The Joy of Sunday

When I was little Sundays were much the same every week: church in the morning, then the six of us gathering round the dining room table for a roast, followed by my mum's apple crumble or magic chocolate pudding. Once lunch had settled it was quiet time for an hour with our 20p mix-up sweets while my parents read the newspaper. My brother, sisters and I twiddled our thumbs, waiting for play-time to resume. Not that there was ever much play on a Sunday, anyway. Sometimes we'd go to the beach for a walk, but usually it was Songs of Praise and a slow evening with eggy bread for tea, a bath and watching Ballykissangel on the telly. Sundays used to be very... Sunday. But despite their monotony, Sundays were always comfortable and focused heavily on food, which can only be a good thing.

Before you get married and have children you have your twenties – a period of time I never anticipated until I was in the middle of it. Now, at 25, my friends are my family and these Sundays are the best ones I've had since I was six, sitting cross-legged in the fire-lit living room with a glass of milk and a biscuit while my sister plaited my hair.

There is something different about every Sunday now, but my favourites are those spent with my closest friends, catching up on each other's weeks and what we hope for the next one over baked goods.

Last Sunday's spread – brown butter banana muffins, chocolate chip cookies and blackberry and plum crumble cake – was enough to stir up all the memories of Sundays past. Balancing moments of reflection and being present helps me to be thankful for everything I have right here, right now.

Sunday food is indulgent and filling, particularly in winter but other seasons enjoy the abundance of it, too. While we warm up with cups of coffee and tea in February, ice cold glasses of milk and iced tea keep us cool in June. Baked goods work all year round, and so does great company. How do you like to spend your Sundays?

My Happy Place: The Hummingbird Bakery – Islington

If I had to give up writing, I would bake for a living. All day, every day, I wouldn't mind the early starts if it meant filling a kitchen with the sweet smell of freshly baked cakes. Is there a better way to start the day? Probably. But when I visit The Hummingbird Bakery in London, I wander off into my dream world for a little while and imagine a life completely different to the one I actually lead...

I imagine the kitchen to be a place of deep concentration, yet satisfaction as each product is finished and ready to be taken down to sit in the window, where eyes pass by, wide and adoring. That's me on every approach to a branch of The Hummingbird Bakery.

Before I had ever visited The Hummingbird Bakery, I simply read the recipe books and enjoyed making many of their treats, including a blueberry pie, the fluffiest vanilla cupcakes, and a juicy hummingbird cake.

But there is nothing quite like tasting the real thing – a cupcake that has been baked and iced to textbook perfection, and every time I visit, I am always amazed at how wonderful everything looks and tastes.

Last weekend I was lucky enough to visit the Islington branch twice, so, naturally, I bought two different treats. They were both, unsurprisingly, decadently delicious.

Out of all the branches I have visited, the one in Islington had the biggest range of cakes and bakes to choose from, and this made me very happy. Just writing this blog is making me drift off into my dream land of spending my days with other cake lovers in a sweet pink shop filled with colour and sugar. 

I picked up a piece of the grasshopper slice on Friday – a minty, soft brownie which was just incredible, but far too big, even for me ;) I must have a go at making a tray myself, as chocolate and mint is one of my favourite combinations and HBB hit the nail on the head with their grasshopper slice.

On my second visit, the shop assistant persuaded me to buy a nutella cupcake – one of their monthly specials. I waited til I got home on Monday to eat this (I had a long weekend off lent, shh) and it did not disappoint. I didn't expect anything less, but this cupcake was just... perfect. 

Inside was a glorious gloop of nutella, encased in a chocolate sponge and topped with buttery chocolate frosting and a sprinkling of crushed hazelnuts. If you love nutella as much as I do, go and get one of these cupcakes right now.

The Hummingbird Bakery is my absolute favourite place to go when in London and I am so pleased that more and more of them are popping up all over the city. I hope that they'll soon branch out a little further and come closer to Wales! Have you ever been? What's your favourite cupcake? I do love the classic vanilla cupcake, but the black bottom cupcake is probably my all time favourite. You can find out more about The Hummingbird Bakery here :)

Baking With Sweet Freedom

This week has been quite a tough one at work. On the weekend I was in the mood to bake some things to get me through the long hours ahead, and as I have given up refined sugar for lent, I needed a reliable sugar substitute to use. So, when browsing some of the blogs I follow, I was prompted by a few of the recipes on Gemsmaquillage to try out Sweet Freedom – an all natural sugar free syrup.

Sugar free syrups usually ring alarm bells in my head. I think of chemicals and weird things that aren't any better for me than actual sugar. But Sweet Freedom is made from 100% fruit, and I was pleased to see there were only three ingredients listed: apples, grapes & carob.

It tastes just like normal syrup, but with a fruity sweetness, and I like it. I made Joy the Baker's browned butter blueberry muffins and these 5 ingredient granola bars (replacing the sugar and honey with Sweet Freedom) and they both turned out really well.

The muffins were especially good. I really couldn't tell they had been made with a sugar substitute. They were just as soft, fluffy and flavoursome as regular muffins and I will definitely be making them again.

At £2.99 a bottle, Sweet Freedom isn't as cheap or long lasting as a bag of sugar, and I think I'll reserve it for a topping for my pancakes or porridge in future. However, considering it's all natural and impossible to taste the difference in baked goods, it's definitely a repurchase for me, and I'd recommend it to anyone trying to cut down on refined sugar who still wants a sweet treat with their morning (or afternoon) coffee. Have you tried Sweet Freedom before? What are your go to sugar substitutes in baking? You can find out more about Sweet Freedom here.

Baby Shower Fun

Yesterday, friends and family gathered at our house to have a baby shower for my sister, Emily. She is thirty five weeks pregnant with her first baby and we are all very excited. Her two friends Kate and Vicki were very keen to organise a baby shower for her so via the power of Facebook we organised an event and began preparing for a fun filled Sunday afternoon. We played games, chatted, watched Emily open presents, and ate a lot of cake.

The mother and two grandmothers to be.

When everyone arrived, we each picked either a blue or pink card to write down our baby predictions. I picked blue as I have been certain from the start that the baby is going to be a boy. Emily has kept the names her and James have chosen a complete secret which I think is lovely. We will all have a big surprise the day the baby is born.

The cakes my mum and sister Sarah spent all weekend baking and decorating - as well as a batch up cupcakes made by me and some seriously good tiffin from Kate.

Vanilla cupcakes (Hummingbird Bakery recipe) decorated with shimmer sprinkles and farmyard animals.

Mini banoffee pies. There are no words.

You can't really tell from this photo but these lemon biscuits were actually heart and baby gro shaped - so cute, and tasty too.

Apparently there are two ways to eat scones: jam on bottom, cream on top or cream on bottom, jam on top. I tried both (with butter on the bottom of both - yep), and I have to say I prefer jam on bottom, cream on top, although it really doesn't matter that much to me.

These gingerbread marshmallows made by Sarah were the best of the lot, though. She got the recipe from Joy the Baker, and they tasted like Christmas on a cloud - a sweet, spicy, chocolatey cloud.

Emily opened her presents and there were lots of squeals and 'awws'. My mum got her a countdown to baby calendar, which is fairly similar to your average advent calendar, minus the chocolate, but with words of wisdom and advice for each day in the month leading up to the mother-to-be's due date. Such pieces of advice might include going and buying a trashy magazine and eating an entire tub of ice cream.

We also got Emily's baby photo album out to have a look through. She was so weeny and cute, as was my other sister Sarah with her blonde curls and ice cream jumper!

Emily and her friends

Although baby showers are an American tradition I think it's a great excuse to have a party and celebrate a new baby coming into the world as well as a new stage in a woman's life. Emily will be a mother for the first time, my parents will be grandparents for the first time, and me, Sarah and Craig will be aunties and an uncle for the first time too. It's all so exciting and I can't wait 'til the baby arrives. The due date is 10th January, so one month today, ahhh!

Review - Afternoon Tea at The Angel - Abergavenny

To celebrate my degree results my parents, eldest sister, brother and I went for afternoon tea at the gorgeous Angel Hotel in Abergavenny. It was a boiling hot day so we sat in the courtyard where parties were gathered with pitchers of Pimms and glasses of wine. The atmosphere was relaxed yet sophisticated, and as always The Angel delivered exceptionally.

The hotel also has a bar and restaurant, both of which I have been to and been served outstanding food and drink. A little on the pricey side, The Angel is definitely for special occasions like achieving a first in your degree ;)

If you are looking to dine somewhere luxurious in the town centre of Abergavenny, The Angel is the place to go. It is just a five and ten minute walk from the bus and train station and is situated smack bang in the middle of the bustling market town. 

Now, onto my favourite part - the tea!

The range of teas on offer is incredible. There are more than 30 to choose from and my eyes darted straight to the green tea section - big fan; can't go a day without the stuff. I always like to try something new so I chose the 'Flowering Osmanthus.'

Described on the menu as fresh and fruity with hints of apricot and ripe peach as well as jasmine, osmanthus and China lily flowers, I couldn't resist as I loved the sound of all those things. The biggest attraction for me was the fact that it came in a clear glass teapot so I could see the flower blossoming in the pot - beautiful.

My Mum chose her usual cafetiere of strong black coffee, my Dad an English breakfast tea and Sarah and Craig, Vanilla tea. 

The afternoon tea came out in stacks of stunning plates that sat strategically on the wooden table - we did have a minor accident (clumsy me!) but the waiting staff were excellent and cleaned up the spilt coffee and replaced the few cakes that were dropped. 

On the top plate were sliced strawberries topped with cream poured by the lovely waitresses. The second plate underneath held the decadent selection of cakes and pastries: (rum baba, custard slice, chocolate & raspberry swiss roll, carrot cake, strawberry shortcake, profiteroles, banoffee pie). And on the bottom plate were four types of sandwiches: (savoury cheese, smoked salmon, ham and egg). I gave my cheese and egg sandwiches to my Mum and Dad - I wasn't too keen on those fillings but the salmon and ham sandwiches were spot on.

Soon after we had finished nibbling on our sandwiches, fruit and cakes, the waiter and waitresses brought out our scones. They were warm and dusted with icing sugar, served with a bowl of thick cream and strawberry jam. 

Now, I have heard that everyone assembles their scone differently, and I didn't know there was such an art to it until recently, but after a bit of trial and error I found that I prefer to put the jam on first, then the cream. Just, yum.

If you have never heard of, or been to The Angel then I would definitely recommend a visit if you are ever passing Abergavenny. It is such a gem and the afternoon tea I reviewed in this post was actually the winner of the Tea Guild Award of Excellence 2013 which I think is a fantastic achievement. 

To read more about The Angel and to book a room, table or just to have a nosey, check out their website at: www.angelabergavenny.comand let me know your favourite tea room in the comment box below - I am always looking for new ones to visit!