I did it. It’s done. I’ve finally finished my master’s thesis!
Well, I sent my supervisor the pre-final version last week and I’m hoping to receive his feedback this Monday. I may need to make some final changes, but hey, I’m an optimist: he might think my thesis is brilliant or something!
Let’s hope so…
Because now that I’ve finally finished my thesis, I’m ready to start posting on the blog again. Again, sorry trusty readers: I know I’ve kept those awesome buttercream recipes from you waaaay too long! And yeah, I could do with some homemade cakes and sweets as well. I haven’t spend a minute in the kitchen these past weeks. The Rocking Rebel has basically done all of the cooking around here! Thanks babe 🙂
Oh, and thanks everyone who took the time to leave encouraging comments! Despite the fact that I really wasn’t able to reply, they were much appreciated!
Anyway, before I dive headfirst into my buttercream series again, let’s check out some recipes I made in the summer of 2014. Because they were yummy. And I’ve spent the better part of this week sleeping, hiking with the Rocking Rebel and Lucy, catching up with everything that’s been happening while I’ve been stuck in the most desolate part of Thesis Land, and making campfire baked apples (yum!).
1. Double Brown Butter Cake with a Sweet Vanilla Glaze
I loooooove this cake. Seriously. It’s the BEST! Confession: I’m a sucker for anything with brown butter in it. So when I decided to make a brown butter cake last year, I made sure it had a double dose of that brown buttery goodness in it. And a sweet vanilla glaze, of course. Because vanilla and brown butter are truly a match made in heaven!
This cake is moist and light, with a super soft crumb, and it’s packed with brown butter! To make this cake, I first boosted some brown butter, which sounds very difficult but is actually surprisingly easy. It basically means you make twice the amount of brown butter needed, and use all the caramelized specks of brown butter flavor in the cake batter. It’s a very straightforward process… And bonus: you’ll have leftover brown butter! With which you can make an amazing cinnamon brown butter spread, or, as it is known in my house: cinnamon bun spread.
2. Super Healthy Watermelon Pops
I never use watermelon in baking or cooking. I’ve read that you can turn it into sorbet or ice cream, and apparently it’s great with feta cheese and a some freshly ground black pepper. But every time I buy a watermelon, I just cut it into big chunks and wolf it down on its own. Can’t help myself…
So what I love about this recipe, is that it’s pure watermelon. No additives. Just cut nice watermelon wedges, put them on a tray, and pop them in the freezer for a few hours until cold, cold, cold. Popsicle sticks are totally optional! These pops are the best snack on a warm summer’s day.
Just make sure to check out my tips for picking a super sweet watermelon to make the pops extra yummy!
3. Chocolate Chip Cookies Stuffed with Dulce de Leche
I adapted this recipe from another blog, and if you have a serious sweet tooth, these are definitely for you! These cookies are super duper sweet. Too sweet for me, to be honest. It’s the whole dulce de leche/milk chocolate combination. Next time I’ll make these, I think I’ll use dark chocolate chunks instead of milk chocolate chips, and add a sprinkling of sea salt on top. To cut through the sweetness of the dulce de leche…
Otherwise, great recipe! Love the cinnamon in the cookie dough.
4. How to Use a Different Size Cake Pan: Round Cake Pans
Does that photo look familiar? Because it should! I posted an updated version of this post last March!
Anyway, this is the original post, and while the idea behind the post is awesome – I came up with a math formula that allows you to alter a recipe according to whatever size round cake pan you have on hand – my math was a bit off in this post. Sorry guys. I guess I’m better at baking…
5. Small French Baguettes
When I made these last year, the Rocking Rebel was convinced I bought them at our local bakery. These baguettes are seriously that good! And not really that difficult to make. It’s a pretty wet dough, which makes shaping the baguettes a bit difficult, but it all pays off in the end, because apparently a wet dough makes for tastier bread!
I have to make these again, soon…
6 and 7. Perfect Angel Food Cake with Raspberry Sauce and Berries
This Angel Food Cake is just perfection. It’s deliciously sweet without being too sweet, almost light and fluffy enough to float away, and beautifully paired with a zingy raspberry sauce and fresh berries. It’s the best! I made it for my big sister’s birthday last year and it was devoured within minutes.
Oh, and if making angel food cake scares you, I’ve included lots of tips and tricks in this post. It’s actually super easy!
8. Cinnamon Brown Butter Spread
Made from leftover brown butter, but you could also brown butter just to make this stuff. It’s definitely worth it. In my house, this stuff is known as cinnamon bun spread, because a thin layer of this makes even the dullest piece of bread taste like a perfect cinnamon bun!
Besides the brown butter, you just need 3 other ingredients to make this awesome spread: a pinch of salt, some cinnamon and a few tablespoons of powdered sugar. Make this guys, you won’t regret it!
9. Strawberry Mousse Cake with Candied Rhubarb
This cake is insane! It’s seriously one of the best mousse cakes I’ve ever tasted. But just a heads up: this cake can be a bit tricky to make. Well, the top part is, at least. The candied rhubarb. Making the mousse shouldn’t be too difficult. Sure, there’s gelatin involved, and you have to whip up an Italian meringue, but all in all it’s not that hard. The topping, on the other hand, took my little sister and me about two hours when we made this cake last year!
If you haven’t got two hours to play around with sticky strips of rhubarb, just skip the rhubarb and top this cake with some fresh strawberries instead. It saves you time and I bet the end result is just as delicious.
That’s it guys! Those were last year’s summer recipes.
Back with my new recipe for French buttercream next week!
New favorite food quote:
