Best treacle tart

what is mental health, lemon curd muffins

Food news of the week:

Kayu Bakehouse in Mayfair had kitschy etched all over it but their pistachio log has got to be the dessert of February. It is layered with thick pistachio cream, a heavier pistachio ganache, and rice crispy-esque biscuit. Next, Hoko has a new popup in Soho, where Wun’s Teahouse used to be. They have everything from signature Hong Kong-style french toast to wonton noodles, though the latter could’ve done with a lot more bounce. And find out where London’s best treacle tart is, in the food and drink pairing section below.

Science of the week:

This space isn’t enough to talk about my passion for gut health in depth, so for that matter, I, alongside my cofounder at Mibio, launched Biomes and Brains, forming our easy-reading educational platform alongside our next-generation synbiotic. Our latest post is on the definition of mental health, and we have quite a few more in the lineup. Having an exercise/wellness routine and optimising gut health are more important than focussing purely on nutrition, something I learned not just during my Master’s in clinical nutrition research, but also during my PhD, and is something Dr. Attia belabors in his book Outlive too. My passion for this education is why we launched Mibio in the first place.

Insight of the week:

Black jeans are dyed using different chemicals and techniques, which causes the fabric to shrink more after washing. It’s silly but I now understand how the fit of my jeans could be affected by colour, black or blue or white, even if they’re all supposedly the same size…

Recipe of the week:

Lemon Curd Muffins (makes 10-12, adapted from here)

Ingredients

For the muffins:

200g self-raising flour

100g white castor sugar

pinch salt

1 egg

75g melted butter or oil

zest of one lemon

juice of half a lemon

120ml whole milk

60ml (1/4 cup) lemon curd, homemade or store-bought

For the lemon curd topping:

60ml (1/4 cup) lemon curd

70g white sugar (granulated/castor)

Directions

Preheat your oven to 190C (375F) and grease a cupcake or muffin tin. In a large bowl whisk together the whole milk, egg, oil, lemon zest and lemon juice. In a medium bowl, briefly whisk together the self-raising flour, sugar and salt. Pour the dry into the wet mix and mix everything together until just combined with a wooden spoon. Using a tablespoon, half fill a mould in the tin with some batter, then use 2 teaspoons to put a small dollop of lemon curd in the centre, then fill to the 3/4-mark of the mould or case with more batter. Repeat for the rest of the cupcake moulds. Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes (mine took 13 minutes exactly). Check at the 12-minute mark; a wooden skewer inserted into the side (because the centre has lemon curd) of one should emerge clean. They should be nicely domed with a golden top, and no cracking on the surface.

Whilst these are baking, make the topping. In a small bowl, microwave the lemon curd until warm but not totally liquidy. Put the white sugar in a shallow dish and set these two aside until the cupcakes are done baking. Once they are fully baked, leave to cool for 5 minutes before rolling the tops in the lemon curd, then rolling again in sugar.

Restaurant of the week:

I’ve been meaning to try the 10 Cases for ages, especially since it’s the sister restaurant of one of my favourite seafood spots in London– Parsons, which hosts my favourite homemade guinness bread and oysters.