COMPETITION TIME! Foodies Festival at Tatton Park

It’s that time of year again – no not the one where we get a few small days of sunshine and all the fat lasses get their wobbles out; not the one where we finally get a rest from overpaid roustabouts kicking a pig’s bladder round a field and no, not the one where I stop drinking for a bit (that never happens, nor even when everyone else hates themselves in January. I never hate myself).

No, much better than my self love - Foodies Festival has once again returned to the North West, hurrah! The UK’s largest celebration of all things food and (more importantly for Nosh) drink is once again popping up at Tatton Park from the 17-19 May; cross fingers for the return of the sunshine!

Expanding on the well-loved format, this year sees a bigger and better festival, with new stages and areas for you all to explore – including a zeitgeist-y Cake and Bake theatre where, you guessed it, baking and cake chat will happen; including a participant lead bake-a-long, Great British Bake Off’s Ruth Clemens and steampunk Emilly Ladybird whizzing up some Hendrick's inspired treats.

Much to my delight, other new areas for this year include a theatre dedicated to Chocolate, with daily demos from David Greenwood-Haigh of Divine (wonder if he’s single…?); a dedicated BBQ area (another big trend, may go for a snoop with my Guerrilla Eats head on…) and a theatre dedicated to BOOZE, including a cocktail area (dear organisers, please reserve me a seat next to the demonstrator...).

As well as all the new stuff, there’s the usual Producers’ Market, selling all sorts of wonders to take home with you; al fresco dining areas with food served by places such as Ning, Chaopraya and Stolen Lamb; the Kid’s Cook School, so we can get the little ones interested and the Street Food Market (yup, another Guerrilla Eats snoop a comin’) with some wonderful traders like my good friend and producer of actually addictive ice-cream, Ginger’s Comfort.

All in all it’s going to be a great weekend of gluttony and sheer unliscened bacchanalian fun – so get your tickets HERE.

BUT STOP PRESS – I’ve got 2 x pairs of tickets to give away BECAUSE I LOVE YOU (read – am good at blagging things). All you need to do is comment BELOW or on my twitter feed (@northwestnosh) about why I should pick you, funnier the better. I’ll get one of my amazing work colleagues to randomly pick you out of a hat (probably a yoghurt tub, glamorous!) on Wednesday 15^th May.

GET ENTERING!

FREE BOOZE - Cocktails in the City Competiton

Next week is the second year running of Cocktails in the City; a glitzy glam event celebrating everything bar-tending and booze related in Manchester.

Based at the Town Hall, Cocktails in the City brings together 18 bars, 150 cocktails and 600 cocktails enthusiasts. The movers and shakers (pun intended) of the Manchester bar scene will be setting up pop-ups throughout the Great Hall, where cocktail lovers (and booze hounds like myself) can sample drinks, chat spirits and party the night away. As a special treat this year, the Lord Mayor's Parlour (posh or what?) will be taken over by Liar's Club, Hula and Keko Moku (with a little help from El Dorado Rums) to re-create a tiki paradise - COME FIND ME THERE!

Booze - always make people this happy (not scientific fact...)

As well as tiki-time, Cocktails in the City has expanded this year to bring you food from chi-chi burger joint, Almost Famous - probably a good thing considering how much booze is going to be consumed.

Think that's great? Those famous source specialists, The Liquorists, will be on hand to give visitors guided spirit sessions AND there's plenty of cocktail demonstrations going on in the main hall.

Come see bartenders getting crazy creative at Cocktails in the City

This year, visitors can choose from a range of tickets (book HERE):

The Taster: £15 including entrance, two cocktails, main stage demonstrations and a cocktail booklet.

·         The Enthusiast: £25 includes three cocktails, a Liquorists tutored tasting session, main stage demonstrations and a cocktail booklet.

·         The Connoisseur: £45 includes champagne cocktail reception, food from Almost Famous, three cocktails and a Liquorists tutored tasting session.

BUT HANG ON - I've bagged two VIP tickets for you to COME JOIN ME at the biggest party of the year! And it's very easy to enter - just comment below to let me know your FAVOURITE cocktail (and why) - or just follow/tweet me if it's easier @northwestnosh - by Tue 30 April 5pm.

So GET ENTERING.

  
And because I love you so much, I've also gone and got you an exclusive cocktail recipe for the El Dorado House Punch - which is super easy to make at home:

1 bottle El Dorado 5 Year Old Rum

1 mug builders tea (i.e strong brew & 1:1 tea:sugar)

1 carton grapefruit juice

1 carton apple juice

1 egg cup absinthe (or Pernod/Ricard/Ouzo)

Bottle of bubbly

Method:
Add ingredients to a large bowl. Add lots of sliced, tropical fruit BUT NO ICE>
Ladle into glasses full of ice.
Distribute round the party!
ENJOY - whilst guests lavish praise on you for your ace drinks skills.

Competition time! Cake and Bake Show Manchester Tickets!

There are many smells I enjoy and most of them involve food - garlic and onions softening, broad beans flowers on a hot morning, my fingertips green and fragrant from torn basil; but nothing beats that warm, homely, sweet smell of a baking cake.

I've been experimenting with cake flavours lately - I'm not a lover of sweet cakes; those oozingly, cheek-achingly, filing-creating clouds of fluffiness smothered in buttercream, dripping white chocolate and iced within an inch of their life - in order to not just keep knocking out lemon drizzle cakes and boring the socks off my friends.

This cake is light and perfumed, the flavours barely there, just the odd floral note tripping across the tongue. I'm pretty proud of it and those nice people at the Cake and Bake show are proud of me inventing new cake recipes so have given me TWO TICKETS to Manchester's Cake and Bake Show (which runs April 5-7 - more info HERE) to give to you happy readers.

So read my recipe and then, to be in a chance with winning, comment on the blog or send me a tweet @northwestnosh with the title of your favourite/most unusual cake recipe (no need to post the whole recipe) - the most creative/yummy sounding wins. IT'S THAT EASY! Comp closes Fri 29th March - good luck!

Gluten free Rosewater and Orange cake

Rosewater and orange cake (nb this is an orange and not a rose icing, hence the colour!)

Ingredients

3 large free range eggs, at room temperature - separated

160g unrefined caster sugar

80ml light olive oil (not heavy or EV as it will cover the flavour of the cake)

50ml rosewater

Zest and juice of half an orange

190g Doves Farm gluten free self raising flour

Pinch of Doves Farm baking powder (this is gluten free)

Pinch of salt

Once the cake is cooked

50ml rosewater

For the buttercream

100g unsalted butter, at room temperature

200g icing sugar

1-2 tblsp rosewater

For the icing

125g icing sugar

1 tblsp rosewater

Red food colouring

1. Preheat the oven to 180c (fan) and grease/line an 18cm cake tin

2. Beat the egg whites to peaks and set aside.

3. In a separate bowl add the sugar and beat in one egg yolk at a time on the lowest whisk setting. Once all the eggs are in, work through the whisk setting, spending about a minute at each speed, the mix will go pale and creamy. It may seem long-winded but the whole idea is to get as MUCH air as possible in your cake as gluten free flour doesn't rise in the same way and can be pretty flat.

4. Pop the orange zest in the bowl and then start your whisk on slow - whilst it's running drizzle in the oil, followed by the orange juice and the rosewater. As in step 3, work through your whisk's settings.

5. Add the flour, salt and baking powder to the bowl and fold in - I tend to do this in two separate amounts to make it easier. Be as gentle as you can to keep all that precious air in. I would advise against eating the batter right now - gluten free flour is pretty grainy and it tastes a bit like sand; DELICIOUS.

6. Add the egg whites is three separate amounts and fold in gentle gentle with a spatula or metal spoon (wood will knock the air out). Make sure you ensure it's properly incorporated otherwise you will get rubbery white bits throughout the cake.

7. Pour the mixture in to your tin, it will be wetter than a normal cake batter, but this is normal - then pop it in the oven for 35-40 min. It's ready when a skewer can be inserted and comes out clean.

8. Take the cake out and let it rest in the tin for five minutes, then take the cake out of the tin but leave it in it's paper and leave to cool on a rack.

9. Whilst the cake is cooling, make the buttercream by putting the butter in a bowl and whisking till light. Add in the icing sugar and beat again. The add the rosewater and, you got it, beat again. Give the butterceam a taste and add more sugar/rosewater as needed. This recipe makes slightly more than you will need so you can eat a big spoon of it when no one is looking (if you want to cover the whole cake in buttercream, then just double the recipe, it works, I've done it).

10. Once the cake is pretty cool, slice in half and drizzle each cut side with the rosewater and then sandwich the cake together with the buttercream and set aside whilst you make the icing.

11. To make the icing put the icing sugar in a bowl and add the rosewater a little at a time until the mix coats the back of a spoon, add a tiny drop of red colouring to make a light pink colour. Really it's that's easy. Leave to thicken for a few minutes and then pour over the cake and garnish with a rose petal if you have one.

12. Serve with a cup of fragrant earl grey or chai tea and eat in a summery garden, or (in reality) the warmth of the kitchen!