On Sunday my friends took me out for afternoon tea at the British Museum. It was a present to celebrate my 30th birthday. I don’t know what you think when you read those sentences. Maybe “oooo” or “nice” or “how British” or even, “yawn.” But for me, it meant everything. One year ago I had been permanently in London for a month (we moved in March but then I had to go back to DC to do some stuff so I was permanently here in London starting last summer). After a month I was enjoying London but also feeling a little lost. I was thinking about finding friends, work, and a new life in London. And I hoped very much that I would make some lovely British friends who would want to do afternoon tea. Sure, it’s probably a stereotypical dream, but it was the dream I had.And then I got the job at the Science Museum and I made fast friends with Sarah, who I actually met during the interview process. She is bold, smart, and honest. She’s warm, not shy, generous, and the kind of person you want in your corner when the chips are down. And then we started our induction week and met Abbie, who is kind and friendly with a lovely smile. She’s clever, easy going, optimistic and brushes off frustration with an ease and grace that I envy. Then when we properly started work we met Charlotte who has the most piercing blue eyes and the best deadpan humor. She’s an excellent storyteller, she’s quick witted, good at taking charge and making decisions, and is an absolutely no-bullshit kind of person which is refreshing and fantastic. We started as just work friends and then became a crew. And even though they were my besties I didn’t tell them about my afternoon tea fantasy. I didn’t want them to laugh at me for being a silly American with cheesy dreams.

But, that’s the thing, best friends just know. On my actual birthday they said they wanted to take me out for a surprise and I didn’t bug them about it too much. This was big for me, I’m terrible about ruining surprises. We arranged to get together on Sunday and met at Euston station. From there, we walked through Russel Square which was filled with sun dappled tree and people having picnics, and we went on to the British Museum where they had arranged for us to have tea. YAY!

We had tea at the Great Court Restaurant. If you enter the museum through the main gates you walk into the main atrium of the museum, go up the curved staircase and you’ll  be in front of the restaurant. The skylights of the ceiling make it feel like you’re eating outside and the silhouettes of the birds flying outside overhead make really pretty shadows. The restaurant is pretty cute, and it’s sort of exciting to be surrounded by fantastic art. It’s a lovely setting – and obviously the company was perfection too.

We had the Prosecco afternoon tea. For me, tea is already fancy and lovely but adding Prosecco just bumps it up a huge notch. Also, I think all champagne glasses are elegant but I especially enjoy champagne saucers. I think it’s because they’re like a rare bird – I hardly ever see them in the wild. To me, they’re just for the movies. Sarah said maybe they’re modeled after Marie Antoinette’s breasts. I did a tiny internet search and it seems like maybe not. If you’re curious read about it here.

While I’m on the subject of glassware, let’s also talk about dishes. I love the pattern on all of the crockery. First, green is my favorite color and I think it looked original but still classically fancy. I also loved the combination of floral and bird prints. It was intricate but not over the top. I’m at the age when I look at nice dishes like these and actually think about wanting to own a set. And even, one day being the kind of person who has everyday dishes and good dishes. The picture immediately below isn’t the greatest, but you can see the pattern. Also, I like that Abbie’s pinkie’s sticking out as she picks up her tea. Clearly she’s posh.

Beside Prosecco, we of course had tea. Three out of four of us has elderflower & lemon tea which I loved and thought was the right amount of fruity and floral flavors. Sarah had ginger & lemon. There were also non-herbal options. The tea bags were great with big fat leaves in each sachet. Love that because it makes the flavor so much better. For food, we had a raisin scone and a plain scone. They came with jam and a big jar of clotted cream for the table. Clotted cream is an indulgent revelation. It’s luscious and it’s so easy to dollop a huge helping on to your scone. I should learn what else I can use clotted cream for because it’s tasty.

The sandwiches were small and dainty but full of fresh flavor. My favorite was the smoked salmon in part because the fresh dill was so vibrant. It gave the sandwich a good pop. The cucumber sandwich had the thinnest cut cucumbers and it was perfectly crunchy and refreshing. There was also an egg and a ham sandwich. I thought the cakes were the best part. There was a really rich, nearly bitter dark chocolate cake, an almond cake with a fruity surprise inside, a lemon tart, and then the cream puff. Everyone was beautiful to look at except the cream puff (which is behind the lemon tart with the raspberries on it). Sarah said it looked like the character from Fantastic Four. However, it was very nice – light, soft, and filled with lots of delicious cream. It more than made up for its funny looks.

After lots of food and chatting we went to the shop below. The shop is a lot of fun. There are books, figurines, scarves, jewelry, and all kinds of cool things for gifts. There’s also cheesy stuff like pens that look like soldiers and stuffed toys of Egyptian cats. Whether elegant and beautiful or cheesy and touristy – I think it’s all great. I love taking home a piece of a museum. Charlotte found a really intense connect-the-dot book. All the images were of big buildings and were color coded. I found a cookbook I wanted (of course), it was called A History of Food in 100 recipes. I had some self restraint though and didn’t buy it. Sarah and Abbie read some haikus. And here’s a haiku for them to summarize the day.

Surprise birthday tea
Great friends, yummy cake, and booze
Some dreams do come true

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Everybody, it’s official. I’m 30. I know a birthday isn’t a usual Tourist Tuesday post, but it’s my blog and I do what I want. Also, I went to some nice places in London and ate some delicious food so it is relevant people.

I started my birthday festivities the Wednesday before with a picnic in Hyde Park. Luckily the weather was glorious! Lots of friends came out and we watched the Science Museum’s softball team play, we ate loads of food, we popped the bubbly, and even did a round of tequila shots. I know that I have young friends because when we suggested opening the tequila everyone was down for it. I feel like my 30-year-old friends would have hemmed and hawed and been unsure about it since it was a work night and all. If it hadn’t been my birthday I totally would have been less game. But then, maybe it’s just that I’m not as cool as maybe I once was. But there was loads of food: sausage rolls, cake, peanut butter cookies shaped like Darth Vader, and chips. It was wonderful. 

Then Sunday was the big day! Ryan sang me happy birthday and we had cake for breakfast (which has always been my tradition). That cake was a classic vanilla cake from a box with store bought chocolate frosting. Ryan and I went and looked at a beautiful fancily designed chocolate cake, but I wanted the box. There’s something about the sweetness and simplicity of yellow cake with chocolate that just feels like a birthday cake to me.

After cake I opened presents. Ryan bought me all the flavors of Candy Kittens that Waitrose had in stock. I loooove Candy Kittens and can devour a whole bag so fast – so I’m trying to pace myself. We did break into the sour watermelon flavor, which I hadn’t eaten before and was of course fantastic. I also got a Lego Star Wars TIE Advanced Prototype that came with three little guys (picture below in a bit) and something for the blog which will be revealed eventually. From my friend Charlotte, the one I went to Duck & Waffle with, I got a book about Abraham Lincoln and food – my two great loves combined in one!

I also got a new DSLR camera from my parents!! It’s the one pictured above. It’s a Canon EOS 100D. The lens on the left came with the kit and the one on the right is a Canon EF 50 f/1.8 lens. Hopefully between all of this new gear I’ll get some great new shots. I’m really excited about the camera because I want to become familiar with manual settings. When I was in high school I had a manual camera for a photography class, but I don’t remember much from it. I also remember that developing the film (yes, film!) was my favorite part. So, I have a lot to learn but I’m so excited about it! I can’t wait to have more control, learn a new hobby, and I hope it will improve the quality of my food photos.

Thus far, I’m intimidated but eager. I like that I have a project ahead of me where there’s so much to learn and I know so little. I set up my little photo studio (a box and some white fabric) and set up my new birthday Legos for a photo shoot. I played around for awhile and took about 100 pictures trying out different settings for aperture (the f number), the shutter speed (the fraction number) and the ISO. I was systematic about it overall, but here on the blog I wanted to share three photos with wildly different settings.

See in the first one how practically everything is blurry except the one spot by the wing? But then in the middle photo it’s mostly clear? Then in the one on the right, it’s clear except the back is blurry. I love that with the same subject and lighting the camera can do so much! I also like that some of it is a matter of taste. Ryan like the middle photo best because it’s the most clear, but I like the photo on the right because I like the background a little blurry. Anyway, I find it all really thrilling and plan on doing more Lego photo shoots.

For birthday lunch, Ryan and I made pretzel dogs (above). If you’re not familiar, it’s a hot dog baked inside a soft pretzel. I’ve been missing going to baseball games, and in large part because of the food. So for a birthday treat we made fries, dogs, and a cheese dipping sauce. It was an epic undertaking and we dirtied all the dishes. I even spilled flour on my foot and when I took my foot away there was a clear footprint. I’ve made soft pretzels before, but this was a new recipe for me, and I found it so frustrating. I think I needed a whole cup of flour in addition to what the recipe called for. I also used tons of methods to finally get the dough to come together. There was also some pouting. Because of that, I don’t feel comfortable sharing the recipe here – but I’ll work on it on my own and share when I have something more straightforward.

Even though the making of it was intense, the end product was delicious. Ryan said, “the best thing we ever made” and we both had big happy smiles on our faces. The cheese sauce was crazy good. Rich and smooth – we smothered it on everything. You can find the recipe here. The whole meal did taste just like being in the ballpark, which is something I love doing with Ryan. It was like being transported back to DC just for a meal, and I really liked that.

As if we hadn’t eaten enough the final birthday celebration was out to dinner at Ping Pong. Ryan and I went out with my friends Sarah, Abbie, and Charlotte and their boyfriends. I feel so lucky to have such wonderful friends to share my birthday with. They also gave me some great presents. Charlotte got me a 30 badge (shown at the top of the post) and it’s something I totally wanted. I love celebrating and showing off my birthday and it was perfect. Sarah gave me a pig card and a candle that smells like the sea (which she and I always sniff when we go to Waitrose). And the three girls are going to take me out for afternoon tea, which I can’t wait for! It’s the kind of thing I hoped would happen when I moved here – and now I’ll get to do it with my girls.

Overall it was a lovely evening and we ate a TON! Ping pong is a dim sum restaurant and you order a bunch of small plates to share. We ordered set menus and ended up with a ton of food. You can see the stacks of dishes above. I loved the circular table because it meant our big group could actually see each other and chat. The food was great and we tried something like nine dishes. The dumplings had fillings like beef, chicken, and vegetables. The wrappings were clear, thick, chewy, green. I had no idea there was so much variety! At the end of the meal it was hard for each of us to pick our favorite dish. Mine might have been the tofu and vegetable – which I wouldn’t have thought much of but turned out to be delicious.

Thirty has started off wonderfully. It was a milestone birthday, and I felt a little nervous about it, but I’m feeling good. It began with lovely generous friends and family, terrific food, and a few new things – all indicators that it will be a good year.

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Traditionally my favorite thing to do for my birthday is to go out for a crab feast. When my parents still lived in Maryland I’d go over to their house, we’d cover the table in newspaper and dump the crabs, corn, and French fries on the table and go to town. Pair that with a cold beer and it was perfect summer evening celebration.

And, I’m sure I could’ve figured out a way to do that here in London. I’m sure I could have found a place that sells crabs. Or I could have found a fish monger to sell me crabs and I could’ve made them at home. But I didn’t do any of that, instead I decided to try to pack the flavors of a crab feast into one bite. One delicious bite of a cracker.

I got the idea a few weeks ago when I was shopping with my friend Sarah at Waitrose. Sometimes on Wednesdays she and I go to Waitrose so she can buy a sandwich before dance class and so I can buy ingredients for dinner. The thing is, Waitrose has such beautiful displays, foods and packaging that sometimes we wander around just looking at all the pretty stuff on offer. So she was looking at coffee and I was looking at crackers when I saw a box called Miller’s Ale Beer Crackers. Needless to say, I bought it.

But, the box got my creative juices flowing. A beer cracker? What would be good with that… cheese, Old Bay, crab… everything I love in one delicious bite. Yes. This cracker recipe doesn’t actually include any crab, but I think that’s ok – in fact maybe even preferred. I prefer it that way because you can use these crackers with crab dip. And really that’s the best option, because crackers either need to be topped with cheese or dipped in something. Also, crab dip is the best.

However, I did shape some of the dough like crabs using a tiny crab shaped cookie cutter I bought on Etsy. They look like a tiny crab army on the baking sheet and the finished product made both Ryan and me chuckle. For me personally, the crab shape is even more perfect because sometimes my birthday’s star sign is a Cancer (sometimes it’s a Gemini – it’s on the cusp) and crabs are the Cancer symbol. I also made some circles since those were better for topping with slices of cheese. Any shape you use they will hold their shape, but the dough will puff up a bit.

Adapted from Evil Shenanigans

Messy level: A really simple recipe because you only need one bowl for the preparation. It’s only messy when you roll it out because your counter will get floured and a bit sticky.

Cheddar & Old Bay Crackers

 

Print

Prep time

2 hours 30 mins

Cook time

12 mins

Total time

2 hours 42 mins

 

Serves: 3 dozen (depending on cutter size)

Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons/113 grams butter
• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1½ tablespoon Old Bay
• 1 cup finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese (use small holes on a box grater)
• 3 tablespoons cold beer, plus more if needed (I used Sam Adams Boston Lager)

Instructions

1. Take the butter out of the fridge and cut it into cubes. Put the butter in a bowl and pop it back in the refrigerator. Leave it there until you're ready to use it. [Note: You want the butter cold, if you cut it right before using it your hands will have warmed it up]
2. In a medium bowl mix together the flour, baking soda, and Old Bay.
3. Add the shredded cheese to the flour mixture. Mix until the cheese is well coated
4. Add the cubed butter to the mixture. Using two knives (or a pastry blender) to cut the butter into the flour. Cut the butter up until the mix sand.
5. Pour in the 3 tablespoons of beer. Use your hands to mix everything together until you have a ball of dough and no dry flour bits remain. If it seems too dry add more beer just a teaspoon at a time.
6. Once you have a smooth ball of dough flatten it into a rectangle. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and store in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or up to overnight.
7. When you're ready to bake, take the dough out of the fridge about 10 minutes before to soften it a bit.
8. Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C.
9. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
10. Lightly flour your work surface. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough until it is about an ⅛" thick.
11. Using the cookie cutters of your choice cut out your crackers.
12. Place the crackers about 1" apart on the prepared backing sheet. Poke each cracker with a fork at least once. If you can be decorative about it go ahead.
13. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until puffed and the edges are just lightly darker than the rest of the cracker.
14. Let cool then serve with slices of cheese or your favorite dip.

3.3.3077

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY RYAN!

In the US it is also Veteran’s Day. Here in the UK it is Remembrance Day, and if you want a little taste of what’s being done here check out my post on the Tower of London poppies. And finally it is also Ryan’s twin brother’s birthday. Happy birthday Aaron! I wish I had a cute baby twins photo of them to show you, because they were adorable. I don’t so here’s an adult picture of them from Red Rocks in Colorado. Aaron, if you’re reading, and have a cute photo of you two like maybe in costumes or karate outfits, let me know. People need to see how adorable you two were. 

Anyway I love celebrating birthdays and am terrible at keeping surprises, so I tend to stretch out the festivities. Ryan has been allowed to open one present a day since Sunday. Last night we went out for a celebration dinner with our friends Alessia and Raffaello. And today we’ll have cake and a steak dinner. I’ll post the cake recipe later this week, but today’s focus is on last night’s dinner at Cantina Laredo.

Cantina Laredo is a Mexican restaurant in the Covent Garden/Leicester Square area of London. People say London doesn’t have good Mexican food and so far Ryan and I have had some mixed experiences. Chipotle is still yummy, while nachos at a bar are a big mistake. But, I had heard such good things about this place from both British and American people that I thought we should try it since Ryan loves Mexican food. Let me say upfront the pictures I took are rubbish. I apologize and to make up for the abysmal photos, Ryan has graciously allowed me to share this picture he drew when he was a little kid. It has nothing to do with anything, except for that it’s Ryan’s birthday.

Anyway, I’m so glad we tried Cantina Laredo because the food was really delicious. For me, good Mexican food is fresh and lets the individual ingredients speak for themselves. I don’t think Mexican food needs to be perfectly plated, overly fancy, or made too prissy because the food is good enough on its own. I also want Mexican to be satisfying. It doesn’t have to be overly indulgent like a giant burrito, but I want to feel like I’ve eaten something substantial and won’t have to stop for a pizza on the way home.

When we go to the restaurant, we were all totally impressed by its size. The restaurant is huge by London standards. It takes up most of its block. Also the tables aren’t next to each other. We could not see, or really hear, the nearby tables. Most importantly, our booth was huge. It was like the kind of booth you’d find at TGIFridays in the US. There was four of us and we probably could have fit 2-4 more people if we had wanted to.

 On the whole, the restaurant totally delivered on our Mexican food needs. We got chips and tomatillo salsa first. I’m sorry now I didn’t take a picture, because the chips were lovely. They were hot and felt like they had been made recently from actual tortillas (and not just processed somewhere in a factory). The salsa was nicely spicy but not over the top.

 I got carne asada. The meat was cooked medium, it was tender, flavored with lovely cilantro, and piled fairly high on a small tortilla. I also got arroz verde, which tasted very strongly of lime, which at first was weird but then turned out to be really pleasant. It made the rice a little citrusy and sweet, which nicely balanced some of the spiciness in the tacos.

Ryan and Raffaello got fajitas which is always a big hit. Their platters came sizzling out on the table, which is always a showstopper. I was actually a little jealous because their fajitas came with refried beans, guacamole, salsa, thick luscious sour cream, and a mound of cooked onions.

Alessia had tacos but instead of carne asada like me, she had carnitas. She said were really well cooked with a little bit of crunch that she liked. 

We all ended with a plate of churros. They came with a citrus cream and a chilli chocolate dipping sauce. Sometimes I find chilli chocolate sauce so spicy that I miss out on the chocolate flavor. But this wasn’t like that. The heat was subtle and was in harmony with the rich chocolate – not at all overpowering. The cream was really good too. Once we ate all the churros, Ryan had the brillant idea of using a spoon to dip the cream into the chocolate. I was jealous of his innovation and it was clear that his birthday has made him wiser.

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On Saturday night Aaron and Katy (Ryan’s twin brother and his wife) emailed they were going to the hospital. I was jumping up and down in the street with excitement. Then Sunday Ryan and I woke up with an email and a photo of their son Boden! It’s their first kid, and our first nephew. We are an uncle and aunt for the first time!

We were so excited we went straight to the grocery store to buy ingredients to make Boden a celebration birthday cake. I’ve been sort of obsessed with Boden (and spoiling him) since last November. Around Thanksgiving last year we were all getting together and I had a dream that Aaron and Katy were going to announce they were pregnant and that they were going to have a boy named Jeremy. In January, we got a phone call that Katy was pregnant (and I did some jumping up and down in the street). A few months later, we found out the baby was a boy (more jumping). He isn’t named Jeremy, but I can’t win them all.

Ryan came up with the idea of getting the “0” candle. I thought it was so clever!

Anyway, I knew I wanted to make Boden a special cake. A cake that will be Boden’s cake. A cake that in the future, when Boden comes to visit, he will look forward to it and ask for it.  As I told some of my friends, I want to be fun aunt Mariel who always has cake. I’ve been wanting to make ancake with a design on the inside and this seemed like the perfect occasion. After spending a lot of time on the internet searching for a perfect yellow cake recipe (with ingredients I could find in a UK grocery store) I decided to stick with a Victoria Sandwich cake because it is a tasty and versatile.

A Victoria Sandwich is named for Queen Victoria. It’s two layers of yellow sponge cake with raspberry or strawberry jam in the middle. Sometimes there’s cream too, but I’m told that is a 20th century addition. The Victoria Sandwich is often served with tea, but when I went to tea a few weeks ago it wasn’t on the menu. I still haven’t had it outside my own kitchen. I’ll need to get on that. But I made it for myself because I learned about it on my favorite show, the Great British Bake Off, and I’m always eager to try new cakes.

I’m using Mary Berry‘s recipe for Victoria Sandwich. It calls for caster sugar, which in the US is called superfine sugar. In my experience, it isn’t always easy to find super fine sugar in the US. I have read that granulated sugar is finer in the US than in the UK, so if you’re in the US and can’t find superfine sugar then granulated should work just fine. I’m going to post the traditional recipe first and then the checkerboard recipe second. I’ll make it clear when to switch between the two. The frosting recipe in Version #2 comes from BBC Good Food. Enjoy and happy birthday Boden!

Traditional Victoria Sandwich: Version #1

Ingredients:

225g/2 sticks/1 cup butter, softened

225g/1 cup/8 oz caster sugar (superfine sugar), plus extra for sprinkling

225g/2 cups/8 oz self-rising flour

2 tsp baking powder

4 large eggs, room temperature

About 4+ tbsp strawberry or raspberry jam

Directions:

1. One hour before you want to start baking take your butter and eggs out of the fridge. This is important because it helps everything mix together better.

2. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.

3. Grease two 8″/20cm cake pans. Line the bottom of the pan with circles of parchment paper. Grease the circles.

4. Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Then add the caster sugar, flour, baking powder, and eggs.

5. Using the electric mixer on low, beat for 2 minutes until smooth. The mixture will be soft and fall off the beaters easily. Don’t over beat it! You want the cake to be light and fluffy.

6. Divide the mixtures equally between the prepared tins. Use a knife to smooth out the surface. You can eyeball evenness, but for the checkerboard cake it is best if you can weigh the batter so the cake heights will be even. You can see in Step 8 that I didn’t measure. (If you’re doing the checkerboard cake move below to Version #2)

7. Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes. It took me 25 minutes. The cakes are ready when they are risen and golden.

8. Cool on a wire rack. Make sure you rest the cakes on their flat sides, because you don’t want the ridges to show in your finished product.

9. Put one cake on a plate, rounded side down. Spread the jam over the flat side of that cake.

10. Then place the other layer on top (flat side down, rounded side up). Sprinkle the top with caster sugar.

11. Cut and serve.

Messy level: This is really quite a clean cake recipe! I think it is because it is so straightforward to make. You put all the ingredients in at once, you bake, then spread the jam. The only messy part is sprinkling the caster sugar at the end. Easy peasy.

Boden’s Birthday Cake – Version #2

Ingredients:

Cake:

Same as above

1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

2 different colors of gel or liquid food coloring

Frosting:

10 oz dark chocolate (I used 2 chocolate bars, and this would work with milk chocolate too)

10 oz heavy cream

(If you need more frosting, just use equal parts chocolate and heavy cream)

Directions:

1. Follow Steps 1-6 above. If using, add in the vanilla extract with the rest of the ingredients.

2. Your batter is now divided into two cake pans. Add one food coloring to each pan. I did one blue and one green. Mix gently! If you over mix your cake will be dense. Add food coloring until you have your desired color (I used a lot).

3. Bake for 20-30 minutes. It took me 25 minutes. The cakes are ready when they are risen and golden.

4. Cool on a wire rack until they are easy to handle. Then put them in the fridge to chill for at least 20 minutes. Having them chill makes them easier to cut for the checkerboard pattern.

5. Meanwhile, start on the frosting. Cut the chocolate into small pieces.

6. In a medium saucepan heat the heavy cream on low-medium heat. You are heating this until small bubbles start to form along the edge of the cream. Alternatively you can check it by sticking your finger in. If you can hold it there for 3-4 seconds, but longer feels like too much, then it is ready. You just want the cream hot enough to melt your chocolate.

7. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Stir until it is shiny, gorgeous, and well combined.

8. Cool the frosting. You can do this on the counter, but is much faster in the fridge. If you cool for 20 minutes, it will still be a little drippy but you can use this for the inside of the cake. For frosting the outside of the cake let it cool for at least an hour! By then it will be thick and like frosting you buy from the store. Also thick frosting is better for patching up any mistakes you make (and I’ll tell you about mine in a second).

9. Once the cakes are cool put them on the counter. Find two circles that are smaller than the cake. If you have cake cutters that’s great, but I didn’t. I used a small bowl and a cup. What you are going to do is cut out two smaller circles out of your larger cake.

10. Place your larger cake cutter (or bowl) over the center of the cake. I measured, but you can eyeball it. If you’re using a bowl take a knife and cut straight down into the cake (try not to cut diagonal). Then repeat with the smaller cutter (or cup). Now you have six rings of cake. I cracked the large green layer. If this happens to you, don’t worry. Frosting will cure it.

11. Now take one large ring (let’s say blue). Frost the inside edge. Put a medium ring inside (green). Frost the inside edge. Put the small circle inside (blue). The frosting holds the layers together. Don’t worry if it isn’t neat. So you’ve made one layer that looks like a bulls eye.

12. Frost the top of the bulls eye layer.

13. Put the other large ring on top of the first layer. Then repeat step eleven. So you’ll have bulls eye layer (blue, green, blue), then a frosting layer, then the second bulls eye later (green, blue, green).

14. Frost the exterior of the cake. Use the frosting to mend cracks and hide any unevenness in the layers.Frosting will make it all look smooth and beautiful. I recommend frosting the cake on a cutting board or parchment paper, because if you’re like you’ll get frosting all over. Then when the cake is ready you can remove it to a clean plate and it will look best.

15. Decorate as desired (excuse my frosting penmanship).

16. Sing happy birthday! Cut and eat! Look at that sweet checkerboard.

Messy level: This turned out to be an epic mess. I got cake crumbs all over when I was cutting the circles. But the messiest part was the frosting! My hands melted the chocolate as I was cutting it. Then before it cools, the chocolate is so drippy! I got chocolate everywhere when I was making the bulls eye. The counter was 70% covered in chocolate. Ryan came over and looked at the counter and chuckled. I told him that the blog is called cooking is messy for a reason.

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My 29th  birthday was a little over a week ago! I went to New York to have a last hurrah. I actually hadn’t been to New York since my graduation, and I was excited to go back and see the city one more time. On Friday (the 20th) I went to Staten Island and stayed with my friend Inga (who also has the same birthday as me). It was so great to catch up with her. She and I were roommates years ago when we studied abroad in Rome. Visiting her, I got to see her new house, meet her  beautiful daughter, and celebrate our birthdays. We had sushi and cake and it was wonderful.

I then went into Manhattan and met up with my  friend Chris, from graduate school. We sat in Battery Park, talked, and looked at the Statue of Liberty. It reminded me of the times when we used to pretend to go for a run along the water, but really we’d just walk and gossip. Then, I met up with my parents and my brother and we had a blast! Seriously, we indulged in New York. We ate at a few of my favorite restaurants. Lunch at Ippudo, dinner at John’s of Bleecker, and dessert at Max Brenner’s. We also found a tiny place that only sold macaroons! We bought six and shared them all. There were amazing flavors like passion fruit and lavender-honey. We also went shopping on 5th Avenue and browsed books at the Strand. It was a great New York weekend with some touristy activity and some old favorites.

After New York I hopped on the train back to DC. I got dolled up in a fancy dress and went as my friend Anna’s date to the Ford’s Theatre Gala. I saw some great theater, had a tasty dinner in the beautiful courtyard at the Portrait Gallery, took pretty pictures with my friend, and said goodbye to some of old colleagues. Great night. I stayed out way too late, but loved it anyway.

Then Monday and Tuesday were my last two days at work. I don’t talk about my job very much on the blog but I have loved working with Live It Learn It. While at Live It Learn It, I’ve had a wonderful time. In this job I’ve been busy running all over DC, I’ve taught lessons, met great students, befriended some awesome coworkers, and led field trips throughout the city. I’ve eaten more Wendy’s than ever before, I’ve sent group texts of just emojis, and I’ve helped create hilarious and weird Mad Libs. And I’ve laughed so so much. Live it Learn It has been everything I was looking for in a job and even though I’m moving they can’t get rid of me yet. I’m hanging on even while abroad.

And today’s recipe is truly for them. In the last year, almost every dessert I’ve made has been shared with my Live It Learn It family – including this one. I decided to dabble in gluten-free baking because one of my coworkers keeps a gluten-free diet. Baking is fun for me because I like sharing the finished product with others – so it’s more fun if everyone is included. I have loved bringing in cookies and treats for them and it doesn’t hurt that they always say nice things and eat everything I bring. I will miss baking for them.

I then spent the rest of the week packing up my apartment. It was stressful and I had a hard time deciding what to ship, store, and pack. It might sound trivial but I had a hard time editing down and Ryan got more than one crazy phone call from me. My parents came down and helped me pack, trash things, and move out. Thank goodness for them because they helped me be decisive and keep from completely losing my marbles.  I could not have done everything so effectively without them! During this move weekend, we also went to my friend Lisa’s wedding. I have known Lisa for over 20 years and it was wonderful to see her get married. She looked amazing – and unfortunately I didn’t take any pictures of her! Her wedding was at the Center Club and it has the most beautiful view of Baltimore I have ever seen. The wedding was a blast. I danced with my friend’s 1 year-old son, I chatted with old friends, I danced some more, and then I sobbed when I said goodbye to my girls. We group hugged, and I felt loved and lucky. All in all, a great night and a wonderful farewell from Baltimore.

Now I’m sitting in my friend Charlotte’s guest room while her cat snuggles up on me. For those of you who know me, you know I’m anti-cat, but I’m actually liking this. What’s happening to me? My flight leaves later tonight – but until then my plan is to go to the pool and then out for dinner.

It’s been a busy ten days or so, but it’s been great. I said goodbye to many of my old homes – New York, Baltimore, and DC. I am deeply going to miss my wonderful network of people here, but being farther away doesn’t mean we’re really separated. To get a bit emotional, I want to say thank you for all the celebrations, activities, and fun I’ve had as I prepared for the move.  I’m so lucky to have so many wonderful people in my life.

But now I’m ready. I’m ready to go to London. I’m ready for new adventures, new jobs, new restaurants, new friends. Mostly, I’m ready to be back with Ryan. Get ready London, here I come.

This recipe is adapted from the America’s Test Kitchen Cookbook, How Can It Be Gluten Free? This book is awesome with lots of really clear and helpful advice and suggestions. I’ve changed it by adding a bit more xantham gum than ATK recommended. I thought it helped hold the shape of the cookie a bit better. These cookies are great and the only difference between these and regular cookies are the thin and delicate structure and shape. The other change was that I used chips and Reese’s pieces instead of normal chips. Gotta spice things up now and then, and get a little creative with the cookie add-ins, right?

Ingredients:

3/4 cup + 2/3 cup King Arthur All-purpose Flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp xantham gum

1/2 tsp salt

8 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

3/4 cup packed, light brown sugar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

2 tbsp milk

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1/8 cup mini chocolate chips

1/8 cup mini Reese’s pieces

Directions:

1. Whisk together flour, baking soda, xantham gum, and salt in a bowl.

2. Whisk melted butter and sugars in a large bowl.

3. Add the egg, milk, and vanilla to the butter-sugar mixture. Mix until smooth.

4. Add in the flour mixture.

5. Add in the chips and Reese’s pieces.

6. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit for 30 minutes.

7. Preheat oven to 350°.

8. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Use two spoons to arrange 1.5 tbsp size rounds of dough onto the baking sheet. The two-spoons advice is important. The consistency of the batter is stickier and softer than a regular cookie. The spoons help make sure you can make normal looking cookies.

9. Bake cookies, one sheet at a time, for 11 minutes. Rotate baking sheet halfway through. As they cook, cookies will spread and they can get dark quickly, so be sure to check on them!

10. Let cookies cool for 5 minutes before serving. The cookies are more fragile than gluten-full cookies so let them rest!

Messy level: This recipe is easy – there are only two bowls for this recipe and you don’t even need an electric mixer.

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But an extra special note of thanks goes to Ryan. He is my chief supporter, taste tester, strategic planner, and dish washer. He suggests recipes to try and ways to improve old favorites. He eats everything I make, even when I don’t think it has come out well. If I didn’t have him to help me out, this would be a lot less fun. Therefore, it’s only fair that my 50th post celebrates Ryan and his key lime birthday pie.

Strictly speaking, this pie is just a lime pie because I didn’t use key limes. There weren’t key limes in my grocery store, but if you find some in yours and decide to use, them just keep the same proportions for juice and zest as I have below.

Anyway, Ryan’s birthday was this past week and I made him a key lime pie. Before his birthday I asked what kind of cake he wanted, and he was a little ambivalent. “Well,” I said, “it doesn’t have to be a cake. It could be pie.” And he decided he wanted key lime pie. I had made key lime popsicles over the summer, and we’ve been drawn to the flavors ever since. You may remember from my birthday, that I had cake for breakfast and that’s a really important tradition to me… but, I knew that if the pie was in the house the day before his birthday, we wouldn’t be able to stop ourselves from eating it early. However, in the spirit of indulgence, we did eat our first pieces before going out to dinner.

I cut Ryan a slice, and as he sat down he got a phone call from his dad. He was on the phone when he took his first bite, and I was delighted to see his eyes get big with excitement and he nodded his head vigorously at me. “You’re missing out on some great pie,” he said to his dad. Yes, I had nailed the birthday pie! We both ate it with gusto. It was tart with a distinct lime flavor you don’t often get from store bought pies. It was the right amount of tart though, not sour at all. The filling was also sweet with a creamy custard texture. The meringue was fluffy and the crumbly graham cracker crust add a great crunch to an otherwise soft dessert. A few days later, when Ryan finished the very last bite, he promptly said, “you should make another.” So this pie is a keeper.

When I made this, I prepped the juice, zest, and other various ingredients as I went, and as other things were in the oven. The directions below will follow that pattern. If you’re more comfortable, feel free to prep all your ingredients in the beginning.

The crust is adapted from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything. The filling is adapted from the Amateur Gourmet.

Ingredients:

Crust-

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 10 full cracker strips)

3 tbsp sugar

4 tbsp unsalted butter (plus more if needed)

Filling-

6 egg yolks

One 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk

2 tsp lime zest

3/4 cup lime juice (about 6)

Meringue-

1 cup sugar

6 egg whites

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. In a food processor, blend the graham crackers until you have fine crumbs.

3. In a medium bowl mix the graham crackers and sugar.

4. Melt the butter in the microwave, then add it to the graham cracker and sugar. Mix until the graham cracker crumbs are all moistened. You want a consistency of slightly wet sand – sand that’s been wet but is drying out. Add more butter if needed. I added another 1.5 tbsp to get this consistency, so I used a total of 5.5 tbsp on butter.

5. Press the graham cracker crust into your pie plate – bottom, sides and edges. If you want a thick crust use all the mix. I used about 3/4 of the mixture. If you’re not using all of it, set the remainder aside in case you need to do any patchwork later (When I added the meringue I knocked off some of the crust’s edge and I was mad at myself that I hadn’t saved any)

6. Put the crust in the oven and bake until it just begins to brown, about 8 minutes.

7.  While the crust is baking, zest and juice your limes.

8. Remove crust from the oven, set aside to cool.

9. Now for the filling! Separate 6 eggs. Set aside the whites. In a medium bowl, beat the egg yolks.

10. Stir in the condensed milk. Stir constantly until well mixed.

11. Stir in the lime juice and zest.

12. Pour the filling into the crust. Bake for 12-15 minute. The filling is ready when it’s firm but a little jiggly in the middle. (I like to think of it similar to the consistency of jello)

13. While the filling is baking, beat the eggs until foamy. Then gradually add the sugar and cream of tartar. Beat until the egg whites make soft peaks. What this means, is that when you take the whisk out of the egg whites, there will be a somewhat floppy peak at the top of the whisk. Look at the pictures on Amateur Gourmet’s website for a better idea.

14. Take the pie out of the oven. Spread the meringue over the pie. Bake for 5 minutes, or until the meringue takes on a light toasty marshmallow color.

15. Let cool a little, then refrigerate. Serve chilled. The crumbly crust doesn’t hold its shape perfectly, but who cares when it tastes good?

Messy Level: I’m giving this, the elusive 5 spoons. This is a super messy recipe because the mess continues well after you’re done cooking. It’s messy in part because zesting and juicing means using a number of tools. It’s also messy because the meringue is sticky and I got it all over me while I spread it on the pie. But the real reason it’s messy is because of the crust. It’s messy making the crumbs and putting it in the pie plate. But, it’s messy every single time you cut a slice. There was always crust crumbs on the counter after ever slice. It’s worth it, but it’s the mess that keeps on coming.

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Growing up, birthdays were celebrated by opening presents and eating cake first thing in the morning before going to school/work. Naturally, I insisted that Ryan and I do the same. Ryan woke up all groggy and sleepy, but he did sing me happy birthday and shared a piece of cake with me. I made the cake myself: it was yellow cake with a strawberry raspberry filling and a lemon buttercream frosting. Ryan had volunteered to get me a cake, and even said he would make me a cake, but I decided I would have more fun making a cake. I was inspired by a cake we had at our wedding from Sweet Eats Cakes, that was just to die for. My cake wasn’t nearly as good as hers. The frosting and filling (both of which I made!) were yummy but I over-mixed the batter so the cake came out a bit dense. It was tasty, but I had the most fun putting it all together.

Dangerous birthday gifts

After cake I opened presents. Ryan got me a deep fryer! I was so excited because I had been talking about wanting one for about a year. Ryan let me register for one when we were engaged, but no one bought it, because, seriously who needs a deep fryer? It’s not a kitchen necessity, but I thought it would be super fun to have. I mean, who doesn’t want to have carnival themed dinner nights? Think of all the things you can make! Deep fried candy bars, fried chicken, corn dogs, French fries, potato chips, hush puppies, and of course funnel cake. P.S. Mom, please send me your fried chicken recipe!!! Hungry bellies want to try it!

And, to add to the kitchen goodness, my brother got me a crème brulee set, complete with kitchen torch and butane gas. So I now have two ends of the cooking spectrum – I now have the means to makee fancy food like crème brulee and greasy street food like corn dogs. My friend also pointed out that now I’ve moved up from basic appliances to the “dangerous” ones. Using the deep fryer I did have an accident, but not related to the fryer. I’ll get to that in a bit.

But back to the birthday. I went to work and I spent a lot of the day telling museum visitors it was my birthday. After that, my besties from work took me out to lunch at Lincoln, an Abraham Lincoln themed restaurant. It was such a decadent afternoon. The weather was gorgeous and we ate outside, sitting in this cozy both. Seriously, you never see a booth outside, but we were really sitting under a tree lounging on snuggly couches. We all ate so much! We shared brussels sprouts, fries, and chips. I had a lobster cob salad and it had HUGE chunks of lobster. My friends told the waiter it was my birthday and he asked if I was turning 16. Not quite.

Lunch at Lincoln

For dessert we ordered some sweet potato pound cake thing, which sounded suspicious but was really yummy. There was this deliciously rich and decadent sauce we poured on top. The dessert was the only thing I took a picture of, with the exception of my mint julep, which was in a cool copper cup. The other pictures are courtesy of my lovely friend Anna.  I did take about 7 pictures of Charlotte pouring the sauce on the cake. Also, they gave me a free chocolate cake too, so that put my birthday cake total up to 3. Actually, make that 4, because my coworker Jonathan bought be a cupcake too.

Dinner at Quarter Deck

And, as if I hadn’t eaten enough, Ryan took me out for dinner at Quarter Deck. This was what I was most excited about, because we were going to have a steamed crab feast. I love crab picking and it’s truly a staple of summer for me.  We got a table outside, ordered a pitcher of Yuengling and waited for our crabs to arrive. My goal was to eat 14 crabs (because it’s  half my age). The restaurant gives you a bucket so you can put all your unwanted bits inside – but I laid out the crab tops as a marker to see how many I had eaten. I didn’t make my goal, I only ate 12.

I had the best time eating a leisurely dinner outside with Ryan. Some people don’t like crabs because they say it takes forever to get any food. And it does. But you can’t go for crabs really hungry. It’s most enjoyable when you go with the purpose of sharing the evening with someone. We had a few beers, enjoyed the weather, and talked, and got really messy and covered in Old Bay and crab bits.

Demon pig pitcher

I treated myself to a knife skills class at Sur la Table on Saturday. In addition to sushi class, knife skills class is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. I have always been nervous to go though, because I thought I’d be the worst, and incapable of cutting well, and might slice my finger off. Someone did cut themselves in class, but it wasn’t me. Class was pretty cool! I learned a better way to cut a bell pepper, grapes, and an onion. I also learned how to hold the knife better (it’s called a pinch grip). And that instead of lifting my arm up and down to chop, I’m supposed to do more of a continuous rocking motion that follows the shape of the blade. I’m not yet ready to throw knives at a Japanese steak house, but my skills are improving.

When you take a class at Sur la Table you get a 10% off coupon that’s good for a week. I was walking around the store and I caught my eye on a semi-ugly pig pitcher. And I wanted it a lot, but it was $50. I love pigs, and since I was a kid I’ve collected random pig things. I have coasters, a wine stopper, and little figurines, but I could not justify buying a $50 pig pitcher. Ryan also told me it looked “like a demon.” So I consoled myself by buying a pig overmitt and a spatula. (And some other things… there was a sale, what was I to do?!)

On Sunday, I had three of my college friends, Norma, Lynn, and Kim, over for brunch. They live in Maryland, so I made them trek all the way across state lines for some food.  I made an onion and pepper quiche – and I made the crust, from scratch. I also made waffles, bacon, Bloody Mary’s, and I put out a bunch of berries. It was delicious, I got to practice my knife skills, and my friends all teased me that the strawberries looked especially well cut. And, I made all this delicious food, and I didn’t take a picture of one flipping thing. The only picture I took was of my friends on the roof of my building with the Washington Monument in the background.

Do I have too many spatulas?

Also, I’m not sure how it started, but somehow Ryan started giving a speech about how I have too many different kinds of spatulas. I think it was because I was showing my friend Kim my Sur la Table purchases. She is a good and adventurous cook herself, so I thought she’d be interested. But somehow, the spatula situation got out of hand and my friends started calling us “House of Spatula.” They said I should rename my blog “House of Spatula.” Or maybe have a food truck called “House of Spatula.”  Only Kim said it made sense to have so many so I didn’t always have to wash them. And now I feel like every time I cook I should use multiple spatulas to prove that I need so many. My weak argument is that when you see the kitchens of professional cooks they always have tons of utensils and spatulas. The group pointed out that I don’t cook as much as they do. Sure, but you know how they say dress for the job you want, not the job you have? Maybe it’s like that. If I equip my kitchen like a professional chef, maybe I’ll cook like one.

So that was my birthday. It was delicious. And I think 28 is going to be all right because it includes funnel cakes.

College friends and the Washington Monument in the background

I settled on funnel cake as our first deep frying expedition because it’s a delicious treat. But also, it’s low pressure. I didn’t want to start with dinner because what if it was ruined and we are starving after work and then have nothing to eat?! Also, we had practically all the ingredients in the apartment already. And again, funnel cake is delicious.

Funnel cake is also fun. We have it at the fair, at the circus, at the baseball game. There’s just something festive about it. As Ryan and I were making it together, we were silly and dancing and having a nice time. We did have one minor setback that I thought was going to ruin the night. As he was stirring ingredients, I went to put stuff back on the shelves. I placed the flour on the shelf and a can rolled off and hit me in the foot. I yelled in pain, fell on the floor, and cried in a heap. Seriously, I was behaving like a pathetic mess. We were worried I’d lost my nail since that happened to me last year. But I didn’t, so crisis averted. Once we got me off the floor and cleaned up the blood on my foot, we rallied and were back in business. We finished mixing the dough, poured it into the hot oil, and watch with delight as we made our first funnel cakes. We also had our friend Josh over and there was immediate talk about the three of us opening a stand and selling funnel cakes to tourists on the 4^th of July.

This recipe is half of the Williams-Sonoma recipe. It makes about 4 funnel cakes if you use ½ cup of batter per cake. Also, if you don’t have a deep fryer, you can still make this recipe. What you’ll need is a deep skillet or a not-too-deep pot. Maybe like a Dutch oven. Fill it with a few inches of oil and heat until very hot. You can use a candy thermometer to try to make the exact temperature. You just want a few inches of oil so the funnel cake has room to float.

My awesome deep fryer

Ingredients

Canola oil for frying

¼ cup of confectioners’ sugar

¾ tsp cinnamon

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ tsp baking powder

½ cup packed brown sugar

Scant ½ tsp salt (scant means don’t fill the tsp all the way)

1 egg and 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

1 ½ cups milk (might need a bit more)

¾ tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. Mix confectioners’ sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl. Set aside, this is a topping.
2. Optional: Heat oven to 200°. This is so you can keep funnel cakes warm while you’re still working on making new ones.
3. Pour oil into deep fryer. You will use what feels like a disgusting amount, but it’s ok because you can strain it and reuse it. 
4. Heat deep fryer to 375°.
5. In a large bowl mix together flour, baking powder, salt, and brown sugar.
6. In a medium bowl, mix egg, 1 ½ cups of milk, and vanilla.
7. Add wet ingredient to the dry. If it seems a little thick and will be hard to pour, add some more milk. You shouldn’t have to add anymore than another ½ cup. I think we added another 2 tbsps.
8. Put fry basket into the oil.
9. Transfer batter to a cup with a spout. We used a liquid measuring cup. If you have a funnel, use that! What you want is to be able to pour the batter in ribbons so it makes the funnel cake shape. If it pours in one big blob, it’s not going to look right. Also, it might be obvious, but if you have a funnel, then just pour the batter through the funnel into the oil. I don’t have a funnel, so I needed a cup with a spout.
10. Slowly pour ½ cup of the batter into the hot oil in a thin stream. Try to make a circular pattern. Make sure the batter is poured within the confines of the fry basket.
11. Fry for about 1-1 ½ minutes, until the underside is brown.
12. Flip the funnel cake over. We raised the frying basket out of the oil, then flipped the funnel cake, then dropped the basket back into the oil.
13. Fry for 1 minute more.
14. Lift the basket out of the oil and let drain. If ready to eat, sprinkle with the sugar mixture. If saving, put in the oven to stay warm.
15. EAT IT!!!

Messy level

Low! I’m totally impressed with this deep fryer. The max-fill oil level is much lower than the rim of the fryer so there is no spatter at all. The only mess we made was when we transferred batter from the mixing bowl to the measuring glass. It was really excellent. We didn’t even have to worry about draining the funnel cakes because the basket hangs over the oil and lets it drip there. SO EASY. I love it. I look forward to more frying.

The messy part came from smashing my toe with a can of coconut cream. Be careful!

Update 6/30 – So, I think I should up the messy level to 3 spoons. Cooking it isn’t very hard, but man is clean up some work!!! You have to clean the heating unit, the part with the oil, and the frying basket. Also, if you’re going to reuse the oil, you have to pour it through a strainer into a large jar. And so it’s a lot of steps and a lot of things to clean up afterward.

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I love sweets and I love chocolate lava cake. At restaurants it always seemed like such a fancy and complicated dessert. Sometimes you have to even order it at the start of the meal. It’s rich, decadent and gooey. How does it get like that? Do chefs inject chocolatey goodness? Is there some complex technique I’d need to master? I was so curious.

And then I did the research and it’s not hard at all. This recipe is a compilation of some recipes I found online. I’m sure Roy’s recipe is more complex, because I found some complex ones. But you can also make a quick, delicious, and impressive chocolate lava cake at home. It’s so darn easy! Also, it’s fairly portioned controlled. Usually when I bake I have one to two dozen of something, then Ryan and I eat too many, and then I take the rest to work and make my friends and coworkers eat too much.

This recipe makes 4 servings. I made two lava cakes the first night (because I only have two ramekins). Then I refrigerated the batter. A day and a half later I microwaved the batter for 20 seconds to make it less firm and then I cooked it according to the directions. They tasted just as good a few days later. Seriously, this recipe is delicious, gooey, and a great indulgence. Remember it’s an indulgence and a special treat and don’t think about the obscene amount of butter, sugar, and eggs.

Ingredients:

3.5 – 4 oz chocolate – I used an 80% dark chocolate bar. You could also use baking chocolate. 3.5 oz is about the size of one bar of chocolate. I used 4 oz to make it more chocolatey.

1/2 cup of butter

1 cup of confectioner’s sugar

2 eggs and 2 egg yolks

6 tablespoons flour

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 425°

2. Melt butter and chocolate. You can either do it in a double boiler or you can microwave it for 1 minute. I don’t have a double boiler so I used the microwave. Microwave for one minute and the butter will be completely melted. 

3. Whisk the butter and chocolate until the mixture is smooth

4. Whisk in confectioner’s sugar. This makes the mix much thicker

5. Whisk in the eggs and yolks.

6. Whisk in the flour. It will now be a nice chocolate batter.

7. Spray your ramekins well with butter or nonstick spray. Fill the ramekins about 3/4 of the way full.

8. Cook for 10-12 minutes. It should be a little soft in the middle. The way to tell is the opposite of every other time you’ve baked. Stick a toothpick in the middle and if it comes out a little moist then you’ve still got the gooey center.

9. Once it’s done cooking you have two choices:

Choice A: Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar and eat from the ramekin

Choice B: Wait 3 minutes for it to cool. Using a pot holder grab the ramekin and flip it over quickly, but gently, to drop the cake on the plate. Everything else I read said to put a plate on top of the ramekin, flip the whole thing over, and then lift the ramekin straight up and off. Ryan and I tried this and it went terribly. We could not get a good enough grip on the ramekin and we ended up with one smashed cake and one askew cake. Just quickly lifting and flipping left us with a clean and nice looking cake. Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar.

This is an example of Ryan removing the cake from the ramekin. He’s re-enacting as you can tell because I already sprinkled confectioner’s sugar.

Messy level: Super low! I made the batter in a glass food container. There were almost no dishes and I was able to snap on a lid for easy storage. Make sure to spray your ramekins well because that will also help with the clean up. The ramekin we sprayed the least had the most baked on cake and required a lot of elbow grease to clean.

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