Mowielicious

Lemon Polenta Whoopie Pies With Chocolate Ganache

Baking after midnight always has such a calming effect on me.

Ever since January, I've been inundated by emails and texts from readers and friends asking me one thing: when am I going to make Whoopie Pies. The first time I'd received this request, I must be honest, I'd never even heard of them! So off I went to research all things Whoopie.

The whoopie pie originates in America, where the typical flavours are chocolate or pumpkin, filled with marshmallow cream or cream cheese . They are quite large, like a giant macaron, almost burger size, and need to be eaten with two hands. Over the last few months, there has been a lot of media coverage about how whoopie pies are the next cupcakes. And here I thought macarons were the next cupcakes. Does that make whoopie pies the next macarons? How do these things even start?

Not one to follow a fad, and mostly because I'd never tried them, I was intrigued. I'd heard that the Hummingbird Bakery had just started selling chocolate whoopie pies, so off I went to try some. And they were very good. In fact, they were awesome. So much so, that I'd fallen in love with them. I had to try and replicate them somehow, so I tried the New York Times recipe (which turned out brilliantly, in case you were wondering).

With so many other blogs recreating chocolate versions, I had to create something different (have you seen Catty's Matcha version yet?). I was inspired by my latest obsession: Ottolenghi's lemon polenta cakes. Lots of post-midnight baking (and tasting) sessions later, I've come up with a version of whoopie pies that are much smaller than the originals, filled with a light chocolate ganache, and topped with pistachios.

 

I also had some very exciting news last week. I'd woken up on Thursday to a friend's email letting me know that Mowielicious was featured in a great review in the Times as 'Best of the blogs'! I still can't believe it. My little blog... in the Times! How amazing is that?! Anyone that really knows me knows that I have major issues when it comes to believing in my work, so I still wake up every morning thinking this is some kind of a joke and it will all be revealed as such on April Fool's day. But until then, a massive 'Thank You!' to Nick Wyke from the Times. I am humbled by the honour.

I didn't realize this, but Nick also has a personal (and mostly British) food blog called Artichoke, where he writes weekly posts about the latest seasonal fruits and veggies. I'm so excited to have discovered it because I'd been looking for a seasonal food blog just like that for ages, but couldn't find anything that kept true to the seasonal theme.

I'm also excited because Nick emailed letting me know that it looks like 'Best of the blogs' is going to be a weekly thing, and asked for any really good suggestions as and when I stumble upon them. So, dear readers, I thought I could help both him and you out at the same time: if you are a food blogger and would like to suggest your own blog, or know of a great food blog you'd like to see featured in the Times, just leave your suggestion(s) in the comments section below. Hopefully this way we can all discover some gorgeous new food blogs!

Panettone Metamorphosis

I'm afraid I have some bad news dear readers: I don't have a post for you today! Or at least, not a normal post. That thing called life got in the way (the horror!), but I do however have a few pictures to share with you, and if you will forgive me (I'm too embarrassed to even admit it) it's something I haven't baked myself (more horror!). I promise I'll get back to my normal baking schedule next week - I've been working on an exciting recipe that I just can't wait to share with you!

This panettone was baked by a dear friend of mine and given to me before Christmas. I also took these pictures around the same time but have been saving them for an emergency, like today, otherwise I would have really had nothing to post - and I couldn't leave you with no post this week, could I?! I've always loved panettone and can eat the stuff all day long. That's why anyone that knows me, usually brings some along when they visit (and my oh my, do I get loads - thank you everyone!). It's something I've never attempted to bake so far though, and I'm going to have to give it a try very soon (Easter Panettone anyone?).

I remember when I was younger my mom would always get loads of panettone from friends, and because it didn't go off until well into the new year, she would always come up with a different way of decorating it, and this one was my favourite. Cut the panettone into three, smooth some buttercream onto each side and layer onto each other. Smooth some more buttercream all around, then press a mixture of chopped pistachios and almonds around the sides and top the cake with some chocolate shavings. You can also add fresh fruit in between the layers and decorate on top. I had some macarons and lovely French pink chocolate sweets at the time. Voila!

I'd love to know dear readers, do you practice food metamorphosis? If so, please tell me all about it.

Pear Clafoutis, A Poll & A Call For Help

How much do you love your pears? I can't get enough of them at the moment. Last weekend I was craving pears, so I bought a whole load of these beauties to make something delicious with them and I knew they'd be perfect in clafoutis. 

Last week was such an exciting week, until I found out that I was the overall winner of the Does My Blog Look Good In This (DMBLGIT) contest for my Macaron Cake - then it just turned into an amazing week! Can you imagine dear readers, little old me, winning something? I've never won anything in my life!

I'd just like to say a massive 'THANK YOU' to all the judges that voted for my photo, and especially David, the host of this month's contest. Had I known how averse he was to seeing macarons in photos, I probably would have never submitted my photo. But then, I guess I never would have won!

So this week Dear Readers, I'm trying a little poll, and I'd love to know:

If you have won something, what was it?

If you've never won anything, what would you love to win?

Please leave your answers in the comments section below.

I'd also like to say a big THANK YOU to all of you that commented last week. Your time management tips and tricks have been so helpful - I learned so much. As for last week's Moleskine Recipe Journal giveaway, the winners are: Sarah (Maison Cupcake), Paula P, and M3card. I'll be emailing you soon and I'll send you your journals as soon as I get your postal details. Congratulations and thanks so much for commenting!

On a more serious note, my darling friend Jeanne of Cook Sister is running a raffle to try and raise money for the H2Ope for Haiti campaign run by the Concern Worldwide charity. Jeanne asked me to take part in the raffle by donating a prize, so I donated:

- £200 worth of Virgin vouchers (given to me as a gift, but I thought they'd be more useful here) (prize code HFH28)

- A set of 5 of my original floral photographic prints (see below) (prize code HFH25)

If you are interested in these, or in any of the other 28 prizes on Jeanne's blog, all you have to do is make a note of the prize code for the prize you are interested in, then make a £6.50 (US$10) donation at the Just Giving - H20pe for Haiti website. Each donation will buy you one virtual raffle ticket toward a prize of your choice.

Concern Worldwide, a non-governmental international humanitarian organisation, founded in 1968, was selected because of its long track record and quick response after the quake to provide clean drinking water and water purification tablets.

The money raised by this raffle will be paid directly into Concern Worldwide's account by Justgiving and will be used exclusively for the Haiti relief effort. 

Although each person's donation may be small, even single drops of water will eventually fill a swimming pool.

Chocolate Madeleines + Moleskine Recipe Journals Giveaway

Dear Darling Readers,

First of all, thank you so much for all your lovely comments and all your amazing macaron flavour suggestions last week - you guys are so creative - I love it! If you love macarons or you're a food blogger and are looking for inspiration for your next macaron post, you seriously must check out last weeks comments - you'll be dazzled by some of the suggestions, I promise. I already know which one I'm making.

And don't get me started on all your lovely emails! I received some amazingly heartfelt & emotional letters from you that I absolutely loved - some made me laugh and some made me cry, but most made me happy - thank you so much. I had no idea when I was originally writing my post that so many of you would relate to it on such an emotional level. I am glad I could 'help' those that I could, and I'm grateful for all your brilliant advice, comments and suggestions. I love you guys. You're the best readers any blogger could ever hope for!

Anyway, without further ado, the winner of last weeks macaron giveaway as chosen by Jean is:

Queenie Yee with 'Saffron Kiss'

Congratulations! Not only will a box of macarons be sent out to you, but Jean will be making your macarons, naming them after you, and sending you a box of those too. How fabulous is that? I'm so jealous.

It's been a bit of a mad week, but I'm feeling so full of hope for new beginnings. It all started last week when I noticed how much brighter it was in the evenings. Then I saw the first snowdrops of the year, and now I know spring is just around the corner, after what seems like an eternal winter.

 

At some point last week I also realised I'd lost my time management mojo. I used to take pride in how well I managed my time, but somewhere along the way I lost track of things to the point where I realised I was drowning in work that, if properly organised, could be very manageable. To top it all off, and because I'd been rushing things, I received a friendly email saying I'd forgotten to add an ingredient to the ingredients list in one of my recipes. Needless to say, I nearly died of embarrassment.

I thank you deeply from the bottom of my heart for any and all emails you send me correcting me, my writing and/or letting me know about spelling/grammatical/ANY mistakes. In fact, I encourage you to do so wholeheartedly *please*. But I have to say, it was a wake up call and made me realise that I'd been spreading myself too thin, and I needed to take more time to complete and enjoy the things I consider to be important to me.

After making that all important adjustment to that recipe, I went online to find some help (what exactly did we do before the internet?), and rediscovered a blog I used to read called Unclutterer. It has such brilliant posts like Time Saving Tips & Establishing Routines. It also has great links to other time management sites, and if you do read it, don't forget to read the posts' comments. You'll find some invaluable advice there.

Having awoken my dormant mojo, I had a really good (early) spring clean of the flat, cleared out drawers and cupboards, gave a lot of clothes to charity, and shredded  a whole pile of papers that I'd been meaning to shred for ages now (so therapeutic!). I also got a lot of my photos, paperwork and filing sorted out, but there's still a lot more to be done.

Which leads me nicely into this week's giveaway (this one's personal, just from me to you, with lots of love): I've got 3 copies of the new gorgeous Moleskine Passions Recipe Journal for you guys (I got one for myself too so I hopefully won't be forgetting any ingredients any time soon).

All you have to do to be in with a chance to win is leave a comment letting me know what your time management tips and tricks are - this could be anything from how you organise your life, to blogs/sites/books you read about time management or organising, to anything that saves you time. The closing date for this giveaway is Friday 19th of February, and it's open to everybody, everywhere. Winners will be chosen at random by myself and announced next week.

Now let's talk baking. Last week was Valentine's, and did I make anything pink or heart shaped? Nope. Today is Pancake Day, and what am I making? Chocolate Madeleines. I'm not a big fan of doing what everyone else does at the same time, on the same day. If you'd like a great recipe, you must try my version of Bill Granger's Ricotta Hotcakes - you'll flip over them! As for the madeleines, I love making these as they are so quick and easy to whip up. I used an old recipe from a very good French friend of mine which I've altered slightly. Enjoy!