I make - Sticky Ginger Cake

This is proper sticky ginger cake, like the store bought version. Thank you Sarah.

Sticky Ginger Cake, adapted from Sarah Howells' Ginger Cake

Ingredients
150 g plain gluten free flour

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1/4 tsp salt
4 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp mixed spice
75 g butter
75 g honey
75 g treacle
125 g crystallized ginger, finely chopped
25 g honey (to make up the ginger syrup)
125 ml milk
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1.5 tsp baking powder
1 large egg

Preheat the oven to 160'C / Fan 140'C / Gas Mark 3. Line a 2lb loaf tin with a loaf tin liner and set to one side.

Add the butter, honey and treacle to a large saucepan and place on a low heat. Keep stirring until the butter has melted and it's fully combined. Remove from the heat for 1-2 minutes to cool slightly.

Mix the plain gluten free flour, xanthan gum, salt, ground ginger, mixed spice, baking soda and baking powder into a bowl and stir.

In a separate bowl, add the milk and egg to the cooled butter honey mixture, thoroughly whisk.

Sift the flour and spices into the butter-egg mix and whisk together until fully combined. Fold in the chopped stem ginger, and then pour the batter into the baking tin. It should be quite a runny batter.

Place in the centre of a hot oven and bake for 40-50 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean and the cake is starting to come away from the sides of the pan.

Remove from the oven and leave in the tin on a cooling rack until completely cool before slicing. For best results and sticky-ness, leave for at least 24 hours before tucking in - the longer you leave this cake, the better it is!

I make - Nigel Slater's Teatime Fruit Cake

What can I say, Nigel Slater has never let me down. Another fabulous cake to enter colder and darker days with before the festive period starts. 

Nigel Slater's Teatime Fruit Cake, adapted

Ingredients

150-200 g sugar

1/4 tsp salt

125g butter 

2 large eggs
1 1/2 cup gluten free flour

1/2 cup ground almond

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp mixed spice
100ml kefir/yogurt/milk/tea 
1 cup of assorted dried fruit, soaked in 1/4 cup of liquid (water/tea/rum)

1/3 cup of walnut pieces

You will need a metal cake tin, 20cm in diameter (round) or length (square).

Line the cake tin on the base and sides with lightly buttered baking parchment. Preheat the oven to 160C.

I use all-in-one method to prepare the batter. First beat together sugar, salt, butter, eggs and ground almond in a large bowl. Add in flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, vanilla, mixed spice and your choice of liquid. Beat for another minute or two. You should have a cohesive batter, on the thick side. 

Stir in the dried fruit (and the remaining liquid), then transfer to the lined cake tin and lightly smooth the surface with the back of a spoon. Bake the cake for about 35 minutes (the original baking time is 70 minutes). Test for doneness by inserting a metal skewer into the cake. If it comes out with any raw mixture attached, return the cake to the oven for 10 minutes longer then check again. Set the cake to cool in its tin, then remove and leave until cold.

I've Got It!

This is the most transformative year ever.

Not the job I just earned, but the personal transformation I've had. Asking for opportunities to be seen differently and guiding people to see what I can offer. Stepping out of my comfort zone doesn't cut it. It's like walking from north pole to south pole.

I truly have no regrets of doing this. I am apprehensive of what may come but I already started to enjoy the feeling being relied upon for my expertise.

I know I am the lucky one. 

Words Don't Come Easy

I finished my interview yesterday. 

Frankly, I wasn't sure whether I had enough time to prepare. I had two very busy weeks before this week and travelled to the US and back. To be honest, my slides were only finalized two nights before the day, one day to practice and adding a last-minute slide the night before which turned out to be one of the most discussed slides.  

Stars must have been aligned for me this week.

The most amazing thing from this experience is that the support and encouragements shown by the people I know. My current colleagues (some of them interviewers) and my ex-colleague who offered to help me prepare the interview. 

Thank you, G, N, C, M, J, T, F and D, your belief and kindness meant a world to me. 

Words by F.R. David

Words don't come easy to me

How can I find a way to make you see I love you

Words don't come easy

Words don't come easy to me

This is the only way for me to say I love you

Words don't come easy

Well, I'm just a music man

Melodies are so far my best friend

But my words are coming out wrong

Girl, I reveal my heart to you and

Hope that you believe it's true 'cause

Words don't come easy to me

How can I find a way to make you see I love you

Words don't come easy

This is just a simple song

That I've made for you on my own

There's no hidden meaning you know when I

When I say I love you honey

Please believe I really do 'cause

Words don't come easy to me

How can I find a way to make you see I love you

Words don't come easy

It isn't easy words don't come easy

Words don't come easy to me

How can I find a way to make you see I love you

Words don't come easy

Don't come easy to me

This is the only way for me to say I love you

Words don't come easy

Words don't come easy

Dear Darlin

The drums and the violins, feeling very pumped after listening to this!

Dear Darlin was co-written by Olly Murs, Ed Drewett and Jim Eliot.

She Endorsed Me

Create your own narrative, otherwise others would be more than happy to do it for you.

Thank you for your support, S. It means more than you know.

My Lucky Star

 

Laura Huang:

People generally underestimate two things: 

    How hard it is to get your foot in the door as an outsider. 

    How wide doors are open once you’re on the inside. 

It took me three failed attempts before I successfully changed employers. I don't know how my number compares to others but it takes me roughly one year to recover for every failed job application. When you give it all, you could lose it all. 

But you know what? I realize that I can be resilient and I only need one Yes. So instead of the number of failure, I look at success. You always learn something from the process. That's what I discover. So rest assured that your effort is never in vain.

And since I made my first successful move, the place continues to impress me with its people and quality of work. This is the first time I have honestly say that I feel being trusted with what I can do and with my potential, sometimes more than I trust myself. I am truly grateful given the opportunities and also pleased about making myself change. For M, even our circles rarely overlap, I am eternally grateful for your faith in me.  

Laura Huang:

Acknowledge that it takes time to get good at anything. Enjoy the process of getting better and better each day, and then you can start to enjoy the result without getting hammered down where it's crowded.

Take comfort in knowing that your basic goods and your perspective matter. You can create an edge.