking mash!

Evening all, I've stopped laughing just about long enough to bring you this post! My dinner tonight was quite possibly the most ridiculous looking thing you've ever seen so here it is in all it's glory! It's all down to my latest discovery, Purple Majesty Potatoes grown by UK spud farmer, Albert Bartlett & bought from Sainsburys. Their natural purple colour is down to these particular spuds being high in anthocyanins, the same thing that gives blueberries & red cabbage their colour. This makes them rich in antioxidants & lets face it we all know they're good for us (even if no one I know really understands why??)

It was really tasty although I have to be honest, eating purple mash might take a bit of getting used to. They'd definitely make a great Halloween tea! Or, given they turned the water a bright shade of turquoise, might prove quite useful if tie-dying were ever to make a come back! Have a good evening, Rebecca x

20 October 2011

Chocolate week, baking week, is there any week that isn't a week, cookies!

Hello. You may remember a few weeks back was National Cupcake Week, in honour of which I created some peanut butter & jam cupcakes. Well I posted a piccie of said cupcakes on the Baking Mad Facebook page & ended up winning a pack of orange flavour buttons which I probably got a bit too excited about. If you're not a fan already I'd recommend joining, they often run giveaways & competitions. The Baking Mad website is also worth a look for all things related to baking & cupcake making!

So they are the inspiration for this weeks recipe, which I created to celebrate both Chocolate Week (last week) & Baking Week (this week) It never ceases to amaze me the number of 'weeks' we actually have, although I feel there's a critical one missing. I think we absolutely have to have a 'National Eat Crisps Week' where every meal has to be accompanied by a potato based snack! Who's with me??

The orange buttons are made from cocoa butter & made a great cookie topping, I also added some natural orange essence to the cookie dough mixture to create the perfect chocolate orange cookie.

100g unsalted butter
140g caster sugar
1 egg
140g SR flour
25g cocoa powder
2tsps natural orange essence
Pack of Silver Spoon orange flavour buttons

1. Cream the butter & sugar until light & fluffy, then beat in the egg gradually until you have a lovely smooth batter.

2. Sift in the flour & cocoa powder & fold together, finally add the orange essence.

3. Place small dollops of cookie dough onto a baking sheet, add some buttons to the top. Don't worry it they look a bit squished, they'll spread out when the cook.

4. Bake in the oven at 180c/GM4 for around 10-12 minutes. Leave to cool completely & crisp up.

Looking at the finished article they would probably be quite good for a Halloween party if you were that way inclined? As my friend pointed out, there were a few of them that ended up looking like something out of the Mighty Boosh, google it, you'll see! Enjoy, Rebecca x

3 October 2011

Fruit tarts - made with a little help!

Ok, so lets get the obvious out of the way...what is up with the weather!? It's usually around this time of year I'm dusting off my boots, adding an extra layer & wondering whether I really can get another season out of my coat? Instead, yesterday I was in shorts, barbecuing! I for one was very confused by it all. Anyway it was this impromptu BBQ that led me to making this dessert which I wanted to share with you.

Summery desserts in October - what's going on?

I was plodding around the aisles of Sainsburys looking for dessert inspiration when I came across their new range of chilled dessert ingredients. Ready made pastry, compotes, ganache, creme patisserie & the like. Now I make no secret of the fact that I can't make pastry, I always blamed it on the fact I have hot hands, but recently I was told that it could in fact be related to my hormones! Apparently the level of oestrogen you have in your body effects your ability to make pastry...I'm not sure that's ever been medically proven, or if it's simply an elaborate old wives tale, but I'll take it as an excuse!

So, grateful for a helping (non hot, low oestrogen) hand, I picked a pack of ready rolled dessert shortcrust pastry & a pouch of creme patisserie. I was given a set of individual loose bottom tart tins for Christmas, so this was the perfect opportunity to try them out & make yummy fruit tarts.

I lined the tins with pastry & in the absence of baking beans prodded the bottom with a fork to stop it puffing up, then baked them for around 12 minutes. When they'd cooled completely I squished in the creme patisserie then topped them with sliced pineapple, grapes & strawberries.

As much as I consider myself a scratch cook, there are some things that I look at & think why bother when the convenient version is so good. The fruit tarts were absolutely delicious & at 45p per tart (excluding fruit which I was buying anyway), they were excellent value for money. Have a good week & enjoy the sunshine while it lasts! Rebecca x

14 September 2011

As if I need an excuse to eat cake....it's National Cupcake Week!

It seems pretty much every day or week in the year is dedicated to some food group or another, to the point that it's getting a little bit daft. I mean Caesar Salad Day & Split Pea Soup Week, really? One of the more sensible events is National Cupcake Week which runs until this Friday, the ambition is to celebrate bakers creativity & passion, supporting & promoting local independent bakers as well as teaming up with some of the bigger boys of the baking world to raise money for CLIC Sargent. Hurrah for Cupcake Week I say! I never need an excuse to eat cake, but I've needed to find some fresh motivation to get back into my baking...consider me re-motivated.

So this was a complete experiment! I wanted to try & combine two of my favourite flavours in a cupcake, peanut butter & jam, or jelly if you're from tuther side of the pond? I don't normally keep peanut butter in the house, purely for the reason that it tends to disappear quite quickly, from jar to spoon to my tummy! I used my basic cupcake mixture as a base & gradually built up the flavour using crunchy peanut butter to add some texture. For the jammy bit, I made a light & fluffy butter cream flavoured with strawberry jam.

For the cakes
250g butter
3 eggs
275g caster sugar
350ml natural greek yoghurt
1tsp vanilla extract
100g peanut butter
450g plain flour
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
2tsps baking powder

For the frosting
150g butter softened
250g icing sugar
Dash of milk
2tbsps strawberry jam

1. Melt the butter in a large bowl, beat together the eggs, vanilla & sugar then add it to the melted butter, stirring well. Next mix in the yoghurt, then add the peanut butter.

2. Sift in the dry ingredients & fold together. Spoon into paper cases & bake at 180c/GM4 for around 20 minutes. Lift out & leave to cool while you prepare the frosting.

3. Cream together the butter & sugar with a fork until smooth & creamy. At this point I switch to a spatula to mix in dash of milk to loosen it up a little. Finally beat in the strawberry jam until fluffy & a gorgeous shade of pink.

4. Frost your cakes as you wish, mine always look a little rustic! For the larger cakes I topped them with a chunk of a Reeces Peanut Butter Cup!

The little star shaped cakes I made using some silicon moulds which were a pressie for my birthday. I was always a bit sceptical about silicon bakeware, but they worked really well, the cakes popped out really easily & they washed up a treat...think I might be a convert?

So what's the verdict? DELICIOUS! The saltiness from the peanut butter in the cake is really balanced by the sweet sticky jam in the frosting. It's got me thinking about other combinations I could have a crack at....any ideas, please share, always up for a challenge :-)

Hope you enjoy what's left of Cupcake Week. Eat cake! Oh & if you were wondering Caesar Salad Day is July 4th & Split Pea Soup Week is in November, might give that one a miss? Till next time, Rebecca x

7 September 2011

A Delicious menu to get me back in my foodie groove!

Do you find every now & again you suddenly get hit in the face with the fact that you're on a bit of a treadmill, seeming to do a lot & not much all at the same time? Well that's exactly what happened to me at the weekend! I feel like order has been lost & chaos reigns in my life at the moment. It's a scary reality to realise your stable diet for the last month has pretty much been cheese on toast, marmite spaghetti or, & I'm quite ashamed to admit this, Heinz ravioli eaten cold straight from the tin! With everything feeling so chaotic, I'd lost my enthusiasm for food, which is not like me at all. It was time to take stock & get control back - I do realise there is a risk that this post will appear to make me look like a control freak....I'm not I promise :-)

So I dusted off my pile of Olive & Delicious magazines that had accumulated still in their wrappers & set too looking for fresh inspiration. It always makes me hungry reading these mags, so I fuelled up with one of the few remaining things in my kitchen, a bowl of Coco Pops Rocks, (good grief it's not getting any better is it???) & marched off to the supermarket.

I'd decided I was going to cook dinner for my Mum, so patched together a menu from the July issue of Delicious. I wanted to share my creations with you in a bid to get myself back into my foodie groove & spur me on to do more.

To start I made Traditional Andalusian Gazpacho soup which was taken from Rick Stein's Spain book, complete with homemade croutons. It was the first time I'd made croutons & honestly, once you've tried them you'll never go back, dead simple to make too!

Main course was taken from the same Rick Stein feature, Lamb-stuffed aubergines with Moorish spices & manchego cheese, which I served with a green salad. Manchego is one of my weaknesses it was completely delicious paired with the lamb & succulent aubergine.

For dessert I chose a Fig & Raspberry tart which was yummy served warm with creme fraiche. It had an almond base so turned out a bit like a really posh bakewell tart.

The result was a big success! I've had a look around the wonderweb, but haven't been able to find any of the recipes, sorry :-( That said based on the dishes I tried, Rick Steins book could be worth a closer look.

So I'm feeling part way back on track, my fridge is full of fruit & veg & I'm actually cooking again! I'm feeling the restorative powers of having blogged & can feel the healing foodie vibes coming back at my from the blogsphere! I just need to sort out a hair cut, some exercise, tackle my paperwork, the mound of ironing & we're all good. For now, yours, a slightly more organised Rebecca x

p.s. I only have to look after me & get overwhelmed at times, Mum's & Dad's I don't know how you do it!

21 August 2011

The most glorious cake I think I've ever eaten!

August has been a really busy month, but thankfully I've managed to have a couple of days off to celebrate my 30-somethingth birthday this week! As a treat we ventured down to Brighton to take in some sea air & to visit Bar du Chocolat on Middle Street. If you're not familiar with it, Bar du Chocolat is part of the Choccywoccydoodah family. It would be impossible to even try & explain the amazing cakes they create, so instead I'll point you to their website, I'll guarantee you'll be drooling into your keyboard. We went for afternoon coffee & cake, & it was absolutely glorious!

I enjoyed a slab of dark coffee cake, served with a generous drizzle of melted chocolate & vanilla ice-cream.

Mum opted for sticky ginger cake, served with drizzled melted chocolate, raspberry coulis & vanilla ice-cream.


It was absolute cake heaven, I'd thoroughly recommend popping in if you're in the area, just maybe pass on lunch first! Till next time, Rebecca x


30 July 2011

Boozy Barefoot Cupcakes

Increasingly I am being approached by companies to receive samples of their products, I have to admit it gives me a touch of the warm & fuzzies that someone has read my blog & wants me to try out their stuff! That said I am quite fussy & have probably said thanks but no thanks to more offers than I have accepted. (One day I might build up the courage to share the most random offer I have ever received!) If it's an exciting new product or a brand with a unique point of view, then I will usually say yes. What I promise to you is that I'll always be honest when I have received a product to try & I will always give you my honest opinion. Policy statement over :-)

It seems one of the big baking trends at the moment is using alcohol in recipes, so when Barefoot Wines sent me a cupcake recipe using their new Moscato, I thought I'd see what the fuss was all about? I had to convert the recipe to metric from cups & sticks, but the quantities seemed to work out ok.

For the cakes
120g butter
225g caster sugar
2 eggs
60ml milk
60ml Barefoot Moscato
1tsp baking powder
200g plain flour
Pinch of salt

For the frosting
250g mascarpone
500g icing sugar
2 tbsps Barefoot Moscato
1tsp vanilla extract
Chocolate sprinkles for decoration

1. Cream together the butter & sugar until light & fluffy, gradually beat in the eggs then the wine & milk until you have a lovely smooth & creamy batter.

2. Sift in the flour, salt & baking powder & mix until all combined. Line a 12 hole bun tin with paper cases & divide the mixture evenly. Bake in the oven at 190c/GM5 for 14-18 minutes until well risen & just turned golden on top.

3. To make the frosting, beat together all the ingredients until smooth. I found chilling it in the fridge until ready to use made it a little easier to handle. When the cakes are completely cooled, top with frosting & some chocolate sprinkles.

The result is a lovely fluffy, buttery cake, I can't honestly say I can taste the wine, but it certainly adds a certain something to the flavour. Enjoy with a delicious chilled glass of the left over Moscato, well you can't let it go to waste can you? If you're inspired to try out cooking with wine, have a look at the Barefoot recipe archive.

Before I go I just wanted to share one other thing with you. Barefoot Wines began in California in 1965, their ethos 'there's no point in doing well if you're not doing any good' is evident in the number of community projects they are involved in. I was especially interested in their Barefoot Friendly Beach Rescue Tour. I grew up on the beautiful North East coast line & cannot imagine why people would want to spoil it by dumping rubbish on it. The reality is they do, so Barefoot have teamed up with Surfers Against Sewage to encourage volunteers to come along to beach clean up events. Click here for more details of this great initiative.

Till next time, Rebecca x

Tynemouth Sands - Barefoot Friendly Beach Rescue Tour visits on 26th August

27 July 2011

An apology from me....

Hello, it's been a while? Just a short post from me to say sorry for the recent radio silence! My day job has kind of taken over my life at the moment, add to that birthdays, holidays & contending with a bad back & I'm afraid to say I haven't spent much time at all in the kitchen.

Baking is what I do to relax, so needless to say I'm not feeling all that chilled at the minute & I swear my Kitchen Aid is sulking due to lack of use! So tonight I'm taking affirmative action & will be heading back into the kitchen, the cupcakes are calling me.

Thanks for sticking with me & I promise there will be some lovely treats to drool over on the blog in the next few days. Take care, Rebecca x

Oh & in the meantime, here's my favourite ever cake related comedy sketch, Enjoy!

18 June 2011

Eee I eee I oh....old McHodgson's trip to the farm!

This week I'm feeling all at one with the land after being invited to spend an afternoon at Millets Farm Centre in Frilford, Oxfordshire. Not knowing quite what to expect when I got there, this was unlike any farm centre I'd been to before. There's a farm shop packed with fruit & veg grown on site, a selection of local produce sourced within 50 miles & an assortment of other foodie goodies. There's also a garden centre, restaurant, farm zoo, children's play area, trout fishing lake, 10 acres of woodland & wetland walks, a craft gallery & if that's not enough to keep you occupied there's 50 acres of pick your own fruit & veg...phew!

I was invited to explore the PYO fields & learn a little more about what it takes to successfully grow such a wide selection of crops. Our guides were the very experienced & knowledgeable Orlin Atanasov & Les Britten. Orlin looks after the fruit, Les looks after the veggies! I love PYO farms, so much so that I even visited one on my birthday last year...I know not very rock & roll. That said I'd never given much thought to the work that goes on behind the scenes to bring you all that lovely produce.

Now I'm a bit of a novice when it comes to gardening of any nature, I live in a flat and my basil plant is about as good as it gets! So I thought I'd share some of the interesting facts I picked up, along with some of my favourite photos of the day.

Teepee's for peas! A favourite fun pass time for Rooks is pulling up broad beans, they don't eat them, just pull 'em up!

Beautiful beetroot, one of my favourites, but unfortunately not ready for picking yet :-( Orlin & Les will choose several different varieties of one crop so that the season is staggered, bringing us more delicious produce for longer!

This is the start of the brussel sprout crop, this lot will be ready for Christmas. They have a bunny barrier round them, I always thought bunnies liked carrots not sprouts?

Rhubarb or beebarb as we call it in our family. Apparently it's like a weed & will completely take over your garden if you let it.

The most delicious raspberries I think I've ever tasted, these are a variety from Canada.

Succulent cherries, yum! I can see why they call the fruit of coffee plants cherries, these look almost identical!

I'd like to say a big thank you to Jo & the guys at Millets Farm for inviting me along, I had a lovely afternoon. If you find yourself in the Oxfordshire area, the centre is well worth a visit. Have a look at their website for details of special events. I'm intrigued to experience the Maize Maze which is due to open mid July! Take care, Rebecca x

I wonder how long the waiting list for a Windsor allotment is?

15 June 2011

Celebrating the launch of PREPPED!

Last week I was lucky enough to be invited along to my first ever book launch. I was probably a little over excited about it as I'd actually been involved in testing one of the recipes for the book...oh & it was hosted in the Knightsbridge branch of Rococo Chocolate, so how could a girl say no?

PREPPED! is written by the lovely Vanessa Kimbell & promises that with a little prep, you'll be able to knock together culinary masterpieces from your own kitchen at the drop of a hat. I'm all for that!

The recipe I tested for Vanessa was the delicious Orange & Cardamon Barfi (page 233 of the book!) It was great to finally see it in all it's printed glory, especially when I saw that Vanessa had incorporated some of my testing comments into the final method. Here's a link to my original post.

It really is a lovely book, packed with beautiful photography & recipes helpfully grouped by flavours & ingredients. Top of my list to try out are Vanilla Vodka & Spiced Tomato Jam....yum!

It's published by Spring Hill & is available now from Waterstones & Amazon To find out more about the author, pop over to Vanessa's blog.

Good luck Vanessa, it surely has been a labour of love & I wish you every success with it. Rebecca x

6 June 2011

Rebecca Bakes Bread....and it was edible!

Bread, glorious bread, all hail the mighty loaf! For those of you who have been reading for a while you will have realised that I have a lot of favourite foods, but bread has got to be my biggest downfall! Whether it's mothers pride, a crusty cob or gourmet loaf with bits in I love it all. Not good for a girl who has a tendency to hold on to a few excess pounds! I have made my own bread in the past, but I'll be honest I've cheated & used a breadmaker. The breadmaker was sacrificed from my kitchen to make way for my beautiful Kitchen Aid mixer & seeing as that came with a dough hook, I thought it was time I tried it out.

I was going over to Mum's for dinner on Sunday to try out Marks & Spencers new giant ravioli, yes that one off the telly. It was like gold dust trying to find it, whoever said TV advertising isn't effective anymore clearly underestimated the pulling power of an M&S ready meal! I have to say it was delicious...but I digress, the relevance is that I decided to make an olive ciabatta to go with the coveted giant ravioli.

I didn't follow a recipe, I just messed around with quantities based on what I remembered from using the breadmaker. This is roughly what I used...

450g strong white flour
400ml warm water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 tsps quick action yeast
2 tbsps olive oil
Handful of chopped green olives

There's not much of a method involved, I chucked it all in the mixer, with the exception of the oil & olives, combined it using the dough hook until it turned into a lovely stretchy dough. I added the olives, then finally drizzled the oil over the top. Next is the hardest bit for me...waiting! I covered the bowl with a tea towel & popped it in the airing cupboard for about an hour, after which it had pretty much doubled in size.

OK so doesn't look all that appetising at this point!

Using extra flour to stop it sticking, I gave it a quick knead to combine the oil then shaped it into something resembling a loaf. It baked it in the oven at 180c for about 45 minutes.

Ta da! Was really chuffed with my loaf & it tasted lovely too. There's something very satisfying about baking your own bread & it really is easier than it looks! Do you have a favourite loaf? Till next time, Rebecca x

And the winner is....

A couple of weeks back I ran a giveaway for a fab vintage vinyl cake stand hand made by yours truly! Thanks to everyone who entered & for sharing your innermost musical secrets, you certainly gave me a good giggle :-)

The random number generator has spoken & I'm happy to announce the winner is....

Liz of Me and My Shadow!

Liz & her daughter wasted no time in putting it to use & sent me this photo of the cake stand in action, stacked up with rather delicious looking cupcakes.

Hopefully I'll be able to bring you another giveaway soon, just need to wait for crafty inspiration to strike again! In the meantime, I'm open to taking orders for more vinyl cake stands, got to be a market for them somewhere? :-) Rebecca x

28 May 2011

Date night dinner at The Hinds Head!

Well it seems I must have been a good girl recently & the foodie fairy (otherwise know as my OH!) rewarded me with a reservation at The Hinds Head in Bray, if you're not familiar with it, it's owned by Heston Blumenthal. It's a beautiful old building that's steeped in history, located in the heart of Bray village, the most notable claim to fame is that Prince Phillip had his stag do there!

The menu is a mix of pub style favourite, historic British recipe revivals & in true Heston style some more unusual dishes. We had a lovely evening, the staff were great, the restaurant was gorgeous & the food was delicious. In true food blogger style I took pictures of everything & thought I'd share them with you. Sorry not the best quality, but you get the idea :-)

So we started with a drink in the bar & this was not your average G&T! Mare is a Mediterranean Gin infused with olives, thyme, basil & rosemary. It's served with the usual tonic plus a generous chunk of orange & a sprig of rosemary as your swizzle stick! The flavours are quite subtle but it's delicious.

For my starter I chose Pommes Dorres' Pork Meat Fruit, Apple, Boar Salami & Grilled Bread. It looked like a work of art!

I wasn't quite sure what the to expect when I cut into that gorgeous glossy little apple, it was actually an apple jelly filled with delicious pork.

For my main I went with a traditional (some may say boring?) steak, it came served with triple cooked chips & a bone marrow sauce, we also went for a side of baby spinach with pine nuts & parmesan. It was incredible, quite possibly the best steak I've ever had!

Dessert was a Spiced Chocolate Wine 'Slush' with Millionaires Shortbread. By this point I was beside myself with excitement & was maybe making my OH feel a little embarrassed at my picture taking & general over enthusing!

I even got this little card with my pud to explain the origins of chocolate wine.

I thoroughly enjoyed our evening at The Hinds Head & would highly recommend it for a visit. Maybe next we can graduate to The Fat Duck which is only a couple of doors away. Thanks M! Dinner from my kitchen this evening is going to be dull in comparison, oh well, till next time, Rebecca x

23 May 2011

Blog Giveaway - Vintage Vinyl Cake Stand!

I've gone all arts & crafts on you this week to bring you...fanfare please....a Rebecca Bakes Cakes blog giveaway! Now I have been known to have an original idea every now & again, however I have to hold my hands up & confess that this idea has been stolen with pride from a good friend of mine. It combines two of my favourite things, music & cake, so when I saw these stands stacked with cupcakes at her daughters' party, I had to have a go at making one myself.

Trawling the charity shops of Windsor looking for vinyl was an experience in itself, turns out the residents of the Royal Borough seem to be quite fond of Howard Jones & Engelbert Humperdinck (way too much Humperdinck) I picked records I knew & loved, so my stand ended up with a rather eclectic mix of the original film soundtrack of Mary Poppins, Tears for Fears - Shout & Love Affair - Everlasting Love. Make of that mix what you will...

I've also made a special 80's edition to give away to one lucky reader! This stand combines, Erasure - Circus, Danny Wilson - The Second Summer of Love & Owen Paul - My Favourite Waste of Time. It's a marvellous medley of 80's pop! To be fair I don't really know the Danny Wilson track, but 10" vinyl is remarkably hard to come by, so had to take what I could find :-)

It's very sturdy & dead easy to dismantle so you can store it flat. I love a traditional chintzy china cake stand, but this vinyl version will definitely make a bold statement on your tea table & is sure to get people talking about the tunes!

To be in with a chance to win my 80's-tastic vintage vinyl cake stand, just leave a comment below or email me at rebeccabakescakes@hotmail.co.uk to say you're in. If you want to share a guilty music secret, then feel free, I won't judge! Quite frankly I have too many to mention, but to get things started I queued on Oxford Street for hours to meet 90's boyband Let Loose, I've been to see Cliff Richard not once but twice (with my Mum!) & I am the proud owner of a CD signed by Shed Seven. You get the idea, it's musical catharsis!

Competition will close at 11.59pm on Sunday 29th May 2011. International entries welcome! Good luck, Rebecca x

12 May 2011

Forever Nigella - Salad Days!

This months Forever Nigella challenge is being hosted by Dom at Belleau Kitchen, the theme being Salad Days! Gone are the days of salads being some limp lettuce, tomato & cucumber with a radish or two thrown in if you were feeling adventurous. They are no longer a greying garnish, but a meal in themselves packed full of good stuff!

My entry is an interpretation of Nigella's recipe for Red-leaf, fig & serrano ham salad from the Nigella Express book. You might look at it & think there's no figs or serrano ham in it, crazy lady it's nothing like it! But I promise you it was reading this recipe that led me to putting these ingredients together.

For my WIGIG Salad, you'll need..

A selection of salad leaves, mozzarella cheese, proscutio cotto ham, some lightly steamed British asparagus & a drizzle of olive oil & balsamic vinegar. We have just entered the fabulous British asparagus season which sadly only lasts for three months, so I try & enjoy as much of it as I can, because when it's gone it's gone - hench it's name, WIGIG! There's a greab web site dedicated to the tasty veg, take a look for lots of useless asparagus facts & recipes.

There really isn't any method to this, just chuck it all together (in an artistic fashion of course!) & enjoy. Till next time, Rebecca x


10 May 2011

Posh microwave popcorn!

With the exception of the film, popcorn is probably my favourite part of going to the movies. Actually come to think of it there's probably a few films that I would have walked out of if I hadn't had a popcorn tub the size of my mop bucket to chomp through! I've tried to make popcorn at home but it's never been great. Microwave popcorn tastes a bit plastic & the time I tried to pop my own, I ended up having to send a pan to kitchen heaven with a irreversibly scorched bottom! So when I was mooching around Great Portland Street killing time before a meeting I was excited to find ZaraMamaS Gourmet Popping Corn. It's a completely natural dried corn on the cob that comes with a bag so you can pop it in the microwave.

Put the cob into the bag & tie up the top

Pop it in the microwave for 2 minutes until the popping stops...

...you get a lovely fresh bag of popcorn

The kernels just pop themselves off the cob!

It's really tasty & I like the fact you can season it yourself. I split my batch in two & seasoned half with salt & pepper, the other half I drizzled (ok maybe more than drizzled!) with maple syrup which was absolutely delicious! ZaraMamaS products are available from deli's & farm shops across the country, have a look at their website for more tasty treats. I'm off to pick a movie to watch with my popcorn, Rebecca x