Comforting coffee and walnut cupcakes

Coffee and walnut cupcakes

Today is going to be a busy day and with Adrian in UK, the running around will all be down to me. Ed is taking his first step to fame and fortune as a real rockstar. As well as an afternoon rehearsal for an upcoming event for the music school he is at, he has been asked to stand in as guitarist for a real band with a real gig in a real bar. 

Perfecting my Rock-Chick look!

This means another rehearsal followed by the event itself this evening, all of which he needs chauffeuring to and from. Add to this the current panic buying of fuel in France, thanks to the manifestations by anyone and everyone (or so it seems) that has affected supply at petrol stations and an orange alert for stormy and windy weather this evening, I decided that I needed a boost. Enter my coffee and walnut cupcakes - sweet, delicious and a real comforting treat. We all have those days when only comfort food will do, so here is my recipe.

115g softened butter

115g caster sugar

2 large eggs, beaten

150g plain flour

1 tsp of baking powder

strong black coffee

1 tbsp of walnut oil (optional)

1 tbsp of walnut flour (optional)

75g softened butter

100g icing sugar

Halved walnuts to decorate

Preheat the oven to gas 4

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy and then add the walnut oil if you are using it.

Add the beaten eggs, a little at a time and add a spoonful of flour if you are worried about it splitting. Beat until smooth.

Add in the flour, walnut flour and baking powder. Mix well and then add a tablespoon of the cold coffee. If it is still a little thick add a little more coffee.

Divide equally between your cupcake cases, I made 18 small(ish) cupcakes. Bake for about 15 minutes until golden and springy to touch.

Leave to cool on a wire rack.

For the buttercream topping, mix together the butter and icing sugar and add some coffee in small amounts until the desired consistency. Pipe onto the cold cakes and decorate each cake with a walnut half. If your piping is as haphazard as mine, the walnut disguises any mistakes. Enjoy every mouthful, if possible in a quiet and calm place with a cup of coffee on the side.

Walnut, Apple and Quince Tart

Walnut, Apple and Quince tart

I’ve been rooting around in my dusty archived files looking for this delicious recipe that I originally posted on my old blog in October 2011. I had a real longing for this sweet and sticky tart, no doubt due to the fact that I’m just starting to collect this years walnuts and my kitchen is overflowing with ripe apples and quinces - I make no apology for the fact that most of my recipes are seasonal. This tart is equally as delicious when made with sliced apples or sliced quince although the original recipe (given to me many years ago) was just for a walnut tart so feel free to omit the fruit, but I think the crisp pastry, the fruity layer and the sweet crunchy topping all work very well together.

Pre-heat the oven to Gas 4.

Grease a flan dish (I use a 30 cm one) and line it with pastry (I use 100g butter rubbed into 180g plain flour and a pinch of salt, then brought together with a beaten egg and a small amount of water if necessary. This is then wrapped it in clingfilm and left in the fridge for at least an hour before rolling out). Ready-made pastry would work just as well, and would no doubt look far neater around the edges than my attempts, but I don’t worry about that as long as it tastes good.

Prick the base of the pastry with a fork, line with greaseproof paper and baking beans and blind bake for about ten minutes, until it is just starting to colour. Allow to cool slightly.

Spread a little quince jam all over the pastry base, then lay thinly cut slices of quince or apple, slightly overlapping each other, and sprinkle them with brown sugar. Place in the fridge while you prepare the walnut topping.

Walnut and Quince tart

3 tblsp butter

100g light brown sugar

2 eggs beaten

60ml of walnut liqueur or Cointreau

1 tsp vanilla essence

200g shelled walnuts

Melt the butter, stir in the sugar and then add the beaten eggs, liqueur and vanilla essence and mix well. Stir in the walnuts then pour this mix over the quince and carefully spread into an even layer. Bake until golden brown, approximately 45mins Gas 4. Allow to cool before serving.

W is for Walnuts

French food alphabet advent calender

Welcome to my French Food Alphabet Advent Calendar where I am working my way through a selection of delicious food posts; some are regional specialities, some are my personal favourite foods, some posts include recipes, but all are linked to French food and drink. I hope you are enjoying your virtual tastings.

It’s the 22^nd December and W is for Walnuts.

I love everything about walnuts; from the size and shape of the two old trees we have in our orchard, to the smell of their leaves and of course their delicious taste and versatility in the kitchen. Even the raking of the damp leaves on a chilly winters day is good exercise for the body and the mind too, when the air is heavy with their fragrance. Walnuts are reported to be a super food with one portion of nuts (about 14 halves) providing your daily dose of omega-3 fatty acids that may help to lower blood pressure and prevent cardiovascular disease.

The Dordogne region is famous for it’s walnut (noix) production and I can still remember the taste of a delicious walnut crème brulée in Argentat-sur-Dordogne, when on one of our road trips that also saw us following the Route des Noix and the Dordogne River.

Some of my favourite things to make and bake with our walnuts are pesto, bread, coffee and walnut cake, Christmas mincemeat and we even add them to our terrine de porc. There are also some lovely recipes in Walnut Wine and Truffle Groves: Culinary Adventures in the Dordogne by Kimberley Lovato, a beautiful book that is so much more than just a cookbook.

Don’t forget to pop back tomorrow for the letter X. If you have missed my previous advent posts you can catch up by clicking on the letters A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U and V.

It's October already

Hey, has anyone else realised it’s almost the end of the first weekend in October already? Not only was I was not ready for September to start; it now appears to have been and gone in a flash without me realising. Before I know it Christmas will be upon us and 2014 will be history. Does anyone else feel like life speeds up the older you get or is it just me?

My birthday drinks

Looking back, September did happen and I have loads of photos to prove what a busy month it was. Ed was happy to get back to start his last year at secondary school, an important year when he will sit his brevet exams and have to decide where he will go and what he will study at Lycee. Ade was less happy to get back to work in the UK, but to soften the loneliness for me, Mum and Dad were here for a week to celebrate my birthday. 

With all the comings and goings there were lots of airport runs that proved to be good excuses to get out of the village and see some city life. Bordeaux was her usual elegant and warm self, welcoming us back with open arms. We cycled in from the lake on the outskirts of town on the super networks of cycle lanes, picnicked in the shade by the river and enjoyed an afternoon of sightseeing.

 

Picnic in Bordeaux

Sightseeing in Bordeaux

Angouleme offered us some real excitement when we spent the day at the Circuit des Remparts, the annual road race for vintage cars that takes place in the old town, see here for some photos. Limoges however was not so exciting. It is a city we had never been to before, although Ade regularly uses the airport, so when I had to collect him at 9.30am one morning we decided a day trip would be a good idea. Unfortunately the weather was a little wet and although we spent a lovely time in a café catching up, we took no photos and came away feeling it was just a grey city. Maybe we missed the best bits?

The garden and orchard have moved seamlessly from summer to autumn. Yesterday I made my last batch of sweet courgette relish, one of my favourites, the tomatoes are finished and tonight it will be the last homemade pizza to contain perfect rounds of buttery sautéed courgettes for a few months. However when one season ends another begins and I am busy picking walnuts and being just as creative with the squash recipes as I was with the courgettes ones. Grated squash certainly makes a delicious chocolate cake, see here.

2014 Walnut harvest

With the return of a ‘normal’ term time routine, I am also back to taxi-ing Ed to his various after school music lessons and trying to ensure the meetings for things I’m involved in with the village don’t clash. Being on the council is interesting, but it’s proving a challenge to my already poor organisational skills, especially those weeks when there is something on every evening. Thankfully my yoga classes have also started back, giving me a whole morning every week of me time and the luxury of total relaxation. What do you enjoy doing to relax?  

Autumn colours

French Brasserie Cookbook Terrine de Porc

When we buy a half pig (which we did last week) we get certain cuts of meat that wouldn’t normally feature on our regular supermarket shopping list but we don’t like to waste them. With a fridge full of pig liver and the excess fat trimmed off the casserole/mince cuts, we needed to consult the recipe books for some ideas. Thankfully the French Brasserie Cookbook: the Heart of French Home Cooking by Daniel Galmiche has a recipe for a Terrine de Porc that I was able to adjust slightly (as is my way) and put all our excesses to good use and even throw in a few homegrown ingredients.

I enjoy flipping through any recipe book, but this one is an especially good read with it’s informative wordy bits and easily achievable recipes. Brasserie cooking is probably the best style/type of French cooking to try in the home, as it is not tricky or pretentious, but is wholesome and comforting. This book covers all the basics like stocks, vinaigrettes, mayonnaise, dressings and the various types of pastry. It is illustrated with great photos and as well as finding all the usual French regional delights: Ratatouille, Tarte Tatin (although I did like the twist of rosemary and almonds), Clafoutis, Crêpes, Bouillabaisse, Cassoulet and Beef Bourguignon, there are also some more unusual recipes; Lime Risotto, Vegetable and Chickpea couscous and one of our favourites, a delicious wild garlic soup.

Here is my slightly adapted version of the Terrine de Porc recipe.

Using our new mincer

600g pork shoulder/neck, coarsely minced (note a true terrine would have some meat left cubed, but we prefer a smoother texture).

300g pork liver, minced

300g pork belly fat, minced

3 tbsp Cognac

½ tsp grated nutmeg

100ml dry white wine

¾ tsp salt

½ tsp ground white pepper

12 slices of streaky bacon

2 eggs

100ml double cream

35g shelled, chopped walnuts

2 sprigs of thyme

Mince all the meat, liver and fat, combine with the Cognac, wine, nutmeg, salt and pepper and mix, then cover with cling film and leave to marinate in the fridge overnight.

Pre-heat the oven to Gas mark 1/130 degrees and remove meat from fridge. Cover the base and sides of a terrine mould with the bacon, allowing it to hang over the sides.

Whisk eggs and cream together and gradually add to meat mix, then add the walnuts. Pack the mix into the mould and push down firmly with a spatula. Place the thyme sprigs on top and cover with the bacon. Place in a deep oven dish and fill dish with hot water to reach two-thirds of the way up the terrine mould. Bake for about 2 hours. It is done when a thermometer inserted into the centre reaches 68 degrees.

Ready to wrap and bake

Leave to cool completely at room temperature with a 1-2kg weight on top. Place a sheet of greaseproof paper between the terrine and the weight. Once cold, cover and place in the fridge for two days to allow the flavours to develop. We always serve on bread or toast with cornichons.

French Brasserie Cookbook: the Heart of French Home Cooking by Daniel Galmiche is published by Duncan Baird Publishers and available in hardback and ebook formats.

Terrine de Porc with Cognac and Walnuts

Farewell to the summer garden

The weather has turned and the season has changed, so we have taken the first steps towards putting the potager to bed for the winter. There are still the Brussels sprouts for Christmas, some lettuces, the Jerusalem artichokes and a few beetroots, but the tomatoes were struggling and so were the courgettes and squash. This is the earliest we have ever had to give up and just thinking that doesn’t do much to improve my mood on a dark, damp day. We have harvested all the green tomatoes, most of which were turned into tomato and apple chutney (there are still a few apples to harvest too) and the baby squash were roasted for a soup. I am hoping the larger squash will store for a little while longer, they do make a delicious soup but I like the idea of using them as a fresh vegetable for as long as possible. I am really pleased with my Longue de Nice squash and with three of them weighing a combined ten kilos of firm orange flesh (similar to a Butternut squash) I predict lots of curries this autumn.

Longue de Nice squash

As usual the weeds have taken over in the potager, possibly more so this year - an unfortunate side effect of too much time spent cycling and not enough time spent gardening. However it was such a fantastic summer I’m not really complaining. Getting the plot ready for next spring will be hard work and we really could do with some good old-fashioned muck to improve the soil. We both felt that although we have harvested quite a bit from the garden the yields could have been better. We have a compost heap that provides some goodness for the plot and all the plants from the potager we have pulled up have been added to it, with grass cuttings, leaves and kitchen scraps, but there is never enough. It is at this time of year that I think a piglet would be the perfect answer. Fenced into the potager he or she could spend the winter weeding, rotivating and adding muck with very little effort on my part. Just thinking about the size and quantity of courgettes next year that would go so well with a pork chop is making me hungry. Enough of my dreaming, I have a huge vase full of parsley from my neighbour that is destined to become the star ingredient in a batch of pesto that will also use up some of last year’s walnuts. It is just a shame it hasn't stopped raining for long enough to pick and dry many of this years walnuts – I am not a fan of cold, wet autumns. 

At least wet days mean reading days and this weekend, as well as celebrating Ed’s 13^th birthday, I will be indulging in some book therapy at the Hope Association Book Sale – thousands of second hand books on sale all at 1euro with proceeds going to local animal charities. I will be there on Friday, so only two sleeps to go.

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A walk in the orchard

I took a stroll around our orchard and potager today with my camera and thought I would share a few of my favourite photos. It was so nice to have the sunshine back and the forecast for next week looks pretty good too. This is good news, we have managed to do some picking this week, but there is so much work to do, especially weeding in the potager, we need the good weather to get us out and about. There is still plenty of produce to harvest, which means plenty of fun in the kitchen for me and plenty of recipes to share with you.

Have a lovely weekend and I hope the sun is shining for you too.

We have the BEST apple crop this year

Perfect Peaches

Almost time to start the walnut harvesting

Hanging grapes on the pergola

My favourite boy

Not so welcome guests in the potager

My rambling butternut

An autumn rose

Cherry Mincemeat recipe

Cherry Mincemeat

I am not one to talk about Christmas (or even start thinking about it or pressie shopping) in September, except for one thing, the mincemeat for my mince pies. Now is the perfect time to start making this, especially as my recipe uses cooking apples, which are falling like the rain here at the moment. The flavour will be so much better if made now, bottled, and left to mature in a cool, dark cupboard for a few months.

Here is my tried and tested Cherry Mincemeat recipe, adapted from a lovely old jams and preserves book from Mum that dates from 1977 and was produced by The British Sugar Bureau. It is packed full of jams, chutneys, relishes, sauces and 1970’s styled pictures. 

Retro 1970s cookbook

It is retro, but I love it. I am busy making this in batches and we are all looking forward to the smell of freshly cooked mince pies in a few months time – for my pastry recipe, see here.

700g (4 1/2 cups) mixed dry fruits; sultanas, raisins, cherries

150g (1 cup) glacé cherries

100g (1/4 cup) cut mixed peel

250g (1/2 lb) cooking apples, peeled and cored

100g (1/4 cup) shelled walnuts

250g (1.2 lb) shredded suet

450g (2 cups) demerara sugar

2 tsp mixed spice

Cognac to mix (or rum or sloe gin)

Coarsely mince or finely chop dried fruit, peel, apples and nuts. Add the suet, sugar, spice and enough Cognac to give a moist mixture. Stir well and leave to stand, covered, for 2 days. Stir well again and put into sterilised jars. Cover as for jam and leave to mature for at least two weeks (but longer if possible) before using.

Energy and Power

We've been out on the bikes again, roughly following the Charente Velo Circuit 34c, but as this is a 60km circuit from Mansle 16230, we sneakily cut off a corner, although still completing an acceptable 48km. But there was a problem. I have cycled further, with more hills and in hotter weather, but I really struggled today. There could be many reasons for this, one of which is having exhausted myself on Friday doing the back to school shop at a hypermarket in Big Town - so much more stressful than the normal weekly shop in our local town, but I survived, just. However the experience did leave me so tired it was 9.20am before I opened an eye this morning, something almost unheard of for me. This resulted in a late breakfast, so I decided on a light fruit only snack followed by morning coffee to be back on track for lunch. 

I'm guessing that my head wasn't quite with it as despite a plan for an afternoon cycle ride and a small breakfast, we only had a ham sandwich for lunch rather than our normal bike ride picnic of tinned fish and wholemeal pasta. That was a lesson learnt and a mistake not to be repeated. Good energy food is power and essential if you are cycling and I was so glad we had muesli bars and walnuts to nibble on this afternoon.

The route we took happened to pass through the area that was directly in the path of the storm that hit our area a month ago. Whilst we may have had a restless night, what we experienced was nothing compared to what we saw today. The power of nature was visible all around, but especially in the wooded areas that had been left totally devastated by the storm. It was a very humbling experience.

The bent trunks following the storm last month

The power of nature

Cycling the Loire Tours to Saumur

This time last week, having eaten our fill at the Quick Palace hotel buffet breakfast in Tours we set off for two days of cycling along the river Loire with a bit of Chateaux spotting. Since getting back I think I have spent most of the week in the kitchen as we found ourselves somewhat over run with cherries, raspberries and courgettes. I have baked quiches and cakes and started stocking the cupboards with chutneys and relishes, however it meant neglecting the blog.

After the madness and excitement that was The Tour de France in Tours it was with a little reluctance that we headed out to the west of the city on Friday morning. The further out of town we got and the more peaceful it became, the more we knew we had made the right decision not to stay with the buzz in Tours awaiting the lunchtime departure of the cyclists. The Tour might have been over for us but we still had a good few kilometres to tackle on our own little tour of the Loire.

Morning coffee in Savonnières

The plan was to follow the river Loire from Tours to Rigny-Ussé, cross the river Indre, then loop down to Chinon before following the river Vienne back to the Loire and on to Saumur. This route is well documented in Cycling Southern France - Loire to Mediterranean by Richard Peace, however we didn’t have the space to carry the book with us, but following big rivers, on the flat, how difficult could it be? Well, despite the Loire being a cyclist heaven with over 800km of marked cycle paths and many cycle friendly hotels and campsites it wasn’t actually as easy as I thought. It wasn’t long before the path veered away from the river and then horror of horrors, became a cobbled track. I am a 41 year old body cycling a 30 year old road bike and neither of us do cobbles. The benefits of heading back to the road were that tarmac is a much faster surface for our thin tyre bikes and we followed the route Le Tour had taken the previous day, so the villages and roads were decorated on a cycle theme.

Cobbles are a no no!

The bridge over the Loire in Langeais

We lunched on pasta and tinned fish, perfect energy food, having seen Villandry (from afar), the lovely bridge at Langeais and got a great view of the Rigny-Ussé chateau that morning. The afternoon took in Chinon, where we stopped for a beer, some lovely shady cycling by the river Vienne then the beautiful village of Montsoreau. 

Chinon

The Vienne river

Pretty displays in Montsoreau

We were only about 16km from our overnight stop in Saumur but tiredness and the heat were starting to show. When given a choice of a 14km route via the river or a 12km route via the vineyards, we decided to head uphill and save a couple of kilometres. Well, the views were superb, but unfortunately the signage wasn’t. We must have covered at least an extra 10km with lots of hills and lots of heat that necessitated a walnut break under the shade of a tree. The final zoom down from the Chateau in Saumur to our hotel was a fantastic feeling and we felt rather pleased with ourselves having covered 95km.

The Loire vineyards

Saumur

The Cithotel was very welcoming with a safe storage area for the bikes and a clean and comfortable room. Never has a short bath in a two-tone peach hotel bathroom seemed so welcoming as that night!

Bliss!

Do join me again tomorrow with part two of our adventure.

Cycling the chestnut route in Deux Sevres

Following a hectic weekend that saw Ade’s final return from Brussels (yippee, let the summer begin) and the annual Dance Gala that brings the community together to ensure 60 plus young dancers get a brief taste of fame, Monday morning started with a some baking before we escaped with our bikes this afternoon. We lunched on an energy packed fish and couscous salad followed by a slice of fat free cherry cake and then set off direct from home following the narrow back lanes towards the local town of Sauze Vaussais.

The chateau at Jouhé

The route takes in a couple of Chateaux, nothing grand like in the Loire but pretty all the same, walnut orchards and many fine sweet chestnut trees. In our village there are no chestnut trees as our soil is not right, but you don’t have to go far to find the soil becoming a deep orange colour and the chestnuts appear. My neighbour, Pierrette, remembers spending days with her uncle collecting chestnuts as a child in the early 1950’s. They would leave in the morning with his horse and carriage, taking a picnic and spend the day stocking up on chestnuts to be shared with the extended family. From the size of some of the trees we saw I guess they have been there since before Pierrette was a child.

Bar de la Tour Sauze Vaussais

In Sauze Vaussais we stopped for a beer in the Bar de la Tour. The friendly barman served them with a smile, but unfortunately there wasn’t too much sun on the terrace. We did have a good view of the clock tower that has pride of place in the town centre and were able to listen to it strike the (same) hour twice, a few minutes apart. The return took us past the first golden wheat fields we’ve seen this year and also some fields planted with tobacco, a crop we don’t see around our village. I could have done without the breezy wind, especially on the steady uphill roads that saw me lagging way behind Ade. He often complains that a cycle with me (in tow) hardly sees him break a sweat, but after 45kms I sure feel I’ve had a good workout.

We were back home with plenty of time to mow the lawn in the sunshine before saying goodbye to our first summer visitors.

The lavoir in Hanc