First off HAPPY EASTER! Whether you celebrate or not, I do hope you’re managing to squeeze in a couple of toasted hot cross buns, an easter egg or two, and are taking a little break from the treadmill of life.
I’m not sure I can put into words the emotion I’ve felt this week… surreal is the best description, I think.
On Tuesday, I attended the funeral of a friend’s daughter – she was 38. Since we learnt of her sudden passing a few weeks back, everything has felt different. The trivia in life vanishes - trying to achieve the perfect chiffon cake ‘just like that photo I saw on Insta’, becomes irrelevant. I’m not sure what I feel, but when I see the pain in those directly affected, my heart hurts too; ‘heart ache’ suddenly makes sense. I also want to hug Mum and my sister and my friend really, really tight, I want to scream very loudly, (in a remote place so that I don’t create too much of a scene), ‘what are we all doing? why are we all worried about XYZ?’. There is a lot of dreaming – more like nightmare-ing and it’s vivid, about family and friends. Then, absurdly, when the acute emotion fades for a moment, the trivia returns, but this time it’s loud and really very important – it’s not of course, but my brain latches onto anything it can, to divert itself from the reality, it’s an effort to ease the anxiety and cope with the stress, which totally backfires. Instead, it all becomes a very confused stress sandwich, a smorgasbord of stress-age. I need fresh air, porridge, and toast, a spot of lazy baking (the type where I can lick the bowl), some middle of the night Formula 1 re-runs seems to do the trick too.
If funerals can be good, it was good… I cried, I felt sick, my tummy ached, and it was brutal witnessing the distress in others. But it was also a really beautiful tribute to an incredible woman.
Fittingly, I plunged myself into a proper head and heart soothing spot of baking on Wednesday morning. I basically smashed together a few excellent ingredients and called it a recipe… I’m talking: a silky-smooth chocolate ganache sprinkled with Maldon salt, nestled in a buttery biscuit case, and topped with a drizzle of white chocolate and some toffee popcorn for crunch – is this not the definition of comfort? I debated whether I should really bother sharing the recipe with you; I worried that it was too simple and maybe too rich… then I realised that it tastes fantastic is a doddle to make and absolutely evokes feelings of contentment which is what this newsletter is all about… so you’ll be pleased to know that it’s the feature recipe for this week!
On the topic of chocolate, if you need the chocolate 101, you should go read Sophie Bamford’s (aka All day cake) newsletter ‘Chocolate chat’ – it’s a fab insight into the world of chocolate including some history, talk of Cocoa percentages, and a comparison of various brands – honestly, if you love your choc, go read now!
If, however, chocolate isn’t your thing and you’re more of a Hot cross bun-ner, I have you covered – you can find my Hot cross bun recipe here – it’s special, it takes a lot for me to be proud of a recipe, but I really am chuffed with this little number – yes it’s a bit of an effort but it’s so worth it!
Some little good things:
It’s been a tough week but I’m off to a wedding party this evening (I’m talking to you from Saturday morning as we speak). It will be lovely to see family and be part of a very happy occasion… I do however have a slight issue in that I haven’t been to anything that requires me to dress up for around 2 years… so finding a suitable outfit is undoubtedly going to be problematic - is a bin bag suitable?
One of my favourite recipe writers, chefs, authors, (also happens to be an illustrator and lives in Sardinia - could she be any more perfect?) Letitia Clarke has written her third book, Wild Figs & Fennel, and I am SO excited to get my hands on it. If you’re a fan of Italy and like a beautiful book, check out her other two books too (La Dolce Vita and Bitter honey), they’re stunning and just make you feel happy. I’m also totally obsessed with Charlotte Bland who did all the photography for the books - she’s a wizard with a camera!
I read a brief article in New Scientist about how to make the perfect cup of tea which INTRIGUED me! Michelle Francl, a Quantum chemist in Pennsylvania has written a book, ‘Steeped: The Chemistry of Tea’, all about how to make the perfect cuppa. She apparently spent three years trawling through more than 500 papers on tea, she also conducted her own research, testing hundreds of years’ worth of suggestions for making a better brew. The book reveals the results of her findings which include some wacky ideas like adding a pinch of SALT, yes salt, to your tea can reduce any bitterness that may have resulted from steeping it for a little too long. Honestly, she sounds like my kinda girl - rigorous testing of IMPORTANT MATTERS!
I have an idea of a cake that I can’t get out of my head so I’m going to have to make it pronto… think raspberry ripple ice cream but in cake form? I KNOW - YUM!
Ok, I think that’s all I have for you this week. As ever, I’m sending huge hugs and love!
Steph X X X
VERY LAZY, very lovely chocolate tart
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