I recently came across this interview. I’d forgotten all about it. It was recorded in 2012 when my debut novel was published and listening now it makes me realise how e-reading has developed so much in five years.

I am talking about how I started writing and my novel Coffee Tea The Gypsy & Me which went to #3 in Women’s Fiction on Amazon that week and was Ebook of the Week in The Sun. I was new to the world of publishing and online activity – how that all changed! What was mysterious in 2012 is now normal and taken for granted.

I wonder how the next five years will change…

BBC RADIO CUMBRIA INTERVIEW WITH CAROLINE JAMES

 

By lovely reviewer Amanda at her blog Chocolate Pages…

 

Source: Book Review: Jungle Rock, by Caroline James.

And my favourite pudding is…

Sticky Toffee Pudding!

Tucked away in a beautiful bay on Lake Ullswater in Cumbria, one of my favourite hotels, Sharrow Bay.

Formerly a fisherman’s lodge, Sharrow Bay was advertised for sale in the Manchester Guardian in 1948. An enterprising young man named Francis Coulson fell in love with the property and purchased it. With very little money and the help of friends he opened the hotel with four letting bedrooms in the spring of that year. In 1952, Brian Sack joined him. Intending to stay for one summer only, Brian too fell in love with the place and a team was formed that would dominate the British hotel scene for many decades.

I fell in love with Sharrow Bay when I lived in Cumbria. A hotelier myself, I would there on special occasions and it was a treat to meet with the two gentlemen, who by then were elderly but still passionately involved in the day-to-day running of their business.  Francis and Brian termed the words, ‘Country House Hotel’ and Sharrow Bay was outstanding. Their over-the-top service and eclectic style was adored by guests from all around the world and their business set the bar for hoteliers throughout the country.

Dinner was an occasion. You never knew who might be seated at the next table. Brian would tend to a guest’s every need and Francis would hover with a basket, offering a selection of bread at the start of your meal. Displayed on a table as you entered the restaurant was a selection of desserts.. Such a treat for the eyes! I always chose the Sticky Toffee Pudding. The Independent newspaper described Francis’s pudding as, ‘airy, light sticky toffee pudding that could stand as an epitaph to him.’ Indeed it does and is still served today at Sharrow Bay.

Many lay claim to the Sticky Toffee Pudding recipe and countless versions can be found. In Australia and New Zealand it is known as sticky date pudding and there is a shop in Cartmel (www.cartmelvillageshop.co.uk) that supplies their pudding to leading retailers including Harvey Nichols, Selfridges and Fortnum & Mason.

Rumour suggests that Francis got the recipe from a Patricia Martin of Claughton in Lancashire who served the dish at her hotel and she got the recipe from two Canadian air force officers who stayed with her during WWII.

For me the pudding is a perfect British dessert best enjoyed on a winter’s afternoon by a roaring log fire. It can be served with custard or ice cream and additional toffee sauce. My favourite is with home-made vanilla custard.

RECIPE

This is my version of Sticky Toffee Pud – enjoy!

Pudding

Ingredients:

150g self-raising flour

2 large eggs

60g golden castor sugar

60g butter

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

250ml hot water

200g chopped dates

 

Toffee Sauce

Ingredients:

250ml double cream

220g unsalted butter

400g dark brown sugar

A dash of a good vanilla essence

 

Method   (Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas Mark 4|)

For the pudding, add the bicarbonate of soda to the water and add the dates. Leave to soak for an hour. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat the eggs and gradually add to the creamed mixture. Fold in the flour then add the dates. Spoon into a 20cm square tin and bake for 40 minutes.

For the sauce, melt the butter in a thick bottomed pan over a medium heat then add the sugar, vanilla, cream. Stir and simmer gently for five minutes.

To serve, pour hot toffee sauce over a portion of the pudding.

“You are what you eat?”

Food can control mood, health and general equilibrium. We eat to survive. But for many, this is often confused with living to eat, creating weight gain and lack of confidence. Junk food and alcohol are considered acceptable in advertising campaigns but these temptations can increase levels of anxiety and depression. Stress can make you comfort-eat but can also cause a lack of appetite, is this something that can be dealt with through diet?

The foods listed below are thought by some to help emotions in a positive way, would you include any in your Top Ten Mood-Foods?

Seaweed

A great source of iodine that is required for metabolic function and will power you with energy and help your mood. Try it in a quiche or smoothie.

Coconut Oil

A versatile substance used from cooking to moisturizing skin. Coconut helps burn fat, fight off infection and is amazing for the complexion. It is thought that coconut oil improves brain function.

Coffee

The world’s most popular drink contains caffeine (which is a mild anti-depressant) and will give you an instant energy boost.

Sardines

Rich in Omega 3 fatty acids which elevate the mood and keep the brain healthy.

Walnuts

10 walnuts a day will help lower cholesterol levels and improve blood flow and can improve your general well-being.

Avocados

A true super-mood enhancer, packed with healthy fats to increase endorphins.

Bananas

All the vitamins and minerals in bananas raise serotonin levels and serotonin is the mood lifting hormone. Bananas also contain tryptophan – a compound that can aid sleep.

Chocolate

Choose organic, dark chocolate with a 70% or higher cocoa content. Containing caffeine and theobromine chocolate can improve brain function.

Chicken

Chicken is rich in tyrosine – an amino acid that helps the body cope with stress.

Berries

Full of antioxidants that promote positive energy and stimulate the production of feel-good enzymes. The high amount of antioxidants also prevent premature ageing.

Caroline James writes women’s feel-good fiction. Discover her books here:

Caroline James Author

 

“A balanced diet is chocolate in both hands…”

I love chocolate. Especially in a cake and my favourite treat is Death by Chocolate – a rich delicious sponge layered in rich chocolate ganache. The cake has history and the tale goes that in 1981 a pastry chef in a Santa Monica restaurant called Les Anges, invented a chocolate cake which he called “La Mort au Chocolat.” It consisted of layers of mousse, ganache, meringue and chocolate genoise – covered in a crème anglaise and the expression, Death by Chocolate, was born.

Why do we love chocolate so much?

Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get…”

From the movie Forest Gump

The average Briton eats more than 10kg of chocolate each year. The reason why we so addicted to this substance could lie in the fact that chocolate contains chemicals called opioids which are also found in opium. Opioids give a feeling of well-being and studies show that chocolate eaters produce natural opiates in their brains that soothe the nerves and make you feel good.

What’s in it and is it good for you?

“Anything is good, if it’s made of chocolate…” Jo Brand

Chocolate is a natural product, made with cocoa beans, cocoa butter, sugar, lecithin, vanilla and milk. Research* suggests that chocolate is good for your brain. The cocoa in chocolate contains flavanol, an antioxidant found in plants and people given cocoa with high levels of flavanols were seen to have better blood flow in the brain area associated with memory. They performed memory tests comparable with people two to three decades younger. Chocolate has also been found to reduce blood pressure and the risk of strokes.

Would you replace your hunk with a chunk?

“Man cannot live by chocolate alone, but a woman sure can.” Author unknown

Chocolate contains a brain-active chemical called phenylethylamine, thought to stimulate a sensation comparable to falling in love and magnesium in chocolate can increase sexual energy.

Is chocolate deadly?

Chocolate is a perfect vehicle for concealing the taste of poison and history shows that many an unsuspecting soul has met their fate this way. In 1870 Christiana Edmunds bought chocolate creams from a sweetshop in Brighton then laced them with poison. Unsuspected, she returned the contaminated chocolates to the shop and sadly, a child died before her evil deeds were discovered.

Does chocolate make you fat?

There are 270 calories in a 50g bar and for many would barely register on their chocolate scale. Inevitably, frequent chocolate binges are certainly going to pile on the pounds but in moderation shouldn’t increase your weight.

Why is dark chocolate better for you?

Dark chocolate contains the least sugar and is therefore better than milk or white chocolate. Choose dark chocolate with 70% cocoa solids, which is the healthiest. It also contains soluable fibre and lots of minerals.

Does a bar a day keep the doctor away?

Chocolate dates back to the time of the Aztecs who thought it was an aphrodisiac and ate chocolate regularly to increase wisdom and boost energy levels (they also used it as a form of currency). The British Medical Journal suggests that 100g of dark chocolate incorporated into a healthy daily diet could cut the risk of heart disease by up to 75% which could increase life expectancy.

It can make you feel good…

“Chocolate is cheaper than therapy and you don’t need an appointment.”

Catherine Aitken

Chocolate increases levels of certain mood-altering chemicals in the brain which can lift your mood and give a feeling of euphoria. For many, chocolate is an indulgence – to be eaten without guilt. It is a substance that melts at body temperature and once in the mouth produces a delicious, silky and sensuous texture to be savoured and enjoyed.

Bring me sunshine – with my chocolate!

Here’s a perfect excuse to top up your chocolate intake in the weeks before a holiday: Dark chocolate may protect your skin against the sun. The flavonols can protect against sun-induced damage as they increase hydration, skin density and improve blood flow.

Favourite recipe

What’s yours? For me, there is nothing nicer than a slice of really good chocolate cake and my favourite recipe is below. Chocolate is a treat, as is cake and on special occasions I can be found in the kitchen preparing a chocolate delicacy. Could I live without it? Yes, but life is for living and loving and if one of your loves is chocolate, I’d say combine it with your living and enjoy!

“All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt!”

Lucy Van Pelt in Peanuts by Charles M Schulz

Caroline’s Death by Chocolate Cake

This chocolate cake is moist and very fudgy and best of all, really easy to make!

Ingredients:

200g dark chocolate

200g dark brown sugar

200g caster sugar

25g cocoa powder

200g butter

85g self-raising flour

85g plain flour

¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda

3 large eggs

75ml milk

Ganache:

200g dark chocolate

284ml double cream

Method:

Grease and line a 20cm round cake tin and preheat the oven to 140C/ 160C/ Gas 3.

Place butter and chocolate in a heat proof bowl above a pan of simmering water and melt, stirring gently.

Mix flours, bicarbonate of soda, sugars and cocoa powder in a large bowl. Beat eggs and milk. Pour melted chocolate and butter and add egg mixture to the flour until thoroughly mixed. Spoon cake mix into cake tin and bake for 90 minutes (or until the top feels firm). Leave the cake to cool then turn out. When cold, slice the cake across into three layers.

Make the Ganache:

Lightly whip the cream until it just begins to stiffen. Melt the chocolate as before then combine with the cream mix, working quickly. Spread over cake layers and re-assemble, spreading remainder of ganache over the top and sides of the cake.

Decorate with chocolate curls or decoration of your choice.

Store the cake in a cool environment, in an airtight container, for up to three days.

 

 

*Study published in NatureNeuroscience

 

The sun is shining in beautiful Britain as summer is just around the corner. Many will be thinking of a holiday and where to head for a break and what better way to spend your precious relaxation than with a stack of easy reading.

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“Don’t be afraid to come out of your comfort zone, be afraid of staying in it…”

 

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