Ciaran’s Omnipurpose Blog

The Linzer Torte dates back to the mid to late 17th Century. It’s widely thought to be the oldest cake recipe in the world and originates from the city of Linz, whence its name. It’s also known as a Linz Tart or Linz cake. Of course, that’s all by the by. The really important criteria for me in assessing the merits of a cake are:

• Is it delicious?
• Is it delicious with coffee?

I’m pleased to announce that, after several dozen scientific experiments, this cake passes both tests with flying colours. The cake is nutty and moist thanks to the jam and not too sickly or creamy to clash with a damn fine cup of coffee. Observe the best in all its glory (as baked by my mum on the weekend):

Ingredients

• 150 g butter
• 250 g self-raising flour
• 150 g powdered sugar
• 100 g roasted hazelnuts
• 1 egg
• Spices (vanilla, lemon, cinnamon, powdered cloves – be generous with the
• 300 g raspberry or redcurrant jam

Method

• Knead the butter and sugar together.
• Knead in the flour sifted together with the baking powder, add nuts, egg and spices.
• Chill the dough for some time, then take it out of the refrigerator and divide it into quarters.
• Roll out three quarters of the dough to a thickness of about 1,5 cm (for a 22 cm baking pan), cover it with the  jam.
• Shape the remaining dough into strips and lay them on top of the jam as a grid and around the edge.
• Brush with egg, sprinkle sliced almonds around the edge.

After 3 and a half good years, I left EMC Consulting on Friday.

It’s been a good company to work for and I’ve been lucky to make some good friends there. My time there has taken me through a good dozen or so client projects, half a dozen pitches (some won, some lost), 42 Community Days, some very boozy work bashes at some incredibly swanky places in London, and interesting work in such exotic locations as Liverpool, Crawley and even Borehamwood!

The work itself has involved some great technologies and approaches. I got to know some incredibly talented developers and User Experience people here, as well as getting an education in Scrum. Not only that, the projects have involved contact with some quite senior and inspiring people within client organisations.

This was my first consulting job and a great way to get lots of experience very quickly. I was given lots of autonomy and in at the deep end so I learned quickly, but had lots of support so never felt overwhelmed

My colleague and friend Rachel made this for me with the LOLBuilder. Whilst I’m excited about my next job, I, too, am sad to part company with such a great bunch of people.

If you’re interested in a job in consulting, have a look at Michelle Flynn’s blog on the EMC Blogs site.

I cooked this on New Year’s Day for my Mum and Dad. It’s been a signature pudding of my Dad’s for quite some time, so it was nice to return the favour and it topped off a fantastic roast joint of beef rib with all the trimmings beautifully!

Ingredients

• 100-175g softened butter
• 10-12 slices thick sliced white bread
• A jar of thick cut marmalade
• Juice and rind of 2 large oranges
• Juice and rind of 1 lemon
• Vanilla Custard – make your own from your favourite recipe or get the best ready made stuff you can.

Method

• Preheat oven to 200C
• Grease a shallow baking dish with butter
• Cut the crusts off the bread
• Spread the slices with butter and marmalade and cut into triangles (this is the messy bit)
• Combine the juice and rinds of the oranges and lemon.
• Line the bottom and sides of the baking dish with the bread slices. Dip them in the juice/ rind as you do so. Arrange them butter side up.
• Fill the dish with the remaining bread triangles, keeping a few in reserve to decorate the top.
• Fill the dish with custard.
• Decorate the top with the remaining bread triangles.
• Bake for 30 mins or until crisp and golden on the outside. The centre should still be nice and creamy.

It’s such a loose term, when you think about it.

What does it mean, exactly?

Can atheists be spiritual, even without believing in the supernatural?

Can you appreciate beauty without always thinking you can explain it, even though the culturally-dominant religious explanation might be beautiful, even if it’s absurd?

This video is by the excellent A Hughman.