Right… must sit down and tap away my thoughts, have left it a bit late and they’re currently residing in my head which isn’t ideal for you guys… let’s go…
It’s been a blurry week. In my newsletter a couple of weeks back, I wrote about how my friend was in hospital following major heart surgery, thank you so much for your well wishes, by the way. Things haven’t been plain sailing since then as he faced some complications post op, as such, I’ve lived with a gnawing sense of anxiety as I await news each day, utter helplessness, pain (for him), also (so very selfishly) worry about myself – an obnoxious reaction.
I just hate that I can’t do anything to make it all better for him, I hate that he’s had so much bad luck, and I hate to think of him suffering. Nevertheless, I’m trying to remain optimistic, he’s so strong, as with everything, this is temporary, and I believe he can bounce back from the ordeal. As with all things though, patience- something neither he nor I have much of - will be key.
I have also succumbed to this rotten summer form of the lurgy (can we all agree that summer colds are one million times worse than winter ones?), I tried my best to resist it, believe it wasn’t a thing… but having chain sneezed 11 times in one go (a World record, I think?), and required sunglasses to watch the F1 on Sunday due to some eye-ball piercing tiredness, I realised it was about time I accepted my weakness – tell me though, am I on the only one taken down by this random malaise or is there something going around? Selfishly, I’d quite like to think I have company.
Despite feeling capable of very little as I muddle through this snotty, worry-haze, I’ve done what I always do when faced with acute anxiety, stress and a runny nose… throw myself into some maniacal-style baking and choring. Unsurprisingly, my wheels have fallen off at about 3pm each day, so I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this tactic to a friend, but at least I have cake and some clean bits, you know?
On that note, don’t you think there are some chores that warrant global recognition? I don’t mean to be too dramatic about these things, but surely a fridge clean/duvet change/ bins and dishwasher empty warrant at least an OBE? I put in such a mega shift on Tuesday (performed all of the above), and I just don’t understand why more people weren’t applauding, sad.
Joyously, I have turned out some fun bakes during this frenetic episode too. I started the week devoid of inspiration and then, whilst sat outside (watching mum paint some furniture), ideas came to me… I was basically like Isaac Newton, only I didn’t discover gravity via a rogue apple, no, I conjured images of berries and cake - more groundbreaking I would say. I spent the remainder of the week bringing my ideas to life; pistachio and raspberry Swiss roll cake, strawberries and cream loaf cake, also another go at my summer berry pudding (this is such a winner - in the wings for next week), and finessing this week’s showstopper; strawberry custard cream tarts with a spelt pastry that tastes like digestives, combined, it’s actually perfect!!!









For balance - because, of course you need to hear the reality… I have also had some catastrophic mishaps – like trying to warm some eggs (just to ‘room temperature’ for a cake) over a Baine Marie and forgetting about them – cue a sort of poached egg scenario - shaking a tub of buttermilk, forgetting that the lid was loose, and showering myself, the worktop and a portion of my ingredients with tangy dairy, scaling a recipe down and subsequently misreading my own writing resulting in a slightly over-sugared, very tender and actually not so drastic sponge, under-mixing a cake batter – a mistake I make too often - that led to a hole-y cake… and by that I mean avec holes/'tunnels’ not ‘holy’ as in sacred.
Also, unrelated, but worth hearing, I picked up a bag of sugar in Waitrose and managed to deposit a trail of its contents down the length of aisle 8… only realising when I stopped and felt it pouring down on my foot. It was all very embarrassing, and required several very kind Waitrose people, to hoover (literally, a Dyson!!!) it all up - head.in.hands!!!
Think that’s about it for the big things this week… here are some other mini thoughts:
I’m now unhealthily (for my bank balance) addicted to the little ginger shots from MOJU – I’ve tried others, and these are the best by far. Feels like my insides are being cleansed as I drink them.
I played ‘stones’ with my tiniest friend last week. For those unfamiliar, ‘stones’ involves picking the stones out of your parents very beautiful flower bed, handing them to your friend as a gift (me in this case), and occasionally chucking a few around like confetti for good measure. Now you may think this game serves very little purpose, but actually, it’s an incredibly life-affirming pastime, one I’d recommend… later we ate raspberries, an elite snack.
Sausages should always be incinerated… had a brief discussion with my baking pal, Sophie about this, and we are in violent agreement that an anaemic sausage is unacceptable.
Thoroughly enjoying Stanley Tucci’s new series; I love, and I mean LOVE, his passion for food, for Italy, for seizing life. Admittedly the series is fairly ‘offal’ heavy – something I’m yet to be convinced about – but don’t panic, there’s also pizza (the Roman style pizza - thin and crispy - looks divine, must try to make!!), and pasta, and it’s a fascinating insight into the country’s history, geography (defo didn’t realise Tuscany was on that side, or that Milan was wet and grey - huh???), food trends, and culture – 100% worth a watch.
Had a brief affair with overnight oats, but I’m back with my number one; porridge (cooked in my new little Viners saucepan - a cheapy from TK Maxx), Greek yog, seeds and PB, with roasted rhubarb from our friends, Anita and Andy, down the road - SO delicious.
Clarkson’s Farm is back - I’ve waited approximately 363 days for this… love the show, already 3 episodes deep and adore Harriet. Yes, I’m obsessed (hate overuse of that word, but I am, ok?).
It’s Monaco Grand Prix this weekend - the race isn’t notoriously thrilling, but Monaco is one of my favourite places in the World - a level of glamour and money that blows my mind - so obviously I’m gripped (last week’s race was also mega).
Bake Off the Professionals is back next week and oh.my.goodness - EXCITEMENT!!! My baking idols: Sally and Dane (from Crumbs and Doilies) are on it, and I couldn't be more thrilled - also their outfit, you know the chef’s whites they get? They are team pink, which is obviously superb!!!
Okie dokie, that’s me done. Thank you so much for your messages, they really do bring me so much joy! I hope you’re all doing ok.
Sending so much love and huge hugs as always,
Steph X X X
Strawberry custard cream tartlets
I’m very aware that the good weather is set to evaporate over the next week here in the UK (predictable). However, I’ve looked forward, on my trusty weather forecast app (actually not that trusty, but we’ll overlook that), and am assured that sunshine will return anon… so maybe save these for when it does, or just make them anyway? I don’t think the sun needs to be shining to make a strawberry custard tartlet, does it?
Strawberry custard tartlets (SCT’s for short) remind me of afternoon teas in fancy restaurants (I make it sound like I’ve had many… I absolutely haven’t) or the counters in French Patisseries. Little pastry vessels, piled high with silky custard, and shimmering strawberry jewels. They smell like summer, and comfort and they ooze brightness and joy.
They can be made in so many brilliant ways; mine is simply an amalgamation of my favourite versions of each component.
First up, a biscuitty (like Digestives) spelt pastry, that I just adore - it’s nutty, a touch malty, rich & buttery but also sturdy (sans sog), and sweet, but balanced with a good pinch of salt - so good if I do say so myself. The recipe is a scaled-down riff on my go-to sweet almond pastry, incorporating a hefty portion of wholemeal spelt flour (I used an organic blend from Shipton Mill that is superb - 13.5% protein if you’re looking for something roughly equivalent) and a little less almond and egg.
For the pastry cream, I have employed a new method that I’ve seen doing the rounds - Rav Gill and Nicola Lamb have both showcased it recently, and it’s a more streamlined, effective way of producing fabulous pastry cream without the need for tempering the eggs - fabulous. It’s important that you follow the steps - first mixing the sifted dry ingredients, slowly adding the liquids and finally the egg/vanilla before heating, this mitigates the likelihood of a lumpy custard*. My version is slightly enriched with double cream and heady with vanilla. Once chilled and set, I suggest folding through some extra softly whipped cream for the most delicious light, custard (crème légère is what they call it, I think).
*There is also a comprehensive article on the ‘Scientifically sweet’ website, that explains the science behind this version of pastry cream - well worth a read if you’re a nerd, like me.
Finally, you need the best strawbs you can find - British if you’re in the UK - chop em up - snack on a few - and scatter them on top - no need to be fancy. You can gently brush them with some slightly warmed (to make it less viscous) then cooled, strawberry jam, for that shimmery glow - and I like to scatter a few nuts/herbs on top too, mainly for colour.
And that’s it… ok, so the concept might not seem groundbreaking, but I think these are especially lovely (ew, I hate how arrogant that sounds)… actually - you be the judges, let me know what you think?




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