DECORATED - by APRIL CARTER

A couple of years ago I did a food writing course at Leith's cookery school. There were about 15 of us on the course, from all walks of life, each with our own food writing ambitions. Mine was to improve my blog, learn some writing techniques and brush up my skills in the hope of one day writing my own cookbook. 2 years down the line and I still hope to publish my own book, part of which is written, part of which is safely stored in my head!!!! But something exciting popped up on my facebook feed a few weeks ago - one of the ladies on the course, April Carter, has now written her 3rd book (!!), which has been published by Hardie Grant and is now on sale! Her name emblazoned across her book, full of her own recipes - that has to be the dream come true? I was thrilled when April said yes to me previewing one of her recipes from the book for my blog, in the hope that you might want to buy the book yourselves, either to further your own baking, or as a perfect Christmas present for a loved one.

April Carter's 'Decorated - Sublimely crafted cakes for every occasion' book is absolutely beautiful. A collection of recipes for cakes and sweet treats for all occasions and skill levels, the book finishes with a chapter dedicated to how to decorate your own cakes, going into great detail about icing techniques, how to melt chocolate and tips for that extra special finishing touch, all shown via gorgeous photos, taken by Danielle Wood. I know already that April's book is going to be my go-to book for cake making and decorating, and as I'm known as the world's worst cake decorator I can see myself learning a LOT from the last chapter of 'Decorated'. So when an email came into my inbox at work last week asking if I'd bake a cake for a bake sale in aid of Children with Cancer and St John's Hospice (for who they ended up raising over £400), I thought it the ideal time to give one of April's recipes a go, though as you'll see later, I've still got a way to go on the decorating side of things!! Looks aside, it was one of the most delicious cakes I've ever eaten, and April's recipes are a dream to follow - step by step, absolutely perfect instructions.

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THE APPLE TREE - PATISSERIE IN ACTON!

I live in Acton. It's not the most happening place in the world, and the little strip of shops near where I live used to be made up of a few grotty corner shops, an electrics shop, a funeral parlour (!) and not much else. In the last year however we've had a mini Sainsburys open, as well as a really good fish and chip shop, and most recently a great pizza place that does small pizzas for a very reasonable £4 each. And then a few weeks ago I noticed something else had appeared - a tiny café called The Apple Tree. We popped in for a chat with the owners and to see what they were selling, and I was thrilled to find out that they sell fresh juices and patisserie cakes! I would've never thought we could get such nice cakes right at the top of our road, but now we can. I must've been in nearly 10 times since they opened as they are now my go to for cakes to take to parties, or just for a lazy pudding to have at home on the rare occasions I really crave something sweet.

The Apple Tree is run by a lovely husband and wife team, and the wife's mother makes most of the cakes at her local bakery. They sell a wide range of biscuits, tarts, cream cakes and slices, and also do sandwiches during the week. They've got good, proper coffee, fresh juices, and my favourite, a frozen lemonade which is like a fresh lemon slushy - perfect for the hot weather.

I picked up a few cakes for a friend's baby shower yesterday and they all got eaten, so that can only be a good sign! I snapped a few photos of some of what's on offer, but just with my iPhone so excuse the quality.

Crunchy buttery biscuits - think delicious homemade jammy dodgers:

 

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MIRANDA GORE BROWNE'S BLACKBERRY CRUMBLE BISCUITS

One of the best things about my visit to the London Produce Show last month was getting the chance to watch some live cooking demos and sample the delights that were being made. The first of these that I watched was Miranda Gore Browne, of Great British Bake Off fame, who whipped up some seriously yummy blackberry crumble biscuits, that were then passed round for us to try. They were excellent, and I'm not normally a biscuit fan! They had the perfect balance of crunchy and soft with the freshness of blackberries and the sweet blackberry flower they were served with. I've already made a batch at home and they were nearly as good as Miranda's! If you want to try them for yourselves, then here's the recipe so that you too can make them.

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VALENTINES BLOG LOVE

Valentines Day is the one day of the year when I don't want to cook for myself and the boy! So rather than a load of lovey dovey Valentines pink recipes, I thought I'd share the love by telling you about some of my favorite blogs I read. I read a lot of blogs, from food to lifestyle to travel and beauty, and obviously I really like all the blogs I read (otherwise I wouldn't read them!) but I can't list them all here, as there are tons I really like. However, these are some of my favs that involve food, that I hope you can enjoy too.

My FAVORITE blog of all of them is Manger. Mimi lives in Medoc in France with her beautiful family and their 14(!) dogs, where she cooks my idea of food heaven, with the most incredible looking produce. Oh how I would love to spend a weekend at their house!! I was going through her blog pulling some photos to put in this blog, and I literally saved tens of photos as I just couldn't decide between them.

Just look at that meat:

 

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LAST MINUTE HOMEMADE MINCE PIES

If you look for mince pie recipes online 90% off them just list mincemeat from jars as the main ingredient, but it's so easy to make your own mixture, and you only need ingredients that you probably already have at home. This recipe also doesn't need to sit for any time before being used to make mince pies so it's perfect if you feel you've run out of time!

I just grabbed whatever fruit was in the bowl, and you can vary the types and quantities of all the fresh and dry fruit as long as they add up to the right amount.

For 36 mince pies

600g dried fruit - I used about 200g sultanas, 200g raisins, 20g cranberries, 80g chopped apricots, 30g golden sultanas and 70g chopped dates

4 or 5 citrus fruit, zested and juiced - I used 2 large oranges and 3 clementines

4 apples or pears - I used 3 apples and 2 juicy pears, which made up for the small amount of juice from the clementines

60g butter

8 tbsp brandy

Grated nutmeg

Put all the ingredients, except the brandy and nutmeg, into a small heavy bottom saucepan, simmer and cover. Leave to gently simmer for 20minutes, stirring occasionally. After 20 minutes add 6 tbsp brandy, stir, cover and return to the heat for about 5 minutes. Once all the brandy is absorbed, turn the heat off and add the rest of the brandy and a good grating of nutmeg.

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CRUNCHY AUTUMN APPLE CRUMBLE

I don't think there's anything that sums up British Autumn more than an apple crumble. British apples in these months taste just like apples should - sweet, ripe and juicy. And having grown up in Kent and then Somerset, I've always been surrounded by orchards full of apple trees, dropping their apples around now. Unfortunately I don't know where in the UK the apples I used for this crumble came from, but I do know they were fresh and British. I like a golden, crunchy crumble topping and if you follow this recipe you should end up with one too.

The crumble needs to be made in 2 parts, as you need to allow the apples to cool before adding the crumble and cooking in the oven.

Serves 6 using an 8" cake tin.

For the filling:

8 medium British apples (I used a mixture of Discovery and Braeburn)

Seeds from 1 vanilla pod

1 tbsp caster sugar

Water

Knob of butter

For the crumble:

3 tbsp porridge oats

3 tbsp plain flour

2 tbsp salted butter

2 tbsp caster sugar

(Sorry for the lack of weights - I don't have my scales in the house we're staying at! Use heaped tablespoons for all measurements)

Cut your apples in half, and then each half into thirds. Remove the cores. I don't like peeling apples as most of their goodness is found in and just under the skin, but feel free to peel yours if you want.

Put the apple slices in a saucepan, with the vanilla seeds, 1 tbsp caster sugar, a splash of water (just enough to cover the bottom of the pan) and a knob of butter. Cover, and cook on a low heat for 20 minutes.

Remove from the heat and allow to cool. You can speed up this process by pouring the apples into the dish you'll make your crumble in, as this will be cooler than the saucepan you've just cooked them in!

Meanwhile make your crumble topping. Mix the oats and plain flour in a large bowl. Add the butter and using your fingers, incorporate the butter into the oat and flour mix until your left with breadcrumb like crumbles. Tip the sugar in and mix with the crumble.

Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan).

When the apples have cooled pour your crumble mix over the top. Tap the dish so it settles evenly, but don't press it down too hard.

Cook, uncovered, in the oven for 25-35 minutes, or until it looks golden like this:

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WEEKEND WONDERS - SALMON and LENTIL SALAD / POPPY BREAD / HONEY WALNUT CHEESE

We're about to have our house refurbished (floors, carpets, bathrooms, kitchen - yey! etc), and have to move out to do so, so spent the whole weekend packing, boxing things up, trying to work out what should go to recycling, and getting the house as empty as possible (again, I'm less than helpful with a broken hand, but I did try!)

Lifting might not be my forte for another few weeks, but I am now able to whip up a few basics in the kitchen as the strength of my thumb/finger grip is getting better. I therefore decided to do my part to help with the weekend move by keeping everyone well fed. The move also forced me to empty the freezer, which is what inspired the first dish I cooked, as I found half a side of salmon in the freezer which I'd got when it was on special offer at Ocado.

It still feels like summer to me, so I made a huge, healthy salad to keep everyone going on Saturday.

LENTIL AND BAKED VERDE SALMON SALAD

Makes enough for 6-8 people

Salmon:

1 half side of Scottish salmon

2 lemons

Handful basil leaves

Tablespoon of capers

Couple of anchovy fillets

Olive oil

Salad:

300g puy lentils

1 cube vegetable stock

1 tsp garlic granules

Basil stalks

3 carrots

2 spring onions

Handful of tomatoes

1 cucumber

Basil

Salt and pepper

Dressing:

1 part lemon juice

2 parts olive oil

Large pinch sea salt

1 crushed clove of garlic

I actually made this in 2 parts - I cooked the salmon on Friday evening and cut off a fillet each for me and the boy, which we had warm with green beans, new potatoes and homemade hollandaise sauce. Then on Saturday I made this salad.

To cook the salmon, preheat the oven to 220C (200C fan).

Slice 2 lemons thinly to create discs. Put the lemon discs onto some tin foil on a baking tray. Sprinkle the capers over the lemons, and add the basil and anchovy fillets. Drizzle with oil and a good grind of pepper. Place the side of salmon skin side up on top of the sliced lemons. Rub the salmon fillet on both sides with olive oil and another good grind of pepper. Put the salmon in the oven and cook for 10-12 minutes (I did ours for just over 10 minutes and it was perfect). Gently peel off the skin when you take the fish out of the oven.

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LIEVITO BAKERY - SOMERSET

The residents of Somerset are very lucky people. The most wonderful artisan bakery has recently opened its doors to the public, to sell the amazing breads, pastries and puddings that they normally only sell wholesale.

In the tiny village of Lovington, in the old ice-cream factory, a young couple have set up bakers shop and are producing some of the best baked goods I've tried. I popped down there a month or so ago, and came back with arms full of seriously yummy sourdoughs, pain au chocolat, handmade chocolates and challah buns.

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