Counting your life in cake spoons

GluttonBoy are currently enraptured with a programme on the Food Network, called Ace of Cakes. For those with better things to do than scroll up and down the outer reaches of the EPG, Ace of Cakes follows the fortunes of an 'edgy' bakery in Baltimore, called Charm City Cakes. Their USP, if you like, is creating cakes that are big, look like something amazing or are wacky. They achieve this with a lot of fondant and, often, making cakes that have no edible cake in them whatsoever. It's not what I'd spend £1,ooo on, personally, but what strikes me as interesting is that in the US people seem to mark more occasions than birthdays with a cake. All kinds of parties, gatherings and celebrations call for a baked creation and that is something that, as a greedy person, I applaud.

Like many work places at the moment, we're keen on baking and so keen to find any excuses for a cake (and to stop work for a moment to shove it down our faces to be honest). This week saw the departure of a my dearest work colleague, who is emigrating to Australia. She has been my work bezzie for many years, despite taking time off to shove out two strapping infants, so while this was clearly an occasion for her to celebrate, it was making the rest of us feel very sad face.

Clearly though, cake is a good thing, so I decided to whip up a pavlova (Australian, see?) and complement it with some scones bought from the local Tesco. Naturally, as I was doing it quickly after work, I didn't have enough sugar so made it half and half caster and dark brown muscovado, then lavishly covered the fractures (and there were many, I dropped it) with softly whipped cream and some dark, sweet strawberries. I had thought about using passion fruit to carry through the tropical theme but surprisingly Tesco Metro had run out.

While the pav didnt make me feel less sad face, it was delicious. The muscovado added a little whisper of burnt sugariness which worked well with the sweetness of the cream and the fruit. A friend suggested using banana rather than strawbs (in which case I'd add them underneath the cream) and drizzling the cream with caramel, which I think is inspired. Caramel out of a tin (Carnation) for example, or dulce de leche if you want to be fancy, would be fine, but a slightly burnt-tasting butterscotch, made with salted butter, would be good too. Anyway, if you want to make the pav, here's the recipe:

Preheat oven to 170C

Put a sheet of greaseproof paper onto a baking sheet

Whip four egg whites until stiff

Whisk in 250g caster sugar or a combination of caster and dark muscovado until stiff peaks

Fold in 1tsp wine vinegar and 2tsp cornflour

Shape into approx 20cm round and put in oven, turn it down asap to 140C.

Turn oven off after 1hr, 15 mins and leave in oven to get cool

Enjoy - will help mend a broken heart if much loved colleagues are leaving the country...

Lots of love

GG

Christmas in October

As I've mentioned before, I work in PR and years ago worked in the fashion/lifestyle sector. Due to the vagaries of publication lead-times, Christmas articles (gift guides, fashion) are put together in July/August in magazines. Consequently, I start thinking about Christmas some time in June.

Now, as befits someone whose husband suggests should have an epitaph of 'she bit off more than she could chew', I like to do things myself. I have never hosted Christmas at my house, due to family being spread far and wide, but that is probably no bad thing as I suspect I would be run ragged making a wide variety of breakfasts, nibbles, drinks, sides, main course choices, desserts, afternoon tea nibbles and accompaniments. Both gluttonboy and I think that, while we love Christmas day food, the best day of all is Boxing Day buffet. And by buffet, I mean not only the formal meal that is placed on the table at a set time, but also the general fridge grazing that occurs - every time you walk past the fridge (and for some reason that is OFTEN) you hack of a slab of meat, garnish it with some kind of pickle and shove it in your craw, chased with a slab of yule log and a handful of preztels and washed down with a Snowball, whatever the time of day.

Of course I always make a pudding and a cake. The latter has to be made with peak-style royal icing and my late mother in law's decorations, which have, to be frank seen better days. I will leave the cake saga for another day but suffice it to say, things aren't always what they seem.

I also love making pickles and chutneys and make a variety to eat/take to family/give as gifts. This means that from October onwards the flat has the taint of boiled vinegar. This year I have also made a plumbrillo for the first time, which I'm itching to try with some tangy British cheeses on the best day of the year.

Currently, the pineapple chutney is simmering away and I'm loving the thought of this with some thickly cut ham on a crusty roll (and the Christmas holidays, with the shops mostly shut, is a time when part-baked breads stashed in the freezer really come into their own).

I've also got the Christmas cake fruit soaking in cream sherry. The recipe calls for Pedro Ximenez but tbh, an Pedro Ximenez that doesn't end up in my glass is a waste, so cream sherry it is. I plan to also use the sherry in my mincemeat and christmas pudding, thereby creating a little bit of a theme this year.

On the pressie make is is whisky and caramel sauce, a meat rub and possibly some Turkish Delight vodka. Now I love making alcohols but again that is story for another day. It is at this time of year that I am most grateful for having: a garage, a spare fridge (in the garage) and a freezer (in the garage). And also grateful for being greedy, and having greedy friends and family - how boring would Christmas be if it was just about pressies and not about stuffing yourself silly wiht the ones you love.

Gluttongirl's Pineapple Chutney:

2 pineapples, peeled, cored and cut into chunks

2 large tart eating apples, peeled, cored, finely chopped

2 red onions, peeled and chopped

300g sugar (I used a mix of ordinary granulated and dark muscovado as that was all I had in the cupboard, but in retrospect, I like the idea of a tropical treacliness of the muscovado with the pineapple)

2 tsps turmeric

2 tsp mustard seeds

2/3 star anise

2 cinnamon stick (1 tsp ground cinnamon if that's all you have)

2ooml cider vinegar

Shove everything in a large pan, bring to the boil and simmer vigorously (not boil so much) until a thick, gloopy, gorgeous mess. Turn off the heat for a moment, and you should be able to draw a spoon across the pan without it immediately filling with vinegar.

Jar quantity is a bit variable, but makes about 1kg - might be less. I tend to prefer using smaller jars as I think no-one uses a massive jar that quickly and it'll spoil. Also, I love finding a jar of a favourite vintage at the back of the cupboard. It's a pretty yellow colour so makes a nice gift and ask you can imagine, it goes well with ham.

Enjoy!

GGxx