Late at night, drunk, and i ran out of dark chocolate, so the latest log has a white chocolate buttercream. Lush.

My new Kenwood mixer makes the best buttercream, effortless beating butter to a light cloud of fluff. Mix with melted chocolate for a denser, richer cocoa hit. The sponge is almost a soft meringue, sweet and moist. I want to try this next with a thin layer of vanilla buttercream and the same of raspberry jam as the interior swirl for a fancy effect beneath the chocolate frosting.

Recipe here

Have you ever wondered what to do with lamb breast? They sit there on the shelf, so very very cheaply, little rolled blankets of fat and sweet meat (at least, i imagine lamb as always sweet), mysterious in their trusses and, well, cheapness.

Place rolled meat of a breast in an ovenproof dish (cut to fit, if necessary) with 2 sliced carrots, 2 sliced onions, a sprig of rosemary and a little dried thyme. Go for a snug fit. Pour over a glass of white wine and a glass of water. It is quite possible that i used a cup of chicken stock instead, depending on what i had in the fridge. Season, cover with lid or a close cap of foil and bake in a low oven (140ºC) for 3 hours, basting every 45 minutes, until meat is tender.





It smells very good at this point.

Leave to cool, removing any ribs still attached. Unroll and unfold the leaves of meat and press between two chopping boards, weighted by plates or tins. Don't be overly concerned by the fat in evidence - it will be cooked off again, under a hot grill. Leave overnight in the fridge.



To serve: slice the meat into double-finger width, single-finger length pieces. Brush with a little mustard (dijon or english), dip into beaten egg (you will need 2 eggs) and press firmly into a plate of dried breadcrumbs. This is messy, but relatively quick, and, as most of the work was done yesterday, it still seems like a very quick supper dish.

Arrange on a wire rack in a roasting pan, brush with melted butter if you wish for crispy brown crumb. I didn't bother with this adding-butter stage, feeling that there was quite enough fat in the dish already, so my fingers weren't evenly toasted, but i suspect just as delicious. Put dish in a moderate over for 15 minutes, (180ºC), then toast under a super hot grill until suitably blackened, to taste, turning once.

Serve with tartare sauce and mashed potato. And perhaps green beans.

"Com'on boys" i said, dragging them, whinging, from sacrosanct afternoon play time and persuading them to don shoes and coats for a trip to the supermarket.

"I need to buy a new iron" i explain, to the grumbles.

"I know" says the eldest, unable to resist showing off his ultimate knowledge. "The old iron probably broke when it fell of the table".

"Ahh" i say, with new understanding.



Buttery, lemon-scented Maderia Cake. It won't knock your socks off, but will melt your heart.

400g soft butter
400g caster sugar
7 eggs
450g self-raising flour
4 tablespoons lemon juice

1. Line a 23cm round tin (or 20 cm square tin) with greased, greaseproof paper - base and sides. Pre-heat oven to 160ºC.

2. Place all ingredients in a large bow and beat well until creamy.

3. Pour into the tin, level the surface.

4. Bake until firm to the touch and pulling away from the sides of the tin - about 1 3/4 - 2 hours. Cool in the tin for a short while and remove to a wire rack. Slaver with butter icing or fondant. Will keep well for a week or more, if iced.

The only cooking reference i have for these are some brief notes copied from a book read at a friend's kitchen table - i don't remember which book, or even the name of the cupcakes. I changed the principle flavour from orange to lemon, and swopped a flaked almond topping for a juicier icing.



2 eggs
90g caster sugar
grated zest of 1 lemon
80g gluten-free flour
80g ground almonds

Heat oven to 170ºC.

Whisk the eggs and sugar for 15 minutes (seriously), until thick and foamy.

Add the zest, ground almonds and flour and blend briefly.

Spoon into paper cases, and bake for 22 minutes precisely.

For the icing i added 2 heaped tablespoons of Very Ginger Curd to a batch of plain buttercream. The flavour is citrus with small delicate flashes of heat from stem ginger. The entire batch lasted about 20 minutes from oven to belly.

Red Velvet Cupcakes from The Hummingbird Cookbook, via Joythebaker

These have a good cocoa hit, but with a marvelous light moist texture from the buttermilk. Sweet, soft and subtle .. unlike the colour which can vary from crimson to terracotta. I like the contrast between earthy chocolate and so intense, so white icing.

i have rewritten the recipe with (my) english measurements, or follow the link to Joy's place for more details.

60g unsalted butter, soft
170g vanilla caster sugar
1 egg
2.5 tablespoons cocoa powder
red food colouring - at your own discretion
.5 teaspoon vanilla extract
135g plain four
.5 teaspoon salt

Beat together the butter and sugar, until pale and fluffy. Add the egg and beat rapidly to incorporate. I love how all my cake batters shout the strong bright yellow of my local lady hens.



In a small bowl, mix together the cocoa, vanilla and 3 tablespoons of water. Add a dollop of red colour paste and blend to make a rich mud.





Add the paste to the batter, mix well to distrubute the colour evenly.

Add half the buttermilk, beat at slow speed. The add half the flour and mix to combine. Repeat with the remaining buttermilk and flour, beating until smooth.

Add the baking soda and vinegar and beat for a couple of minutes.





Spoon into 12 cupcake cases, bake at 170ºC for 20-25 minutes until springy and pulled away from the edges of the paper. Allow to sit for 10 minutes, and remove to a cooling rack.



Ice at your leisure, eat quickly before someone else does.

45g soft butter
230g icing sugar, sifted
1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
150g cream cheese

Beat the butter until creamy, add icing sugar and beat, slowly at first, then at a high speed until well blended. Add the cinnamon and icing sugar and beat again, but only until just smooth.

These pictures are not the prettiest, but the result is superb. It is another make-in-a-pan (my favourite kind... i am fundamentally lazy about creaming butter with sugar) cake stuffed with sticky fruit and syrupy stem ginger, keeps well (at least a week) and needs no fancy filling or icing to look spectacular. Lighter than a traditional fruit cake but reeling with healthy fibre it makes an excellent alternative to a (boring but well-intentioned) sponge cake. For a birthday boy i covered this one in chocolate ganache, but a simple dusting of icing sugar would suffice.

Sticky Date Cake (from Fantastic Party Cakes by Mich Turner)

200g dates, stoned
200g unsalted butter
300g dark muscovado sugar
2 eggs
50g chopped stem ginger
grated zest of a lemon
1 tsp vanilla extract
250g bramley apples, grated
200g self raising flour

Preheat oven to 160ºC. Lightly grease a Kugelhopf tin (ideally 20cm, although i only have a 22cm tin, which worked well)

Place the dates in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Melt the butter and sugar together in a saucepan and allow to cool slightly.



Beat the eggs, ginger, lemon zest and vanilla extract into the butter and sugar. Drain the dates and chop finely. Add to the saucepan and mix well.







Stir in the apple and flour, then spoon into the tin and bake in the oven for 1 hour 15 minutes until well risen. A skewer inserted will come out clean-ish.

Leave to cool in the tin.



For the chocolate ganache:

175g dark chocolate, broken into pieces, in a clean dry bowl.
125g fresh double cream

Heat the cream to the boil and pour over the chocolate pieces, stirring until the ganache is smooth and glossy. Pour slowly over the cake, using a flat knife to spread the thick tide of chocolate into every corner.