FIFTEENS - NORTHERN IRISH FRIDGE CAKE

Like in my head the winter wind carries me along riversides and across bridges and lifts me up, in-between the tall shiny buildings of the City and I can almost touch them, and what’s left of good-Bye’s summons elusive ghosts on the icy streets, and bills and books and papers turn into trees and tombstones and a hill looking down on a Dear Green Place; in this same way, symphonies from the North fill rooms with warmth and tea-time treats for travel companions; and blue maps of far-away islands on a scaredy child’s bedroom wall make space for grown-up plans, and fluffy cakes; and quiet nights in this country, and another, let the sunrise in and salute it with hearty crêpes and cream and fruit for breakfast.

If I wake up one day and will have desisted living by dreams and day-dreams and songs and stories, I’ll give myself a slap on the wrist, and I would be crazy not to; and as for this town of smoke and trouble – I’m already there; and the most delicious marshmallowy treats is what I’ll give, this time, in return for so much.

ROOT BEER CREAM PIE

When it feels like everything’s a ceiling and you wish you could spend every single day of the next at least eleven years of your life hanging out in the sun in a café on Fraser Street eating vegan cheesecake and sipping cream soda (although caffè & panettone with James is also fine):

ROOT BEER MARSHMALLOW FLUFF PIE.

NANAIMO BARS

To try and lift up the London fog.

MINI BANOFFEE PIES

It took me three long days to complete this recipe, and I’ve made it just. I decided I wanted to make banoffee pie on Sunday, but didn’t have any tartlet tins. So I bought tartlet tins. Then I realised I didn’t have any coconut milk, so on Monday I got the coconut milk. But to make the caramel, you need to refrigerate your can overnight. So on Monday night, I put the can in the fridge ready for Tuesday. But on Tuesday, after making the caramel, I remembered you also need four hours for it to set. And, as I wasn’t particularly excited at the idea of staying up until 1am staring at the fridge and waiting for it to work its magic on my jar of caramel, I just gave up and saved the date for today. Several complications with cling film later, I can definitely say these mini banoffee pies were a bit of an effort to make. You’d expect there’s a but here, yes? Well there’s actually two. But number one: these are deliciousness in a tartlet tin. And when I say deliciousness, I mean I-don’t-care-if-they-haven’t-set-yet-I’m-going-to-eat-two-right-now-as-a-starter-before-a-bowl-of-tomato-soup deliciousness (that was a long one). And just when you think that’s enough of a reason, but number two: you get an extra half a cup of caramel from the recipe, and may I suggest that you have it as a dessert after your tomato soup that you ate after two banoffee pies?