The Sugar Bar

If someone were to break into my house, into my bedroom to be more specific, whilst I’m in and demand all my valuables, my reaction would definitely be:

Please, take everything you want except my passport and laptop!

Firstly, I probably shouldn’t be making any demands at all. It seems totally unwise to be attempting bargains when face to face with a nasty desperate burglar. Secondly, there shouldn’t even be the most minute allowance for a break-in but I’m just saying ‘what if’; of course, I’m totally crossing my fingers and banging on wood that it’ll never ever happen. Thirdly, shouldn’t one’s life be more important than something mechanical and material like a laptop?

Only thing is, my laptop’s like my love-child. Ok, maybe not so much a love-child but an amniotic sac that contains all my unborn children – failed attempts at poetry, bits of surprising cleverness, the puzzle pieces of a story I’ve yet to successfully put together, precious photos & artworks & graphics and a massive database of tunes. Oh, not to forget university documents and important essays (strange how that only came to me as an afterthought!). And I could never willingly give that over to someone. Just as anyone would feel violated at the thought of a complete stranger entering your house and going through your things, I would too feel massively violated at the thought of having someone rob my intellectual property and know personal ‘memories’ (photos) and ‘obsessions’ (music).

Another great problem would be the attempt to re-build all that work. It could be easier for others with a better memory but seeing as I ain’t too good with remembering as I was in high school, attempting to reconstruct my writings and put together my iTunes and photo database would be near impossible!

Paranoia hit me this morning and by some strange stroke of magic (if you could call it that), I was so sure that my beautiful Macbook might die on me soon. I pray it won’t since it’s been such a gorgeous girl for 2 years now. I’ve promised to take it for a nice upgrading come Christmas to increase its performance but somehow there’s a tiny nagging feeling at the back of head and it’s a good nagging feeling because it’s pushing me to backup my most important documents. Hopefully, you lot out there will also be hit by the Paranoia Bug and think to backup whatever you hold important to you. Even if nothing bad’s happened, even if you computer is working like a beauty, even if you’ve never been burgled – be careful! It’s always good to be safe than sorry.

Putting aside that most random story and paranoia, let me share with you the best pancake recipe (I won’t say ‘ever’ because there might be better ones ever – but this is the best I’ve made so far). I love pancakes. But I’ve never had that perfect plate of pancakes which I could proudly proclaim to everyone “I made that!”. So each time, I go on and slather butter and pour gallons worth of maple syrup on them feeling a little miffed and upset. However, I’ve altered and tweaked my pancake recipe each time I make them in the search for that ultimate fat pancake. I’ve deifnitely not once given up. Talk about the Pancake Pilgrim’s Progress (I hope I haven’t made John Bunyan turn in his grave by perverting his title)! What’s so good about this attempt I think is that I might just have managed to alter my pancake recipe to the point of perfection — but perfection for me alone. I’ll be using this recipe from now on, except on Pancake Day (when English pancakes must be served), because these guys are the ultimate fat buggers I’ve been searching to create all my life. These are really fat and definitely fluffy. Be sure to cook them through. If you’re not careful, the fat layers might deceive you into thinking it’s all cooked through when actually there’s a tiny bit of uncooked gooeyness in the middle.

Add blueberries for the ultimate experience, or whatever toppings please you the most. These are still great plain or with the tiniest dash of cinnamon. I think the next time I whip these up, I’m adding two slices of crispy streaky bacon on top – major sin at breakfast time! Just the way I fancy it.

Ultimate Fat Fluffy Blueberry Pancakes
Ingredients

2 cups self-raising flour
1 cup milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tbs butter, melted
2 tbs sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup blueberries
more butter, for frying

Place all dry ingredients in a bowl. Whisk to mix. Make a well in the middle. Add eggs and gently whisk in. Add milk gradually as you continue to whisk. Batter will be lumpy and bubbly but that’s fine.
Melt some butter on a frying pan or skillet and ladle out a ladle of batter into the middle of the hot pan, using the back of the ladle to spread it out into a neat circle. Cook about 2-3minutes until bubbles start to form on the wet surface. Slip a spatula underneath the pancake, shuffle it about to unstick the pancake from the pan.
Now, flip the pancake with a gentle flick of the wrist – like a pro – or use the spatula. Cook another 1-2 minutes.
Serve up warm with extra butter and syrup.

**Disclaimer: THIS IS REALLY PANNA NOTTA.

I’ve been wanting to make panna cotta for ages! Cream on its own is fantastic. Cooked, set, sweetened cream is miles better. Honest and uncomplicated, accompanied with the fresh taste and flavour of berries of your choice, sometimes chocolate or caramel sauce, panna cotta is one of those things you can never get enough of.

I know every one has their own cravings (they’re terrible things to predict in advance so I write them down as and when they come to me) and list of recipes they plan to complete. I am hardly that organised so I usually forget my cravings (unless, as said before, I write them down somewhere but most of the time I end up losing these scraps of paper) which is honestly a bad thing since I want to remember them and then satisfy them. This was put on hold for a very long time, until now. And according to popular theories, the longer you frustrate your desires, if not denied for too long, the final satisfaction will be double the pleasure. The only problem with mine was it didn’t set too well probably because I didn’t use enough gelatin sheets. Or maybe because I’d melted my panna cottas by accident whilst letting them sit in boiling water for near a minute. Who does that?! Thereafter, I had to place them back in the fridge but its setting qualities had been all ruined by then.

Runny, depressed and messy panna cotta.

100% disappointment. At least for me.

Others who tasted it said it was one of the best things I’ve made with the perfect melt-in-your-mouth moment. I was completely bummed out by the looks of it.

This makes 4-6 servings.

Vanilla Panna Cotta & Blueberry Sauce
Ingredients

4 tbsp caster sugar
300ml double cream
300ml milk
1 vanilla pod
170g mascarpone
4 gelatin sheets (I recommend increasing this to maybe 5)
sunflower oil, for greasing glasses

For the blueberry sauce:
1/4 cup caster sugar
1/4 cup water
1 tbs morello cherry cordial
1 punnet blueberries

Cook the cream, milk, sugar in a heavy-based saucepan over medium to low fire. Add the vanilla bean and simmer on low for 5-6 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean. Split the bean, scrape the seeds out and add them to the cooking cream. Return the bean back into the cream and let simmer for another 2 minutes.

In a bowl of cold water, soak the gelatin sheets till soft and bouncy.

Remove from saucepan of cream from heat. Using a metal whisk, whisk in the mascarpone cheese until smooth. Whisk the gelatin sheets in next.

Using some oil, brush the insides of glasses. Pour cooked cream into the glasses. Let the glasses cool for a little in room temperature then transfer to fridge to let set for at least 3 hours.

For the blueberry sauce:
Over low fire, dissolve the sugar into the water. Add the blueberries and crush some of them into the sugar mixture. Add the cordial and let this simmer and reduce till it thickens to desired consistency. Serve with panna cotta. YUM.

Got muffins?

I bet most of you agree the Americans sure know their pancakes and muffins. Cakespy recently posted up a showdown between the muffin and cupcake. For more questions and her awesome debate (and pictures) of this epic facedown, check out her site through the link above.

On days where I’m plagued with melancholic notions of ladylike etiquette and wishful thinking of being in a historic age with pretty dresses and handmade embroidered fabrics, I think cupcakes. On days when I’m utterly annoyed with such pretentiousness and really prefer the fuss-free and just down-to-earth contents of life, give me muffins. Either way, I have to say I love them both with equal passion and adoration. It’s just all an issue of balance between my emotions and tastebuds. O yes, and state of mind. Damn that I’m a libra and need all this yin yang, balance and peace shizzle.

When it comes to muffins, I need them explosive.

Explosive, volcanic, man-sized, Texas-sized all the way. I don’t know why. It seems like a prerequisite to me, otherwise I just won’t fancy eating it. In more ways than one, I believe this will be why boys may find me repulsive or probably just overcome with fear or competitiveness. Jokes. Honestly, if you’re gonna have a muffin, I order you to have a enormous one with alright then, a (I here say it quite reluctantly) petite cup of tea to wash it down.

My rules for consuming muffins:

1. it has to be at least a medium-sized muffin

2. you must have a hot, comforting cup of tea or coffee to accompany it

3. don’t bother with forks and plates unless you’re eating it straight out of the oven hot

4. don’t talk; just eat, will ya?

5. occasional moans of pleasure allowed

Well then, are you quite so particular with muffin-eating too?

This recipe yields 6 power muffins.

American Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup caster sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup buttermilk (or you can use a substitute of milk and lemon juice)
1 cup/punnet blueberries, tossed lightly in flour

Preheat oven to 200d Celsius.
Line muffin tray with paper cups.

Beat butter till creamy. Add the sugar and lightly beat it together. Add a beaten egg to the milk and gently mix into the creamed sugar and butter. Add the next egg.
In a separate bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients.
Carefully mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, make sure not to overmix. You want the batter lumpy and it’s alright to see bits of flour. Fold in the blueberries and spoon generously into muffin cups.

Place tray in middle rack of oven. Reduce oven temperature to 190d Celsius. Bake for 25-30min.
At the mark of the last 5 minutes, reduce oven temperature again to 180d Celsius.

Voila. Fluffy muffins with a lovely crunchy crust top. Ultimate.