The Tea Cosy in Hurstbourne Tarrant.
Mamma J's Cupcakes.
You're probably wondering who the hell Mamma J's Cupcakes is? I don't blame you, it's not really a brand. In fact it is my mother's little side project and hobby that she only really indulges in for her friends and family. She has been baking cakes for a number of years now, my earliest memory of them being the triple layer chocolate cake she would make me for my camping trips with Cubs and Scouts. Everyone wanted a slice of this cake as it was packed with chocolate including chocolate sponge, chocolate chips, chocolate filling and icing and then covered in sprinkles. No one ever finished it, but it tasted so good that you had to at least try!
These days she has moved on from that cake and improved her sponge recipe - now a light and airy density with a velvet soft texture. She explores different flavours including rocky road, carrot cake and banoffee and even her homemade icing has taken on different tastes in the form of mint, hazelnut and cream cheese, to name a few. It's not just cupcakes that my mother makes however, it's whole cakes, birthday cakes and giant cupcakes which often get a decoration adorned sparkly makeover. Some cakes have even taken a novelty turn as she has practised her decorating skills, but I have always stood by the fact that her cupcakes are the absolute best.
Baking is one of those things that people often associate to that homely feeling or smell and I guess I am lucky to have grown up with that. Anyway, I thought it would be nice to ask my mum for a few tips on how to bake a perfect sponge, for my food lover readers out there!
First off, make sure you follow the recipe that you are using and when it says beat the butter and sugar together make sure you do this until it is really light and creamy. I use a food mixer to make my cake batter, but you can mix it by hand it just might take awhile. I also find that using butter that has been sat at room temperature works best to make a light sponge. I would also say to add your eggs one by one, don't put them all in at once.
You use a food mixer, any tips that you can give for that?It usually states in recipes to fold the flour into the egg butter and sugar mix by hand and then put this into your cake tray, however I find that you get a lighter cake if you first fold in by hand and then allow the mixer to beat it for 3-5 minutes before pouring it into the cake tin.
*laughs* Yes, I know. Follow the recipe in terms of the amounts!
Anything else that you can think of that helps get a lighter sponge?No that's it, that is how I always bake them. I think that if you follow someone's recipe and way of baking and that works for them, then it should work for you.
Fair enough, so why do you think some people's sponge comes out stodgy or a bit heavy?I honestly don't know, I think it might be that they aren't beating the ingredients together properly or for a long enough time. It really does make a difference.
You have to make sure you are using butter and not margarine and that the butter is soft when you use it. Beat the butter first until it is really soft and creamy and then add icing sugar. Mix it by hand first and then beat it in the mixer if you have one. I would recommend gel colouring over bottled liquid colouring as liquid makes the mixture wetter and you end up using more icing sugar hence why sometimes it is too sweet. Gel is really good as you only use a small amount and keeps the consistency.
I know that you use a Kenwood mixer (it is mine after all), but can you use a handheld mixer, will it have the same effect?Yes, that would do the same job!
Anything else you want to add?I always use vanilla in my sponge and buttercream, whether you are making flavoured cupcakes or not use vanilla as it makes it taste even better!
So there you have it, a few tips from someone who has been baking for quite awhile now and I hope it helps! So many people tell me how much they love my mum's cupcakes (even those that don't like cake) and it would good for her to be able to make a living from her skill. As I said before this is currently just a side project for my mum but hopefully one day she can turn it into a business and when she does, I will let you all know! Do you have any other tips for baking a good sponge? Why not comment below!
FOOD POST : Vegetarian Mozzarella & Italian Herb Bean Burgers.
Evening folks, It's Friday and I hope you have all had a fantastic week! I for one have been off work for the past three days and so all in all mine has been pretty good. I've spent some time with my sister, recoloured my hair, been out for dinner and lazed about relishing in my free time as any office worker would. Then last night, my boyfriend and I tried our hand at making veggie burgers from scratch. I'd like to say that the reason behind it was that we were feeling creative, but in actual fact we didn't want to walk to the supermarket and so had to settle for the mini Tesco round the corner. We aren't new to the whole cooking thing though, I personally love cooking Asian food and he makes a pretty good poached egg, but this was our first attempt at making burgers and they were delicious! I've included ingredients and a little recipe guide for you below -
Ingredients -
Prep Time - 10 minutes
Cooking time - 10 minutes
Preparation
1.Chop up your herbs, crush your garlic and in a bowl whisk together one egg, put these aside as you will need them in a moment. If you're in rush or don't have fresh herbs or garlic at home, a simple jar of italian season works a treat too (That's what we used...).
2.You need to drain your can of mixed beans and put them onto a board. You then need to crush them and you can use whatever utensil you feel appropriate for this, but I particularly like using a masher as it gets the job done pretty fast! Once suitably crush you'll need to add your other ingredients, so transfer the beans to a mixing bowl.
3.Add your mozzarella (as much as you you like), herbs, garlic and seasoning to the beans and using a spoon, blend it in. Now add the egg and a handful of breadcrumbs and do the same until you have an even mixture. You should be able to separate the mixture into balls without it falling apart too much and this recipe should make 4 burgers.
4.Pour out breadcrumbs onto the board you used earlier and press each ball into them and flatten and shape them into a burger shape. Try not to make them too thick however or they will fall apart when cooking! Cover the outside in tasty breadcrumbs and put each one onto a plate ready for cooking.
Cooking
1. Cooking is really simple and depends on your preferred method - for example we decided to fry our burgers in a table spoon of sunflower oil, as my we prefer them fried. With that in mind you can also oven cook them or grill them or if you like them fried but are a bit health conscious, you can opt for 1cal spray, which is available in most supermarkets.
2. We cooked them for about 10 minutes, until golden on both sides and then added some mozzarella on top and whacked them under the grill for 2 minutes.
3. Serve them with chips, salad, rice or whatever you fancy on the side and obviously add the sauces of your choice and garnish with salad leaves - I personally like them with mayonnaise on the bottom and ketchup on top and with mixed leaves to garnish.
4. All that is left is to eat and enjoy!
I think we are going to try these again but add more veggies to them or maybe a dollop of Pesto, but that is what is nice about these burgers - there are endless combinations! We already have plans to try Mexican style beanie burgers and maybe even Jamaican, as we have a pots of seasoning in the cupboard to try. They are super simple and cook really fast and best of all is that you can freeze them, so if you really like them then you can store lots away for when you really fancy a burger. Hope you like it! If you've got any recipes for us to try or can think of other tasty combinations then please comment below.
Nelson's Diner.
Hello all, I’m doing a different kind of post today - no fashion involved. I spent the day with my gorgeous friend Hannah, who I have known for a pretty long time now and we decided to try out a new cafe, ahem...diner that she had heard about. Anyone who lives in North Hampshire you need to visit this place on the A339, it's called Nelson's diner and it's a wonderful magical retro 50s inspired wonderland. Waitresses are dressed up in knee length patterned skirts with tulle petticoats underneath, blouses and plimsolls, with their hair done up retro style. American classics boom from wall speakers, including some tracks from Grease and the walls are adorned with all kinds of fifties and American memorabilia including posters, license plates and advertisements, promoting the likes of Elvis Presley and Coca Cola, as you can see below -
First thing that I must mention and give credit to this place for is their mouthwatering milkshakes! Now I’m sure you've all taken a trip to shakeaway or it's lesser-known competitors at some point in your life and whilst they do sell some killer shakes you have not lived until you have tried a Nelson's milkshake! Hannah ordered a Dime one and I ordered one that was rather auspiciously named 'Birthday cake' and who could resist that! Now, as much as you may raise an eyebrow to this next statement please remember your taste buds have not lived through the pleasure that mine did earlier! And here it is - IT ACTUALLY TASTED LIKE BIRTHDAY CAKE!!!! I know, I know...it should taste as it is advertised and birthday cake is usually vanilla flavored however, you need to try this to truly understand what I have just proclaimed in caps locks - curious? Good.
Moving on from those - and we did rather fast seeing as we could hardly contain ourselves from savoring them - I present you with our meals. We both had the same, adorable best friend move there right? Well I’m pescetarian and Hannah only eats chicken and on a menu packed with meaty favorites we both moved towards the veggie burger appropriately named 'California', served with a hearty portion of fries. We also both ordered a side of coleslaw, a newfound favorite of mine. What we were expecting was a small veggie burger with a slice of cheese and a bit tomato relish. What we received was the massive tower you can see below brimming with two potato burgers, grated cheese, sauces, tomatoes, lettuce and tomato relish, not to mention the quantity of our sides.
The burger tasted fantastic and all flavours flowed fantastically and really did meet my expectations if not exceed them! The fries were a little thin for my liking, making them difficult to pick up on your fork however they were cooked well. Overall the presentation of our food kept within the theme of the diner and it was an enjoyable experience for a rather dreary rain soaked Sunday in comparison. We are thinking of dragging the rest of our friends there for an evening or possibly for an upcoming birthday (namely Hannah's) though they do also offer themed nights with live music. If you live near Kingsclere/Newbury or are visiting Hampshire then you HAVE to visit!
For any other information please visit their website - here. All opinions stated within this piece are my own and are in no way endorsed by the company. I'm just raving about something I truly liked :)
