Catch-ups and Charlottes.

Hi internet!

How is everything with you? I haven’t blogged for nearly a month, which is shameful, especially since I have so much baking to share.

 I live in London now, which is every bit as awesome as I knew it would be- and is pretty much the reason why I have stayed offline, so I suppose that is a good thing!

I have just wandered home a bit dazed from the Prince Charles cinema in Leicester Square where we watched a sold-out version of sing along ‘Pitch Perfect’

, one of my most favourite films. They had a ‘fat Amy’ impersonator, and during the final scene these disco lights descended and it turned into mayhem. I came home to my flatmates watching Batman and discussing villains or catwomens or something. So I plugged in my earphones and switched on Drive-By Truckers Pandora (do it, seriously), and decided to write.

Its been really cool seeing new people begin to follow, and its amazing to see people from all over the world reading about a girl from the Cotswolds who started baking when her MA became utterly ridiculous. Write a comment if you enjoy this page, lets bond over stress induced baking- or one of my other interests; women’s history, marathons of Walking Dead and Parks and Recreation, Stephen King books and Zombie films.

So…to business, what have I made recently?

A few blogs back I wrote a review of the Glorio

us Pudding Club, a Cotswold eccentricity where you charge your glass to 7 puddings and lie on the ground for bit regretting your life choices.

So, for my darling boyfriend’s birthday I decided to make him my personal favourite from that day, the Passionfruit Charlotte. A Charlotte has a bajillion different forms, some with sponge fingers, but this one is made with sponge roll and a passionfruit mousse. It looks like a brain and is DEVILISH to prepare, but I love mousse…..and my boyfriend obvs.

I am not going to rip the recipe off on her, but here is the Pudding Club Facebook page- their recipe book is outstanding.

https://www.facebook.com/thepuddingclub

PICTURES OR IT DIDN’T HAPPEN.

 

The result is just so lush. Its sharp, creamy, and definitely not too sweet. Its time consuming, and you have to spend 20% of your payslip on passion fruits but it was gone in minutes (between four, don’t worry). I can’t recommend it enough.

Stay Unchained ❤

Autumn Apple Cake

I’ve cracked the oven! Time for a beautiful Autumn recipe that was inspired by some apples languishing in the fridge. Uninspired by apple recipes on the internet, I took a giant risk (in cake terms) and tried something of my own. Results: loved it ❤ Can’t really take credit though, as my boyfriend pointed out- what could possibly go wrong?

Livi’s Apple and Vanilla Crumble Cake

220g Plain Flour

100g Caster Sugar

100g Soft Butter

2 Eggs

100g Ground Almonds

2tsp Good Vanilla Essence

2 tsp Baking Powder

Pinch of salt

Milk

2 cooking apples

For the Streusel Top:

50g Melted Butter

50 SF Flour

40g Demerara Sugar

40g Flaked Almond

20g Ground Almonds

Method

Peel and core the apples and cut them into eights.

Put them in a pan with a splash of water and heat until the apples are soft. (Keep stirring so they don’t burn.)

Add a ¼ tsp of ginger and stir in.

Mix all the other ingredients together except the streusel ingredients.

Mix until well combined.

Spread the mix into a pudding dish, and add 2/3rds of the stewed apple and swirl in to the cake mix.

Bake for 30 minutes (or until a skewer comes out clean.)

Mix together all the streusel ingredients.

Spread the rest of the stewed apple over the top of the cake and spread the streusel over the top.

Bake for another 10 minutes.

🙂

Proof….?

Happy Autumn 🙂 Stay Unchained ❤

Ode to Citrus 3/3: Lemon Bars

Lemon Bars

This is a kind of shortbread lemon curd biscuit cake. Truly outstanding. Unfortunately, all I have is a knackered photocopy of the recipe, and I have no idea of its origins/author/creator…..but, lovely nonetheless.

175g/6oz flour

125g/4oz butter

50g/2oz granulated sugar

200g/7oz caster sugar

2 tbsp flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 medium eggs

juice and rind of 1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 170c, gas mark 3 and oil/ line a 8 inch cake square cake tin.

Rub together the flour and butter until the mix resembles bread crumbs, and stir in the granulated sugar.

Press into the base of the tin firmly, and bake until golden brown (20 minutes).

Mix the caster sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, eggs, lemon juice and rind in a food processor until smooth.

Pour over the base.

Bake for another 30 minutes until set but a lil’ wobbly. Cool in the tin.

Cut into squares.

They won’t last long……I promise.

Stay Unchained<3

For a seriously lazy Saturday

Today was beautiful, October all over i.e. freezing and sparkling with sun on orange leaves. I woke up after a 10.30 lie-in and devised the perfect October breakfast. And here it is.

(Do not eat every day….just don’t)

Maple and Pecan French Toast

2 Eggs

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1/2 a cup Milk

2 slices of sourdough bread

Butter

First whisk the eggs with the vanilla and the milk.

Submerge the bread until soaked through.

Melt butter in a pan.

Place the bread in and cook both sides until they are gold and crunchy. Take out and put on a plate.

 

Throw into a handful of chopped pecans and a generous drizzle of maple syrup into the hot pan. Leave to bubble for a couple of minutes, then cover the toast.

 

I love October, big breakfasts are a defense against colds, tiredness and stress, leaving you free to admire the fiery trees and conkers!

Stay Unchained<3

I have to add another hole to my belt…

UGHUGHGUH……wow…what a weekend of serious baking heaven…and for once I didn’t even do much of it!

The long weekend began in style on Thursday with the arrival of my boyfriend’s lovely parents, who are fans of chocolate gingers. This of course merited a little gift for their hotel room, some homemade Jackson Pollock style chocolate gingers

Onwards!

Not just baked, but twice baked! As a vegetarian, I have limited choice in almost every restaurant in the world, but there is  one place that understands the vegetarian. ‘The Trout at Tadpole Bridge’ is a beautiful, incredibly secluded (especially when the Tadpole Bridge is closed) pub which glows in the dark with candles and fairy lights. And…MAYTE….they understand vegetarians. Presenting….TWO twice baked goat’s cheese souffles with deep friend spring onions and parmesan sauce….with a side of dauphinoise potatoes. The baking maths here makes me giddy…twice baked x 2= 4 times…………four baking processes went into this work of art…..and I ‘preciate it!

Would you just take a look at that….and as if that wasn’t enough, this pub has the great looking pudding menu ever…..

Warm. broiche. butter. pudding. creme anglais. done.

And breathe.

Just when I thought I’d seen it all, Barnsley House reinvents the Afternoon Tea, moving themselves into first place in the Livi Dee Tea Tables. This was for three reasons.

1. Location. Beautiful building. Beautiful garden. Log fire. Perfection.

2. Strudel. This happened. After everything arrived, a waiter skipped up with this sugared breadboard. I had two. No regrets.

3. Winter Pimms. This was a revelation; apple and Pimms, served hot in a wine glass with foam. It’s what I imagine butterbeer would taste like…..if Harry had been 18 and feeling fancy.

     Forget the belt…..It’s time for leggings and lying down. Stay Unchained ❤

Stay Unchained<3