Harry Potter Butterbeer Bundt Cake

I am a massive Harry Potter fan. I've read, and reread the books many times, been to the studios, dressed up as a death eater, and literally bought the t-shirt(s). At some point there will be a tattoo, but I'm still plotting that one. That leads me onto my other obsession; tattoos. Had my first tattoo at 33 and there was no stopping me from that point! I had no intention of having a tattoo until I found the most remarkable lady through a fiend on Instagram. She was based in London, but this mattered not - I was going.

Loser on a broom

Rebecca has been covering me in flowers and berries for the last two years. I adore that woman. She gets me. She made allowances for my mental OCD when I had my first tattoo, seems to know what I want, even when I don't, and is just bursting with love for others. She's one of the kindest people I have ever met, she's remarkable at her art, and shares my love for all thing Potter.

I adore baking for folk I like. It makes me incredibly happy to make something I know they'll love. I was always plotting a Potter themed bundt for Rebecca. Her little girl, Rosie is a superfan too, so it had to be something for both of them.

Did a bit of Hermione style planning... So, I when I tried actual butterbeer, it tasted of very little, although I got the gist of what it should be like from the description in the books; sweet butterscotch, with a slight spice to it for warmth. Merlin's beard! I'd cracked it. The best bit was the decoration. You do not tone Potter down! I threw everything at the bugger... Bertie Bott's Every Flavour beans (watch out for earwax ones though), jelly slugs, a chocolate frog, a snitch, and a shedload of glitter.

I had the best time making this cake. My last tattoo was a very special one for me, as it marked a massive change in my life, which had not been easy. But in the words of Albus Dumbledore:

'Happiness can be found in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light'

Ingredients:

• 225g butter
• 100g dark brown sugar
• 350g golden caster sugar
• 4 medium eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 350g Homepride plain flour
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 tsp ground ginger
• 250ml toffee yoghurt
• 3 tbsp butterscotch syrup (the type you use in coffees - I used Monin)
• Tin of Carnation Caramel

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to gas 3/160 c
2. Prepare a regular sized bundt tin - 2.4l, 10 cup, 10 inch with melted butter and dust with flour.
3. Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. 
5. Add the vanilla extract.
6. In a separate bowl, measure out the flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt and spice. 
7. Pour the yoghurt into a jug.
8. Stir in the syrup.
9. Sift in a third of the flour mix followed by half the yoghurt. Repeat this until everything is combined. 
10. Give everything a quick mix on a low speed for about 10 seconds.
11. Pour the mix into your prepared tin. 
12. Bake in the centre of the oven for about 1 hour 15 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. 
13. Leave the cake to cool for ten minutes before removing from the tin.
14. When the cake is fully cool, tip the Carnation caramel into a jug and give it a stir. It's runny enough to pour. 
15. Tip it over the cake with the same urgency as catching the elusive snitch. Quickly is best.
16. Decorate with all the Harry Potter related stuff you can get your wand on. More is more in this case. 
17. Sprinkle with gold cake glitter and utter your favourite spell. 

Lumos... 

Lounge on 12 at Manchester House - Afternoon Tea

She had been very well behaved, so that little cocktail drinking homie of mine accompanied me to sample a rather glorious champagne afternoon tea at Lounge on 12 at Manchester House the other day. We had a cracking little time, and it was quickly declared by Lee that she was going to write this review. I've been relegated to the bench. Luckily the bench is a great place, where I have a cocktail in hand, and I'm basking in the sun. Meanwhile, she can tell you all about what we got up to!

I love Manchester. I love the variety of places to visit, and gorgeous food to eat. A couple of places however are very close to my heart, and Lounge on 12 at Manchester House is one of them. I have been known to describe it as my spiritual home (second only to Selfridges beauty hall of course). I have the best memories of times spent here with special friends, in particular one long boozy afternoon on the terrace in the sunshine after a particularly good Jo Malone shop. So when Rach asked if I would like to accompany her to try the afternoon tea, I was beyond excited.

As always the luxurious experience of Manchester House starts the second we walked out of the lift, as we were greeted and escorted to a table with beautiful views over the city. Our server Dennis recommended we start with a cocktail, and who are we to disagree? I went for my all time favourite cocktail ever... anywhere....an Aviation. It didn't disappoint, it never does.

Now onto the afternoon tea, and I must point out that this is the first one that Rachel and I have finished totally. We normally get over-faced and end up taking cake home.

The afternoon tea is beautifully presented, with a delicious selection of sandwiches; including coronation chicken wraps, beef and coleslaw, cucumber, and cheese and pickle.

The array of sweet offerings was amazing, fennel eclairs (I know they sound weird but eat them, you won't be sorry), salted caramel macarons, panna cotta, scones and Eccles cakes. The macarons in particular were a stand out item for me. We demolished the lot.

We enjoyed this with a glass of champagne as recommended by the lovely Dennis, who was absolutely wonderful at looking after us. He took the time to sit and talk us through the food and drinks, and recommend cocktails based on what we liked.

After the food we relocated to the terrace into the sunshine for more cocktails, and were delighted to be told we could put our own music through the terrace sound system (apologies to anyone we subjected to Blake Shelton!)

Please note reclined al fresco feet...

It was a perfect afternoon, and I honestly think if we hadn't had another engagement to get to, we would still be on that terrace now!

Thanks to all at Manchester House, we can't wait to see you soon
Disclaimer: We were invited to review afternoon tea at Lounge on 12 at Manchester House. We were not asked to befriend the front of house team (again), and we certainly were not challenged to eat and drink everything, we did this of our own accord.  

Artisan, Manchester

Long time no see. It wasn't you, it was me. 

So my world fell down, and I had to climb out of a proper dark hole. It was a rubbish hole, filled with obstacles and monsters, which made me feel a bit like Sarah in Labyrinth in so many ways. I was just missing a talking worm (things aren't that bad, just yet).

I decided I wasn't keen on the oubliette I had found myself in, so needed to do something about it. Cue my decision to be happy. How did Sarah beat the baby stealing Goblin King? That's right, she remembered the last line of the book; 'you have no power over me'. Sadness has no power over me either, so I'm kicking it in the pants. I have a freakishly strong kick, for an old bird. 

My next few posts are examples of just that. Getting out into the real world, and remembering who and what makes me smile. 

First stop, Artisan in Spinningfields, Manchester. Artisan is an old friend. My first trip was on a very hot day, not long after it opened a few years ago. They've just had a bit of a menu revamp, and asked me to trot along to give it a whirl. With pleasure. 

Artisan is massive, with around 250 covers in the restaurant, plus two large bar areas. However it doesn't feel overbearing or loud in the slightest, with each area of the restaurant segregated to create a cosier feel to what is actually a beast of a restaurant. Apologies in advance for some of the photos turning out a little 'warm', but it was the giant light over our heads, which amazingly, neither of us head-butted (a first).

Drinks (clockwise) 
Passion Fruit and pomegranate sling - pomegranate seeds, passionfruit shrub, Tanqueray, passoa and lemon juice
Raspberry and thyme sour - raspberry and thyme shrub, Ketel one, chambord and apple juice
Kiwi cooler -kiwi, lemon juice, apple juice and soda water (alcohol free)
All Living Ventures establishments do a bloody good cocktail. We were told by the charming front of house chap (whose name we forgot to ask - curses!), that all fruit cocktails start with something they call a 'shrub'. This is basically a sugar syrup infused with fruit. The difference is a much deeper flavour in the drink, rather than a few raspberries bobbing around.

I was driving, but didn't feel overly deprived, as their mocktails are just as lovely, albeit sans alcohol. The kiwi cooler is a perfect alternative, especially on a warm day.

Wood fired garlic bread with cheese: The powers that be at Artisan saw fit to call this a 'nibble'. It was huge, but hell fire, it was amazing! They've replaced their sourdough version of this with a soft pizza dough type. We ate the lot, despite planning on saving some to dip in our starters...
Prawns, roasted garlic and coriander, tomato, chilli and lemon: Prawns used to be one of my mortal enemies, as was most seafood and shellfish in all honesty. Check me out now, fully enjoying prawns like some sort of cat. They were beautifully cooked, drenched in a sweet tomato sauce. All that was missing was some sort of bread to mop up the rest up. If only we had ordered some... oh...

Braised chorizo, cipollini onions, cherry tomatoes and granary toast: Little spicy balls of joy, served with soft onions and roasted garlic. This did come with bread, but we nicked that for the prawn dish.

Mussels mariniere baked in a pizza crust with fries: Bit of a star of the show this one. Genius really. So you have the mussels cooked in a velvety sauce, which creeps into the shells, infusing them with this lovely rich flavour. But wait... all that sauce pooled at the bottom can be soaked up with that soft pizza crust which has just kept them moist whilst cooking. You think I'm obsessed with the sauce/bread combo now, don't you? You were right...

7oz Fillet steak - 28 day aged Lancashire beef with fries: Thought a nice lean steak might be a lighter option after all the carbs. I suppose it is, before you add a big pile of fries and peppercorn sauce. Cooked rare, just as I had requested, it was perfect.

Sticky toffee pudding with ice cream: Medicinal sugar to combat all the lovely carbs. Soft, sticky, and incredibly light. Ate it all bar one mouthful. Some say warrior, others say greedy...

Selection of ice creams - Eton mess, pistachio and salted caramel: Who said ice cream is boring? These sparked quite the debate as we tried to rank them. Think we both agreed in the end that the Eton mess one was a tour de force. Our only criticism was a soft brandy snap, which we decided we could live with. Luckily for Artisan, Mary Berry was nowhere to be seen.

We ate from the standard menu, but it's worth mentioning that they have a brilliant deal on during the day, where you can get two courses plus a 125ml glass of wine or half a pint of draught beer for £9.95. That garlic bread with cheese is one of the starter options. Just saying. Have a look here.

I went back to Artisan expecting a pleasant evening. We left having been filled with superbly cooked food, lovingly crafted drinks, and the sense that the service we received was possibly some of the best in Manchester. We were blown away. A special thank you goes to our waitress Issy; she was knowledgeable, funny, and accommodated our every request with a the kind of sincerity that makes me think she's a natural at giving truly great service. Give the girl a pay rise.

Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, remember the best remedy is fun with your friends and loved ones. I have been incredibly lucky to have been showered with love from almost every direction. You have no power over me.