Salted Caramel Cupcakes

There's something about the combination of sweet and savoury that I really love - give me salty sugared popcorn or a brie and cranberry sandwich and I'll be a very happy lady.  One of these kinds of contrasting flavours which seems to be quite in vogue at the moment is salted caramel.

A few months ago I was in the supermarket, probably supposed to be buying washing up liquid or something equally uninteresting, and ended up doing my usual trick of getting distracted by things I don't need. I found myself on the aisle where they have all the ice cream related bits and bobs, standing in front of the wafers and sprinkles and things with E-numbers that are really bad for you, but really really good for you at the same time.  I made an impulse purchase of a jar of salted caramel sauce (living life on the edge, I know), but this was quickly relegated to the back of the cupboard when I got home and forgotten about until I was inspired to do some baking by the newest addition to our household...drumroll please...a Kenwood Chef food mixer.

Now, this might not be exciting to you, but to me it's pretty special.  Having spent, I kid you not, 3 and a half hours making a red velvet birthday cake last weekend, the prospect of being able to shove the ingredients into a shiny new machine and whip up some cake batter and frosting in minutes without having to clean up after a cloud of icing sugar was very exciting!  So, I decided to put the long neglected jar of salted caramel sauce to good use and knock up a batch of cupcakes.

I followed the recipe from this website, adapted from a Hummingbird Bakery book, but used a quarter teaspoon of vanilla extract rather than the cocoa powder as I fancied having a plainer sponge to make the caramel the main flavour.  I also baked them on a lower temperature for slightly less time as our oven is a bit dodgy and seems to get ridiculously hot, very quickly.  Luckily, I've had enough practice now to know how to save things before they cross over to the wrong side of well done - just call me the oven-whisperer.

When it came to making the frosting, I used this sauce but if I did it again I'd probably boil up a can of condensed milk and add salt to make my own salted caramel. This one does taste really nice, but was a bit runny for me to put inside the cake or drizzle over the top like the recipe advises - I did try! It ended in a bit of a sticky disaster and more of a blotchy mess on top rather than the polished swirls on the Hummingbird version! I think if you had something slightly thicker it would be easier to work with. After a couple of failed attempts, I decided to go with a classic white finish. 

It's safe to say I'm no Mary Berry quite yet but hopefully, with enough practice and after another series of the Bake Off, I'll be icing like a pro!  Next time you can't decide whether you're craving something salty or sweet, why not give them a go?

Milling Around

This bank holiday weekend we made the most of the beautiful sunshine and took a day trip a little further afield in search of something different to do.  We ended up going to Quarry Bank Mill where the Channel 4 series (also called The Mill funnily enough…) was filmed.  I haven’t actually seen the programme, but I reckon it must have been a good bit of publicity for the place because there were loads of people there!  Whether it was that or the lovely weather and promise of a cream scone which drew people in, I’m not sure, but it certainly made for a bustling atmosphere.

First we had a wander around the mill itself and saw some of the machinery in action before having a tour around the Apprentice House, where some of the poor and orphaned children working in the mill lived.   Sometimes I find those kinds of guided tours a bit slow-paced but this one was actually very good and did give you a nice bit of background without bombarding you with a load of facts! I was slightly concerned that our tour guide, or ‘the woman in the bonnet’ as I’d like to call her, was going to pick on me and say something along the lines of ‘You must be about 15…how would you have felt working here at your age?’ and then I was going to have to either go along with it and inwardly resent ‘the woman in the bonnet’ for the rest of the tour, or awkwardly explain that I’m actually 22 despite my youthful charms.  This is the kind of paranoia that sets in when you’ve been ID’d multiple times in one bar on the same night…yes I needed to prove I’m over 18 to get in but why not humiliate me yet again when, God forbid, I order something other than a Fruit Shoot?! Not that I’m bitter or anything.  Anyway, the scenario with ‘the woman in the bonnet’ didn’t happen, you’ll be pleased to hear.

Even if you’re not really into history I’d still really recommend going to the mill just for the gorgeous surroundings.  There are acres of beautifully-kept gardens to stroll around and the river flowing through the estate makes for a really picturesque setting, something I wasn’t really expecting when I imagined the location of an industrial factory.  Before heading home, we had a little walk down to the weir.  It felt very Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, even though we were actually in Cheshire and there were no fish in sight.  But never mind, any opportunity to feel a bit more like Emily Blunt is always a good thing!

I’d highly recommend Quarry Bank Mill if you’re in the area and whether you’re a fan of the TV show, a history buff or just fancy a walk around some pretty countryside, it’s got something for everyone.  

The Place Beyond the Pines

I should probably start off by saying hello, it's been a while.  I could well have a justifiable excuse for why I haven't posted on here in quite some time, maybe I've been off seeking adventures, eating exotic fruit and working on my tan in some remote place out of the reach of all technology...but sadly I haven't. A) I've been here the whole time and B) the closest I've gotten to a tropical paradise was watching Leo DiCaprio becoming slightly unhinged in The Beach last night. But never mind! The important thing is I've taken that first step, dusted off my blogger password and I'm ready to ease myself back in with a topic we all know and love: Gosling.

Well actually, I'm going to talk about The Place Beyond the Pines, but let's be honest, it's all about Ryan and Bradley (yep, we're now on first name terms). I've been waiting for the film's DVD release for a good while and on Friday night, I settled down for the much-anticipated Gosling-Cooper sandwich. Sounds good already hey? 

In all seriousness, the film was great. I really enjoyed the director's last offering, Blue Valentine and for that reason was expecting good things. The first part of the film follows Luke Glanton (Gosling) and his struggle to provide for his new family.  We see the extreme lengths he's driven to in his mission to prove himself to the mother of his child, Eva Mendes, as well as his attempts to build a relationship with his new son. We know Ryan can do the whole brooding/violent/protective stunt driver thing from Drive. Swap the car for a motorbike, add a few tattoos, some daring skull-print pajama pants and a more sensitive, parental side and you're moving towards TPBTP. What I like about the beginning of the film is that it doesn't take very long before you're thrown into action-packed car chases - if, like me, your attention span is close to that of a goldfish, rest assured that you'll be hooked within the first 20 minutes.

Next, we're introduced to Cooper's character, an ambitious cop caught in the middle of a corrupt police system and facing struggles of his own, both relating to his work and to his own family, before the story shifts to the relationship between the two characters' sons. 

I won't talk about the plot in too much detail because I'm one of those people who gets really annoyed if someone spoils a film, but what I will say is that the movement between characters and generations, and the intertwining of story lines is really clever. It's engaging from beginning to end, with enough suspense to keep you on the edge of your seat and enough dimension behind the characters that, through exploring their motives and relationships, this becomes more than just another crime drama. It's unpredictable, fast-paced and all in all, a pretty brilliant film.

Need more Gosling in your life? Watch TPBTP. 

(and get this app: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2394715/Need-Ryan-Gosling-life-Theres-app-that.html)