The Suburban Kitchen
Simple foody stuff that I like to cook, eat & share
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The Farmer’s Markets have been going really well - building up a regular clientele, and gradually fine tuning the cakes and quantities I’m making, so that I don’t run out of the popular cakes or have too much left over.
I’m excited about the build up to Christmas, and adding some seasonal recipes to the cakes I’ll be selling - which I will be writing about on my blog.
I bought 2 new baking books last week as they were on offer - £10 for both! ‘Green & Black’s Ultimate Chocolate Recipes’ and ‘The Great British Book of Baking’ - lots and lots of new recipes to be trying out, and writing about.
So I will be posting much more baking related stuff on here, for those of you out there who love a good cake/bake!
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Only 5 days to go, till I find out whether anyone actually wants to buy my cakes - and it really is a leap in the dark for me, but I am very excited about it. I’ve got a stall at the Wollaton Farmer’s Market, located in the Co-Op car park - on Saturday morning, so its all systems go from now on.
Last week I set up my stall in the back garden to see how it all went together, and was quite pleased with the results, the navy gazebo is easy to put up, looks smart, and just big enough - and the sturdy folding table was suitably transformed with my check cloth, baskets for cakes and little chalk boards for prices.
This week I’ve sorted out my Public Liability Insurance, and ordered plastic carrier bags and gloves - and realising that there is much more to this than just baking! So hopefully it will all come together smoothly.
Thursday and Friday will be spent baking, so I hope I don’t have any disasters - the kitchen will be out of bounds to everyone - woman on a mission!
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Flapjacks
One of my absolute favourite ‘cakes’ - but their simplicity can be deceptive, as quantities and cooking time are crucial, depending on whether you like your flapjacks crunchy or moist! I prefer mine on the moist side, and as I hadn’t baked these for a while, my first batch were disappointingly crunchy. So I increased the quantities by half, and kept a VERY close eye on them in the oven. These have turned out perfect!
6oz/175g butter, 1.5oz/40g sugar, 3 generous tbsp golden syrup - warmed, 12oz/350g rolled oats, pinch of salt
Beat the butter & sugar together until creamy, then stir in the warmed syrup. Mix well & work in the rolled oats & salt.Put the mixture into a greased tin - approx 30cmx20cm - then bake in a fairly hot oven for about 20mins, but check on them at 15mins. If you prefer crunchy flapjacks, you can either use a larger tin ( then the flapjacks will be thinner) or bake for longer. For moist flapjacks, remove from oven just as the edges start to colour.
When firm, cut into 12 pieces, but leave in tin until quite cold.
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Lemon Cheese
My Grandma used to make this in a stone jar, and it was always such a treat when we would find it in her pantry. My mum also made it - but never often enough! This recipe is the nearest I have come to that long remembered taste - its perfect for using as a cake filling, or in desserts, but my favourite is simply on hot buttered toast! This version is cooked in the microwave as opposed to a double boiler, so its quicker.
Juice of 2 lemons, 2oz (50g) unsalted butter - melted, 7oz (200g) caster sugar, 2 large eggs - beaten
Whisk together sugar and eggs until smooth, then stir in the lemon juice and melted butter. Cook in microwave for 1 minute intervals, stirring after each minute until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon - between 2 and 3 minutes. Pour into sterile jars and cool. Stores up to 3 weeks in the fridge.
