The Sugar Bar

The sky is blue as blue, a half moon’s still out in this cloudless sky, sun’s blazing down upon us so fiercely – it’s just wonderful! And there are drunk idiots prancing about on the rooftop terrace, completely off their faces at 11 in the AM downing shots of Jack Daniel’s being absolutely ridiculous whilst R and I try to soak up some sun. Reading magazines and doing a bit of essay planning in peace? Impossible. Reeeediculous with a capital R.

But thanks to these trolleyed losers, we moved off to a lovelier and more chilled out spot Look Mum No Hands, a cafe-bar-workshop down on Old Street. I think it was also the first time I thanked Tesco for anything – not having a cold can of coffee which meant we could head off somewhere else, any excuse to get out in the sun and sip a frappe. A leisurely walk away from where I live and we were grooving down Old Street which suddenly looked a lot more cheerful in the sunlight. The cafe is a pretty cool one which looks very inviting with their large workshop-like doors thrown open, large windows, great big wooden tables conducive for work, laptops or just sitting about with a coffee and cake to watch some TV. There are newspapers and magazines strewn about the wooden benches outside if you fancied lazying in the sun and reading. The interiors are also thoughtfully put together to be both creative but not overly distracting if you decided to sit about and work. And oh, if you’re by the window, you’ve not only snagged prime-time spot for people-watching, you also get free wi-fi.

It’s the epitome of CHILLAX.

And the service is great. Waiting staff are chatty, friendly and eager to help. When I asked about taking photos, the dude behind the counter was like ‘yeaaa man, go ahead’. Welcome to happiness and freedom central with tall glasses of double shot espresso frappes to go. Worried about your lactose issues? They’re happy to sort you out with anything from whole to semi- to skimmed to soy. Actually, not just happy. Thrilled. The cakes, pastries and savoury tarts looked damn fine too and the same dude and I had a nice 30 second groan about how yum they looked. If we’d been hungrier or hadn’t had breakfast, I might’ve ordered one of those pastry twist thingies or a generous salad to enjoy out in the sun but I think, right now, the name of the game for me is to hold back and build up the anticipation for the next trip.

Sitting outside was like some sort of therapy. If R and I weren’t currently-in-the-process-of-recovering-from-a-hangover, I might’ve ordered a cold beer, but the frappes were a lovely touch to our sun therapy. People sitting around us were friendly looking folks too; some were here for quiet newspaper-reading time, for brunch with the kids and the dog, a chat with friends or were tired cyclists stopping by for a caffeine break. Loved the atmosphere!

This is what summertime should be like.

Happy days all round guys. With airplanes in the sky, coffee through a straw and the sickly sweet creamy smell of sunscreen. And adios again, I’ve got a deadline to meet!

I haven’t stepped out of the house much other than for groceries, heading to the library or for work. There hasn’t been much venturing towards coffee shops and I have missed that coffee shop atmosphere, the scent of beans brewing, the bustling back and forth by waiters from tables to bar and for neat freaks like you and I, the sight of assorted cakes, cookies, breads all perfectly laid out on trays or stands behind glass covers. I’m a coffee shop girl through and through; and I like bringing work or reading with me to a coffee shop because the atmosphere always gets my motivation going. I’m not going to deny the romance of a smooth black cuppa, and the flaneur-esque peaks I take out of the window whilst sat at a table all to myself. I’m always at such peace in a coffee shop, pensive and sometimes a little relieved (maybe because of the temporary escape from city-paced walking out on the streets). Time seems to slow down to the beats of dripping filtered coffee, ticking away within its own coffee shop universe that is as uncomplicated as a scone, jam and clotted cream. I heart it, and surely many others of you do.

But hanging out in London coffee shops sometimes is much too much effort. The cost of travelling to one (the Starbucks here in Old Street ain’t that bad but it’s just a little too squishy for my liking and hasn’t anyone realized that Starbucks coffees aren’t that impressive) is not great for a poor student like me, walking to the amazing quirky little ones which stock Monmouth coffees out in Shoreditch is just too distracting sometimes, especially when your table-neighbours are wearing lame silver leggings, have streaks of bright green in their hair and this is all some time before midday. And then there’s the cost of sitting in the coffee shop. It’s not the coffee that’s expensive. It’s the other stuff that I can’t resist ordering. I can’t nurse a lone coffee. I’m just not that type of girl. I’d need a cookie, or a pannetonne, or a fruit tart, or a scone, or even lunch and the whole shebang. I’d be broke by the end of the month if I kept up my coffee shop habits like I normally do back home or during my undergrad days (when I got free coffees through a friend).

Things changed this week though. I handed in one essay 4 days early and I thought this sort of behaviour just had to be rewarded! So I visited Le Pain Quotidien in Goodge Street for a little sit down with my library books. No food photos I’m afraid but I was thoroughly impressed with the atmosphere and the communal dining table. I didn’t order much except an iced black coffee (which came extremely milky because the dude with dreadlocks who took my order was ditzy to the core), a flourless oh-I’m-in-love-type of brownie (which was expensive for the size of it but worth ever penny because it was seriously good) and an Americano after. The coffee was really good and I loved that it came in little bowls – true Frenchness gets my thumbs up.

And then today, I nearly lost my job. It’s a real long story but let’s just say the good news is that I didn’t lose it in the end. And I’ll have to thank my Mama’s fighting spirit that I’ve inherited for that. Well after the whole meeting, my brain was all a little fuzzy and my stomach – which had not stopped growling all through this serious meeting – was about to throw in the towel. Hence, my 2nd coffee shop trip/treat of the week was well justified. Again, I had no camera on hand. But from the outside, the stylish brown Princi sign was like light at the end of a dark tunnel. Stepping through the glass doors into this underworld of glorious breads, the sound of excited chatter, the smell of flour and cheese, the clinking of wine glasses, the spitting and hissing of opening cans of soft drink – it was truly my safe haven. And the interiors don’t get any more chic than Princi’s.

I ordered a slice of woodfired margherita pizza and an Americano (which wasn’t as impressive as Le Pain’s I’m afraid), had a great big chat with the mates at work on my Blackberry whilst this beautiful man next to me flipped through a Tom Ford folder. The lady on my right was reading the paper. The sound of the pages turning was quite comforting and reminded me of my Dad who reads the paper every morning religiously. Although there are quite a few tables and communal ones about, I was attracted to the bar at the back. I love bar stools so naturally I zoned in on that area quick as anything. The zen water feature of running taps in front of the bar tables was very nice too. See what I mean about the safe haven?

I’m loving this place so much I can’t wait to visit again. On my next visits to Princi and Le Pain Quotidien, expect more pictures! Til then, check out what I took home with me: Tiramisu and Olive Bread. You so have to love Princi for making their cakes in neat little rectangles!

Princi
135 Wardour Street
London
W1F 0UT
Tel.: 020 7478 8888
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 7.00-00.00 Sun 9.00-22.00

Warning: these cupcakes are well LUSH!

Going over the top? It did occur to me that that might happen, but I wanted to recreate the Japanese dorayaki. Sweet flat pancakes with a sweet paste filling, ranging from red bean to green tea to peanut, these pancakes were the love of my life in high school. Easy to take around with you, to sneak into lecture halls (having not a strong smell that wifts around in the air and completely gives you away) and might I say, a great fashion accessory whilst shopping in town. Rather than attempting to make authentic dorayaki in case I screwed that up, I thought of bringing the dorayaki through a cupcake. More or less its essence – that is, through the flavours you can commonly find in such a pancake. Peanut butter, sugar, ground almonds and crushed biscuits is my way of making a sweet peanut paste. I hate it when it’s too crunchy, hence the ground almonds instead of roughly chopped peanuts but to prevent it from getting too fine and texture-less, sugar and crushed Digestives are the answer to all my troubles. Top that off with some peanut butter, and you’re well on your way to peanut heaven. At least, that’s my own opinion. I’ve created this almond-peanut filling which I think eradicates any peanut dilemma and because it is quite solid rather than paste-like or creamy, it’s perfect to mould into balls or little shapes you fancy.

The Purist boys are very difficult to cook for, as you might have already picked up on from the previous posts. The chocolate cupcakes from before with the naked buttercream scored a quick goal with James, however. I’d packed Anna and James one each for their trip to Portugal and was gladly surprised to receive a text from him soon after saying it was awesome. The girls are back in town. Most of them are, that is. So I now find myself in a more relaxed position when trying out recipes and I know these will be well-received. Keep an open mind, guys, open minds. Or rather, screw ‘em Purists. I have more important matters to be baking for this time – scroll down for more details.

Peanut, chocolate and green tea is quite a nostalgic combo and I think is a favourite for a lot of the Japanese. I’m so pleased with these babies I’m definitely going to make this again and again for friends. I love the touch of matcha as well not only because I’m a big big big – bordering on psychopathic – fan of tea (and wonder why the hell I wasn’t born in a different period, decked out in pretty dresses with luxurious fabric and alot of sleeves and mastering the true art of tea ceremony, etc. – my fantasy can play on) but because my eyes get so drawn in by the green.

The better quality your matcha, the greener it will be. For really green, powerful matcha, you can often use koicha instead of the cheaper, more astringent thin matcha or usucha. Anyway, this green frosting comes at the right time, welcoming spring. Plus, it’s a big in-your-face reminder to BE GREEN. Celebrate Earth Day and support the green movement with these guys; also check out LOKO if you’d like to be a green foodie.

*P/S: If you’re a tea fan, or a health-conscious dude/dudette and would like to know more about green tea and matcha, stay tuned to this blog. I’ll be posting up very soon a “Survey of Matcha”, lol. No it won’t be that formal but it’ll include my opinions about green tea, what I like about it, in what have I had green tea and a few info-bites of Japanese tea ceremony. Watch this space.

LIGHTS OUT, KNIVES OUT
Because I think this is for a good cause and it’s fun to participate in something, I’ve submitted this recipe for LOKO which is hosted by Celine of Black.Salt! I might have cheated just slightly because this was made during the day so there wasn’t any need for switching the lights on, I’d like to say (in support of myself) that the only electricity-consuming equipment that were used were: 1)the oven, 2)laptop for this post, 3)camera operating on rechargeable batteries for the foodshots. The softening of butter for the cupcakes or the frosting didn’t involve a microwave. Butter for the frosting merely used a little of the hot air from the hot oven – left the oven door slightly ajar to cool after the cupcakes were baked. I’d switched the heating of the house off as well (big sacrifice here because if you know my house, you’ll know it’s always bloody freezing!) so the kitchen was heated just by the hot air from an oven already switched off! Thought that was pretty genius of me. All beating of ingredients, mixing and all that jazz – the whole process, has been done lovingly by hand or arm, if you like, with an old wooden spoon. As a student, I’ve lost both my electric mixers and I think that’s a sign from the Big Guy up above. Also, all the washing up – yep, done by hand. No dishwasher here for me as well which eats up a heck load of electricity and water. So, to conclude, this has been one pleasant baking day. Have loads of cupcakes to share with the boys down the road and will be taking these goodies, along with some of yesterday’s Marmorkuchen round to Alex’s for a little tea chat. Cheers to Celine for organising LOKO and hope this aids in the spread of the awareness of the need to be green.

Chocolate Cupcake recipe (yields 24 regular cupcakes)
Ingredients

3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cup caster sugar
3 eggs
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 tbs coffee granules
1 1/2 cup milk (I used semi-skimmed)
2 tsp vanilla extract

This recipe was used in an earlier post Best Moist Chocolate Cupcakes inspired by Chockylit. I’ve used the recipe exactly as it is except for the sugar content – altering it to 1 1/2 cup white sugar as opposed to a combination of dark brown and white sugar. Click here for directions. It’s baked at 175d Celsius for 25min.

Almond-Peanut & Biscuit Filling (yields about 24 candy-sized cubes)
Ingredients

1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup caster sugar
3 tsp whole milk
1/4 cup + 3 tbs ground almonds
4-5 digestive biscuits, crushed into nearly fine powder with some larger crumbly bits

Using a wooden spoon, beat the peanut butter in a bowl till nice and soft. Add the caster sugar and 2 tsp of milk, beat till creamy. Add the digestive biscuits, then last tsp of milk. This will starting getting quite sticky. Finally finish by adding the ground almonds. You can now roll them into balls or shape them into candy cubes which you can make before working on the cupcake batter.

Fill cups with a tablespoon of chocolate batter and then press a cube of filling into the it. Cover with 1 1/2 – 2 tablespoon of batter, this will bring the cups up to 2/3 full which is just right.

Matcha Frosting (recipe adapted from Chockylit)
Ingredients

2 sticks unsalted butter
8 oz cream cheese
3 cups icing sugar
2 tbs matcha powder (I have used a good quality cooking matcha, it doesn’t need to be a high quality matcha as the taste could get too strong for just a frosting)

Leave butter to soften. Beat till creamy. Add cream cheese and beat till even creamier. Add 3 cups of icing sugar and 1 tbs of matcha. Taste. Now you can add the next tbs if you think you need it. If you don’t want to ruin the taste by making it too bitter with an additional tbs, increase the sugar. I also recommend using matcha cooking sprinkles. You can easily find this from Japanese grocery shops or Oriental foodstores. They’re almost like crushed leaves, but they don’t have that intense a flavour. Nonetheless, they have a mild matcha flavour and give a great green colour.

I haven’t followed this frosting recipe exactly. Because I haven’t gotten round to getting a piping tip I wasn’t going to make this frosting a stiff one to pipe. I reduced the butter and somehow it became a really drippy frosting, which I thought was slightly odd. Tasted great still. The cream cheese really gave the matcha a whole new dimension. It wouldn’t have been the same without it. Also, because of the drippiness, these were even easier to ice. ‘Dripped’ about a tbs of matcha frosting on each cupcake and I was set. Not to worry though, when left out, such an icing will usually firm up. A winner.