Frangipane mince pies

So at the weekend I was all set to bake a cake when a trip to the supermarket saw me walk away with a nice big jar of mincemeat and a bag of ground almonds. I knew in my heart they should be together. I’d had a craving for frangipane since an episode of Masterchef so I decided to stick it all together into one magical almondy mince pie. It’s been done before I admit but that doesn’t stop it from being amazing. Continue reading

Black tea velvet cake by Emine Hassan

Black tea velvet cake

Regardless of the childish excitement a brilliant red cake instils in me to this day, I can no longer handle the tang of a red velvet – the entire bottle of food colouring,, which is needed for a “proper” red velv, gives the cake a really noticeable sour tang.

In with the tealeaves! The tea flavour is faint in this ‘tea velvet’, perhaps slightly masked by the cocoa powder, but we much prefer it to food colouring flavour.

There are a few lengthy steps in this recipe, like steeping milk and letting the cakes rest in the fridge before slicing. Set aside a couple of days to make this cake. Continue reading

Chocolate rum éclairs by Emine Hassan

Chocolate rum éclairs

Éclairs always remind me of our “female” family gets togethers. Auntie A is on her way round, then maybe auntie B will follow suit an hour or so later and she’ll bring the custard tarts from Tesco’s whilst we might provide the fresh cream and jam doughnuts from Morrison’s. Auntie A will be pouring the stovetop Turkish Tea into our tiny glass vessels in abundance and there will always be a whiff of brewed cloves to be smelt in the air. Continue reading