Marmorgugelhupf (Marble Bundt Cake)

As you may know, this today is the official first day of Spring! I am beyond excited for spring, and already here in Pennsylvania you can tell that we are moving out of winter. Although it is still quite cold, bright sun and blue skies are making more appearances, the grass is growing greener, the days are longer, and birds are happily chirping outside. One of the most exciting signs that spring is on it's way is little patches of snowdrops that are popping up. If you aren't familiar, snowdrops are little white flowers that bloom in very early Spring. When I was in England there was a garden estate where the snowdrops grew all over the place, and it became a magical place to see the first signs of warmer weather on it's way.

Although it is quite overcast today, I wanted to stay in the spirit of spring, so I wanted to share a recipe I think is perfect for spring and summer. The cake is made in a bundt pan, so it looks beautiful. The primary reason this cake is so nice for the warmer months of the year, is because it is very delicate and light, while still remaining extremely moist. The secret trick for getting this wonderful texture is separating the eggs, whipping the whites, and then gently folding the whipped whites into the rest of the batter at the end. This does become an extra step of work, but overall the cake is still very easy to make.

Our little patch of snowdrops!

Valentine's Day Croissants

I have always loved Valentine's Day. I know a lot of people do not share this sentiment, but honestly I think it can be a very lovely day if that's how you choose to perceive it. If you are in a relationship that is wonderful, but if not, it doesn't have to be a day of 'single awareness'. It can be a day of appreciating friends, and doing something fun together. This Valentine's day, I decided to tackle the feat of making croissants from scratch for the first time so that I could enjoy them with my family on Sunday morning. I am extremely pleased that I made them, but they're definitely not the kind of thing you would want to bake every weekend! Although this wont be a recipe post (purely because they are so involved), I wanted to share my experience with you!

Once I decided to make croissants, I spent a good bit of time searching for the recipe I wanted to use. In the end, I opted for one from Fine Cooking (can be found here), and was very pleased with it. The recipe is quite lengthy, and therefor seems intimidating, but don't stress out after seeing the long process: it's honestly not that bad! One thing that I will say, is to read the instruction––all the way through––at least once before you begin baking. Along with that, make sure you're planning ahead if you make these croissants for a specific day, because the process takes three days total.

The first day (for me this was Friday), all you have to do is make the dough. This should take no more than 15-20 minutes, because you are just dumping all the ingredients into you mixer, with the paddle attachment, and letting it knead for a couple minutes. Once that's done, you pop it on a plate, cover it, and let it sit for the night. My recommendation for this step is to use a scale to measure out all the ingredients; the recipe from Fine Cooking does include imperial measurements, but by going by weight instead, you will ensure you are exact with your measurements.

Moving on to the second day, this is when you will fold the butter into the dough. This is a little more time consuming, but if you have an open afternoon it's no problem. The process is a little weird in the sense that you take 2 1/2 sticks of butter and form it into a square, and fold it into the dough. It's very easy, but the time consuming aspect is that you have to roll it out to a certain dimension, fold it, and put in the freezer for 20 minutes, and then repeat this process so that you do it a total of 3 times.

Finally, on the third day (the day of baking), you fold the dough out very thin, cut it into triangles, and start rolling your croissants. Once they are all rolled, you have to let them proof for 1 ½ to 2 hours. Letting them proof fully is very important, so don't rush into baking them. Allowing enough time to proof will ensure that they spring in the oven, giving them the airiness you want in a croissant. When I baked my croissants, I deviated from the recipe slightly and set the oven to 400˚ F (conventional) to bake for 20 minutes, and then turned it back to 375˚ F and baked an additional 10 minutes. This allowed the croissants to have really beautiful color outside, but not become too dark as they bake all the way through.

 My mom and I sat on the kitchen floor watching the croissants bake through the oven door!

 
Along with the croissants I served a fruit salad with pineapple, strawberries, and blueberries, and of course it wouldn't have been breakfast without a cup of tea. These croissants had the ideal texture with a flaky exterior but incredibly airy and chewy interior. They have a very subtle sweetness, and because there are no additional ingredients, the rich, buttery flavor really comes through beautifully.

Though it is an involved process, I can say with certainty that I will be remaking these croissants for special occasions in the future. If you have doubts about knowing what to do with some of the steps in the recipe, definitely watch some videos on YouTube of other people making them, because this will give you a picture of how things should look throughout the process.

This was a fantastic breakfast for Valentine's Day, because it was both extravagant and comforting. After all what says "I care about you", more than serving a breakfast which took three days to complete?! I hope you had a lovely Valentine's Day, whether it was spent with a significant other, your family and friends, or Netflix and a heart-shaped box of chocolates ;)

xx

Erin

Grapefruit Salad and Crispy Sweet Potato Fries

I have always loved salad. In part this may be because I was raised with it: in my family, we have a big salad with dinner at least 4-5 times a week. Salads often get the reputation of being a diet food that may not actually taste good, but this is undoubtedly a myth, and the people who say/think these things have likely never had a really good salad! Salads allow you to incorporate many different wonderful, fresh ingredients, and there are endless flavor possibilities. I like to use a spring mix when I make salads, which will typically include things like romaine, arugula, radicchio, baby spinach, etc., which are all much more mild tasting that kale (which can be quite bitter and tough). The dark leafy greens are a great source of fiber, folate, carotenoids, vitamins C and A, calcium, and iron, and combined with additional ingredients is an extremely wholesome and hearty meal.

Getting on to the recipe, this salad is both fresh and hearty while being simple and very easy to prepare. It combines grapefruit, dried cherries, pecans, and a little feta to create a tangy, spicy, and refreshing blend of flavors. Because this salad is on the lighter side, I'm also sharing how I make sweet potato fries which can be a great addition to a salad, adding complex carbs to make it a more filling meal.

Tunisian Pumpkin Soup

I know that I posted a recipe last week, and I don't typically like to post two recipes in a row, but this soup is utterly fantastic!! A couple weekends ago my parents were out of town, so I was cooking dinner for myself, and one of the nights I decided to just open up a boxed soup because I wasn't in a big cooking mood. The soup was really just very sad: it was supposed to be butternut squash soup, and yet it tasted like chicken broth with a ever-so-slight squash flavor. Oh no. In my book, any sort of squash or pumpkin soup should be thick, creamy, and above all else, bursting with the signature flavors of fall. So I decided the next weekend to make the soup myself... you know what they say: if you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself.

Wholesome, Healthy Granola Bars

With fall fully upon us I have truly settled into a routine, which has become quite comforting. Getting up at 6:15 AM for school can seem brutal in the moment when you have to tear yourself away from the warm covers of your bed, but going to school to learn new things each day, keeping up with going to the gym, and taking the time each day to appreciate the seasonal changes makes for a very productive and exciting time of year. Besides, after having a long (and yes, often quite tiring) school week, the weekends are so much more relaxing! Sleeping in, making nice breakfasts, and getting together with friends or chilling out at home all make for a revitalizing time to recharge for the upcoming week.

Although good for any season, granola bars are especially good in the fall time: the toasted hearty oats, buttery sweet honey, and the wholesome flavor of fruits, nuts, and seeds. Because it's already becoming quite chilly in PA, coming home from school I always immediately turn on the kettle for some tea. While my tea is steeping, I always like to have a little snack, and something about the autumn weather makes me want a hearty snack in the afternoon. Granola bars are lovely for just that because they provide a great wholesome flavor, are healthy, and will fill you up. They're also tasty as a quick, but fully nutritional breakfast if you add in  a glass of milk and an apple or banana (breakfast of champs for when you're in a pinch, if you ask me).

Sunday Morning Scones (with gluten-free modifications!)

Sunday mornings are one of my favorite times. I typically like to have busy Saturdays where I feel productive by planing things to do, going shopping or out with friends, as well as get a jumpstart on homework. Sundays, on the other hand, are the time for relaxing, pampering, exercising, and best of all cooking (and of course eating).

During my freshman year in high school, my dad took a sabbatical from his work, and we moved to Cambridge, England for a year. During the course of this year, my mom and I went to countless tea rooms for afternoon tea and scones, and let me tell you, having a cup of tea and warm, buttery scone is one of the most delectable pleasures in life. Being back in the US, there are many things that I miss about England, and the scones are certainly one of them.

Chai Tea Latte

Where I live, January still means a snowy wonderland outside. Currently, late Sunday morning, I am sitting on the couch in my pajamas with a fuzzy blanket wrapped around me, headphones in, and a steaming chai latte. Warm drinks are by far one of the best parts of winter: essentially a hug in a cup :) Whenever I go to cafes, I love getting chai lattes, because each one is slightly different: some are more cinnamon, some more vanilla, some more spicy with ginger and clove. Chai lattes are the perfect drink of robust flavors that are warming on even the coldest day.

As nice as it is to go to a cafe, and be served chai (with some latte art, if you're lucky!), I decided it was time for me to try to make one at home. I have made chai at home before, but it's never as creamy and rich flavored at when you get one at a cafe. After taking some pointers from various recipes online, I created a blend that balances spicy and sweet, is creamy, and has a great vanilla aroma.

Carrot Cake

It's been slightly cooler and rainy today, although it's nearing the end of July, so I figured it would be a good day for a little baking. I wanted to make something that was still a summery treat; a moist and airy cake. I had never made a carrot cake before, so I decided that that was the perfect option to satisfy my sweet tooth. After searching for a recipe with good reviews for quite some time, I stumbled upon one from Bon Appetite, the April 2002 issue.