Coconut bake is a simple, unleavened bread that happens to be one of my favourite foods.
Bake making is a skill that’s passed down from generation to generation. My grandmother Ma Solo used to make lovely bake when she was alive, my Tantie Phil and my mother Madge make the most amazing coconut bake and I’m simply trying to reach their high standards.
I would make bake and even bread more often but I just don’t eat a lot of it.
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Christmas and the delirium that seems to surround the day has come and gone. It was really good to catch up on some sleep and see old friends over the holiday period.
Surprisingly I didn’t do much cooking, but a couple of days before Christmas, I made those ‘must-have’ pastelles with the help of Karen who used to make a lot of pastelles with her Granny in Trinidad.
The whole process could be somewhat time consuming but I realise that once you get going, it’s not so bad. Using the good cook’s principle of a proper mise en place, I did a lot of stuff in advance and saved time.
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I had the most delicious venison the other day, but it happened quite by accident.
We booked our team Christmas lunch at The Cow, a popular pub in west London, but when we got there, weren’t satisfied with the accomodation provided for our group of ten and the attitude of the gentleman who claimed to be in charge was quite stink so we moved across the road to The Westbourne.
At The Westbourne, we were welcomed and treated very well. The restaurant’s atmosphere was better than the other place and there was the added bonus of a being seated near to a huge black and white photo of Trinidadian cricket legend Brian Lara being saluted by his team mates after he broke his first batting record in Antigua in 1994.
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In the latest issue of The Observer Food Monthly, 20 rums are rated by the magazine’s drink panel. Only one rum got five stars, the Havana Club 15 anos. The panel said “It’s a perfect balance of sweet and dry. You just have to go back for more and more. Excellent.”
It better be perfect, cause at £125 it isn’t easily affordable, but I’d love to try it.
I have to shamefully admit that I am now learning about rum properly and it’s a steep learning curve. I am making a point of understanding rum because I think I should be able to match Caribbean food to rum, rather than wine. It’s ours after all!
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If only you could hear my groans of satisfaction as I savour a slice of the Black Cake I made using the recipe by Dan Lepard, I wouldn’t have to write this post.
But my groans won’t convey what a total pleasure this cake has been to make. Dan’s ‘English Black cake’ is actually easier to make than the traditional Trini Black cake mainly because there’s no seemingly endless creaming of butter and sugar. The only bit that takes some time is reducing the stout to a slightly syrupy consistency, but other than that, it is extremely easy.
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Don’t you just love homemade cakes or cakes you get at the corner bakery that seem homemade? I prefer a basic, well made sponge to a fancy chocolate gateau anytime.
It’s no surprise then that when I get to Trinidad, one of the first things I look for is a bakery or a pieman selling goodies like currants rolls and coconut turnovers.
It’s the same thing over here. I love those quintessentially English cakes like Bakewell Cakes, Chelsea Buns and Eccles Cakes.
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One of the things I really like about winter in the UK is the appearance of game.
Venison, pheasant, partridge and quail come into their own at this time of the year. Game is my favourite meat and those of you who have followed this blog from the beginning know it was venison that brought me back to eating meat.
When I first started cooking with game, I used traditional British recipes but the flavour of the meat is so strong, I felt it would go well with some Caribbean recipes. I’ve been craving a Trini-styled curry for a while and I thought I’d curry some game, so I picked up four quails at Borough Market.
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I saw a tempting Christmas Black Cake recipe in the Guardian’s Weekend magazine today. It’s by master baker Dan Lepard who has written one of the most beautiful baking books around, The Handmade Loaf.
If you like making bread and want to get stuck in, then check out this book, or his website where you can get lots of recipes and baking tips.
Dan is currently working on a new book about British baking which should be out next year. I’ll be picking up a copy of that when it’s published.
Here’s a copy of Dan’s recipe, I’ll give it a try and when I do, I’ll post a report and photos.
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Now that I've got your attention and hopefully elicited some indignation, it's time for your participation.
Some people will think I'm being treacherous and others might think I've sold out to the fish and chips brigade, but I think it's a very valid question. In fact, it's one that I've been asked several times in recent months.
Is Caribbean food any good?
To those of us who grew up eating spicy, succulent Pepperpot or feeling tickled by the aroma of Curry Goat wafting through the house or slurping up unctuous spoonfuls of Sancoche, Caribbean food is THE ONLY food.
I've been looking closely at the Caribbean food scene in London over the last six months and I've been discussing it with fellow foodies, including a couple of food writers. Most of them feel the Caribbean food they've had is 'ok', they don't think our cuisine offers much to shout about.
Now if they're basing their judgements on what they've eaten in London or anywhere in the UK, then I'll have to agree with them. Most of the Caribbean food outlets here are takeaways and while takeaway food can fill a hole, it's not exactly what you'd have on a special night out.
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Talking about coconut sugar cake the other day got me thinking about all those delightful snacks I enjoyed as a child. Things like bellyful, rock cakes, shaddock candy, kaser balls (not sure about that spelling) and covity pocham have virtually disappeared.
I have some views about why they disappeared and I'd love to hear what other Trinis feel about this. I think factors like mass-produced snacks, American TV, changing tastes and the death of the parlour have contributed to demise of these delicacies.
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