Posted on 21/05/10, filed under Baking | No Comments
Are you like me a Jam Fan!
I’m not taking you back to your mis-spent youth wearing staypress trousers and Doctor Martin’s in a town called malice.
I am however referring to that delicious sweet fruity spread for which bread was invented. There is nothing more English than Strawberry Jam sandwiches and a cup of tea, or the epitome of Englishness, The Victoria Sponge.
I have been working today with some great new jam from our good friends over at Southdown Farm. Their preserves, all handmade and bursting with whole fruit make any sponge cake come alive.
Bramble and Apple made with juicy blackberries and bramley apples, Goosberry and Elderflower, Rhubarb with a hint of warming Ginger and in my opinion their very best, Strawberry Preserve. These cakes take me back to when I was a nipper and Mum would make a Victoria Sponge for Sunday tea.
What is your favourite jam recipe?
Do you have a penchant for jam roly poly and custard, or crave peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwiches.
My weakness has to be a slice of Victoria sponge and a mug of tea. All very English.
Tell me, leave a comment and let me know!
Now back to those boys from Woking, there is no better single than ‘Town called Malice’.
Posted on 25/02/10, filed under Sussex life | No Comments
Today I was able to find another great local producer for our cake ingrdeients. This time it was honey. Although we were buying English honey, I really wanted to be using honey from as near to us as possible. After a chance discission one morning a few weeks ago and a quick phone call, we were able to track down a producer of local honey. The irony is, I already knew her and had totally overlooked her as a potential supplier for us. The old saying is true, one never looks directly on your doorstep. She lives only four houses down from me in the lane!
This afternoon I visited Pam in her kitchen and we chatted about the wonders of honey, surrounded by jars and a huge bucket of honey gently warming on her Aga, so she could filter out any nasties, to leave the purest clear yellow honey. It tasted amazing. And the best thing is that her bees forage on the crops and hedgerows along our lane and around our farm. A truly local taste unique to our little corner of rural Sussex. Pam told me she also has some hives 10 miles away, further south towards the downs, where the bees forage on oilseed rape and the honey is different again. I can’t wait to try honey from those hives when it’s ready. Our honey cake will certainly be made with local ingredients. The more I go looking for local ingredients, the more I find. Like minded small scale producers dedicated to their own crop or food ingredient, who are more than happy for us to use their excellent products. Sussex is teeming with small growers, breweries, farmers and dairies who make the most amazing food for any of us to enjoy. And the best thing, is that it is just on our doorstep.
Posted on 02/02/10, filed under Baking | 1 Comment
We’ve been busy creating new recipes to add to our existing luxury fruit cakes online. This morning our bakery was filled with the aroma of warm stem ginger as Dad was honing his masterpiece Sticky Stem Ginger cake. He makes these with stem ginger pieces in a ginger syrup and then adds more ground ginger to give it a real kick! Once out of the oven and whilst warm he made a stem ginger syrup and drizzled this over the top. The finished cake looks amazing, but more importantly tastes incredible. It is a real homage to all things ginger. Definately a cake to be enjoyed with a steaming mug of tea, indoors on a cold miserable wintery afternoon. But then again, ginger cakes are his thing. Nobody makes them like he can. If you like all things hot and gingery then this cake is definitely for you.
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