cake and conversation
Archive for the 'Middlesbrough' Category
02
Apr
borotweetup marble cake
Marble Cake, originally uploaded by Whistling in the Dark.
Recipe for my mom’s marble cake in Hebrew so translation below. Made this for the borotweetup on Friday.
Marble Cake
Ingredients
7 eggs separated
1 ½ cups of sugar
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
¾ cup orange juice
1/6 cup oil
1 tbsp vanilla sugar
—
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tsp instant coffee
1 tbsp vanilla sugar
1. Beat the egg whites until stiff, add sugar, add yolks at medium speed
2. then add flour, baking powder, juice and oil
3. grease up a rectangular pan with oil (I use a large rectangular glass pyrex dish)
4. pour in 3/4 of the mixture
5. to the remaining 1/4 of the mixture in the bowl add the cocoa, coffee and vanilla sugar mix well
6. then add into the mixture already in the dish, use a fork to make the marble swirls.
7. Preheat the oven to 350/190. Bake for 40-45 minutes until a toothpick or fork can be inserted into the middle and come out clean.
Tips:
My mom listed vanilla sugar twice when writing out the recipe, once in the first mixture and then again in the chocolate mixture. I have made it with it in both, in just one and without.
If you don’t leave enough batter in the bowl the chocolate becomes denser/heavier and may sink to the bottom so you have a layer of chocolate at the bottom.
If you’re baking powder is not fresh you may end up with a flatter cake.
It’s an easy cake to make and it will taste good no matter what you do to it.
The batter is yummy too if you end up with some left in the bowl * innocent whistle *
The addition to the borotweetup cake was chocolate buttercream frosting and m+ms.
The chocolate buttercream frosting recipe I use is from cooks.com.
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
6 tbsp. butter
1 cup powdered sugar
4 tbsp. cocoa
2 to 3 tbsp. milk
1 cup powdered sugar
4 tbsp. cocoa
2 to 3 tbsp. milk
1. Cream butter.
2. Combine sugar and cocoa.
3. Add sugar and cocoa mixture to butter
4. Add milk to and butter mixture.
2. Combine sugar and cocoa.
3. Add sugar and cocoa mixture to butter
4. Add milk to and butter mixture.
Tips:
If you wait until the cake cools to put the frosting on it comes out very much like frosting you buy in a store. If you are impatient like me, baking a cake at midnight, and not wanting to put the frosting in the fridge until morning….the frosting will melt over the cake and make a nice chocolate layer not quite like what you expected but tasting delicious nonetheless.
M+Ms
I recreated the new lovemiddlesbrough.com logo in m+ms on top of the cake. Separated out red and blue m+ms. Bought two bags worth and panicked over whether I would have enough, but it turned out ok. Had I planned baking the cake in advance, a bunch of friends informed me that I could have gotten individual colours of m+ms. It came out ok :) compare for yourself.
21
Nov
Middlesbrough Reindeer Parade and Community Carnival
Another great family event in Middlesbrough the annual reindeer Parade and Community Carnival – The theme this year was The Nutcracker.
My favourite photo was this pre-parade snap of Santa and his elves.
For more info on Christmas 2010 events in Middlesbrough see:
http://visitmiddlesbrough.com/christmas
My photos of the day below there are additional photos here.
18
Nov
Christmas Lights Switch On in Middlesbrough
Went to see the Christmas Lights Switch On in Middlesbrough Town centre after work. There was a great atmosphere.
TFM Radio was on hand to host the festivities. A bunch of families were out as well as groups of teenagers. There were sing-a-longs to popular songs and performers from the Middlesbrough Theatre Panto Jack and the Beanstalk revving up the crowd.
A giant snowman hung out by the Christmas Tree to promote the Middlesbrough Town Hall – Northern Sinfonia production of The Snowman. Kids were loving him!
Many people were wondering who the light switcher on would be. It was a young boy named Ethan whose dad is serving in Afghanistan and won’t be home for Christmas. It was quite sweet.
Wayne from TFM radio explained that he could get the excitable crowd to do whatever he wants – jump up and down, pick their noses so little Ethan asked them to jump up and down.
Wayne then told him he could ask them to pretend to be his favourite animal – what’s your favourite animal?
“A Chicken!!!!”
It was brilliant.
The weather wasn’t brilliant but the atmosphere was. Nice antithesis to celebrity culture, struck just the right note.
For info on Christmas 2010 in Middlesbrough see:
http://visitmiddlesbrough.com/christmas
posted by Yaffa in Middlesbrough and have No Comments
17
Nov
Iron at Middlesbrough College by Company TSU
Went to Jamal’s for dinner on Corportation Road with Lizzie and then went to see Iron, the first production by Company TSU – a new theatre group in Middlesbrough.
The official description:
“Unsettling in its opinion and unflinching in its language IRON is inspired by Nigel Williams’ play ‘Class Enemy’, re-imagined and brought to life by Company TSU.
A group of pupils rail against their lives. Angry and disillusioned they wait for a teacher, some answers, some direction but mostly they just wait for the bell to go.”
The play was performed in the round and the performances were excellent. There were video bits integrated into the play that worked well and added to the performance. (Minor quibble is one of these pieces set to the Sex Pistols’ God Save the Queen, felt long in terms of the length of the play.)
Lizzie was distracted by some of the language in the play, (a fairly constant patter of among other words the “c” word). I don’t know if I am desensitized as a native NYer – I find it easy to filter.
Would love to see these performers again as they gain experience – they did a great job and there was some great potential on offer.
It needs to be said, Venue 2 at Middlesbrough College is another awesome space to watch theatre (in addition to the larger Hazel Pearson Theatre at the College, where we went to see an excellent production of The Laramie Project.)
Iron was performed in the round and it made you want to see more theatre groups creating productions for this amazing space.
Mayor Ray Mallon attended the performance too and reviewed it here.