Streusel Crumb Muffins

This is a quick and easy recipe for streusel-topped muffins. In the US, these are called streusel crumb coffee cake, presumably because they're usually accompanied by steaming mug of coffee. In England, calling it a coffee cake would indicate that they taste like coffee, hence the name change to Streusel Crumb Muffins.

Queen of Sheba Cake

I decided to try something different today. In our family, we usually have a dessert on Saturday evenings and there's nothing better than baking up a treat on a Saturday afternoon. I saw a recipe a few weeks ago from a Sunday magazine and thought I'd give it a go. It's called the Queen of Sheba cake for whatever reason (I have absolutely no idea why!) and looking online, I found out it was originally a Julia Childs recipe. So here's my take on the Queen's chocolate cake and it turned out pretty pretty pretty nice.

Chocolate chunk muffins

Now normally I'm not a big muffin-type of girl but I had some cooking chocolate that had been sitting in the cupboard a while and I had an event I needed to bring cake to so I thought why not? Let's try making some simple chocolate chunk muffins.

Simple Choux Pastry

Another rainy Sunday afternoon in England and with some left over fresh custard, I decided it might be a good time to attempt a batch of choux pastry puffs. I had always heard that choux pastry was a difficult recipe to master and easy to get wrong so I was a bit nervous. 

Following a recipe in one of my mum's worn-out Japanese cookbooks, I whipped up a bunch of light and crispy choux pastry puffs in next to no time.

Mascarpone and Brown Sugar Scones

I had some leftover mascarpone cheese after using some in a pasta bake recipe and I decided to scour the internet for ideas on how to use it up. I came across a recipe for mascarpone and brown sugar scones that sounded delicious and easy so I thought I'd give it a shot. This is originally a recipe from Lorraine Pascale's Baking Made Easy.

Brownie Heaven!

Despite my unrelenting sweet tooth, chocolate is not my favourite thing. I definitely enjoy a good bar of chocolate every now and then and you can't beat a thick slice of chocolate cake but I never really crave chocolate. However these dark chocolate brownies may have me converted.

Egg White Cheese and Tomato Melts

Sometimes you just don't fancy cake. It doesn't happen to me often but after eating copious amounts of tiramisu, you feel the need to address the sugar/normal food balance in your body. So after using 5 egg yolks in the tiramisu, you can make this quick and easy lunchtime meal using the leftover egg whites.

Easy Peasy Cheesy Scones

It's probably pretty obvious that I'm more of a sweet person than a savoury but sometimes you can't beat good old fashioned savoury baked goods. It's been a rainy miserable day here in England, living up to our reputation and on days like this, you can't help but crave warm, home-cooked comfort food. And this classic cheese scone recipe fit the bill.

Fluffy angelic white cupcakes

I absolutely hate wasting food and I was brought up to 'want not, waste not'. I'm one of those people who has to clear the plate, even when I'm stuffed to the brim. So after using 5 egg yolks for the tiramisu, I decided to make my almost-but-not-quite angel cupcakes to use up the 5 egg whites.

Normal angel cakes require a fair bit of effort and at the moment, it's a bit beyond my baking skills but making some white cupcakes are not as tricky and taste pretty pretty pretty good (if I do say so myself).

 

Tiptop Tiramisu!

So Tiramisu is a bit of a retro dish but a firm favourite in my household. It's one dessert that I don't ever grow tired of, despite having eaten it for over 20 years. My recipe is a tried and tested family recipe passed down from my Japanese mother. Although it's a quintessentially Italian dessert, give this a try and you'll swear tiramisu originated from the land of the rising sun.

Pecan pie, done right!

Oh how I love pies. Despite being summer, there's nothing quite like the thought of a nice pie baking away in the oven. I love all types of pie and pecan pie is one of my all-time favourites. Perfect with a healthy scoop of vanilla icecream or even clotted cream if you've got it to hand.

Oh so British scones - perfect for a cream tea!

Scones are one of my weaknesses. A lot of sweet foods are my weakness but you literally cannot pass up a freshly-baked scone with lashings of clotted cream and strawberry jam. It doesn't get much better than that.

Recipe: Almost crepes

I find crepes notoriously difficult to make, mainly because I don't have a crepe maker and have to use an ordinary frying pan. But once you have the recipe, you can make a great tasting near enough crepe whenever you like.

Recipe: All American Pancakes

I'm pretty much addicted to pancakes. And I love all types of pancakes - American pancakes, scotch pancakes, crepes, hot cakes and English pancakes. Despite being a Brit, my favourite has to be American pancakes. Done right, they should be fluffy and thick. It is one of the few things I could eat everyday and never get tired of. Thankfully it's quite a simple dish to make, once you have the right recipe. And I have the right recipe here for you.

Philly Eats - Part 4 - My personal Aladdin's cave

The motherload! Reading Terminal Market - My alltime favourite place in Philadelphia. That probably says a lot about me...

Reading Terminal Market is situated directly next to Market East Station and is a covered market with a multitude food stalls and restaurants. And it's honestly one of the best eating spots I've been to. If you're a lover of food, you can't walk around the market without a huge smile on your face. The biggest problem you'll find in this place is deciding where to eat. I was in Philly for 5 days and it was not long enough to try everything on offer here.

Philly Eats - Part 3

Time for ice cream!

Being a huge fan of Man vs. Food and Adam Richman, I knew I had to visit The Franklin Fountain for a unique ice cream experience. The Franklin Fountain is a lovely, old timey ice cream parlour. The decor is a throwback to old school Americana. Being tourists from England, I just loved the look and feel of the place. 

Philly Eats - Part 2

No trip to Philly is complete without the obligatory Philadelphia Cheesesteak. With so many places offering the eponymous sandwich, I found it hard to decide where to try the ultimate cheesesteak experience. we plumped for Sonny's Famous Steaks.

  

Philadelphia: The City of Brotherly Love and comfort eats - Part 1

First post on my new blog and what better way to inaugurate it than with a review of an awesome American city, Philadelphia. 

Philly, City of Brotherly Love, Birthplace of America, home of excellent eats.

I recently spent 5 days in Philadelphia and soaked up all the history, sights, sounds and eats of this Pennsylvania city.

I'm a big fan of the US and American food. No country does comfort food better than the United States. While Philly might not be the expected gourmet city of the US, there are several excellent places to eat. You can eat heartily, and eat well on a budget.

Now onto the eats...

About

Hi, I'm Este and I'm a 20-something novice cook from jolly old Britain. Having been reluctant to cook for most of my life, I've suddenly found an appreciation of all things food in the last 18 months. I'm learning all the time and finding cooking a most therapeutic past time.

I started this blog in August 2013 to share my love of cooking, baking and travel. Having a bit of a sweet tooth, my recipes tend to be of the dessert/cake nature and I like experimenting with new recipes.

I also love travelling and experiencing new culinary delights. If money weren't an object, I would spend my life going on holidays and eating new foods. Good thing I'm poor because otherwise I would probably be the size of a house.

Este