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Tag Archives: cake

5 tasty treats you absolutely should eat in Paris

21 Saturday Feb 2015

Posted by wanderingloulou in A wee bit of what you fancy, Cafes, Paris, Tasty travels

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birthday, cafe, cake, chocolate, cocktails, ice cream, Paris, paris food, restaurant, treats

Croissants in Paris

I realise the title of this post makes it sound like I may be up for heckling people in the street who happen to be eating a baguette or a croissant. “Hey! You over there! You should be eating that in Paris! How very dare you!?”

While that would be fun, that is not my intention. Rather I’d like to recommend to you five wonderful culinary moments you simply must experience during any visit to the stunning French capital.

I gingerly made the step from my twenties to my thirties last summer and I knew there was only one city that could make me feel like this decade was going to be my classy, sophisticated and oh-so cultured decade.  Only Paris would do.

The city was everything I’d dreamed it would be. Crammed with beautiful, elegant buildings, endless people watching opportunities and buzzing with an unmistakable joie de vivre. But the thing that truly bowled me over, was the delicious food that I indulged in for every meal of the day.

Now I know Paris is considered to be a top foodie destination, I haven’t been living under a rock cake. But what really struck me was that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to give your tastebuds their holiday of a lifetime.

Here are five of the best things that passed my lips during my birthday week in Paris…bon appetite!

Macaroons from Ladurée under the Eiffel Tower

I trotted into this plush little cafe en route to the icon of all Paris icons, the Eiffel Tower. It wasn’t serendipitous, I’d done my research – Laudree is famed for producing some of the very best macarons in the French capital.

I felt my breath quicken as I took in the array of their pretty pastel coloured delicacies. And while the interior was almost intimidatingly bijou, the staff were warm, attentive and happy to help me select my flavours. I got a little carried away and immediately chose rose, coffee, salted caramel and chocolate flavoured macaroons. Then I remembered, it’s only nice to let my boyfriend pick some too, and he went for raspberry, peach, strawberry and vanilla.

Sitting on the long stretch of grass in the shade of the epic Eiffel Tower nibbling these little beauties is one of my best memories of Paris.

macarons from Laudree

From Laudree on Rue Bonaparte to the Eiffel Tower, it’s a 40 minute walk, but you can take in the charming streets and burn off those calories before a macaron even touches your lips, so why not.

Boeuf Bourginon in Montmartre

Few things could be more French than a steaming bowl of Boeuf Bourginon. Our apartment was on the border between the rough and ready Pigalle area (think Moulin Rouge and a sex museum…) and the quaint, pretty Montmartre – the setting of the film Amelie.

Sacre Coeur in Montmartre

Sacre Coeur in Montmartre

On our first evening we wandered the busy streets of Montmartre in search of some dinner. The majestic Sacre Cour crowns the hill, but the surrounding streets are like a Parisienne Disney Land, jam-packed with tourists and tacky souvenir shops. Instead I’d recommend that you head a little downhill, to the quieter streets, where restaurants are better quality and locals meet for late night chats over a glass of wine.

We were tired and hungry, so alas I did not note down the name of the restaurant, but Boeuf Bourginon is a classic dish and the key component here is the setting – Montmartre is quite magical.

Opera cake from Dalloyau

I first tried Opera Cake in an Edinburgh cafe and bakery called Falko in Bruntsfield. Upon finishing, I calmly placed my fork back down on the plate and proclaimed the Opera cake to be the best cake I had ever eaten. And the trip to Paris offered the perfect opportunity to trace this little slice of heaven back to its roots.

Cyriaque Gavillon of Dalloyau patisserie is credited with creating the Opera cake in 1955. Its layers of almond sponge soaked in coffee, chocolate and ganache tick all my boxes, and the slice I ordered on my birthday was everything I dreamed it would be.

Dalloyau patisserieopera cake

What could have been a better birthday cake?

Strawberry champagne cocktail while people watching

If there’s one activity I’d recommend in Paris – it’s people watching. Parisians were fascinating to me, with their effortless style, endless midday glasses of wine and nonstop smoking that somehow did not ravage their complexions.

Hop off the metro at Cite and you’ll emerge in a lovely market that sells all kinds of wonderful lanterns that you simply cannot buy because it will destroy your luggage allowance. Then head toward the Palais de Justice and on the corner you’ll find a busy restaurant called Les Deux Palais. It isn’t cheap but it’s a great place to rest your weary legs and watch the world go by.

paris lanterns

My boyfriend enjoyed their beef carpaccio, while I opted for a light salad. The strawberry champagne cocktail from the specials board, however, was the real star of the show.

strawberry cocktail

Ice cream beside Notre Dame

And finally…a proper little hidden gem. Just five minutes from the aforementioned Palais de Justice, on the corner of Boulevard du Palais and Quai du Marche Neuf, you’ll find an unassuming ice cream shop window attached to brasserie Le Soleil D’or. Buy ice cream from here – it’s insanely good. I had strawberry and my boyfriend had caramel, and it was such a meltingly hot July day we had to scoff them down before they turned to liquid. But, oh my, so good.

It was incredibly hard to narrow the list down to five things, but if you try any of these I promise you won’t be disappointed. If you’ve been to Paris, I’d love to hear what tasty treats you’d recommend? After all, something tells me it won’t be long until I return…

 

 

 

 

 

It’s up to you New York, New York (Cheesecake)

03 Wednesday Oct 2012

Posted by wanderingloulou in Uncategorized

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Tags

baking, cake, cheese, cheesecake, new york cheesecake

If one thing in life is certain, writing about cheesecake leads to craving cheesecake. So when I had to write a little bit on the history of the New York Cheesecake at work, I knew it was only going to end one way. Namely, me – covered in sugar, my walls – splattered with sour cream, and my first ever New York Cheesecake attempt…

Image

I had to pull out a little turbo baking action on my super busy Saturday, but somehow managed to pull off a convincing New York Cheesecake.

Inspired by this nifty little recipe from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, but with a few tweaks, here is my New York Cheesecake recipe –

What you’ll need

The base

85g butter

180g digestive biscuits

1tbsp caster sugar

A pinch of salt

The filling

900g full fat soft cheese

200ml sour cream

200g caster sugar

3tbsp plain flour

3 large eggs and a yolk

2 tsp vanilla extract

Dash of lemon juice

A pinch of salt

The topping

200ml sour cream

1 tbsp caster sugar

Dash of lemon juice

1.)    Heat the oven to 190C. Grease the sides of a springform cake tin with butter.

2.)    Take out all your pent up aggression on the digestive biscuits. In other words smash them into crumbs with a rolling pin. Then add the sugar and salt, and finally mix in the melted butter.

Image

3.)    Press the mixture into the base of the cake tin and bake for 10 minutes, then set aside to cool.

4.)    Turn oven down to 170C. Mix sugar, flour and salt.

5.)    Beat the soft cheese until light and fluffy, then add a third of the sugar mixture, then half of the sour cream. Repeat, then add the final third of sugar mixture and beat. Stir in vanilla and lemon. Add the eggs one by one, then the yolk, beating until creamy.

Image

6.)    Butter the cake tin again, then pour the in mixture and cook for an hour and a half. Keep an eye on the cheesecake to make sure it doesn’t burn and don’t be surprised if it rises – mine did, a lot!

Image

7.)    Make the topping by combining sour cream, sugar and lemon. Spread on the cheesecake as soon as it comes out the oven. Pop in the fridge overnight or as long as you can – mine was in for a few hours.

8.)    Share with friends, whilst listening to Frank Sinatra, preferably. 

Image

What a weasel eats on its birthday…

24 Tuesday Jul 2012

Posted by wanderingloulou in A wee bit of what you fancy, Eating out, Edinburgh eats, Leith

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

birthday, birthday cake, breakfast, cake, chicken, coconut, fry up, hemma, holyrood 9a, mimis bakehouse, nobles

It happens to us all, we all get older, ok?! And as more than one of my friends pointed out – if you’re not getting older, you’re most likely dead. These are the kind of people I choose to spend my time with.

In a futile attempt to stop the aging process/conduct a scientific experiment that would freeze the ages of my cells with alcohol (with absolutely zero scientific basis)/get so drunk I didn’t remember I was turning a year older…off I trotted to Hemma and Holyrood 9a with my lovely pals. Many pints of Black Isle blonde were consumed, as were copious amounts of Innis and Gunn, and a delightful evening was had by all. I even got a little surprise, baked by the fair hands of my super thoughtful boyfy, Rob…

Man, that boy bakes good cake.

To clear away the cobwebs it was entirely necessary to head to Nobles and eat my body weight in fried foodstuffs the next day.

Quite possibly one of the best fry ups to be had in Edinburgh, and served until 5pm, luckily.
Heading to work on Monday you’d think I’d be a little sad the festivities were over…but no birthday would be complete without a copy team outing to Mimi’s Bakehouse!

The crispy coconut chicken with tangy mango salsa is a summer menu treat, but the real main event came after…

A generous slice of Bounty sponge cake, which I was so ready to devour I forgot to take a photograph before I stuck in. We voted it a ten out of ten.

All in all a pretty outstanding birthday. BIG SHOUT OUTS to my brother Mark for making it so special with banners and bubbly, to Rob for his phenomenal cake making and to all the lovely people who came to celebrate the fact I’m still alive – yay!

Taste cancelled…brought back down to Earthy

12 Thursday Jul 2012

Posted by wanderingloulou in A wee bit of what you fancy, Cafes, Canonmills, Edinburgh eats, Food festivals, Taste

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cake, Cooking, Earthy, edinburgh, flat white, Home, leith, Saturday

“I don’t quite know how to tell you this, Louise…”

That was how my boyfriend Rob prefaced the news that Taste of Edinburgh food festival had been cancelled. At that point only the Saturday sessions were cancelled. My disappointed face came out and moped around a little. Then the entire Taste weekend was cancelled and my disappointed face got even more disappointed and I moped around some more.

But what was I going to EAT all weekend? Luckily Rob gathered my sorry little self up and off we went to Earthy at Canonmills for a spot of lunch.

I bloomin’ love Earthy in Portobello and the small section of shop in Earthy Canonmills has the same vibe going on – fresh, local, healthy, organic produce for the health conscious foodie.

With my stomach already set to indulge in preparation for Taste, I was ready to bury my sorrows under mountains of cake. The rain, however, had other ideas. As if drowning Taste wasn’t enough, it turned out the kitchen in Earthy had been flooded – which the furiously flowing waters of the Water of Leith outside the window further attested to – so no food was being served.

We didn’t get lunch, but there was a small selection of cakes to choose from. I went for a raspberry and white chocolate cake, while Rob had a lemon and rosemary cake.

The presentation was…interesting, although I couldn’t really fault the waitress’ cheeriness despite the downpour outside. In fact all the staff were very upbeat and lovely.

My flat white ticked all the boxes but the cake didn’t really satisfy me (possibly a lingering effect of my indulge setting), it just tasted kind of…healthy. I understand it was probably made with the most wholesome organic flour/sugar/eggs money can buy, but it just seemed to be lacking something. Cake should be moreish, rich, and you should feel a bit naughty when you’re eating it.

What Earthy does have going for it is atmosphere. From the quirky low hanging lightbulbs that pepper the ceiling, to the heavy wooden furniture, Earthy Canonmills has a charming, welcoming feel to the place.

I’m definitely going to go back to Earthy and give it a second bash because I’ve heard only good things about the place. Might just have to wait for it to stop raining…

Plan for Taste next year? Go to the Friday session 🙂

 

 

 

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Looking Glass cafe and bookshop

02 Monday Jul 2012

Posted by wanderingloulou in A wee bit of what you fancy, Cafes, Edinburgh eats

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Tags

bookshop, brownie, cafe, cake, Carrot cake, edinburgh, flat white, Looking Glass, Macaroon, Muffin, Peter, Quartermile, Starbucks

Looking Glass cafe and bookshop is the newest addition to the spangly, glass-fronted Quartermile and on Sunday I popped in for a cake (or two!) and a cuppa.

The cafe is tucked away behind Starbucks and Peter’s Yard, and perhaps for this reason we didn’t have to fight to get a seat or a table in Looking Glass – although the two big comfy sofas were already taken. The atmosphere was pretty laid back and I found myself distracted by a) the lush looking selection of cakes on the counter and b) the rows and rows of pretty books.

The cake selection was adequate although not particularly breath-taking, with the cafe staples – scones, carrot cake, cupcakes and flapjacks. I opted for a nutty chocolate brownie AND chocolate and coconut macaroon (in my defense the macaroon wasn’t that big…) and a flat white. The macaroon and coffee were delicious, although the brownie was rather average.

After scoffing the cakes I weaseled my way around the book selection which was small but perfectly formed, and I was pleased to see a section dedicated to Scottish fiction. The tables were a little small for the three of us, but I’ll head to Looking Glass again for some quiet time – to curl up with a good book and to treat myself to a macaroon…or three.

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Hen party at the Hidden Lane Tearoom

22 Tuesday May 2012

Posted by wanderingloulou in A wee bit of what you fancy, Cafes, Eating out, Glasgow eats

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Tags

afternoon tea, cake, chocolate brownie, coffee, glasgow, hen party, hidden lane tearoom, high tea, sandwiches, tea party, whoopie pie

The Hidden Lane Tearoom is a wee gem of a place, indeed hidden down a secret lane off Argyle Street in Glasgow.

After several hours spent harassing the general public and posing serious danger to our own lives (cocktails and Glasgow traffic do not mix) on my cousin’s hen party, we tottered down a quiet little lane to find a nest of homely, vintage loveliness awaiting our arrival.

Small, but perfectly formed, every shelf and table in the Hidden Lane Tearoom is stacked with vintage crockery, quirky antiques and curios. I particularly loved the freshly cut roses on every table – so pretty.

Most of the hen party went for the vintage hair and makeup makeover on offer and came out looking bloomin’ fabulous. I, however, passed on the offer – with a face as big as mine it’s far too easy to wind up looking like a drag queen – and contented myself supping champers from a teacup.

Surely the crowning glory of the Hidden Lane Tearoom was the spectacular range of cakes and sandwiches. We were treated to mountains of whoopie pies, chocolate brownies, meringues, lemon cake and white chocolate pots…and every single thing I tried was utterly moreish. Perhaps to my detriment.

The two very nice ladies behind the counter made me a smashing coffee, which thankfully managed to shake me from the impending sugar/champagne fuelled crash.

It was nice to have the place to ourselves for the hen party, and next time I’m in Glasgow I’ll definitely be back for a coffee and cake…if not another cake stand all to myself…

Scoffing up the crumbs at Lovecrumbs café

14 Monday May 2012

Posted by wanderingloulou in A wee bit of what you fancy, Cafes, Edinburgh eats

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

artisan roast, Baking and Confections, cafe, cake, Cake decorating, chocolate, coffee, Cooking, edinburgh, flat white, Home, leith, lovecrumbs, raspberry, rose, sponge cake, west port

The latest newcomer to the Edinburgh cake scene is Lovecrumbs café in the West Port. Starting life in a small industrial unit in Leith, these ladies sure know a thing or two about rustling up a damn good cake.

The café itself is rather sweet and rustic, with an eclectic array of furniture – nope, no matching chairs here – and potted plants in the window. The homely feel really worked well with the cakey treats on offer, which ranged from salted chocolate tarts to traditional scones, all displayed beautifully in an old wardrobe.

I couldn’t resist trying the Rose and Raspberry Sponge – it was simply divine and took around twice my normal cake eating time to consume since I was determined to savour every scrumptious mouthful. Along with the cake I had a flat white, made with Artisan Roast coffee much to my delight.

Lovecrumbs looks set to establish itself as a must-try for cake lovers in Edinburgh, and the place was already heaving by the time I’d scoffed up all the (love)crumbs from my plate. I was very impressed by the sunny disposition of those behind the counter too, even though they were clearly very busy it was service with a smile all the way.

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Tasty adventures in Portugal: Belem custard tarts

04 Friday May 2012

Posted by wanderingloulou in A wee bit of what you fancy, Portugal, Tasty travels

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

cake, custard tarts, pastry, portugal, sintra

Countries in mainland Europe are just so blooming amazing at making mountains of baked yumminess aren’t they? And Portugal is no exception.

Wandering around Lisbon you’ll find a bakery on practically every corner, with delicious looking cakes, biscuits and pastries bursting out of their window displays and proving very difficult to resist.

High up on my must-try list was the Pastel de Belém, also known as Pastel de Nata, a traditional custard tart that is said to date back to the 18th century when nuns used the egg yolks left over from wine making to make this tasty little treat.

I got my hands on one on our day trip to the lovely little town of Sintra, just outside Lisbon. Here I am…in Sintra…pre-tart….

They tasted as good as they looked – the perfect combination of sweet pastry and thick, creamy yellow custard. Why thank you, you thrifty nuns!

On another note, I’m really excited to be heading to the first ever BrewDog festival this weekend Brew at the Bog near Inverness. Not only will I be sampling some tasty beer but I’ll also be making notes on some of the interesting festival food there, so watch this space for a related blog post. In the meantime, check out a guest blog I did for the rather fabulous Ale to the King, all about BrewDog bar in Edinburgh.

Off to get the thermals out…

Louise Boyd

Louise Boyd

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