My Sundays, apart from catching up on lost sleep and reflecting on my week, come in useful for healing the soul and body. And this time, it’s healing the body mostly. After working manically for weeks both at my store and on my dissertation, I have caught a cold. My body has been feeling a little more rundown. It was a shock to realize yesterday that I’d lost 2kg (although it does not feel or LOOK like I have) and a sure sign that I haven’t been taking care of myself. Thankfully a cold is nothing serious but it sure is true that once the adrenaline stops, your body starts to crash!

Friday was my last day at American Apparel. It was a bittersweet farewell. I hate saying goodbyes anyway so the best way was to turn the bad into the good. To go out with a bang. To milk it for all it’s worth. On a quiet Sunday, my flatmate all moved out and flying home to India, all the good times the bad times are meshing together in my memory. My flat definitely feels the loss of my flatmate’s presence and knowing that I won’t return to work is a little depressing. But the friendships made and sealed? I know some of them can last forever. It is never truly a goodbye forever. There are no endings. Only beginnings. At least, that is what I believe.

I have not, and cannot, regret my time at work although I do regret the ridiculous amount of clothes I have accumulated. I am sure my parents will agree with me on that one. With regards to my clothes and shoes, they can sum it all up in one word: unlimited.

My last shift concluded with a leaving cake and a surprise bottle of red from a mate who’s like a brother, no actually a dad, to me. A chocolate hazelnut mass of fudgy gloriousness topped with chocolate macarons (also a mess after we started tucking into it) and a little raspberry dark chocolate tart just for me! The latter was the better of the two I’ve decided. Anything berries drives me absolutely crazy. I died and went to heaven. Yea mate yea mate, I did!

Have occasion? Eat cake!

Now you’re asking, was that all? Nah, course not. The Diva doesn’t just eat up and leave. We partied. We partied good and hugged, laughed, cried, etc. The whole shebang if you get my drift. And I came home to find yet another nice surprise in my letterbox. I’ve kept this a little hush hush as requested by PositScience but now I can finally unveil some good news to you all.

The Cookbook
I was part of an exciting project with PositScience’s Thinkfood Cookbook – a cookbook of 50 recipes for brain fitness. They include recipes for snacks, appetizers, main courses, salads and sides, and desserts too. Every recipe, contributed by truly amazing foodbloggers, features an ingredient that is brain healthy. The photographs are beautiful and each recipe comes with a little blurb (and portrait) about the foodblogger and how to find him/her on the world wide web! You can find the full list of contributors here as well as sign up for PositScience’s weekly newsletter.

Giveaway
Enough said about the book. I am giving away this cookbook to a random commentor on this blogpost. If you’d like to win, drop me a comment about a time you had to say farewell and how you celebrated it (if cake’s involved, would love to hear what you had! ) by Friday 10 September 2010 (London time if you please). I’ll post back the winner, selected by a random number generator, on Twitter and on the comments list here.

Good luck! For all others, you can purchase the book from PositScience or Amazon if you like.

As you all know, my time on the blog has gotten very much shorter and the time to try new recipes and invent chocolate truffle combinations has been almost obliterated by the massive workload I have to complete. If I intend to save my degree, it’s all got to be done and The Sugar Bar has, unfortunately, to be placed on the backburner for a while. Nevertheless, I will update regularly (as much as I can) with some interesting pictures and places/little bits to eat. I won’t be gone completely of course. You see me on Twitter way too much.

The lovely Naomi, of BakersRoyale, noticing my struggle was very kind enough to suggest guest-posting for me and created a beautiful bit of heaven in the shape of a mini cake, all in the essence of a person with limited time and kitchen space.

I met Naomi, or actually I found her, through one of the cake posts she submitted to Foodgawker and boy, did I gawk. Her cakes are stunning, little bits of art to be honest and all so meticulously put together. And I bet they taste as divine as they look – always quivering on my laptop screen, tempted to plop right out of it straight onto my dessert plate. She’s truly inspiring and such an easy-going person, we got along straightaway! In fact, sometimes I do wonder if she’s actually a twin of mine. We’re on the same wavelength. But enough of my chitter-chatter, let me give you Naomi! Here’s what she said:

•••

SoNo’s No Bake Cheesecake ~ A no bake cheesecake dressed up in a pistachio crumb and topped with some fresh raspberries.

This famous cheesecake is from John Barricelli’s SoNo Bakery in Connecticut and is featured in his SoNo Bakery book. After trying several no bake cheesecakes, this is hands down the best-period.

The bits of lemon and orange zest give the cheesecake a citrus balance that will refresh your palate with every bite. Add the pistachio crumb and the raspberries and this cheesecake moves from delicious to heavenly.

Aside from taste, the other reason I love this version of a no-bake cheesecake is John Barricelli’s use of gelatin to help set it. Now while he describes the finishing mixture as a mousse, I find the finishing mixture more similar to a baked cheesecake. No-bake versions tend to be very light and where this recipe not only has the velvety texture of a baked cheesecake, but it also has enough weight for every bite to be well tasted, rather than submitting and dissipating on contact.

I miniaturized this dessert into two inch mini cheesecakes the original recipe calls for a 9 inch pastry ring. If you don’t have one, a springform pan will work just as well.

SoNo’s No Bake Cheesecake
Ingredients

Crust:
1 1/2 cup crushed graham cracker
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
7 tablespoon unsalted butter(melted)

Cheesecake:
¼ cup water
1 tablespoon powdered gelatin
2 ¼ cups heavy cream
1 pound cream cheese, room temperature (at least six hours)
2/3 sugar
1 teaspoon coarse salt
Grated zest of orange
Grated zest of lemon
2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¾ sour cream

For assembly
1 cup pistachios, shelled and finely chopped
2 cups raspberries

For the crust:

1. Combine graham cracker crumbs with sugar.
2. Add melted butter and blend until combined.
3. Press into pan. Set aside.

For the cheesecake:

1. Bring 1 inch of water to a simmer in the bottom of a double boiler. Sprinkle water over gelatin and let stand for 5 minutes.
2. Using a spatula scrape the softened gelatin and place it into the top of the double boiler. Set it over simmering water and heat until the mixture becomes liquid. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Using the whisk attachment of a stand mixer, beat the cream to medium peaks. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
4. Replace whisk attachment with a paddle. Wash out bowl. Add cream cheese, sugar, salt, lemon and orange zest and lemon juice in mixer bowl and beat on medium high speed until the mixture is smooth, about 5 minutes.
5. Add a dollop of cream mixture to the gelatin and fold with a rubber spatula. Return the gelatin mixture to the remaining cream cheese mixture and fold together.
6. Scrap the new mousse mixture into pastry rings or springform. Smooth the top and cover with plastic. Freeze for at least four hours or overnight to set.
7. Remove cake. The cake will have a slight sunken center. Using spread sour cream on top as if icing a cake to even out the top.
8. To remove from pastry ring, use a hot towel and wrap it around the ring. You may have to do this twice.
9. Don’t worry about the uneven sides as it will be covered with the pistachio crumb.

To assemble:

Cover sides with pistachio crumb and garnish top with raspberries.

•••

Hope you liked Naomi’s post as much as I did! If you want more, jump over to her blog here.

If anyone’s been wondering where I’ve been, or why I haven’t been as ‘sociable’ on Twitter and blogs, please do not be offended. I’m at the moment rushing one last paper that was given to us over the Easter break and it’s been taking up more time than I expected. The arguments are in my head but we’re sort of getting nowhere. Ideas aren’t transforming into words which is a real pain as you writers out there will know. Pen’s bleeding all over the paper but I’m as eloquent as a duck. It’s not even writers’ block really. What would you call this – writers’ constipation?

I promise I’ll be back on the game give another week. Paper’s due on 6th of May and thereafter, I’ll be back with twice the enthusiasm, banter and general nutter-ness as per usual. Have a great weekend everyone and Happy May Day!

Here’s a little something to keep your eyes busy – one part of a new lunchbox I bought from Paperchase yesterday (about time I got a cute one over the functional clip-and-lock bollocks I’ve got in the pantry cupboard) – seasoned rice with sansai vegetables, pickles and sakura denbu. Yes the latter’s the pink fluffy powder you see there and it’s made from codfish. Brilliant, no?

The Sugar Bar is my baby and the cellulite of my life. I can’t get rid of it no matter how hard I try. Can’t stop loving or working at it either. I’d feel completely lost without it. Blogging’s become such second nature, it’s almost impossible to recall what I used to do to past the time before I started foodblogging in 2005. And that was just one of the things us Tea Ladies, Mowie from Mowielicious and Su-Yin from Bread et Butter, discussed at our Ottolenghi lunch last Sunday.

We spent a sleepy morning queueing for a table at the Islington branch and whilst it was rather a long wait, we were given sustenance to make the wait less torturous in the form of cheesey breadsticks. Why torturous? Torturous because Ottolenghi’s yummy fare was within ridiculously close range. Torturous because you couldn’t just sneak a bit of bread (even if you were the best fingersmith of East London) when we standing next to it. Torturous because we were starving and no one (not a single one of them satisfied customers bums stuck firmly to their chairs) was getting up to leave…just yet. (Word of advice: be prepared to queue. It just kept going from 12 all til 3ish pm)

However, that all went and we were ushered to a table. I really like Ottolenghi’s service. Of course, they’ve got some stone-faced matron types but their staff’s generally really friendly and amicable. And they aren’t afraid to chat to you and take part in a bit of banter. Always a plus to any café/restaurant. A fair amount of time passed in complete silence – the food voyeurs were weighing up the menu. And we thought it good. I haven’t got any pictures for you of our lunch but let’s say we were thoroughly impressed with the simplicity but complexity of flavours in every salad choice and every main course choice.

You’ve got to go check it out for yourself and then you’ll understand the magic of Ottolenghi.

Our lunch went too quickly for our happy stomachs but oh, within seconds after sitting down you could tell us Tea Ladies were completely hooked. If Ottolenghi wasn’t going to reel us in, we’d go to it. Got us completely dancing to their mesmerising tune. Mowie was an Ottolenghi virgin but oh no more. And to discover the joys of dessert take-away! Faced with such an array of beauties, it’s always a real problem trying to choose what to get and when to stop. I managed to stop at two, but only because I was quite satiated from a Bailey’s Chocolate Cake post-lunch. Didn’t manage to get a picture of that either but it was a beaute! A super beaute in fact, coming in close second to my all-time love Lemon, Pistachio & Polenta cake. On my next trip, I will make sure I get a picture of it for you lot! A must-try.

It was a sweet Sunday and other than the little bits of sugar gold I had in a bleached white paperbag, I had a couple of pictures of my beautiful Tea Ladies furiously snapping their cameras away outside Ottolenghi. Absolutely love it! There’s no other human species quite like us foodbloggers. We’re a curious kind. Food voyeurs. Our regressive animalistic behaviour is incurable. And if we had the option of being permanently attached to our cameras (tourist-y camera strap or no), I’m sure we would. Our friends think we’re incorrigible and our inherent need to photograph food or talk about it 24/7 sometimes frustrating. But seriously, I bet they envy us. Look at us, anywhere we are, people stop and stare. Yea. Wanna know what they’re thinking? Probably something like, ‘Oh yea, check em out them cool kids. They’ve so got it.’ And don’t forget that some of us have some monstrous bling-bling big-bang type cameras. Now that’s gotta be totally sexy, no?

•••

White Chocolate and Cranberry Cheesecake Tart – I love tarts and part of that is to because I love the tart crust best. If the filling doesn’t interest me enough, I eat the crust on its own. If the fillings too delicious to ignore, I save the crust for last. Ottolenghi, as usual, gets it right with their desserts. The crust was delicious and not overly sweet. It was sensationally buttery. Right amount of crust, right amount of filling and I ate them both at the same time (of course I saved a little chunk of crust to savour at the very last moment). The white chocolate cheesecake in the middle was stupendously good. Unlike most cheesecakes, it didn’t leave me feeling a little too queasy, only just a little because I breathed the thing down my throat in about 10 seconds. That gives me reason to feel a little woozy. But it was  generally very light and the cranberry coulis on top was fab, cutting through the cheese and making me feel a little bit of Christmas (even though that’s just gone and done now sadly). A thumbs up to the crushed pistachio and dusting of icing sugar – definitely very Christmassy for those slightly post-holiday depressed. A great pick-me-up. Small, compared to other Ottolenghi treats, but power-packed.

Raspberry & Strawberry Financier - I thought this was very similar to the Lemon Blueberry & Almond Cake I tried some time ago. The texture is very similar and the taste of lemon really stands out. But of course, raspberry goes really well with lemon so I couldn’t fault how delicious this pairing was. Absolutely loved how the raspberries and lemon wasn’t too tart – the sugar glaze on top of the financier was beautiful to look at and definitely helped balance out the flavour. The dollop of whipped double cream on the top was quite perfect as well. Part of me wondered if they could’ve infused the cream with vanilla seeds but I finally decided it didn’t need that extra bit. It was simple and gorgeous at it was. A smooth, dense and flavoursome cake. Ottolenghi sure knows what they’re good at and they’re especially great with their lemony treats. This isn’t excluded, not at all.

Now all we’ve got left is to send Mowie on a mission to steal the recipes.

Jokes.

I am joking. Don’t panic, alright.

I have a sweet tooth. (I’m sure you guilty ones reading this have one too) And I’ve never once felt like my penchant for sweet things was ever a curse. Until now.

The past week has been a great one. I was a little snowed under with my special preparation for Food Blogger Connect 09, our first ever UK food conference, with my new part-time job at American Apparel (whilst I struggle with a full-time MA at Birkbeck College), with keeping in touch with my mates all over the place, with feeding myself, with my readings (not to mention I now have a whole new employee guide to read as well). So not only do I find myself getting all freaked out with the work, nervous about meeting all the other talented food bloggers I’ve been communicating with, my naughty hand has been creeping into sweet bags, fudge packets, mint tubes, etc. It’s getting bad beyond bad!

And what topped it all? I made something sweet, sugary and cute for my fellow cyber mummy cum member of the morning Twitter Breakfast Club – Deeba of Passionate About Baking, a little belated birthday gift. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely enjoyed myself making these gorgeous (can I say so myself?) little truffles and seeing Deeba’s face brighten up when I presented it to her. I couldn’t be any happier when they were successful since it’s been years, about 15 years probably, since I last made chocolate truffles or anything sweet related really. After carefully transferring the extra truffles into a little pop-n-lock box and then wrapping it up in a recently purchased furoshiki, I couldn’t be any more proud of myself. The recipe’s certainly easy to follow, nothing complicated at all. And I know I bitch, complain, whine and procrastinate quite a lot and so sometimes my blog goes into desert-mode with no sweet concoction blogged about for ages. Now, I don’t have an oven so I’ve decided to venture more into candy-making. And yay, the first candy post is a good one.

So if it’s all good, then why have I slapped on the curse factor? Do you how much of the work/candy/truffle-in-progress I consume? Do you know how bad that little OREO crumb tantalizes me, how much I can’t bear to not lick off that bit of candy coating on the back of a spoon? Also, do you know how much toothpaste I’m going through at the moment?! It’s mental! Sensodyne is totally enjoying this. And there’s also my sugar high problems. I’m going crazy twitchy giggly and talking at super fast speeds (I bet half the people I grab, hug, smooch and then chat AT, rather than TO don’t even understand the words that are just rolling out of my mouth). 2 minutes into the sugar phase, I’m wondering why the lights are so bright; the world so bulbous and huge to the point that it’s pressing into my own eyeballs; I’m amazed at how delicious tap water tastes and I think I’m blushing. These are just a few of the more common side effects. The end result is less exciting and is usually me feeling tired, headache-y and a little sick.

What happens after a bit of rest or a few days of rest, depending on how good I am? The process repeats itself. Goodness! I’m blaming it on this week of food celebration! I’ve never eaten better and oh, look at me just lazying on the bed feeling fat and glorious. What a Nigella of a Diva. My coursemates have even started nicknaming me ‘Fatty’. Don’t worry, they’re just taking the piss. I call one of em ‘Pervert’ and the other ‘Fanny Pack’. It’s all good. We love each other all around, really.

I missed Deeba’s birthday and felt awful about it. What made me feel even more guilty was that I’d only found out on Twitter. Heck. I find out everything on Twitter these days – and if I feel like sharing with it others, I simply Retweet it to the high heavens like a loudmouth. It’s like who needs the newspaper when I’ve got Twitter on my laptop and on my blackberry? Seriously, even The Evening Standard’s now going free on the streets and the people giving them out pretty much beg you to take the paper off their hands so they can chuck aside that disgusting neon orange jacket they wear so they can finally escape our horrid English weather and head home for tea. Twitter’s great. Trust me. Now we just gotta get the rest of the foodie world onto Twitter and we’re sorted. (Cook Sister, hope you’re reading this. I’m wondering if my -does the magical hand movement- hypnosis that night worked! Haha)

Whilst I was doing the daily Food Blogger Connect (FBC) countdown on Twitter, our Twitter Breakfast Club were furiously direct-messaging each other about things we wanted from our respective places of residence. Deeba kept bullying me into telling her what I wanted from India. And I’m not exaggerating. That woman, bless her gorgeous heart, is tiny but she’s a real bully. But I love her anyway. She was so sweet to go shopping for a lamp (I love anything to do with candles and lamps, especially fans and masks if you wanted to know!) and a lovely Indian turqoise scarf for me. I am deeply touched and feel so loved and looked after. How could I not send the love back?

Pam from The Cooking Ninja, as well as Sunita from my favourite Sunita’s World, were simultaneously asking after me for any gifts I wanted. How nice of them!

But like Sunita, I believe homemade gifts are the best. You put the most thought and effort into them (sometimes I bloody slice a finger off for it, or scar my arm on the oven for life, ya know). A lot of ‘you’ goes into it and it means more, I’m sure, to the person receiving it to see that extra special-ness in a gift homemade by you rather than something storebought that gets bought up by a million other people. I do believe gifts handpicked from the store are great too but anything homemade is always just a step further in being more lovely, now don’t you think? And so, dearest Deeba, Happy Belated Birthday! Here are my OREO truffles for you!

Deeba’s, all wrapped up – pretty in pink

I did bring some extra truffles to FBC and those lucky few who tasted it, if you liked it, yay for me. If you didn’t, oh no! But don’t be afraid to send some constructive feedback my way as I’ve much to learn.

Ever since I stumbled upon Bakerella’s website, I have constantly played with the idea of making the gorgeous cake pops and candy I’ve ogled at so much. Bakerella’s a bit of sweetie goddess. Her truffles (you’ll find the recipe if you click here) were super easy to make and beautiful to look at. I loved it. Will definitely be making these again and again whenever there’s an occasion that calls for it and I’m hoping to experiment with other sorts of fillings. Careful though, as they’re quite addictive, what with being so bite-size and all. This is me, venturing into the chocolate/candy-making arena. Woot woot. How exciting. Makes me happy just talking about it now.

Naked truffles – pre-coated with candy coating

Just a bit about the truffles before I move on to FBC, remember to use candy coating or white chocolate flavoured coating instead of white chocolate itself. Using melting/baking chocolate will not set the truffles unless you put them in the fridge. But once you remove them, they’ll start to melt a little or between your fingers when you touch and hold them. Try to get candy coating or chocolate bark which is the best thing to use when making chocolates and candies. Can’t seem to find them? Try the cookie craft shop – can’t for the life of me remember the exact name of the shop off my head right now – but if you venture onto my Bake Shop page, you’ll find the link to their online shop there. For the pink ones, I’ve used Wilton’s Candy Melts in Rosa. Wilton’s is a little stiffer when melted so you get lovely little peaks and troughs when coating. I made the white ones with Squires Kitchen Easy Melt White Coating which produces a smoother, more drippy and liquid-y coating mixture. Hence, you’ll notice the white truffles are a lot rounder with less peaks and troughs. If you swirl the tops, they do tend to set with the swirls on but less noticeable than Wilton’s. Both products I found were lovely and tasted good, producing two types of looks which I think will come in very handy for future chocolate making.

Also, Bakerella says to use 8oz. softened cream cheese and 1 package of OREO cookies. I’m not sure if the US packs them cookies differently from the UK manufacturers but I found that I used 2 tubes of cookies (14 cookies in total), about 3/4 of the cream centers in total and just less than 1 pack of cream cheese. I chucked the rest of the cream centers as I didn’t want my truffle filling too sweet or as sweet as the candy coating itself. Not everyone’s as brave as I am with sugar. My Mum for one isn’t as she always complains about the things I make, so just be a little careful there with the cream centers.

It wouldn’t have felt right going to FBC, which was held at Levant Restaurant on Wigmore Street here in London, empty-handed. What else did I contribute? If you know my current predicament – no oven – you’d understand that I couldn’t bake anything and that’s not for lack of trying. The girls on Twitter went wild when I posted about LOLA’s November Flavour of the Month – Toblerone. I initially offered to get a few for the girls to take home but our breakfast club was rapidly expanding and not one to step on anyone’s toes for lack of sugary treats, I decided to order a box of mini cupcakes so everyone at FBC could have a taste of the latest flavour, their classic vanilla and my top favourite and love of my life – Red Velvet. And then, the RSVP list for FBC was expanding loads too so I emailed the lovely lady who’d I’d kept in contact with from LOLA’s and asked about a bigger order.

Courtesy of LOLA’s, we had 3 boxes of beautifully decorated and fairytale-like, glittered mini cupcakes sent to Levant for our enjoyment. Thank you LOLA’s! The cupcakes were gorgeous and I think everyone who had one were very impressed. Certainly, with the Toblerone cupcakes. I found myself standing by the table of cupcakes for a little bit explaining how LOLA’s had designed the Toblerone cupcakes, using Toblerone chocolate to make the cake and then white chocolate to make the ganache. You should have seen the faces, lips smeared a little with buttercream or white chocolate ganache frosting, break into grins after hearing that. I even know a few foodies who headed to Selfridges after the conference to stock up on some cupcakes! Wish I’d done so but the rain made me a little grumpy about trudging down the cobbled street in heels and a gia-normous bag full of yummy goodies.

I’ve never eaten edible glitter. Oh shoot me now, don’t I sound like an idiot? But goodness me, the thought of eating glitter itself sent me a notch higher up the sugar scale! I was well chuffed. Period.

FBC was amazing. Hosted by Jamie from Life’s a Feast, Hilda from Saffron & Blueberry, Beth from Dirty Kitchen Secrets and Mowie from Mowielicious, the event was a real success and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. A big thank you to all of them. Also, learned so much from the awesome bloggers and photographers who presented at the conference: such as Jamie, Jeanne from Cook Sister! (who has a wicked sense of humour!), Kang from LondonEater, and Meeta of What’s For Lunch, Honey?

Kang gave some fab tips on food photography. I think I understand my camera a little more now. But whether or not that’ll induce better pictures from me, I’m still pretty unsure about that so don’t get your hopes up, kiddo. It was great to finally meet the man behind the very successful LondonEater as well. Meeta was so bubbly and her presentation was a joy to listen to. I took notes! Yes I did. Check me out.

Finally got to meet the Twitter Breakfast Club too and we totally hit it off as though we were old friends. No shit about me being the baby of the group either. They were just my cyber mammees and daddees (if that applies to you Alessio ) Met Nic of Cherrapeno, Sarah of Maison Cupcake (your red hair rocks!), Alessio of Recipe Taster, Pam of The Cooking Ninja (I teased her for being unfriendly on Twitter when really, she just didn’t understand how it worked), Claire of Colloquial Cooking, Kerrin of MyKugelhopf (who has a sweet tooth the size of China, hello this woman’s amazing) and some other new foodies I discovered.

Completing our Lebanese lunch with a LOLA’s cupcake

We were all really excited about meeting each other. Upon entering Levant, which is beautifully decorated and scented by the way (you gotta go down the stairs which is illuminated by scented candles and rose petals in plates of water), you see everyone hugging, cheek-kissing, waving, blowing air kisses, etc. So much squealing, talking and hugging. It was fantastic! And of course, lots of food goodies being passed around. I was pretty delirious with happiness by the time I’d just set my bag down on the floor after spotting Sunita and Deeba.

The lunch was very delicious. I really liked the halloumi cheese on tomatoes, the falafel was especially good. Some said the size of it was too huge, but not a problem there for me. Not at all! There was a particular dish, don’t know what it was, but it was one with loads of nuts in it. That was out of this world. Only thing is, it gave me a garlic breath that was equally out of this world. Not great for saying hello to new foodie friends. Surely, they didn’t want my well-practised firm handshake and a ‘Hello, pleasure to meet you’ to end all hellos?

We all got on fine nevertheless. So, free love all around and garlic breath all around. Spread the joy of food and care not about silly things like the latter. Time passed quite quickly and before we knew it, FBC was over. We had goodie bags with Maldon salts, olives, West Country cheese, unearthed pannetone (had one this morning with a cup of tea and wow, very yummy), and some other exciting stuff. Yes, we were sent home with food. If I didn’t already feel like the young one of the group, if I weren’t already called the ‘Dancing Diva’, I’d have done a little happy dance right there with my ‘Dirty Kitchen Secrets’ goodie bag. But nah, I pass.

the wonderful bunch who inspire me

The night ended with dinner with a small group of us at Vivat Bacchus near London Bridge. Food was very nice. The wine even nicer. Pam had a hilarious little flirt with the waiter who took our coats. Goodness! Much banter, giggles, and laughter. Some stories and words of wisdom were shared. And the whole experience was something I’m very glad I didn’t miss. I have loads to learn and these lovely people have inspired me much. Despite being on the food blogosphere since 2005, I’ve nearly abandoned it for long periods of time a couple of times. And being a young high-schooler to college kid, I didn’t have the money, time, or kitchen space to explore much. But The Sugar Bar has grown quite a lot and I’ll continue to expand its horizons and test the waters out there! Watch me.

What about the foodie friends I’ve made? Bless them all! They are awesome and just talking about them, waking up to tweet with them puts a smile on my face and chases away any Monday/morning blues.

P/S. We somehow have also set up, not just friendships, but an international shopping community. Networking and globalisation sure has brilliant benefits

Big hugs to all I’ve finally gotten to meet and the new ones I met. It was a joy and I’m excited to keep in touch with everyone. Bisous!

And a final thank you to LOLA’s Cupcakes for sending us their lovely cupcakes to taste. They were little bits of heaven for us, for me definitely, and for FBC 09 I’m sure!

I promised a big red velvet feature after a previous Cupcake von Tease post. And I had meant for this feature to be quite a big one but the week’s kinda got a little busier, a little more hectic with deadlines and other exciting posts that clamoured to the top and pushed this red velvet feature down to the bottom.

And when a friend and I finally made it to the bakery – we trekked all across London just for these babies, it was a horribly dreary, wet, windy day and our cupcakes and cakes nearly got squished and ruined on the journey back. We would’ve liked to sit in and enjoy these, savour the glorious moment but the Portobello shop isn’t as big as the one in Kensington. Expect to be trampled upon by other cupcake fanatics and tourists visiting the area. It ain’t very pleasant but I’m not complaining now that I have red velvet in the fridge, good for a few days of sugar cravings and cream cheese daydreams.

The red velvet once again didn’t let me down. It’s still pretty much one of the best I’ve tasted – the frosting is great but I particularly love the cake bit as it’s hard to get this taste right!

•••

So what’s this about Diva Talks?

Some of you may have noticed that my blog’s gradually changing and I’m talking a little more about myself. I’ve tried to give the blog more of a personality. It’s less about just putting up recipes that I’ve experimented with or tried. And as I now have no oven to work with, I’m venturing more into the cooking arena and will be, I hope with much diligence, attempting sweets and chocolates those sorta things that have no need for a convection oven. I’m more of a baker than a cook – I think being a little OCD means using the right measurements down to 1/4 tsp gives me a great sense of security and achievement at the same time unlike the free-and-easy ways of general cooking. But that means I get to have more fun this year. So bear with me, those who know that my blog prefers to experiment more with the sweet rather than savoury – hence the name: The Sugar Bar.

Nevertheless, that’s not really what I’ve been wanting to share. The past summer went by quite painfully for me. I’m not one to really talk about personal issues publicly (nor with anyone else really except with my very close girlfriends) but I went through a heartbreak that totally caught me by surprise. I mean boy, it was tough. Like the boys I meet, they can never bring themselves to spit out what exactly they’re thinking so I took hold of the reigns, grabbed him by his balls and said it like it was. They always say that women are stronger but I find sometimes that’s a real contentious thought. I think we’re just cleverer and to-the-point when needs be. So I broke it off. But somehow it felt worse that I’d done it because that wasn’t what I wanted. It was something he couldn’t deal with because he was afraid and wanted to crawl back into his shell and find comfort in his own little hole. Fair enough. I liked him enough, adored him to pieces in fact, to let him go. Said ‘goodbye and go’. Cried myself to sleep. Woke up the next day and continued to pretend like it hadn’t affected me at all.

We parted ways. And the friendship now is pretty shaky I believe. Give it time and I know things will be alright. But a couple of months before now, and when I first returned to England to settle down in my new pad in London, you can imagine how dead I was inside. Everything about London screamed at me : you were meant to be here with him, enjoying your favourite season of the year, watching spring turn to fall and anticipating an amazing Christmas together. Obviously, that was me being sulky and I had a hard time trying to enjoy myself here. Although I did in time to come. And believe me, I really do now! I didn’t really let it out of me proper. Even when I met up with him to get my stuff back, I couldn’t sob about it like I wanted to and that’s just me I know.

At the bus station, we said goodbye with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. But the whole 30 minutes that I saw him, I knew every second was just a second I wanted to disappear. Although disappearing wouldn’t have made anything better, or made any difference to the status quo, it was just that – it wouldn’t matter, as he was treating me like our relationship had never existed. Non-acknowledgement of my existence in his life. And that was the most cruel stab I could endure I believe. No one has ever done that to me before. Even the term ‘friendship’ suddenly became a joke to me. Our friendship, our great banter, the laughs and cheeky grins in that 30 minutes reminded me of the real stuff we used to have before the shit hit the ceiling and now it was all quite ridiculous. Like a charade, like something we had to perform.

It’s taken a while and a good, a real good, let-it-all-out cry at my bestfriend’s for me to realize I hadn’t really let go, or gotten over it as I’d kid myself into believing. And now, even though I’m still hurting, I feel like I can dust off my bum, smudge some rouge on my cheeks and offer a fresh face to the world. I can brave it out there again.

And why this has anything at all to do with my foodblog and hence, gain a right to be on this page at all, is because I was finding it hard to write like I normally did. I used to sing (pretend) I was a rockstar in my bedroom. I did it regularly for a laugh and because I really enjoyed it. I used to write all the time, because I found a great pleasure in giving birth to my little literary works. But the summer killed me a little and I found no inspiration for anything. It was like someone pulled the carpet from beneath me and put the stops to everything. Nothing came from me, I offered nothing to the world. Part of me felt like I had to completely deny myself of the normal outlets of release, of anything I took joy in. And it seemed part of me wanted to deny myself food which was a truly bad way of attempting to take control of one’s life. I went shopping, I indulged and milked my heartbreak for whatever it was worth. Even fashion and the usual quirky photography I took so much joy in couldn’t fire me up. Couldn’t feel satisfied, however much I tried. But I remembered my blog and it gave me a breather, a different avenue to unleash.

The girls on Twitter who I met and started to communicate with on a daily basis made it a lot easier as well. And getting to know fellow so Spiffy, whom I adore for her courage and ballsy attitude, told me to pull my socks up, get a grip and snap out of this dream-state that was slowly eating me away and robbing me of my usual creativity and vivaciousness. The girls, whom I call the Twitter Breakfast Club, were chirpy and lively every morning. They chatted about anything and everything – from food, to shoes, to love handles, to children, to being happy. And before I knew it, I started to realize I was looking forward to getting up in the mornings. My wake-up alarm got shifted from a disgusting 10.30am to an 8am just so I could get a quick chat in with the girls. They’re mothers (and fathers, don’t worry I haven’t forgotten you boys!)and a little older than me, but wiser and still as cool and quick as a whiplash. How could I not enjoy the wicked banter and intellectual conversations I have with them? I’ll be meeting some of them at the first ever UK Food Blogger Connect conference and I’m so excited about it! We’ll be sure to have such fun.

The close few girls I keep in touch with, if anything, have un-deadified me. They inspire me and always make me feel like I had so much to offer. A lot of love shared on Twitter.

And so yes, I have taken a step out of my coffin and found my mojo back.

These girls are amazing and so Spiffy is like my light at the end of the tunnel. My bestfriends from uni have also been real troopers listening to me rant, offering me a shoulder to cry on and giving me time to deal with things. I don’t like talking about it but now that I’ve changed my phone to leave the past in the old, I now find that this post must be something I have to do to wash it all away. I don’t need to start again as I love everything of my past and everything that has happen. God plans it all according to his greater plan and I do not regret nor hold grudges against anyone for anything. I am just thankful that I have now opened my eyes and said goodbye to some unhappiness at least.

I have always been thought of as the strongest girl out of the lot. The half-girl half-boy for being so nonchalant and a little cold, if you dare. But I know I’m not. If anything I’m the fieriest of the lot because I have passion that’s brimming (a little too hot to handle, LOL) and I have to hold that back a little so I don’t go mental. And I can now feel that passion in me again. I’ve started writing and I’ve definitely found it in me to start singing and screeching like a mad git in my own bedroom to AC/DC, Lady Gaga, System of a Down, Stereophonics, etc. Booyah. I’m back.

And I intend to make sure everyone knows it. Even if he can’t see me, that’s fine. We got to take charge of our own lives and get up when we fall down. Blame no one for your mistakes, for your upsetting times, and definitely not for your broken hearts. Grab the reigns of your life, look the bull in the eye, get ballsy and face the music. Get mending.

Oh yea.

Cupcakes healed me too.

First, a big thank you to Forever Better, Míele’s PR Company, for inviting me to this event and another thank you to Cherry (she and Lauren liases with the invitees) who is the sweetest person ever. I’m glad I could make it down to the BBC Good Food Show this time round as I had deadlines to meet last year and missed out on all the great foodie shows and tastings. After Saturday, I’m tempted to book my tickets for the next Good Food Show in the Birmingham NEC come summer as that promises to be an even more taste-blowing event.

An experience never to be forgotten and one I’ll always remember by from the puddings we tasted, one of which I was unable to get a photograph of because my camera decided to give up on me shortly before we sampled it. [*I do apologise for that. If I'd been more prepared for low battery, I would have more pictures on of the other things I sampled and stalls visited] But I’ll get to the food we nommed on for lunch later.

There was much going on with the Masterchef Theatre, the Cookery Experience, the Invention Test and all the time, celeb chefs like James Martin, Michel Roux Jr, Theo Randall, etc. were bouncing back and forth between these shows. On the main stall floor, the famous Harumi Kurihara was giving live demonstrations; sushi academy masterclasses, kitchen knife skills by Marianne Lumb (who we bumped into in the ladies!!), sugar roses classes by Phil Usher, cupcakes classes by Squire’s Kitchen and even duck carving were amongst the activities or classes you could take part in. So much to see, so much to sample, so much to enjoy – it’s no wonder the BBC Good Food Show was spread over 3 days 13-15th November. As much as I enjoyed the whole day-out at the Olympia Grand Hall soaking up this splendid experience, I was sorry that there was too much to do within a single day and unfortunately missed quite a few exciting classes like the cupcake and sugar roses demos.

Nonetheless, I was thrilled to have seen the Masterchef hosts John Torode and Gregg Wallace. They are hilarious! So were the Plenty ladies Brenda and Audrey who were right mental! And the previous winners from Masterchef – Steve Groves (whom I adore to pieces) and Mat Follas were there at the Invention Test as judges. A surprise last contestant was James Martin, who appeared a few minutes late much to everyone’s delight. A giant roar from the audience, a squeal from both Anne of Anne’s Kitchen and Sunita of Sunita’s World, (and I’m so glad I finally got to meet these 2 gorgeous foodbloggers! A little starstruck but they were so sweet and easy-going) and an unashamed catcall from yours truly. What? That man’s so loveable and dishy, if a tad bit chubby.

Andi Peters interviewing Steve Groves & Mat Follas

Invention Test was a joy to watch and many of the contestants whipped up – in a stressful 30minutes – some very tasty looking dishes from prawn curry, to vietnamese-inspired pancake to a hearty penna pasta dish using the key ingredients given to them: prawns, pork, pears, etc. Anne, Sunita and I had cowardly turned down the invitation. Being stared at whilst cooking, cooking under a blinding spotlight, cooking against the clock and knowing that this is a competition would’ve gotten to me. Something bad would’ve happened – like setting my hair on fire, scalding everyone around me, chopping a finger off. It wouldn’t be pretty and the whole event might end with a heart attack and me being rushed to the hospital in a half-charred state. I don’t do well under pressure when it comes to the kitchen and small working spaces. But at the end of the show, Sunita was having regrets of not having accepted the challenge and blimey, do I adore her more for it! What a gutsy foodie! I shall need to learn to be more courageous like her.

Plenty ladies Brenda & Audrey having a laugh

As much as I had a great time with the Masterchef Invention Test, what totally made my day was wondering about all the stalls, especially the Great Taste Awards section. So let’s have a look at some of the stalls we visited. There were too many stalls to see, both on the ground level and the floor up. We certainly didn’t get to look at everything but what we did see, we liked very much!

Crabbies 4% alcohol Ginger Beer – this is great. Very crisp and refreshing. Perfect with a slice of lemon. You can find this in Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and even your local Wetherspoon’s most likely! These were going for 3 bottles for a fiver and The Angel in Islington will offer you it for nearly £3 a bottle. I’d definitely be getting this for summertime barbies and I’m tempted to get a bottle of this for ginger beer battered fish and chips. Savvy?

Rachel’s Organic Yoghurt – I’ve always try to keep a tub of Rachel’s Greek Yoghurt with Honey or the Rhubarb Yoghurt in my fridge as they taste so good, one of the creamiest low fat yoghurts available in shops and are a great way to jazz up a fruit medley pudding. The new toffee & milk chocolate flavours are great. Toffee is a real winner and doesn’t have that sickly weird colour that toffee “flavoured” yoghurts usually do. A hefty creamy white yoghurt, yum yum.

Tropical Sun’s plantain chips – my first time tasting plantain and I really liked them! Good crunch, looked like banana chips but without the sweetness of it. Very more-ish.

Kikkoman and some live cooking demos – available is Kikkoman’s range of sauces, soy sauces, marinades and a counter for demos. Unfortunately, we just missed it and didn’t get to taste any of the teriyaki chicken that were snapped up in a flash.

Laverstock Park Farm and their offerings of buffalo burgers, ice cream, mozzarella cheese and lagers – you can find most of their products in Waitrose and I’ll definitely be popping into my local Waitrose for the mozzarella made from water buffalo milk. The creamiest, softest and most delicate oozy mozzarella that still holds up well. The buffalo milk is supposed to make this mozzarello firmer but not too firm. I like this a lot! And you’ll be pleased to know that their products are free-range as their buffalos have had a great life grazing on open pastures except in the cold winter.

Eudoro’s porchetta, prosciutto and cheeses – quality meats here are food porn at its best. The cheeses are beautiful to look at and Anne had a taste of the gargonzola. I would’ve loved to takeaway a porchetta panini for dinner that night but somehow backed out. Why did I do such a silly thing?! Regrets.

Yum Yum Tree Fudge – beautiful handmade fudge from Suffolk made from British sugar in a wide range of creative flavours like chili chocolate, lime & coconut, cappucino, lavender, mint chocolate, lemon bon bon, raspberry, etc. Check out their website for more at www.yumyumtreefudge.com

Ethiopian Coffee Company – we didn’t get any coffee although I bet we needed it, surely. This stall smelt amazing.

There were too many stalls to visit in just a day and too much eating and gawking!

•••

Our Restaurant Experience lunch in tapas-sized portions. Restaurants at the show were the Blue Elephant, Roast, Café Spice Namaste, Launceston Place, Skylon, Boxwood Cafe, Theo Randall at The InteContinental, Min Jiang (a new comer to the GFS), Urban Caprice and the MasterChef Restaurant featuring dishes from winners Thomasina Miers, Steven Groves, James Nathan and Mat Follas.

Theo Randall at The InterContinental: Cape Sante – Panfried Scallops with Pancetta, Red Chili, Rocket & Lentils

The Masterchef Restaurant: Mat Follas’s Lavender Mousse with Hokey Pokey and Berry Sauce

The Masterchef Restaurant: James Nathan’s Chocolate & Orange Sponge Pudding

My Shopping Haul:

I love fudge. I think Sunita got 2 bags for her family. I got 1 for a lemon-fanatic friend who was visiting that evening and 3 for myself. Who’s greedy?

Yum Yum Tree Fudge: A medley of flavours – lavender, mint chocolate, lemon bon bon

Mr. Vikki’s Tomato & Nigella chutney, Plum-infused Sake, WARRE’s 10 year tawny Port, Fruits of the Forest Balsamic Glaze

WARRE’s port wine was very impressive, especially the 25 year aged vintage but going at £25 a pop, I wasn’t too eager to split with that kind of money despite the port being very rich, dark and smooth. Hey! It’s the recession. We gotta be wise about things like that, eh. I settled for the 10 year aged that was also very lovely but going for only a tenner! Whey. Talk about Diva doing bargain shopping.

At Apulia Blends stall, I was blown away by their selection of extra virgin olive oils, the apple balsamic vinegar and the fruity glazes. I do love a good balsamic vinegar but I’ve never ever bothered with balsamic glaze. A taste and I was sold. Tempt me with ideas of pouring these glazes on ice cream – I’m sold even more. This forest fruit one was going for £6.50 a bottle which in my opinion, is worth every penny. The shocking thing, however, was that I found the same bottle at the Shoreditch Food Hall just round the corner from my pad being sold for a quid cheaper. Who knew?

Really delicious apple balsamic vinegar at nearly £12/bottle

I’m a loyal customer of Japan Centre as they have the best and biggest range of Japanese groceries I could possibly ever need away from home. Part of the Oishi JAPAN exhibition by Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries participants, I was happy to find them plugging a good couple of bottles of sake amongst other kuramotos (sake makers). Tasted some very nice junmai daiginjo, a citrus flavoured sake, some sochu and this wonderful plum-infused sake I couldn’t resist. I love my sake warm and drinking it traditionally from those cute wooden square boxes is always a treat but this plum-infused baby was very lovely drunk cold.

And what about the chutney? There were many stalls selling chutney and it was hard to choose what to taste and where to taste but Mr Vikki’s caught out eye with their huge array of bottle reds (and I mean chutney, not wine). Arranged from the mildest to the hottest, we were glad we started at the bottom of the range in heat – Tomato & Nigella. I do love spicy chutneys but I’m not great at taking the heat as I dislike the tongue-numbing sensation after which always worries me that I’m losing my tastebuds! The guys at Mr Vikki’s were very friendly and my favourites were the Tomato & Nigella and Chili Jam. And to top it all, they were part of the Great Taste Awards section. Winners they are.

I had a great time with Sunita and Anne! The BBC Good Food Show totally made my weekend although I was so knackered after like never before. Took me all of Sunday to spring back to my normal self. I’ve also started writing down a few recipes I’ll be testing with the new ingredients I’ve got so do come visit again for more exciting posts! I have some sweets and main dishes up my sleeve in the coming weeks to come.

Hope everyone had a fab weekend. Have a good week ahead and only 11 days to London Food Blogger Connect!

Always looking and envying and never doing it myself, I thought it was about time I got involved in the famous Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24. And I did!

Because ‘24, 24, 24’ is a global food event covering 24 meals on 24 blogs in 24 hours, tasting Italian-accented modern cuisine in the heart of the busy, cosmopolitan and stylish London city’s Mayfair seemed like the perfect idea. Dinner is a special event and amongst my girlfriends and I, it is a wonderful ritual comprising getting excited, getting dressed up, and savouring the eating moments and banter. It is a time where our greatest memories occur and the worries of the week melt away. And I couldn’t think of anywhere better to take my bestie for her birthday dinner than Murano.

Murano comes under the Gordon Ramsay Holdings umbrella but is run by executive chef Angela Hartnett. Having worked frequently with celebrity chef and my bestie’s crush-of-her-life Gordon Ramsay, Hartnett is one of Britain’s best-loved female chefs. My bestie Anna is all about good food and she’s a great cook, whipping up amazing Sunday roasts or delicious lasagnes without really thinking about it. A great female chef, a bestie who’s great with food – it was just all falling together and I thought it would be a lovely treat for my bestie’s 22nd birthday. And what an experience it was – for the both of us. 

Murano recently won a Michelin star in 2009 and offers a menu of Hartnett’s trademark Italian cuisine with a modern twist. Sounds amazing doesn’t it? And it was! We went for the a la carte 3 course menu and never looked back. It was gorgeous but I’ll let the pictures do the talking for the food.

The restaurant’s pretty small but very stylishly decorated. There’s even a little window where you can look into the kitchen and see the chefs at work. You can also request for a kitchen tour but make sure you do it quick as the head chef leaves (which means the kitchen shuts for visitors) at 10.30pm. Upon entering, the waiting staff attend to you very quickly and are so welcoming and friendly. They take your coats off and tuck them away somewhere you can’t see and if you’re early for your reservation, are prompt to serve you any drink you desire, customized or no. And everything is done stylishly, with great precision and utmost suaveness. What I really liked about the staff was their willingness to chat to you, crack a joke or have a little laugh. Nothing other than a bit of friendliness to let you completely relax into the comforting candlelit interiors of Murano and forget about the week’s worries. The waiting staff are so very attentive and give great attention to detail. Whether its getting your napkin correctly placed on your lap, waiting for your return from the ladies, or serving the polenta accompaniment to your main or the pouring warm custard over your pudding, it’s all done with such smoothness, quiet confidence and care that one feels in an almost surreal, dream-like state. 

The whole meal lasted 2 hours 45 mins which is typical of an Italian meal. Definitely one of the longest meals we’ve ever had but now, less typing and more food ogling. And oh yea, apart from service and good-looking food, have I forgotten to mention that this was impeccable standard of cooking?!

Drinks

Gin & Tonic – made with Tanqueray London Dry Gin and Fever-Tree Indian Tonic Water

Italian White from Abruzzo – Pecorino, “Colle dei Venti”, Caldora

Amuse-gueule

Olives – delicious giant olives which were a deep avocado-green, a telling sign that these were very fresh

Fresh bread, pane carasau, shaved ham & salami with extra virgin olive oil so good we’d never tasted anything quite as dreamy as that

Arancini – fried rice balls subtly flavoured with white truffle and coated with breadcrumbs

Starters

Scottish sea scallops, apple and cucumber salsa, pata negra, caper berry purée – beautiful scallops that were just of a melt-in-your-mouth consistency in the middle with hints of the sea

Hand-rolled cavatelli with braised rabbit leg, confit tomatoes, niçoise olives – first time tasting rabbit and I adored it. Wasn’t as gamey as I expected it to taste. So soft and tender!

Mains

Roasted turbot, Cromer crab ravioli, apple purée, smoked eel and horseradish velouté (Supplement £5) – simply cooked to perfection with all the flavours working brilliantly together. The velouté came in a small potion-like jar frothed and bubbly.

Red leg partridge, truffle polenta, braised leg roasted ceps, curly kale – a beautifully presented dish that tasted so much more than it looked. Totally opened a new dimension of taste for me and the polenta was simply gorgeous with the succulent partridge

Desserts

Selection of sorbets: Chocolate Banana, Blueberry & Crème Fraîche, Mango, Basil, Earl Grey, Guava, Chocolate Orange, Pomegrenate & Cranberry – we finished with the basil as it was a lot stronger than the other flavours and a great way to cleanse the palate; Anna’s fav? Chocolate Banana & Basil. My fav? Earl Grey & Basil. Yummy.

Pear and chocolate millefeuille, warm custard, rosemary sorbet – Wonderful custard done right and the pastry was perfectly cooked. The sorbet was delicious and it was dessert perfection really. I loved how Anna ate this so daintily too, especially when I just dug into mine and was licking and sucking the spoon to get every bit of chocolate.

Pistachio soufflé, warm chocolate sauce and macaroon – warm chocolate sauce or hot chocolate as the waitress called it really made the soufflé. I felt like a child all happy about pudding but this was one of the best parts of the meal. I love pistachio and the flavour of this was just awesome paired with chocolate. Macarons were a great bonus too!

Lemon Tart – complementary of the kitchen. This tart was like tarte au citron but it was brûlée-d at the top. And the lemon filling was less firm and resembled lemon curd more. It was so delicious and a real effort to polish off judging from how full we were by the end of the meal.

Petit fours: Selection of chocolates, candies and truffles. 

So delicious. So beautiful. And we were stuffed, satisfied and over the moon with giant bellies to boot.

And as promised, here are our VERY EMBARRASSING videos of ourselves. Sorry if we weren’t exactly eloquent. We were so tired and sleepy post-dinner it was hard to be more intelligible than we were then.

Anna’s Review ‘Come Dine with Me’ Style

Kid Diva’s Final Words

We have had the most amazing meal and night of our lives I do believe and I can only thank Foodbuzz and Visa Signature for making this possible. So pleased we had this opportunity to visit Murano, a restaurant producing high standards of food and service. And not just that, the whole experience was simply divine. We would be happy to return any time (when the bellies are less full and the pockets are more full) for the lunch, dinner service or Chef’s special tasting menu.

Murano
20 Queen Street
London
W1J 5PP
T: 020 7592 1222
F: 020 7592 1213
murano@gordonramsay.com

I don’t quite get the names of these cupcakes (I’m thinking they’re called self-frosting cause the Nutella cooks on the top and becomes some kind of frosting) but they’re well popular and seeing how many foodies rave about these Donna Hay cupcakes, my interest was piqued. My sister Abs was eager to try them too since one of her mates had made them a while ago and from her blog, the cupcakes were 100% food porn and gloriously Nutella-y. Who could turn those down? And how could I say no to Abs who was having major Nutella/sugar/cupcakes craving issues?

The cupcakes were definitely pretty to look at being all swirly and cute. Definitely had the taste factor going on but it was pretty obvious these cupcakes were buttery to the max. A lot of fat to flour makes these cupcakes uber rich but I loved that they didn’t have that eggy smell and taste of my all-time favourite Magnolia cupcake recipe. I really love Magnolia recipes but sometimes the egg scent is a little overpowering. These Nutella cupcakes were scrumptious. However, left in an airtight container overnight, the cupcakes got very greasy and the cupcake liners were completely soaked through. Not exactly a pretty sight and totally did nothing to quell the guilt of eating a cupcake! Would certainly recommend eating them all warm when they’re baked fresh and fairly non-grease-oozey. Might’ve been the awful summer heat that ruined these cupcakes a little for me, although the rest of the family didn’t really seem to mind. So, might’ve just been me! 

Nevertheless, these cupcakes were still a joy to have around. Simple to make, rather rustic looking; they were perfect for pudding to close a meal or a teatime snack.

Self-frosting Nutella Cupcakes
(Recipe from Baking Bites)
Ingredients

 140g butter, softened
1 3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup caster sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
Nutella

Preheat oven to 160d Celsius.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Whisk to combine.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy about 2 mins. Add the eggs one at a time and beat til fully incorporated. Add vanilla and mix in.

Mix in the flour mixture until no flour remains. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full then add about 2 tsp Nutella on top and swirl with a toothpick. Alternatively, fill the cupcake liners 1/2 full with cupcake batter, drop in a tsp of Nutella, fill with a little more batter til 2/3 full and swirl the tops with a dollop of Nutella!

Bake for 20mins. Thereafter, let cool completely on a wire rack.
Recipe yields a dozen cupcakes.

•••

I had a nice surprise yesterday from zurin of Cherry on a Cake. It was very sweet of her to pass on a blog award – Iheartyourblog – and considering I’ve been awfully crabby lately, this did much to turn my day around! Although it seems quite self-indulgent to bang on about myself just cause I’ve received an award, this one actually demands that you answer a few questions, add one to the list and then pass it on. Fun. So getting to it…

What is your current obsession?
Imagawayaki (今川焼き). You don’t find these awesome anko-filled cakes in England so I’m making sure that I eat as many as these as I can whilst on my summer hols.

What are you wearing today?
It’s blob-style lounging day so I’m in a scruffy red American Eagle tee and a ripped up pair of denim shorts. Not exciting. Did I mention I haven’t brushed my hair either?

What’s for dinner?
Cranberry & rosemary crusted lamb rack with roast potatoes, vegetables and beans.

What’s the last thing you bought?
Heckloads of Korean face masks, a bag of wine gums, Diet Coke, a loaf of bread and some muesli bars. Wow. Now that that’s written out, is that all I need to exist?

What are you listening to right now?
Attempting to splice the lush sounds of Belleruche and Erykah Badu with punk rock sounds of Anna Tsuchiya.

What do you think about the person who tagged you?
Zurin is the lovely owner of Cherry on a Cake. Her blog is awesome and makes me think of homely comforts and coffees by a warm hearth. She visits my sorry excuse of a blog now and again with encouraging comments so that makes me love her all the more! Check out her triple chocolate layer cheesecake. It’s an art piece and will make you teary just by looking at it!

If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world where would it be?
That’s a hard one since I want to travel all over the world at some point and never settle down. I get the travel itch if I stay at some place for too long. But if I could, I’d like a place to come home to somewhere in the French countryside with lots of Victorian furniture or in Kyoto away from city bustle.

What are your must-haves for summer?
Bikinis, bikinis, bikinis. Denim shorts, Abercrombie tops or some shirts, Raybans, flip flops, ice cream and ice lollies and not to forget…crates of cold beer!

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?
Hamilton Island please. I’d love to have a quick barbie on the beach whilst soaking up the sun and sea. Also would like to meet Ben Southall, tell him what a lucky prick he is and attempt to steal his job from right under his feet.

Which language do you want to learn?
Would like to continue to Intermediate French…it’s just so cool. Or if we’re starting from scratch, then German.

Who do you want to meet right now?
Tom Jones. After his Glastonbury performance, I’m convinced he’s the legend of all legends.

What is your favourite colour?
All greens: matcha green, forest green, etc. except flourescent lime-ish green. 
And royal blue.

What is your favourite piece of clothing in your own closet?
You’d think I’d say all those precious dresses I’ve got kept in dress-protectors or my dirty beige cardigan from All Saints. But nah, it’s a rich emerald green velvet blazer with gold satin lining from GUESS. Definitely bling and hardly fitting of my usual style but it’s gorgeous and never fails to make me feel like a celebrity.

What is your dream job?
Personal shopper by day, owner of one of the fanciest bars in town by night, best-friend of a pastry chef or cake artisan for life for free cakes and pastries. Heh heh.

What is your favourite magazine?
Really depends on my mood since I read different magazines when the moment strikes. I like Vogue and Dazed&Confused, as always; but Noise for creative, eccentric photography; Glamour to appease my cosmetics cravings and The Economist for when I’m feeling curious.

If you had a 100 dollars now what would you spend it on?
An awesome birthday gift for my Mum’s 51st.

What do you consider a fashion faux pas?
Denim shorts, heels and bare legs. Unless you’re trying to pull hill-billy fashion (no offense), then by all means, knock yourself out.

Who are your style icons?
Audrey Hepburn, Lindsay Lohan and Angelina Jolie.

Describe your personal style.
I used to be nuts about following trends until I discovered what worked for me and what didn’t. I like mixing classic ones with the odd punk/rock piece. I just can’t do sophisticated chic without my inner rocker.

What are your favourite movies?
300, Fearless, Sakuran, Spirited Away, Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead.

Give us 3 styling tips that always work for you.
I think it varies from person to person but a) I’m always without my Burt’s Bees lipbalm, nothing like cracked, windburned lips to impress. b) Always go with 1 or 2 out of these 3 if you choose to accessorize: earrings, necklace, bracelets – overkill is highly undesirable in my humble opinion. c) Style over comfort when it comes to shoes. No pain, no gain. You can always have the best foot massage and pedicure afterwards.

Coffee or tea?
Am a tea person through and through but I like the odd black coffee now and again (and on days when I simply cannot keep my eyes open).

What do you do when you are feeling low or depressed?
I need time for myself so I go out for fresh air, with Guns n’ Roses playing on my iPod, stroll about and then crash at a café and mope over a good long black coffee.

What is the meaning of your name?
Davina means beloved; my Chinese name Xin Yi means joyous, tender romance.

Which other blogs do you love visiting?
Some art blogs, and fellow foodies like Manggy’s No Special Effects (very drool-worthy), Marc’s No Recipes (very informative with awesome recipes) and Tartelette, amongst other equally amazing blogs.

Favourite desserts/sweet?
Desserts? No favourite. I heart everything. But maybe I love tiramisu, macarons, opera cake and and my gramma’s taro paste a little more than the others.

Favourite season?
No need to ask – AUTUMN.

Which is your dream destination?
Top favourites so far are Paris and Tokyo. But would love to visit Egypt, South Africa and some deserted island away from civilization at some point. Total relaxation…aaaah.

Which is your favourite international cuisine?
Japanese.

Your favourite kitchen tool?
The wooden spoon. Unpretentious and versatile.

Which kitchen tool or equipment have you wanted for a long time?
An ice cream maker.

Which restaurant would you like to dine in?
Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck for starters.

Zurin’s question: What’s your favourite place in the house?
The patio by the koi pond. It’s well relaxing to sit out there, feet up, with a cold drink, watching the leaves fall from the trees in the wind, listening to the sound of water from the pond. Like a little bit of Zen in my own home.

Now to my question:

What’s the worst or most skin-crawling thing you’ve ever tasted?

Done. The rules of the award are pretty simple. Answer the questions on your own blog, replace one question that you do not like with a question of your own invention and add one of your own at the end. I haven’t replaced any as none of them bothered me. Tag 8 or 10 other people. And of course, link back to the lovely person who gave you the award, not forgetting to leave a comment to those you have given the award to.

I heart many amazing foodblogs out there and there are so many foodbloggers who I aspire to be like in terms of their knowledge of ingredients, culinary skill and photography expertise. Here, I’d like to pass on to 4 newly discovered blogs (sorry I’m not exactly following the rules now am I?) which I absolutely adore. And can I just say their owners are super talented foodies I totally look up to?? I heart their blogs!

Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella
Carolyn of FoodGal
Noobcook
Cakebrain of Cake on the Brain

Is there a stench of rotting and damp in this blogspace? The Sugar Bar has gone all postmortem wrinkly, cold and lifeless. But o’ joy! I am back! And happy to be back. 

A few updates. I am quite bedazzled by my own efficiency. I have printed my language paper and my dissertation – which I printed 2 copies of and had bound at the bindery today after handing over £40!!! oh my life! – 2 days before the deadline! What a relief. I am also happy to say that I intend to revive this blog (whenever I have the time) despite the exams drawing near…wait for it….(drumroll)…because I now am equipped with a new swanky beautiful goddess of a camera. It’s not much, but the Canon Powershot G10 is like a small dream come true for me. It is the yummiest camera I’ve ever ever had in my 21 years and I can’t wait to start fiddling about with it properly to see what this girl can do. So, watch this space. I may not have a lot in the cupboard that’s edible, I may not have a lot of time or disposable income (what income?) to gallivant about the supermarkets for fresh edible food or the sanity left to cook and bake when dire times are just around the corner, ie. final year exams that count massively towards my undergraduate degree, but I do hope to post up as much as I can. Especially since quite a few birthday celebrations are heading my way.

So anyway, important thing is I want to thank all of you who have sent me such nice messages and left comments that really made my day. It was nice to know that there were others out there who were just as upset as I was when I lost my camera. What a grey day that was! Also, cheers to all who also sent me words of encouragement. I can’t believe there were people who bothered at all when all I did was moan, and moan, and then moan a whole lot more, about my dissertation and my sad life (it really isn’t sad at all. I just quite enjoy being melodramatic). 

I’m really glad that’s done and out of the way. I think I experienced 2 little deaths over Easter, from over-eating chocolate, and from my dissertation. And gosh, was I a pain to live with. Crabby, irritable and plagued by dehydration headaches. No doubt, I feel a little lost now that I’m ‘sort of’ finished. But in between handing these essays in and the exam revision, I can’t say if I feel just a little sleepy, a little hungry, a little like I’ve been resuscitated from the dead and so, quite liberated or just not quite with it. If I’m making any sense at all, I’m probably ‘with it’ then, barely. I need to catch up on some sleep. That’s probably it. 

Right, so I really just did drop in for a quick ‘hello’. A revision plan is a must and a top priority for me now. Nevertheless, I will food-post for sure. In fact, I am starving right now. Stay tuned. It may not be party time for me right now, but you can be sure the party times will be around preeeetty soon.

Hope all’s good with you lot. And that Easter was a really good one this year. If anyone, like me, died a little from all that eating, drinking and chocolates – good on ya! Death by chocolate is something I welcome any day, any time. And this is just for Steph: let’s go get ourselves a Party in Our Tummies!!! Fun times…