Pear Upside-down Cake from Hummingbird Bakery: Life is Sweet

Life is Sweet is the fourth book by Tarek Malouf, founder of The Hummingbird Bakery.  The Hummingbird Bakery was instrumental in popularising the sort of high quality bakes, loved by Americans, first  to London through the bakeries and then to the rest of the UK, through the books.  I already have a baking book from The Hummingbird Bakery, Cake Days,  but I am particularly pleased with this one, let me tell you a little about it.



Life is Sweet is organised into 10  chapters

Cakes, simple and more complex includes Gooey Butter Cake, 7Up Pound Cake, Molasses Pecan Crumb Cake, Chocolate Bundt Cake, Tunnel of Fudge Cake and Upside Down Pear Cake

Cupcakes both familiar and unusual including Banana Foster Cupcakes, Tomato Soup Cupcakes, Toasted Marshmallow Cupcakes, Honey Cornbread Cupcakes and Mint Julep Cupcakes.

Layer Cakes includes an indulgent Peanut Butter and Jelly Cake, Gingerbread Icebox Cake, Alabama Little Layer Cake, Red Velvet Crepe Cake and Appalachian Stack Cake.

Pies is full of very American Pies including, Lemon Chiffon Pie, Deep-fried Apple Pies, Blueberry Cream Cheese Pie, Vinegar Pie and New Orleans Prune Pie.

Cookies and Candies provides bite sized treats such as Soft Molasses Cookies, Black Pepper Cookies (on my list), Vanilla filled Chocolate Cookies, Lemon Drops, Turtle Cookies and Creamy Pecan Pralines.

Traybakes are one of my favourite bakes, how about Coconut Dream Bars, Red Velvet Brownies, Blackberry Limeade Bars and Texas Tassie Bars.

Pancakes are so easy to make and these lovely flavours are very tempting Black Bottom Pancakes, Pumpkin Pancakes, Cinnamon Pancake Cake and Sally Lunn French Toast.

Top your pies and pancakes with some lovely Ice Cream, Grasshopper Ice Cream, Earl Grey Tea and Chocolate Ice Cream, Fresh Peach Ice Cream and Lemon Custard Ice Cream.

Puddings to delight your sweet tooth include Praline Bread Pudding with Pecan Caramel Sauce, Brownie Pudding and White Chocolate Bread Pudding.

The final chapter features Bread and Savouries, Skillet Cornbread, Crawfish Pie, Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Loaf and Graham Crackers.

The book finishes up with some Baking Essentials about Ingredients, Equipment, Methods and Techniques.

Who is it for?
Pretty much anyone who likes baking and is looking for some different ideas to try.  It's not aimed at beginner bakers, but if you follow the instructions there is no reason why a novice could not achieve good results.

Pros
A wide range of different bakes, each on a little out of the ordinary.  Good photographs which let you see what you are aiming for.
Cons
I can't really think of any cons with this book, it is full of such good things.

The Verdict
I really was beginning to think I had enough baking books, that they were just full of the same sort of recipes, but this one really does have some exciting bakes in it, ones that I really want to bake.  So I give a hearty thumbs up to Life is Sweet and would urge you to go out and buy it.



I decided to make the Pear Upside Down Cake, the cake is a soft gingerbread with works so well with the caramelised pears, it works well as a cake and as a dessert.

Upside-Down Pear Cake
Makes one 23 x 32 cm (9 x 13 in) cake, to slice as desired

For the caramelised pears
6 large, ripe pears, peeled, cored ad quartered lengthways
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
40g (1 1/2 oz) unsalted butter
80g (3 oz) caster sugar
130ml (4 1/2 fl oz) Kentucky bourbon or whisky

For Cake
195g (7oz) plain flour
1 1/2 tbsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
160g (5 1/2 oz) unsalted butter
75g (2 1/2 oz) dark muscovado sugar
4 large eggs
170g (6 oz) pure cane molasses, such as Meridian
3 tbsp boiling water
1 q/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1. Preheat the oven to 175C (350C), Gas mark 4. Line the tin with non-stick baking parchment.
2. To make the caramelised pears, mix the pears with the lemon juice.  In a large frying pan, melt the butter and sprinkle with half the caster sugar. Put the pear quarters into the pan.  Cook for about 5 minutes until brown on one side.  Turn and cook for a further 5 minutes until the other side is brown.  With a slotted spoon, carefully remove the pear quarters and set aside to cool slightly.
3. Add the bourbon and the rest of the caster sugar to the pan and cook and stir frequently for about 5 minutes until the mixture becomes syrupy.  Pour this syrup into the baking tin and tip the tin to spread evenly over the bottom of the tin.
4. Start to arrange the pears from one corner so that they cover the bottom of the tin and are facing the same direction. Set aside.
5. To make the cake, sift together the flour, spices and salt in a bowl.
6. Using a freestanding electric mixer with paddle attachment or hand-held electric whisk, cream the butter and sugar together for around 5 minutes on a medium-high speed until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs one at a time on a lower speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.  Only beat until just Incorporated.  Add the molasses and beat for a few moments longer to mix.
7. In a small bowl, add the boiling water to the bicarbonate of soda and set aside.  Add half the flour mixture to the creamed mixture on low speed.  then add the water and bicarbonate of soda and the rest of the flour mixture and mix until well Incorporated  It will look like the mixture has split, but that i correct.
8. Scrape the mixture into the tin on top of the arranged pears and bake for 25 minutes.  Reduce the oven temperature to 165C (325F) Gas mark 3 and bake for 10-15 minutes longer.  The top should bounce bake when lightly touched.  Cool in the tin for 1 hour, then run a knife around the edges of the cake. Place a tray over the top of the tin and carefully(but quickly) turn upside down.

The resulting cake is rich and treacley but not too dense, the pears  add a lovely texture to the cake and are not too sweet.  A really delightful bake and I was thrilled with comments that my version looks just like the one in the book.

The Hummingbird Bakery - Life is Sweet
100 original recipes for happy home baking
Published by 4th Estate,  Harper Collins
RRP £20


I have one copy of Life is Sweet to giveaway, you can enter by following the instructions on the Rafflecopter Widget below (UK only)

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Labels: cake, Cook book review, Gingerbread, giveaway, Harper Collins, Hummingbird Bakery, Life is Sweet, Pears, win

posted by Janice @ 07:18 115 Comments

Join me for Celery Soup and a Spring Four Course Dinner

I've been shopping at Aldi again, picking up some great deals on spring produce and making them into an amazing four course dinner for you.

The Soup Course
Let's start with some delicious Celery Soup, I found this lovely recipe for dairy-free Cream of Celery Soup on Pinterest, it comes from the very talented Erren's Kitchen and uses potato as a thickener.

The Fish Course
A very simple four ingredient Smoked Mackerel Pate  is whizzed up quickly in the food processor and is very moreish.  I've served it with large slices of toast but it would be ideal on cocktail oatcakes or thin slices of french bread at a more refined dinner party.


The Main Course (Entree)
Pot Roasted Scotch Beef with Roast Potatoes, Yorkshire puddings and Spring Greens. The beef was cooked in the Slow Cooker doused with a bottle of dark beer and enough stock to cover three-quarters of the meat, then cooked on low for 8-10 hours.  Once cooked, I reduced the cooking liquor by half , by boiling it on the stove to make an intense and delicious gravy.



Dessert
Okay, so pears are hardly 'spring' produce but I couldn't resist these pears, they looked so good and when I peeled and quartered them to make the Pear Upside Down Cake, they were indeed perfect and perfectly ripe. I'll be posting the recipe for the cake very soon, it comes from the latest book Hummingbird Bakery - Life is Sweet which I'll also be reviewing.

Aldi Shopping List
Celery - 65p
Maris Piper Potatoes - 2.5kg  - £1.89
Smoked Mackerel Fillets - £1.59
Silverside Scotch Beef Joint - £8.10
Spring Greens - 59p
'Specially Selected' Yorkshire Puddings - 99p
'Best in Season' Pears - £1.29

Many thanks to Aldi for providing me with vouchers to purchase the ingredients for these recipes. I was not paid and all opinions are my own.

Labels: Aldi, cake, celery, Pears, Produce, Scotch Beef, Smoked Mackerel Pate, Soup, Spring Greens, Srping, Yorkshire Pudding

posted by Janice @ 18:27 16 Comments

Chardonnay Poached Pears and a Slow Cooked Christmas

Christmas cooking doesn't have to be rich and heavy, full of sugar and fat.  I love a lush sugary treat but sometimes it's also nice to have a lighter fruity dessert like these poached pears.  The recipe, and the wine, were supplied by Eisberg wines and I've replicated the recipe in it's original form below.  However, I used my Slow Cooker to poach the pears instead of a pan on the stove.  I've added the slow cooker instructions below the stove recipe. I would also recommend removing the core of the pear from the base which is not mentioned in the original recipe.

I stopped drinking alcohol for 'Stoptober' and carried on into November, I did have one glass of wine when I was out for dinner recently, but really didn't want any more.  I'm definitely on the look out for alternatives to wine, but I'm afraid this one didn't do it for me.  I'm not a huge fan of Chardonnay and found that this non-alcoholic version was not dry enough for me, however it was very good in the recipe.

Eisberg Chardonnay Poached Pears

Labels: Christmas, Eisberg, honey, Pears, Poached Pears, Slow Cooked Challenge

posted by Janice @ 08:00 9 Comments

Summer Falls into Autumn Pudding

9. Cut into slices and serve with the remaining sauce and some pouring cream.  I was really pleased with the way the pudding cut and held together, it may have been the pear which helped to hold it all together.


I am entering this for Four Seasons Food   a  blog event featuring seasonal ingredients like the blackberries and pears that I have used here. This month the theme is 'Sliding into Autumn'. Four Seasons Food is run by Delicieux and Eat your Veg



I'm also adding my Summer Falls into Autumn Pudding for  Shop Local a new blogging challenge from Elizabeth's Kitchen as it features Chilli Raspberry Jam from local producer Galloway Chillies.
Galloway Chillies produce a range of delicious chilli jams and the Hot Chilli lemon Citrus has recently been awarded a gold star by the Guild of Fine Food at the Great Taste Awards.

Labels: Autumn Pudding, blackberries, blackcurrants, Brambles, chilli jam, Four Seasons Food, Galloway Chillies, Pears, raspberries, Raspberry Chilli Jam, Shop Local, summer pudding

posted by Janice @ 20:41 5 Comments

Gousto - Win Dinner in a box!

Ingredients for Spiced Pumpkin and Halloumi on Bulgar Wheat with Pomegranate Seeds

Although I love to plan ahead and decide what I'm going to cook, sometimes it's difficult to find the time to get organised and  because I love my food so much, I'd prefer not to have a freezer meal very often   That's why I was so pleased when Gousto Simply Cook contacted me to try out a couple of their Gourmet recipe boxes.

What is a Gousto Gourmet Box?
Gousto provides you with all the ingredients in the right proportions to cook delicious meals at home. The produce is organic, fresh and seasonal. Gousto’s recipes are developed by a team of passionate chefs and tested by their friends and families first (very picky people). You get to choose the recipes online and every week the selection is updated to make sure there’re plenty of new recipes for you. The recipes are delivered right to your doorstep once a week so you decide when to cook. Whenever you’re on holiday or just don’t have time, simply place the subscription on hold – it’s easy.

In practice it is very simple, in a trial subscription you can decide whether to try 3 meals a week or 4 meals a week.  Three meals a week  for two people for the Gourmet box costs £42 (around £5 per person per meal) and for the Veggie Box it costs £39.  Once you  have your trial subscription you can  log in to the Gousto Simply Cook website look at the list of recipes and choose what you would like to make,  and there is a wide range to choose from and they are added to each week.  You then add the recipes to you basket and sit back and wait!


Excellent Delivery Service
What I really liked about the website was the delivery address checker, I live in rural south west Scotland and have had problems with deliveries e.g. Ocado don't deliver to our area.  So I was delighted to be able to put in my postcode and find that my parcel would be delivered on a Wednesday.  Gousto are currently delivering to all postcodes in the UK apart from a few very remote areas, they deliver in London on a Tuesday between 1pm and 6pm and to other UK areas on a Wednesday, 9am - 5pm.  The ingredients duly arrived on the appointed day packed expertly in a box with a fleecy lining and icepacks, there were no issues about signing for it and Gousto are happy to take instructions as to where to leave the parcel if you are out.

I have the opportunity to try two of the recipes, so I chose:

Spiced Pumpkin and Halloumi on Bulgar Wheat with Pomegranate Seeds


 I have always wanted to try halloumi cheese, but for some reason I never got round to buying it. What a fantastic recipe,  the pumpkin chunks are roasted in the oven with the onions, the halloumi cheese is fryed and served on top of a bulgar wheat salad which includes the roasted vegetables, pomegranate and mint.  It was really delicious and probably not something I would have made otherwise.

Oven Baked Pork Chops with Pears, Stilton and Pecan Nuts


 The oven baked pork chops with pears, stilton and pecan nuts use a similar technique to the pumpkin recipe as the pears and onions are oven roasted with the spices.  I love blue cheese and the combination of the sweet fruit, slightly earthy taste of the pecan nuts and the sharp, saltiness of the cheese was a treat to eat.

Conclusion
The recipes are excellent and are definitely something that I would want to make and eat.  There are interesting and exciting vegetarian options.  The delivery service is one of the best I have experienced. There is also very little waste as you only get enough of the ingredients to make the meal.  I would consider using the service if I was going on a self catering holiday and wanted to make nice food without the hassle of shopping, but I don't think it is something I would use on a weekly basis.

If, on the other hand, you find it difficult to decide what to make but love good food and are happy to cook, this is a great way to try out some new recipes and ingredients.


GIVEAWAY
You can win a Gousto Gourmet Box that feeds two people by following the instructions on the Rafflecopter widget. This Giveaway is only available for entrants with a UK delivery address.

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I was supplied with a Gousto Gourmet Box with two meals for two people.  I was not obliged to write a positive review and all opinions are my own. 

Labels: Dinner in a box, Gousto, halloumi. bulgar wheat, Pears, pecan nuts, pomegranate, Pork chops, pumpkin, Stilton

posted by Janice @ 15:00 89 Comments

Pear and Blackberry Frangipane Tart

It was a rather wet start on Sunday, but when it dried up after lunch, I went out and noticed that there were a lot of 'brambles' which were ripe.  I started to pick them, but once my hands were full, had to come back to the house for a bowl!

I put most of the blackberries in the freezer but decided to keep some back to make a dessert.

Pear and Blackberry Frangipane Tart

1 traybake tin  approx 30 x 23 x 4cm (12" x 9" x 1 ½")
1 sheet frozen puff pastry
3 tbsp raspberry jam
1 or 2 poached pears, quartered
100g blackberries (or a couple of handfuls)

for the Frangipane
55g butter
55g caster sugar
40g ground almonds
1 large egg
15g plain flour

1. Heat the oven to 180C/170C fan oven
2. Line the tin with the pastry and trim to fit
3. Spread the raspberry jam on the base of the pastry
4. Using an electric mixer or a wooden spoon, beat together the frangipane ingredients
5. Add peached pears and sprinkle over the blackberries, push them down into the frangipane mix.
6. Bake at 170C for 20 minutes until risen and golden brown.

I served the tart warm with icecream, but you can also eat it cold.  If I was going to make this again I would make shortcrust pastry for the base as the puff pastry wasn't so good underneath especially when cold.


I had some company when I was out picking brambles, the horses in the next door field were very interested in what I was doing!

Labels: blackberries, dessert, frangipane, ground almonds, Pears, puff pastry, tart

posted by Janice @ 20:49 12 Comments

Sticky Spiced Toffee Pears

On Saturday I noticed there were still a lot of pears in the fruit bowl. They had been very hard when I bought them but now were suddenly all ripe at the same time. I knew right away what I woudl do with them, because since last weekend I have been smelling the Star Anise in the cupboard every time I opened the door. I couldn't get it all to fit in my spice jar and there were two 'stars' in the open box.

So I put some water in a pan with two tablespoons of light brown sugar, the two star anise, half a cinnamon stick and four cloves. I put it on a gentle heat to let the sugar melt, while I peeled the pears and cored them from the bottom - ouch! Once the sugar had melted, I poached the pears for about 20 minutes, then left them to cool in the syrup. Once cool, I lifted them out into a dish and then returned the syrup to the pan and turned up the heat. Now I was planning to reduce it slightly, but went to do something else and just caught it as it turned to caramel! Another few seconds and it would have been ruined.

I poured it over the cooled pears and found that indeed I did have caramel, with strands just like James Martin :o So I thought I should take a picture, because I'm sure I would never get the caramel right if was trying!

Labels: caramel, James Martin, Pears

posted by Janice @ 21:01 6 Comments

Pear, Chocolate, Cinnamon

Labels: chocolate, Cinnamon, Cooks Journal, Pears

posted by Janice @ 19:25 1 Comments