Daffodil Soup London

I AM  a feasting kinda gal, excess draws me like a moth to a flame and there's nothing that excites me more than an 8-hour lunch that becomes supper (I call that lupper) and then goes on into the night as we open yet another bottle. My friend Andy, who is more English than I am, recognises it as a 'Leo' (Sayer = all-dayer in Cockney rhyming slang). It's a well-established ritual but one that happens less often as we get older, and not at all under current lockdown restrictions. Sigh.  Tasting menus excite me. They allow smidgins of lots of different foods but never trigger the synapse that controls the Off button.  I read menu like others novels. All the starters, please,  then divvy up the mains so we can all have a taste. Someone at the table will always say 'ooh, there's a chocolate thing on, I must save room for that' and I'll think boo, how dull, I'll have the CHEESE.  I am quite well known for desserts generally, have made and sold co...

This is a decadently delicious tart, and a fine example of how a few basic store-cupboard ingredients can quickly deliver on richness, flavour and visual impact. Who doesn’t have a tin of golden syrup in the cupboard (probably out of date but as it’s made from inverted sugar it really does not go off)? You might think using sourdough breadcrumbs in this is an affectation but I did it for two reasons. I make all my own sourdough at home, so I always have leftover crusts and I hate throwing them away. Plus, I was interested to see whether the slight sourness from the crumb would have any flavour impact on the extremely sweet filling. And it does. It adds a dimension that is subtle but noticeable, and improves the balance of flavours. To make it even simpler, you can use shop-bought shortcrust pastry, or even a pre-baked pastry shell (I won’t judge. Or tell).  And if you’re making your own pastry you could substitute dairy-free spread and make it vegan. You ...

I cook and bake for a living and in recent years, two American imports have dominated the cake and coffee scene. Cupcakes, getting ever larger and more diverse, and brownies, both of which my clients never seem to tire of. I had a bright idea the other day, still to be tested, to combine the two and make a brownie cupcake ... it's probably already been done, but I should still give it a go. Now you can do a lot with a cupcake ... flavourings, icings and, most obviously, decoration. I have even seen a cupcake inside a cupcake, complete with icing ... if you want to investigate some of the myriad incarnations have a look at the Cupcakes take the Cake blog. All of life is there. But it is very hard to pretty up a brownie. That's what it is ... brown. And while most people would be happy with a straightforward, up and down chocolate brownie, there are those that would tinker with it. I would never put icing on a brownie - it's OTT for something so rich, so sweet, so comple...