Baking for Beginners: Lemon and chocolate truffle cupcakes

These cupcakes are somewhat inspired by Pinterest. This cupcake with a gooey white chocolate truffle centre was pinned all over the place. It looks amazing but I couldn't help thinking that cake with chocolate truffle in the middle and white chocolate frosting would be too sweet and cause early onset diabetes after one bite. The truffle middle was something I still really wanted to play about with so instead I made lemon cakes. They're a little sharper and refreshing enough to offset the happy chocolate gooeyness.

I used Lindt truffles, which I'm certain are are packed with crack and happiness. I didn't use the dark ones - I don't think they'd work well with the lemon. But, the chocolate, hazelnut and white chocolate all work brilliantly and you could try other flavours. I'm thinking cherry and dark chocolate, perhaps? Sort of a black forest thing. Not until I've tidied up, though. I've got melted chocolate everywhere.

Makes 12.

You'll need:

• 4oz unsalted butter, softened
• 4oz caster sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 40z self raising flour
• 1tsp baking powder
• zest of a lemon
• Lindt chocolate truffles

For the frosting:

• 4oz unsalted butter
• 6oz icing sugar
• zest and juice of a lemon

Bake it!

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees/ gas mark 4 and pop some cake cases in a muffin tray. Asda are doing some excellent silver and black ones. They're like the glam rock of cupcake cases.
• Cream the butter and sugar together, until they're light and fluffy.
• Beat in the eggs (best to do this one at a time).
• Sift in the flour and baking powder and add the lemon zest.
• Pop your mix in the cases and place your tray in the oven for about twenty minutes.
• Once the cupcakes are done, cut a little square out of the middle of them and squish in a chocolate truffle, then pop the lid back on The heat of the cake will melt the truffle, leaving you with a gooey middle. Don't worry that they look a bit crap, you're going to put frosting on the top, no one will ever know.
• Beat the ingredients for your frosting together, but let the cakes cool completely before decorating. Otherwise you'll end up with a pool of frosting and chocolate everywhere.
• Decorate your cakes with the frosting and share with people wearing white shirts. 

The boy and his poison: The Tea Time Martini

Love is in the air, and whether you're playing bar-tending-minx/cocktail-shaking-lothario for the evening or just celebrating singledom in style I can't think of a better romantic-themed Tuesday tipple than a Tea Time Martini served in its own cup.

Blush pink from rose petal jam, but with a sophisticated punch from the cucumbery Hendricks and mint, it was a recipe I found lurking on the side of a Hendricks gift box a few years ago. Initially I was sceptical about how the jam would taste, afraid of its potential to impart an overly floral Turkish delight flavour but in the context of the drink it tastes incredible. You can order the jam online, make your own when the roses are in season or hunt it down in Middle-Eastern food stores.

You'll need:

• 50ml Hendricks gin, it really makes the drink, but try and use a sweet gin otherwise 
• 15ml Lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon of rose petal jelly 
• 6 mint leaves

Then make:

• Put everything in a cocktail shaker and give it a dry shake to mix the jam and batter the mint leaves
• Add a handful of ice and shake for 10-15 seconds
• Pour a little of the cocktail straight into four favourite tea cup then strain the rest in on top of it

The boy and his poison: The Scofflaw

I went on a massive hangover fuelled Boardwalk Empire binge at the weekend. I was left feeling that spiritually I belonged in the prohibition era and that there weren't enough dancing girls in my life. Point in case, in 1924, a nationwide contest took place in America to invent a word which best described those valiant souls that chose to flout the prohibition, the “lawless drinkers of illegally made or illegally obtained liquor”. The $200 winning entry was a portmanteau of Scoff and Law. It seemed inevitable that someone would make a cocktail celebrating the term.

Surfacing in the Savoy Cocktail book but originally heralding from Harry’s New York Bar in Paris, the place to try one at the moment is Shaker and Company's 'Hide & Speak' pop-up bar in Euston. The drink hits the senses a little like a sidecar, tangy, sweet and perfectly balanced. If you're not already a fan of whisky based cocktails you'll be a convert in 2 sips.

You'll need:

• 50ml Bourbon, Rye or blended whisky 
• 30ml Martini Dry Vermouth
• 30ml grenadine
• 30ml lemon juice
• 2 dashes of orange bitters

Make it:

• Throw all the ingredients in a shaker 
• If your grenadine is thick, dry shake first a couple of times then shake over ice for 10 seconds
• Strain into a coupe glass 

Sluttishly Sweet: Lemon & Coconut Brigadeiros

I know we've only just recovered from the excesses of Christmas, but I couldn't resist trying out these fudgy Brazilian sweets. Brigadeiros are named after Brigadier Gomes, who apparently was little and round, hence the shape.

Traditionally they're chocolate flavoured, but in the name of "detox" I've made these with lemon instead.


Lemon & Coconut Brigadeiros

You'll need:

• 240ml condensed milk
• 120ml coconut milk
• 25g butter
• 1tbsp golden syrup
• Zest and juice of a lemon
• Dessicated coconut to decorate

Make it!

• Put the condensed milk, coconut milk, butter and golden syrup in a saucepan and bring to the boil. The mixture bubbles up a lot, so make sure the saucepan is a big one.
• Boil for around 8 minutes, whisking like you've never whisked before, until the consistency is thick and fudgy. Don't leave it alone for a second or it'll burn onto the bottom of the saucepan.
• Pour into a cold bowl (carefully, or it will burn you), then stir in the lemon zest and juice.
• Leave to cool and refrigerate for 3 hours.
• Take teaspoons of the cold mixture and roll into balls between your palms, before rolling in dessicated coconut.

The boy and his poison: The Corpse Reviver #2

As you’ll know by now, I'm all about helping the exhausted hedonist, especially on those days when they're more like this sort of animal than a party-animal. Cosmetic quick fixes can give temporary relief, I’ve even tried breathable caffeine, but lets face it, sometimes you need a more holistic approach to your restoration. Something that will grab your tonsils, spank your uvula, and cha-cha down your throat until your back to your usual convivial self.

Its 7pm, the body is willing but the mind needs a bit of coaxing. You need a sophisticated rapid remedy, we’re talking a corpse reviver #2.

Coming from a family of drinks devoted to the reanimation of a weary spirit this is my favourite of the three variants by far. Don’t be deceived by the simplicity of the recipe, the flavour is addictively complex with a perfect balance between sugary gin, sour lemon and that extra unfamiliar kick from the absinthe. Its also not at any costs, to be reserved purely for hangovers, its a sophisticated start to any evening out and a nice name-dropper to order off-menu in bars.

You’ll need

• 1 part gin
• 1 part lemon juice
• 1 part Cointreau/triple sec
• 1 part dry vermouth (ideally lillet blanc)
• 1 dash (tiny) of pastis/absinthe 

Shake it

• Add all your ingredients to a shaker with ice
• Shake for 10-15 seconds
• Pour into chilled coupe or martini glasses
• Garnish with a Maraschino cherry

Sluttishly Sweet: Fluffy Blueberry Pancakes

Ah breakfast, my favourite meal of the day. In my dreams, a butler would bring me a huge steaming pile of these blueberry pancakes every morning, probably with bacon. Sadly in real life I have to make my own, but they're pretty easy (especially if you have a contraption to whisk the egg whites for you).

If you're one of those people who really struggles with mornings, weigh out the ingredients and separate the eggs the night before, then leave in the fridge ready for the morning. And make yourself a big cup of coffee before you start.

These are huge fluffy American pancakes, not chic little crepes. If you prefer a slightly less voluminous but equally delicious version, try Michelle's honeymoon pancakes. And while you can make these any size you like, I have learned from bitter experience that smaller ones are much easier to flip.

Blueberries are best friends with lemons, but if you're feeling really naughty you could switch the lemon zest for white chocolate chips.

Lemony Blueberry Pancakes

You'll need:

• Butter or oil for frying
• 3 eggs
• 100g plain flour
• 1tsp baking powder
• 140ml milk
• Zest of a lemon
• 1 small punnet of blueberries
• Maple syrup, to drizzle over

Make it!

• Separate the eggs, with the yolks in one bowl and the whites in another.
• Whisk the whites to stiff peaks (so they don't come out of the bowl if you hold it over your head).
• Mix the flour, baking powder, milk and lemon zest into the yolks.
• Gently fold the egg whites into the yolk mixture.
• Heat a little bit of oil or butter in a frying pan on a medium heat.
• Put a dollop of batter into the pan, and scatter over a handful of blueberries.
• Fry for a few minutes. Take a peek at the bottom - it will be golden brown when it's ready.
• Flip it over and cook until the other side is golden.
• Put the cooked pancake in a warm place while you make the next one.
• Stack 'em high and douse with maple syrup.

Sluttishly Savoury: Sticky Lemon Chicken

Well the Indian Summer is well and truly over, and there seems like nothing for it but to knock up something hot and comforting to be devoured after work. I like to think this dish helps to fight off colds, what with the lemon, honey and garlic it's smothered in, but who am I kidding? I cook it because it's just damn tasty.

Chicken thighs are great to cook with as not only are they cheap, they're pretty much impossible to overcook (unlike those pesky breasts). In this dish they're covered in a sticky glaze and thrown in the oven in one pot along with the potatoes. I used sweet potatoes, but ordinary ones will do just fine.

Sticky Lemon Chicken (serves 2)

You'll need:

• 4 chicken thighs, skin on and bone in
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1tsp honey
• 1/2tsp dried oregano
• 25g butter
• 1 large sweet or normal potato, peeled and cut into bite size chunks

Make it!

• Preheat the oven to 180c / Gas 4.
• Start by browning the chicken thighs, skin side down, in a pan over a high heat. If you have a pan that will also go in the oven, use it, as you'll save on washing up. You shouldn't need much (or any) oil, especially if your pan is non stick. This will take around 10 minutes to turn a good shade of golden. 
• Meanwhile, combine the lemon zest and juice, garlic, honey, oregano and butter in a small saucepan and heat the mixture until it's all melted together and gooey.
• Once the chicken skin is good and crisp, turn off the heat. Add the potato chunks to the pan and toss them around to coat them in the chicken fat. 
• Season everything with salt and pepper, then pour over the lemony, buttery glaze.
• Whack it in the oven for 30 minutes.

When life hands you lemons

Yesterday was a bad day. A hideous day. I hated yesterday. Everything that could have gone wrong did and I spent the evening in a grouch. It was just one of those days that even a salted caramel brownie didn't make better (I had three just to make sure).

But I should have taken advice from this gorgeous print from Brighton POD. When life gives you lemons, crack open the gin. It's not rocket science, is it? The print is £25 and it's by the gloriously named Take the Proverbial.

Sluttishly Sweet: Lemon Ice

Is there anything nicer than a lemony dessert at the end of a meal? As much as my eye is drawn to ice-cream sundaes and fudge brownies, I know I'll regret anything that doesn't have that sharp lemon lightness. After a heavy meal, it comes as a beautiful burst of freshness, and is incredibly refreshing in summer.

Lemon ice is a Spanish dish and is a cross between ice-cream and sorbet. It doesn't have double cream but it does use milk and eggs. No need for an ice-cream maker though - just a freezable container and a whisk.

Lemon ice

You will need:

• 1 egg, separated
• 150g sugar
• 225ml milk
• 2 lemons, zest and juice

Make it!

• Separate the egg, putting the yolk in one bowl and the white in another. Whisk the yolk with the milk, then whisk in the sugar and lemon zest and juice.
• Whisk the egg whites until stiff (warning: this will take a lot of arm work. Use a food processor or electric whisk if you have one).
• Gently fold the egg whites into the lemony mixture. Taste it to see if it needs more lemon or sugar. Pour into a shallow dish and freeze.
• After two hours, remove and whisk again. This stops ice crystals from forming.
• Refreeze until you want to eat it.

Enjoy a bowlful on its own or with a handful of raspberries. I've taken to spooning it into my mouth before dinner, pitifully claiming it's a palate cleanser, ok? It'll keep for about a week - don't hang on to it for too long because of the raw egg.

Sluttishly Easy: Preserved Lemons

Preserved lemons are one of those condiments that are quite expensive to buy, but ridiculously easy to make. The only catch is that you have to hang around for a month before you can use them. But the occasional squeeze to release the juice and a bit of waiting isn't exactly hardship. Plus they look so pretty hanging around in the kitchen.

Preserved lemons are great for all manner of Moroccan recipes. You just discard the flesh and dice up the skin to use in tagines, roasted vegetables or salads. You could even just mix the diced peel with yoghurt and shredded mint for a zingy dip.

Preserved lemons

You'll need:

• A 0.5 litre Kilner jar
• 4 lemons (unwaxed)
• 3 tbsp sea salt
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tbsp coriander seeds

Make it!

• First sterilise the jar by running it through the dishwasher or giving it a wash in hot soapy water and drying it in the oven at 100c.
• Cut three of the lemons lengthways almost up to the stalk end, but not completely separating the halves. Cut them again crosswise so the lemons open up like a flower but the quarters are still attached at one end.

• Juice the fourth lemon.
• Stuff each of the three cut lemons with a tablespoon of salt. Wedge it right in and close the lemons up.
• Squidge the lemons into the jar, pour over the lemon juice and add the bay leaves and coriander seeds.
• Leave it for a few days before adding a bit more lemon juice and giving it a squidge with a clean spoon.
• After about a month, the preserved lemons will be ready. They'll keep for at least 6 months with the jar sealed.

Sluttishly Vegetarian: Warm Grilled Vegetable Salad with Halloumi and a Mint and Lemon Dressing

This is a lovely, punchy salad, full of strong, ripe, summer flavours. I bought all my vegetables from my local market, Surrey St in Croydon, which worked out incredibly economical. I managed to buy a whole bowl of peppers and another of courgettes for £1! I then strolled along a bit to a fantastic little Vietnamese stall which sold huge bunches of herbs for 50p. If you do one thing this week, search out your local fruit and veg market and GO THERE!

Serves 2

You’ll need:

• 1 courgette
  
• 2 red onions
  
• 2 peppers
  
• half a block of halloumi
• 1 lemon
• olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic
  
• a bunch of mint
  
• a pinch of sugar
• salt and pepper
  

Make it!

• Roast your peppers in a hot oven until black and charred. Put hot peppers in a plastic bag or tub, seal and leave to cool.
• Cut your other veg into half a centimetre slices, toss in oil and salt and pepper.
• Grill the veg, you might need to do this in batches.
  
• Mix the dressing; chop the mint, add olive oil, the juice and zest of a lemon, a pinch of sugar, a clove of garlic (crushed) and some salt and pepper. You might need to taste as you go, generally you need 2 to 1 oil to acid.
• Take the cooled peppers out of the bag/tub and peel the skin and cut into chunky pieces.
• Add to rest of the grilled veg. Toss veg in dressing. Plate up.
• Grill the halloumi slices and place on top of the salad. Sprinkle over a little chopped mint to make it look pretty and eat it up! You could serve this with some flat breads or eat it on its own

Cocktail Hour: Lemon Drop Martini

It's Christmassy, I'm typing away on the sofa under a blanket and for the next two weeks, I'm going to feel like I'm in a little bit of a snoozy half-coma. Which is all well and good, until I forget what day it is. So instead of giving into the snoozing (there's two more weeks for that), I've decided that this cocktail is the best way to pep me up. Sharp, strong and just enough of a tang to keep me awake for the next Christmas film.

You'll need:

• 75ml vodka - the good stuff
• 25ml orange liqueur (Cointreau is best for this - it stays clear).
• 1 teaspoon of superfine sugar (and some to dip the glass in).
• Juice of one lemon
• Ice
• Lemon peel to garnish

Shake it!

Add the vodka, fine sugar, lemon juice and orange liqueur to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake shake shake shake - that superfine sugar needs to dissolve unless you want a bitty drink. Pour into a sugar-rimmed martini glass and garnish with the lemon peel. Drink, wake up a bit and have yourself another mince pie.

Flickr image from waferboard's photostream.

Design Porn: Mr Jones lemon squeezer

I love this dinky 'Mr Jones' lemon squeezer by Kent-based ceramics whiz Polly George.

Perfect for one of those days when you've had a row with your best mate / boss / boyfriend. Just ram his head into half a lemon, twist and there you have it - emotional therapy AND fresh lemon juice in one fell swoop.

This bone china beauty is available for £25 from abode Brighton.

Baking for Beginners: Lemon drizzle cake

Last time I went shopping, I bought some lemons with the intention of doing something fancy with them like a tarte au citron or cheesecake. But I forgot I bought them and then, being a bit lazy, decided that lemon drizzle cake would work equally well. This recipe originally comes from Tana Ramsey and is very difficult to get wrong! Unlike the Asda ones Siany tried...

You will need:

• 225g unsalted butter (or baking margarine)
• 225g caster sugar
• 225g self-raising flour
• 4 eggs
• Zest of 1 or 2 lemons

For the drizzle

• Juice of 1 1/2 lemons
• 85g caster sugar

A loaf tin lined with greaseproof paper and an oven set at 180C/Gas mark 4 to bake it in.

Now make it!
1. Cream the sugar and butter together until it's pale, creamy and a bit fluffy. Add in the eggs, one at a time. Sift in the flour and tip in the zest and mix until it's all combined. If you want your cake to be more lemony then add more zest and a splash of the lemon juice.

2. Put into the tin, smooth the top and put in the oven for 45-50 mins. You can see if it's done if you poke a knife in and it comes out clean.

3. Once it's done, leave it to cool in the tin and make the drizzle by mixing the lemon juice and sugar. While the cake is till warm, prick the top with a fork and slowly pour over the drizzle so it sinks into the holes. Once the cake has cooled, the juice will have soaked into the cake and the sugar will have formed a crust.

4. Eat! Best served with a cup of tea and, if you're feeling particularly decadent, some whipped cream.