Your ViewsKeep your e-mails pouring in, it's good to know that there are lots of you out there with views and opinions. To help you work out what is what, are now little icons to help you see biscuit related themes. And now you can see at a glance which are the most contested subjects via this graph (requires Flash 6.0 plugin). Please keep your mails coming in to nicey@nicecupofteaandasitdown.com | If you like, you can use this search thingy to find stuff that matches with any of the icons you pick, or use the fantastic free text search, Yay! | Your e-Mails |
Victoria Wimhurst |
dear Nicey,
i was horrified to see that 84/137 of responses - that's over 60%! - to your current poll claim that the best topping for "fairy cakes" is buttercream icing and bits cut off the top of the cake. Surely everyone knows that those are butterfly cakes? Look, a quick google reveals that not only are they called butterfly cakes, but that they are amongst the "best of british" food:
recipe link
and another
and they are so-called because, obviously, they look like butterflies.
whereas fairy cakes are small cakes in paper cases topped with glace icing (of any colour - pink or white is irrelevant) and decorated in some way - half a glace cherry stuck on top, or sprinkled with hundreds and thousands, or, as Nigella Lawson herself suggests, small sweets like dolly mixtures. So, enough of this butterfly cake nonsense - they are something else entirely (albeit, i admit, closely related). I hate to have to suggest this, but perhaps you should stick to tea and biscuits, which is surely enough for any right thinking person, and stop these occasional forays into what is apparently unknown territory (toast and cake)?
Best wishes - and hello to Wifey!
Victoria.
ps. maybe third time lucky and i'll get onto the feedback page. would it help if i added that, apart from this mistake (perhaps it was a trick question and you knew all along?) your site is fabulous |
Nicey replies: Oi Victoria,
Actually I'm completely with you on the icing thing, Butterfly or Angel cakes what ever, but it was the Wife who put the cat amongst the pigeons saying that's what she considered to be a Fairy cake. So I thought I would do a poll to prove her wrong and so far its not going too well on the side of reason. Now I know that people are going to point our that fairies have wings also hence the name, but I still personally think its icing and something else on top, sometimes even those little edible bicycle wheel ball bearings. |
| |
Keith O'Kane |
Dear Nicey and the wife,
I have just read the dilemma faced by Jess Mar regarding the use of Vegemite (the antipidean equivalent of Marmite).
In my opinion, the best thing to put Marmite on is the nearest skip!
Let's remember that Marmite (or yeast extract) is actually a waste product of the brewing industry, hardly the ideal substance to base a foodstuff around. If somebody put the brightly coloured, faintly glowing waste from a nuclear fuel station into jars, you'd probably give it a wide berth on the supermarket shelves. You definitely wouldn't want to spoil a good bit of toast with it.
Wait a minute, brightly coloured, faintly glowing substance in a jar.
Could this be the origin of lemon curd?
Keith O'Kane |
Nicey replies: Last year I visited Burton on Trent and was immensely impressed to a huge overhead pipe joining the brewery to the Marmite factory. Although it was bad of me I kept trying to imagine what a large scale industrial accident at the Marmite processing plant would be like, and if they would use industrial toast to clear it up. |
| |
Sue Northcott |
I think a major problem with the toast polls is that you haven't mentioned butter anywhere yet. Surely this is the single most popular toast topping? (That's what I meant when I voted 'other' in the savoury poll). |
Nicey replies: Sue, Sue, Sue,
Butter is a given. |
| |
Jess Mar |
Hi Nicey,
I'm wondering if you or your fantastic readers could provide some ideas in response my following dilemma? I'm an Aussie PhD student here in America at Harvard University and my fellow classmates and I are having a picnic on Saturday with international flair. I'll be bringing the mandatory ANZAC
biscuits and lamingtons but I was thinking of taking a jar of Vegemite along as well, especially given its menacing, mysterious status amongst Americans (unlike you clever Brits who at least have Marmite). So in your opinion, what kind of "base" would best showcase the Vegemite flavour? I usually have mine on toast, but as a sampler, maybe that's not ideal. The ultimate Australian base would have to be the Arnott's sao biscuit but unfortunately I don't have access to any right now. Cracker-type biscuits might be a better alternative but any other suggestions are most welcome!
Hope you can help!
Cheers from Boston,
Jess |
Nicey replies: I've always found that when in France perversely Marmite goes really well on French Bread, especially if its been toasted, it also goes well with those little slices of french toast. So using this as a guide why don't you try Vegemite on Sourdough bread or Bagels. |
| |
David Spathaky |
Dear Mr & Mrs Nicey,
Loverly site
I see a massive amount of discussion about toast on this site and yet it does not feature in the venn diaram:

Why is this?
All the Best Regards David |
Nicey replies: Because I finally relented only two weeks ago after nearly three years and started talking about Toast.
There is a much bigger Venn Diagram in my book this autumn which includes bread and therefore by proxy toast. |
| |
|
|
|