Aspiring Kennedy: July 2013

Eat Your Heart Out (London): Central & Co.

The other day after Regent Tweet

with Megan, Amber, & Sophie,

I met up with Tyler & my friend Kyla

for a quick coffee to recharge.

{Quick recap of Regent Tweet below. Read more about it on Sophie's blog.}

from left to right: my huge hair | me | amber | megan | sophie

We had met up outside of Liberty

(tucked right off Regent Street at Oxford Circus)

and decided to check out a new place

that had recently popped on my radar,

Central & Co.

It's awesome decor had lured me in

on my way home the week before...

I then added it to my "eat here ASAP" list.

After getting a seat

and making ourselves comfortable,

that "coffee" soon turned into lunch & dessert.

If you're shopping on Oxford or Regent Street,

this place gets two thumbs up for me.

And if/when you go,

do not skip the Eton Mess.

Worth every calorie

in that gorgeous little cup.

Okay, that's it.

Keep Central & Co. on your mental list

for the next time you're in London.

{You can also PIN it or come find it in my London guide when you're ready.}

*all images original to Aspiring Kennedy

The Lovely Drawer: Not The Dowager's Victoria Sponge Cake

What Victoria was to Albert,

so Victoria Sponge cake is to a cup of tea.

Until I moved to the United Kingdom,

I had never heard of or tasted this classic treat.

For all of the Americans out there

who, like me, may not have grown up

with this on the table at tea time,

I'll walk you through the basics.

Two sponge cakes

+ one layer of whipped cream

+ one layer of strawberry jam

_______________________

Classic Victoria Sponge Cake

When my friend Teri of The Lovely Drawer

(you know, the one who did that killer Chorizo Stew recipe?)

mentioned she didn't like cream

(as in cream, whipped cream & ice cream)

I slapped her in the face.

Fine.

Not really.

But I was really sad.

Fortunately, she offered a peace offering

in saying that she accepted marscapone cheese.

Which, obviously, is the next best thing.

{Or maybe the best thing. Not sure how to rank the dairy family. They're all winners!}

And when she made me this cake

for dessert after dinner at their house one night,

I not only forgave her

for shunning my camarades in the dairy section,

but I vowed to never settle for regular Victoria Sponge again.

{Which means, I'll also need to start crafting up a lot of reasons to invite myself over to her house.}

Here's how you can make one

with instructions from Teri, herself.

(This reads better if you read this in an English accent.)

***

So.....Victoria Sponge with a twist. Not so typically British but far superior, I think. I've been of the opinion that this classic can so easily be dry and boring but replacing the cream with mascarpone icing and the changing up the jam to raspberry gives it a whole appeal. My friend made me this cake originally and I totally had to eat my Victoria sponge-dissing words, along with my huge slice of cake.

Here's the recipe...

Ingredients;

225g self raising flour

225g butter (softened)

225g caster sugar (US read: normal)

4 eggs

2 teaspoons

vanilla extract

For the filling;

Raspberry jam

250g mascarpone cheese

2 heaped tablespoons icing sugar plus extra for dusting (US read: powdered sugar)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract.

A punnet of raspberries to decorate (US read: little plastic basket of raspberries)

Method:

Whip together butter and caster sugar until pale and fluffy

Then add vanilla extract and one egg and beat again.

Add each remaining egg with 1 tablespoon of your flour and beat thoroughly after each addition.

Once mixed, fold in the remaining flour with a spatula until combined.

Pour mixture into a lined 20cm cake tin and put into the oven.

Bake at 150 C degrees (US read: 325F) for about 45 mins or until golden and a knife comes out clean when inserted into the middle. Leave the cake to cool slightly and remove from tin to cool completely.

Once cold, cut horizontally in two to put your filling in. Spread the top half with as much jam as you want.

Mix all the mascarpone, icing sugar and vanilla in a bowl until fully mixed and spreadable. Spread this mix on your bottom half and put the two halves back together.

Dust the top of the cake with plenty of icing sugar and then arrange raspberries on top of the cake.

Lightly dust some more icing sugar on top of the raspberries.

Who's mad about that?

Now, go...

make this immediately!

Or at least pin it for later

and let me know

so I can stop by accordingly.

(Also, check out Teri's SUPER CUTE blog. You'll be impressed.)

*all images from The Lovely Drawer

Oh Boy, Oh Boy: The #royalbaby is here!

After spending today

trolling around St. Mary's Lindo Wing

in the (year's hottest) heat,

we are proud to report:

Viola's arranged marriage

is officially on track

and we are excited to start

our play dates at Kensington.

We are now just waiting for Royal approval

(or perhaps, recognition of our existance)

to start the path to the altar.

Cheers to the safe arrival of

HRH Prince Charming.

(Who, at the time of posting, has not yet had his name announced.)

Either way, I have a feeling

it will go swell with Viola.

Check out a few of the instagrams snapped

from our day at St. Mary's.

My partner-in-crime, Amber. :)

Someone finally gave up

and wanted to get the heck out of the heat...

But I won't name names.

And at last-

the news breaks!

It's a Prince.

All around the world,

every little girl's heart just skipped a beat.

Okay, fine... maybe not,

but their mom's did

faster than Carol Middleton can say

"Married Up."

______________

Don't miss out on my next royal "encounter"

(like my time at the Royal Wedding or at the King James Bible Anniversary Service)

follow me on Instagram to keep up with all the fun live.

*all images original to Aspiring Kennedy

To A Tea: The V&A

I love the V&A.

Pretty much everything about it...

The architecture.

The pieces inside.

The fact that Victoria & Albert created it

to be a museum for the working class

and made it accessible to them by keeping it open late

(and, controversially, by candlelight)

so people could come after working hours.

I love the sitting area outside in the courtyard.

{And, of course, I love the fact that it is free to visit.}

BUT I REALLY LOVE THEIR CAFE.

I mean, honestly...

how gorgeous is this place?

It's one of my favorite places to meet up.

Not only is the food great

and the setting amazing,

but I like to do a quick run through the museum

to learn one new thing every time I'm there.

I kinda feel like it's a waste if I'm in a place

that is so amazing

and don't even see the exhibits.

{Then again, I'm a bit of a dork.}

When Megan was in town

on her bon voyage tour,

we went for a girls day.

It was wonderful.

I ate a lot.

I'm going to call it "emotional eating" because Megan was leaving...

but it might also have been because those scones were awesome.

However you want to call it.

Either way,

the V&A rocks.

A few things to know:

The V&A doesn't do giant tea trays of small sandwiches & treats.

Instead, they have serving lines of hot food, cold food, baked goods & drinks.

It's, basically, the most gorgeous cafeteria you've ever eaten it...

and with some of the best/freshest food, too.

Get more information on opening times & location

here on the Victoria & Albert website.

****

Not your cup of tea?

Check out some of my other favorite spots for tea in London here.

*all images original to Aspiring Kennedy

A Few Of My Favorite (Blings): Viola Edition

My friend, Meg, is Australian.

We met her & her husband at Oxford

while our boys studied in the same "programme,"

and we all eventually ended up working in London after graduation.

We both also had baby girls.

She teaches me silly words that Aussies use

like arvo (afternoon) & bub (baby).

Meg is extremely creative

and loves to bake & throw parties-
as you might have seen from my instagrams this weekend.

But most importantly to this blog post,

Meg makes Viola some of the cutest headbands.

I begged her to put some on my site

so that anyone that had asked about them

could finally get some...

And, of course, like good friends do

I asked her to discount them. ;)

(And, like good friends do, she humored me & agreed!)

These are my three favorite styles that she makes.

The first two are made with fabrics from Liberty London-

only my favorite shop in the world.

For as busy as they are,

I think they somehow go with everything.

The third is probably my very favorite...

with it's (handmade) over-the-top glittery gold bow.

You can also choose what color band you'd like from:
navy, pale pink, grey, white
& grey chevron

Suri Cruise only wishes she had worn one of these as a kid.

So, for this one time only, you can buy them directly

from Aspiring Kennedy at a heck of a deal.

So here you go...
each style has a limited run,
so get 'em while they're hot.

You can also check out Meg's Etsy shop for more styles & goodies.

***

In the meantime,
I hope your weekend was killer
and that the week ahead is even better.

*images via MegMade

Aspiring Kennedy: Summer Style

I won't claim to be fashionable...

I just shop with two main goals:

1. To find what fits my body

2. To find it on clearance

Even though those two driving forces

are what guide me to building my wardrobe,

I do pay a lot of attention to what others are wearing...

and I do think I have a good sense for what works

and what is (and should be) a fleeting trend.

{Editor's Note: Though to be honest, I do love some trendiness.}

Maybe that is what building a great look really adds up to:

2 parts of timelessness + 1 part of trendy accent = Well curated outfit.

Who really knows....

Either way, this is what I'm feeling for this summer....

which looks perfect for the amazing weather we are having here this week.

Non-stop sun?

I feel like I'm dreaming.

It's never felt so good to sweat.

What pieces- timeless or trendy- have you added

to your summer look?

Hugs & Quiches

I'm not really a cook.

I mean, I'm not terrible at it,

but if it's just Tyler & I eating at home,

we typically just eat like a couple of college roommates.

Cereal. Domino's. Kraft Mac & Cheese. PBJ.

Since we both work from home most of the time,

we have a pretty hard time wanting to stop what we are doing

to make food for ourselves.

{Now don't get me wrong, going out to eat is a totally different subject. LOVE IT.}

I've been missing France

since our long weekend last month

and a quiche felt right with the warm summer temps.

So I rolled up my sleeves and made the classic Quiche Lorraine.

And in case anyone else wants to make one too,

well... now you can.

This is the perfect dish

served with a light salad

with the windows open

and Carla Bruni playing in the background.

{Trust me, I know.}

Quiche Lorraine

Serves 4 people (or 2 fatties like us)

GET THIS:
1 store bought pie crust
5 eggs
150 ml single cream
50 ml double cream (that's about 8 oz of half & half, US. Just replace both creams with it.)
4 strips of bacon (that's "streaky" to you, UK)
1 large pour of milk (about 1/2 cup)
1 onion, chopped
1.5 cup of grated cheese (Gruyere or Cheddar)
Salt & Pepper
A handful of halved plum or cherry tomatoes (optional)

DO THIS:

Put the pie crust in a tart pan like a pie crust should go.

Add some baking beans or whatever you have and blind bake the crust
at 190C/375F for 15-20 minutes. Pull it out when it is a nice golden brown
and let it cool on a window sill like your in an old fashioned movie.

(Or you can just let it sit on your counter. Whatever, really)

While the crust is baking, brown your bacon in a skillet.
Add the onion and let it caramelize. Eat a few pieces along the way.
That combination is a gold medal.

Beat the eggs, milk, & creams together in a bowl. Grate your cheese. Toss it in.
Add salt & pepper. Whisk it all up.

Sprinkle the bacon & onion mixture on the bottom of the cool(er) pie crust.
If you want to add the tomatoes, put them in now, too.

Then pour the egg mixture over the pan. (Depending on the depth of your pan, you may have extra egg mixture.)

Pop it in the oven for 25-30 minutes, until it is starting to turn golden brown on top.

Let it sit for about 30 minutes so everything can set up like it should.

Thats about it.

I'd serve it with a light salad with this mustard vinaigrette
tossed up with some crumbled goats cheese + beetroot.

But then again, this is your party
so do as you please.