Food Blogger behind Auburn Antics, Emily Rowbotham, tests out recipes from Georgie Hayden’s much-loved cookbook, Stirring Slowly. Find out how she got on with Georgie’s insanely good Blondies and her Cherry Bakewell Bundt.
By Emily Rowbotham | Auburn Antics
I’ve followed Georgie Hayden on social media for longer than I can recall. Her Instagram account (Georgiepuddingnpie), features an array of the most stunning food photography, innovative recipes & colourful palettes.
The one thing that unquestionably radiates from each of these social posts, is Georgie’s passion for food. What was an absolute pleasure when picking up Stirring Slowly for the first time, is that it radiates this love & joy from cover to cover.
I think that it’s easy with an abundance of recipe books on the market to read a book and not connect with it emotionally; to just read and like the recipes for their flavours & appeal. Stirring Slowly is much, much more than just wonderful recipes. With every recipe you can feel Georgie’s enthusiasm and love of the process -the stirring slowly- the taking care and love of what you’re creating. I’ve spent the past three lazy Sunday mornings, coffee in hand, re reading this book back to back – I’ll happily do the same for the next few to follow!
From the book
Stirring Slowly: Recipes to Restore and Revive
Hearty comfort food to bring joy
Inspiring home-cooked food with global flavours
Beautiful and accomplished bakes
Whilst I’ve already built up a long list of recipes to get through, for my first choice, I couldn’t help but focus on the ‘Bake Yourself Better’ chapter. From bundt cakes to bourbon pies (that one is next on the list), each of the recipes are comforting bakes worth snuggling down with alongside a cup of tea.
Every baker has their own brownie recipe, and I’m a firm believer that within any cook book, how good these are is always a good indicator for the bakes to follow. Georgie’s ‘Insanely Good Blondies’ were thus the number one choice! The instructions are clear, easy to follow and detailed enough that even a person who would normally shy away from any baking could follow it to the bone. I took my first batch into the office the following day and had 4 colleagues all demanding the recipe – the brownie test was a success!
But the main recipe I wanted to sample was the Cherry Bakewell Bundt. It looked glorious, (the food photography in this book alone makes your stomach rumble), and with the recent Bakewell Tart challenge in Great British Bake Off- it was a must.
On a laid back Sunday, I set about greasing the bundt tin, weighing out the ingredients and gently folding the cherry puree into the batter. Even though it’s a relatively quick recipe to create, it takes the time and gentleness to fold the mixture in carefully & you can enjoy the process of baking just as much as the results.
The cake came out wonderfully, tasted divine, and was a joy to make as something a little bit different in style. I noticed that each of these recipes follow in the same feat that I try to promote on my blog – they look impressive, are in fact simple, and show that everyone can create wonderful food.
Whilst the bakes both came out wonderfully; the book itself contains a wide range of recipes to try. The homemade gyozas, roasted sticky plum chicken and caramelised apple, ricotta and hazelnut pancakes are all on my radar!
So why will Stirring Slowly now keep pride of place on my burgeoning book shelf? Because it’s one of the few cook books that I’ve read which marries home comfort, emotional joy & beautiful recipes all in one place. Georgie’s passion of food is just addictive.
Here are three more recipes to try from Stirring Slowly:
From the book
Stirring Slowly: Recipes to Restore and Revive
Hearty comfort food to bring joy
Inspiring home-cooked food with global flavours
Beautiful and accomplished bakes
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