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

A Royal Baby Shower

While I may have anticipated pregnancy including

 blowing out of my clothes,

flares of emotional absurdity,

and a slew of other unwelcome aspects,

one thing beautiful about pregnancy I never anticipated

was the outpouring of LOVE that I would experience.

 I have been blown away

by the amount of love and support 

that has been gifted to us during this time.

Not only does it remind me 

of how lucky we are to have such great people in our life,

but it's also been a good reminder

of how important it is

to gift that sort of love and attention to others...

{Because being treated like a princess feels amazing.}

While in the States in December,

I was spoiled absolutely rotten 

with beautiful showers 

in Dallas & Oklahoma City....

So when my friends in London

hosted a THIRD shower for me this weekend,

it almost felt like too much.

Almost. :)

The afternoon was intimate,

attended by a handful of girls I adore,

and prettier than a Pinterest dream...

It was a "Royal Baby Shower"

completely decked out in gold & glitter

for our two princesses. 

{Kate Middleton only wishes 

her sister threw parties this adorable.}

Homemade Tahitian Vanilla & Coconut Cake? I ate an enormously huge wedge of this. Recipe here. 

Sparkly sugar cookies that tasted like a dream and flaky palmiers.

________________

Thank you Amber & Helena 

for hosting this gorgeous day for

me and my little girls...

I can't believe all the work and love 

you both put into making this day so special.

***

Thanks to all my blogging friends

who sent in your secret videos for the day.

Oh my goodness...

it was fantastic to see all of your sweet faces

make a surprise appearance at the shower.

***

And a special shout out to Liz  for flying in from Amsterdam

for the weekend to celebrate & take maternity pics for us...

what an amazing gift!

*images original to A Diary of Lovely.

Nutella Pop Tarts. Oh baby.

I've started making palmiers pretty often when we are at home for the evening.

The crunchy, flakey, sweetness of the little cookies

paired with a cup of tea

is just really doing something for us

as the weather gets a bit more crisp.

It's also doing other things to my stomach and thighs...

but let's not talk about that.

The other morning, Tyler asked me to make some for breakfast.

I smiled and realized we really are soul mates.

I mean, how many other humans 

try to pass off total fat kid food as an honest meal?

So I used half of the dough for the palmiers

and I looked at the other half and decided to be creative.

I dug through my cabinets

and realized that I don't actually have that much to work with

other than food coloring, baking soda & boxes of masala chai tea.

But I did have Nutella.

And that was enough for me.

What I created was the loved child of 

North American & European breakfast cult classics:

A Nutella Pop Tart.

So easy to make...

so quick to bake...

and, oh mama, are they tasty

with some coffee.

What You Need:

1. Roll of pie crust or shortcrust pastry

(depending on what continent you are on)

2. Nutella

3. 1/2 cup of sugar

Ideally, your dough should sit out for about 10 minutes 

so that it's a bit warmer and doesn't crack when you roll it out.

I stuck mine in the microwave for about 30 seconds.

Which wasn't the best move.

The dough got a bit awkward, but still managed.

Learn from my impatience.

Sprinkle the sugar on a sheet of parchment paper.

{This makes clean up really easy.}

Spread it out across the parchment paper

So when you roll the dough out,

the backside will be completely coated in sugar.

Cut a line down the middle,

then cut lines perpendicularly across the dough.

I did 12 rectangles out of mine... 

but I actually would go a bit smaller next time

because I like a higher Nutella to pastry ratio.

Don't stress about it...

these are hard to mess up.

Now grab the nutella...

Or if you realize upon opening the lid

you only have a little left-

you can scrounge around your pantry for little packets

you swiped from a Scottish hotel's breakfast buffet.

True story.

Put about a tablespoon onto half of the pieces of dough.

Spread it around. 

Add more if it looks skimpy.

Keep it away from the sides. 

Then take the piece of dough across from it

and flip it on top of the nutella...

sugar side up, of course.

Take a fork and press it along the sides.

This is like the wedding ceremony of pastry.

The two pieces must become one...

and it will prevent any nutella from spilling out when it gets baked.

I like to cut designs in the top of mine.

Does it add any value or taste?

I have no idea...

but I highly recommend it.

Just don't cut too deep

because then the hot nutella might seep out the slit.

And that would be tragic.

Bake them for about 10 minutes...

till they are golden brown.

Then as you sit with your coffee,

your hot nutella pocket of delight,

and your pink slippers...

you will feel, once again, like all is right in the world.

*Double this feeling of contentment 

by adding a few bucks to the charity water well....

we already have almost $500!

Thank you, thank you! 

It's amazing to be able to change people's lives.

Either through clean drinking water...

or recipes for nutella pop-tarts! :)

*The first image is of the first batch of pop-tarts. I did not microwave the dough and it was so much fluffier and crispy. The second batch, the one that hit the microwave too long, came out a bit more cookie-like. Both are tasty- but I prefer the flakier version... though the second route results in a more authentic pop-tart result. Your choice!

Valentine's Day... in a Cookie Way.

This afternoon-

there was a Valentine's Day party.

And let me tell,

it was a good one.

We snacked,

made Valentines, 

& most importantly-

we made cookies.

Lots & lots of cookies.

My friend, Grace, walked us through 

her grandmother's famous recipe...

or as her family calls her "Aunt Sis."

You may also know these cookies as,

Aunt Sis's Strawberry Tarts...

Gourmet Magazine touts it as their best cookie ever-

and it's the cover of their gorgeous cookie book!

I'm a bit skeptical about people's "coveted recipe" for anything,

but this one actually lives up to the hype.

These tiny tarts are the marriage of a cookie & pastry-

with the holy blessing of strawberry jam.

Take a peek at the recipe.

 You probably have all the ingredients in your pantry,

& these gorgeous cookies 

would package up prettily for any of your Valentines!

If Cupid is aiming for me tomorrow,

his target just got a little bigger.

Monday Mood: I feel... hungry.

all images are original to aspiringkennedy.com

fast. break.

Sometimes I forget how wonderful 

breakfast can be.

How pitiful is it

that we only observe

this serene time of day

with the best food

on the weekends?

I think I'll start doing my best to change that.

In the meantime, are you enjoying anything delicious now? :)

*image 1, 2

Brave New World

I am moving 

to another continent
in 16 days, 

and I have:

                                             * no visas or passports back from the consulate

                                             * 2 cars to sell

                                             * no word back from our student loans

                                             * 3 million friends to say see before we leave

                                             * a bank account that gets smaller every day.

I want to hide just thinking about it all.

I have no doubt it will all come together-

{like things always have a way of doing...}

but in the meantime,

I'm in need of a mental pep rally

to remind myself that all this work is worth it.


This is when I start dreaming of...

Rhubarb

Have you ever tried this stuff?
It is so yummy!

Rhubarb is everywhere in England.

I can bake tarts, cakes, pies...

{I bet Pioneer Woman could throw down in the kitchen with some rhubarb.}

....Sweet glorious rhubarb...

Once I get all these hellish endeavors completed to England,
I can cook to my hears content with this local staple.

So as much of a fat kid reason as that may be,

it gives me a little jolt of motivation 

to sit through the horrific music on the other end of call waiting
with the British Consulate for another 45 minute

as I pathetically attempt to track down our passports.

*image source 1, 2, 3,  4, & 5

I love London, and I really love Paul Bakery.

Appreciate the arts...

Have you ever been to The Cupcakery? Mmm... It is tasty.