Cake Facts | Upside-down Cake

Deliciously sweet and silly at once, we defy that hardest of cake haters not to smile at the sight of an upside-down cake.

But who first thought to invert perfection? Well it’s likely that the idea is quite old and began when breads and cakes were cooked over fires in skillet pans. Our cake-eating ancestors would have added fruit and sugar to caramelise it on the bottom of a pan and then poured a simple cake batter on top before cooking it over the fire. Turned upside-down, once cooked, it would look a lot more appealing than the top, which of course would cook eventually but may not brown so well when not done in the oven.

But as with many of the most fun things in life, a few centuries’ of knowhow and the invention of new gadgets and gizmos are what made the upside-down cake truly great. Around 1911, when James Dole’s company invented a machine that could cut pineapple into pretty, easy-to-deal with rings, and with the modern convenience of ovens to boot, the pineapple upside-down cake had its moment in the sun. The addition of a tinned maraschino cherry was literally the icing on the cake.

In our April issue, we have a recipe for the classic upside-down cake with a spiced twist, pictured above. Why not give it a go? You can find it on p25.

This delicious recipe is taken from Snacking Cakes: Simple Treats for Anytime Cravings by Yossy Arefi (Clarkson Potter). Photography by Yossy Arefi

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More from our May issue…

More cake facts

Recipe: Wild garlic bannocks with asparagus pesto

Bannocks are a traditional May Day food, and Beltane cake may have been similar: a scone-like bread cooked on a griddle over the Beltane fire. Wild garlic is carpeting every woodland floor at the moment, and it makes a savoury and aromatic addition.

Wild garlic bannocks

Makes up to 20 bannocks
550g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
1⁄2 tsp salt
1 tbsp caster sugar
50g butter
a good handful of wild garlic leaves, washed and dried
1 egg
150ml buttermilk (or full fat milk with 3 tbsp of yoghurt stirred in)

1 You can cook these over a griddle on a fire or hob, or in the oven. If cooking in the oven, preheat it to 230C/Fan 210C/450F.
2 In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar, then chop in the butter and rub it in with your fingers until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Slice the wild garlic leaves and mix them in.
3 Beat the egg into the buttermilk (or milk and yoghurt) and then start mixing it into the dry mix to form a dough. Bring it together and knead it briefly on a floured surface, before rolling it out to about an inch in thickness (a little thinner if cooking on the griddle) and cut out rounds or squares from it.
4 Place on a baking sheet and bake for 8-10 mins, or place onto a hot griddle and cook for around 5 mins on each side. Test one to check that it is cooked through. Serve the bannocks hot, split and buttered.

This is a wonderful way of using up any asparagus ends and offcuts, as they are full of flavour but the processing removes any stringiness and toughness.

Asparagus pesto

450g asparagus spears or offcuts
50g hazelnuts
1 clove of garlic, crushed
60ml extra virgin olive oil (plus a little extra for finishing)
75g finely grated Parmesan cheese
juice of half a lemon
salt and pepper

1 Steam the asparagus over boiling water for 8-10 mins, until it can be easily pierced with a sharp knife. Remove from the heat and leave the asparagus to cool.
2 Dry fry the hazelnuts over a high heat for a few minutes until the skins start to come away and the nuts become slightly toasted. Remove from the heat and tip into a clean tea towel then rub off any loose skins.
3 When nuts and asparagus are cool, tip them into a food processor with the garlic, olive oil and Parmesan cheese. Pulse until everything is broken up and amalgamated but still has some texture. If the pesto is too thick, add a little more olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and
a squeeze of lemon juice, to taste.

This recipe was first publisjed in the May 2016 issue of The Simple Things. so we think it’s definitely time to give it another go.

From our May issue…

More recipes for Spring days…

Recipe | Campfire Salmon

You don’t need to catch your fish for it to taste just better when eaten on the beach

This campfire salmon with tomato skewers is just the ticket for an impromptu day spent at the beach. It’s best eaten with windswept hair and mopped up with crusty bread after. 

Serves 4 

4 salmon fillets 

Salt and pepper 

1 lemon, sliced 

A punnet of cherry tomatoes 

Olive oil to drizzle 

1 Take two pieces of foil big enough to wrap the fish in. Place them on top of each other and place the salmon fillets in the middle. 

2 Season the salmon with salt and pepper then cover with lemon slices. Wrap the foil over the fish making sure there aren't any holes or gaps. 

3 Using wooden skewers, thread the cherry tomatoes onto the sticks, drizzle with a little oil and season with salt and pepper. Place a wire griddle over the fire – above the burning embers and away from the flames – and place your skewers on top, turning regularly until they begin to blacken. 

4 Meanwhile, place the foil salmon packet directly in the fire and flip roughly every 5 mins, cooking for around 25 mins, or until the fish is fully cooked. Serve with the tomato skewers and home-baked soda bread. 

Cook’s note: Soak your wooden skewers before using to stop them from charring and bring an old wire rack to balance on the fire to make cooking quicker. 

This recipe is part of our Gathering feature, Bright and Breezy, from our April issue, a complete guide to having an impromptu spring day by the sea. Alongside campfire and picnic recipes, it also features ideas for enjoying the beach responsibly and games to play on the sand. Photography by Brent Darby Photography and Narratives Photo Agency.

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More from our April issue…

More campfire recipes…

Recipe: Hot Cross Bun Cakes

Make Good Friday the best Friday ever with these seasonal buns that are just a bit different from an ordinary HCB

Makes 12

2 duck eggs or 3 large chicken eggs
90ml buttermilk
185g butter
Zest of 1 orange
185g self-raising flour
1⁄2 tsp baking powder
70g ground almonds
185g light brown sugar
2 tsp mixed spice
120g sultanas
1 tbsp apricot jam or marmalade 

for the icing
60g cream cheese
40g butter
60g icing sugar
Zest of 1⁄2 an orange equipment

Cupcake tin
12 cupcake cases Piping bag and nozzle 

1 Preheat oven to 180C/Fan 160C/350F. Beat the eggs in a bowl and then add the buttermilk. Melt the butter, add it to the bowl and mix well. Stir in the orange zest. 
2 In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, sugar and mixed spice, and stir in the ground almonds. Then fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture. Stir in the sultanas. 
3 Spoon the cake batter into the cake cases, about three-quarters full, and bake for 18–20 mins until a skewer comes out clean. Cool in the tin for a few mins before transferring cakes in their cases to a cooling rack. 
4 Meanwhile, heat the apricot jam or marmalade in a saucepan with a dash of water until it becomes liquid. Using a pastry brush, glaze the cakes while they are still warm and then allow to cool. 
5 Mix all the icing ingredients together. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag with a small, plain nozzle and pipe a cross onto the top of each cake.

Recipe from Love, Aimee x by Aimee Twigger (Murdoch Books)

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From our April issue:

More Easter inspiration:

Recipe | Whitby Lemon Buns

Whitby lemon buns are similar to Iced Fingers, but are usually square. The icing will harden, so for a softer version, add 1 tsp of water. 

These have been a speciality of E Botham and sons of Whitby since the 1860s, but are made by other bakers now, too. Plump, filling and beautifully zesty, they make an occasion of any cup of tea and are a cheering sight in the cake tin. Here’s how to make them yourself.

Makes 12 buns 

For the buns: 

15g dried yeast 

250ml lukewarm whole milk 

500g plain flour 

½ tsp baking powder 

60g demerara sugar 

100g butter (room temp), cubed 

2 eggs 

5g fine sea salt 

Zest of ½ lemon 

150g raisins or currants 

For the glaze: 

200g icing sugar 

35ml lemon juice 

1 Add the yeast to the milk and stir to gently activate. Meanwhile, in a bowl or electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the flour, baking powder and sugar, then add the butter on top. Pour in half of the yeast mix and knead. When fully absorbed, add the rest of the yeast mix, along with the eggs, and knead for 5 mins more. Leave to stand for a few mins. 

2 Add the salt, lemon zest and raisins and knead for 10 mins more, or until it’s formed a smooth, elastic dough. 

3 Cover and set aside for 1 hr. Line a 39x27cm tin with baking parchment. 

4 Divide the dough into 12 equal parts. Take each piece and lightly flatten, pulling in the outer parts like a purse and squeezing together. Turnover and place in the baking tin. 

5 Cover with a cotton cloth, then wrap in a plastic bag. Rest for 1 hr, or until doubled in size. Preheat the oven to 210C/Fan 190C/Gas 6. 

6 Bake for 8–10 mins, or until golden. Allow to cool, then make the glaze by mixing the icing sugar with the lemon juice and using to top each bun. 

Cook’s note: You can freeze these buns before icing: thaw and revive in a hot oven before adding the icing.

This recipe is taken from Oats in the North, Wheat From the South by Regula Ysewijn (Murdoch Books). Photography by Regula Ysewijn.

You can read more of the recipes from the book, including Tottenham Cake, Manchester Tart and Devonshire Splits, in our April issue, on sale now. 

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From our April issue…

More bakes to make…

Recipe: Goose egg lemon curd

In general, weather conditions allowing, geese lay from about the middle of February until mid-May. What a joy it is to find that first egg, pure white in colour, just like goose feathers.

It’s a sign that spring is arriving. One goose egg is equivalent to three chicken eggs, but the proportion of yolk to white is higher, adding richness when used in baking. Lemon curd made with goose eggs is in a class of its own. The neon-yellow shines through the jar. Try to find the freshest possible eggs – your local farmers’ market is probably the best bet.

Goose egg lemon curd

MAKES 4 X 225G JARS
finely grated zest and juice of 8 large unwaxed lemons
400g granulated sugar
200g unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
2 goose eggs, lightly beaten

1 Put the grated lemon zest and juice, sugar and unsalted butter into a heatproof bowl and place it over a pan of simmering water, ensuring that the base of the bowl does not come into contact with the water.
2 Stir occasionally until the sugar has dissolved and the butter has
melted. The mixture should be nice and warm, but not hot or the eggs will curdle.
3 Strain the beaten eggs through a sieve into the bowl.
4 Using a balloon whisk, whisk the curd gently for about 15 mins, until it thickens to a custard-like consistency and feels heavy on the whisk.
5 Remove the bowl from the heat and leave to cool, stirring occasionally. Pour the curd into sterilised jars and seal.
6 Store in the fridge and use within 28 days.

From Fern Verrow: A Year Of Recipes From A Farm And Its Kitchen by Jane Scotter and Harry Astley. Photographs by Tessa Traeger (Quadrille)

This recipe was originally published in The Simple Things Issue 45, which you can order from our online store. Buy this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe

From our March issue…

More spring recipes…

A fish and chip shop tour of Britain

Forget whether you have jam and then cream or cream and then jam on your scone, the most divisive culinary choices in Britain must be fish and chips.

Here we celebrate the glorious differences between chippies across the nation and discover a few chippy treasures (and a few battered horrors) we didn’t know existed. 

What’s your poisson?

There’s a definite north/south divide here: haddock is the most popular choice in the north while cod is the fish of choice in the south. In major cities and chi chi seaside towns, you might find fancier items such as crayfish tails and Dover sole but, try as they might, nothing truly beats simple crunchy fish and fat chips. If you want to branch out a little, there’s always a fish cake to tickle your fancy, and if you’re in Yorkshire, you might be lucky and get a Yorkshire Fish Cake (originally from Sheffield), which is made up of fish sandwiched between two slices of potato, battered; all your fish and chip raw materials in one easy, crunchy parcel. 

Chips with everything

Let’s face it, the chips are almost as important as the fish in this illustrious duo, if not more so. Chippy chips (or chipper chips, depending on your location) should be Proper Chips; hunks of potato in various sizes, occasionally with a bit of skin left on. French fries and skinny chips have no place here. 

In some areas of Britain they’ve stopped even pretending the chips aren’t the main event, and we admire that. In London, wet chips (with gravy or curry sauce) make up a fine meal in their own right. In the Midlands you might find chips served with gravy and peas or beans, known as a pea mix or a bean mix, and probably two of your five a day. While in the Black Country, orange is the new black and you can buy Orange Chips, which are chips coated in batter and turmeric or paprika and deep fried. 

What to put on your chips (or dip your chips in)

Salt and vinegar happens all over the UK but down south it’s pretty much de rigeur and there’s not an awful lot more choice, unless you’re going for ketchup or fancy yourself as continental and have your chips with mayonnaise. 

Gravy is found more commonly in the north, though the preponderance of pie shops in London means ‘liquor’ (or gravy to you and me) has made its way onto the capital’s chippy scene, too. Whether you pour the stuff all over your chips or delicately dip is more a matter of class (and whether you’re wearing a dry-clean only top). 

Of course, the chip condiment to end all chip condiments must be ‘chippy sauce’ - a mix of vinegar and brown sauce or simply brown sauce and water. If you’re new to this and are offered ‘salt’n’soss’ in a fish and chip shop in the north, that’s what you’re getting. Say ‘yes’!

But ‘things that go on chips’ vary from one area to another. In Newcastle you’ll find Bolognese and chips, in Liverpool Salt and Pepper Chinese Chips, in Cardiff cheese, chips and curry sauce, and in Weymouth, comforting cheese, chips and beans is considered a local speciality.

And what of the best bits… the crispy bits?

The leavings at the bottom of the fryer have long been recognised as being the best bits. Once upon a glorious time, they were free and considered the rightful property of children and teens, who hadn’t the money for a meal but could usually cobble together enough from between the sofa cushions to buy a buttered bun into which kindly fish and chip shop owners would add ‘scraps’.  Or if the sofa was ungenerous, you could just have them out of newspaper.

But were they called ‘scraps’ in your home town? In Lincolnshire they’re often ‘bits’, in South Wales, ‘scrumps’. In Yorkshire they’re sometimes ‘scrags’ and in Cornwall they’re ‘screeds’. They’re ‘scratchings’ in Leicestershire but ‘fish bits’ in Scotland. But whatever you called them, we’d like to start a campaign to make them free again. 

And while we’re as big a fan of a Marks and Spencer dinner as the next man, on principle we eschew their tubs of M&S Chip Shop Batter Bits. At £1.05, that’s a gentrification too far, we think. 

Give peas a chance

Mushy peas are a northern staple but available everywhere and we don’t think you should trust a chippie that doesn’t offer them. Some pea purveyors have gone still further, however.

We’d like to give a metaphorical medal to those chippies on the south coast that are proficient in the alchemy that is making mushy pea fritters. How you envelop something that is essentially liquid in another liquid and get the whole thing into hot oil is beyond our kitchen skillset. 

In Nottingham, we’re told they serve mint sauce on their peas, which seems like such a grand idea, we can’t believe we’d not thought of it ourselves.

Pea wet, meanwhile, (the reduced liquid left from cooking dried peas, or simply skimmed off the top of the mushy peas) proliferates in chip shops in Cumrbia, Lancashire, Durham and Yorkshire, and was apparently an acceptable breakfast (with bread) as far back as the 17th century. 

And finally...

We must make mention of all the eclectic and surprising non-fish-and-chips items available in various hallowed corners of this sceptred isle, from Cumbrian patties (mince, encased in mash, battered and fried), to rag puddings in Oldham (minced meat and onions wrapped in suet pastry and cooked in a cheesecloth), via faggot and pea batches in Coventry (speaks for itself) to the Wigan kebab (essentially a pie in a buttered barm - you need a big mouth and a big napkin for this one). 

And in this category, Wigan emerges as the clear winner, with not only that potato and meat pie sandwich (why have only one carb when you can have three, after all?) but also the fabulously monikered Smack Barm Pey Wet: deep-fried potato with salt and vinegar served in a buttered barm with a drizzling of pea wet. Wigan, we salute you (and pray for your arteries).

Whether you like your haddock and chips with white bread and butter and a cuppa, or your scampi tails accompanied by prosecco and tartare sauce, the diversity of British fish and chips is certainly something to celebrate. 

In our March issue we take a look back at takeaways over the years, from oyster stalls on the banks of the Thames to McDonald’s Chicken Katsu nuggets. 

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More from our March issue…

More food to comfort…

Recipe | Leek & Thyme Flatbreads

A new idea to help use your early spring veg box well

Traditionally known as the ‘hungry gap’, early spring is the time of year when home-grown seasonal veg is harder to come by as winter veg comes to the end of its run but many spring varieties are yet to arrive. This may mean your weekly veg box feels like it is lacking excitement, but with a few new recipes ,there’s always a way to liven up a leek!

You could easily transform this crispyon-the-bottom, fluffy on the top flatbread into a pizza but, equally, the dough with more modest toppings is more akin to an Indian naan bread or a Persian bread made for dunking into dips. Whichever way you go, it’s delicious and a brilliant staple.

Makes 6-8

7g dried yeast or 150g active sourdough starter
4 tbsp lukewarm water
500g strong white flour
Sea salt, plus extra for topping 225ml cool water
2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for kneading and glossing
2 leeks, thinly sliced
A handful of thyme, leaves only (you can infuse the stalks in vinegar with garlic skins for a fantastically tasty garlic and thyme vinegar)
A crumbling of goat’s cheese, blue cheese, mozzarella or grated cheddar (optional)

1 Tip the yeast into a large mixing bowl and whisk in the warm water until frothy; if using a sourdough starter, simply mix in the warm water. Add the flour, a pinch of salt and cool water. Leek and thyme flatbreads
2 Use your hands or a spoon to bring the dough together. Add the oil and knead the dough for 5-10 mins, or until smooth and stretchy. Add a little more oil as you knead to keep it moist and prevent it from sticking.
3 Put the dough in a clean bowl. Cover with a plate, a lid, or clingfilm and set in a warm place for about 30 mins, or until it has doubled in size. If you’ve used sourdough in place of yeast, it will need longer to rise – at least 2 hrs or overnight.
4 Once the dough has risen, heat your oven grill to high and warm a large frying pan over a high heat.
5 Roll out pinches of dough (roughly golf-ball size) on a floured surface. Roll them thin for crispy flatbreads or about 2cm thick for fluffier (more naan-style flatbreads). Thicker flatbreads keep better.
6 Put the dough on the hot, dry pan. Drizzle a little oil on top, then add the chopped leeks, thyme and cheese, if you’re using it. Add a finishing gloss of oil and season with salt and pepper.
7 Once the bottoms are firm and look like they’ve been in a tandoor oven, remove from the pan and put them under the grill. Cook until golden on top. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Cook’s note: The dough will keep in the fridge for a week. It also freezes beautifully if you want to make it ahead of time or have any left over.

This recipe is just one of the ideas from our Veg Box Suppers feature by Rachel de Thample with photography by Ali Allen, which also includes creamed kale, coconut, cardamon and beetroot soup, rhubarb frangipane tart and an array of veg box pickles.

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More veggie suppers…

Recipe: Rhubarb and custard crepes

We're never ones to approach Pancake Day in a halfhearted manner., particularly not this year of all years. Why settle for lemon and sugar when you can dress up your crepe with this continental take on a classic English treat? Shrove Tuesday never tasted quite this good before.

Rhubarb and Custard Crepes

Ingredients
800g pink rhubarb
120g caster sugar
120ml water
140g plain flour
1 egg and 5 egg yolks
2tbsp melted butter, cooled
Pinch of salt
550ml milk
2 level tbsp cornflour
1 vanilla pod
300ml double cream

1. Preheat oven to 170C (150 fan), 325F, gas 3. Trim rhubarb, place in an ovenproof bowl and cover with 25g sugar then water.
2. Bake for 30-40 mins.
3. For the crepes, sift the flour into a mixing bowl. Add the egg, 1 egg yolk, melted butter, 15g sugar and salt, whisking all the time and then add 300ml gradually milk gradually at the end. Leave to rest for 30 mins.
4. Make custard by whisking together the other egg yolks, 80g sugar and cornflour until pale and creamy. Halve vanilla pod and remove seeds. Place pod and seeds in a pan with the cream and 250ml milk. Bring to boil while whisking, then add to egg mixture. Return to pan. Stir over gentle heat until it thickens. Remove pod and let cool.
5. Grease a frying pan, pour in a ladleful of batter and spread thinly. Cook until top of crepe is set, then turn carefully and cook on reverse. Keep warm as you make the rest. Serve filled with custard and rhubarb - and a side of custard.

Recipe from Pancakes, Crepes, Waffles and French Toast by Hannah Miles (Ryland, Peters & Small), first published in issue 20 of The Simple Things.

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From our February issue…

Recipe: Peanut butter jammie dodgers

Fans of peanut-butter- and-jam sandwiches will love this biscuity twist on the all-American classic. Give the flowers and chocs a miss and instead make a batch of these irresistible biccies for someone you love. 

MAKES ABOUT 30 DODGERS

150g butter, softened
100g shop-bought smooth peanut butter
125g caster sugar
25g light muscovado sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract
large pinch salt
265g plain white flour, plus extra for dusting
100g of your favourite jam

1 Cream together the butter and peanut butter for 1 minute. You can use either a medium bowl and a wooden spoon, or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add both sugars and beat for a further 2 mins until fluffy. Add the egg yolk, vanilla and salt and beat until combined, then sift over the flour and mix to form a soft dough. Knead a couple of times until smooth. 
2 Preheat the oven to 180C/Fan 160/350F. Line two baking trays with baking parchment.
3 On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough to a thickness of 3–4mm. The dough will be quite fragile – if it breaks apart, gently press the crumbly edges back towards the centre, then carefully continue to roll.
4 Cut out rounds of dough using a 5cm biscuit cutter. Using a heart-shaped stamp, or another small cutter of your choice, cut a hole from the middle of half of the biscuits. Place all the biscuit rounds on the prepared baking trays.
5 Bake for 8–12 mins until lightly golden. Keep a close eye on them – these biscuits can turn from golden to burnt very quickly.
6 Remove from the oven, leave to cool on the trays for 5 mins, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
7 When the biscuits are cool, spread a scant tsp of jam on the underside of the whole biscuits. Top each one with a cut-out heart biscuit and press down lightly. The biscuits will keep in an airtight container for 2 days.

Recipe from Homemade Memories by Kate Doran (Orion Publishing)

This recipe was first published in issue 44 of The Simple Things.

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From our February issue…

More lovely things for Valentine’s Day…

Recipe | Sesame Prawn Toasts

Moreish, prawnish and very celebratory, these tasty triangles will get a feast started on the right foot

Chinese New Year begins on Friday February 12th this year and ends with the Lantern Festival on the 26th, and is a celebration of the arrival of Spring as well as moving into a new calendar year. If you’re marking the start of Chinese New Year this weekend why not make these crispy and very moreish sesame prawn toasts as part of the feast? They’re a bit of effort but well worth it.

Serves 4

200g prawns (if using frozen, defrost in the fridge overnight then pat dry; de-vein and de-shell , if necessary)
1 tsp finely-grated ginger
1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
1 egg white
2 spring onions, finely chopped
1 tsp light soy sauce
¼ tsp each of salt and pepper
3 pieces of thick sliced white bread, each cut into 4 triangles
100g sesame seeds (on a plate)
Groundnut or sunflower oil for shallow frying
Chopped coriander, soy or sweet chilli sauce for serving

1 Blitz the prawns, ginger, garlic, egg white, spring onions, soy sauce, salt and pepper in a food processor until you have a thick paste.
2 Spread the blitzed prawn paste on one side of each triangle of bread.
3 Gently press the prawn paste side of each triangle into the sesame seeds on a plate. Set aside for frying.
4 Heat 2-3cm of oil in a wok or frying pan over a high heat. Make sure it's hot, but not so hot it's smoking. Drop small piece of bread into the oil – if it bubbles straight away, the oil is ready.
5 Place two of the triangles (prawn and sesame seed side facing down) in the oil and cook for 1-2 mins, or until the sesame seeds are golden. Fry one or two slices at a time or the oil temperature will drop and you may end up with soggy prawn toasts!
6 Turn the toast over and cook for a further 1 min. Remove and place on kitchen roll to soak up any excess oil. Repeat with the remaining triangles.
7 Serve whilst hot with a sprinkling of chopped coriander and soy sauce or a sweet chilli sauce for dipping.

Cook’s note: If you don't eat them all, let them cool, then freeze in an airtight container. To reheat, defrost in the fridge overnight and oven bake at 200C/Fan 180C/Gas 6 for 7-8 mins, or until piping hot throughout.

This recipe is part of our Feast of Good Fortune menu to mark the start of the Year of the Ox in our February issue. You can find the rest of the recipes, including potstickers and steamed fish, from page 34.

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More from our February issue…

More feasts from our Gathering pages…

Cocktail Hour | Blood Orange Negronis

It’s blood orange season;  what better excuse for a Negroni? (Like you need an excuse) 

With Saturday nights out off the menu for the moment, we’re officially reinstating Cocktail Hour. Join us for a very seasonal Blood Orange Negroni this evening. The bold colour of this cocktail is really rather cheering and it features Aperol instead of Campari so it’s less bitter than the original. And we feel a little less bitter about our Saturday nights for having one, too. Sometimes staying at home isn’t so bad. 

Makes one 

25ml gin 

25ml Aperol 

25ml sweet vermouth 

25ml freshly-squeezed blood orange juice, plus wedges for decoration 

Rosemary sprig 

1 Pour all of the alcohol and squeezed juice into a shaker or jam jar, make sure the lid’s on securely, and shake well. 

2 Fill a glass with ice and add a sprig of rosemary and a wedge of blood orange before pouring your Negroni over the top. 

Maker’s note: If you want to give your drink an aromatic, smoky twist, set fire to the end of the sprig of rosemary.

Find more tipples and other things to improve your weekends in the February issue of The Simple Things, available now.

More cocktails for every season…

More from our February issue…

Food | Chicken Soup on Tour

Take a journey around the world in chicken soup. There can’t be many nicer ways to travel...

When you’re nursing a cold, or just feeling in need of some succour and comfort, a bowl of chicken soup is the answer. We’re not sure there’s much it can’t solve, to be honest. 

Chicken soup has been soothing humans since the times of the ancient Greeks and Chinese, but it’s as a Jewish dish that it’s most well known, earning it the title ‘Jewish Penicillin’ . A 12th century Jewish philosopher, Maimonides, even claimed it could cure not only the common cold but also leprosy and asthma. 

Wherever you go in the world there’s a version of chicken soup to sustain you. Here are a few you might be less familiar with for some inspiration next time you’re wielding a ladle in the face of a cold. 

In France, try a Chicken Pot Au Feu.

Head to Vietnam for Pho Ga.

You can sample Bahian Chicken and Shrimp Stew in Brazil.

Warm your very bones with Ajiaco in Columbia. 

In Greece, order a bowl of Chicken Orzo Soup.

Go Italian with this Chicken and Escarole Soup with Fennel.

Try a Japanese take on chicken noodle soup with this Chicken Udon.

And finally, fight off  cold with some spice with a hearty Mulligatawny from India 

We were inspired to go on our Chicken Soup Tour by the recipe in our January issue for Chorba Bayda taken from The Chicken Soup Manifesto by Jenn Louis (Hardie Grant) Photography: Ed Anderson. The January issue is on sale now, in shops or you can buy it in our online shop and have it delivered straight to your doormat.

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More from our January issue…

More soup for your soul…

Staple foods 7 | Champagne

Only at this time of year would champagne qualify as a staple - but it is a time to eat, drink and be merry

Native to Northern France, only 60 miles east of Paris, champagne is a sparkling wine from the region of the same name, which is home to 319 wine-making villages and more than 15,000 wine growers.

Traditionally, it is made of a blend of white and red grapes – pinot noir, pinot meunier and chardonnay. While still wine is the result of fermentation, champagne’s bubbles, like most sparkling wines, are the product of a second fermentation through the addition of yeast and sugar. Since 1936 it’s been awarded an AOC (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée) thanks to its unique terroir, with its northerly latitude, cool climate and chalky soils.

Other sparkling wines are available round the world, from Spain’s cava and Italy’s prosecco to Germany’s Deutscher sekt. And you can find increasingly good sparkling wines from England, Brazil, Australia and South Africa. But a bottle of champagne is popped around the world every two seconds.

This feature was originally published in our December 2017 issue, but there’s always time for champagne. We hope whatever you’re drinking this evening, it brings a little sparkle with it. A very happy and hopeful 2021 from all of us at The Simple Things.

From our December issue:

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Food | Reinventing the Toastie

Making an event of sandwiches since the 1920s, the toastie maker is a lunch game-changer. Here’s how to make more of yours

There’s nothing wrong with a cheese sarnie. In fact, there’s plenty that’s right about it, but a crispy, golden, oozing cheese toastie? Now that’s a lunch to look forward to. But if you’ve never considered much more as a toastie filling than cheese (or cheese and ham if you’re feeling adventurous) you’re definitely missing out. Here are a few toastie fillings we have tried and loved. Drag out your toastie maker from the back of the cupboard, or simply fry on both sides in a frying pan. However you toast your toasties, there’s a whole new world of hot lunches waiting for you…

Beans in Toast

Yep. IN toast. An inside out twist on beans on toast, simply fill your slices of bread with beans and perhaps a dash of Worcestershire sauce. Comfort on a plate. 

Chilli and cheese

An excellent use for a small amount of leftover chilli con carne, this works equally well with veggie chilli, too. Make it vegan by simply leaving out the cheese. Excellent dipped in sour cream.

Butternut squash, bacon and gorgonzola

Roast the butternut squash and fry the bacon then assemble and sprinkle gorgonzola on top before toasting. 

Pizza toastie

This works like a folded pizza, with the bread working as a dough ‘case’ you can hold easily. Just spread tomato sauce or passata on the bread slices, top one with whatever toppings you like on a pizza, close and toast. 

Festive toastie

Stilton and cranberry sauce is simple but delicious. If you like, you can add turkey and stuffing, sliced sprouts, and any other Christmas fare you like.

Tapas toastie

A bit of Spanish sunshine in sarnie form. Manchego, chorizo slices and, if you like, a couple of anchovies, one or two roasted red peppers from a jar and perhaps an olive or two on the side. 

Mushroom and gruyere

Lots of sliced mushrooms, fried in a little garlic and butter, go beautifully with gruyere cheese. 

Ploughman’s toastie

Cheese paired with thinly sliced apple or pear. Such a good combo, we’re amazed it doesn’t happen more. Works well with a good strong cheddar and a bit of chutney on the side. 

Spag Bol toastie

Yes, we are double carbing. Nothing wrong with that. Another excellent way to see off leftovers too. Snip the cooked spaghetti up a bit, top with some of the Bolognese sauce and a few cubes of mozzarella. If you want to be posh, sprinkle some grated parmesan on the outside of the buttered bread once it’s toasting. 

Don’t forget dessert

Nutella, sliced banana and mini marshmallows. Utterly childish. Utterly delicious.

The waffle toastie with creamed mushrooms pictured above is from Happy Vegan Comfort Food by Karoline Jönsson (Pavilion Books). Photography: Karoline Jönsson. It’s just one of the recipes in our feature, Comfort Lunches, which you can find in our January issue, on sale now.

More from our January issue…

More marvellous things to do with toast…

Recipe | Swedish kardemummabullar

Making Swedish cardamom buns is a very happy way to spend an afternoon. Schedule in some time with a book while the dough and buns prove, and throw yourself into the slowness of the whole process in the knowledge that the finished buns will be worth every minute of the proving time.

Makes 18 

For the filling: 

100g butter, softened 

½ tsp plain flour 

1 tsp ground cinnamon  

1 tsp ground cardamom 

½ tsp vanilla extract 

50g caster sugar 

50g soft brown sugar 

For the dough: 

250mlfull fat milk 

13g active dried yeast granules 

75g butter 

450g strong white bread flour 

1½ tbsp ground cardamom  

½ tsp salt 

40g caster sugar 

1 egg 

Plus 1 egg, beaten (for brushing the rolls before they go into the oven) 

For the glaze: 

100ml agave or golden syrup 

50g almonds, finely chopped 

To make…

1 Begin by creaming all of the filling ingredients together and then set to one side. 

2 Next, make the dough by heating the milk in a saucepan over a medium heat until it starts to gently bubble, but don’t let it come to the boil. 

3 Pour the warm milk into a mixing bowl, add the yeast and mix together. Cover with a tea towel and leave in a warm room for about 20 mins to activate the yeast. While the yeast is activating, gently melt the butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat, then set aside. 

4 Once the yeast and milk have started to bubble (activated), add the cooled, melted butter and mix them together thoroughly. You can either do this by hand or with a dough hook attachment on a food processor. 

5 Next, take a clean mixing bowl and pour in the flour, cardamom, salt and sugar, then blend together. Slowly add this mix to your bowl of wet dough ingredients. Add one beaten egg and combine. Either using your hands or in a machine with a dough hook, knead the combined dough ingredients for at least 5 mins. If necessary, add a little flour if you’re finding that the dough is sticking to your fingers too much, although it does need to be quite sticky. 

6 Leave your kneaded dough to prove in either the bowl or mixer, covered, in a warm room for 30-45 mins to allow it to rise. 

7 Cover a flat surface with flour and place your dough on top. Knead it by hand (adding a little extra flour if it’s still too sticky to work with) for 5 mins. Once it’s a manageable consistency, roll the dough out into a rectangular shape and cover with the filling, stopping about 5cm from one end – if your table isn’t very big then you may find it easier to do this in two parts, making two smaller rectangles. 

8 Roll the rectangle into a sausage, leaving the bare end until last so that your filling doesn’t start spilling out. Cut your sausage shaped dough (with the filling inside) into 6cm-thick slices. Place the slices onto a lined baking tray and leave to rise for another 30 mins. 

9 Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200C/180 Fan/Gas 6. When the oven has reached temperature and the swirl-shaped dough slices have sat for 30 mins for a second rising, brush the with a beaten egg and then bake for 8-10 mins, or until golden brown. 

10 While the cardamom buns bake, make the glaze by heating the syrup in a small saucepan over a medium heat until warmed through. As soon as the buns come out of the oven, drizzle with the warmed syrup, then sprinkle the chopped almonds over the top of them. 

11 While they cool, take a clean tea towel and run it under a tap until it is soaked through, then wring it out and place the damp cloth over the baking tray for 5 mins to stop the cardamom rolls from going hard.

These Swedish buns are part of our Merry Midwinter menu from our January issue, a hygge style meal with added log-cabin-cosiness, that includes Smorrebrod, Scandi Fish Stew and more. Recipes by Kay Prestney.

More hyggelich things for January…

More from our Januaray issue…

Recipe | Root Veg Peel Crisps with Truffle Oil

Veggie peelings are given a new lease of life, transformed into these crispy, crunchy snacks

Serves 2

2 large sweet potatoes
3 large beetroots
2 parsnips
1 garlic clove, grated
30ml truffle oil
A few sprigs of fresh rosemary (optional)

1 Preheat the oven to 180C/Fan160C/ Gas 4 and line a large baking sheet with baking parchment. Use a vegetable peeler to peel thin slivers of the veg and place in a bowl. Add the grated garlic, a few sprigs of rosemary, seasoning and the truffle oil. Mix with your hands and then transfer to the baking sheet, spreading it out as much as possible.

2 Cook for 25 mins, turning the peel over half way through. When the peel is crispy (but not burnt), remove from the oven, allow to cool, then transfer to a serving bowl. Garnish with a few sprigs of rosemary and extra salt and pepper, if needed.

We recommend serving these root veg peel crisps alongside a mulled gin. Both recipes are from our feature It’s Crispmas! by Catherine Frawley, which you can find in the December issue, along with several more crisps and drinks recipes.

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More festive ways with veg…

More from our December issue…

Tipple | Swedish Glogg

The Swedes know a thing or two about keeping cosy in winter. Try this mulled wine, Swede style

A warming spiced drink that fills your home with the smells of Christmas is just what you need to kick off December. Pop on some carols, get your Christmas cards and pen out and welcome winter Scandi style

Makes 2 litres

2 oranges
350ml water
12 cloves
3 broken cinnamon sticks
4 star anise
10 bruised cardamom pods
A grating of fresh nutmeg (optional)
6 x ½cm-thick slices of fresh ginger
250g demerara sugar
4 tbsp dried cranberries (traditionally raisins)
2 x 750ml bottles of red wine
250ml brandy
4 tbsp flaked almonds, toasted

1 Squeeze the juice from one of the oranges into a large pot, then add the water, spices, ginger, sugar and cranberries. Gently simmer for 45 mins, then bring to the boil and let it bubble away for 2–3 mins, adding more water, if needed.
2 Thinly slice the remaining orange. Add it to the pot, along with the wine, brandy and toasted flaked almonds. Simmer for a further 15–20 mins, or until it’s fully warmed through. Serve while warm, ladled into heatproof glasses.

Recipe and styling by Rachel de Thample. Find this and more festive tipples, recipes and fun in our bumper December Miscellany, starting on page 65.

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More tipples to try…

More from our December issue…

Recipe | Blackcurrant and Bay Creme Brulee

A fruity, custardy festive pudding sure to satisfy any cravings for a sweet treat

Who said you had to wait until Christmas to bring out the festive puds? An afternoon making something sweet and sticky to brighten a dark winter evening is always time well spent. This fruity, festive twist on a creamy pud is just one of the recipes in our Night Before Christmas feature in our December issue by Erin Baker. But we think you can make it as early as you like. And perhaps have a practice run or two beforehand just to be absolutely sure you’ve got it right…

Serves 4

4 large egg yolks
4 tbsp caster sugar
400ml double cream
100g blackcurrants
6 fresh bay leaves, separated
40-60g golden granulated sugar

1 Preheat the oven to 150C/Fan 130C/ Gas 2. In a mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks and caster sugar together until the mixture begins to lighten in colour.
2 In a small saucepan, heat the cream with 2 of the bay leaves until almost boiling. Remove the bay leaves. Add a little of the cream to the yolk mixture and whisk well, repeat adding a little bit each time, whisking throughout, until all the cream is incorporated.
3 Divide the blackcurrants evenly across 4 ramekins, then pour in the hot custard and stand a bay leaf in each (leave it propped against the side, it'll be easier to pull out later).
4 Move the ramekins to an ovenproof dish deep enough to accommodate hot water two thirds of the way up the side of each ramekin. Bake until barely wobbling in the centre, this should take around 30-45 mins.
5 When they’re almost completely set (you can tell if there's only a slight ripple in the middle when they're jiggled), gently tease out the bay leaves. Leave to cool to room temperature, then chill.
6Sprinkle the granulated sugar generously, but evenly, over each custard. Smooth the surface with the back of a spoon then caramelise using either a cook's blowtorch or under a hot grill. If using a blowtorch, work the tip of the blue flame lightly over the sugar. If using the grill, allow it plenty of time to heat up first: they need to be caramelised quickly to allow the top to set without melting the underneath. Leave to cool at room temperature for 10 mins before serving, garnished with blackcurrants.

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More from our December issue…

More Christmas recipes…

Identifier | Christmas Pudding Charms

It’s Stir-Up Sunday, and if you’re doing a pud today and nervous about how it will turn out, perhaps all you need is a charm…

The tradition of gathering together to all have a stir of the pudding is said to have been brought to Britain by Prince Albert. A coin was dropped in before everyone took a turn at mixing and the person who unearthed the coin on Christmas day would be blessed with good fortune in the year to come, apparently. 

And charms were agreed to be so charming they soon moved on from simple thrupenny bits and sixpences to include more items, each said to have a different meaning. You can buy sets of pudding charms still, or fashion your own from things you have about the house. Here are a few charms and their meanings.

Coin
Coming into money

Thimble
If a single woman finds it they’ll remain single another year

Button
If found by a single man he’ll remain a bachelor

Horseshoe
Good luck

Ring/bell
A wedding is on the cards

Wishbone
A wish will be granted

Anchor 
They will have a safe year, protected from danger

Don’t forget to clean your charms first (cleaning them in Coca Cola is recommended) and then sterilise them in boiling water for 10 minutes. And warn your recipients that there may be a charm in their pud, otherwise there may be bad fortune, and possibly a trip to the dentist on the horizon for them instead.

Read more about Christmas puddings in our bumper Misceallany in the December issue, in shops and on sale in our online shop now.

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More Christmassy things…

More from our December issue…