First, some exciting News! June is my first month being a columnist! Eeek! I know. My first article is out in Easy Food Magazine (Ireland no.1 food magazine, as they say.). I made a gorgeous crab picnic loaf (below) and next month will be kids cooking. It's brilliant because I can write whatever I want and do any recipe and get to take the photos too! Dream job!
Also me and my sister Maeve will be doing a cooking demonstration at Taste of Dublin next weekend. I'm so excited because I have an AMAZING thing planned and couldn't even sleep last night because I was so obsessed with planning every detail of it.
Usually when I'm baking I'm thinking of what my post will say. In this instance it was going to be along the lines of: Ate all the butter? No problem! Make a swissroll! Yum!
I was going to wax lyrical about how easy and delicious and quick and fun the whole process was but then I decided to take photos. 158 photos. And it all became quite messy. I wanted to do a stop-frame animation showing how the swiss roll rolls and how it gets all tarted up with raspberries. But it just got...complicated. My computer started acting up and I had an over zealous dog helping.
So this post is instead about how some sprigs of mint, two cartons of cream and a load of raspberries can save the day! Woohoo! Throw a load of chocolate chip things over the big swissroll mess and no one will complain! Real life baking always has cream everywhere and a swiss roll that refuses to roll. So I had to just realise that it's ok if this looks homemade, it is homemade. And it tasted gorgeous too!
I used frozen raspberries, I don't know what you think of that but personally I'm sick of paying top dollar for berries and arriving home to realise that the bottom layer of berries are furry. Yock! And raspberries are the worst for that so I have no problem buying good quality frozen.
I got the idea for making a cream swissroll from Rebecca, Thanks girl! I had to make it after your brilliant description! As Rebecca said you can jazz this basic cake up no end. I made it for my sister's birthday and it went down a storm. Having said that I won't fill a swissroll with cream again because it was so damn messy. Happy Weekend!
Lilly x
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Many congratulations for landing your dream job...well done!
ReplyDeleteCongrats Lilly - that's lovely - I will look out for that mag. Your photos are magic - do you have a very fancy camera? My food pix look very flat by comparison! I must look up Rebecca's tip on cream in swiss rolls - mine never roll and cream in them just squishes out at the side if you roll it, it has to , it's plain physics I suppose, but how do they do it in the shop swiss rolls- chemicals I suppose. Anyway congrats on the thing with sis Maeve too - I always think Taste of Dublin must be fun but never been, it clashes with our festival in Lismore - Immrama travel writing festival - which will be great fun again this year. It's got a lot of national coverage on the press and radio.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the new ventures.
All the best, Catherine
Congratulations Lilly, looking forward to having a read!!
ReplyDeleteOh I'll add my congratulations - well deserved!
ReplyDeleteI have discovered a delicious yet shockingly healthy snack...roast some pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, peanuts (and if you have a few)almonds.Watch them til goldy.meanwhile melt a tbsp of olive oil & 2 tbsp of honey in a large pot and heat til gets bubbly ,toss the nuts& seeds til coated.Pop back on the roasting tray ,(optional sprinkle with a small palm of sugar mixed with a pinch of salt).For the love of sanity ,put grease proof paper on the tray.Pop back into your medium oven, watching like a hawk, about 10 minutes should do. and out they come, warning!!molten hot!! as they cool beat them up so they don't stick in a tray shaped lump.But they are great for the nibbles and hold great in a big tub.
That awful description will tell you why I work in music not food- your job is safe from me Lilly : ) ♥
Hurrah! I'm already looking forward to the kids' cooking feature in Easy Food. Will your folding cake-stand be featuring prominently at some stage? I think how someone could use it every day would be a whole blog in itself.
ReplyDeleteOh how wonderful! Congratulations and i'm sure it is they who are saying how lucky are we to have her!
ReplyDeleteI wish i could get that magazine, but i'm not sure it's availible here in the U.S.
♥ lori
Beatnheart: Thanks!
ReplyDeleteCatherine: This swiss roll was a total mess!I won't fill another one with cream again, i'm sticking with jam! Good luck with Immrama, hopefully the weather will be lovely and lots of people will support it!
Milinda: That sounds lovely! I prefer savoury stuff to sweet and that sounds perfect, I'll have to make it now, Thanks!x
Mise: Folding cake stands have many uses: when you wash ribbons you can hang them off the cake stand to dry, hang fresh pasta off it to dry, sort your ties etc. Endless possibilities!
Lori ann: thanks for such a sweet comment! Have a lovely weekend x
Hey well done you. I am so impressed. All your food looks so good it will be hard for folks not to lick the page!
ReplyDeleteI expect there was much finger licking went on with the swiss roll?
Claire x
You're only trying to torture me now Lilly! Looks AMAZING. :)
ReplyDeletecongrats again lilly. cant wait to see your first feature and of course your dem next friday....see you there. frozen raspberries, yes i totally agree...really sick of 'fresh' furry ones! s x
ReplyDeletewell done and well deserved ms. higgins, I predict it's only the start of a fabulous foodie career for you.
ReplyDeletenice one Lilly. see you at Taste of Dublin hopefully...
ReplyDeleteClaire: It was totally messy, but good messy!
ReplyDeleteRebecca: You made me do it with all your swiss roll talk!
Sharon: Thanks, looking forward to it now, eeek!
Jaboopee: It doesn't even feel like work, so long may that last!
Sophie: Thanks, the muffins you made are gorgeous too! I'll have to try them,
Adrian: Thanks, I'll be the one surrounded by cakes friday night!
Well, congrats Lilly! You deserve it! I haven't been buying that magazine often at all, but I will want to read your column.
ReplyDeleteReading your blog gives me a warm treacly feeling inside :)
Congrats on the job! Fantastic news!
ReplyDelete