Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the theme is Things That Make Me Instantly Want to Read a Book (these can be auto-buy authors, tropes you love, if an author you love blurbed it, settings, genres, etc.). However, this weekend I am going to the Rachael Johns Reader Retreat so my theme this week is authors attending the retreat
Rachael Johns - Of course I had to start with the host!
Anthea Hodgson - I am currently reading this book in anticipation of the book club discussion
Victoria Purman- I've read a few of this author's books now.
Tricia Stringer - I have been reading this author for years, right from her initial book.
Penelope Janu - I have only read one of this author's books but I know people who love her
Emily Madden - When I read The Lost Pearl I was inspired to make a lemon crunch cake
Sandy Barker - I love the idea of this author's books which are all about fun locations and romance. I have read this book but I am very much looking forward to getting in on her next series from the first book
Leonie Kelsall - This author is local to where the retreat is being held and has been super helpful
We are all familiar with the old saying about when life gives you lemons make lemonade but I am here to suggest that there are so many other options. In fact, I think I have only attempted to make lemonade once, because to me,
I have had this post in mind for quite some time because when I look out at my garden there is a tree with a profusion of lemons on it. We weren't always sure that would be the case, because a few years ago now we did a very, very hard prune. There were quite a few occasions where we stood on the deck and looked at the stump and contemplated whether we had gone too hard. Here is the evidence:
I do love lemon as a flavour. It is up there with chocolate as a favourite. Another favourite is white chocolate and raspberry, but that, and other flavours, aren't as accessible to me as chocolate and lemon are.
Over the years I have made a lot of different lemon flavoured treats
Lemon Syrup Cakes - This is a firm favourite in our house, and I have made them many, many times, most recently a couple of weeks ago.
Lemon Thins - I have made these once, but I do often think about making them again.
Lemon delicious - Last year I went through a phase of making self saucing puddings, so it was only natural that I made a lemon version.
Lemon Crunch Cake - I made this Hawaiian cake after reading about it in the Lost Pearl by Emily Madden.
Lemon Mousse Cake - I have made this a couple of times, but I have also used the mousse that is one of the components of this cake.
Lemon tart - I've made this a couple of times. Most recently I added meringue kisses to the top to make a fancy lemon meringue pie
Lemon meringue pie- I have also made the more traditional version of lemon meringue pie.
There are more, but I think the above represent how much we enjoy lemon in our house.
Today, I am sharing the recipe for the Lemon Angel Food Cake, which is a Mary Berry recipe. I have made this before, and ended up giving part of the cake away before I tasted it, which I realised as soon as we did taste it, because it was so light and airy and so delicious.
I am making it again today to take to a family dinner tonight, our first opportunity to come together as a family since July since our lockdown has finally been removed. There are still some restrictions for those who are not double vaxxed.
Last time I made this, I used the lemon curd to make a delicious lemon mousse, and I will be doing the same again today. What I don't include is passionfruit as this is a flavour that I do not like.
Lemon Angel Food Cake - Mary Berry
For the cake
125g/4½oz plain flour 300g/10½oz caster sugar 10 large free-range egg whites 2 large lemons, grated zest only 1 tbsp lemon juice 1 tsp cream of tartar ½ tsp salt
For the lemon curd (this recipe makes more lemon curd than you need)
10 large free-range egg yolks 400g/14oz caster sugar 4 large lemons, juice only (approximately 200ml/7fl oz) 2 large lemons, grated zest only 175g/6oz unsalted butter, cubed 2 passion fruit
For the topping 300ml/10fl oz whipping cream ½ tsp vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 (fan 160C) and arrange an oven shelf in the bottom third of the oven. Sift the flour and 100g/3½oz of the caster sugar together in a bowl and set aside.
Whisk the egg whites in a large bowl with an electric hand whisk or mixer on a high speed for one minute until frothy. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, cream of tartar and salt and continue whisking for 2-3 minutes, or until soft peaks form when the whisk is removed from the bowl. Increase the speed and add the remaining 200g/7oz of caster sugar, one tablespoon at a time to form firm, but not stiff peaks.
Sprinkle over one-third of the flour mixture and fold gently to combine. Repeat with the remaining two-thirds of the flour mixture folding gently to keep as much air in the mixture as possible.
Transfer the batter to a 25cm/10in angel food cake pan. Gently run a knife through the centre of the batter to remove any pockets of air. Cook for 45-50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and immediately turn upside down onto the tin’s cooling legs, or place over the neck of a wine bottle. Leave to cool for at least one hour.
Run a knife around the inner and outer edges of cake to remove it from the pan. Invert onto a plate. Carefully use a palette knife to separate the cake from the base of the pan. Leave to cool on a wire rack.
For the lemon curd, mix the egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest together in a large pan. Cook over a low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, making sure to stir the sides and base of the pan. Cook for 5-7 minutes, or until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter. Pass through a sieve into a large jug. Fill two 350g/12oz glass jars with the lemon curd and seal with lids. Cover the remaining curd with cling film and leave to cool.
For the topping, whisk the cream and vanilla extract in a bowl until soft peaks form when the whisk is removed. Spoon the topping over the angel food cake and, using a palette knife, coat the top and sides of the cake, smoothing as you go.
Cut the passion fruit in half and scoop out the seeds. Stir the passion fruit into the reserved, cooled lemon curd and drizzle over the angel food cake before serving. You may want to use just one of the jars of lemon curd to serve with the cake and save the other to eat separately.
Weekly Meals
Saturday - Pork chops with potatoe and cauliflower bake
Sunday - Roast beef rolls with gravy
Monday - Zucchini, tomato risotto
Tuesday - Lasagne
Wednesday - Pork Nachos
Thursday - Chicken kebabs, baked potato, salad
Friday - Takeaway
Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page
Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's topic is Books That Made Me Hungry. This is my kind of topic! In fact I just searched on my blog for the words hungry and delicious and I came up with a list of about 40 authors or books that qualifies, so I could easily do this topic multiple times over. I would start by mentioning a couple of things. Earlier this year there was a TTT which was a book cover freebie and I chose to do baking book covers. You can check it out here.
The other thing is that each week I host a weekly event called Weekend Cooking.This is where you can share you love of food. It could be something that you make, or related to TV, or even something to do with books. If you would like to join in, you would be more than welcome. Find out more here. Let me try and narrow this list down to just ten authors an/or books.
Jolly Good Food by Allegra McEvedy - Enid Blyton was one of my first favourite authors, and her books were filled with food, whether it be picnics with the Famous Five or Secret Seven and Pop Cakes and Google Buns from the Folk of the Faraway Tree. In my Weekend Cooking post about this book I share a video about making Google Buns (before Google was Google as we understand it)
The Hannah Swenson series by Joanne Fluke - Whilst there are many, many different cozy mysteries out there now, one of the first that I became interested in was the Hannah Swenson mysteries by Joanne Fluke. Hannah Swenson is a cookie shop owner in Minnesota who has a habit of finding dead bodies and then attempting to solve the murder. I loved the early books in this series, not least because the cookies sounded amazing and the books included recipes. I did give up at about book 10 because I couldn't deal with the ongoing love triangle. As far as I know that is still an issue at book 25 in the series.
Sarah Addison Allen - SAA writes very easy to read, beautiful magical realism with southern charm. Whether she is writing about the apple tree in Garden Spells, or the power of food to change your mood in The Sugar Queen, it always sounds delicious!
Saved by Cake by Marian Keyes - I recently watched a few sessions of the Edinburgh International Book Festival and one of them was Marian Keyes. Whilst I wouldn't have said that Marian Keyes is someone who writes much food into her book, but this book is the story of how baking helped her deal with severe depression. It is laugh out loud funny, which isn't something that you often say about a cookbook. Check out the videos that I have linked to in my review here, which includes a delicious recipe for Red Velvet Cheesecake Cupcakes.
The Lost Pearl by Emily Madden - Sometimes in a book it doesn't necessarily have to be about food for you to catch a glimpse of a tasty morsel. For example, this book is about the bombing of Pearl Harbour and the aftermath in a young woman's life, but as I read it there was a mention of something called a Lemon Crunch Cake. Next time I was searching for a recipe and making it, and it was delicious! Read my review here.
Barbara O'Neal - I first read Barbara O'Neal when she won a RITA award, defeating one of my favourite authors in the process. Since then I have read quite a few of her books. She definitely has a way of writing which is incredibly comforting and this is especially true when she is writing about food.
Rebeccca Raisin - Speaking of authors who just have a way of writing, Rebecca Raisin definitely is another one. So far I have read three books by her which are all about food, books or France, or French food! I have shared several quotes that cover all three of these topics over the last few months
A Trifle Dead by Livia Day - I have mentioned a couple of Australian authors, and I thought I would mention another. This time, it is another cozy mystery series with a cafe owner, this time in Hobart. The review of this book is one of the more memorable posts I have written, at least to me!
With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo - I read this earlier this year and I instantly became a fan of this author. I still haven't read any more but I will! This book is about a young mother who is trying to finish school who has a natural affinity for flavour and food. (Review here)
Miss Graham's Cold War Cookbook by Celia Rees - I thought I would finish this week's post with another recent read. Whilst not everything in this book sounded delicious, given that it is set in times of rations just after the end of WWII, there was plenty that was. The idea of using recipes to share secrets is very interesting! I shared a recipe for a Bee Sting cake when I posted the review!
Recently I finished reading The Lost Pearl by Emily Madden. Actually, let me start again. Recently I finished listening to the audiobook of The Lost Pearl by Emily Madden. It is one of my favourite kinds of books - dual storylines in the past and the present linked together.
The story starts with Kit who has been called to the bedside of her ailing grandmother, Katherine. In their final conversation, Katherine surprises Kit by revealing a life long secret. It shocks Kit to think that she didn't know such a big thing about her grandmother as they had always been incredibly close. That is just the beginning as Kit begins to uncover secret after secret. Katherine had never really talked about her early life, and it turns out there were big reasons why. Kit isn't even sure how it was that Katherine ended up living in Australia despite being born in the US
Katherine's story starts in Hawaii, in the weeks prior to the bombing of the fleet in the harbor that was the final impetus to draw the US into WWII. Kitty McGarrie, as she was known then, was the 16 years old daughter of a Rear Admiral and lived a very comfortable life of parties, going to the movies with her friends, and spending time at the beach. The only dampener in her life is really her mother, who is determined that Kitty must be the perfect daughter at all times.
On her 16th birthday her family throws a glamorous party for her, and it is there that Kitty meets Charlie, a sailor who her parents will never approve of as he comes from a lower social class. They fall in love and are determined that they will be together, but fate has a way of having other ideas.
As Kit tries to trace her grandmother's history, she finds herself attending the 75th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor bombing in her stead. She meets people who knew Kitty and can help fill in some of the gaps. She also meets Adam, a man who is self assured to the point of arrogance, but who agrees to show her around Hawaii, in particular taking Kit to places which help her see glimpses into how Kitty's life would have been in the lead up to that fateful day when everything changed.
Adam also had a tendency to challenge Kit about her own past and how it is affecting her life now.
The narration was quite good on this one. I do some times find it difficult to transition from one audiobook to the next as I am used to listening to one voice and the new voice can be jarring. At first, the narrator's voice sounded a bit light (particularly seeing as the previous book I listened to was Lethal White, the latest Robert Cormoran book) but overall it was a good performance, and I found myself thinking about the book when I was doing other things. When I started my next audiobook after this one I once again had the transition issue, so I guess that means that I was invested in this performance.
Recently I have had a couple of conversations on Facebook where people had asked whether we are at saturation point for stories set in WWII. I will admit that I have been at saturation point for the Tudors for many, many years. The difference for me is that the Tudors were all about one family, with three or four main characters, covering a period of 50 - 60 years but there is so much scope for a WWII story. It covers a shorter period but the story can be set in numerous countries in Europe, in the Pacific or even the stories of people left at home. There are literally millions of people whose story can be told and more often that not, the stories I love are not necessarily about the mechanics of war but rather about the stories of people living with extreme adversity and still managing to survive and find happiness.
There is still plenty of scope for the big events though. As I mentioned above the main historical part of this book is set around the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Whilst I am sure that there are plenty of books set in that time and place, this is the first time I recall reading it, especially hearing it from the perspective of the sailors who were on the ships as they were bombed.
There are quite a few mentions in the book of different food that you would have found in Hawaii in the early 1940's including something called shave ice, but the item that caught my attention was called Lemon Crunch Cake. I have been looking around for recipes and found one at Fork to Belly which looks pretty good. Most interestingly, the blogger has added a bit of history about the cake and the places it used to be and still is served in which was interesting reading, especially seeing as I was hearing about some of those same places in the book.
A few weeks ago I posted about my evolution as a baker, and I think that this cake represents that pretty well. There was a time when I wouldn't have been confident enough to try making a layer cake with lots of elements, but I very nearly ended up taking bits and pieces from numerous different recipes to put together.
I was a bit concerned about making a cake using American measurements rather than the Australian ones I am used to, and there was also a couple of ingredients that were initially a bit unfamiliar to me. I was also keen to use real lemon juice rather than lemon extract. I was therefore looking around for other lemon sponge cake recipes that I could use, and I almost got to the point where I was going to take a sponge cake recipe from one website, and the pastry cream and the toffee crunch from the original recipe. The other thing was that the recipe called for shop bought lemon curd, but I have made that before when I made a lemon mousse cake a couple of months ago, so I already knew that I was going to make my own curd. In the end though, I decided to go with the original recipe because it looked like such a light, fluffy sponge and I didn't want to make a cake that was too dense. It turns out that those unfamiliar ingredients really just have different names here.
So here is my take on the Lemon Crunch Cake. It is a super light lemon sponge, with a layer of pastry cream (which I have never made before), a layer of lemon curd, covered with lemon flavoured whipped cream and then topped with a toffee crunch. So delicious! I will make it again, although I might make half the toffee and only put it on the top
And with all that delicious leftover lemon curd we could have pancakes with lemon curd or mini lemon tarts with some leftover pastry that I have in the fridge. Or crumpets with butter and lemon curd! I'm sure we will find something.
I have a bit of the travel bug really, and I came home several times and said to the sous chef that I wanted to go to the Arizona Memorial. It was already on our list of places to go one day, but this book just reiterated it. And if I do go, I will be sure to make my way to The Alley, one of two places who still serve this cake.
Weekend Cooking is
open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book
(novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes,
random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even
vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over
the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. For more
information, see the welcome post.
