May 25th, 2009

Chocolate cornflakes

My generation was (I think) the first to discover the delight of Kellog’s Cornflakes covered with chocolate and put in paper cake cups. We had no idea they were so simple to make, we just loved the combination of crunch and sweetness.  Nowadays, even the thought of them makes my mouth ache! But these simple cakes (if you can call them a cake) have endured and been fed to hungry children for another two generations – there’s a TV ad running at the moment on ITV showing children helping their mother make them – just as I did fifty years ago. This is my mum’s original recipe.

Mar 12th, 2009

Naming my leavens

I’m shameless – I’ve pinched this idea from a bread blog.  It’s a piece of silliness but why not, I ask. So here, without further fanfare, are the names of my leavens:

The white leaven is Wilf. Wils is a strong and bold kind of beastie who only needs some flour and water flung at his cage every so often to flex his mighty yeasty muscles.

The rye leaven is Masha.  Masha is rustic and slower to respond, but has the passion of the Steppes in her molecules.

The spelt leaven is Elfric. He brings medieval sagacity to the family and can never be hurried. (more…)

Jan 13th, 2009

Rising in the new year

Last night, I sliced up a 950g block of fresh yeast into 25g portions and put them in my freezer.  It should really have been 20g, but my knife seemed to fall more naturally to 25. This morning, the flat smells like – well, like a living yeasty organism.  Old socks mixed with homebrew shop. When it gets light, I’ll don an extra jumper and throw open the windows to air the place.

The yeast thing is because I’ve become a born-again bread maker, thanks to a mixing machine, whose sturdy dough hook does all the kneading my wonky hands can’t.  So far, the resulting bread has been unexciting if mostly edible.  But I have ambition, fueled by the words on paper and screen of artisan bakers around the world. Years ago, my taste veered towards what I now know is Eastern European bread. (more…)

Sep 30th, 2008

Recipe for tablet

I was rooting around looking for the scraps of paper on which were written some of my mother’s cake recipes.  I found this, written by my mum’s neighbour.  She made the best tablet in the world and was an extraordinary wee woman.  If you want instant bliss and the risk of rotting teeth, make this – I promise you that none of it will remain uneaten by the end of the day.  Oddly, she calls it Swiss Milk Tablet – I don’t know what the Swiss connection (more…)