Denise

I am a writer and a poet. I love to travel, and have lived in Belgium, Spain, Brazil, Chile and England. I love experiencing different cultures and their cuisine. I especially love Brazil, its culture and samba. And of course I love to bake!

The 100th Bake: Dark Chocolate & Almond Liqueur Savarin

I made it to triple figures, Yay. Can’t believe it. One step at a time and I’m nearly there. Just living the moment and not thinking too much about what lay ahead has helped make this task less daunting.

This was one of those Saturday bakes, when I knew I had all day and could take my time. I needed it! This is not a regular cake, it’s a “rich yeast cake”, soaked in almond liqueur syrup. It comes out light and fluffy and moist. Quite unusual. The dough contains yeast and sugar, salt, milk and eggs, so had to be mixed and proved twice for an hour each time, in order to rise before baking. Now that was plenty of time for contemplation! It’s something I have noticed recently, that seems to be a lost art. When do you see people waiting at bus stops, even walking down the street, just taking in their surroundings and giving their brains time to download and process all the information we pile into it daily. There is usually a device in hand, even at family picnics, its the devices that are reached for to check out status or likes or just what everyone else in the world is doing. I’m guilty of it too but I have to admit I do get my best ideas when I take time out to think. 🙂

As Luther Standing Bear an Oglala Sioux chief once said “I am going to venture that the man who sat on the ground in his tipi mediating on life and its meaning, accepting the kinship of all creatures, and acknowledging unity with the universe of things was infusing into his being the true essence of civilization.”

  • Melted choc into the mixture
  • Proved twice and baked
  • Almond liqueur syrup to soak the cake in

So this recipe involved quite a few steps. I melted the chocolate and set this aside to cool. Then put the flour, yeast, salt, sugar and cocoa powder

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By Denise, ago

The 99th Bake: Summer Four Berry Pie

You would think that a berry pie would entail some apples somewhere, Apple and blueberry, Apple and blackberry, but no, this pie is ALL BERRY and delicious to boot, all 750grams of them, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, and raspberries. Now that’s a lot of antioxidants right there.

We know antioxidants are good for us but why? Because they fight free radicals. These chemicals cause oxidation that damages cells and their genetic material. Your body makes free radicals as it processes food, sunlight, and toxins. Antioxidants either stop free radicals before they form or break them down so they’re harmless. This pie then, has got to be good for you. And a great time of year for Berry pie!!! 🙂

  • berries, berries, zest and
  • more berries

The pastry of this pie was different too. It was made with flour, butter, sugar and egg yolk and cream cheese. This gave it a crisp texture when cooked as well as a luscious texture that rolled out easily.

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By Denise, ago

Chocolate Brownie

Last night I made Chocolate Brownie. I tend to do that sometimes, just decide at 9.30pm to bake! Put something in the cupboard. This is a great recipe for that, or for any occasion. It’s so easy and quick. And fortuitously I have been invited to a BBQ this evening and now have something to take. Yay. The recipe is:

  • 200g butter
  • 50g cocoa powder
  • 400g castor sugar (or brown sugar)
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • 5 eggs
  • 100g flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 200 g dark chocolate chopped

In a large bowl or pot combine the melted butter with the cocoa. Add

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By Denise, ago

The 98th Bake: Lemon Biscotti


This year I have decided to save money on coffee purchases. I worked out we may spend triple figures each year buying coffees sometimes daily. Well that’s a lot of money, so I have purchased a Delonghi Expresso machine, using only fly-buys points! Lots of good coffee and savings. It all adds up, bank fees, etc. This was brought to my attention by a book I am reading and would highly recommend called the Barefoot Investor https://barefootinvestor.com/ An amazing insight into how better to manage your finances and plan for your future, quite a fun and light read, as well as enlightening.

  • Biscotti in a jar for later

This recipe wasn’t hard and neither was the biscotti. Homemade biscotti is quite different to bought biscotti, it doesn’t break your teeth and is very moreish. Here’s a recipe that looks just as good as the one I made https://owlbbaking.com/lemon-biscotti/ To make the biscotti I beat the butter in a mixing bowl until

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By Denise, ago

The 97th Bake: Pigs in a blanket

As I approach the 100th bake I can’t quite believe how many I have done. I’ve learnt a lot and had a lot of fun, and stress!! but it’s been worth it. Still a wee way to go so I won’t start celebrating yet. This is a simple recipe but it’s really the same as eating sausages wrapped in bread with mustard, though (homemade bread, so even better!) I packed them into the chilly bin just before we headed off to the beach on holiday. We had pigs in a blanket with greek salad when we got there!!! It’s sometimes the simple things in life that are the best.
I recently received a letter from the child we sponsor in Tanzania and his answer to “the best thing about this year was…” “baba mena buzi” which means father bought a goat.

  • woops, water instead of milk
  • simple fix
  • bread rolls, yum!! 🙂

I made a mistake when I was making the dough, I added water instead of milk, so I made bread rolls out of this dough and made another dough with milk for the pigs!! So we got two for the price of one, yay, can’t beat homemade bread sprinkled with sesame seeds, hot with melted butter. mmmmm. To make the pretzel dough, I added

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By Denise, ago

The 96th Bake: Mum’s Sunday Tea Lemon Curd Swiss Roll

I always grow tomatoes in the garden in summer. I love planting them, but am not great at watering them. This year I decided it might be quaint to have cherry tomatoes growing in a barrel on the deck. Well look at how that turned out!!! With all the rain over Christmas, the roots became water logged and the plants died, then next minute, fruit!!!! -the plants last ditch effort to reproduce. That’s nature for you – a veritable miracle, (not quite the lucky haul of previous seasons!)

  • A miracle!
  • The haul

I have never made lemon curd. I’ve threatened to, but never actually ventured to do it. I’m pleased now that I finally have and what a great recipe, full of butter, sugar, lemon juice and zest, it tasted like lemon meringue pie filling, just divine. To make the lemon curd, I simply

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By Denise, ago

The 95th Bake: Ginger Tuile Sabayon Baskets


I had a count up yesterday and I have 20 recipes left to go!!! Woohoo. Actually, I thought I had less. I know the recipe book says 120 recipes and 95 + 20 doesn’t add up to 120!! but I’m assuming its because there have been chutneys and lemon curds etc along the way which probably all add up to 120 recipes. Maths is definitely not my strong point.

I have taken up a new Sport and am thinking about taking up a new hobbie. It’s such a fun time of year for planning and figuring out what you are going to achieve this year. Thank goodness for New Year, fresh starts, new things, as well as letting go of old stuff too. Change is good and worthwhile and welcome, sometimes. I am also planning a trip to Europe for the end of the year so I can do some research on my next novel. Have just managed to arrange two house swaps, for the south of France and Germany. So exciting.http://www.homeforexchange.com It’s such a a great way to travel, free with amazing locations and accommodation. I am so looking forward to going to Lyon where the large outdoor markets of La Croix Rousse and St Antoine offer a huge selection of traditional and gourmet food including dishes ready to eat. Can’t wait. Maybe I should make it a food trip too, now that wouldn’t be hard.

I didn’t know what a tuile basket was, had never made one and certainly didn’t know what sabayon was.

  • Tuile baskets 🙂
  • Sabayon whisking! 🙂

So this bake was interesting and educational. You come to the realization that all this fancy stuff is not actually hard to make, it’s just fiddly and time consuming. This dessert was light and yummy, but it would take a very special occasion to make it again!!

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By Denise, ago

The 94th Bake: Plum Muffins

I whipped these up one afternoon as the kids were arriving home after being away camping. I figured some home baking, or food in general would go down a treat. They were easy and delicious with the tart plums in the centre and wholemeal flour making them even healthier. I couldn’t find the recipe on line so will give it to you here.

To make the muffins I heated the oven to 180ËšC. I cut the plums in half, removed the stones and cut each half into 6 wedges, then set aside. I put the soft butter, muscovado

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By Denise, ago

The 93rd Bake: Mary’s Neapolitan Baked Alaska

There are two baked Alaska in this cookbook and I have been holding off, knowing I had to do it, eventually. I figured a late family Christmas function was the perfect opportunity. It was scary, using three litres of ice-cream, (that’s why I needed a crowd) and enigmatic, putting all this ice-cream covered with peaks of meringue into an oven at 240ËšC!!! Eeeek. But I’d have to say it worked and the result was fascinating and delicious.

Our cat recently and very suddenly got sick and passed away. The house is so empty without her. It’s so sad. The only consolation is that she was 15 years old, so had lived a good life and a long life. Watching Bohemian Rhapsody last night, (great movie, one of the best ever!), it was very poignant watching Freddy carry on despite his diagnosis and listening to the lyrics of his songs, “who wants to live forever.” He was so creative, and very inspiring, especially how he carried on wanting to fulfill his dream of making music until he died. In his words, when he is singing to a large audience, “I’m exactly the person I was always meant to be. I’m not afraid of anything.” Oh to find that special place where we belong in the world. What a dream, come true. Making Baked Alaska might not fall into that category!

  • putting ice cream in layers into a dome shaped bowl
  • Whisking the meringue and adding sugar syrup at 115 C
  • piping the meringue onto the dome of ice cream sitting on the sponge

So first of all, what is a Baked Alaska. Well it’s actually a sponge base covered by a dome of ice cream, topped by meringue that is then

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By Denise, ago

The 92nd Bake: Moroccan Plait with Bessara Dip


Well Christmas is done for another year and New Years is behind us. It’s time to look freshly at the year ahead, take a deep breath and look forward to implementing those new year’s resolutions so resolutely made on New Year’s eve! Good luck. I find this time of year fun tbh, as it gives you a chance to feel excited about new things and the year ahead. This bake was fun, making bread always is, but it was also quite involved. The amount of delicious ingredients that went into it, made it worthwhile though including harissa paste, saffron, onions, feta and olives. Then of course I made the dip which went perfectly with this bread. Here is the recipe for all you budding chefs out there who want to give it a go as a New Year’s treat to yourself and family. http://www.pbs.org/food/recipes/moroccan-plaited-loaf-bessara-dip/

  • rolled out with topping
  • rolled up ready to do a four-strand plait eeek!!
  • Bessara dip

Read on if you want to see how I did it…

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By Denise, ago