Inpiration, TV baking and crème catalane.

Hi all:

As you’ll know if you follow my blog, recently I’ve published a romantic novel (I Love Your Cupcakes).

I Love Your Cupcakes by Olga Núñez Miret (cover by Lourdes Vidal)

A big part of the action takes place during a TV cookery game show. Or, to be more precise, a baking contest. Last week I did mention some of the best known contests of this type (and even one of the winners), but my true inspiration came from watching sometimes (mostly when I went to visit my parents) a couple of programs, Cucake Wars and a reality TV program set in a Baltimore bakery, Charm City Cakes (the program is called Ace of Cakes and it is truly amazing).

I leave you links to the programs in case you fancy a peek:

Cupcake Wars:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/cupcake-wars.html/

Ace of Cakes:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/ace-of-cakes.html/

And this is the link to the shop itself:

http://charmcitycakes.com/

And as I don’t want you complaining that I’m only leaving you links, here is one of the recipes I share in the book (there aren’t many because it’s strictly a work of fiction and what the teams create during the contest has all come from my head…so beware!).

Crema catalana (cibo360)

(Image from: http://www.cibo360.it/cucina/mondo/crema_catalana.htm)

Crème Catalane

Ingredients

• 6 egg yolks
• 200g sugar
• 3/4 litre milk
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 piece of lemon peel
• 3 tbsp corn flour

Steps:

1. Beat the egg yolks until light then whisk in 150g of the sugar
2. Place the milk in a saucepan together with the cinnamon and lemon peel – bring to the boil and then remove from the heat and strain.
3. Whisk the milk with the egg mixture
4. Dissolve the corn flour with a little milk and whisk into the mixture
5. Place the mixture over a low heat and cook, stirring constantly until it begins to boil
6. Put the custard into a pudding bowl or smaller individual bowls and allow to cool before placing in the fridge
7. Before serving sprinkle a little sugar on top and caramelize it by placing under a hot grill briefly until the sugar melts and turns brown(or using a kitchen torch or an iron burner).

http://www.euroresidentes.com/euroresiuk/Recipies/desserts/crema-catalana.htm

Just in case you fancy more pictures, here is the link to my Pinterest board on cupcakes, sweets and other nice things:

http://www.pinterest.com/olganm7/food-ideas-for-pos-book/

And I also leave you a video I created (but I must warn you my style creation videos is…well, mine):

http://youtu.be/oGFcWLwoFfA

Thanks to you all for reading, to the various blogs for lending me their recipes, and if you’ve found it interesting, like, share, comment, and of course, get CLICKING!