Sunday Market Goodies

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I never left the flat yesterday, by lunchtime today I was getting a little cabin fever.  Stuart dragged me out for a walk and the chance to re-adjust to daylight and human contact.  He tempted me by the fact that the walk would involve a stop at the Stockbridge Market, which equals: goodies!

It was my first time down here, and it was great – I usually just end up at markets for a nosey, but I could have walked away with a lot more than I did – showing restraint for once, which was good!

First stop was Vanilla Cream Bakery, which is run by friend Rebecca’s sister Annwen.  Her cupcakes are all so beautifully decorated, we went for the Valentines ones which were Chocolate Mud and were divine! (they definitely weren’t being kept for Tuesday!)

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Rebecca gave us a little sample of some fudge bought from the The Happy Fudge Company a few stalls down and it was so tasty, so naturally we had to make stop there to try more.  They had a few different samples to try, but I had the casting vote on the White Chocolate and Raspberry Fudge.  I am actually surprised this survived the walk home!

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Another stall that caught my eye was that of Trotters Independent Condiments, well actually it was more the jar of Mojito Jelly that caught my eye.  Apparently goes really well with lamb… though I am thinking on toast to make breakfast a bit more interesting would also be good!  They were doing an offer – 3 jars for £10…so we bought 3 – mojito jelly included!

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My final two purchases go hand in hand with each other…some nice Stichill Jerseys Butter

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And a lovely wholegrain loaf from Au Gourmand Artisanal Bread

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Finally, as we were leaving I cast my eye over the lovely skincare ‘potions’ at the Gorgeous Potions stall, the lady there tried to get Stuart to get me a little something for Valentines Day… unfortunately for her (and me) – its not something he is big on, but she kindly give me a lovely bath bomb to make up for the lack of gift on Tuesday! It was really sweet of her, it smells lovely and I am looking forward to using it – maybe he’ll run me a bath!

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The problem after was having to carry this the long walk home!

New Year Desserts

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My role in yesterday’s New Years Day lunch was dessert, I have my usuals that I do (I make a mean pain au chocolat ‘bread and butter’ pudding!) but I wanted to try something different. There were 9 of us for dinner, so I decided to make 2, Clementine and Prosecco Jelly and an Apple, Amaretto and Physalis Frangipane Tart.

Apple, Amaretto and Physalis Frangipane Tart (From issue 1 of Making Cakes and Bakes Magazine)

Ingredients

1 packet of All Butter Sweet Shortcrust Pastry (or you can make your own!)
100g Butter
100g Caster Sugar
2 medium eggs
1 tbsp. Amaretto
100g Ground Almonds
25g Plain Flour

For the Topping

2 Red Skinned Eating Apples (I used Gala)
8 Physalis
Caster Sugar for Sprinkling
50g Apricot Jam

Method

  • Preheat the oven to 190 C / 170 C fan / Gas Mark 5
  • Grease a 3.5cm deep 18x27cm baking tin (or a 24cm diameter tin)
  • Roll out the pastry until big enough to fit the tin. Ease gently into the tin.
  • Put the tin into the fridge to chill while you make the filling
  • Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy
  • Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each one
  • Add the Amaretto, then stir in the grounds almonds and flour
  • Spoon the frangipane into the pastry base and level the top
  • Quarter the apples vertically and core them but leaving the skins on.  Cut into thin slices and arrange slightly overlapping on top of the frangipane
  • Bake for 30mins until the frangipane has set.
  • Remove from the oven and scatter the physalis halves on top of the tart.
  • Sprinkle over with caster sugar and return to the oven to bake for a further 10 –15 mins
  • Leave to cool in the tin
  • Warm the apricot jam and brush over the top of the tart to glaze the fruit.

Next up was the Clementine and Prosecco Jelly which came from the BBC Good Food website.  You will note that the picture on the website is a lot better than the one below, there was no easy way to photograph it – it does look like a giant egg yolk! However, it tasted great (even if I do say so myself!)

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Clementine and Prosecco Jelly

Ingredients

7 leaves gelatine
600ml clementine juice (from about 14 clementines or I cheated and bought a bottle!)
300ml Prosecco

Method

  • Put the gelatine sheets into a bowl of cold water to soften for a few mins.
  • Put 100ml clementine juice into a small pan and gently heat.
  • When the gelatine feels soft and the juice is just simmering, remove the juice from the heat and squeeze out any excess water from the gelatine sheets. Drop the sheets into the hot juice and swirl to melt. Make sure there are no visible lumps of gelatine before you move onto the next stage.
  • Stir the hot juice into the rest of the juice with the prosecco, then transfer to a jug.
  • Pour between 6 small glasses or 1 large bowl.
  • Sit the jellies in a small tray or dish, cover with a sheet of cling film and chill for at least 4 hrs. (or up to 48 hrs.) until set.

They seemed to go down well (well there was nothing left of them!) So I think these 2 recipes are definitely winners and will be added to my ‘go-to’ dessert list!