Madeleines | Sunday Bakes

afternoon tea
Madeleines are a small french cake known for their shell like shape. Traditionally they are made with lemon but you can use any flavouring you’d like. I only recently added Madeleines to my baking repertoire after rediscovering The Transporter, a movie starring Jason Statham which came out years and years ago which I watched repeatedly as a kid even though more than likely I wasn't old enough for the age certificate - I much preferred movies with explosions to Disney films when I was younger, weird I know. Anybody else remember the scene where Lai makes madeleines for breakfast? These cakes are a great snack to have with a cup of tea in your favourite mug - of course - and are super easy to make.

I N G R E D I E N T S :

100g (1/2 cup)  Butter
100g (3/4 cup) Self-raising flour
100g (1/2 cup) Caster sugar
1 Lemon ~ zest & juice
2 Free range eggs

M E T H O D :

1. Preheat your oven to 200ºC/400ºF/Gas mark 6 and prepare madeleine tray ~ brush the tray with melted butter and shake a little flour over the tray to coat the pan.

2. Whisk together the eggs and sugar until the mixture is frothy.

3. Gently whisk in the rest of the ingredients being careful to not knock out the air created by the frothy egg mixture.

4. Leave the mixture to stand for 20 minutes.

5. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tray and bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. These are best eaten within the same day so they're perfect for if you have friends coming over - although I have been known to eat nearly all of them myself.


~ Jade xx

A Lazy Sunday | The Saatchi Gallery with Afternoon Tea

afternoon tea
Lucy & I took a trip down to London this past Sunday, partly to visit Lucy’s sister who moved to London last year but also so I could take Lucy for afternoon tea as part of her Christmas present, and to have a look around the Saatchi Gallery as neither of us had been before. 

The Saatchi Gallery is a contemporary art gallery situated in Chelsea - although it has also been located in North London and on South Bank previously. It houses many artists which are unknown to both the general public but also commercially so its a great place to check out if you want to see something new and interesting. The exhibitions change frequently too so its a place you can visit again and again without seeing the same thing a hundred times over. If you happen to be near the Sloane Square area its a great place to wonder round for an hour if you have some time to kill as well as it doesn’t cost anything to get in.

Before we went into the Saatchi Gallery we stopped for afternoon tea at the Gallery Mess restaurant which is attached to the gallery. Lucy & I both love afternoon tea so we were more than excited to try out a new spot. We both opted for traditional English breakfast tea and our cake stand arrived with a selection of sandwiches, a scone each and a selection of cakes - the dark chocolate torte was mouth wateringly good. The setting of the restaurant is really nice too with exposed brick work and antique look mirrors - I didn’t get a picture though as the restaurant was busy. The staff were welcoming and it was very reasonably priced considering the area of London it’s situated. I would highly recommend reserving a table though to avoid a long wait.

How did you spend your Sunday?

~ Jade xx

Afternoon tea with homemade jam & scones

afternoon tea
Afternoon tea is a British tradition that has been around for centuries. It’s one of my favourite affairs, there’s something about sitting down in the early afternoon for tea and cake that seems very indulgent especially during the week when everyone else is at work. A few weeks ago I decided to make my own afternoon tea as I had a few hours spare and was in the mood for baking.

Victoria Plum Jam recipe
I N G R E D I E N T S :

1 kg (35 oz) plums (or any other fruit you wish)

2 kg (70 oz)  caster sugar

150 ml (5 fl oz) water

100 ml (3 1/2 fl oz) lemon juice

2 sachets pectin (optional)

M E T H O D :

1. De-stone your plums, the easiest way to do this is to cut around the outside of the plum all the way around and pull the top half off and then take the stone out. Be warned, if you de-stone plums with bare hands they may be temporarily stained orange. I used Victoria plums which are smaller and sweeter than regular plums but any kind of plum will work for this.

2. Add the plums, sugar, lemon juice and water to a large stock pot and bring to the boil. If you'd rather a more tart jam opposed to sweet - like myself - don't use all of the sugar.

3. Leave the mixture to boil for at least ten minutes.

My birthday week | London + Brussels 2014

afternoon tea
Last week was my birthday and I spent part of it in Brussels and part of it in London so I thought I’d share some of my birthday shenanigans with you all. 

At the start of the week and on my actual birthday I was in Brussels with a bunch of friends. Brussels itself is an interesting city filled with amazing chocolate, waffles, chips (or fries if you’re American) and not to forget the beer - which might I add went down a treat on my birthday night out on Tuesday. The architecture was amazing and the back streets held great street food - waffles for €1, what else could you ask for?

Photography information

Canon 600D with 18-55mm lens, Canon 24mm lens or Sigma 70-300mm lens. Canon EOS M with 18-55mm lens or Canon 24mm lens. Any edited photos are edited using Photoshop CS6. Picture source is given for any photo used that is not directly ours.