lemon and basil cake

My friend has been posting some delicious looking cakes, and one recipe looked and tasted so different, I just had to try it myself....lemon and basil cake....now, it doesn't look fancy, and it sounds kind of strange. But it works! The icing glaze is really sweet and the lemon is tasty. And who knew you could use basil in sweets?!

I spent a lovely Sunday afternoon baking this cake, wearing my laura ashley apron and measuring out the flour, chopping the basil. 

It was ever so tasty. Try it. I might share the recipe just like my friend shared with me.. The photo doesn't do it justice!

valentine's love in april

Belated valentine's cake post, the cute love heart cake if from my favourite bakery Anderson's- only £3:50. Bargain. Icing was a bit sickly sweet though!

anyone fancy carrot cake for afternoon tea?

It's been a while, I lost my camera at Christmas. But I have been doing lots of baking and have taken the odd picture of my creations.

Carrot cake is my favourite cake ever, and I've spent quite a lot of time reading Delia's recipe in her vegetarian cookbooks. Some old friends/ work colleagues were popping round for tea and cake and the occasion was special enough to warrant trying the recipe out.

I was delighted with the result, so moist and delicious. The icing was made from mascapone and cream cheese....it was perfect. I loved this cake and can't wait to make it again some day.

Here's the lovely spread we enjoyed, tasty sarnies and you can spot my treasured sugar bowl from Liberty (bought using a birthday gift from D + R- thanks boys!), my lovely sailor plat from east London vintage fair and the top of a cake stand I managed to save after smashing the bottom half - which was a bit of a disaster as it was a gift for M from K + E!

I have a few more posts coming so stay tuned folks. CCC is back with a vengeance! 

my perfect saturday

The Market Diner, NYC is the type of brunch I dream about, all the time. Just about a perfect Saturday would be if I could meet J & M for breakfast and then go to the Hell's Kitchen vintage market to trawl through some goodies.

Oh I miss New York.

the californian

Quite simply- you got to go there. The service is amazing, the menu is enormous, the coffee is refilled. The diner was built in the 1960's (I think) and feels like a proper American diner. It was renovated and reopened in 2009.

http://marketdinernyc.com/food-delivery/Market-Diner-New-York-City.10029.r?QueryStringValue=iPBkeH6U2oRGi3wkebKivA==

Once again, I miss NYC

magnolia's

It's a NYC 'must do' for any SATC fan (that's Sex in the City for ordinary folk)

Take a trip up Bleeker St in the West Village and sample the delights of Magnolia's. This place was even better than I imagined....quaint and cute with net curtains and the most delicious cakes and cupcakes

Now here's a link to the scene where Miranda and Carrie eat cupcakes outside the bakery. It's crazy that this 20 second clip put this place on the map and started the long lasting cupcake revolution.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5CJAXZxJXA

Of course, I love Sex and the City and I love cupcakes so I had to combine the two. Thankfully these cupcakes did not let me down. I selected the red velvet. It was soft and spongy and the icing was like nothing I'd ever tasted before....

red velvet cupcakes

I tell you though, it was pretty darn hard to pick which cake to eat, so many beautiful cupcakes to choose from.

and finally, we had to walk around the corner to see Carrie's stoop. I feel for the owners who have mad crazy SATC fans from around the globe on their doorstep taking photos.

It's a beautiful house, you can just picture Carrie running down those steps in a quirky dress, looking fabulous......

do do do do do dod, do, do do , do

wheatgrass: avoid at all costs

tom's diner, brooklyn

This diner, is quite simply, the most amazing place on earth. Well, I love it anyway.
It was a sunny NewYork day and our fantabulous NY friend was showing us all her favourite haunts, which included a stroll around Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. We worked up a massive appetite and I was starving by the time we arrived at Tom's.

Tom's Restaurant, Brooklyn

From the outside, you'll see they've gone to town with the Halloween decorations and inside the diner was filled to the brim with lots of kitsch. Wall to wall fake flowers, posters, plates. I loved it!

The staff were really friendly too. As soon as we sat down we were offered free slices of oranges and cookies. We quickly order a coffee and a milkshake.

free cookies, always a winner

The girls said the milkshake was the best they'd had in their life. We spent ages deciding what to eat. There were so many pancakes to choose from but we also fancied something savoury. What the hell, why not get a side of fries?!

So we each ordered different pancakes to share. My mouth is watering as I type this at the memory. London has many things, but pancakes like this? No chance!

So first up, my pumpkin and walnut pancake. Now, it might look fairly ordinary but you can probably notice the pumpkin colour of these, and the walnuts added a divine crunchiness and flavour.....mmmmm

pumpkin and walnut pancake

The pancakes come with maple syrup (of course!) and a range of flavoured butters. One was cinnamon, not sure about the others.

Next up is our NYC friend who ordered a sweetcorn and cranberry pancakes. Again,  to die for....

sweetcorn and cranberry pancake

And finally, my little lady ordered a sweet potato and blueberry pancake. She swears hers was the best but of course, I disagree...

sweet potato and blueberry pancake

Rumour has it that this is the diner that Suzanne Vega wrote her song, aptly named 'Tom's Diner' There is a bit of debate that it could have been written in a diner in Manhattan. So, next time I hit NYC, I shall try out the competitor. But I have to say, it will have to be rather special to beat this place.

Those pancakes....mmmmmmm......

Kitsch heaven