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It’s Monday late evening. The children are asleep upstairs & the house has a blissful hush except for the distant humming of the fridge. There’s still washing-up to do in the kitchen from dinner, but instead I sit typing this because I finally have a chance to share with you the exciting news I’ve been dying to tell you since the weekend.
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Tommy from ‘This is Naive’ has featured me for her ‘People at work’ series! It comes with a whopping 52 pictures of me & how I work at home & at the market. I’ve never had photographs taken while working in the kitchen, & I am so chuffed to bits – please check it out on her blog page!
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Tommy is a Super Woman. Fact. I truly dig her passion for photography, blogging, & honing in on sharpening ‘her very own’ style. I love people who follow through their ‘Passion’ & it was with pleasure that I got to spend time with her for three days in a row! We talked loads & loads – we seem to have similar opinion on a lot of the things!! ^^
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So on Thursday I piped, rolled & coated chocolate truffles in front of her.
And then on Friday, Tommy stayed on a bit longer to photograph the process of:
– lemon drizzle cake (which is her favourite cake)
– baked cheese cake
– lemon cream
– & tart bases filled with crème d’amandes. I didn’t get to show her any of the decorating because it happens at night after the children are in bed… Which is a shame because I would’ve loved Tommy to have taken beautiful pictures for those too!
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On Saturday early morning at the Market, Tommy came while I was still setting up. While taking pictures, an eight year old girl who often hangs out with me (her mum is another stall holder) was counting the truffles as she always does. She also told us a few jokes which made us laugh. Wanna know what the joke was? Little girl: “What do you call a blind deer?”
Me: “Er…, I don’t know, I have no idea…”
Little girl: “You silly! It’s No-eye-deer” LOL! “Here’s another one. What do you call a blind deer with no legs?”
Me:“Oh dear… er…, er…”
Little girl: “Still no-eye-deer!!!!”
Me: D’oh!
… Ah yes, a very silly joke indeed, but it still made us laugh okay?!
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Anyway, enjoy Tommy’s Coco&Me documentary!
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(All three photographs above taken by Tommy of ‘This is Naive’)

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Let me tell you about something special that happened last month that made me very very very happy.
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I was given a painting!!!!
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It was from the artist Christian Ward, in return for the wedding cake I had made for him back in mid 2008. The wedding cake was a gift from me to him & his wife A, one of my closest girlfriend. My friendship to Mrs.A go back all the way to our college days. We shared a flat for more than four years I think. And actually, Mrs.A is the one who initially started Coco&Me with me – she’s the one without whom I wouldn’t be doing what I do nowadays. So it was only natural that I make a cake for them as a gift, despite their offer of payment – I mean, how could I charge them when I owe so much to her for changing my life for the better?
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So that was back in 2008. Then just last month, I was told that he’d like to give me one of his paintings & I was like: Oh-My-God! Because I knew Christian Ward does amazing paintings. You’ll see what I mean – just check out his other works on the following gallery websites:
Max Wigram Gallery
Patricia Low Contemporary
The Saatchi Gallery
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I obviously felt as though my cake does not have the same value as his work. It is such a huge honour… Plus I’ve never owned a painting ever before…
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I’ve taken some pictures of it to show you, but perhaps my photos don’t do it justice. The colour is a lot more mysteriously luminous, & has the power to draw you in to the unique world. Me & my other girlfriend’s ‘personal take’ on this is that we think it maybe depicts the after-life, as the cherry blossom could mean ‘transience of life’. Yet it is in full blossom, in the glorious midst of beautiful life. And it has varicolored pools of aura. I find it very calming & spiritually cheering.
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.(Close up.)
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I really love the painting. Thank you Christian! It means a lot to me. I sometimes stop in front of the painting, & have a look, have a calm breather, & then go back to my busy day.
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(And here is a picture of the wedding cake I made for them. – Three tier wedding cake with white chocolate cigarette surround. Inside is a dark chocolate sponge cake with raspberry ganache layer.)(Close up.)
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So far I have made four wedding cakes. All of which went to very special people in my life, & I feel so honoured to be part of their special day. One was to a local regular customer, another to a special blog reader, & ofcourse there was one that was for my stall neighbour Ms.S that I documented here on the blog back in 2007. – Ms.S & her family still talk about the wedding cake to this day, so sweet, & makes a point out of always buying cakes from me for family get-togethers!
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PS: You’re all probably wondering what’s gotten in to me, posting stories on here three times in a space of two weeks!! ;-) LOL…!

(Still trooping on with the usuals!)
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So…, since my last proper post back in January, there’s been two important chocolate dates for me. There was the Valentine’s Day & then Mother’s Day which fell on the 14th of March in UK this year.
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((By the way, I recently found out that Mother’s Day is or was also called ‘Pudding Pie Sunday’ in Surrey of England! And I’m loving the naming…! I couldn’t find out exactly why they also call it like this, but I think next year’s Mother’s Day I’ll get me some puddie-pies, y’know, just for the name’s sake.^^ Hmm…! This reminds me of eating Galette de Rois on Epiphany – another pastry that is especially consumed on a fixed calendar date! Actually, coming to think of it, there’s loads of other calendar specific confectionaries isn’t there, like chocolate Easter eggs, Simnel cake, Christmas fruit cake, Christmas pudding… Were there any other?))
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Anyway, I am chuffed to bits to report to you that business had been ah-mazing on both occasions, selling out on the chocolates, & that is despite me making record amounts! I think the people in this country are so good at remembering to treat their loved ones. Or perhaps maybe like me, the ladies are good at constantly reminding the men not to forget to treat us on those dates…
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Of course there’s those good-sales days & then there’s awful days too. For example the last two weeks’ been pretty grim because of the rainy weather. It was particularly dispiriting when heavy rain seeped all over my chocolate tarts. And totally annoying when people take cover from the rain right in front of my stall & obstruct any view (at which point I give off an aura of ‘G.O. A.W.A.Y.!’ & beam it intently toward their backs). And when at the end of the rainy day I shout “saaaaale!” but no passer’s by glance my way, well my friends, it ain’t just the weather that is feeling rainy.
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Then again… (you probably know this because I go on about it), I do very much love Broadway Market & the customers there. It has it’s special moments & it brings out my ear-to-ear smile when regulars bring their friends or their parents around & introduce me saying “…and this is the lady that makes the best cakes!”, or when another says “I start every Saturday morning with your hot chocolate”. And just last week, there was a lady that said; “I always buy cakes from you when I have a party.” …Yayyyyy! (Cabbage Patch dance time everybody!)

Also, I’m getting lovely visits from blog-readers every week nowadays too! I think it is soooooo awesome, it is unbelievable really. Although every time one comes, I’m so thrilled I probably come across too intense with all my questions…? Hope not…!!
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So let’s see what else has been happening… Oh yes! Let me tell you about the two wonderful new experiences that came out of blogging.
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Well, I got invited to an underground restaurant! (… check this wiki definition if the term is unfamiliar!) It was sometime back in January this year, a particular organizer contacted me via comments function on my blog, & I went with two of my girlfriends! It was surely an experience! ^^ (If any reader knows of any other good ones in London please let me know!)
(Left: Denmark’s Mary welcome drink with black pepper vodka & horseradish. Also a small hot chocolate mix take away present. Right: Main brunch was gravlax, meatballs, dill potato & scrambled eggs.)
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And this one’s been the story I’ve been meaning to write for ages! It was way back in November last year, one talented Mr Anžej Dežan from London College of Fashion interviewed me about the market & blogging for his magazine project. And God, I tell you, from all the excitement of the situation, I… was… babbling…! And probably mostly nonsensical. I’d squirm if I was to hear back the recording on his dictaphone… (well, I hate the sound of my voice anyways – please dispose it in to the infinite abyss Anžej! Lol!). So, many congratulations to him for making any sense out of me & writing an excellent article! ^^
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Hello dearest readers! How have you all been? It’s been so long since I updated with you. So sorry… The blog has been on my mind like everyday, all the time, but I’m so knackered, it’s been regrettably put on the back-burner. Although today, I am finally writing this way over-due post… from bed (!) with my stinky cold, a tissue box by my pillow for my nose that is ever-so-good at forever reproducing goo… (Ah, sorry…, not the most appetizing of images to write about on a food blog…)
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So anyways, what I wanted to say was that I am not trading this Saturday 3rd of April.
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I’m currently writing another post about what’s been happening (the only upside to being bound to bed is that I finally have time to write!), so in the meantime here’s some pictures of rabbit things from my home to set you in the mood for Easter!
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(Large Bunny driving car chocolate mold circa 1950)
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(Smaller chocolate mold & a rabbit snow-globe by ‘&K Amsterdam’ on the right.)
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(My favourite wooden hares that I was selling at my stall last year.)
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Happy Holidays! x o x o x o

(with step-by-step with pictures)

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(…with unicorn pattern embossed)

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(It is ultra c ♥ r ♥ e ♥ a ♥ m ♥ y & the texture is melt-in-your mouth like a soufflé!)

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x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x .

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This must be one of the most easiest of cake recipes!

• It doesn’t involve separating eggs.
• Nor whisking any time-delicate meringues, so you can take as much time leisurely making it.
• There’s minimal washing-up to do too, as all the mixing happens in one bowl.
• As for the biscuit base, you can further avoid washing-up by simply massaging the store-bought biscuits & butter in a food bag! Of course you can do it the usual way by using bare hands, but do it my way, you’d also avoid getting unpleasant biscuit-mash in your nails & your fingers buttery.^^ On that same note, I also suggest cling-filming the 3 middle fingers when pressing down the biscuit to the base.
• There is no adventurous water-bath method to contend! (Some cheesecake recipes use the water-bath method to cook it gently so that it doesn’t crack, but I for one have a long hate-relationship with the method ever since the water seeped in to my cakes via the removable bottom in many occasions in the past…)

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The texture of the cheesecake is creeeeeamy! I managed this by tweaking the balance of the ingredients so that it uses tons of double cream/ sour cream/ cream cheese, but as little as possible of flour (… flour creates the ‘structural pillar’ that holds the cake in the inflated spongier shape – please read my blog-entry on flour for explanation of this).
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I sell my cheesecakes down at the market. And I’m happy to say that it’s been a hit no problem. It’ll always definitely be in my line-up because it has acquired a bit of a following ^^

– Like the lady who said: “I used to buy your flour-less chocolate cake all the time, but now I converted to always buying the cheesecake!” And the spectacled-man who’d get disappointed if it’s sold-out. There’s also my favorite tomato-seller girl who’ve been buying the whole cake for 4 weeks in a row, but says she never gets to eat as much as she’d like to because her boyfriend & her family loves it too!

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The pattern:

When I first started selling the cheesecake, it had no pattern on top. Although I was perfectly confident with the taste, I felt the presentation needed ‘Something’. Y’know, that ‘Something special’ for the wow factor & for the customer to justify their purchase. For a long while I was thinking of a solution to this; & I was enquiring around to see if I could get an iron stamp that I could heat & emboss/ burn a pattern with. But, one, it is difficult to get hold of, & secondly it’s never in a pretty pattern!

– So next I thought what about stenciling with cocoa powder? But maybe not. It’ll be too smudgy…

– Then it occurred to me while I was embossing my chocolate bird tart. Ah! Just invert it! Cocoa powder & cookie cutter! Simply dab cocoa powder on the blunt end of the cookie cutter, then tap off the excess & stamp the cake!
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(I get asked A LOT at the market on how I do it!)

(My favorite stamp! – I love unicorns…)
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Note:

• I mixed together oat biscuits to the plain digestives to add interest in flavour. It also gives you a different sort of crunch compared to the pap the digestives can become.
• Resting the pressed biscuit base in the refrigerator while you make the filling firms the butter within.
• Sour cream tenderizes the cake, as well as enhancing the tang of the cream cheese.
• Excessively tapping away the air bubbles is the key to avoiding cracks on the surface that is the oh-so-common pitfall of baking a cheesecake.
• Lining the sides of the pan with baking paper also helps to avoid cracked surface. The common problem with the cheesecake is that it tends to stick to the side of the pan, but as it cools it tries to pull away from the wall. This tension ends up with a cracked surface. Whereas if you line it with baking paper, the paper will agreeably pull away with the cake too…
• The only down-side about this cake (if there is one) is that you have to keep your mitts off & leave it to mature over-night!

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So here it is! (Finally!) My baked cheesecake recipe.

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x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x .

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The Baked Cheesecake Recipe:

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Ingredients:

For the biscuit base:

70g Oat biscuits

(…Obviously it depends on brands, but for me it was 4 ½ biscuits)

85g Digestive biscuits

(…Obviously it depends on brands, but for me it was 5 ½ biscuits)

70g unsalted butter

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For the filling:

70g unsalted butter

90g castor sugar

330g cream cheese

90 ml sour cream

100g whole eggs (approximately 2 eggs)

100 ml double cream

25g flour

12 ml lemon juice

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x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x .
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Method:

• 1. First begin by greasing a 8″ round spring-form cake pan with butter. Then line both the base & the sides with greaseproof baking paper.
• 2. Now on to making the biscuit base. First measure your biscuits (70 grams Oat biscuits + 85 grams Digestive) in a food bag.
• 3. Crush them by hand or bash it with wooden rolling pin. Leave some chunky for interesting texture.
• 4. Melt 70 grams of butter. Put it in the food bag.
• 5. Massage the food bag to combine.
• 6. Empty the mixture in a greased & lined pan.
• 7. Press the biscuit mixture firmly to the base. I like to do the edges & work to the middle. (Optional: cling-film the three middle fingers for hygiene & to avoid buttery fingers!)
• 8. Refrigerate the pressed biscuit base while you make the filling.
• 9. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees centigrade.
• 10. Next, in a mixing bowl whisk the 70 grams of butter until very soft & creamy.
• 11. Add in the 90 grams of sugar. Whisk & combine.
• 12. Add 330 grams of cream cheese. Whisk & combine.
• 13. Add 90ml of sour cream. Whisk & combine.
• 14. Add 100 grams of whole eggs. Whisk & combine.
• 15. Add 100ml double cream. Whisk & combine.
• 16. Add 25 grams of flour. Whisk & combine.
• 17. Add 12ml Lemon juice. Whisk & combine.
• 18. TAP the bowl MULTIPLE times on the work surface to let the air bubble out. (take your time doing this as this is the key to avoiding cracked surface!)
• 19. Slowly pour the mix in to the cake pan. Tap it some more on the work surface.
• 20. Place the pan on top of a baking tray, & pop it in the oven. (You need the baking tray to collect the small amount of butter that seeps out from the bottom of the cake pan)
• 21. Bake for 30 minutes first.
• 22. Have a look. If it looks like it is starting to brown too much on top, cover loosely with foil.
• 23. Bake for another 10 minutes.
• 24. Skewer test. I like it when it isn’t thoroughly cooked. (But obviously not raw!) If there’s a tiny bit of curdle on the skewer still, it’s fine, take it out.
• 25. Leave aside – still in the cake tin – overnight to mature.