Yes, this is the naughty wallpaper from our Volbeat expidition weekend

Look closer. Naughty wallpaper.

Jack n Coke cupcakes

Jack Daniels. The signature tipple of the "Rock Star".

When you think of Jack Daniels and music you think Lemmy, Motley Cru, Guns n Roses?????










Picture the scene:
Backstage after a sell out gig.
Everyone screaming for more.
Security trying to hold back the fans and groupies from breaking down the dressing room door.
Singer of the band, with a flowing mane of Man Metal hair reaching down to the small of his back.
Red bandana wrapped around his strong forehead.
Slouched on the sofa, foot resting arrogantly on the table top, gulping back straight Jack Daniels from the bottle while two spandex and lace clad groupies rub his glistening sweaty hairy chest with their blood red talons. Licking their lips in anticipation of the nights carnal pleasures to come......................

Phew, maybe I should change my career.
Yeah. If this blog thing doesn't work out I'm quite good at this sexy novel writing malarky.
 My pseudoname shall be Veronica Delachase. I like the sound of that.

Tell me if i'm wrong, but every kid who listens to Heavy Metal will drink Jack Daniels at some point?
 It increases our "Metal Cred" yes?
Hell Yeah. I drank so much of it when I was 18 that I can't smell it without retching.
Regardless. The sweet caramel and spice taste of the JD goes very well in this recipe. It also makes a mean BBQ sauce ingredient, but that's for another time.

I used one of the little jack and coke in one cans for this recipe to save on pennies but you can use the same amount of Jack and Cola mixed.

Jack n Coke cupcakes

makes 12

You will need a 12 hole muffin tin, cupcake cases, large mixing bowl, electric hand mixer and a sieve. You can pipe on the icing with a piping nozzle and bag in a circular motion but if you don't have a piping bag then you can just spread the icing on with a knife.

Ingerdients

for the cakes
100g self raising flour
100g soft unsalted butter
75g caster sugar
25g dark muscavado sugar
2 large eggs
30ml Jack n Coke
Half teaspoon vanilla extract
Half teaspoon mixed spice

for the icing
250g icing sugar
125g soft unsalted butter
25ml Jack n coke
Half teaspoon vanilla extract

I small jar caramel or dulce de leche

Heat the oven to 180 degrees (160 for fan oven, gas 4)
Line the muffin tin with the cupcake cases.
Put the sugars, butter, eggs, vanilla and Jack n coke in a large mixing bowl. Sieve in the flour and mixed spice. Mix on high with an electric hand mixer for 3 minutes (2 minutes in an electric bowl mixer on medium and for about 8 minutes with a wooden spoon if mixing by hand. Good luck)
Divide between the cupcake cases and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes. Cupcakes will be ready when browned on top and springy to the touch. Don't open the oven to check the cakes while they are cooking as this will make them deflate. And you will cry at your failure.You can check if they are cooked by inserting a knife into one of the cakes. If it comes out with no mix stuck to it then it's ready. Ovens may vary. As they are pesky buggers. My first lot got burnt as my oven temperature was way higher than indicated. I ate them anyway.
Leave to cool completley.
when they are ready use a small knife to cut a little hole out of the middle of the cupcakes. Fill this with a wee spoon of the caramel then pop your wee bit of cake back into the hole.
Sieve the icing sugar into a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and Jack n coke. Mix on high for about 2 minutes. Pipe or spoon onto the cakes and serve. Yum yum yum. I like cake.

I like these guys. Good name.

Judas Feast - heavy metal cooking show demo from Christion Schnobb on Vimeo.

My job is fun

Check out what me and Lisa made. I did the head. It was kinda like CSI. I had to build the face from the muscle up. We still have the prototype staring at us every day.
If you wanna see what else we get up to then have a look at our website www.littlecakeparlour.co.uk

Hallo, I'm back. Prepare to salivate.

Hello there. Did you miss me? You did! Shucks. I missed you guys too. Well moved house got me new shiny internet set up. I'm ready to rock. Here goes.



IVOLBEAT

So I was at work, elbow deep in cake mix and I get a text message from my mucker Lesley. She tells me she's bought my Christmas present allready.

A ticket to go see VOLBEAT in December. YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSS!
I freakin LOVE LOVE LOVE Volbeat.
When I think of them I smile like a little child who has just been given the biggest toy ever. Y'know, that smile that you smile with your eyes?

Myself, Lesley and my twinny Arlene took a little trip last year down to London to see Volbeat live.
 I can honestly say hand on heart that it was one of the best gigs I have ever been to in my whole life.
The band were amazing, the atmosphere was electric and it was one of the best nights I've had to date.

Post gig is a whole other story.

It turned out to be something like Ferris Bullers day off, involving two dodgy taxi rides, a lesbian glam rock club (took us a while to realise there were no men in the club and what we thought was flock wallpaper was actually loads of pictures of ladies doing naughty things), unleashing Mr Bean style catastrophy on a Chnese restaurant at 2.30 in the morning, getting back to the hotel, falling between the beds and trying to get a whole class of annoying Spanish school kids thrown out the hotel.
Good times.



Well. Volbeat are from Denmark so the recipe today is for Smørrebrød.
Which is a Danish version of an open sandwich which is traditionally eaten at lunch time and can have many different toppings but I've gone for a traditional pickled herring version.
Yes, this is a wee cheeky easy recipe.


Herring on rye bread with pickled cucumber and sour cream

serves 2

4 slices dark rye bread
tub of pickled herring (Orkney herring in dill is very good)
Small tub sour cream
Few snipped chives
1 cucumber
100ml white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons caster sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Few stalks fresh dill chopped
Pinch ground white pepper
2 Tuborg beers

You can make the piclked cucumbers the day before and they will last for about 5 days.

To make the pickled cucumber:
Cut the top and bottom off the cucumber and slice finely. Lay in a single layer in a non metallic dish. Sprinkle with the salt and leave for 20 minutes.
Put the sugar, pepper, dill and vinegar into a pan and bring to the boil. Leave to cool.
Squeeze the excess water from the cucumbers and place into a jar or bowl. Pour over the sugar and vinegar mix, seal and leave overnight.


To make the sandwich:
Place your juicey herring fillets onto the rye bread, scatter over some of your pickled cucumber. Plop on a dollop of sour cream and scatter over the snipped chives.

Have a nice cold Tuborg beer while you nibble.

That's Danish.