The Food Sauce :: Pop Up Brekkie

To brunch or not to brunch,  that is the question.

Is anyone's answer to this ever no?

Because, if the prospect of leisurely munching your way through two-meals-in-one into the wee hours of the afternoon doesn't fill you with giddiness, then I'm afraid we can no longer be pals.

One person who is my new pal though is Colin from The Food Sauce. A couple of weeks ago I received an invitation from Colin asking if William and I wanted to attend a pop up brunch event at The Salad Kitchen and of course the answer was a big fat yes!

So on Saturday morning, tummys rumbling, we headed to Old Street to meet the lovely Colin and some fellow friends and bloggers for our feast!

And let me tell you, we were by no means disappointed with the fantastic spread Colin put on - Alf Turner's award winning sausages (Peter Jones backed on Dragon's Den), guilt free ice cream from Oppo, uber fruity 'modern muesli' from Cuckoo, refreshing lemon TreeVitalise Birch water, nutty paleo Primal Pantry bars, Mr Sherick's seriously scrummy shakes and finally Louola's Superfood Quinoa Sprinkles!

This was my favourite treat of the day. I had the mango & coconut muesli Cuckoo pot and honestly could have eaten a bucket full. Usually I can't eat muesli because of my nut allergy but this was a revelation! Huge chunks of mango, creamy coconutty yogurt, jumbo oats and linseed. mmm.

Alf Turner's succulent saucissons were the showstopper to the brunch and I'm really intrigued now to try his 'Dragon's Scotch Egg' and 'Dragon's Pork Pie'! I love also that he donates a percentage of his sales to Help For Heroes.

You know those faces people make when they're in milkshake heaven - eyes closed with a chuffed 'mmm' faced grin....yeh that. Probably the most delicious shakes I've ever tasted, honestly these babies are something special. mmm cookie pieces.

It was an absolute pleasure spending the afternoon at an event hosted by Colin. He's the most enthusiastic and passionate person, who obviously puts a lot of care and attention into supporting start up brands. He's an inspiration and The Food Sauce is a bloody brilliant platform.

Enjoy your Sundays one and all!

Betty x

For more Betty Stamp antics, find me on Instagram & Twitter

Against The Grain Food Market :: Camden

Usually I blink and miss things on Twitter but last week something caught my eye that made me pen a date in the diary - not even pencil, immediately penned in!

I love food markets. LOVE. So when I saw Camden Market was hosting a gluten free food market - Against The Grain, I was all of a flutter.

I've been striving to go gluten free for the past few weeks and I've had good and bad days. Have you tried my GF Date, Banana & Choccie Energy Bites ?? Baking has been my downfall as it's just too ruddy convenient having a tiny supermarket opposite my house which sells zero gluten free products. And let's face it, when you run out of gluten free flour mid bake and are wearing your jammys and bunny slippers, you're not likely to want to venture too far for fear of being seen. (The lovely men in Nisa know us now - when they see William they shout, 'Ice cream boy!' and automatically fetch him a mint magnum.)

Main meals have been going swimmingly though, ooo that reminds me I made an incredible feta & spinach frittata the other night and need to share the recipe! Watch this space! My favourite new addition to the cupboard has been Nairns gluten free cheese oatcakes ... YUMMY.

Anyway, back to the food fest, we had a jolly old time! It was buzzing with food lovers, the sun was shining and spirits were high.

Weaving our way through the crowds, the first stall we came to was an absolute winner - the duo behind Syms Pantry selling their bacon filled goods. They drew me in with a sample and I was sold from the first tiny taste. Bacon jam, bacon mayo, bacon ketchup - let me tell you lads and lasses, it is bloody marvellous and I never want anything else on my burger bap ever again. The bacon jam has a special shelf in our fridge!

As you can imagine we were getting pretty darn hungry by now and with the taste of bacon jam on our lips - we both wanted something meaty! I actually got serious food envy of what William went for - non spicy Peruvian shredded chicken, potatoes & veggies from Limena. I had a couple of bites and wished I'd ordered the same! The flavours were incredible but I wanted to try one of the stalls specifically for the Against The Grain market. I think Limena has a permanent Camden Market stand - and I can see why. Yum YUM.

I came up trumps! Naughty Roti's Spicy Chicken Curry smelt soo freaking good I couldn't resist. No scrimping on the chicken here! And they packed it full of crunchy carrot salad, rice, fresh coriander and yogurt with some sort of secret sauce that was scrummy in my tummy! Just the right amount of spice - I'm a massive wimp usually. Chuffed with my choice I was  :)

Prize for the prettiest stall of the day goes to Cupcakes n Shhht! I was absolutely stuffed by this point and the most annoying thing for me is I can never really buy sweet products as I'm allergic to nuts and I can never guarantee that I won't keel over and die. SO I admired these from afar :) and appreciated what I love most! Beautiful baking! Oh no...now they make me want one of my choccie & raspberry engagement cupcakes. Darn it. Chocolate craving. I have ice cream in the freezer...that'll have to suffice.

I'm sad that I was a traitor to my local Venn Street Market but glad I ventured a bit further afield to find these treats and try new dishes packed full of flavour and zero wheat bloat involved! Just the normal amount of food baby :)

Did any of you make it to Against The Grain? Which are your favourite food markets?

Betty x


For more Betty Stamp antics, find me on Instagram , Twitter & Facebook

Lazy Breakfast Smoothie :: SOTW #2

I've had the laziest Sunday morning and it has been glorious. No regrets. Yesterday I was in a hormonal grump, only cheered up by sitting oneself outside and having a quiet word with oneself. Oh, and visiting my best buddy, getting tipsy on pink wine and Indian take away. Yes I was drunk off of Indian take away. Food comatose'd and tiddly. So my tummy hasn't been too happy with me today!

I needed a little pick me up and realised I hadn't done a Smoothie of the week post in quite some time - perfect. My belly needed some TLC, so I could kill two birds with one stone.

My first smoothie of the week was a Belly Busting Detox Smoothie which kicked arse. Perfect vitamin C boost or hangover cure if you've had one too many sherbets the night before.

This is more of a soothing breakfast alternative packed full of oats, banana, mint and more to give you a slow release of energy throughout the morning. Or, if you're like me you had a lazy lie in, a slow release of energy throughout midday. Oops.

What you'll need //

1 banana
Big handful of oats
Handful blueberries
Handful raspberries
3 leaves fresh mint

Big splash coconut milk

Splash water

Blend to your heart's content and sup away in blissful ignorance of the fact that the football's on later. (I live with 2 sport obsessed boys). Worst news ever. BUT - good news - it's the last game of the season :) :) :)

Happy Sunday one and all! How are you spending your day in the sun?

Betty x

For more Betty Stamp antics, find me on Instagram & Twitter. Go on, you know you want to.

Dark Chocolate & Raspberry Engagement Cupcakes

I will find any excuse to bake cupcakes. Yes siree. But isn't it the best when a celebration presents itself as a legitimate excuse instead.

One of my best friends just got engaged! That's two Emilys in one month! So much baking to do :) I thought I ought to try something new, so I made my first ever attempt at piping! I was pleased as punch with how it turned out. What do you think?? If you follow my Instagram you'll have seen the frosting evolving - it was a magical moment. 

William must have approved because I turned my back for five seconds and he was piping the leftover frosting straight into his mouth, with my flatmate licking the bowl. Animals.

Nothing beats the contrast of rich chocolate with the tart zing of berries. yum freaking yum. I love how unified and proud they look! (Apart from that one I've just noticed that looks like it's levitating!)

We headed to our favourite Italian in Clapham Junction - Buona Sera for dinner, devouring delicious cheesy pizzas and indulging in two bottles of pink fizz (the gluten free diet was a distant memory! oops). The happy couple were both beaming and, oh my lord the ring! Boy did good!

They were chuffed as chips with their cupcakes and apparently they didn't even make it home to the fridge. Cupcake monsters.

I mean, who could say no to that frosting!

What you'll need //

110g caster sugar
110g softened butter
110g self raising flour
2 eggs
couple drops vanilla extract
2 tbsp milk

for the frosting //

120g softened butter
280g icing sugar
60g cocoa powder
1.5 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp milk
12 raspberries!

Makes 12 cupcakes
(My pics don't show them all because William ate one and was in the dog house for making my photos wonky)

Prepare yourselves for THE BEST chocolate frosting in the world.

What to do //

Preheat oven to 160 degrees C (fan) and line a cupcake tray with 12 cases.

Cream together your butter & sugar. Beat your eggs and add to the mixture along with the vanilla extract and milk. Mix well before gradually folding in your sifted flour.

Plop spoonfuls of mixture into your cupcake cases about 3/4 full. Bake for 20 minutes.

Leave to cool on a wire rack whilst you make your frosting.

For the frosting //

In a large mixing bowl (because my icing sugar poofed everywhere - lesson learnt) mix your icing sugar, cocoa powder and softened butter. Add your vanilla & milk, give it another wizz until all the mixture is silky smooth.

Now pipe your cupcakes pretty! I used a star nozzle. (look at me getting all technical!)

Fitting the chocolatey treats snuggly into the safety of their box, we made our 2 stops on the overground with both of us managing to keep our greedy mitts off!

The beaming bride to be! I don't know if you remember, but I wrote a blog post on Emily's salon back in 2014! I'm going to be making a return trip soon so watch this space.

The prosecco probably made us even more giddy than usual but my cheeks always hurt after an evening with Emily. She's just the happiest, kindest friend and I can't wait to see her walk down the aisle looking like a princess! (If I can see through the Kleenex)

If you do make these, then you should probably go ahead and buy a bottle of prosecco and invite the girls round, because I guarantee after you've eaten one you'll want to eat four. Sharing is caring on this occasion!

Betty x

For more Betty Stamp bakes and adventures, follow me on Twitter & Instagram

5 Feel Good Sunday Blog Reads

Oh glorious sunshine, you make me so much more productive! (That, and the hangover brekkie I've just devoured). I've de-weeded the jardin, baked engagement cupcakes, super glued my Harry Potter world Muggle mug back together (you know you have a cupboard full of 50 mugs but you always use the same one - yep, imagine smashing that one...distraught) and finally got round to playing with my new cake piping kit(!) GREAT SUCCESS! You can see the end result on my Instagram, ooo boy oh boy I can't wait to share my scrummy cupcake recipe next week. I was chuffed as a chocolate frog!

After reading some cracking blog posts this week, I thought I'd get into the habit of writing a post every now and again sharing my favourite finds so you lot can add to your reading lists too. #spreadthebloglove


I AM BAKER

Amanda, in my opinion, is the queen of frosting and cake porn. I stare at her Instagram videos endlessly and she was the one who inspired me to stop being a wimp and start piping! Honestly some of the best cakes I've ever seen. #cakegoals
Favourite post :: White Layer Cake with Fudgy Brownie and Decorators Buttercream


LA COCO NOIRE

Katie's photography is incredible, her camera skills are a force to be reckoned with. That, and her sense of humour. The way she writes never fails to crack me up. Also, I'm not a cat person, but her obsession with her cat Susan is pretty darn sweet #caturday
Favourite post :: Waking up in the Cotswolds

WANDER TO WONDER

Miho's blog is a wonderful eden to escape to. Whether it's following her journeys through Vietnam, travelling with her to dreamy destinations or dribbling at her delicious foodie posts; she'll leave you licking your lips and wishing you were there with her.
Favourite post :: The Happy List :: April 2016


THE TEA BEE

You know that feeling you get when you read someone's blog, chat with them on Instagram etc and you genuinely believe you'd get on like a house on fire with that person in real life...I feel like if Carli lived in London, we'd probably be pals. I love her posts, her tea house in Teeside looks SO dreamy and her cakes...well, I've taken oodles of inspiration from her chocolate coated creations!
Favourite post :: Stuff Your Face Sunday


CIDER WITH ROSIE

Rosie's blog was one of the ones that inspired me to start my own. The way she captures daily life with her man, pooches and soon to be little sprog is enchanting. You can tell she has a beautiful soul from the way she writes and I can always count on being cheered up by a visit to her blog.
Favourite post :: Our Wedding || The ceremony


I hope you enjoy these gems! What are your favourite blogs to read of a Sunday?

Happy weekends chaps and chapesses! I'm off to air my competitive side in a game of rounders on Clapham Common.

Betty x


For more Betty Stamp antics, find me on Twitter and Instagram

Birthday Cake #2 Fresh Strawberry Cake

I spend hours on end stalking incredible baking blogs & Instagram accounts with perfectly piped works of art and I really do aspire to one day give piping a proper crack, but for now I'm really enjoying my slightly messy masterpieces that any Tom, Dick or Sally can bake at home with their own hands, a wooden spoon & mixing bowl.

I hope you lot don't mind that my bakes look slightly less than perfect! So long as they taste good ey :)

If you missed my Crushed Oreo Buttercream Cake yesterday, then nay worries as it's pretty much the same recipe; so you might as well double the mixture and make both cakes at the same time! :) More cake = more happy bellies.

What you'll need for the strawberry cake //

110g unsalted butter (room temp)
110g caster sugar
2 eggs
110g self raising flour
1 level tsp baking powder
couple drops vanilla extract

40g softened butter
190g icing sugar
100g cream cheese
half punnet of strawberries

x1 20cm baking tin


What to do //

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (fan) and grease and line a 20cm baking tin.

In a large mixing bowl cream together your sugar & butter.

Whisk your eggs and pour into the mixture along with the vanilla extract.

Sift in your flour and baking powder and mix until the flour has just disappeared.

Pour into your greased tin and bake for approximately 25-30 minutes, popping a skewer in to check it comes out clean.

Leave to cool on a wire rack.

For the frosting - mix the butter with an electric hand mixer for a couple of minutes. Sift in the icing sugar 50g at a time, mixing as you go. Add the cream cheese and mix for a further 2 minutes.

Finely chop 2 strawberries onto a piece of kitchen roll and dab to get rid of excess liquid. Stir into the frosting.

When your sponge has completely cooled, smother the frosting all over! Decorate however you wish, just be sure to dry the strawberries as much as you can so they don't make the frosting too wet.

Try your hardest not to face plant the cakes. It was tempting to ruin two things of such beauty!

Enjoy your weekends everyone! Hooray for this glorious sunshine! I'm off to play rounders in the park on Sunday which I'm super psyched for. What have you got planned?

Betty x

For more Betty Stamp bakes and adventures, follow me on Instagram

Birthday Cake #1 Crushed Oreo Cake :: ft The Magic Baking Tin

Whoever invented the Oreo was a ruddy clever human with impeccable taste in biscuits *heads to google* Sam Porcello! I salute you Mr Porcello!

Not to blow my own trombone or anything (that is exactly what I'm about to do) but I baked two birthday cakes this weekend and they were up there with the tastiest cakes I've made so far (mainly due to the freakishly fantastic frosting!) The winner still being the Crushed Crunchie Marble Cake, but I've found that if you whack an Oreo on anything you're bound to win hearts. And more to the point, if you combine an Oreo with buttercream.....well, taste buds are guna be a-tingling!

You may remember me mentioning a new Magic Baking Tin* I used to make my Swedish Kladdkaka Chocolate Cake which was pretty ruddy marvellous (both tin and cake), but it wasn't until this weekend that I properly had a play around with the amount of wonderful shapes it can create. Apparently there's over 100 shapes the MBT team has come up with so far! I was buzzing when the postman came (although I did have to shout at him through the bathroom window -why is it they always arrive when you're mid shower!) and opened my Amazon package to reveal my new present! The box contained 21 shapes, 12 pins, silicon baking mat and a clear instruction manual.

The perfect excuse to use my new toy arose as it was my brother's girlfriend's birthday, so I set to making an L shape for her name and a love heart. The shapes and pins were simple to fix together, resting snuggly in the perforated mat ready for me to fill with delicious vanilla sponge mixture. It held together well with only the tiniest amount of mixture escaping. This however was not a problem as it gave William a few bits of crunchy cake to munch on whilst I took snaps! The Magic Baking Tin team has also kindly given my readers 20% off so follow the link or add to your birthday list! It certainly saves buying a new shaped baking tin each time, not to mention cupboard space!

Thank the lord they survived their train journey from London to Somerset with no hitches, still in tact and ready to be smothered in glorious oreo frosting!

I'm teasing you with the strawberry & cream cake in the background but you'll have to wait until Friday at 5pm for that post ;) 

What you'll need for the Oreo cake //

110g butter
110g caster sugar
2 eggs
110g self raising flour
1 level tsp baking powder
couple drops vanilla extract

for the frosting

60g softened butter
170g icing sugar
90g cream cheese
1 box of mini oreos

What to do //

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C and grease and line a 20cm tin or your Magic Baking Tin!

Pour your sugar, butter, eggs, sieved flour, baking powder & vanilla extract into a food processor or mixing bowl. If using the latter - cream your sugar & butter together first before adding the rest. Mix well and carefully pour into your greased tin.

Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes, popping a skewer in to check it comes out clean. My L shape took a little longer as it was deeper & more compact. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

For the frosting - mix the butter with an electric hand mixer for a couple of minutes. Sift in the icing sugar 50g at a time, mixing as you go. Add the cream cheese and mix for a further 2 minutes.

When sponge is completely cooled, cover the entirety in frosting! Decorate with Oreos :)

Dig in! Preferably face first...

There I go again with this Strawberry cake teasing :) You'll have to wait until tomorrow for that one! #staytuned

Betty x

PS yes I did break my gluten free-ness for this cake...wellllll...birthdays don't count right?

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*This is not a sponsored post however I was sent this item to honestly review. All opinions are my own. To claim your 20% off voucher follow this link