Recipe via Made with Pink
I’m not really sure what rock I’ve been living under, but it wasn’t until I saw Made With Pink‘s fabulous St. Patrick’s Day-themed Mint Chocolate Chip Baked Alaskas that I even knew what a Baked Alaska was. And I was excited. If you’re under that rock, too, here’s the deal: a Baked Alaska is essentially made up of ice cream, a sponge cake (or, in this case, a brownie) and topped off with meringue, then stuck into an oven. An oven! You actually bake the ice cream. The meringue acts like an insulator so the ice cream doesn’t melt. It’s a pretty snazzy situation, really.
So being smitten with the idea – and being completely naïve about the challenges of baking – I decided it would be a fun thing to try for the weekend holiday. And, you know…it actually worked! Given that it was my first try, I was thrilled that one of them came out well enough to snap pictures of! It was really a fantastic experimentation process, and the result tasted marvelous. I love that the preparation can be done in advance, making them a snap for gatherings or special events.
Head over to Made With Pink for the recipe!
In the midst of New England’s latest snowstorm I got the hankering to bake scones, something I’ve never done before. I didn’t want anything with a particular flavor theme because I was keen to the idea of slathering on jam or honey at leisure, so I decided to try concocting my own simple base recipe. You can easily mix it up by adding a bit of cinnamon, honey or even maple syrup to the ingredients, a cup of fruit or chips or nuts, compensating a bit here and there for the additions. The fact that I scrapped this together on such a whim and the result was actually quite good – that tells me you can do just about anything you want with this recipe and you should be fairly safe! And if you manage to wind up with something that doesn’t resemble a scone in either look or flavor…well, you’re a bit more talented than I am!
Basic Sugar Scones
3 cups flour
3 tablespoons sugar
8 tablespoons butter, sliced
4 teaspoons baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 egg
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon sugar
Slice the butter and let it sit at room temperature while you prepare the other ingredients. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In a mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut the butter into the mixture with two knives.
In a separate bowl mix cream, egg and vanilla extract. Gently stir the combination into the dry ingredients with a fork.
Set the mixture onto a working surface. Form it into a circular shape, either with your hands or a rolling pin. Cut into triangles (a plus sign, then an X). Gently place onto a greased baking sheet and cook for 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven, sprinkle with sugar, and return to the oven for 12 minutes. Serve hot with jams or preferred toppings and a cup of tea, and enjoy!
1. Eggplant Salad Toasts 2. Tomato Basil Soup 3. Autumn Brittle 4. Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting 5. Zucchini and Ricotta Galette 6. Cafe Mocha Cupcakes 7. Wine Poached Pear
Is it too soon to talk about fall fashion, I wonder? As I’ve been perusing my favorite blogs I’ve noticed a mixture of autumn and summer; the fall collections are in stores, the September issues are coming out, but at the same time the summer weather is still very much in full effect. It’s an awkward time, this transition period! Nonetheless, I’ve gotten to thinking about fall (it’s my favorite season, I just can’t help myself!) and that’s got me thinking about colors. Somehow when my thoughts went to my favorite shades for the season I found myself constantly relating them to food. First it was eggplant, innocent enough. Then came cabernet, then squash and pumpkin, then coffee, and so on. I don’t think I was hungry when I started, but I definitely was by the time I finished scrounging up all these recipes from across the web for my little food-inspired fall fashion color palette! I also have to give an honorable mention to these Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cakes because they look too splendid to be left out.
1. AGRA handheld bag ($45, Aldo) 2. Mark & James Belted Jersey Dress ($210, Nordstrom)
3. Sleeveless Dress ($79.90, Zara) 4. Basic Zip Back Vest (£28, Topshop)
5. Bold Elements Hammered Necklace ($19.99, JCPenney) 6. Trouvé Neda Sandal ($46.90, Nordstrom)
Fall seems to be the one season that I really associate with the colors of food, that harvest-driven palette that’s so cozy and familiar. But another thing I love about these colors is the way they can transition through this awkward period of late-summer and pre-fall, as above. Even if we can’t jump into heavy knits and and luxe furs just yet, the heat never hinders adventuring into your favorite colors for the upcoming season!
So…how ’bout those mocha cupcakes?!
