Wholemeal Carrot Rolls

We all love a good breakfast roll in Scotland - perfect with a couple of slices of black pudding, sausage or bacon and a dollop of red or brown sauce, you can't really beat it when you're starved. However, whilst the filling of the sandwich is often meat heaven, I always find that the roll is a tasteless, dry and floury necessity which could certainly be much, much better - which is why I decided to make some tasty carrot rolls. I know it's a bit of an odd concept - but the finely grated carrot throughout the dough adds a lovely flavour to the bread as well as keeping it from being dry through the vegetable's natural moisture. Definitely worth a go if you're sick of those boring old baps.

Ingredients

• 250g of strong wholemeal flour
• 250g of strong white flour
• 300ml of water
• 200g of finely grated carrot
• 1 x packet of fast action yeast
• 2 x tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 x teaspoon of rapeseed oil (or vegetable oil)
• Pinch of salt

Method

1. Acquire a large mixing bowl and pour in your measured out flour, yeast and salt (making sure to keep the yeast and salt well away from each other for now). Make a small well in the centre of the flour and add the water, olive oil and grated carrots and mix well with a wooden spoon.
2. When stirring with the spoon becomes difficult, get in there with your hands. Try to make sure to pick up every bit of flour and combine with the dough. Once you have a shaped ball, turn out onto a floured surface and knead for a good 10 minutes until the dough is stretchy. Place in a bowl, cover and leave for 5 minutes. 
3. Whilst you wait, brush a large baking tray with rapeseed oil and put to one side. Turn your dough out, knock it back and divide into 8 equal pieces. I tend to do this by shaping the dough into a sausage shape, using a sharp knife to cut it in half, then cutting both halves in half again, and then, you guessed it, cutting the quarters in half to make eight. Or you could just weigh each piece - whatever floats your boat. Shape each piece into a ball and flatten slightly, placing them on the baking tray whilst you go and leaving plenty of room for expansion. 
4. Cover and leave for 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 200C with fan or 220C without. Once ready, pop the tray in the oven and bake the rolls for 15 minutes or until golden brown. 
5. Once baked, allow to cool on a wire rack for 45 minutes, or tear into one with some butter after 5 minutes for a taste of heaven. Carrot heaven. 

And there you have it - delicious wholemeal baps with a root vegetable kick. Flavourful and sweet, these are go perfectly with smokey bacon for a perfect balance of flavours. The bread also has quite a tight crumb, so it sucks up any delicious juices brilliantly. I highly recommend giving these a try - let me know if you do. 

Slow Cooker Classic Chilli

The slow cooker is probably my favourite piece of kitchen equipment - allowing ingredients to simmer away for hours on end without having to worry about burning or catching makes my life that bit easier. As well as this, it allows every single ingredient within a recipe to mingle and get to know each other, leaving you with a beautifully tied together dish that is perfectly balanced in terms of flavour and texture. The longer you cook it the better - that's my motto. Get your dinner on in the morning and you don't have to think about what to make when you come back in from work or wherever you've been all day. Great for this time of year - here is a recipe for  classic chilli to cook in this wonderful machine.

Probably one of my favourite winter warmers - the spices throughout this dish are so gently simmered in the slow cooker that they mellow slightly, leaving you with a good spice but also a delicious smokiness. Here's what I put in it:

• 500g minced Scottish beef
• 1 x medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 x garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 1 x chilli, sliced and deseeded
• 1 x 400g tinned tomatoes
• 8 x fresh cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 x red pepper, roughly chopped
• 1 x beef stock cube
• 1 x teaspoon of ground cumin
• 1/2 x teaspoon of ground coriander
• 2 x teaspoons of paprika
• 1 x teaspoon of chilli powder
• 1/2 x teaspoon of chilli flakes
• 1 x tablespoon of tomato purée 
• 1 x tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 x tablespoon of sour cream

Method

1. This is pretty simple. Before you start cooking, maker sure you have your slow cooker pre-heating - plug in, set to low and allow to heat up for a good 15 minutes before putting anything in it. Get a large pan on a medium heat with the olive oil and get your onions, garlic and chilli on the go. Try to avoid getting too much colour on those onions - we want them soft so they suck in flavour and juices, rather than caramelised and sealed. 
2. Once your onions are soft, crank up the heat and add the mince - it should sizzle and catch on the pan, picking up flavour rather than boiling. Stir well, making sure to break up any clumps and allowing the meat to cook through. Add all your spices, fresh tomatoes and pepper and cook for a further minute, stirring as you go. Once its all mixed thoroughly and smelling amazing, it's ready for the slow cooker. 
3. Add your spiced mince and onions to the slow cooker, pour the tinned tomatoes and crumble the stock cube on top of the meat. Add the tomato purée and stir thoroughly. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, allowing everything to cook gently. 
4. Once ready, serve with a dollop of sour cream and some roughly chopped jalapeños with your choice of side - I tend to enjoy it just on its own!  

I tend to go without the usual kidney beans because I'm not a big fan of them - simple as that. Through the slow cooking, you'll find that the dish has a fantastic depth to it - the meat is full of flavour and beautifully tender along with the red pepper. The sour cream on top adds a cooling aspect to the dish which pairs excellently with the acidic tomato sauce. If you try this, you'll be a huge fan of slow cooking in no time, and I'll certainly have more slow cooked recipes up soon.

By the way, I also have a Twitter page here - I talk about recipes on there too and post a few more pictures, so please follow me. Thanks. 

Fruit & Nut Flapjacks

As much as I love desserts and cakes full of sugar and butter and as unhealthy as possible - I think it's always a good idea to balance this out with some healthier sweet bakes. Now come on, don't roll your eyes and ignore this post - these flapjacks are packed full of fresh and dried fruit as well as protein from the nuts and they're tasty. If you're not a fan of eating fresh fruit, you won't even notice them in this recipe, just the nutritional goodness you get from them. There are no refined sugars in this recipe - just honey, maple syrup and peanut butter (OK, maybe it's not completely healthy..) and these flavours really standout in the final product.

Just look at them there, lovely and golden through the delicious sugars caramelising in the oven. The oats on the top are flavourful and crunchy while the centre remains gooey with fruit and peanut butter. They are great, and here's how you make them.

Ingredients

• 275g of rolled Scottish oats
• 1 x very ripe large banana (if small, use two), mashed
• 1 x apple, peeled and grated
• 1 x tablespoon of honey 
• 2 x tablespoons of maple syrup
• 2 x tablespoons of peanut butter (smooth or chunky, whatever you enjoy)
• Large handful of dried apricots, cut roughly
• Large handful of raisins
• Large handful of walnuts, cut roughly
• 40g of unsalted butter
• 100ml of hot water

Method

1. Firstly, get your oven on, 140C with fan (160C without) and allow to heat up. Also, prepare your tin - grease a 25x18x4 baking tray with a drop of rapeseed oil and line with grease-proof paper. Put to one side. 
2. Pop a pan on a medium heat and drop the butter in and allow to melt. Once melted, add the honey, peanut butter and maple syrup and stir thoroughly until you have a thick, brown mixture.  Once ready, throw in the mashed banana, grated apple and water and, again, stir thoroughly until you have an evenly dispersed fruity mixture. Take off the heat while you prepare the oats. 
3. In a large bowl, measure out your oats, dried fruit and nuts and slowly add the fruity mixture whilst stirring. Make sure the consistency of your mixture remains relatively moist - if it seems a bit dry, add another tablespoon of maple syrup to loosen it up slightly. 
4. Pour the whole lot into your prepped baking tin. with a spatula, spread the mixture out evenly across the tray so it all bakes evenly. Pop in the oven and allow to bake for 50-55 minutes or until golden. 
5. Once ready, allow to cool in the tray. Once cooled, cut into 12 slices and store in an air-tight container. Or just eat them - it's fine they're healthy. 

This recipe is extremely versatile. I chose apricots, raisins and walnuts because I like them - feel free to chop and change the recipe to suit your personal preference. To make it super healthy, pumpkin seeds would work perfectly with the oats. Or, if you fancy going the other way, why don't you break up some dark chocolate and throw it in the mixture? 

So, if you're trying to be healthy and you're craving a sweet snack or if you simply enjoy fruity desserts, this recipe is for you. Don't worry, this certainly is not a health blog and some gloriously unhealthy recipes will be up very soon. 

Chia & Sesame Seed Loaf

I've never been a big fan of a sliced loaf you buy in a supermarket that magically lasts 2 weeks - as handy as they are, they're not as wholesome as a home baked loaf, and certainly not as tasty. I understand a lot of folk don't have the time to bake from scratch, but a simple loaf baked over the weekend is a great thing to have during the week. It'll make a slice of toast or a homemade sandwich all the more exciting because that delicious bread was made with your own two hands. This one is healthy too, so double plus. 

This recipe makes a relatively small loaf - seeing as it's just me and my girlfriend in the house, a large homemade loaf is never finished before the mould sets in. So if there's not many of you, I recommend the following measurements - but they're easily doubled if you want more. 

Ingredients

• 250g strong wholemeal flour
• 2 x teaspoons of sesame seeds
• 2 x teaspoons of chia seeds
• 1 x sachet fast action yeast
• 1 x tablespoon of Scottish heather honey
• 1 x tablespoon of rapeseed oil
• 150ml warm water
• 1 x teaspoon of salt
• 1 x tablespoon of semi-skimmed milk 

Method

1. In a large mixing bowl, pour the flour, salt and yeast - make sure to keep the yeast and salt separate for now. In a small cup or ramekin, measure out your chia seeds and soak in a tablespoon of water, stir and leave for five minutes. This allows the chia seeds to soften and release their jelly-like substance. 
2. Now pour in the oil, honey and pre-soaked chia seeds into the flour mixture and slowly add the warm water while stirring the soon-to-be dough with a wooden spoon. After it's relatively well mixed, get in there with your hands - this is how you get a proper feel of the texture of the dough, not through a hook attached to a bread machine. 
3. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 5-10 minutes - the dough should be relatively moist and elastic. Once done, shape into a rough rectangle and place into a greased (with a drop of rapeseed oil) 1lb bread tin and cover with a tea towel or loosely with cling film. Allow it to double in size - about one hour. Whilst you wait, pre-heat your oven to 180C (this is with a fan oven, pop it up to 200C otherwise). 
4. Once your bread has risen and is springy - get a sharp knife and make four slashes across the dough. Brush lightly with the milk and sprinkle the sesame seeds evenly on top. The milk does two things - it adds a bit of colour to the loaf during its time in the oven and it makes the sesame seeds stay put. You could always use egg wash as an alternative, or just water. 
5. Bake in the middle of the oven for 30-35 minutes until risen and browned. Remove from the tin immediately and allow to cool on a cooling rack for about 45 minutes. 
6. Wait impatiently before you tuck in. 

When you slice into this loaf, you'll find it has quite a tight crumb - which means its absolutely perfect for toast. The heather honey will give it an ever so slight floral undertone, which makes it quite a complexly flavoured bread. I only used two types of seeds but you can certainly make substitutes - I bet a few walnuts through it would work perfectly.  It's a delicious loaf, and it should last 3-4 days if kept in an air tight container. 

So, if you have the time, ditch the usual supermarket loaf and give this recipe a go - you'll never look back. 

Huevos Rancheros

For anyone that enjoys a good weekend brunch, this dish is for you. Huevos Rancheros is the perfect Mexican breakfast - flavourful, spicy and filling, it'll keep you going through all your Sunday activities (watching movies, napping, waiting for more food). It's also relatively healthy - packed full of protein and veg, you won't have to feel guilty on Monday morning like most of us do.

Ingredients

• 1 x medium or 2 small onions - cubed
• 2 x cloves of garlic - sliced
• 2 x small chorizo sausages - cubed
• 1 x red pepper - finely chopped
• 8 x cherry tomatoes - halved
• 1 x 400g tinned tomatoes or passata 
• 1 x tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 x chilli 
• 1 x teaspoon of chilli flakes
• 4 x hen's eggs 
• salt and pepper

Method

This is a really simple dish to put together and is relatively quick to make. Pop a large frying pan on a medium heat and allow the olive oil to heat up. Once the pan is ready, throw in the onions, garlic, chorizo, red peppers, chilli and chilli flakes and sauté for a good 10 minutes - making sure the onions are softening rather than caramelising and allowing the chorizo to release all its delicious paprika ladened juices. When this is done, add the tinned tomatoes or passata and fresh tomatoes and stir thoroughly - now, you'll need to let this simmer for about 5-10 minutes, allowing the sauce to thicken before adding the eggs (otherwise the white of the eggs will just disperse throughout the pan). Once it is clear that the sauce is thicker than an uncooked egg, season well, and then you're ready for the next step. 

With a wooden spoon, make four equally dispersed egg-sized divots in the thickening sauce and quickly crack open your eggs into them. You want to make sure to do it as quickly as possible so that each egg cooks in a similar time. The cooking time for this is down to personal preference - if you enjoy a runny egg (like me), it should take about 5 minutes. A harder egg should take between 8-10 minutes and you'll get some delicious caramelisation on the bottom of the pan. 

Now it's ready to serve, carefully slip a spatula under the eggs and pop onto a warmed up plate. Sprinkle some freshly ground black pepper over the eggs and grate some parmesan cheese over the whole dish. Serve with some crusty bread and eat immediately! 

So there we have it, a delicious, smoky tomato base topped with eggs that have slowly poached and sucked in all the flavour surrounding them. Try this recipe and you'll be eating Huevos Rancheros every Sunday! Let me know if you give it a go.

Review: La Favorita (takeaway)

Now, as much as I love to cook, sometimes it's nice not to have to make an effort whilst enjoying the comfort of your own home. It was a cold, dark Saturday night in Edinburgh, and, after a day of necessary shopping, I decided to be lazy and order a pizza. Not just any ordinary pizza, however, from one of the two major chains you tend to find in cities up and down the UK - no no, this was a pizza from Edinburgh's own La Favorita. 

The Cinque Formaggi Pizza

 After scouring the menu online, I found a pizza that suited me down to the ground. The 'Cinque Formaggi' or 'five cheese' - a wood-fired base ladened with Mozzarella, Taleggio, Gorgonzola, Pecorino (not sure what kind) and Emmental cheese. I also ordered the Arancini, just to see whether they were multi-talented in their culinary delivery. Within the hour (it felt like a few, time always passes so slowly when waiting on food..), a friendly wee man jumping out a trademark yellow mini handed over the order as well as a free pizza cutter - which came in very handy. The smell as I opened the box was spectacular - the pizza was hot and fresh, ready for eating. 

I thought I'd give the risotto balls a go before tucking into my main course, and they were excellent. A good crisp on the outside protects a soft, gooey concoction of rice, cheese and mince that was flavourful and well seasoned. It came with a tomato and chilli dip which cut through the dairy aspect of the dish perfectly. I often find that Arancini can be too dry, but that was certainly not a problem here - these were top Italian restaurant quality, and they certainly made me excited for what was to follow. After using the handy pizza cutter, I flew (almost literally) into the pizza. Let's go through this description in stages - firstly - the base. Now this dough, from what I've read, is made freshly on the premise and left to naturally malt for 48 hours before being used. The result is a chewy, flavourful bread that quite possibly creates the perfect base for a pizza. I understand that a lot of people prefer a thin and crispy base - but I think one bite out of a Favorita pizza may convert you. The wood-fired oven that it's cooked in adds an extra depth to the flavour and texture - creating crispy, black blisters along the crust. If you're that person that leaves the crust, I'd recommend ordering a side of their tomato and chilli sauce to dip it in. Secondly - the toppings. The tomato sauce, unsurprisingly, was lovely. Just the perfect amount was added to give a good flavour but not create a soggy bottom. A similar aspect can be taken with the cheese - you would expect a five cheese to be packed full, however a small quantity of each cheese was used, creating a surprisingly light taste sensation. Each bite was different, the usual flavour of Mozzarella was encapsulated by the salty-sweet Taleggio or the tangy Gorgonzola. It was simply excellent, and miles ahead of its worldwide competitors. This is a pizza you'd expect to find in a wee pizzeria in Florence, not on Leith Walk - but I'm certainly not complaining. 

So if you fancy a pizza and you're unsatisfied with the quality of what's normally on offer, give La Favorita a go. You will not be disappointed. 

Four favourite Scottish dishes for an ideal Burns' Night

It's that time of year again when the folk of Scotland break out the whisky and enjoy a wee dram, toasting the country's national bard and recite the few lines that they may remember from one of his many poems (I only remember the first verse of 'To a Mouse' and I regularly recite it during this day, much to the annoyance of everyone around me). The obvious culinary choice, of course, would be the famous haggis, neeps and tatties that Burns so famously praised - I love this dish, not only because I have to, but the flavours in a good haggis are really hard to beat. Plus, if it's not on my Full Scottish breakfast on a Saturday morning, it ruins the entire weekend. As much as I love it and recommend it, I'm fancying something a bit different this Burns' Night - and if you are too, this blog post is for you. Here are my four favourite Scottish dishes (a couple of these may not be considered 'dishes') for this day.

The man himself. 

1. Drop Scones

Also known as Scotch Pancakes - these wee beauties are absolutely delicious. Thicker and denser compared to the usual pancake, Drop Scones can be very filling and suit dinner as much as they suit breakfast (this might just be me being childish). The good thing about this dish is it only takes about 20 minutes to make - and you can have whatever toppings you like. I'm a bit boring so I like some lemon and sugar over mine - but a good dollop of natural yoghurt topped with blueberries and honey also proves pretty popular.

Here's a good recipe for them: http://www.scottishrecipes.co.uk/droppedscone.php

2. Venison Sausages

For me - the perfect alternative to haggis. Unsurprisingly, a lot of folk can be a bit squeamish about our national dish, so a good, meaty venison sausage is an excellent substitute while remaining as Scottish as you can get. Pop to your local butchers - for me, in Edinburgh, I would always recommend Crombies on Broughton Street, and get the freshest sausages you can (in a good butchers, they'll always be fresh). Cook them under the grill and serve them just as you would a haggis - with neeps and tatties.

Here's a link to Crombies of Edinburgh: http://www.sausages.co.uk

3. Roasted Salmon Fillet with slow cooked Red Cabbage

This one is pretty self-explanatory. Salmon is a hugely flavourful and easy to cook fish and is, vitally, abundant in Scotland. Fillets of salmon are always on sale in any Scottish fishmonger - simply roast a seasoned fillet for 15-18 minutes at 180C and you'll have an brilliantly flaky, flavourful fillet of fish. Plan ahead and slow cook your red cabbage for about 6 hours and you have a hugely impressive, delicious and quintessentially Scottish dish. Always good with some buttered new potatoes too.

4. Scottish Cheese Platter

Now, if you read my review of I.J. Mellis (see here), you'll know that I have a soft spot for cheese. In fact, the more cheese I eat, the softer the spot gets (the spot is my belly). So it's no surprise that I enjoy a good cheese platter. Burns' night is a celebration, and what says celebration more than cheese? you had some at Christmas, you've finished with the New Year diet now, so get some cheese down you. But which to pick? Here's what I'd recommend:

• Isle of Mull Cheddar - a strong, chalky, slightly bluing hard cheese - this cheddar has an unbelievable flavour with a slight whisky finish (due to the cows feeding off whisky grains from the local distillery). A mainstay for any Scottish cheeseboard. 
• Clava Brie - it's always a good idea to have a variety of textures and flavours in a cheeseboard, and the Clava Brie from Inverness-shire is the Mull's opposite. Soft, creamy and light yet flavourful - Clava is not like most imitation Bries. When ripe, I actually prefer it to its French cousin (Brie de Meaux). 
• Auld Reekie - this cheese is a smoked version of the Cambus O'May from Aberdeenshire, so behind its excellent smokiness lies some sour notes and a crumbly texture. Goes perfectly with a number of whiskies, which certainly suits this day. 
• Lanark Blue - quite possibly the best cheese ever made, this ewe's milk cheese from Carnwath is based on the famous Roquefort and it does not disappoint. Strong, salty and a crumbly texture - this blue is a great one to finish off with. If you're not a fan of a strong blue - go for the Dunsyre blue. 
• Bonnet - Completing the cheesy dream team, we have a hard goat's cheese from Ayrshire (so perfect for Burns). This one is quite mild for a goat's, but it still has a lovely sweet, nutty flavour to it. 

If you don't forget to pick up the oatcakes and red onion chutney while you're there, you will have a perfect party dinner for tonight. 

So there we have it, some great alternatives for a great day. Let me know if you give any of them a go.

Review: I.J. Mellis Stockbridge - Shop & Café

For most people that enjoy food in Edinburgh (or in fact any city in Scotland that has one of their six shops), I.J. Mellis Cheesemongers is a well known institution. Providing the best quality cheeses from Western Europe in their small, damp and cave-like shops, this is the place to come for anyone that enjoys top quality produce. I regularly head to the Stockbridge branch - mainly because it's close to where I stay, but also because of a wee secret it holds in the back.. A café.

Blink and you'll miss it - Mellis Stockbridge is a tiny Edinburgh institution. 

First, let's talk about the shop itself. When you walk in you are presented with a bench positively crammed with about 40 cheeses. Ranging from a variety of goudas from the Netherlands, through French mainstays like Tomme de Savoie, Comté and the hugely interesting Mimolette. Then you hit a few blues - the ever brilliant Colston Basset Stilton nestled next to its orange sister, Shropshire Blue. As you bypass the till (which often has amazing homemade tablet cleverly placed next to it), we come to slates of soft French and English goat's cheeses. Behind this, you'll find a great selection of hard Scottish cheeses. If you enjoy a strong, gritty cheese, the Isle of Mull Cheddar is for you - however they also have more mild ones, such as the Wensleydale-esque Anster from Anstruther or the fantastically nutty Bonnet, a goat's cheese from Ayrshire. If you prefer softer cheeses, they have a great selection in an open fridge by the front door - along with a selection of Italian meats, ready to be freshly sliced by the rather intimidating meat slicing machine. If you're not sure what you want, the attentive and knowledgeable staff are there to assist you, letting you try before you buy and wrapping and labelling your cheeses individually. 

A spectacular selection.

So the shop is excellent, and it pretty much has been for over 15 years now. However the café is a very new addition. Opening about six months ago, this small, rustic room (known as the 'tasting' room) emulates the traditional feel of the shop. With terracotta tiled floors, metal tables and French bistro chairs, this café is unique to Edinburgh and what they have to offer, food wise, is incredibly exciting. The menu is not extensive - which is more often than not a good thing. Their main offer is a variety of cheeseboards - from a French 'peasant's' plate to a carefully selected Scottish 'Pictish' plate, and each platter comes with traditional accompaniments - however, I opted for a toastie. Now this was no ordinary warm sandwich - this toastie is made with Parisian sourdough bread and and your choice of handmade artisan cheese. I went for the Ragstone (a relatively tangy goat's cheese) with red onion chutney (£5.50) and, I'm deadly serious when I say this, it was the best cheese toastie I have ever had. It even came with a small ramekin of gherkins, which went perfectly with the flavours in the sandwich. Sour, sweet and salty - the combination had clearly been carefully thought out and it was perfectly balanced. The sourdough also added another level, with a slight charcoal tang finishing off every bite. It cannot be beaten. 

A lunch to die for.

I also thought I'd give the coffee (£1.70) a go. Now, I know what you're thinking, a cheesemonger that serves coffee? Yes, and it'll be one of the better coffees you'll have. It matches the competition of the area which, as a lot of Stockbridge regulars will know, is very high. A free piece of tablet with my flat white certainly capped off an excellent mid-week lunch. 

A tasty and well made coffee.

A traditional setting for a cosy café

So, if you fancy a delicious lunch in a nice setting (they also do takeaway, so make sure to pop in even when you're in a rush) make sure to try the relatively unknown Mellis Stockbridge café. It's ridiculous that it isn't more popular with what they have to offer, at a reasonable price too. So give it a go, and let me know what you think! 

Sugared Cinnamon Loaf Cake

Let's dive in then. Now this recipe is always a good one to use if you're looking to impress someone with a sweet tooth - however it certainly does not go over board in terms of being too sickly. I guess this is what the Americans would call a Snicker-doodle cake - but I prefer the more clunky sugared cinnamon loaf cake.

In all its glory - the loaf cake

It's brilliantly rustic - there's no need to take time on how this cake looks. The more crusty edges the better,  they become caramelised in the oven and create a deeper, sweeter flavour throughout each slice. What is also rather pleasant is the fact that it is really rather easy to make - just follow the instructions below.

Ingredients

• 300g/2 cups of plain flour
• 225g/1 cup of caster sugar (for batter)
• 75g/one third of a cup of caster sugar (for cinnamon sugar)
• 2 teaspoons of cinnamon
• 240ml/1 cup of milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 80ml of rapeseed oil 
• 1 tablespoon of baking powder
• a pinch of salt

Method

1. First of all, pop your oven on to 170C (this is using a fan oven, if you do not have one, increase the temperature to 190C) and allow to preheat during preparation. Grease a 1lb loaf tin with room temperature butter and set aside. 
2. This step involves a lot of mixing. in a small bowl, mix the 75g of caster sugar with the cinnamon. In a medium sized bowl, mix the milk, egg and rapeseed oil. In a large bowl, mix the flour, the larger sugar measurement, baking powder and salt. make sure this is done thoroughly - a clump of baking powder is never enjoyable. 
3. Empty the wet mixture into the flour mixture and stir until you have quite a moist batter (again, a thorough stir). 
4. Pour half of the batter into the greased loaf tin, then sprinkle half of the cinnamon sugar on top. Repeat with the rest of the batter and sugar mixture. you could always use a knife to create some sort of marbling effect throughout the cake. 
5. Pop in the pre-heated oven for 45 minutes - make sure to check the cake is cooked by sticking a knife into the centre. If it comes out clean, it's ready to come out. 
6. Once done, pop the cake, still in the tin, on a wire rack to cool for 10 or so minutes. once cool enough to handle, gently slide the cake out of the tin, and leave on the rack for a further 30 minutes.
7. Once cooled, try to control yourself and don't eat the entire thing, but allow yourself a slice or two! 

Take a pew - enjoy a bite!

This cake is great by itself - but if you want to make it more exciting, it pairs excellently with a dollop of creme fraiche or even clotted cream, especially when heated up slightly. Make sure to give it a go, it takes, at the most, an hour to make. 

Introduction

Hello to the blogging world from me, The Bearded Baker. I'm called The Bearded Baker because I have a beard and I enjoy baking. Not obvious I know. I don't just enjoy baking - I love to cook and have worked in the food industry for a little while, but I'm a fan of alliteration so I went for baker.

This blog is intended for folk that are interested in, live and breathe for and love food. There is a fantastic culinary scene here - in Edinburgh - which I wish to explore further and, if possible, add to. This culture in the Scottish Capital is still relatively young and largely untapped by most, it has been a metaphorical explosion of independent restaurants, artisan cafés and gastro-pubs that are run by people that really understand good food and have the ability to provide this to the general public. Local produce usage has flourished - gone are the days when you would want your ingredients from exotic and exciting locations - we now want it local and fresh, from 'just doon the road', an aspect to be proud of in Scotland. I'm here to promote and demonstrate this fact, through this simple blog.

The attitude towards food has changed amongst Edinburgh locals.

So call here for recipes, reviews and general food talk based upon local produce. I'm bound to have lots of pretty pictures of food too so at least come for that.
Follow my blog with Bloglovin