TV cookery contests

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!).

(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:

Beat the egg yolks until light then whisk in 150g of the sugar
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.
Whisk the milk with the egg mixture
Dissolve the corn flour with a little milk and whisk into the mixture
Place the mixture over a low heat and cook, stirring constantly until it begins to boil
Put the custard into a pudding bowl or smaller individual bowls and allow to cool before placing in the fridge
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!

My new novel ‘I Love Your Cupcakes’ is here! Come and have a taste!

Hi all:

As I’ m sure you’ll remember, I’ve been talking about the new romance I was working on for a while. I asked for suggestions of names, recipes, and more recently I shared the beginning of the novel. I can give you the news. It’s now seen the light (or in its case, come out of the oven!).

If you are nuts about TV cookery programs and think chocolate is one of the Seven Wonders of the World, keep reading…

I Love Your Cupcakes is a “sweet” romance, a virtual fantasy high in calories and a fun adventure. Dare to give it a bite!

Dulce, Adelfa and Storm, the protagonists of I Love Your Cupcakes are business partners, friends and share some “interesting” family connections.

Her cakes. That’s all the men who meet Dulce talk about and she’s tired of it. Her friend Adelfa, although she’s a Chemistry Professor, can’t manage to find the recipe for the perfect relationship. And Storm, the third of the partners of their bakery/coffee shop/bookshop/art gallery and ex-fire station, is an artist who is not a master in the art of love. How could they imagine that at the studio of the contest “Do You Have What it Takes to Be the Next Baking Star?” they’d find sexual harassment, cheats, fights and also love?

With dogs, fire trucks, London double-decker and school buses, artists, chemists, engineers, architects, intrigue, scandals, bigamy, and lots and lots of desserts… I Love Your Cupcakes is a romantic comedy with a sweet heart. You will find baddies, crooks, goodies, odd balls and flawed but endearing characters. More than anything I can promise you good humor, friendship, smiles, sense of community and plenty of cakes. Try it! I’m sure you won’t be able to stop once you give it a bite!

I hope you come to love Dulce, Adelfa, Storm and their friends as much as I do. And if that is the case, please let me know. I wouldn’t mind writing some more adventures about them and baking more cakes!

I hope it will become available in a variety of place. I’ll keep you posted. So far is already available in e-format (we’re working on the paper version):

In Amazon (all stores):

http://bit.ly/1pyxw9Q

For Kobo:

http://bit.ly/ZizAho

In Apple store (i-Tunes):

http://bit.ly/ZkTgRE

And if you use Scribd:

http://bit.ly/1xrM5ow

Just in case I’ve managed to wet your appetite, I leave you the previous post where I shared the first chapter of the novel:

https://olganm.wordpress.com/2014/09/09/i-love-your-cupcakes-my-new-romantic-and-sweet-novel-is-coming-out-soon-and-here-is-the-beginning/

And if you fancy a no-calories treat, I leave you the link to my board in Pinterest where I have cupcakes, cakes, and a variety of tasty stuff.

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