Mar 23 2012

An Update from Eric

by Bakingmad

Salut!

Oh what an exciting week it has been!  The weekend kicked off with a great opening – I was invited to my first rugby match at Twickenham. It was the clash of the titans – Ireland v England on St Patrick’s Day – phenomenal despite the awful weather.  It started with pre-match drinks and food with the fine company of many English rugby players (yes my hosts are very keen England rugby supporters). Olly Kohn who plays for Harlequins and runs a sausage company – Jolly Hogan Sausages – with his brother provided the freshly roasted sausages and hog roast – the atmosphere like the sausages was sizzling!  And of course England won so a great result all round!

Olly let me into a secret that Harlequin Rugby Club like so many other rugby clubs has got a secret baking club…..Ooops it is no longer a secret now …. :o )

For those of you who have been watching the Baking Mad with Eric Lanlard series – and looking at the ever growing ratings – there is a lot of you out there I have some answers to your questions. I thought I would share with you my ‘little black book’ of  suppliers.  But first of all I must address one of the most frequently asked questions – after a cameo appearance a week or so ago  – yes, my cat Bobby is a Maine Coon.  Back to my list of suppliers –they are – in no particular order:

Msk.co.uk – this is where I buy all of my flavourings for macaroons and chocolate, rare dried ingredients -eg green tea, bee pollen, dried flowers, popping candy…

Continental Chef Supplies – for all specialised patisserie equipment eg mousse rings, individual mousse mould sets, croquembouche cones etc…

Squires Kitchen – for sugar paste, petal paste, food colouring, edible glitter, moulding chocolate etc…

FPC Sugarcraft – silicone moulds for glamorous cupcake toppings and decorations etc…

Joseph & Joseph – all the colourful and beautiful equipment – eg chopping boards, scales, spatulas, rolling pins etc…

Finally, after a busy week of cupcake and spring baking classes I found time to relax well sort of… I was invited to see the ever fabulous magician Hans Klok.   Hans is originally from Holland but he should have been born on the stage in Vegas.   I have never seen anything like it in this country – it was a great production, fantastic music and the magical tricks were unbelievable! I have seen  many magic shows in my time (I love magic) but I have never seen so many people disappear on stage  or  tables flying over the audience in the space of two hours!  The best thing of all was being able to meet Han after the show -  he is a genuine and lovely guy – we can’t wait for his return to the UK in February 2013. 

All that is left for me to say is enjoy the spring the sunshine – long may it last – it is definitely the weather for some serious baking!

Until next week…

Eric x

Categories: Eric Lanlard, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Mar 21 2012

Baking Mad sponsor Cake and Bake Show 2012

by Bakingmad

Cake and Bake Show 2012Here at Baking Mad, we know that never before has the art of baking been so in vogue: from the unstoppable craze of cupcakes to the unprecedented interest in artisan breads, its undeniable that the popularity of all things cake and bake is on the rise.

So it is with great excitement that we announce that the UK’s first dedicated Cake and Bake show will be launching in London this September and that we- Baking Mad.com will be the event’s official sponsor!

 The show will take place at Earls Court between 22nd and 23rd September and includes demonstrations by top celebrity bakers (including The Great British Bake Off’s Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry), family friendly features such as kids baking workshops, short technical classes for adults, plus a fabulous foodie marketplace where you will be able to tast, touch, try and buy all the latest products, ingredients and equipment. If you love your baking, this is one event not to be missed!

 For more information, and to book tickets visit the Cake and Bake Show’s official website www.thecakeandbakeshow.co.uk

 

Categories: Baking Mad News | 3 Comments »

Mar 19 2012

Nancy makes Eric Lanlard’s Best Carrot Cake

by Bakingmad

Hi everyone, it’s me again.

As you’re probably all well aware we are currently in the middle of Series Two of Baking Mad with Eric Lanlard, on Channel 4 every weekday at 12.05pm. It’s been an exciting series so far with many delicious cakes and desserts being made. Some of our fabulous bloggers have been having a go at some of Eric’s recipes from the show so I thought why shouldn’t I have a go too!

I was torn between Erics Best Banana Cake and Erics Best Carrot Cake but in the end went for the carrot cake mainly because I didn’t have any ripe bananas and also because I LOVE carrot cake.

 

Eric’s Best Carrot Cake
(I halved the recipe because I only wanted to make one loaf)
3 Eggs  
175 grams Light Muscovado Sugar (Billington’s)  
200 ml Ground nut oil  
200 grams Self Raising Flour (Allinson Nature Friendly)  
1 tsp Cinnamon ground 
1 tsp Nutmeg ground 
200 grams Carrots grated 
100 grams Sultanas golden 
100 grams Walnuts roasted halves

For the icing:
125 grams Unsalted Butter  
50 grams Cream cheese  
300 grams Golden Icing Sugar (Billington’s) 

Handful of walnuts
Handful of sultanas

First of all preheat your oven to 150C. Grease a regular 25cmx11cm (10×4.25 inch) loaf tin with butter and line with baking paper

Add the light muscovado sugar and ground nut oil to a mixing bowl. Break 3 eggs and add to the mixture and whisk.

Grate the carrots into the bowl and mix. Add the walnuts and sultanas to the bowl and mix. (Eric suggested golden sultanas and I wasn’t too sure what they were so I just used regular)

In a seperate bowl sift in the flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. Fold the mixture until fully mixed.

Pour the mixture into the loaf tins. Cook in a preheated oven for 40-45 minutes. (I had to leave mine in for an extra ten minutes because it didn’t seem cooked yet, but my oven isn’t that great) 

Half way through cooking, use a sharp knife to cut lengthways along the top of the loaf to create a dome like effect. I thought this was a fab tip, I had never known that’s how you do it! 

Once cooked, remove from tins and allow to cool.

For the frosting, place the butter and cream cheese in a mixing bowl. Add in the icing sugar and 1tsp of vanilla extract and mix with a hand whisker. Decant the frosting into a bowl and pop in the fridge to firm up (but not for too long, my frosting became a bit too hard and was difficult to spread!)

When firm take a palette knife and holding the loaf in your hands spread the frosting on starting around the sides and then piling it high on top. Smooth over the frosting for an even finish. For the final touch, sprinkle golden sultanas and walnuts on the top and dust with icing sugar.

Ta-dah! I was quite happy with it!

Categories: Eric Lanlard, Recipes & Baking, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Mar 16 2012

An Update From Eric

by Bakingmad

Hello Baking Mad fans!

How was your baking mad week ?

Hopefully you are still getting lots of baking inspiration from the series and our amazing contributors …  I just love how everybody is tweeting about which guest will win the bake-off (and which colour socks I will be wearing!!)

Did anyone notice the special cameo appearance of my cat Bobby earlier this week?  She passed through the kitchen while the cameras were rolling and I think she enjoyed all the attention!  She was very well behaved, as always, and loved all the attention she received from the lovely crew – fortunately she doesn’t have a sweet tooth, or it could have been very different..  Actually, her  favourite food is tomato sauce , she’s an unusual cat!

I’ve had a busy time this week – at the weekend I flew to Edinburghfor the Scottish fund raising diner of BACK UP .  Aside from supporting this amazing charity, it was also a great opportunity to wear my 20th century kilt   -I had it made to measure from black Scottish Wool (it’s great to wear casually too, with a t shirt and boots).

Anyway, we raised a lot of money and stayed for the whole weekend.  I managed to fit in a dinner at Tom Kitchin’s restaurant, The Kitchin, and the food was incredible – my friends and I went in for the full 9 course tasting menu and pairing wine.  It was absolutely delicious, lots of fresh fish and seafood, along with some great deserts and puddings.  It is a must for anyone visitingEdinburghand a great treat!  Tom wasn’t able to be there when we visited, but he welcomed us in his absence with a bottle of rose champagne on ice.  Thank you Tom!

Alongside all this, I’ve been working on recipes and a new exciting project this week, so I am looking forward to my weekend.  I’ve been invited to the England/Ireland match at Twickenham, we’re having drinks and food before kick-off and the atmosphere is going to be electric as it’s St Patrick’s Day (I’ll let you know how I get on in next week’s blog).  I’m going to try to keep neutral, but I know my host is going to be shouting forEngland.

Wishing you a great Baking weekend!

LOL ERIC x

PS: if you missed some of the BAKING MAD WITH ERIC episodes, watch the all series on MORE4 every Sunday at 8pm 2 episodes back to back!

 

Categories: Eric Lanlard | 2 Comments »

Mar 12 2012

Social Media Competition Terms and Conditions

by Bakingmad

Acceptance of the terms and conditions is a condition of entry.

To enter the competition, you must click ‘like’ on the Baking Mad UK Facebook page.

This competition is open to UK residents only aged 18 or over and excludes any person whom in the competition Organiser’s reasonable opinion, should be excluded due to their involvement or connection with this competition.

One entry per person only. Entries from agents/third parties are invalid.

Entries must be received no later than midnight (GMT) on the stated closing date.

All prizes are non-transferable. There is no cash alternative.

Winners will be selected at random under independent supervision not more than 7 days after the competition closing date and will be notified via Facebook. If the winners cannot be contacted within 30 days alternative winners will be selected.

It is a condition of the entry that the competition winners agree to be available for, and participate in, any public relations activity arranged by the Organiser.

The Organiser’s decision in all matters relating to the competition is final and legally binding on all entrants and no correspondence will be entered into. The Organiser reserves the right to alter, amend or foreclose the competition without prior notice. Should events occur that render the competition itself or the awarding of the prize impossible due to reasons beyond the control of the Organiser, the Organiser may at its absolute discretion vary or amend the promotion.

Entries not submitted in accordance with the rules, illegible, incomplete or altered will be disqualified

Categories: Uncategorized | No Comments »

Mar 12 2012

Get a Free Herb Garden with Allinson

by Bakingmad

 

Spring has finally sprung and what better way to celebrate than by planting some fresh herbs  to use in your baking?

From quiches, to tarts and freshly baked loaves, we’ve got some fantastic recipe ideas to inspire you.

And Allinson are giving you the chance to claim your very own herb garden, complete with everything you need to get started – trough, soil and seeds. Just follow the simple planting and watering instructions and you’ll be harvesting your crop in no time.

To acquire one of these lovely wooden herb garden kits, all you need is to collect 6 tokens from special promotional packs of Allinson Bread and send them to Allinson plus a £2 contribution towards the cost of postage. Or alternatively you could save 3 tokens and pay £5 which includes the cost of postage.

Once you have these [click here] to go to the application form, complete your details, print it off and send it to us along with a cheque/postal order for the correct amount made payable to ALLINSON HERB GARDEN PROMOTION PO Box 1079, Hemel Hempstead, HP1 1GY by 30/09/12 .

Click here to view the Terms and Conditions.

Special packs are available from the following retailers:

Brown Batch with the Taste of Sourdough- Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Ocado

Sunflower & Pumpkin Batch- Asda, Tesco, Morrinsons, Ocado

Wholemeal Batch 800g- Asda, Tesco, Morrinsons, Sainsbury’s, Ocado, Waitrose, Iceland

Allinson Wholemeal Batch Loaf 400g – Morrisons, Iceland, Waitrose, Ocado

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Mar 9 2012

An Update From Eric

by Bakingmad

Bonjour!

So here we are – Baking Mad with Eric Lanlard is finally on our screens!  It’s so exciting, it looks terrific, in full HD format and our production team did an amazing job.

It is nice to see the Cake Boy HQ in action as well during the daily bake-Off.  Our contributors are fantastic too – they had a great time taking part, even if they didn’t make it to the Master Class.  I love reading their comments on their blogs, facebook and twitter and congratulations to the winner and runner-up of my Twitter competition -  I will be doing the same again next week, so keep sending in those pictures! 

Don’t forget if you miss the show you can always catch up on 4oD  and keep watching for inspiration and look out for those stripy baking socks!!

As much as I love baking – I also love cooking too and am always on the look out for a good cookery book.  I like them to be accessible and easy to follow so I was really excited to be  invited to the launch of Fay Ripley’s new book, ‘What’s For Dinner’.  Aside from being entertaining and seriously funny, I like the way she makes cooking easy.  At the launch they served some of the food from the book and it was simply divine.   All washed down with English Rose sparkling wine.  It was a great evening and I highly recommend the book.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another great book to look out for is ‘Recipes from my Mother for my Daughter’ by Lisa Faulkner, Celebrity Master Chef winner.  Again this book is very bright, very home made and I simply love the Simmel cake on the cover. You do not see enough of these cakes at Easter anymore and I love a slice of it with a good cuppa!

And finally for my little Book Club special, a clip from my friends at The Thoughtful Bread Company based in the beautiful city of Bath. These boys are fun, loveable and can seriously bake fantastic bread.  I’ve already tried some of their recipes and they work very well.  The recipes are so imaginative – it is a proper bread revolution!  This short video sums up what they and their book are all about!

 So what is your new favourite baking or cook book?  I would love to hear from you. Don’t forget you can always tweet me @EricLanlard or use #bakingmad.

I am off to Edinburgh this evening for a charity dinner with Back Up.  I always get excited for this annual dinner as I love Scotlandand it is an opportunity to wear my kilt and practise my Scottish dancing moves!  Pictures next week…

A bientot! Keep it Sweet and unrefined!!!

Bisous

Eric

Categories: Eric Lanlard | 2 Comments »

Mar 4 2012

Good Food Free Yeast Terms and Conditions

by Bakingmad

REGISTER NOW for your free sachets (2x 7g) of Allinson Easy Bake Yeast! Click HERE to register for your free sample  http://bakingmad.com/community/register/ 

Promotion Terms & Conditions Acceptance of the rules is a condition of entry and entry instructions form part of the rules. Your personal data will be held by Allinson. We have 30,000 sachets of Allinson Easy Bake Yeast to giveaway. The product is non-transferable. There is no cash alternative. This competition is open to UK residents only aged 18 or over and excludes any person whom in the competition Organiser’s reasonable opinion, should be excluded due to their involvement or connection with this competition. No purchase necessary for entry.

Entry indicates acceptance of the terms and conditions. Baking Mad will stop recording new member sign-ups at immediately and end at midnight (GMT) Monday 30th April. New member sign-ups after this date will not receive any product.  Address details need to be completed in full to ensure delivery. Yeast issues will be sent out by 30th June 2012. It is a condition of the entry that the competition winners agree to be available for, and participate in, any public relations activity arranged by the Organiser. The Organiser’s decision in all matters relating to the competition is final and legally binding on all entrants and no correspondence will be entered into. The Organiser reserves the right to alter, amend or foreclose the promotion without prior notice. Organiser: Allinson Flour a part of British Sugar plc. Events may occur that render the competition itself or the awarding of the prize impossible due to reasons beyond the control of the Organiser and accordingly the Organiser may at its absolute discretion vary or amend the promotion and the entrant agrees that no liability shall attach to the as a result thereof. Entries not submitted in accordance with the rules, illegible, incomplete or altered will be disqualified. The promotion and the website are subject to English law and the jurisdiction of the English courts. Allinson and any associated or subsidiary company and their agents or subcontractors in any way connected to this site make no representation that the materials contained within this website are appropriate for any country outside the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, not that they comply with any local laws relating to advertising or this type of promotional activity.

Categories: Uncategorized | 272 Comments »

Mar 1 2012

Tried & Tested: Pyrex Non Stick Bakeware

by Bakingmad

Hello Baking Mad buddies, it’s me- Mitzie, your friendly home baking expert!

I have just been cooking in the Baking Mad kitchen with the new range of Pyrex Classic baking tins.  They are all fabulously non stick and hard wearing, and I particularly love  the fact that everything has big easy-grab rims- making them very easy to get in an out of the oven, ven when you have thick oven gloves on!  There’s a 20cm sponge tin that is just the right size for a Victoria sponge, and I love the big 26 cm round tin for large gateaux and continental style cakes. The bun tray is great too as it has nice straight sides for making muffins without having to line each hole!

I’ve also really fallen in love with Pyrex’s roasting tin, it is the perfect size for a roast chicken or joint of meat, keeping all those precious meat juices inside and preventing them from splashing over the oven too. It’s also a great size for baking a big gingerbread or double batch of brownies. They have a 4 hole Yorkshire pudding tray too which makes the crispest Yorkshires ever!

I hate a soggy bottomed pizza don’t you? Pyrex Classic pizza tin is perforated so the heat gets right up under the dough making it crisp underneath and it’s a generous size for a family pizza.

 If you are a keen pastry cook you will love the 27 and 29 in fluted flan tins that are nice and deep for a classic tart or quiche, and the great thing about all this bakeware is that it goes in the dishwasher – hooray!

So what more can I say?! The Pyrex Classic range gets a big thumbs up from the Baking Mad kitchen! Go on give it a try for yourself!

Categories: Baking Mad News | No Comments »

Feb 28 2012

An Update from Eric

by Bakingmad

Baking Mad with Eric Lanlard Series 2Salut my ‘Baking Mad’ friends!

So here we are, it’s almost March and next week sees the start of the new series of Baking Mad with Eric Lanlard – Monday, 5 March on Channel 4 at 12.05pm – Monday to Friday – for four weeks – 20 brand new episodes. We are all very excited at Cake Boy.  I have had a sneak preview and it looks amazing – very glossy indeed!  The recipes look particularly yummy and mouth-watering and once more on  HD every detail is highlighted including my trade mark -  touch of edible glitter – the shimmer and the shine on screen even puts the Crown Jewels to shame!

 This series every episode will feature three recipes:

 A Quick Bake – filmed in my own kitchen using store cupboard ingredients and equipment that everyone should have at home even the novice baker.

A Dessert Bake – again this is filmed in my kitchen (watch out for Bobby the Cat!).  I take a great British classic (you know already that I am a true anglophile so I had a lot of fun with this) and turn it into a very glamorous dessert that is guaranteed to impress your friends and family at your next dinner party. 

 And finally a Bake Off filmed at Cake Boy.  Three amateur Bakers compete for a place in a Master Class with moi in our professional kitchen.  Each baker is given a theme – pies, tarts or celebration cakes and they have to come up with a recipe that will impress me.  The standard was high but I think we have found some great future bakers.  

I really hope that you will enjoy the series as much as we loved making it.

Follow this link for behind the scene videos and more information about the series.

http://www.cake-boy.com/tvshow.php

Last Friday I filmed a promotional video for the launch of Baking Mad with Eric Lanlard series 1 – it’s going to air in South Africa on the BBC Lifestyle Channel.  We filmed some exclusive recipes and tips as well as the introduction for a Baking Competition.  As soon as I can tell you more all will be revealed ….but if I were you down in the Cape I would be practising my best cupcake recipes!!!!!

For upcoming info for South Africalog on to: www.BBCSOUTHAFRICA.com

 A change from the world of Baking – this coming Wednesday I am hosting a Ladies lunch for one of my favourite charities Back Up (http://www.backuptrust.org.uk/Home ).

 Back Up is a national charity that has helped thousands of people of all ages and backgrounds rebuild their confidence and independence after a spinal cord injury. Our wheelchair skills training, mentoring service and rehabilitative activity courses are all run by people who have a spinal cord injury themselves. The Back Up team does an amazing job with very little money and no support from the government.  After years of helping on the sidelines I decided to get more involved on the fundraising efforts.    We are trying to introduce some ‘fresh blood’ to such a good cause and of course maybe a touch of glamour too – it seems to always help with raising money!

 We have managed to get some great high powered women like Karen Millen OBE, Caroline Quentin and Lesley Clark (from the Nicky Hairdressing salon empire) to lend their support.  As well as some other entrepreneurs or ladies who personally have a relative or a friend with spinal injuries.  The idea behind the lunch is to involve all of these lovely women to help create an annual fundraising lunch in November – specifically aimed at women – and help out with a whole programme of activities that includes a Fashion Show.

 I am very excited about Wednesday and a bit nervous too – but I know between all these lovely ladies who have responded with such enthusiasm and the team from Back Up I will be OK.

I know that a lot of you have been trying to book our cupcake decorating classes via Red Letter Day and have been told that all dates were fully booked until September.  Well you will be pleased to know that we have just added 25 new dates in addition to the existing dates.   Do call Red Letter to book one of the new Cup Cake class dates – we look forward to meeting you soon at Cake Boy.

 In meantime I will see you next Monday on the ‘Box’ at 12.05pm on Channel 4 – it’s a date!

 Happy Baking and make it very stylish with Silver Spoon Create!

GROS BISOUS

Eric xxx

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