Brown sugar peanut butter pound cake,

the art of rationality, and where to get killer tartare on marrow

A very mediocre croqueta (world’s away from anything at La Cuchara) at a random mediocre alleyway stop in San Sebastian

Not like I just came back from Spain and, oh, Spanish food calls to me again. Because honestly it rarely does. But impulsive, young, curious, am I, to explore the Catalan scene at home. Today’s review below is at a new place, not to mention it’s not every day you see Anya Taylor-Joy right next to you, though I was disappointed she ordered the vegetable and not the signature prawn paella… pretty faces still let you down.

Food news of the week:

HOKO is back in Brick Lane with a vengeance, but now loyal followers question: where did their char siew rice, gleaming sweet and glossy, go? Only time will tell if they can take action. Felt like renting a Chanel– tasted sweet, decided you didn’t need it, and now you’re rethinking. On the note of authentic Cantonese, Aquila mastered the baked pork chop cheesy rice, exhaling playful stringy cheese that also does well dipped in their viscous borscht. If ever you’re that far down on the central line, you might as well do a pit-stop at Singburi beforehand too, where I desperately to try… if anyone has a Canto staple in London, or even Oxford, let me know.

Science of the week:

OK, more MED 3.0, or personalised medicine, for a bit. Last week’s reference was the first part of this mini series, and today I’ll touch on the exercise bit, in Attia’s Outlive. Grip strength, VO2 max, how long you can perform Zone 2 aerobic fitness, and lactate levels in response to physical exertion are just some ways you can test fitness, but people usually aren’t aware of these metrics. Zone 2 aerobic fitness (maximum exertion level you can do without producing lactate) is something I’m particularly fond of because it is approachable, effective, and you can actually talk or do things like listen to podcasts while doing it. It helps with insulin resistance by keeping glucose levels down, the main characteristic of Type 1/2 diabetes, and makes new mitochondria for metabolic efficiency, while eliminating ones that have basically become useless (mitophagy). Zone 2 has my heart, so go on that brisk 40-minute walk, pilates class, or vinyasa flow.

Insight of the week:

Steven Pinker’s Guide to Rationality was so thorough I thought my head would explode but he essentially goes over what Bayes theorem is: to what degree you can believe something is true given its prior probability, and the likelihood of something happening, all of which can be calculated by a simple formula. We are as rational as our own personal and social contexts, making and updating our decisions/ opinions based on past experience, but Bayes can be a useful guide for better discernment.

Recipe of the week:

times when I miss my DSLR:

The airy insides and caramelised edges of this loaf cake are what I remember, after I first made this years ago. There is nothing more spectacular than just that.

Spotted Brown Sugar Peanut Butter Loaf Cake (makes one 9×5-inch loaf, adapted from Yossy’s brown sugar pound cake)

Ingredients

200g (a little more than 1 1/2 cups; used slightly more than stated in the original recipe) flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3 eggs

110g (1/2 cup) white caster sugar

220g (1 cup) dark brown sugar, the darkest you can find at your store, packed

200g (7 oz) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

120ml (1/2 cup) whole milk

3 heaping tbsp peanut butter of choice

3 heaping tbsp chocolate hazelnut spread

Directions

Preheat your oven to 170C (325F). Butter your loaf pan and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. In a separate, larger bowl, whisk together the softened butter (has to be soft!!) and white sugar. You could use an electrical whisk here if you wish as well, but I just like to use a standard wire whisk. Take your brown sugar and crumble it into the butter and white sugar mix, leaving some large and some small clumps. Whisk briefly so as not to break up those larger lumps.

Whisk in the eggs and vanilla extract. Pour the dry mix into the wet, add the milk, then whisk everything together. Pour half of this batter into your loaf pan, then dollop blobs of peanut butter and hazelnut spread on top. Spoon the rest of the batter into the pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes; take out when a wooden skewer inserted in the middle has moist (and peanut buttery) crumbs clinging to it. Leave to cool, then serve. As the original recipe states, wrap and store this at room temperature for 4 days (mine just didn’t last as long).

Restaurant review of the week:

There was absolutely no reason for me to venture into paella-filled depths of London’s Spanish restaurant scene after a week-long stint in Spain. But an urge welled up, to juxtapose, compare, and understand.

Observe: the hurried spoonful of ‘socarrat’: the layer that becomes beautifully caramelised and toasted upon cooking, much like the bottom of a claypot rice. Appreciate: an intact head

I appreciate it when the chef at a restaurant asks you for feedback on social media. Considering all the times I’ve dined out in London, I find it rare for them to ask for feedback in general. Honesty can get you places, and in our case, it was a free dessert.