The artist here, John F. Francis, was a portrait painter until his 40s, when he turned to still lifes. He soon began painting still lifes exclusively, usually lunch or dessert scenes. He was also known for his attention to detail….
cake
Apple and Sultana (Pantry) Cake
I’m calling this apple and sultana cake a “pantry cake” because it’s excellent for those days when you want to bake, but don’t want to shop. Surely we all have a couple of apples lying around? Brown sugar? Maybe some…
Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Don’t expect a big, bouncy sponge. The pineapple upside down is quite a flat cake. But what you can expect is a beautifully moist cake with a heavenly syrup. I wrote about the history of the pineapple here, and how…
Let-Them-Eat-Chocolate-Cake Cake
If Marie Antoinette indeed said, “Let [the peasants] eat cake,” she probably meant a kind of brioche, as what we understand as cake, and definitely chocolate cake, wasn’t around yet. However Marie Antoinette did love drinking hot chocolate. I love…
Vanilla Cake with Sassy Vanilla Syrup
Why is this vanilla cake sassy? Because in a world of “flavour innovation”, “consumer-driven brand line extension”, and “multisensory taste narratives”, it’s radical to market a single flavour hero. Vanilla on vanilla? Come on. But the simplicity of this is…
