My Favourite London Burgers: Part 2

A post that needs very little introduction. I love burgers, London loves burgers, so here's the sequel to my favourite London burgers part one. Think of part one as a beginners guide, and this will be your intermediate guide!

In no particular order...

Burger Bear: Grizzly Bear - cheeseburger topped with double oak smoked bacon & BB's bacon jam

Bacon fan? Burger Bear have you covered. Crispy bacon, oozing American cheese and super soft brioche. 

Bill or Beak: Chicken Caesar - grilled corn fed chicken, anchovy caesar dressing, parmesan, tempura capers

Hands down the best chicken burger and brioche in town. I don't know how they do it, but no brioche could ever compete with this. Perfectly tender chicken with lashings of parmesan, perfection. 

Mother Flipper: The Candy Bacon Special - aged beef patty, candy bacon, shoestring fries, American cheese, pickles, MF special sauce

My absolute favourite burger from the Mr Hyde's Burger Party. Candied brown sugar bacon and crispy shoestring fries are the perfect match for their special sauce and heaps of American cheese. I want all my burgers to be loaded with fries now. 

Ninth Ward: Braised beef brisket burger - 12 hour braised brisket, gravy soaked with dill pickles and onions

New kid on the block offering a great taste of the Americana. Starting with this braised brisket burger. Incredibly messy, and perfect with some loaded dirty chilli fries.

Dip n Flip: Dip n Flip burger - cheeseburger topped with sliced roast beef dunked in gravy

Unashamedly, when you Google images of Dip n Flip you'll find me. Burgers get bigger and messier here, topped with gravy dunked sliced beef and plenty of mustard. Anything is improved with gravy after all. So messy, people were given gloves to eat them with at Mr Hyde's party.



I have hesitations in calling this an intermediate guide, there maybe loads I haven't tried, but these are all pretty heavyweight contenders for some of the finger-licking good places in town.

Need more suggestions, try part one of my favourite London burgers or Beardy Mike's top 3, here.

Where shall I try next? I need burger recommendations...what can knock the socks off these guys?

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Bake Off Bake Along: Week 6 - Apple Frangipane

If there's one thing I've learnt, its not to bake on Monday's. This week's bake along entry was without a doubt, the most emotional of them all. 

I'll set the scene. A freshly baked frangipane perches on the top of the stove to cool, a pan of eggs bubbling away next to it. You turn your eye for just a second and before you know it, the eggs have boiled so aggressively the frangipane is knocked, sails through the air and lands on the floor with a thud. Yelp.

We've all done it before and its utterly soul destroying. All that hard work, undone in just a matter of seconds. Baking karma says this is because I completely cheated and used a pre-made and half baked pastry case. 

I've learnt my lesson. And my second attempt came out just fine, using this Waitrose recipe.

Apple pie number 1, you were splendid...if only for a short time.

Here's a few little pointers for making the best frangipane and sweet pastry here:

• a frangipane is a versatile dessert, a crisp pastry case, rich almond filling that puffs and envelopes a fruit filling. Choose seasonal berries, apple, rhubarb, peaches or pears for a dessert that will take you through the year, from season to season.
• to make frangipane, you usually start off in the same way as making a cake. Beat butter and sugar together, add eggs and then fold in the dry ingredients. For a more moist, dense filling, save the butter for last and whisk in hot and melted to the rest of the ingredients.
• instead of almonds, try pistachio, cashew or any nuts of your choice.
• add vanilla extract and some citrus zest to lift the frangipane a little, avoids being too bitter.
• if your fruit of choice is particularly wet, ensure to dry with kitchen paper and add at the last minute to avoid a soggy bottom.
• Mary also favours lining the base of the pastry with some ground almonds, before adding the filling to also avoid soggy bottoms.
• frangipanes are perfect to make in advance, wrap well and pop in the freezer for later (will last up to one month).

Take a look at how I got on with the rest of the challenges:

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Organic September with Waitrose

September has been crowned Organic month by the Soil Association. To celebrate the best of British organic produce, Waitrose have a whole heap of great recipes using their Duchy range. Its a great time to discover some new ingredients, recipes and to help you do so, some great in-store offers. 

Whilst supporting British farmers, by choosing organic fruit, vegetables, meat and dairy you're choosing proper food, produced with no chemicals in a sustainable way to both animals and the environment. By making just a small changes during your weekly shop you'll be helping to make a big difference and choosing food that just plain tastes great.

Waitrose challenged me to come up with some meals using their Duchy Organic range during the week, and here's how I got on...

Spaghetti bolognese

To start, I went back to basics with a classic spaghetti bolognese. My favourite recipe is just a simple one from the Masterchef Cookery Course book, and I add in some Marmite for extra flavour. Make this when you get in from work, add a splash of Merlot (not too much, you need to drink the rest) and leave it to gently simmer away until you're ready for dinner.

I was amazed by how bright and fresh the beef mince was and the bacon was thickly sliced. Miles apart from the mince you usually see in the supermarkets.

Paired with Bonterra Organic Merlot Mendocino which has a full, silky plum flavour made with organic grown grapes.

A classic recipe I love to make in bulk and freeze in batches. So versatile too, I like bolognese with pasta, spaghetti, jacket potatoes, mash potatoes or in a sandwich!

Stuffed chicken wrapped in bacon

Another simple recipe that takes little effort, but its vastly improved with some great ingredients. And, another use for that brilliant bacon.

I butterflied the chicken breasts, spooned in lashings of cream cheese, wrapped in strips of bacon and plonked them in the oven with sliced peppers to roast for 20-25 minutes. Served with sweet potato mash, which is an entirely different colour and so much sweeter than regular sweet potatoes I've bought in the past.

The Miguel Torres Las Mulas Organic Sauvignon Blanc is crisp, refreshing with tropical and citrus notes. Perfect with chicken. I love that this is named after the mules that work in the vineyards!

BBQ Salmon fishcakes

My absolute favourite recipe of the week and a great way of using up what's in the fridge with some fresh salmon.

No real recipe for these, but as a guide, I made 6 with 2 fillets of salmon. Cook the salmon under the grill for 10 minutes until just cooked and flake into some left over sweet potato mash, add chopped spring onions, sweetcorn or whatever's lurking in the fridge. A generous squirt of BBQ sauce, seasoning and squidge into shape. Dust with flour, beaten egg and breadcrumbs in turn. To cook, add a little oil to a pan and fry for 4 minutes on each side.

You may think it a little strange, but in place of my favourite panko crumbs, you can also use crushed cornflakes or, like I did here, ryvita crispbreads to give a perfect crunch!

This time, I opted for a nice Rosé to go with the fish. The Quoins Rosé is delicate and fresh with a great flavour of cherries and strawberries.

During the week I really enjoyed making these meals and spent more time thinking of the individual ingredients rather than the recipe as a whole.

And that's exactly the idea, by making just a few swaps to what you'd already buy you're making such a difference and everything tastes so much better!

To find out more about the Duchy Organic range and the Prince's charities, take a look here.

And if you fancy trying some organic wine, the Waitrose Cellar has some great choices.

*I was given a giftcard to purchase ingredients in exchange for a mention of Organic September. All opinions are my own, that salmon is well worth a few extra pennies!

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Recipe: Lindor Orange Truffle Triple Chocolate Loaf

Some of my favourite cakes to make are loaf cakes. Relatively quick to make and usually take a little while in the oven which is a perfect opportunity to get the washing up done and sit back with a cup of tea. They don't require much attention!

If we're talking loaf cakes, then the absolute ultimate loaf cake would of course be a chocolate loaf cake packed full of your favourite chocolate. The world is your oyster-loaf...pick whatever you fancy.

Each time Lindt release a new flavour of their Lindor Truffles, I think its my favourite. Except this time, I really do think their orange flavour* will have a very long reign, just like the Queen!

For this loaf I used a big bar of Dairy Milk Caramel...some would argue its not proper baking chocolate, but they haven't lived. You could always substitute this for proper chocolate because there's a whole box of Lindor Truffles too, seems a little extravagant. But again, you haven't lived until you try it.

So because orange really is the new black, I present to you - YOUR triple chocolate loaf, because it certainly isn't Terry's, silly!

Lindor Orange Truffle Triple Chocolate Loaf
(Recipe adapted from The Londoner, makes a 2lb loaf)

180g unsalted butter, room temperature

180g caster sugar

3 eggs, beaten

125g self raising flour

100g ground almonds

1/2 tsp baking powder

100ml whole milk

4tbsp cocoa powder

200g milk chocolate, chopped into chunks

200g Lindor Orange Truffles

• Heat the oven to 160 degrees and line and grease a 2lb loaf tin.
• Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Gradually mix in the eggs, a little at a time. Gently mix in the flour, almonds and baking powder. Add the milk and milk to a smooth consistency. 
• Add the chocolate chunks and whole truffles, stirring as little as possible. 
• Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 50-60 minutes, a skewer inserted should come out clean of better (but maybe not chocolate!)

The caramel sunk to the bottom and the rest of the slice fell apart...all the more reason to serve warmed with ice cream. But if you like your slices a little more tidy then perhaps use plain chocolate.

* Sally c/o Lindt kindly sent me a pack over to give their new flavour a try. My passion for Lindor truffles is honest and my own.

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Bake Off Bake Along: Week 5: Sugar-Free Spiced Sweet Potato Loaf

This week's challenges are most certainly that. Despite the number of 'healthy' baking books that are around, its not as simple as just picking one recipe and running with it. Not unless you're pretty healthy anyway and your cupboards are stocked up with everything that Whole Foods or Planet Organic stock.

Sugar is my kryptonite. Even when I'm being healthier, I eat tonnes of sugar laden fruit so was keen this week to make something entirely sugar-free.

Of course Gwyneth Paltrow comes up trumps with sugar-free recipes. I spotted this recipe for sweet potato muffins and mixed things up a little to make a loaf cake with what I already had in my cupboards. This mix is enough to make a dozen muffins or a 1lb loaf.

So if you fancy giving it a go, here's a few tips on substituting ingredients:

• Liquid sweeteners are a great substitute for sugar, just be careful of the ratios as volumes and weights always differ. This guide is a great help to give you an idea. In Gwynnie's recipe, rice malt syrup is used as its a complex sugar that slowly absorbs into the bloodstream. I don't have this and I've never seen it in my local supermarket so opted to use maple syrup instead.
• Stevia is also a good alternative. As a natural sweetener its preferable to other sweeteners you'll find in the baking aisle like aspartame. Although, as stevia is twice as sweet as sugar, you only need to use half the quantity.
• As sugar is hygroscopic, it adds moisture to baking. It also gives a different structure and taste when it caramelises which is why different sugars are suited to different recipes. You may want a short crumb in biscuits and pastry, but something moist and golden in brownies and cakes. This is also the case with sweeteners. Coconut sugar, honey or maple syrup are great alternatives for any type of brown sugar where you need a caramel taste. 
• As a general rule of thumb, natural sweeteners bake quicker than regular sugars, especially honey. If you're adapting a recipe, check on your bake 5-10 minutes before listed in the recipe.
• Another popular alternative is agave due to its low GI qualities, although as with honey, it is high in fructose so be careful with using too much. 

Mostly its a taste preference, we see cake and expect it to be sweet. Sweet potatoes are naturally sweet so in this recipe you can get away with only adding 2 tablespoons of maple syrup!

See how I got on with the previous week's challenges:

   

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Review: August Degustabox

I was so excited to receive August's Degustabox*, I think this is my favourite one yet. This is the final one I'll be reviewing so had high hopes of discovering some great new brands, and I did! 

Here's my round up and some tips on how to get the most out of the August box.

Dr. Oetker

I love mug cakes, I even have my very own mug with measurements inside for making them. Dr. Oetker has set out to make things even easier and now has a range of 3 flavours (lemon, chocolate and chocolate chip) where you just need to add milk and pop in the microwave. If you want to ramp up the flavour even more, I recommend adding a spoon of Nutella, peanut butter, chocolate chips, marshmallows, or my favourite, crushed Daim bars. Perfect for those moments where you have nothing in and you just need cake. 

Life Tonics

Fruity coconut water with added vitamins and no refined sugars or artificial sweeteners. I think I got the best flavour in my box, Dalandan Orange which is meant to be a little sour like lime and orange. Other flavours include coconut & mint and elderberry & juniper.

Ryvita

Ryvita used to remind me of diets but they've had a huge overhaul recently and their range of different snacks and crispbreads is huge. I'm a huge fan of their crispbreads due to the vast range in flavours and snack combinations with them are limitless. Their website is a great source of inspiration and even has a recipe selector that asks you exactly what you fancy. Recently I've been enjoying the sesame ones with cream cheese and marmite as a snack. Or for breakfast, I've layered some in a glass with fresh berries and my favourite yogurt. 

Bahlsen

I enjoyed Pick Up! biscuits so much, they remind me of Cadbury's LU biscuits. And you can't go wrong with Leibniz of any form. I spotted these again in my local supermarket so will definitely be stocking up again.

Barilla

Barilla takes pasta very seriously and have specially designed their Penne Rigate for optimum sauce holding. Lean and long, with angled ends and ridges on the outside, the arrabbiata sauce clings perfectly. 

Walkers

Is it me or do these remind you of hotels? Either way, biscuits of any sort are usually a winner for me. I'm just not too keen on these, their shortbreads aren't buttery enough and the other biscuits tend to be quite dry.

Primal Pantry

I've seen so much about these bars buzzing round the Internet so was very curious to try. Paleo, coldpressed bars free from nasties are meant to be a sweet and balanced snack. I just couldn't get on with them. I found them to be quite bitter and the flavours not so exciting.

Scheckters

I'm not a huge fan of energy drinks, I'd personally rather have strong coffee. Its a shame there's been a lot of negative press around them recently because there are a lot of good natural brands out there. In these Scheckters drinks, a blend of green coffee beans, green tea, guarana and ginseng is blended for an energy boost.

If you'd like to try Degustabox for yourself, shimmy on over here and pop in my discount code (98VWM) for £3 off your first box, valid until October.

Its been absolutely great receiving a box of treats every month and trying out some new things. Take a look at my round up of the previous boxes if you're tempted:

• June's box with a recipe for healthy coconut sugar brownies, here.
• July's box packed with snacks, here.
  

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Bake Off Bake Along: Week 4 - Espresso Crème Brûlée

Throughout the Bake Off Bake Along some of the biggest challenges have been photographing the bakes each week. Especially crème brûlée from desserts week. The Spanische windtorte and baked cheesecakes may now seem ages ago but you'll have to forgive me, I'm running a little behind.

So, in an attempt to catch up (and watch last weeks Bake Off!), here's my entry for dessert week, espresso crème brûlée...and yes I cheated by not grilling my sugar topping and instead opted for a kitchen torch, way more fun.

I used a Gordon Ramsay recipe which you can find, here.

In order to create the perfect wobble and crisp caramel topping, here are some pointers:

• my biggest mistake here was not using enough sugar to caramelise for the topping. I was in a little bit of a rush with these. But ideally all the sugar should melt into caramel. The recipe I used called for demerara which helps to give a nice toffee flavour but will not fully melt. For a smooth, glossy melt use caster sugar. 
• essentially you're making baked custard, so whilst different flavours are great, have a think of what goes with custard before getting too fancy! Earl grey would be great, as would orange and almond flavours. Unfortunately, as good as these espresso versions taste, they look a little brown and unappealing before adding a sugar topping.
• older crème brûlée recipes will be made entirely on the stove and heated until jelly-like and firm and cooled in the fridge. However, its must quicker and easier to make the custard and bake it for 30 minutes or so. The milk and cream is gently scalded in a pan before whisking into the eggs and sugar. The mixture is then poured into ramekins positioned in a large baking tray of water. By doing so the water will create steam and will also help to ensure that the crème brûlées are cooked evenly throughout. Once done they should become firm and have a slight wobble.
• some recipes call for buttering ramekins, but it seems pretty pointless, unlike panna cotta you don't need to remove them to serve.

With just a few elements, crème brûlée is surprisingly easy to make. Just not too appealing to photograph!

Fancy checking out how I got on with the rest of the Bake Off Bake Along challenges?

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National Burger Day Party

If you're under the impression that I like burgers, then I'm afraid you've got me all wrong. Hah! Who am I kidding? When it was announced that Mr Hyde would be bringing back National Burger Day and celebrating with a party again this year there was a lot of commotion on Twitter. Mostly between Flick, Lauren and myself.

Of course, to go to the party you needed to purchase a ticket and these tickets sold out quicker than it takes Flick to eat a whole crab with burger chaser. 

I woke up from my night shift slumber to find that I'd missed the boat and a ticket. We hatched a plan over Twitter that I'd stand on the other side of the fence and the girls would lob burgers over to me. Now, whilst this was all a joke, my sadness was not a joke. 

My lucky burger prayers were answered when our pleas were heard and a latecomers ticket was released just for me. Christmas had truly come early and I don't think I've ever Paypal'd my spondoolies over so quickly!

But enough of burger admin, and onto the only thing we all truly care about, the line up. A total of 18 special burgers and 2 desserts were on offer. And with each ticket, a pint of Kozel lager, a Jameson Pickleback and a Breddos Chilliback with Jose Cuervo. 

We hopped straight over to the bar, went for Kozel and Aperol spritzes to fuel our game plan. We heard early on that someone had managed 6 burgers. Even with their smaller special sizes for the evening (anything between 75g and 120g patties) that was some true dedication!

First up, Mother Flipper. Without a doubt The Candy Bacon Special stole the show. 

The patties (120g) are made from coarse mince, loaded with squirt of magical MF special sauce and American cheese. Topped with pickles, home-candied brown sugar bacon, shoestring fries to give a perfect crunch and gently squashed in a toasted brioche bun.

We then split to order our next choices, Le Bun for the girls after giving up on Burger Bear's worthy queue. For me, Lucky Chip and their Donald Trump Burger (as endorsed by Donald Trump, apparently)!

Aged beef patty (105g) drenched in bourbon and vanilla BBQ sauce, grilled onions, American cheese and huge hunks of pickles. Perhaps a little too sweet, but perfectly manageable in a small size like this. I'd have loved it even more with a squirt of mustard and some more crispy onions.

As pickle-fiends, Flick and I opted for a pickle party in our final burgers. Lauren went for Smokestak who's Brisket and smoked bone marrow burgers looked pretty damn impressive.

And the pickle choice of the night? PYT Burger's Pickleback Slider. Custom beef patty (85g) topped with applewood bacon, Jameson glazed and fried pickle chips. I could quite happily have a whole trough of fried pickle chips and they are glorious in a burger. With just a hint more Jameson and bacon, this burger would have been a good contender to knock Mother Flipper off the top spot.

Happy as clams (or pickles), the girls tuck into their patties.

As the night crept on, things got a lot darker. We negotiated our way back to the bar for a top up. Bypassing the offer of a Pickleback or Chilliback that came with our tickets (a shot followed by a chilli or pickle juice chaser!). 

At Scoopsy Daisy, we all shared The Fat Elvis. Peanut butter and banana ice cream topped with bacon dust. This was an unusual combination, even for a gal like Flick who mixes her condiments! I loved the ice cream, just perhaps not bacon dust with it, sorry Elvis.

And finally, a dessert made just for me (naturally) Crumbs & Doilies Filthy Burger Cupcake. Salted caramel butterscotch bun, PB&J brownie patty, Speculoos cheese, Biscoff mustard and Swiss meringue lettuce. Followed with a side of shortbread chips with Yuzu and Speculoos dips.

No other cupcake will be the same!

The National Burger Day party was amazing (even the part where Flick-penguin attacked us in a photobooth). I'm not sure I want to go to any other sort of party in future now.

Mr Hyde's own photos of the night are pretty good, here.

If you're planning a burger crawl or going to a food festival yourself, take wet wipes. Everyone will be your friend and you'll be able to eat more burgers, that's what we learnt!

Until next year, burger pals!

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Food in August

August has been a bit of a mixed month, in weather and in recipes. I've been baking less and eating out more, never a bad thing. But now seasons are changing, I'm excited for cooler days and to get my slow cooker out once again. I've been flicking through crisp new cookbooks and pinning away on Pinterest for inspiration.

So without further a do, here are some of my favourite things from the last few weeks.

As August is my birthday month, I always look forward to getting some new cookbooks. I did get a few and have excitedly flicked my way through each and bookmarked recipes I'd like to try. As always, I'm always looking to add more to my collection. What do you recommend?

I'm absolutely in love with Gizzi's newest book, its so well presented. Some of the meals may take extra time to make so will be saving that for days off and weekends. I also won Anna Mae's book on a Twitter competition, there's some great cheesy recipes but also sweets and pickles.

I never used to be too fond of Gin. I'd have cocktails with Gin in, but never a Gin and tonic. I don't know what happened but somewhere along the way I have now become almost too fond of it!

My favourite gin so far (other than Tanqueray, darling) is Half Hitch. Made in Camden Lock using a combination of traditional copper pots and modern day vacuum distillation, the guys at HH add black tea and bergamot to their gin, made in small batches for optimum results.

Here, I made my own version of a French 75 cocktail, a pink one! For these I eyeballed my measures, but something around 40ml gin, 15ml fresh lemon juice a dash of pomegranate syrup and topped up with your choice of fizz. I had some Lanson floating around and decided to use that, cava would work equally well.

New to the Fitzrovia area, Percy & Founders offer a great all-day menu. Tucked away round the corner from Goodge Street, there's space for 200 covers with a few different dining and lounge areas to tuck yourself into. I popped over there to check out their burger, naturally, and couldn't leave before trying their peanut butter parfait also.

I shall definitely be returning for more PB parfaits! I also really enjoyed their burger. Its one of those places you can take 'grown ups' and still have a burger yourself. I.e. parent friendly restaurants.

And that, my friends, pretty much sums up August. Short and sweet. September is already looking jam packed and I'm excited to get cracking on those recipes!

I'll also be loading up a brand new blog header from the super lovely Angie B Studio. I'm excited to finally finish the last step of updating my blog and have loved working with Angie, she just knew exactly what I wanted (even if I didn't know before!).

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