I had a go-to red velvet recipe, one I thought I was happy to use for the rest of my life... but then I went to London last October, bought a red velvet cupcake from the Hummingbird Bakery on Portobello... realised I have their recipe book at home, decided to try it and have not … Continue reading Hummingbird Bakery’s Red Velvet Cupcakes
A cake fit for a queen, they say. This humble, no-frills, cake may not be fancy or fashionable, but its origins are far from humble. I spent the most recent public holiday reading up on random Wikipedia offerings, offset by the sudden urge to research Bran Castle (apparently it's on the market), wandering through the … Continue reading Victoria Sandwich
One of the happiest activities I can think of is scooping fresh churros out of the hot oil, then rolling them in cinammon sugar... and the best bit: dipping them in melted dark chocolate before going in for the sweet bite. I love churros. Unfortunately, there will be no instant gratification for me here as … Continue reading Churros & Dark Chocolate Sauce
"In the orchestra of a great kitchen, the sauce chef is a soloist." so said the great French restaurateur, Fernand Point. What is life without sauce? What are chips without ketchup (and salt and vinegar)? Or hotdogs without mustard? Or god forbid, tagliatelle with no bolognese?! Wow, it's midnight, and as I typed that last … Continue reading Tomato Relish
I went to nine schools throughout my academic career, moved houses 13 times, I work at one of the Big 4 accounting firms as a management consultant (which, besides having an incredibly high employee turnover, the nature of our jobs is that we do short term projects). Permanence is not a concept I am familiar … Continue reading Three Years with Ellebug, or The Happy Hufflepuff
It's past midnight, I retreated into my room after watching the late night news with my parents more than two hours ago. I've taken a shower, changed into my "Proud to be well adjusted" t-shirt I got from a chiropractor's convention in Las Vegas (long story, not for this entry) and sleep shorts, I have … Continue reading Strawberries & Cream muffins
On a night out with my friends several years ago, the question "If you were an ice-cream, what flavour would you be?" came up, and mine was butterscotch by general consensus. Recently, this came up again with an entirely different group of people, and the answer was still butterscotch! I suppose I haven't changed much... sickly … Continue reading Butterscotch Sauce!
"She's so sweet. I just want to feed her grapes and brush her hair." said Joey Tribbiani. That, my friends, is love. I'm kidding! I baked this amazing grape tea cake over the weekend, and made two batches cos it's just that good. This is not the first time I tried this recipe from Steph … Continue reading Brush My Hair & Feed Me Grapes
I made this cake weeks ago to bring to a friend's house over Chinese New Year. For a while I wasn't sure if I was gonna share the recipe, but I revisited it the other day as my dad's quite a fan. Also, as I'm going through my Passionfruit Period, I have quite a store … Continue reading Lemon cake with Passionfruit glaze
I've said it before, that I'm not a fan of macarons. They're too sweet, and I don't really like the texture of the shells... but they are so much fun to make! Baking to me is a sacred art, one that removes me from this realm and takes me onto another plane of peace and … Continue reading Passionfruit Macarons
Ellebug 