MERCHANDISE: PG Tips 'Personalised' Mug

As an earlier post mentioned (see here), PG Tips are currently giving tea drinkers an opportunity to win a personalised mug based on the one routinely featured in their advertising. I was lucky enough to get a winning pack first time round and I've been waiting patiently ever since for its delivery. Admittedly, the competition was about styling a mug with your own initials; however, I was keen to get a 'PG' branded one above all else so I went with that. In any case, my 'personalised' mug arrived along with a charming little 'congratulations' note from Monkey. My morning cuppa will never have looked so good!

Here's some pics...

BRAND LINKS:

PG Tips Website

HOMEMADE: Tiramisu Layer Cake (aka GBD's Ultimate Coffee Cake!)

I have to admit, these days my palate has a bit of a love-hate relationship with cake. Well, maybe more 'not too keen' than 'hate' but, still, cake divides me in a way I wish it wouldn't. The reason for this: overwhelming sweetness. Specifically, cakes, especially, some shop-bought ones, that do little to balance liberal amounts of icing and/or buttercream. Of course, this doesn't apply to all, a Victoria sponge with lots of freshly whipped cream and a bit jam for the filling or a carrot cake with a cream cheese topping are just a couple of great examples that get it right for me.

With this in mind, I was thinking about good old coffee cake the other day and I hit upon the idea of switching in the usual buttercream for a boozy Tiramisu-style filling. In my head, this combination would deliver sweetness but, crucially, punctuate proceedings with some heady, mature notes. Anyway, I was convinced by the concept and quickly set about making it.

My starting point for the cake was a basic sponge recipe. I wanted to have four layers of cake so each slice would deliver a decent hit of boozy cream filling. To that end, I used four large eggs and employed the old fashioned method of weighting out my butter, sugar and self-raising flour against them. I chose light Muscovado for an extra depth of flavour, though regular caster would have been fine. As for the sponge's caffeine component, I turned to an instant coffee favourite, Douwe Egberts Pure Indulgence, for a beautifully rich flavour.  

When it came to the filling, I looked no further than the cream, mascarpone, sugar and brandy combination that had served me so well with my previously featured tiramisu (see here). Liking a decent hit of alcohol, I put in quite a bit of brandy but upped the sugar accordingly. Slathering this on three of the sponges, I then grated some 70% dark chocolate over the fillings to intensify those deep, mature notes.

As for the topping, I exchanged the brandy in the filling recipe for some more coffee mixture using my Douwe Egberts Pure Indulgence. I played around with the quantities of sugar a bit, as you might want to if you make this, but I eventually got the smooth, rich taste I was looking for. In any case, the result was a fittingly brownish, coffee-looking cream to top the cake with. 

In terms of taste, this cake lived up every bit to my expectations. The sponge and topping provided a beautiful wave of sweet, coffee-laden notes whilst those hits of filling delivered a gorgeous burst of warm brandy. The only thought I had afterwards was whether or not I could have replaced the filling between the second and third sponges with a coffee-flavoured one, as per the topping recipe. The reasoning behind this is that, being a four-layer cake, it is hard to get the coffee and brandy creams in every mouthful. By alternating the creams it might have helped alleviate this issue but, then again, I do love my brandy! 

All in all, this was a great success and, if I do say so myself, the best coffee cake I've eaten to date. Definitely recommended. 

RECIPE

Ingredients

Sponges

4 large eggs

Self-raising flour, light Muscovado sugar (or regular caster sugar) and softened butter - quantity of ingredients determined by weighing each against 4 eggs used.

Coffee mixture (around 4 very decent teaspoons of instant coffee fully dissolved in around 1 tbsp boiling water)

1/2 tsp baking powder

Filling

185 g mascarpone

425 ml double cream

5 tbsp golden caster sugar (or regular caster sugar)

110 ml brandy

Dark chocolate

Topping

3 tbsp sugar

35 g mascarpone

70 ml double cream 

Coffee mixture (around 2 1/2 very decent teaspoons of instant coffee fully dissolved in around 1 tbsp of boiling water).

Tins

2 x 20 cm / 8 in round baking tins (well greased and base lined)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C fan (180°C non-fan).

2. Cream together the softened butter and sugar. 

3. Pour in the coffee mixture and then add the eggs slowly, mixing them in one at a time.

4. Add the flour (sift in) and baking powder and fold in gently until everything is well incorporated. 

5. Divide the cake mixture evenly between the two prepared tins.

6. Place in the preheated oven for around 25-30 mins, or until the sponges are coming away from the sides and are nicely coloured.

7. When done, remove the sponges and place them inverted on wire racks to cool. 

8. After 5 or so minutes, lift off the tins and leave the sponges to cool thoroughly.

9. When the cakes have cooled completely (this will take a few hours or so), take a serrated knife and very carefully cut the two sponges in half.

10. For the brandy filling, place the mascarpone, double cream, sugar and brandy in a bowl and, using an electric whisk, mix until nicely thickened. 

11. Top three of the sponges with generous amounts of filling and finish off each by grating over dark chocolate.

12. For the topping, place the mascarpone, double cream, sugar and coffee mixture in a bowl and, using an electric whisk again, mix until nicely thickened.

13. Liberally spread this coffee cream over the fourth, still-bare sponge.  

14. Assemble the cake with the coffee-cream topped layer obviously going on last.

15. If not eating immediately, refrigerate due to the use of fresh cream.

BRAND LINKS
Douwe Egberts Website

NEW PROMOTION: PG Tips 'Win A Personalised Mug'

Just a quick heads up, I've seen the folks over at PG Tips are giving away personalised mugs in a smashing new competition. 

To stand a chance of winning you'll need to grab one of the special promo-labelled boxes (as pictured above) and enter the unique code that's printed under the lid at the brand's online competition page: mymug.pgtips.co.uk. If you get lucky, you'll be asked what two letter initials you want printed on your mug and, after entering shipping details, your mug will be sent to you free of charge. 

I haven't got a clue what the likelihood of winning is but, if it gives you any hope, I picked up my first promo box today and won straight off the bat - I'll post the mug when it arrives. So, if you fancy the sound of these mugs as much as I did, I'd definitely recommend giving this competition a try. Best of luck!

HOMEMADE: Orange, Vanilla and Cinnamon Rock Cakes

Quick, economical and addictively tasty, the humble Rock Cake is a kitchen treasure that'll delight both young and old alike. All that said, with an abundance of recipes now available both online and in books, such simple creations can easily be overlooked. In my case, it was only the other day when someone happened to mention their love of Rock Cakes that I was reminded of how long it had been since I last made them.

Presentation-wise, I'll keep this brief. Their golden exterior and visibly irregular studding of dried fruit make for a suitably rugged-looking bake. Indeed, their uneven form goes some way at least in capturing the idea of a rock - or mound of rocks. Admittedly, not at all sophisticated but charming nonetheless. 

As for taste, the notes of vanilla and orange are immediately apparent and certainly more than welcoming. Taking a bite, these flavours translate to the palate with the vanilla's flavour deliciously distinct, the cinnamon's sweetness chiming in and the orange's zestiness cutting through the whole ensemble. Thankfully, texture-wise, Rock Cakes don't live up to the solidity of their name. The basic dough crumbles beautifully to the bite with the exposed surface offering a slight crispness; whilst, the generous helping of dried fruit punctuates proceedings beautifully as it interjects with soft, juicy bursts of flavour. 

All in all, this offering boasts the usual charm of a Rock Cake whilst offering a twist that balances notes of vanilla, orange and cinnamon well. On reflection, I might include a teaspoon of orange juice next time to just bump up the citrus tang slightly but, still, these were an absolute delight to eat. Recommended.

RECIPE

See here.

NOSTALGIA HIT: 1980's Bisto Kids

Created by illustrator Will Owen, the 'Bisto Kids' first appeared alongside the brand in 1919. Using the line 'Aah! Bisto', these boy and girl mascots - named Bill and Maree - eventually made their way on to television. The following 80's adverts showing their use as both primary and secondary characters. Enjoy.

RECENT ADDITION: Magnum Black

Magnum is an old ice cream favourite of mine and, in general, their various offerings never fail to impress me. To that end, I was delighted earlier today when I was going through the large chest freezer and found a pack of espresso-flavoured Magnum Black's buried away between some leftover tagine and chicken live pate - on reflection, a frozen three course meal albeit an odd one:)

Given the espresso twist, the packaging was suitably sophisticated in its overall look with a black background and white highlights - almost mimicking stirred milk or cream.  Moreover, the type was kept simple and refined with serifs employed across the main Magnum logo. Finally, to break with the predictable contours of the design, the top left of the design was cracked as per the picture of the product. 

Tucking in, I was delighted to find a prominent wave of espresso. Indeed, the coffee wasn't toned down to the point I thought it would be and, consequently, all those deep, dark notes were evident. Of course, the slight sweetness of the base Magnum ice cream together with the chocolate shell offset the espresso, but not overly meaning the taste profile remained pretty mature. 

In summary,  the design felt consistent with the coffee theme and its extensive use of black differentiated the product nicely from other colour schemes commonly used in this category. Whilst, taste-wise, Magnum Black proved an impressively mature taste experience with the character of the espresso coming through well. I'll definitely be going back for more of these and, hopefully, this time they won't go amiss:)

BRAND LINKS

Unilever Website - Magnum Page

Wall's Website - Magnum Page

Magnum Website

Magnum Facebook

NEW PRODUCT: Cranstons Dalemain Marmalade Sausage

For those that don't know, every year in the historic Lake District house of Dalemain, the world's original and most renowned marmalade festival takes place. The marmalade-munching bear, Paddington, always shows up, lots of fun activities are put on for families to enjoy and, crucially, marmalade makers compete in the prestigious awards. Notably, the winner of the awards' 'homemade' category gets their marmalade sold in Fortnum & Mason for a year.  Fortunately though, this year the fun didn't end there because our local butchers, Cranstons, teamed up with with the festival to produce a special marmalade sausage. Having tasted this citrussy pork delight in store there was no way I was passing up the opportunity to do a very quick review.

Whilst the above picture doesn't do it justice, cutting in to the sausage, the marmalade made its presence known with a light studding of orange to the pork interior. Tucking in, the promise of marmalade was immediately realised with a wonderful wave of zesty orange cutting through the meaty offering. Moreover, with the base sausage being a peppery Cumberland, the slight sweetness of the preserve provided a welcome counterbalance to all that spice. Indeed, it was a delicious sausage that made for a great change in pace and I can certainly see myself stocking up.

BRAND LINKS
Cranstons Website
Dalemain Marmalade Festival Website

PACKAGING UPDATE: Pieminister Moo Pie

For those unaware, Pieminister, founded in 2003, is a British company that runs a number of pie shops in the UK and retails its range via select supermarkets and stores. I haven't seen their products for a while now because my local supermarket has seemingly stopped stocking them. However, out and about the other week, I managed to get a hold of their Moo pie and noticed some distinct changes. 

On the packaging front, it still has a fun, informal edge but the mature overtones are more pronounced. As for the ingredients, whilst I still thoroughly enjoyed the pie, there are plenty of little changes, including: a one percent drop in both the steak and ale components - not so good but the difference certainly wasn't noticeable; the ditching of vegetable suet - semi-good as they haven't replaced it with proper suet; and the inclusion of leeks and mushrooms - something I must admit I didn't detect at all when eating. Anyway, here's all the pictures and, if you wish, the old packaging is viewable here.

BRAND LINKS

Pieminister Website - Moo Page

OLD FAVOURITE: Spaghetti Bolognese

Based on a traditional meal served in the northern Italian city of Bologna, Spaghetti Bolognese, or simply 'Spag Bol', is a wonderful example of a foreign-inspired dish that we Brits have taken to our hearts. Indeed, here at GBD HQ, Spag Bol is a Friday night tradition with defrosted homemade sauce and garlic bread portion making for an ultra quick and flavoursome end to the week. To that end, I thought I would share the 1973 Reader's Digest inspired recipe that I grew up with and still use to this day.

RECIPE

See here.

RECENT ADDITION: M&S Scottish All Butter Heather Honey & Oats Shortbread Rounds

The other day I reviewed M&S's Eton Mess Shortbread Rounds (see here) as a Scottish instalment in the brand's growing 'Taste of..." promotion. Two problems I had with this offering were that the Eton Mess twist wasn't at all Scottish and, in the tasting, didn't really come through. That said, the core shortbread was lovely and I thought the range still had promise in it so I turned to this much more Scottish sounding oats and Heather Honey variant.

As with the Eton Mess rounds, the packaging for this offering is lovely.  Refined type, tartan strip and delightful photography come together in a mature design that reinforces the quality and provenance of the product. The rounds themselves aren't quite as visually interesting as the Eton Mess ones; however, they are still nicely baked with a slightly knobbly top thanks to the oats. 

Taste-wise, thankfully, these are a step up from the Eton Mess ones. The oats supports the lovely buttery shortbread with their coarser texture whilst the Heather honey comes through gently with its distinctive flavour appreciable. Indeed, there's a bit of the flapjack about these that's hard to resist. 

In summary, these shortbread rounds boast the strong basic packaging that's shared across the accompanying range. Moreover, they deliver on flavour with the character of the Heather honey evident and working in almost flapjack-like concert with the oats. Simple yet effective stuff that gets another recommend from me. 

RECENT ADDITION: M&S 'Taste of Wales' Welsh Cakes

Baked on a griddle and served either hot or cold, the traditional Welsh Cake is a simple yet delicious treat that complements a cup of tea beautifully. That said, when I saw packets of them in M&S the other day as a 'Taste of Wales' product, I struggled to remember the last time I had one. Needless to say, I took the moment as the perfect opportunity to remedy the situation.

The packaging employs a large area of clear plastic to show off the Welsh Cakes's lovely, golden exterior. The card packaging that is used appropriately sports the red of Wales and, in keeping with the quality of the product, features refined type and smart-looking product imagery.

The Welsh Cakes themselves look the job with their browned exteriors temptingly dusted with sugar and studded with currants. Biting in, the cake's soft body is delightfully punctuated by the chew of the currants, the slightly sweet edge of the dusting and, finally, the gentle wave of nutmeg. Indeed, the inclusion of spice elevates these cakes to another level and delivers an incredibly moreish teatime treat.

All in all, the packaging may be no-frills but it delivers the basics well to help reinforce the product's quality and provenance. As for the cakes, they prove a reasonably light, flavoursome offering with a beautifully spiced edge to them. Recommended. 

HOMEMADE: James Martin's Coffee, Cardamom and Pistachio Cake

Coffee cake is a very old favourite of mine that I originally developed a love for thanks to it being a regular in my mother's baking repertoire. Over time, I've religiously stuck to a reasonably basic recipe on the principle that less is often more. That said, I was interested to try something different this time round and, consequently, turned to a recipe by James Martin's that sports an intriguing sounding cardamom and pistachio laced twist.

Getting stuck in to the recipe, everything was pretty straightforward up to the baking part where the sponge ended up taking far longer than the stated time. I should also say that the sponge slightly split in the middle and peaked making me wonder about the oven temperature. 

Moving on to the filling, I'd probably say that I just slightly over whisked the cream but, then again, it was still a nice alternative to my usual coffee buttercream. Finally, the icing was easy and, together with the sprinkling of chopped pistachios, added a lovely finishing touch. 

Taste-wise, I'll start with a couple of negatives. Firstly, the coffee flavour, whilst there in the background, was dominated by the cardamom. Secondly, I thought the slight extravagance of using pistachios in the cream filling was a bit wasted as their flavour didn't particularly come through. That said, on the positive side, treated as a cardamom cake, I thought this bake had its merits; the subtle coffee flavour lent a pleasant depth to the sponge whilst the creamy filling offset the injection of sweetness from the topping beautifully. 

So, in summary, this cake looked alright and had a reasonably mature balance between sweet and savoury notes. Admittedly, the coffee element was largely lost on me but, thought more of as a cardamom cake, I think there's promise here.

ORIGINAL RECIPE

See here.

HOMEMADE: The Guardian's Perfect Carrot Cake

Hands down, carrot cake is one of my all time favourites. It boasts a wonderful array of flavours and textures and, unlike many icings and butter creams which often overwhelm sponges with sweetness, carrot cake's cream cheese filling and topping is as good as it gets for me. Given my love for this classic, I need very little motivation to make one and, with it being National Carrot Day earlier this week, I quickly found myself in the kitchen.

Wanting to try a slightly different recipe, a quick Google turned up an excellent article on The Guardian's website detailing what they thought constituted the perfect carrot cake and why. Boasting tried-and-tested flavours I was pleased to see their recipe didn't get lost in chefy elaborations. Moreover, I was interested in the fact that it switched in butter for the often heavily prescribed glugs of vegetable oil. Indeed, anything that gives me an excuse to advocate for the use of butter, a wonderful, but tragically maligned, fat choice, is a very good thing in my book.

Anyway, I went ahead with the recipe keen to see if it could live up to its title. I must say I did make a couple adjustments by exchanging wholemeal self-raising flour for white (I find wholemeal too heavy in cakes), adding in more spice and slightly upping the lemon zest content of the icing.  

That aside, the method was quite straightforward with one only having to be careful over folding in the dry ingredients so air wasn't overly knocked out. At first I thought there wouldn't be enough cream cheese mixture but the recipe ended up judging it perfectly as the mixture had a lot of flavour meaning only a relatively light spreading was needed.

The resulting cake looked good with a cross section revealing a nice sponge studded with sultanas, pecans and grated carrot. As for the taste, well, nothing is 'perfect', but this was probably the best carrot cake I've ye to taste. The sponges were jam-jacked with the flavour and textures courtesy of the spices, savoury pecans, juicy sultanas and tangy orange peel. Whilst that cream cheese filling and topping stole the show for me as zingy lemon offset the slightly sweet creaminess beautifully. All in all, this carrot cake was an absolute joy and I thoroughly recommend it.  

RECIPE 
See here.

NEW PRODUCT: Nestle Blue Riband Dark with Orange

For some, Nestle's original Blue Riband (a combination of very thin milk chocolate and wafer) is considered just a bit too bland. Personally, in a very British way that has seen the likes of the Rich Tea biscuit endure, I quite like the not-too-sweet plainness of this offering. That said, Nestle has tried some flavour variants over the years to help the brand cater to those wanting a bit more from their snack bars. This newest offering, dark chocolate and orange, is a good example of this and, with the time-tested combination a particular favourite of mine, I thought I'd give it a go.

The multi-pack packaging shares the core offering's basic look with the shades of brand blue sitting behind large 'Blue Riband' text in somewhat flamboyant white font. The inclusion of brownish/orangey hues at the bottom of the design is actually quite nice and brings feelings of warmth and luxury to the overall look. Moreover, a bit of thought has been put in to the attendant text with the 'dark' font slightly more stylised for those connotations of sophistication and the 'orange' font more rounded as per the fruit's form. 

The individual bar's packaging, the multi-pack design benefits from being uncluttered as it condenses down rather nicely on to the small area of plastic. As for the look of the bar itself, I have to say that the dark sheen of the chocolate just puts this offering ahead of the original in my book.

Taste-wise, a pleasant smell of orange is apparent straight off the bat. Tucking in, that orange flavour translates beautifully with the thin layer of dark chocolate providing some deep cocoa notes on the back end. Personally, I would say it's more 'orange with dark chocolate' than the other way around as the fruit certainly leads the bar's flavour profile. In any case, the not-too-sweet basic offering proves itself a great vehicle for these flavours and I have to say that I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Overall, the packaging communicates the flavour variant well with the added hues complementing the core blues very well for me. As for the bar itself, I thought it was an interesting offering with a bit of role reversal: orange led the charge whilst the dark chocolate came through in the background. Indeed, for a cheap, everyday snack bar I thought this worked well.

BRAND LINKS

Nestle Website - Blue Riband Page

Nestle Twitter

Nestle Facebook