Nigella's Fresh Gingerbread with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

So Christmas has quickly sprung upon us as it always does, just as i was thinking about halloween cookies and grasshopper pie for thanksgiving, December arrived giving me no time for autumnal cooking and heading straight for the cinnamon. 

Rachel came round one Sunday afternoon to partake in a spot of christmas baking to kick start the season to be oh so jolly. and boy did this cake make us jolly. The scents of cinnamon and ginger that filled the kitchen were better than any scented Muji candle and the cake was a complete success. I've only recently decided to give cupcakes a break and try more 'grown up' cakes, starting with a successful raspberry cake i made back in summer i learnt that cake baking didn't always mean soggy sponge and cake tin- grease ratio nightmares. 

The recipe is easy, and gossip proof, we still managed to have a good catch up and pay attention to the sifting and the weighing.

Nigella's recipe suggests a regular lemon icing, made simply with icing sugar and water, however i am a massive fan of the cream cheese frosting, it gives more texture, it sets well and its quick to make rather than making regular icing which involves too much add a bit, stir a bit, oh balls i put to much water in, add more icing sugar etc etc. Rachel then stepped up the seasonal flavour a notch and suggested we add orange zest to the frosting. I always said Rachel was the brains out of the two of us. 

The end result was like christmas day and finding your boyfriend actually bought you something in the right size aka: impressive surprise! It didn't stick to the tin, it was spongy and light, yet held together in a good sticky kinda way (the treacles are to thank for this obviously). Once it cooled i spread the cream cheese icing and cut it into perfect squares. This might be a bit filling for a christmas eve/day treat on top of mince pies and christmas cake but it was a perfect winter starter to get us in the mood!

Apologies for the low qual pics, it was dark by the time we had finished at 4pm and these needed to be snapped before they were scoffed- how to fix blurry pics taken on your 5 year old SLR? Instagram them within an inch of their lives, obvs. 

Holly x

150g unsalted butter

125g dark muscovado sugar

200g golden syrup

200g black treacle

2 teaspoons fresh ginger, finely grated

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (try not to drop the glass spice jar your mum has had since the 90's and brake the lid in the process. oops)

250ml milk

2 large eggs- beaten

1 teaspoon bicarb soda- dissolved in 2 tablespoons warm water

300g plain flour

Roasting tin- we used a shallow tin about 30 x 20 x5- this made for a perfect rectangle loaf cake that could be cut into squares however you can use the mix for cupcakes or a deeper loaf just watch your cooking times and temp.

-Preheat oven to 170/ gas mark 3

-Melt the butter, sugar, golden syrup, treacle, grated ginger and cinnamon.

-Take off the heat then add the milk, eggs and bicarb soda in its water mix.

-Measure the flour in a bowl and add the wet ingredients, beating until well mixed- it will be VERY liquid batter but don't worry.

-pour into the greased and lined tin and bake for 3/4 to 1 hour until risen and firm. Its supposed to be slightly sticky and remember it will carry on cooking as it cools- i switched the oven off after 3/4 of an hour and after doing the stick test (Im so technical i know) and let it sit in the warm oven for about 15 mins as we made the icing. And made another cuppa.

We used a cream cheese frosting recipie from my primrose bakery cook book-

175g cream cheese (we used one tub of philly)

450g icing sugar

125g butter- softened

1 orange zest grated

Beat all the ingredients together with a mixer then try not to eat it on its own with a spoon (who am i kidding)

The Power of Cake

A long week at the office has now found a cure; L’eto Caffé just around the corner from my work in Mayfair, London. It’s Friday, and motivation is somewhat lagging- we felt like we deserved a reward. Now whilst I’m not adverse to daytime cocktails, I can imagine my bosses wouldn’t be too pleased with a slightly tipsy office. There was only one thing for it- CAKE.

Recommended to me by Dan Hawkes who works in my office, I found this tiny little café but 2 minutes walk from the office. Light and clean, with huge windows displaying all the treats, it invites you to look; and once you’ve looked, its game over. Rows and rows of beautifully decorated cakes, slabs of chocolate brownies and light fluffy meringues just beckon you to come inside. In the other window, the lunch on offer for the day is set out clean, fresh and dazzling in true Mediterranean fashion. Although this blog isn’t about lunch, and I didn’t get to try the savoury food, it is definitely something on my ‘to do’ list.

Back to the cakes; we peruse the selection for a while, unable to decide and wishing we could buy them all. In the end the 3 of us chose: a chocolate torte topped with chocolate ganache and a fresh raspberry, a tropical layered carrot cake with fresh mango drizzled with mango syrup and the most stunning blackcurrant and dark chocolate delice. Each cake was different, and we shared them so we got to try some of each. The delice was super refreshing and tangy, with the slick of dark chocolate on top adding a lovely richness and the pistachios crumble adding just the right amount of crunch. The carrot cake was gloriously spicy and sticky, freshened and sweetened by the textures of mango. However it was concluded that the winner of day was the chocolate torte; rich, melt in mouth, heavenly- the kind of moment that only a really amazing chocolate cake can offer. Whilst it was super rich, we did not have any problems finishing it.

So our Friday was instantly brightened. The rest of the afternoon was devoted to discussing baking and desserts in the office, swapping recipes and advice whilst putting a huge smile on everyone’s faces. Alex was even inspired to make her boyfriend a chocolate torte that evening, which meant the joy of these cakes was extended beyond those who ate it.

And so I give you; the power of cake!

Rachel x

Le'eto Caffe

Cook Book Eye Candy

Lily Vanilli's beautiful book Sweet Tooth, building on the success of young Lily's bakery in east London, is an absolutely lovely baking book with sugary delightful photography to convert anyone into a sweet tooth. I bought this book for my Mum for her birthday, firstly because we still haven't had a chance to visit the bakery yet and i wanted a slice (ha) of the action already, and secondly, it matches our green kitchen cupboards.
Judging from what i'd seen and heard on her bakery i didn't think i would ever be able to attempt any of her recipes for fear of nervous breakdown over my kitchen aid but the beautiful photography and surprising simplicity of the layout of the recipes has inspired me that i may just be able to do it!
For now heres some sparkly images for you to see and when i get a chance to start trying her recipes at home i'll photograph some more pages of the book along with either a) me crying into a Cath Kidston oven glove or b) a successful attempt at a tasty cake!

Lily Vanilli's Sweet Tooth published by Canongate RRP £20

Lily Vanilli Site

Lily Vanilli Instagram

Holly x

Rachel's Devil Food Cake

By nature, I am a savoury cook; give me roast dinner for 10 over baking cupcakes any day. However, a combination of my boyfriend’s sweet tooth and my desire to master this art that has long escaped me, I’ve recently started trying to get over “the fear”. And so in this blog you will be able to see me recreating certain recipes to some disastrous consequences- although hopefully getting better. Bored of seeing fancy multi-tiered baked goods that look like they’ve been crafted by Michelangelo himself? Then come and have a laugh at my first attempts!
First off, and my boyfriends favourite; Devil’s Food Cake.

*280g Plain chocolate

*100ml milk

*50 g cocoa power

*180g unsalted butter

*140g light Muscovado sugar

*3 eggs separated

*8 tbsp Crème Fraiche

*200g plain flour

*1tbsp Golden Syrup

*1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

200g icing sugar

1.     Preheat oven to 160 Celsius; grease two 8 inch cake tins and line with non-stick baking paper. Top tip: Follow Delia’s guide to lining cake tins to ensure the edges are smooth here: Delia's how to line a cake

2.     Melt 140g chocolate with milk and 2 tbsp of cocoa powder in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of hot water until smooth. Remove from heat.

3.     Beat together 140g butter with the muscovado sugar until pale and fluffy, then beat in the egg yolks, crème fraiche and melted chocolate mixture.

4.     Sift the flour and bicarbonate of soda, and then fold this into the mixture lightly and evenly.

5.     Beat the egg whites into firm peaks, and then fold this into the mixture lightly and evenly.

6.     Divide the mixture between the two cake tins and smooth level- DO NOT PRESS DOWN otherwise the cake will be too dense. Cook for 35-40 minutes.

7.     Once cooked, leave to cool in the tins for 10 minutes before turning out onto wire racks.

For the frosting:
melt the rest of the chocolate, cocoa powder, crème fraiche, golden syrup and butter with 4 tbsp of water in a saucepan over a low heat until smooth. Remove from the heat and sift in the icing sugar, constantly stirring. Set aside to cool.

The mistake I made here was not to let it cool enough- it needs to be thick and gloopy, otherwise it will just run off the side of the cake and look messy (Like you can tell from my pictures!)

9.     Cut each cake in half horizontally, and sandwich the cakes together with some of the icing, then spread the remaining icing over the top and sides. This is easier if you have a palette knife, but if not use anything with a smooth side.

So this cake was absolutely decadent; moist, chocolatey and light. Just the presentation that needs some work I think! To mix it up, trying adding raspberry puree in the sandwiched layers, or make white chocolate icing; in these cases you can probably withhold a bit of the icing sugar as these components are sweeter.

Certainly looks like my boyfriend enjoyed it!

Recipe from The Big Book of Baking by Love Food

Rachel x

The Exploding Bakery

Sounds messy! But luckily this little exeter bakery was very much in one piece when we visited. We stopped by this bakery upon more recommendations for my regional special piece, sadly it didn't make the final cut but it's defiantly a must if you are in the area.
For a start the coffee was excellent, they usually brew the very trendy (and very tasty) Monmouth coffee but the weekend we visited they were serving a different brand however it was still strong and went well with our baked-on-site cakes! Everything is baked in their open plan kitchen- very similar to Royal William Bakery however its much smaller and more of a take-out service than a sit down and chill out for hours type place. The general vibe i gathered whilst there was that they take a very relaxed approach to the baking biz- from stating on their website that the foccacia is "f***ing good", to the fact we were served by a very nice barista who was happy to make us lovely coffee even though they were minutes from closing!
We enjoyed coffee's and vegan chocolate banana bread which was absolutely divine. I have never tried vegan cake before (shocking considering i eat any cake placed in front of me no matter the ingredients), but it wasn't lacking in flavour in ANY way, it was still moist and gooey like banana bread should be, in fact it was so filling and sweet i had to save half and eat it later in the hotel! Yummers.

Best for: coffee and fresh treats to go
Best day: first thing- its right next to the station, perfect for a coffee commute
Exploding Bakery

Holly x

Bel Green Cafe

For the second instalment from our efforts at eating our way through Devon for my regional special piece we have Bel Green Cafe. The lovely Bel Green is situated on Magdalen Road, a leafy quiet street just on the edge of the main centre of Exeter.
This is not a hungover builders cafe pit stop. Okay, so you can go there hungover, (we might have bin, just a bit, ok, a lot. I blame Rachel) but try not to be as it will spoil the doughy sourdough and the freshest, richest sausages i have had in such a long time. Who knew pork could be described as rich? Well they were! But it is not for the days when you are feeling the after affects of too many tequilas. Definitely more suited for brunch with the family or the boyfriend or for a chilled coffee and a book session alone. The poached eggs were cooked to perfection and so were we after sitting in the baking autumn sunshine that flooded through the big windows into this little cafe. I could have spent all morning there drinking tea. It also serves as a vintage shop filled with kitschy household goodies like rolling pins and aprons which suit the cafe's rustic, slightly new england feel. The breakfast menu alone left us spoiled for choice and i believe they serve pizzas in the evenings too.

Best for: fresh, local hearty brunches in a calm setting with post brekkie browsing
Best day: saturday mornings before a walk into town
Bel Green Cafe Twitter
Bel Green Cafe

Holly x

The Royal William Bakery Plymouth

Some photographs from one of our first bakery visits for the blog! We spent about 3 hours in here in total when we visited Plymouthg- thats 3 courses of carby goodness. The minute we stepped off the train at Plymouth it was absolutely chucking it down with cold stormy sea weather and as we battled along the sea front on the marina the most enticing smell of freshly baked dough literally drew us in.
We then sampled fresh baked bread with home made jam- you can slice and toast the bread yourself, then help yourself to heaps of butter from big sharing bowls that are placed on the long wooden tables that you share with other customers (not for the germ-a-phobes or eating-with-strangers-a-phobes!) Afterwards we had pastries and fresh, strong coffee then, after checking it was still raining outside, helped ourselves to freshly made squares of thick, warm doughy pizza with the richest goats cheese (we spied them making them during breakfast in the big open plan kitchen) and a warming bowl of chilli with the most divine ciabattas on the side for dipping.
Everything was completely fresh and help yourselves, and all very trust worthy as you just keep track of what you have helped yourself to and then pay at the end. It was the most homely eating out experience i have ever had and i couldn't think of a better way to spend a stormy sunday afternoon by the seaside.

Best for: fresh, fresh, freshly baked
Best day: stormy cold sundays

Royal William Bakery Plymouth

Holly x

Where Breakfast, Brunch and Bakeries was born

Where else would one come up with such a great idea for a baked goods blog other than whilst sitting in an actual bakery? We were quite literally eating the inspiration the day myself and Rachel decided we should start a blog to share reviews and recipes of bakeries and brunch adventures, as well as our own efforts at baking at home.

We came about the Royal William Bakery whilst in Plymouth on the last leg of a journalism trip that Rachel had agreed to join me on, essentially to be my photography assistant, but, realistically, my eating all the free food in Devon assistant. I had to hunt out the real gems of Exeter and Plymouth for a regional special feature to showcase what the locals love best about their towns. Not surprisingly, nearly all the recommendations i received from locals were food and alcohol based. So we knew we had an indulgent weekend ahead of us. After one of the most delightful brunches on the saturday followed by 2 different and enjoyable bakery trips we decided it was time to keep track of it all.
And why not? Not enough people review breakfast and brunch places- i have spent many hours trawling through trip advisor reviews for cool places to try on a weekend but they're never about the actual food or the venue- always about the long queues or rude staff, cupcakes are papped more than Brangelina yet theres never a recipe to go with or comments on what all that bright pink buttercream icing topped with butterflies, sprinkles, glitter and sparklers REALLY tasted like (its what on the inside that counts remember, and those instagram filters can be oh so flattering).

We could venture into lunches, dinners and bars, but steak doesn't photograph as good as pancakes and lets face it, alliterations are cool. However if we're feeling in the mood for brunch a la USA then expect the odd 11am burger and mac and cheese- or basically anything we can eat with a side of bacon. If we get fed up of the early morning breakfast trips maybe cupcakes and cocktails will be born. However for now enjoy and please feel free to share any of your own recommendations or recipes that we can visit/make and photograph!