Pete Fred

A Tom Kerridge recipe for Sticky Toffee Pudding caught my eye in the paper yesterday, mainly because it uses suet, and I'm a sucker for anything suet (obviously eschewing the vegetable kind for the beef variety). Most STPs have baking powder so I was looking forward to a denser sponge, including the generous spike of booze. It was a good cake. However, as you can see, I made a schoolboy error when adding the toffee sauce... Far too little. Quickly remedied, though... More is more in this part of France, so... I would've killed for a scoop of vanilla ice cream but had to make do with crème fraîche instead. First-world problems, and all that. It's a good, fuss-free STP. If you don't have access to suet, there's a very similar one that uses butter.

I collected some rather good plums from one of the trees last night... They went into this Hot Summer Spoon Cake by Anna Stockwell... I had it with a mascarpone chantilly and some of the leftover macerated plums (whose juices included a good glug of moonshine that a neighbour makes 🤫)... It's kinda like the Marian Burros/NYT Plum Torte, except with an almond sponge. I made one last year with peaches and summer berries... I really like this cake. Recommended. A German friend came to visit and brought me some honey from her mum's bees... I'm no bee connoisseur but I've never had honey with this texture before: thick and very smooth, almost like clotted cream. Unfortunately, it wasn't particularly flavourful, just mainly sweet. I thought I might get the most out of it in these Caramelised Honey and Tahini Cookies... I took the honey really dark, but the cookies were disappointing. Too cakey, as well. Also this week I settled something to my own satisfaction that I'd been curious about for a while... I keep reading about the differences between the two, and how some cooks prefer one over the other. I've used both in the past but never had a side-by-side comparison. So I made two batches of creme anglaise... And.... . . . . . . . . Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand..... . . . . . . . . . . I couldn't tell the difference! If I really, really had to pick one over the other then I'd go with the Tahiti, but I couldn't particularly tell you why. The subtleties, it seems, are beyond my palate. But at least I now know that I'm happy with either. (And eating 750g of Pierre Herme's creme anglaise is absolutely no hardship, let me tell you.)

Funny you should say that. I thought it sounded like I was damning it with faint praise, so I actually looked up the definition before posting... ...and it seemed to fit. You're right, though; I wonder why "pleasant" seems to hint at disappointment? 🤷‍♂️ Anyway, it was a nice cake, but functional, I suppose, rather than something to get excited about. There I go again...

Easy One-Bowl Coffee Cake by Stella Parks... Does what it says on the tin. Pleasant.

Chocolate Cake by Suzy Palatin... Described by Pierre Hermé, no less, as the best chocolate cake in the world. Before you get too excited, it isn't. But it is good, and super simple to make. Weirdly, when he published the recipe (gâteau au chocolat Suzy) he tweaked the ingredients and method (chefs, huh? 🙄) but I stick with the original. I like it a touch warm for a lighter texture; at room temperature it's firmer and fudgier. (Fridge-cold totally ruins it, by the way.) I had it for lunch with some whipped cream and cherries... (I couldn't get the cream to whip properly, sadly, because a) French cream is rubbish, and b) it's a hundred degrees at the moment! Rookie error not having any crème fraîche in the house.)

I think the turmeric was there as much for the colour as anything else. It’s been a couple of months… I can’t remember. 🥴

I made Stella Parks' Levain Bakery-style Chocolate Chip Cookie knock-off... I only had dark brown sugar to hand, hence the somewhat dark appearance. I've never had the original, so I've no idea how close it is, but I was impressed. It's kind of cookie-crunchy on the outside, and light and cakey inside. It's also huge, weighing-in at 175g (6 oz).... For chocolate chip cookie fans, the Basic, Great Chocolate Chip Cookie by Tara O'Brady is good... And if you have a bag of spelt flour looking for an excuse, then the Spelt Walnut CCC by Janice Lawandi is a good way to use it up... I've also recently enjoyed the Lemon Square Cookies by Anita Jaisinghani... These vegan cookies <shudders> use coconut oil, mashed avocado, and rice flour to surprisingly good effect and are flavoured with turmeric and ground mace, as well as the lemon. Ranger cookies were a new one to me... I really liked these. (The oldest recipe seems to go back to the Depression era.) And one last, honourable mention for the No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie by Scott Peacock... I believe these are also known as preacher cookies: if the preacher turned up unexpectedly at your house, these unassuming treats could be on the table in minutes. Nice! I came across them when my oven was out of action for a week or two, and I was pleasantly surprised how well they worked.

Indeed. I ate a fruit called a brugnon over the weekend and it absolutely blew my socks off. The internet says it's a type of nectarine, but it was better than any nectarine or peach I've ever had. They were the last half-dozen sorry-looking ones about to wither on a friend's tree, so unfortunately that supply is a bust until next year. I'll be keeping an eye out at the farmers' market for more.

Another tarte aux mirabelles... But this time I blind-baked the pastry and added a clafoutis-type batter... No soggy bottom with this one. I'm undecided on plain or with cream. Each has it merits. I will definitely make more next year (if the neighbour donates the plums).

They were good out of hand. I took about 5 kg (10 lbs) so I’ll probably munch a few and give the rest to friends. 👍

I still have a lot to learn about French plums. The yellow ones a few posts back were not mirabelles as I thought, just, errrrrr, yellow plums. I now know this because my neighbour let me raid her mirabelle tree... I thought I'd have a crack at tarte aux mirabelles... It did not turn out as I had hoped. The basic recipe: line a ring with pastry, fill with plums, bake for an hour. Simple. I expected the plums would release a fair amount of juice so threw in some ground almonds on the bottom as insurance. But that didn't make any difference, it was just a soggy mush underneath. All the recipes I looked at didn't bother blind baking the pastry, and many also included a light custard, adding even more moisture, so I'm a little puzzled how it could turn out any different. But all was not lost. I scraped off the roasted plums and enjoyed them on their own...

The Whipped Cream Cake from King Arthur was not what I had hoped for... The filling layer largely sank and settled on the bottom... I often have problems with American recipes, presumably down to subtle ingredient differences, so no harm, no foul. My main issue was that the flavour profile was mostly just sweet, with the filling and topping not bringing much to the party. I already have a recipe for Drømmekage, so this one won't be elbowing it aside. Having said all that, the main reason for making this was the intriguing use of whipped cream in place of butter or oil. And in this aspect I thought it was quite successful. The cake had a light, fluffy texture that I really liked. King Arthur say that traditionally this cake is served plain with just a dusting of icing sugar. You can mark me a traditionalist, then. The plum trees that I thought were going to deliver Reine Claude (greengage) actually turned out to be mirabelles. Like the last lot they weren't particularly great as eating plums but it seemed a waste to let them wither so I filled a tub anyway... ...and cooked down a few into a compote with a hint of tonka, my current spice du jour... I was pleasantly surprised; it was nice. I'll give away that box of mirabelles, but I might go back for more and fill a few freezer bags with some of that compote. But, hands down, the best thing I made this weekend was David Lebovitz's Chocolate Sorbet... Perhaps not the most Instagram-perfect thing you'll see today but, Oh Lordy, great texture and flavour. Highly recommended.

Simple Sesame Cake by Yossy Arefi... Along with the tahini glaze to make it a 'Super Sesame Cake"... The texture of the cake was quite crumbly and a little 'claggy' in the mouth. Not necessarily a negative, but I'm glad I added the glaze which helped to lubricate things. Plus it really upped the tahini/halva element. Another successful bake from 'Snacking Cakes'.

There were some pretty decent, locally grown blueberries at the market today so that was excuse enough to make a Blueberry Poppy Seed Cake... It was good. Winner of the 1990 Pillsbury Bake-Off, don'tcha know. (Some reflections here. And a NYT article for those who have access.) It was a touch underbaked in the centre, but a couple of tweaks to the shaping of the batter and the amount of filling should improve things on that front. And I'm not sure I'll bother with the icing next time.

Even though my plums weren't that great it seemed a shame to let the season pass without making the cake at least once... The ridiculously large amount of small plums meant that the cake didn't really rise up around the fruit, hence the flatter than normal appearance. I had it with a scoop of my new favourite thing, fig leaf ice cream... Last year my fig tree/plant yielded precisely one fig. But it was a great fig. So great, in fact, I was compelled to take a photo. I still dream of that fig.... There's a few more this year, so hopefully I won't be trading quality for quantity... But even if the figs themselves disappoint, there's still plenty of leaves to put to good use. Their flavour was a revelation. (More info here.)

Yes! I made one last year... Such a good, no-fuss cake. I think there are at least three growing nearby. I believe they're called Reine Claude here. Hopefully I'll have more luck with them. 🤞 Well, I gave it a go, hoping for some kind of transformative alchemy to rescue things... It elevated them a bit, but not enough to justify firing up the oven again and making more batches. Having said that, if there'd been any ice cream within arm's reach, I'd happily have dolloped some on top. 👍

I didn’t realise it was passing nearby. I’ve just checked and it was about a 20 min drive from me (or an hour’s bike!). I’ve been keeping half an eye on the results, hoping that Cav might break the record for stage wins, so it’s a shame he seems to have crashed and broken his collar bone just up the road. Could’ve offered some cake and sympathy. 🙄

Lemon and Poppy Seed Cake (National Trust Version) from Ottolenghi "Sweet"... It sank a fraction, so that irked me somewhat. But looking at others' attempts online it seems to be a common occurrence. In fact the official photo that accompanies the recipe is sneakily framed in an attempt to disguise the sinkage. But they can't fool me. Fix the recipe! 😠 It was a pleasant cake nevertheless. A selection of macarons (salted butter caramel, lemon, chocolate, coffee)... ...was payback for a neighbour who's been giving me a lot of shit recently... He seemed happy with the swap. 👍 And one of the plum trees growing wild nearby is heaving with fruit... I picked nearly 6 kg (13 lbs)... But don't hold your breath for any plummy delights. They were a bit 'meh', so I won't be bothering to make anything with them. However, there is a lady I know who makes lots of jam, so maybe she can turn them into sweet gold. There's still ten times as much again left on there so I'll check back to see if I was just a week or two early, but I think they're just not particularly great plums. C'est la vie!

Chocolate eclairs... I'm not sure that choosing a 32C/90F day to make pâte à choux by hand was the wisest move on my part, though. 🥵

Made some choux buns... Filled 'em with a tonka pastry cream... And with the leftover choux paste I finally got round to opening the pearl sugar that's been languishing at the back of the cupboard for the last 18 months...

I made the lemon pudding again, this time paying a bit more attention to the depth of the bain-marie and the cooking time... I left this one to chill overnight in the fridge. The sauce was like a lemon curd, and the cake less souffle and more spongey. Henderson says to serve warm or chilled. I'd say chilled is the way to go. The cake texture is better and the lemon sauce is mouth-puckeringly intense when cold.

Double Lemon Pudding by Margot Henderson... I guess it's otherwise known as a self-saucing pudding or a Lemon Surprise/Magic Pudding. It was quite pleasant and very light. I was a little too cautious with my first attempt and cooked too long. She says it will "leave three layers of texture, moving from a gooey bottom to a spongey top". This one had not enough goo and too much sponge (although I'd say it's more soufflé than sponge). The shape of the dish didn't do me any favours either, resulting in the ends being even less saucy than the middle... Next time I'll make a few minor tweaks: use a round dish, bake it with a more pronounced jiggle underneath, and not bother with her pointless suggestion of the cream accompaniment.

Yes. Let the oranges cool to handle then remove. The purée can be made ahead and stored. A similar weight of clementines (400g) is quite nice, but oranges punch more. 👍

I took Claudia Roden's Orange and Almond Cake round to a neighbour's... For anyone who's never come across it before, you boil whole oranges for a couple of hours, blitz to a purée, then mix with eggs, sugar, baking powder and ground almonds. Such a great cake. Light, moist and orangey. Gluten-free, too. Buckwheat is pretty popular here in France. I've never really succumbed to it's charms, but every now and then I give in and have another go. Hence this buckwheat cake... It was OK. One way to make a dent in the bag of flour, I suppose. The addition of some stewed apple and rhubarb, or sour cherries certainly livened things up... One buckwheat dessert that did win me over, though, is a take on rice pudding where the rice is swapped for roasted buckwheat seeds (kasha). I made Sarrasin au Lait last year and was pleasantly surprised... Not the world's most exciting image, admittedly, but it was good. The buckwheat seeds maintain a little more bite than a traditional rice pudding. Must set a reminder to make this again. I also made some Welsh cakes... For anyone not familiar, they are griddle cakes, and often called bakestones in their native Wales. (King Arthur helpfully describe them as "a cross between a pancake and a baking powder biscuit, with elements of cookies and muffins thrown in for good measure". Seems about right.) Another gâteau Breton, this time without a filling... A raid on the cherry tree yielded a tubful just before they were past their best... So I took the opportunity to dial-in the bake for the Cherry Coconut Almond Cake that I had problems with the other week... Yay! No sinking fruit. And one last cherry clafoutis... This time I drizzed the macerating juices over the top, so it didn't pool on the bottom. Weirdly, I preferred it the other way. There must be some magical alchemy from boozy cherry juice bubbling away on the bottom of the dish.

For version two, I pitted and macerated the cherries for a couple of hours in some sugar and kirsch... Not having to worry about the pits meant this was so much more pleasurable to eat, and the slick of boozy cherry juice on the bottom was a total winner.