The Crumpet Shop

When I was in Seattle, I stayed at a hostel near Pike Place Market, a hub for fresh food and produce, famous restaurants overlooking a beautiful sea scape that faces the snow-capped Olympic mountains. Seeing as I was only there for a few days, I made myself a promise to try as many things as I could, which meant eating at a different restaurant every meal. Across the street from my hostel, there was a cute cafe called "The Crumpet Shop". I'm usually not a huge fan of (Golden) crumpets, but it was raining that day and the smell of freshly ground coffee was very enticing.

The cafe/dining area itself isn't very large, a huge area of floor space is occupied by the large industrial oven used to mass produce crumpets.

The glass divider allows all the customers to watch as they make individual orders according to the customer's preferences.

The cafe was really cozy and full of regular customers. I kind of felt like one of them (although I think my camera gave it away...)

I ended up ordering a fresh crumpet topped with stewed raspberries and cream cheese, which was by far the most amazing thing I'd eaten in Seattle.

Stewed Raspberry and Cream Cheese Crumpet

It was so good that I ended up going back there for breakfast the next day... and the next.

Maple Butter, Roasted Walnuts and Cream Cheese Crumpet

I just couldn't believe I'd never eaten a real crumpet before this.

The Crumpet Shop
(206) 682-1598

1503 1st Avenue  Seattle,
WA 98101, United States

Ratings:

Atmosphere: 8
Service: N/A
Food: 8
Price/ Value: 9

Overall:8



A few days ago my sister bought a packet of Golden Crumpets. I won't complain about it, but it just doesn't compare to what I had in Seattle.
So after a bit of research and a LOT of tweaking around, I managed to develop a pretty good recipe for soft, slightly bready, slightly chewy and fluffy crumpets.

You will need:

Crumpet:
7g Dry Yeast
2C Lukewarm Milk (divided into 2)
2tsp Sugar
2C Plain Flour
1tsp Cream of Tartar
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Baking Soda

1. Before you start, lightly grease 4 metal round moulds.
2. For the crumpet, dissolve the yeast and sugar in 1C of lukewarm milk and let it stand for 15 minutes in a warm place until foamy.
3. Sift the flour and cream of tartar together and combine with the yeast mixture.
4. Mix with a whisk until all lumps have been removed, then beat for 2 minutes. Cover and let it rest in a warm area for 2 hours.

 

     5.  Add a pinch of salt to the mixture and beat for a minute. Then cover and rest for 15 minutes.
     6.  Dissolve the baking soda into the remainder of the milk and mix well into the batter.
     7.  Place rings on an oiled pan and pour about 1/3C of the mixture into each ring. (Adjust according to the size of your mould and the desired thickness approx 1cm of your crumpets.)

     8.  Cook over low heat until the top of the crumpet has set, about 5 minutes, then remove mould and cook the reverse side for 1 minute (if desired).

 
Topping:
Anything you like, but I used
100g Cream Cheese
1/4C Confectioner's Sugar
1 Tbs Butter
Crushed Frozen Raspberries

1. Beat butter and cream cheese in an electric mixer until soft and fluffy.
2. Add confectioner's sugar and continue to beat until evenly combined.
3. Serve on hot crumpet and sprinkle on crushed raspberries.

Ok so it's no where near as good as the ones in Seattle. But definitely a lot better than store bought :)
Enjoy!

Tomato and Spinach Baked Eggs

One thing I love about Sydney is the weather;
I love the hot sunny days, cool breezy evenings, and even when it rains, I love gazing through the window, huddled in my favorite spot on the couch in the corner of the upstairs lounge.

I don't remember when it changed, but I woke up one day feeling cold, like I was back in Boston. This brought back a chain of amazing memories of my time on exchange. Getting up in the morning, cooking a warm breakfast and sharing it with friends before heading to my classes and taking on whatever the day had in plan for me.

When I woke up this morning, feeling cold, I thought back to these nostalgic moments and started craving hot Parmesan toast, the molten yolk centres of baked eggs and smooth rich cheesy sauce...


Tomato and Spinach Baked Eggs.

This dish is a simple, quick and healthy alternative to cold cereal, or plain toast; suitable for a long breakfast or Sunday brunch.

Ingredients:



For the Baked Eggs you need:

2 Eggs
1/2 sml Tomato, sliced and seeds removed
1/2 sml Red Onion, chopped
1/4 C Baby Spinach
1 lge Clove of Garlic - smashed and roughly chopped
Some salt and pepper
(I like to use smashed whole peppercorns because it adds an extra fragrant and textual component)
Parmesan Cheese (Optional)
Paprika (Optional)
Baby Rocket (Optional)

1. Lightly butter 2 individual ramekins, and preheat the (fan-forced) oven to 170 degrees Celsius.
   
2. Saute the onions and garlic in just enough olive oil to coat the pan.
3. Once the onion has browned, turn the heat to low and add the baby spinach. Turn off the heat when the spinach starts withering.




4. Layer the ramekins with slices of tomatoes, the onion mixture and withered spinach, then gently crack an egg into each ramekin. Tap the base of the ramekins lightly on the counter to remove any air pockets.
5. Season the egg and sprinkle with some Parmesan (Optional). Bake in the oven for 15-17 minutes (depending on how you like your yolk).

For the Cheese Sauce:
(I used a variation of Heston's Cheese Sauce after watching his program last night)

1 C White Wine
100mL Chicken Stock
60g Parmesan Cheese, finely grated
2 tsp Corn Flour
2 Tbs Soft Cream Cheese
Season to taste

1. In a small pan or saucepan, reduce the wine and chicken stock until only 200mL remains.



(I accidentally flambed the wine,which probably changes the taste slightly, if this happens, simply place a lid over the pan to extinguish the flames)


2. Mix the Parmesan with the corn flour. Remove the pan from heat and add the Parmesan mixture, stirring until the cheese has dissolved and the mixture is smooth. (If the mixture cool down, reheat slowly over a low heat, but do not let it simmer)
   
3. Add the cream cheese and stir until smooth.
4. Season to taste
   

And for the Parmesan Toast:

This is really up to you, I had a bit of left over parsley and cheese, but you can flavor the bread with anything you want or just have it plain.

Your favorite bread
Drizzle of Olive Oil
Parmesan Cheese, grated
Flat-leaf Parsley, roughly chopped
Season to taste

1. Drizzle bread with olive oil, top with Parmesan, parsley and season to taste.
2. Place in the oven until just brown.

To finish it off, sprinkle with paprika, or more Parmesan and chopped parsley.

Or whatever you fancy

I added my favorite salad leaf - Rocket

Serves 2.

So this is what I had for breakfast today. Mum was extremely happy to wake up to a hot breakfast. We saved the left over cheese sauce for later. You can use it as a dip, or pour it over steamed vegies or pasta... the possibilities are endless.