The other day, Natalie and I were on a bus from Angel into the city. As we passed Bea's of Bloomsbury, Natalie mentioned that she had always wanted to go there. Bea's of Bloomsbury is famous for its afternoon tea. It was named by Timeout as one of London's best tea rooms.

It was an easy decision. We got off the bus at the next stop and walked back to Bea's for a spot of afternoon tea.

Natalie and I decided to share so we could try a few of their cupcakes. We decided to try the Red Velvet, the Victoria Sponge and the Chocolate Caramel Explosion (I've just made that name up as I can't actually remember its name. It was a chocolate fudge cupcake with a gooey caramel centre.) We decided to eat them in order of richest to lightest.

What was the verdict?

The Caramel Explosion was far too rich for my tastes. The caramel centre didn't really work either as it has sunk to the bottom of the cake and was just a congealed mess at the bottom of the patty.

Next up, Red Velvet. We picked this one because it is our favourite flavour from our favourite cupcake store, The Hummingbird Bakery in Notting Hill. Bea's Red Velvet did not measure up. Although the cake bit was quite tasty the cream cheese icing (which is really what the cupcake is all about) wasn't as good. Bea's went with a fancier mascarpone icing. I wasn't a fan.

Finally, we tried the Victoria Sponge. A light vanilla sponge, with cream and jam in the middle. Just like a normal sponge cake but in an individual serving. Perfect! This was definitely the favourite of the day. So much so that I might just try to bake them for a picnic this weekend.



Thanks to Caitlin for featuring this post on her blog, Goosberry Fool. Check out all the other great foodie links in her weekly round up.

London: Friday evening - Summer. Sydney: Saturday morning - Winter.

"Here I am "cooking" mars bar slice at 10pm in my PJs. Not really cooking because there is no actual baking involved. Just some melting in the microwave, some mixing and then a bit of refrigeration. It's the perfect thing to make when you don't have a lot of time. I took this mars bar slice to frisbee on the weekend and as usual got lots of positive comments. Rightly so, it's very tasty. I feel like a bit of a sham though as it's so easy to make. I shouldn't bake in my pyjamas though. I finished the evening with a chocolate stain on my PJ top. I was saving it for Ron."




Check out Sue's day at noodlebowl.net and her photos on Flickr.

A visit to Croatia's Pag island is like a quick trip to the moon. The landscape is devoid of greenery. It's just grey as far as the eye can see.

We stopped in the town of Pag for a quick wander. It was Easter Sunday and most of the town was at church. After church finished the townsfolk gathered in the square for a special Easter brunch. The village band played and kids danced to the music (well most of them anyway). It was quite a festive atmosphere.

Pag is famous for Paški sir, cheese from the island of Pag. It's a hard cheese made from sheep's milk. There must be some greenery on Pag as the flavour of the cheese comes from the diet of wild herbs that the sheep graze on.

Cheese making is a family business on Pag. You visit people's homes rather than head to a traditional shop for your cheesy goodness. We found a Paški sir sign, knocked on the front door of the cheese seller's house and asked for cheese. We were then taken to the cheese vault. The mother of the house was in charge of the transaction but the 16-year old daughter was our translator. We wondered just how many languages the daughter spoke. I'm sure she knows the word for cheese in at least 7 languages.

We had Pag cheese sammiches for lunch while we waited for the ferry back to the mainland. Pag cheese is yummy!

More photos on Flickr.

Our visit to Pag was part of the Aegean Odyssey. Mum, Dad, Andrew and I spent a few weeks in Croatia and Greece with a quick visit to Slovenia and Austria in the middle. Other entries from this trip include: Climbing in Croatia.

Caitlin and Jack are having a very busy 2009. It's all stations go. Married last month ... congratulations Caitlin and Jack! Now, they are moving to the US. They are leaving London and moving to San Francisco. Farewell Caitlin and Jack!

I baked some cupcakes for their farewell picnic in Kensington Gardens. To celebrate the destination of the move I decided to give my decorating an American theme. I turned my 12 cupcakes into the American flag. It didn't have quite enough stars and the stripes aren't quite right, but I'm pretty chuffed with the end result.
Good luck with the move Caitlin and Jack! We hope to see you someday soon in San Francisco.

Here is the recipe for the Cherry Ripe Mud Cake that I baked for Andrew for his birthday. It was passed on from the Darbys, Andrew's cousins in Ballarat. I'm generously sharing it with the world. There was quite an interest on twitter for the recipe.

Cherry Ripe Mud Cake

250g unsalted butter, chopped 1 tablespoon instant coffee powder 400ml coconut milk 200g dark chocolate, chopped coarsely 2 cups caster sugar ¾ cup self raising flour 1 cup plain flour ¼ cup cocoa powder 2 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla essence 3 x 85g Cherry Ripe bars, chopped coarsely

Pre-heat oven to slow (150°C / 300°F). Grease deep 22cm-round cake pan. Line base and inside with baking paper.

Melt butter in large saucepan. Add coffee, coconut milk, chocolate and sugar. Stir over heat until chocolate melts and sugar dissolves. Cool to room temperature.

Whisk in sifted dry ingredients, then eggs and essence. Stir in two bars of the cherry ripe. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Top with remaining cherry ripe. Bake in slow oven for about 1h 45m. Stand cake for 10 minutes. Turn, top-side up, onto wire rack to cool.

Serve warm, dusted with icing sugar, with cream or a scoop of vanilla ice-cream on the side.

Baker's Notes:

• I have a fan-forced oven and I baked it for 1 hour and 20 minutes in a 150°C oven. Tara, Andrew's cousin, bakes it in her fan-forced oven for 2 hours at 140°C.
• The actual recipe calls for chocolate frosting on top of the cake and chocolate panels on the side of the cake. I think you might go into a sugar-induced coma if you ate a piece of that cake. It's already a very rich cake so I was advised to just go with a light dusting of icing sugar on top of the cake. Let me know if you want the chocolate frosting / chocolate panel addendum to the recipe.

What is a Cherry Ripe?
Our non-Australian readers probably haven't heard of a Cherry Ripe. A Cherry Ripe is an Australian chocolate bar made by Cadbury. Its filling consists of pieces of cherry and coconut and the bar is covered in dark chocolate. It's Australia's oldest chocolate bar. In London, you can buy Cherry Ripes at the Australia Shop at Convent Garden. They cost £1.60 but they are worth every penny.