RECIPE | STICKY MARMALADE PARKIN

I LOVE GINGERBREAD.

A Jamaican ginger bread loaf never lasts very long when I'm around so I thought I'd attempt to make my own. What better though than to put a Northern twang on it by making a batch of Yorkshire's very own Parkin. Parkin is made with treacle and oatmeal, giving it its own special flavour. I however did not have any oatmeal in so I used a mix of oats and oatbran for more texture. As always I like to add my own little twist to my cakes and decided to add some marmalade to the cake and to also add a generous glaze of sticky and syrupy marmalade on top. Extra YUM!

STICKY MARMALADE PARKIN

Ingredients:

Cake:

125g Golden Syrup

100g Treacle

2tbsp Marmalade

100g Soft Brown Sugar

190g Plain Flour

1tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

2tsp Ground Ginger

1tsp Cinnamon or Mixed Spice

100g Butter

200g of Medium Oatmeal/Oats/Oatbran

1 Egg

1tsp Vanilla Essence

100ml Milk

Sticky Topping:

2tbsp Marmalade

2tbsp Golden Syrup

1tbsp Treacle

2tbsp Icing Sugar

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 170 and grease and line a square or rectangular deep cake tin.

2. Place the syrup, treacle, marmalade and sugar into a pan on a low heat until melted. Leave to cool.

3. In a bowl, sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda, ginger and cinnamon/mixed spice and then rub the butter into the mixture. Stir the oatmeal into the mixture. Add the melted ingredients, the egg and the milk and stir until combined.

4. Pour the mixture into the baking tin and place on the middle shelf of your oven to bake for 50-60 minutes.

5. When the cake is baked. Remove from the oven and leave to cool. Place all the ingredients for the sticky topping into a pan and warm on a low heat. When the mixture thickens, remove from the heat and brush all over the exposed surface areas of the cake. Leave to set before eating.

* Did you know that Parkin tastes better the longer you leave it?

3-4 days stored in an air tight container is the recommended storage time before eating but I bet you'll struggle to even keep it for a day!

WELL BEING | TOP 5 TIPS FOR DEALING WITH EXAM STRESS

So for most of us university students, exams are already underway or will be upon us by the end of the month.

This time of year can get a bit crazy for us, the pressure of exams approaches and creeps up on you out of nowhere and all of a sudden your mind is awashed with an anxiety that just won't let you be. As a result, we end up living in the library, fueling ourselves off endless coffees and energy drinks, working til 4 or 5 in the morning and forgetting what it looks like to live a normal daily schedule.

It's not too late to get on top of things. For those of you in need... I give you my last minute and exam-week guide for getting by without having a breakdown...

MY TOP 5 TIPS FOR DEALING WITH EXAM STRESS

#1   Organise what you have left of your revision time.  A timetable is great for this and can help you to track and monitor your progress. You should aim to do at least 5 to 6 hours per day of revision during the exam period, and if possible to do more. Try to figure out when you are at your most productive peak and slot in to revise around those times. 

#2   Avoid distractions - procrastination is inevitable but it's always best if you 'allow' for procrastination time within your day. Disconnect yourself from the internet for the time limit of your work, don't work in the library if you know it's just a social hub where all your friends will be, etc.

#3   Believe in yourself. This is key. If you know you have done the work to get the mark you deserve then you should have all faith in yourself. No one is perfect and you can only do the best that you can do.

#4   Avoid panic and placing exams out of perspective. A great tip for this is to practice mindfulness (you can view my previous blog post on this HERE) and to give yourself 'time out' where you can relax and rebuild your energy. Make sure you allow enough time for sleep too, eight hours as a minimum is essential for productive functioning.

#5   Eat well and avoid overloading on caffeine - Coffee, tea and energy drinks are all helpful in some respect but they should not become the staples of your diet. Incorporate healthy complex carbohydrates with iron-rich vegetables and good sources of protein in each meal. Eat reguarly and healthily to maintain motivation and brain power and to keep your physical and mental health working at its optimum. Be sure to keep yourself hydrated by drinking water throughout the day and if possible try to get 20 minutes of physical activity (it doesn't have to be a gym workout... a brisk walk home is fine!) into your day as well.

RECIPE | THE CHILLI JAM MAN 'BHUT JOLOKIA' INFUSED SODA BREAD

Last month I received an email from MILLIES in Leeds last month asking me if I would be interested in a new project. Millies are a fab shop in the city centre which describes itself as a "fine food and local produce store". They sell locally sourced Yorkshire products and offer a wide range of interesting and delectable food stuffs (...just try their yogurt covered honeycomb  pieces and you'll see what I mean!).

Anyway - this project was to review or create recipes with some products that they were promoting or selling. First up a pot of sweet heat from the one and only THE CHILLI JAM MAN.

The Chilli Jam Man is a great little Yorkshire-based business, which has "spent years developing chilli jam recipes to tantalise and sate the tate buds". I chose to try out the extra hot (9.1% heat rating!) Bhut Jolokia Chilli Jam, which also happens to be one of the three vegetarian jams available within this range.

Upon the first little finger dip I was extremely surprised to finally find a "chilli" product that actually even I found very hot! It even gave me friend hiccups but this could have just been due to over excitement. Ha.

I instantly knew it would pair perfectly with a nice loaf of bread and an array of cheese, meats and pickles. So maverick me over here decided to put the Chilli Jam into one of my favourite bread recipes... the soda bread!

So here we have it...

THE CHILLI JAM MAN 'BHUT JOLOKIA' INFUSED SODA BREAD

Ingredients:

200g Plain Flour

200g Wholemeal Flour

1 1/2 tsp of Bicarbonate of Soda

1/2 tsp of Salt

2-3 tbsps of Mixed Seeds (Optional)

280-300g of Buttermilk

As much of a jar of your favourite Chilli Jam that you can handle!

* Click HERE for the whole range of Jam's available from The Chilli Jam Man.

Instructions:

1.  Heat your oven to 200ºC and line a baking tray with baking paper.

2.  Mix together the flour, bicarbonate of soda and the salt. At this point you can chuck in a few tablespoons of some mixed seeds, chopped nuts or any other dry ingredients of your preference.

3.  In a separate jug, mix the buttermilk with the Chilli Jam (I used about 2/3s of a pot) and then add this mixture to the dry ingredients to form a dough and knead gently, forming the dough into a ball.

3.  Place the ball of dough onto the baking paper and then with a sharp knife, cut a cross in the top of the dough about an inch deep. Sprinkle with flour and bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes.

 

The outcome is a lovely doughy bread, quite hefty in consistency but one that can act as a suitable foundation for piling up with your favourite toppings. It packs just enough punch to give you that Chilli kick of the fiery Bhut Jolokia chilli and if it's not to your tasting you can add more or less of the pot of jam - but be warned, it's VERY hot!!

...and last but not least a MASSIVE THANK YOU to Millies and The Chilli Jam Man!

REVIEW | FRIENDS OF HAM

Upon entering you are greeted by a busy bustling upstairs bar and will notice upon peering at the counter that you are instantly spoilt for choice.

 A fabulous selection of craft beers and ales from all round with several local breweries featuring on tap.

Not only does this place serve ham… (although the ham is pretty darn good!), they serve a fantastic selection of charcuterie, cheeses, breads, scotch eggs, nibbles etc.

 I happily munched my way through what I can say was a rather impeccably handmade scotch egg (complete with salad and spicy wholegrain mustard) and a half pint of cornichons whilst gazing upon a Wensleydale Blue cheeseboard (complete with olive oil drizzled bread and fresh olives) at a friend opposite.

As well as the upstairs bar there is a downstairs area (complete with board games and even a shuffleboard!) where you are greeted with long-end tables, the kind you can fit a good sized party around or at least feel unawkwardly obliged to talk to the group who perches next to you.

The staff (and their impressive confidence/passion/knowledge) were great. On both occasions I went to purchase beer I was helped  to choose the beer to suit me. I found myself provided with several tastings before even purchasing. I started off with the record store day special by the local West Yorkshire Revolutions Brewing Company, followed by the Amaro IPA.

I really enjoyed the passion and service of the staff, it really does make a difference in my book. Being a student and in my final year it is not ideal to go partying every night, but ideally it’s nice to know after a hard week of uni work and library study that I can spend what’s left of my student loan in the company of good friends with good beer and good food on offer. I’d much rather push my pennies towards this than a full on night out... but maybe that's the fact that being in my twenty-somethings is kicking in.

A friend of ham is a friend of mine. I will definitely be back. 

RECIPE | SLUTTY BROWNIES

Are you ready for an even MORE naughty and indulgent brownie than the Cheesecake Brownie?

Well here you go... say HELLO to the SLUTTY BROWNIE.

Layer #1 = Cookie Dough

Layer #2 - Your favourite biscuit, cookie or chocolate bar!

Layer #3 = Ooey gooey BROWNIE!

Ingredients:

For the Cookie Dough base:

100g Butter (or Margarine)

120g Sugar

1 Egg

240g Plain Flour

1/2tsp Vanilla Essence

1/2tsp Baking Powder

100g of Chocolate Chips

Middle Layer:

A pack of cookies/biscuits/chocolate bars that will cover the cookie dough surface.

Brownie Topping:

175g Dark Chocolate

130g Butter (or Margarine)

230g Sugar

2 Eggs

75g Plain Flour

1/2tsp Vanilla Essence

Instructions:

1.  Grease and line a traybake/brownie tin with butter and baking paper. Preheat your oven to 180.

2.  First up is the cookie dough base... cream together the butter and sugar in a bowl with an electric whisk or a stern arm and a wooden spoon until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla essence and beat until mixed.

3.  Sieve the flour and baking powder into the mix and combine with the chocolate chips until the mixture is well folded.

4.  Spread the cookie dough to form a smooth layer in the bottom of the cake tin, followed by a topping of your chosen biscuity/chocolately middle layer!

5.  To make the brownie mix, melt the chocolate and the butter together on a low heat on the hob or in the microwave. Set aside and leave to cool.

6.  In a separate bowl, whisk the sugar, vanilla essence and the eggs until their size has increased around three times in volume.

7.  Sieve the flour into the brownie mix, followed by the melted butter and chocolate and stir all ingredients together.

8.  Top the two layers in your cake tin with a generous serving of brownie mix (there are no raising agents so it will not rise) and then place the cake tin in the oven on the middle shelf and bake for 40-50 minutes.

LIFESTYLE | FINAL COUNTDOWN

It's the final month of student life for me and it's all kicked off!

On Wednesday I handed in my hefty dissertation and now I am working towards my final essay and exam of the semester.

I've been busy baking in the Inkwell kitchen, over the last few weeks these beauties have been baked:

Toffee, Pecan and Banana Loaf

Orange and Poppyseed Cake with Chocolate Drizzle and Homemade Candy Peel

Raspberry Bakewell Cake (only got an Instagram pic - sorry!)

I've also started working in the kitchens at Opposite Cafe in Leeds - renound for it's superb coffee and amazing food with an always lively and buzzing atmosphere. I'm loving it. I am however very busy but still managing to fit in a good work/uni/life/playtime balance so GO ME.

Some highlights of "playtime" over the past few weeks have been...

#1   Losing my Brewdog Leeds virginity!

#2   Going to the preview for the new exhibition "Feast" at the Leeds Gallery and getting to try out the incredible Whisky Tornado creation by Bompas and Parr.

#3   Feeling 10 again and going bowling - dodgy dj, cheap drinks and £1.50 games... What could be better?

#4   Accidentally ending up at the new Jewish Artists in Yorkshire exhibition at the Stanley and Audrey Burton Gallery in the University of Leeds Parkinson building on my library break... free wine and a live klezmer band!

#5   Post-dissertation drinks and buffet. More free wine...

RECIPE | CHEESECAKE BROWNIES

Cheesecake vs. Brownie.

A brilliantly dense and fudgey, gooey, oozey, creamy combo.

Decadently rich chocolate brownies complimented by a generous swirling of cheesecake mix.

Ingredients:

125g Butter (or Margarine)

250g Dark Chocolate

200g Sugar

3 Eggs

1tsp Vanilla Essence

75g Plain Flour

1/2tsp Baking Powder

200g Cream Cheese

50g Caster Sugar

Instructions:

1.  Preheat your oven to 180 and grease and line a baking tin with baking paper.

2.  Place the butter, sugar and 150g of the chocolate into a pan and melt on a low heat. Leave the mixture to cool for 5 minutes and then whisk in the eggs and vanilla essence.

3.  Add the flour and baking powder to the wet ingredients, along with the rest of the left over dark chocolate chopped up into small chunks. Fold together until it is is mixed well. Pour 3/4s of the mixture into the baking tin.

4.  In a separate bowl, beat the cream cheese and the caster sugar together and then dollop the mixture into the baking tin on top of the brownie mix.

5.  Pour the rest of the brownie mixture into the baking tin and then using a skewer or a sharp knife swirl the mixture around so the brownie mixture combines with the cream cheese mixture to create a marbling effect.

6.  Place in the centre shelf of your oven and bake for 35 minutes.

EVENTS | AMAZING GRAZE - REVIEWED

I'm back in lovely Leeds!

Busy busy, just how I like it.

Lots of uni work, some actual REAL work, volunteering, lots of art exhibitions and events to keep me occupied with. A nice mix if I say so myself.

Yesterday I was down at the fabulous street food event Amazing Graze down at Left Bank in Leeds (see HERE for a post I did on the event last week).

 I was tweeting live for the Amazing Graze Twitter account in the afternoon and taking pictures of the event.

 

I certainly tickled my taste buds with some drool worthy street food, with much to my enjoyment some delightful buskers for entertainment and the presence of the GLORIOUS British sunshine! 

 

All the traders went down a treat.
Particularly popular were Fish&, El Kantina, Manjit's Kitchen and Ginger's Comfort Emporium.

Did you go to AMAZING GRAZE this weekend? What did you think?

LIFESTYLE | EASTER MUSINGS

I've been back at home the past few weeks on my Easter break. I've successfully managed to finish my dissertation (almost three weeks early...) and had quite a productive bought of baking!

Below is my attempt at the infamous Pinata Cake which I made with my Auntie for my cousin's 18th birthday. Pretty impressive right?



I had lots of left over sponge from making the Pinata Cake so I thought I would attempt to make some Cake Pops too! Easy peasy... crumble up the cake and mix with melted chocolate then roll into balls and place in the fridge for a few hours. Once they have set then you can get creative! I dipped mine in melted dark chocolate and then rolled them in dessicated coconut and hundreds and thousands.

The Easter Bunny also came this morning bearing gifts in the form of a hand mixer, mixing bowl, my very own apron (probably a little bit too excited about this and should really get out more) and a silicone pastry brush - Thanks Mama and Papa Wood!

...oh and CHOCOLATE of course!

H A P P Y    E A S T E R !