IMPOSTERS
Fakers, pretenders, Non BLT and a heart-warming forever cake
With no culinary qualifications and no formal training am I an imposter, a fake baker? I feel like it sometimes; especially in the presence of my peers and those I admire, I feel I need evidence of talent. My skills and techniques are learnt out of research, practice and probably quite a few bad habits. Even with my writing I wonder at the self-arrogance that people will actually want to read these words. Whilst I am confident in my creativity and passion I suppose there’ll always be a little niggle of doubt…maybe just in my character, I lack the swagger.
Last week I laid out in pure honesty the difficulty of balancing career and children. The messages I received made me feel that these words are important; there is something that isn’t being said often enough amongst the filtered façade of social media. Being a passionate baker, or indeed being passionate requires genuineness; it calls for integrity and being real and so I will continue to be open with you all.
What about these other imposters then? Restaurants masquerading as cool and authentic with trendy furniture and music but with food which looks suspiciously like something straight out of the order catalogue of the local frozen food outlet. Or some farmers proudly claiming to be custodians of the countryside as they stock up on chemical solutions to all their problems in defiance and neglect to the wildlife and biodiversity of our land. No, another rant for another time!
Bread. This is obviously a bug bear of mine but something so many people are unaware of. It is an example of the devious nature of the food industry. Sourdough isn’t a look, style or trend it is a process, made with three things; flour, water and salt. Genuine sourdough does not need any aids or additives. Sadly there is no regulation to using the term and supermarkets or even home bakeries can market their bread as sourdough, it is typically full of extra ingredients (check the labels) and sold at a lower price. It makes a mockery of the consumer and punishes the independent small business in local economies.
Pretenders and Replicas
I have been vegetarian for 6 years and although I rarely miss meat I do sometimes miss sausages and bacon, especially in a fry. The fake meat industry is huge, with replicas of everything you can imagine, I steer clear of most of these things because of the long lists of questionable ingredients and being ultra processed. But I always have a bag of Richmonds in the freezer!
NON BLT
Tofu is a great alternative to meat; look for a good quality organic if possible. My dad and I shared a love for a BLT back in the day, a hard combo to beat.
Tofu Bacon
One packet firm tofu
Tablespoon maple syrup
Tablespoon Tamari/soy sauce
Half tsp salt
Teaspoon smoked paprika
Tsp olive oil
Black pepper
Mix everything together except the tofu. Check seasoning.
Slice tofu thinly-around 5mm, lay on a baking sheet lined with greaseproof. Use a pastry brush to coat both sides in the marinade.
Set grill to highest setting and grill each side until starting to char. set aside until ready top use.
Tofu mayo
One packet of silken tofu
One green chilli
Handful of soft spring herbs; I used tarragon, mint and chives
Garlic clove
Half lemon
Salt and pepper
Blitz everything together and check seasoning.
Assemble your sandwich; thick slices of sourdough with your mayo and tofu bacon, I added kraut, gherkins (tomatoes still not tasty!) and lettuce.
Not Elderflower
We are now moving from yellow flowers (primrose, daffodil, dandelion and gorse) to white flowers and the number of flowering plants with similar umbels of flowers commonly found around the countryside can cause confusion; cow parsley, wild carrot and Rowan to name a few. Happily many of these plants have uses in their own rights but they are not elderflower, in a couple of weeks you will be picking and creating delicious things with elderflower so get acquainted with this little tree.
Hawthorn is also a smallish sized tree with white flowers but not elderflower! A very special tree for me, a season marker and the sideways-growing weather worn trees around the wild and barren headlands are a beautiful metaphor of growing old shaped by the storms of life.
Hawthorn Flower syrup
Hawthorn is commonly associated with the heart and circulatory system. In herbalism it is used as a heart opener, emotional support and for heartache. If you take any heart medication it is best to seek advice from a professional before using hawthorn.
Pick the blossom on a dry day. Collect a couple of big handfuls of flowers.
Make a sugar syrup with 50ml water and 50g caster sugar; put these in a small pan over a medium heat and let boil for 5 minutes then pour in 20ml vodka, take off the heat. While its heating pick any stems or leaves off the hawthorn and place flowers in a bowl, pour over the hot syrup and leave overnight. Strain out the flowers in the morning and keep in a clean (sterilised jar) in the fridge and use in place of extracts in baking or in cocktails of course!
A Forever Cake; Torta Caprese
200g butter, melted
4 eggs
175g caster sugar
250g ground almonds
200g dark chocolate, chopped (we use Neary Nogs)
Tsp Hawthorn flower syrup
Grease and line a 9 inch cake tin.
Melt the butter over a medium heat and set aside.
Get two large bowls and separate the eggs with yolks in one bowl and whites in the other. Put the sugar into the yolk bowl and whisk until pale and moussey with a handheld electric whisk (or use the bowl and whisk attachment of a freestanding mixer)
Whisk the whites until they form stiff peaks, fold the butter and syrup into the yolk mixture then add the dry ingredients and fold in carefully. Very gently fold in the egg whites until well distributed, spoon into cake tin and bake for 40 minutes at 180 degrees.
Perfect any time of the day cake, especially breakfast. x
Oooh I will be trying that BLT. I am a BIG fan of the coconut bacon you use in the shop, that stuff is tasty!
Need to make that BLT immediately