Apple and Cinnamon Slice

Yes, it's not a bundt. I know, it doesn't happen often. The other day I went to our local butty shop for a post-Dublin sausage on toast style remedy. She makes all her own biscuits, cakes and brownies, and I found myself unable to resist the apple cake. It was lovely, but when you're a baker, you constantly find yourself thinking how you would have done it differently. We all have our little preferences I suppose!

The cake I had was very soft and the apple wasn't in definable chunks, so I'm presuming it was grated. I was craving a sugar crust, large pieces of fruit, plump sultanas and lots of cinnamon. I remembered a recipe I'd written down in my recipe file years ago (unsure of source), which I knew I could adapt into the perfect bake. 

The different types of sugar give this cake real depth of flavour, as does the warmth of the cinnamon. You can put the sultanas in dry (or even leave them out), but I find that plumping them up in apple juice sky rockets this cake from something good to a very special bake indeed. It's not the prettiest cake in the world, but it tastes bloody cracking. Show me what you got Autumn.

Ingredients:

• 150g sultanas
• Apple juice (enough to cover the sultanas - about 300ml)
• 225g unsalted butter - softened
• 150g dark muscovado sugar
• 150g soft brown sugar
• 4 medium eggs - beaten
• 350g self raising flour
• 3 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 sweet apples like Gala or Pink Lady
• 2 tbsp demerara sugar to sprinkle 

You'll also need some disposable foil baking trays (available online or from Asda)

Method:

1. Cover the sultanas in the apple juice and pop in the microwave for about 2 minutes, stirring after a minute. Set aside and cover with cling film.
2. Beat the soft brown and muscovado sugars into the butter until fluffy.
3. Add the eggs slowly.
4. Mix the flour, cinnamon and baking powder into a separate bowl. 
5. Fold in to the butter mix in two stages.
6. Drain the sultanas and fold into the mix.
7. Pour half the mix into the tin.
8. Cut up one of the apples into crescent shapes (see pic) and layer on top.
9. Add the rest of the cake mix and repeat with the other apple.
10. Sprinkle with demerara sugar.
11. Bake in the middle of the oven for around 45 mins to 1 hr on gas 4/180 C.
12. Note: the disposable trays are a sniff too small. This is ok... it's your friend. You'll get that nice crust I discussed. If it's catching too quickly round the edges after 45 mins, cover with foil with a hole in the middle. This allows the middle of the cake to bake through. 

Cane and Grain - The First Floor Bar, Manchester

Before we start, I have a couple of questions for you. Do you like cocktails? Yes? Great. Now then, how do you feel about the kind of food where you end up with sticky hands, bits dripped on the table, and quite possibly a splatter on your top? You're down with that? Oh good. If you did answer 'no' to these, it's probably best that you stop reading now. Time is precious my friend.

I first went to Cane and Grain around this time last year. It had just opened, and my friend Emma and I ate too many ribs and sides. No, there was no learning from this on the subsequent visit. Their hidden First Floor Bar has become a bit of a favourite of mine recently, with its ambient seating area, elegant cocktails and terrifying taxidermy light fittings. The staff are always an utter delight to have a chat to, and are well versed in the drinks and food they serve.

So then, off we trot the other day to check out some of the brand new cocktails, which were helped along with some of the tantalising meaty treats as mentioned above.

We were greeted by Jen; a lovely bubbly lady with a genuine enthusiasm for everything she described to us. We agreed that the best way forward was to remove any element of choice, as everything sounded far too wonderful to possibly choose between them.

I'm going to cover cocktails first, as the second you clap eyes on the food, you're going to be transported elsewhere for a bit.

1862 (left):  A strong bourbon based number with a peppermint kick.
Amaretto Sour (right): Sour but with sweet almond from the Amaretto.

Corn n'oil (left): Another strong one, this time rum based with a hint of lime.
Casablanca (right): More rum, but with tropical flavours. A bit cakey, this can only be a good thing.

Bees Gimlet (left): Gin with syrup and honey. Sweet and simple, again with dessert-like qualities.
Ramos Gin Fizz (right): Creamy cocktails turn my stomach as I'm not a fan of milk, however, this opened my mind! Gorgeous. Gin based with egg whites, citrus and sugar syrup.

So to the food. I should have taken pictures of our hands and the table afterwards. Sauce bloody everywhere! 

Beef Short Ribs with Dr.Pepper sauce: Why did I not take a picture of the inside of these ribs? Oh I remember why... because we were too busy eating them! So tender, sweet and sticky. Big old Jacob's Ladder style bones too. 

Half Rack of Baby Back ribs with rum sauce: Smaller and sweeter than the short ribs, and smothered in rum sauce with soaked sultanas. My mouth is watering, and I'm considering making a trip there this very second. 

C&G Burger: Nothing standard about this house burger. A quarter pounder with smoked pulled pork, Monterey Jack and pickles. It ran down my wrist. Gloppy burgers rock my socks.

Truffle Cheese Fries: Seriously, Cane and Grain do amazing fries. Never underestimate a good portion of fries folks. Recall how disappointed you are when you get a pale, limp chip? These are golden and crisp and salty. Yes. I didn't have these particular ones as I have a very melodramatic reaction to truffle, and my eyes were on the prize that was the 'Hot as F*ck' item below...

Hot As F*CK Fries: Christ alive. Happiness is hot as f*ck fries. Fries, Monterey Jack, Louisiana hot sauce, crispy onion bits and wait for it... bacon wrapped jalapenos! Anger has set in. I need these now. I'm having a Chinese for tea, but it's just not going to cut it.
Carolina Slaw: I've become very fond of this kind of 'slaw. This is what happens when your co-diners are generally adverse to mayo. Crunchy veg with a tangy dressing. 

So I've upset myself horribly reliving my First Floor Bar experience. I have the most horrendous craving for ribs, which will not be satisfied by anything within a reasonable distance of my chair. Yes, I felt like I may never be clean again when I left, and I'm fairly sure I had hot sauce in my hair. Word of advice, go with someone who doesn't mind a clean up operation with 'Wet Ones' before you leave - those with cleanliness OCD will not enjoy it one bit!

Go to Cane and Grain if you love cocktails, bones covered in barbecued meat, and a belting chat with the folk who serve them.


Disclaimer: We were invited to the First Floor Bar to try the new menus. We were under no obligation to say nice stuff about them, or clean the table with wet wipes afterwards, but it was quite frankly a slip hazard. 

Nolita Cantina, Liverpool

I love Mexican food; the bits, the heat, the shedload of cheese, the gloppy sauces and tangy salsas. Love it. Nachos drenched in liquid cheese have to be one of my favourite things in the whole wide world. It's the kind of food that's best shared with your mates alongside a few cocktails or bottles of craft beer. So that's what we did.

We found Nolita Cantina in Liverpool when searching for a suitable pre-gig, face-stuffing establishment. The menu looked pretty good, so after a quick peep inside, we decided to give it a shot. Drinks were offered, and arrived promptly, and then came the horrific task of picking starters. I think we ordered everything on the menu bar one, which in hindsight I'm thinking we really should have got!

Drinks:
Sam Adams Boston Lager - 4.9% something half decent on draught, and came in an impressive glass.
Flying Dog Doggie Style Pale Ale - 5.5% notice any similarities to the restaurant logo? All the cool kids seem to be using the Flying Dog typeface these days.
Mad Hatter Toxteth IPA - 6.4% a bit stronger but was received well...
Mad Hatter Drink Me Rye Pale Ale - 5.8% a nice change from your standard IPA.

Mystery cocktail- so they didn't do cocktails. Not to worry, our lovely bartender made one up! He uttered those hilarious words... 'do you like gin?' Oh how we chortled. He came back with some sort of gin meets ginger beer and lime wizardry. We'll love him forever. 

House white - we also had a bottle of the house white; a rather tasty Sauvignon Blanc. My only complaint was that it was served in tumblers, which always makes me feel a bit odd. I soldiered on though. 

Street Corn - charred skewers of corn with a chilli cheese coating: We left these to Mark as some of the other starters had been contaminated with one of his mortal enemies, tomato. The rest of us were down with the red things so we were happy to let him devour these, which he did. The chilli cheese coating is a brilliant idea.

Chilli Pops - jalapeño peppers stuffed with cheese, breaded and fried: Jeez Louise, I adored these. Fiery jalapenos stuffed with cheese and deep fried. I can hear the local NHS Trust whimpering. If you go, I must insist you try these. I'll know.

Baby Corn Dogs - baby frankfurters coated in a cornmeal batter, fried and striped with american mustard and spiked tomato ketchup: Not a fan of frankfurters; they make me think of abhorrent things involving left over bits. Like I wasn't going to try something that looked this good though? Good lord they were a thing of wonder. The sausage itself isn't an overpowering flavour, but the addition of the corn coating made me feel like I was on Coney Island.

Nachos – crisp tortilla chips topped with cheese, spicy beans, salsa, sour cream, guacamole and jalapeño peppers: Nachos; they rock my socks. If they're there, I have to have them. They were beautiful, a real thing to behold. Lots of cheesy aceness with a good dollop of guacamole and beans. The salsa is usually mixed in too, but we got it separate because of Mark's distaste for the devil's fruit.

Chicken Wings - Dr. Pepper barbecue sauce: Again, I didn't try these because I generally end up wearing them. Strictly speaking, these are Phil's department. He dealt with them accordingly, with Sarah noting that they were rather large! (I noted 'that's what she said')

Hush Puppies - small savoury donuts made from cornmeal, beer and cheese, drizzled with blue cheese dressing: Savoury doughnuts... I had to play around with it a bit in my head first. It's a doughnut, yet there is no jam or sugar involved. The verdict? One of the best things I've eaten in some time. A crisp exterior with a soft, fluffy interior, and more cheese.

Brie and Bacon Grilled Cheese - Brie, mozzarella, cheddar, crispy bacon and caramelised onions, pressed and grilled: Apologies were offered to the chef for not finishing all of this. In all fairness, we did eat our bodyweight in starters, and I don't think any of us devoured a whole main course. It was genuinely massive, and had all the cheese on it.
Hot Mess - single stack burger with cheese, maple bacon peanut popcorn crumb: Sarah and I both opted for the Hot Mess after flirting with several sandwiches. I've had messier burgers (the type you can't even pick up), but in terms of flavour ratio, they had it bang on here. The burger was pink as requested, and the maple bacon and peanut popcorn added an unusual sweetness which was very pleasant indeed. We should have shared as we managed half each. Poor show girls.

Brisket in tray gravy Po’ Boy - warm brioche sub, iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, red onion and homemade New Orleans style remoulade: There was no picking this big lad up! Tender brisket topped with everything they had to hand. Bread was abandoned in favour of finishing the filling.

Nolita Cantina was a lovely little find. Quiet and unassuming from outside, but warm and welcoming inside with the loveliest waiter we've met in a while. He even drew us a map of other bars we could try later. Granted, we ended up off piste and landed somewhere else entirely!

There were lots of little restaurants on Bold Street, but I'm really glad we stayed with Nolita. Go here with the type of pals who you can have a laugh with, and who won't mind at all if you have wing sauce and cheese all over your face...