Kooky Kladdkaka

the best bread and butter pudding in London, sodium butyrate for IBS

Food news of the week:

sweet, melting lobster at Kitchen Table

I am a big fan of this week’s food and drink pairing below (my usual last section), featuring a mineral-rich wine and fat, juicy chicken thighs, the perfect combo for a weekday friend cookout.

Then, it was a grand start to the week at 2 Michelin-starred Kitchen Table, a place that’s been on my list for practically forever. The standouts? That time-stopping, arresting creamy lobster choked with broth, the butter-soft fatty duck, and an incredulous dessert lineup. The sweet corn ice cream with blackberry was a mind-bending remix of my childhood—pure nostalgia with punch. I would do a whole review if the menu wasn’t constantly changing with seasonal specialties, you must go for the whole experience yourself. It’s one of the best chef’s table experiences you can get in London, with Counter 71 pretty much on par, if you’re looking for a spot in the East. Finally, there’s Ting at The Shard that does a new and wonderful vegetarian main of roasted daikon in a thick, coconutty sauce. I wasn’t expecting much before I entered heaven right there and then.

Science of the week:

Sodium butyrate has been looked into as an effective treatment for IBS. Butyrate as one of the main short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) made by our guts protect mitochondria against oxidative stress which is triggered by dysbiosis (imbalance of the composition of bacteria in your gut). Problem: butyrate levels are significantly lower in IBS individuals. The linked study had 66 IBS individuals receive 300mg daily of the stuff, and by 12 weeks they had significantly lower levels of spontaneous abdominal pain, postprandial (post-eating) pain, and pain during defecation. Other studies conducted similarly found the same. I am all for SCFA and pre/probiotic treatments as functional medicine!

Insight of the week:

Tried Barry’s Bootcamp last Saturday and now I think I know what dying feels like. It is essentially 60 minutes of intense HIIT, alternating between strength training and cardiovascular workouts. Though I prefer my regular routine of non cortisol-spiking exercises that boost energy and build lean muscle (yoga flows, long walks and pilates mainly), when the lights are turned low, I do feel that powerful sense of team atmosphere– people feed off each other’s energy and you really push through a burn to a beat. Not to mention it demands presence in pain, manifesting in a sort of mindfulness. Hey, I’m an optimist.

Recipe of the week:

photo credits: me and my DSLR in 2018

Though I haven’t made this traditional Swedish dessert in a while, I can definitely say that it’s one of my all-time personal favourites, with its fudgy, squidgy texture and sweetness cut through with plenty of salt. I made this for a friend’s birthday years ago and they all loved it, especially her Swedish friend!

White Chocolate Kladdkaka (makes 1 9-inch cake, modified from this recipe)

Ingredients

150g salted butter (if not salted, add a 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the dry mix later on)

150g white chocolate

150g plain flour

1 tsp vanilla extract

150g white sugar

2 whole eggs

Directions

Preheat your oven to 180C (350F) and grease a 9-inch cake pan. I used one with a removable bottom (like for cheesecakes) just so it’s easy to take out, and I’m lazy when it comes to greasing and lining things sometimes....