Most Curious, Most Fantastical
Image:Esther Ling Photography at Most Curious Wedding Fair – St Andrews Norwich 8th Feb 2015
Last weekend I had the most distinct pleasure of meeting some new folks who are newly and entirely focused on planning their Wedding. Chiefly planning cakes if they were in front of me! Armed with notepads, brain clouds and Pintrest boards, amazing ideas and creative quirks…tall cakes, small cakes and everything thing in between. The one that stole the show for us was our midnight ‘Eureka!’ moment.
In a deep dark cosy slumber one night a cheeky little buttercream number formed in a little dream bubble – after a mad little scribbly doodle the idea grew in the morning light into a barrel of gingerbread and lemon sponge layer massaged with softly scented vanilla pod screed buttercream, adorned with a heady concoction of embedded freshly pressed herbs.
The breadth of imagination from the to-be-marrieds by providing the canvas of cake was sweetly staggering, so we are offering a bashful thank you to all those who subscribed to one of Buns dreams. Literally. One of our favourites has to be a couple who have one of the grandads is making a copper tandem bicycle to prop against the cake – like the riders have just hopped off into the herbs meadow for a breather.. We are adorning cakes with bunting, flags, fruit and flowers. Barrel cakes are being given the fusion treatment – chocolate fudge base layers with gingerbread and cream cheese centres with lush lemon sponge and lemon curd at the top. Totally funky and tongue twisting – why not make your day more memorable with an element of Curious?
Picture: Sea Haze Photography at Most Curious Wedding Fair – St Andrews Norwich 8th Feb 2015
Another quirk of the day was sampling gingerbread cake with a fresh zesty cream cheese swirl, instead of the usual fayre of a fresh strawberry Victoria sponge or indulgent fudgey chocolate cake. Ginger’s where it’s at for Buns’, as a self-confessed ginger nut I love gingerbread with all my bakers heart. It’s warming, comforting and has an intoxicating aroma when baking.
As a seasonal nod to Pancake Day on February 17th this year I’m going to be making a batch of these beauties from The Telegraph with my small boys and big one this year.
Gingerbread pancakes with stem ginger syrup recipe
SERVES
4-6
INGREDIENTS
220g/8oz plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
75g/3oz soft light brown sugar
3 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground nutmeg
4 eggs, separated
600ml/1 pint buttermilk
50g/2oz melted butter, plus extra to fry
Stem ginger syrup
75g/3oz stem ginger, finely chopped, plus 100ml/3½fl oz ginger syrup
Zest of 1 lemon
3 tbsp runny honey
Zest of 1 orange
METHOD
Make the syrup first. Place all the ingredients in a small saucepan with 2 tbsp water and bring to a gentle simmer for a couple of minutes. Take off the heat to infuse and keep warm.
To make the pancakes, sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, sugar, spices and a pinch of salt into a large mixing bowl. Mix together the egg yolks, buttermilk and melted butter and stir into the flour mixture until the batter is thick and smooth, but don’t overmix.
In a separate clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff. Carefully fold the egg whites into the batter until just incorporated.
Place a large frying pan over a medium heat and brush lightly with melted butter. Drop two or three large dollops of batter into the pan to make pancakes about 8cm/3in across. When bubbles appear on the surface (after about two to three minutes), flip the pancakes over and cook on the other side until browned.
Transfer to plates and spoon over the warmed syrup before serving with a dollop of whipped cream. Cwoooor – what’s not to love? Who’s in!
Staying with my love a little longer (well, it is nearly Valentines day)..
How about a homemade Ginger liquor?
Featured in Serious Eats This homemade ginger liqueur tastes so elegant that folks will not believe you made it yourself. The steeping time is very short, so this is a perfect DIY holiday gift…if you can bear to part with some.
Notes:
Peeling ginger with a spoon allows you to navigate the curves and bumps more easily than using a peeler. Store as you would any liqueur—no refrigeration is required. This should keep for a year, but if it develops off flavors or a cloudy appearance, discard it. (If you can keep it longer than a few months you’re doing better than us!)
Ingredients
- 2 ounces ginger root
- 1 vanilla bean
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 orange
- 1 1/2 cups brandy
