ENGLISH MUM

Win a Tassimo coffee machine!

We are, dearest reader, a household divided. Nothing new there, you might think – we’re already divided into the pasta haters vs pasta lovers (that’s us three against English Dad), the creamy sauce lovers vs the creamy sauce haters (yup, that’s us three against English Dad too)…  hmmm, there seems to be a pattern emerging.

Anyway, we’re two for two on the tea/coffee debate. I have the largest mug in Christendom (pink Minnie Mouse), which I fill on a fairly regular basis with builder’s tea, liberally topped up with milk. The Mad Prof is a tea lover too, whereas the Death Wish Dude and his Dad are confirmed coffee lovers.

Since we’ve been testing this Tassimo whatnot though, the house has been filled with the delicious smell of coffee, and I’ve even had the odd tongue-scorching, molten lava temperature cup of espresso. I know – not like me at all. It’s like when you really don’t fancy a mince pie, then someone warms one up and you smell it and really want one.

Anyhoo. Digressing. The Tassimo has these little plastic yokes that you pop in and press down on the thingy and then, voila! you get a freshly brewed mug of coffee! No filter papers or coffee grounds or any of that messy stuff. I love it.

Happily, I’ve also got one to give away. Pop over to my Facebook page here and leave me a comment (say hello, say ‘bum’, say whatever you like) on the Tassimo post and you can be entered into the draw. Good luck!

Draw closes Sunday 27th November. No cash alternative. Winner chosen at random.

A Halloween recipe roundup, and win a hamper of baking goodies from Dr Oetker

So who’s baking what for Halloween (or Hallowe’en) then?  My novelty baking skills are somewhat lacking (as evidenced by the debacle that was the spider cake a while back).  I’ve had a look around and here are some of my faves so far:

Asda’s spooky recipes (especially the skeleton gingerbread men)

Sprinkle Bakes’ frankly fabulous ‘batty’ Battenburg cake

Lovely Jam and Cream’s Hallowe’en cupcakes

Lavender and Lovage’s Halloween owls

Annabel Karmel’s ghostly cakes

New Mummy’s Tips’ spider cupcakes

National Baking Week’s spooky cookies

Maison Cupcake’s fabulous chocolate orange bats

Cherished by Me’s spiderweb cakes

Nessa’s Family Kitchen’s selection of Hallowe’en recipes (love the severed fingers best)

Bat and Ghost cookies from The Party Times

Jules’ amazing beetle cupcakes, plus her new beetle forest gateau

Lovely Helen at Aardvark Cakes’ ghostly gifts

Leave a comment telling me which one you like best (or telling about any Halloween recipes I’ve missed – or just say hello if you like) and you’ll be entered into a draw to win all the Dr Oetker baking goodies!

Dr Oetker are also giving away tickets to Cake 2011 via their Facebook page - you can become a fan here.

THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED – THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR  YOUR ENTRIES!

I used the random number generator and the number produced was 14.  The 14th comment appears to be: Beth!  Congrats Beth – email on its way to you

English Mum’s Big Bakeoff: and the winner is…

*Drumroll*

Lisa Brown’s utterly gorgeous Owl and the Pussycat ‘topsy turvey’ cake.  Lisa lives in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria and is ‘an administrator by day but a cake decorator in my spare time’ and wins the fabulous Bush BAFF55161S Frost Free Fridge Freezer in Silver, worth £359.99 courtesy of the lovely chaps at Argos.

Honourable mentions from our poor judge, Arlene, who had such a difficult decision to make, go to:

Carol Smith’s Christening Cake for Lexi and Lacey – The detail on the ‘blankets’ on the two babies is just beautiful. So much work in the details here.

Emily Secker’s Ball of Wool Cake – I really loved this. The strands of yarn are so well made, and that kitty is soo cute! How could you ever cut it??

Claire Willmer’s Mickey Mouse Birthday Cake – What a fantastic cake! Reproducing characters is hard, and this likeness is amazing!

Lou Ellards’ 60th Birthday Cake – A lot of work on each part of this cake: the cushion, the toenails, the cup of tea. I can imagine the real life scene!

Ashleigh Sangster’s Chocolate Cake – Are they all ruffled sheets of chocolate? Er, wow! Again, how could you cut this??

Mary from asmallhandinmine’s Cookie Monster Cupcakes – These made me laugh. They’re great! And definitely worth the unavoidable blue mouth after scoffing the icing!

Sarah from sarahbakes Tow Mater Cake – Lots of work and effort here too, and a terrific replica!

Thank you so much to everyone who took part (you can see all the entries here).  Another bakeoff will be along again shortly!

English Mum’s big bakeoff – the entries

Wow.  There’s been such a massive response to this latest bakeoff that my usual bout of slightly shouty hysteria in collating the results (I’m technologically challenged, okay?) has lasted much longer than normal.  I actually still think I’ve managed to delete one entry, so if you’ve entered and you can’t see your pic, please feel free to email me via the contact form (don’t shout at me, though, I’m delicate).  Still, buoyed by gin and a bit of sweariness, I’m there.  So without further ado, I give you the fabulous entries.  One of which will be winning a Bush BAFF55161S Frost Free Fridge Freezer in Silver, worth £359.99 courtesy of the lovely chaps at Argos.

So now it’s over to our glamorous judge and winner of the last bakeoff, Arlene from The Fuzzy Times.  All devious approaches and offers of bribery should be directed directly to her (I’m keeping out of it), and just in case you were thinking of rubbing me off your Christmas list, I’d just like to point out that I’m not involved in the judging process and the judge’s decision is final.

So sit back, grab a coffee and feast your eyes upon the cakey beauty below (click on the pic to get a bigger image).

What’s your favourite, then?

Cinnamon buns and the Tesco Real Food Challenge

When we were in the incredible Dubai Mall, searching for a place to sit down and have a quick coffee, we stumbled upon a cinnamon bun shop.  The place makes amazing cinnamon buns, very similar to our Chelsea buns, but much more gooey.  I didn’t actually eat one – not like me, but we were about to go on a rollercoaster – but the others were raving, and when I told my American chums on Twitter, they all swooned at the mere mention of the name.

When I got home, I was telling de brevren all about the heavenly smell emanating from these little swirls of delight.  ’Ooh, make them, Mum!’ came the inevitable cry, ‘you have to make them for us!’.  And being in that Saturday afternoon mood for a bit of lazy fiddling about in the kitchen, I set about making an attempt at recreating them (recipe at the bottom).

The Tesco Real Food Challenge

In a happy coincidence, the lovely chaps at Tesco are running a competition in the UK and Ireland to find the best recipes that we all have to suit our moods – whether it be a perfect recipe for breakfast on the go, or the ultimate heartbreak healer (I love that category – it’s got to be chocolate, right?).

I thought I might enter this recipe in the ‘family favourite’ category.   The best recipes are going to be tested by a panel (including my lovely friend Alice from DD’s Diary) and the most exciting news is that the initial competition winners will get to be on the tellybox!  This Autumn, there’ll be a 7 week TV series on Channel 5 and Good Food involving lots of celebs (including de brevren’s techy crush, the gorgeous Suzi Perry), where the lucky few will compete to be crowned Britain’s Best Real Food Cook.

If you fancy entering the competition, check out  www.tescorealfoodchallenge.com.  Every entry is in with a chance to win some great weekly prizes including cameras, a Ragdale Hall health spa break and a residential cookery course with Rosemary Shrager (want!).

So what are you waiting for?  Get entering!  Here’s my entry:

Cinnamon Buns

450g strong white bread flour

1 tsp salt

75g sugar

1 x 7g sachet dried yeast

150ml milk

150ml water

50g butter

For the filling:

170g brown sugar

75g butter, softened

Pinch salt

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp good quality cocoa powder

So for the dough, I just used the same recipe as I use for my squishy iced buns.  Basically just sieve the flour into a large bowl, then stir in the salt, sugar, and dried yeast.  In a small saucepan, warm the milk, water, and butter over a low heat until the butter has just melted, then turn off the heat.  The liquid should be at no more than blood temperature when it’s added to the dry ingredients.  You can do this in the microwave, but remove it as soon as the butter starts to melt and stir gently until it’s all combined, otherwise you’ll be waiting for ages for it to be cool enough.

Pour most of the milky mixture into the dry ingredients and stir it around with a knife until you get a light dough.  Leave it as sticky as you can bear as this will make your dough really plumptiously, pillow-soft.  You can always add a bit of flour.  Now start kneading.  If you need any help, check out my ‘how to knead’ guide.

When you’ve kneaded for about 5 minutes and your dough is springy, soft and – brace yourself, you know I’m going to say it – looks exactly like a nice, round bottom-cheek, cover it with clingfilm and leave it in the airing cupboard or somewhere else warm until it’s doubled in size.

While your dough is proving, make your filling by creaming together all the ingredients.  Put it aside, covered, but not in the fridge.

When the dough is risen, just knock it back with your fist and roll it out into a large rectangle.  Spread over the filling, then roll it up into a long sausage.  Cut into inch/inch and a half slices, and place them flat on a buttered baking tray.  Cover them again for about half an hour until they’re really plump and lovely, then just bake them at gas 5/190 degrees C until golden brown.  They’ll only take about 15/20 minutes.

If you want, you can add a topping (I reckon it’s probably similar to the cream cheese icing that you add to carrot cake).  Fankly, I feel that the buns are already a little heart-attack in the making – but hey, feel free.

If I win, I shall wave regally at you through the telly.  If you win, I shall be throwing rotten veg at the screen.  Just saying.

English Mum’s Big Bakeoff – win a Bush frost free fridge freezer from Argos!

I’ve seen some pretty fabulous cakes recently…. there’s Amy‘s fabulous Xbox cake, made for her husband’s birthday:

And my gorgeous Jen, BFF and maker of our wedding cake, made this fabulous handbag and shoe cake (the detail on the shoe is quite incredible):

And then I was chatting on twitter to the lovely Helen at Aardvark Cakes about how she made her amazing Gruffalo Cake:

… and she even went as far as publishing a tutorial so we can all have a go at making that amazing Gruffalo!

So all this gorgeous baking is making  me think that it’s time for another bakeoff.  Now obviously I’m not expecting Xbox cakes or Gruffalos, but just anything you’ve made yourself that you’re proud of.   Maybe it’s a batch of fairy cakes, or a lovely pie that you made for tea?  Maybe a great loaf of bread or a stonking batch of brownies?

The Rules

As usual, there are very few rules (still sad about the scrapping of the ‘send English Mum a piece of each one’ rule, to be honest):

1. You’ve actually got to bake something (although see below re: sneaky rule breaking)

2. Take a picture

3. Email it to me at english[dot]towers[at]gmail[dot]com or via the contact form at the top of the page, telling me what it is and who you are.  Entries must be received by midnight on the last day of May.

The Cheaty Bits

As usual, sneakiness is encouraged, and any entertaining reason why your entry  should still be considered will be looked upon favourably.  For example, if your trifle is beautiful, but obviously not exactly baked, let me know.  I’m a flexible type and I’ll probably allow it.  No lying though.  Okay, a bit of lying then, but not too much…

Techy Stuff

If you’re a blogger, please link back to this post, and if you’re a tweeter, please use the hashtag #Bigbakeoff - you can find Argos on Twitter here: @Argos_Online. If you’re neither, then just ignore this bit completely.

The Prize

The frankly fabulous chaps at Argos have agreed to give the winner an amazing Bush BAFF55161S Frost Free Fridge Freezer in Silver, worth £359.99 (don’t forget to check out the rest of Argos’ fridge freezers).

Entries will be displayed in one enormous blog post heralded by a complete mental breakdown (usually made public on Twitter – but hey, what’s a bakeoff without a little hysteria).

The Judge

The wondrous and gorgeous winner of the last bakeoff, Arlene from The Fuzzy Times has foolishly agreed to be the judge.  All bribes and approaches of a dubious nature are to be made directly to her and not via this blog.  The judge’s decision is final.

So that’s it, then.  You’ve got loads of time, plenty of inspiration, and some very ambiguous rules.  Let’s get baking!

The small print
This competition is UK only unless onward transport is arranged by the winner
Delivery will be within 28 days of Argos receiving the winner’s address, and the competition prize may vary at the discretion of Argos
The prize as described will be supplied direct from Argos, and there is no cash alternative

Thanks Mum! Win a wonderful hampergifts.co.uk pressie for your Mum this Mother’s Day

Bedtime stories, making jam, just listening, washing up, endless lifts, changing nappies, wiping noses, birthday parties, cheese on toast, buying presents, roast dinners, being a fab grandma, cleaning, school runs, baking, saying no, saying yes, lending me money, giving me money, homework help, ironing, belly laughs, parents’ evenings, burying several hamsters, phone bills, pierced ears, holidays, cuddles, plasters, bedtime stories, sandcastles, sleepovers, sewing, rice pudding, kissing it better, hot buttered toast, lemon meringue pie, shopping, snowmen, goldfish, phone calls, camp fires, macaroni cheese, driving lessons, porridge and syrup…

What do you want to thank your Mum for?

If you’d like to win this fabulous ‘I love you Mum’ gift set worth £59.95 from hampergifts.co.uk for your lovely mum (or someone else’s lovely mum, come to think of it) this Mother’s Day, then just thank your mum for something/anything!  in the comments section here (tweet your entry with the hashtag #EMthanksmum for an extra shot at winning) and you’ll be placed into the draw.  Off you go, then.

Entries must be received by 28th March 2011.  No cash alternative to this prize is available.  UK only addresses excluding Channel Islands, PO and BFPO boxes.

*****This competition is now closed.  Thank you for all your entries. The lucky winner is Hayley Chalmers.  Congratulations Hayley xx *****

The fresh bread bakeoff: the entries

So thank you to all the intrepid bakers who entered the Fresh Break Bakeoff.  There are some really great entries here – from complete novices to some very accomplished bakers!  Have a look at all the great entries and I’ll be letting you know the winner of all the Marriage’s goodies very soon!

English Mum’s Fresh Bread Bakeoff

So recently I showed you my simple recipe for  easy step by step bread.  I had a lot of comments from people saying they’d quite like to have a go – so now’s your chance!  The newest, shiniest bakeoff is here – and it’s all about fresh bread!  What do you fancy baking?  A nice crusty loaf?  Some shiny conker-brown bagels?  Sticky buns?

The Rules

As usual, we laugh in the face of rules.  As long as you actually bake something bready, take a picture and send it to me (with a link if you have a website), you’re in.

Photos need to be emailed to me at: english [dot] towers [at] gmail [dot] com, with a brief note saying what your bakey masterpiece is and how you’d like to be credited.

Entries must be received by midnight on Feb 14th, St Valentine’s Day.

Cheating

As usual, a bit of healthy rule-breaking is to be embraced and any creative wavering from the theme will be acceptable.  As long as there’s a suitably waffly and entertaining reason why, I’ll let you off.

The Techy Stuff

If you’re a blogger, please link back to this post, and if you’re a tweeter, please use the hashtag #freshbreadbakeoff. If you’re neither, then just ignore this bit completely.

The Prize

The lovely chaps at Marriage’s Millers (www.flour.co.uk) have very kindly offered to provide a prize of a range of their fabulous quality flours, plus some scrapers, so you can bake bread like a pro!  The entries will be displayed in one enormous blog post (this bit causes a total hysterical meltdown in my non-technical brain, but don’t worry, I’ll get over it).

The Judge

The fabulous Hannah Marriage knows absolutely everything there is to know about flour, bread and baking and has foolishly agreed to be the judge.  All bribes and dodgy approaches to be made directly and not via this blog.  The judge’s decision is final.

So that’s it, then.  You’ve got loads of time, plenty of inspiration, and some very ambiguous rules.  Let’s get baking bread!

Fabulous gifts for foodies. The Christmas Countdown Gift Guide (and free cheesecake!)

Kicking off a whole series of gift guides, then, it makes sense to start with the foodies:

Fudge’s biscuits are yum scrum and make for a really nice foodie pressie.  I can vouch for this as they very kindly sent us a tin (they’re really nice people too, which always helps) and there was practically a fist fight.  I think they’re well priced as well for such a luxurious selection (£10.50 – available from Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Asda as well as good independent farm shops, delis and stores.)

If you’re looking for a fabulous foodie present to send within Ireland, look no further than Sheridans Hampers.  Another really nice bunch of people (their cheese warehouse is quite near here and I often pop in for a gorgeous wedge of Parmesan or some lovely free-range eggs), their hampers start from €32.50 for a Port and Wine selection.  Collection from any of their four locations across Ireland.  Delivery can be arranged at extra cost.  They can also custom-make hampers too.  Visit Sheridanscheesemongers.com for more info.

The Travelling Souk has some really unusual gifty ideas.  Check out the gorgeous stationery and the foodie section too.  The textiles from Ochre and Ocre are beautiful quality (organic cotton oven gloves £15.00) and arrive gorgeously gift-wrapped:

as do these cute little Craven and Hargreaves heart-shaped hammered spoons – perfect to stir your fairtrade coffee after a huge Christmas dinner – which are delightfully packaged in a soft organza pouch too (£26.50 with free shipping).

The Three Sisters Indian Cookbook: Delicious, Authentic and Easy Recipes to Make at Home is written (as the name would suggest), by sisters Priya, who lives in Delhi, Alexa who lives in the UK and Sereena who lives in the USA.  The recipes in the book are based on their mother’s authentic Indian dishes.  The book is priced £8.50 on Amazon or you can purchase a set containing the book plus  an authentic Indian spice box,  priced £48, online at www.flavoursandspices.co.uk

Don’t forget the non-drinkers this Christmas.  We had a little taste test here at English towers and thoroughly recommend the Shloer White Grape sparkling juice, as well as their rosé version.  They look delectably fizzy in a flute and mean that the drivers (and the teens!) don’t feel like they’re missing out on the festive champers!

Pukka Licorice and Cinnamon Tea is gorgeously (and festively) packaged and makes a lovely foodie gift.  It’s also good for the digestion (which could be a bonus after that Christmas dinner).  Check out www.pukkaherbs.com for their full range:

and talking of tea and coffee, my lovely twitter friend Kathryn, has a great website called Coffee to a Tea.  I asked her what she recommended for Christmas and she had the following ideas:

‘Its hard to choose a single product as a gift idea… I think since its Christmas I would probably suggest the Cinnamon Ground or wholebean coffee and/or for something a bit different the Berry Fruit Tisane which is fruity and light to combat the normal heavy Christmas fayre.’

I have to say that I’ve got my eye on the Chocolate Cherry ground coffee – what a great pressie!  You can find Kathryn’s shop at coffeetoatea.co.uk and on twitter @coffeetoatea.

Other great websites for foodie gifts are foodado.com for a really interesting range of artisan and gourmet pressies, and my old favourite Vintage Wine Gifts who deliver great wines in lovely presentation boxes.  I’ve used them a lot and can recommend their very efficient service.

But wait – what foodie gift guide would be complete without the lovely Green & Blacks?  I heartily recommend a box or two of miniatures kept ready-wrapped and stashed in case of last minute guests.  The brand new 24 miniature bar collection, made up of eight of the best selling flavours – Dark, Milk, Creamy Milk, Butterscotch, Almond, Cherry, Ginger and White costs £8.99 from the usual supermarkets, etc.  Of course if you manage not to give them away, then you can discover them on Boxing day and eat them yourself. Bonus.

And finally, the little chef elves at the English Cheesecake Company have been busy again this year making lots of lovely cheesecakes for Christmas.  There’s White Chocolate and Cranberry –  creamy white chocolate cheesecake blended with delicious fresh chunks of cranberry and white chocolate on top of a heavenly digestive biscuit base.   Or there’s the Brandy Snap cheesecake stuffed with crispy brandy snaps and a brandy butter centre, or for those who don’t like cheesecake, there’s a deep deluxe Irish Fudge Cake with an Irish Cream topping and moist chocolate brownie chunks, and finally there’s the Pecan Pie baked vanilla cheesecake, with Dulche de Leche toffee glazing over a generous pecan topping.  Yum scrum.  Each 8″ inch cheesecake serves 12 and prices start from £24.99 including free UK delivery.  Just click on: www.englishcheesecake.com

And as a special treat, just email me via the contact form at the top of the page with CHEESECAKE in the title and tell me which cheesecake you’d most like to scoff, along with your name and address.  The winner will win the cheesecake of their choice delivered to their door.  UK only entries please.  Competition closes Wednesday 8th December.

This competition is now closed.  Congratulations to Sharon Hingley, who won her choice of a white chocolate and cranberry cheesecake!