. . . wishes you all a happy Easter! And to some of you a merry Christmas . . .
I wish you all a lovely day, whatever the weather.
✿ Martina ✿
Sunday, 31 March 2013
Tuesday, 26 March 2013
Spring-evoking-cupcakes
Seriously people what´s going on?
I have put flying bees all over my blog, I have adopted a lovely white bunny named Ludwig to keep me company during the Easter holidays (by the way feel free to feed him carrots, he´ll be happy), and my cursor is a flower. What else am I supposed to do to evoke spring??? Maybe a native American sun dance? Or lodge a complaint to Baldr, Ore, Flora, Surya, or any other divinity who is apparently not doing his/her job? I hope this funny bill will help ;)
The only thing I can come up with right now, whilst looking at the winter wonderland outside my balcony, is to bake spring-evoking-cupcakes!
I have put flying bees all over my blog, I have adopted a lovely white bunny named Ludwig to keep me company during the Easter holidays (by the way feel free to feed him carrots, he´ll be happy), and my cursor is a flower. What else am I supposed to do to evoke spring??? Maybe a native American sun dance? Or lodge a complaint to Baldr, Ore, Flora, Surya, or any other divinity who is apparently not doing his/her job? I hope this funny bill will help ;)The only thing I can come up with right now, whilst looking at the winter wonderland outside my balcony, is to bake spring-evoking-cupcakes!
Ingredients:
120 gr. flour
140 gr. sugar
1 teaspoon of baking powder
a pinch of salt
40 gr. butter
120 ml. milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
mixed berries
For the frosting:
250 gr. icing sugar
80 gr. butter
25 ml. milk
a couple drops of rose extract
pink food colouring
Procedure:
Preheat the oven at 170°C. Put the flour, sugar, baking, powder, salt, and butter un a mixer with a paddle attachment and beat until you get a sandy consistency. Then gradually pour the milk and beat until incorporated. Then add the eggs and continue beating until the mixture is smooth. Spoon the batter into the paper cases until two-thirds full, add the berries, and bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden. Leave the cupcakes to cool and when cold, spoon the frosting on top and decorate.
For the frosting beat the butter, icing sugar, and food colouring until well mixed. Then combine the milk and the rose extract and continue beating until light and fluffy. The longer you beat the lighter it will be and the better it will taste!
Enjoy ✿
Martina
Monday, 18 March 2013
New Life - Neues Leben
ENG:
It´s quite a funny word pun but it´s actually true: the HsB is entering a new phase of it´s life... and I am so excited!
What? My brownies are on sale in a second shop in Salzburg!
Where? Buchhandlung Neues Leben, Bergstrasse 16, 5020 Salzburg
When? From today, Mon.-Fri. 10-19 and Sat. 10-14
Why? Because they are sooooooooo goooooooood!
In the unique and antique atmosphere of this small and crammed bookstore you´ll find volumes of all genres: from the classic literature to children´s books, from old editions, second hand, and vintage to selected new publications. What else? Good tea, tasteful and romantic furnishings, interesting conversations, kind advice, and peaceful moments between bookshelves, away from the monotonous mainstream. So come for a book and some brownies and discover the hidden Salzburg.
Enjoy ♥
Martina
DE:
Es ist ein ziemlich lustiges Wortspiel aber es stimmt: es ist eine neue Lebensphase der HsB angefangen... und ich bin so enthusiastisch!
Was? Meine Brownies sind im Verkauf in einem zweiten Geschäft Salzburgs!
Wo? Buchhandlung Neues Leben, Bergstrasse 16, 5020 Salzburg
Wann? Ab heute, Mo.-Fr. 10-19 und Sa. 10-14
Warum? Weil sie sooooooo lecker sind!
In dem einzigartigen und antiken Ambiente dieser kleinen und vollgepackten Buchhandlung, findet man Bände jedes literarischen Genus: von klassischer Literatur bis zu Kinderbücher, von alten Ausgaben, vielseitigem Antiquariat und Vintage bis zu erlesener Neuerscheinungen. Was noch? Guten Tee, geschmackvolle und romantische Einrichtung, interessante Gespräche, nette Beratung, und friedliche Momente, abseits der monotonen Hauptströmung. Also warum nicht vorbei schauen um ein Buch, Brownies und die verborgene Salzburg zu entdecken?
Viel Vergnügen ♥
Martina
Herr Gabor, the owner of the bookshop, delighted to present and sell my brownies to his customers!
Saturday, 16 March 2013
Best Blog Award
Dear friends of the HsB, I am so proud to tell you that I got appointed the Best Blog Award! For it I must thank Anja from Meine Torteria. I am so so so so so SO happy, thank you!!!
How does it work? The nominated blog - me - writes a post presenting the award - tada! - and the nominating blog - the lovely Meine Torteria -. Then the nominated blog - me - has to answer the 11 questions and nominate other 20 blogs with less than 200 followers. That´s all!
Here are the Q&As:
1. How do you prefer your meal to be: hefty dishes or dessert? What an obvious answer... dessert !!!
2. What is most important to you in another person: the looks or the personality? The personality of course, because beauty fades with time. But I would be hypocrite if I said that I do not appreciate a good looking person ;)
3. When did you start your blog? 11/10/2011
4. Who has inspired you till now to start something new? My friends Teresa, Michi, Romina, Nils, Anna, Sarah, my boyfriend Giovanni, my mom, and my brothers.
5. Do you follow many blogs? Yes! But only the ones I really like or the ones where I can see that someone really puts all his/hers efforts.
6. Do you prefer cooking or being the guest? Both actually.
7. Which book are you reading right now? Harry Potter 5 from J.K. Rowling, Il Gattopardo from Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, and Life, the Universe, and Everything from Douglas Adams.
8. Which piece of clothing has survived the most in your closet? A pair of Winnie the Pooh underwear I received from my friend Emily when we were in junior high, so about 10 years ago!
9. Which is your favourite dish? Italian focaccia alle olive.
10. Which characteristics in a friendship are important to you? Respect, honesty, the ability to listen and to never ask, but to be patient, and of course the laughter.
11. Which is your favourite movie? I love a theatre script which has been turned into a movie in more parts titled Il Giornalino di Gianburrasca. It´s an old production in black and white with Rita Pavone, an actress and singer I really like. I also like the James Bond series, and the movies with Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe.
Who am I nominating?
Who am I nominating?
Enjoy ♥
Martina
Thursday, 14 March 2013
Pistachio dessert variation
The weekend is approaching and so is Easter! Finally I can start bringing colour into the house and... onto the dining table!!! So which better ingredient then pistachio? Green, delicious, versatile, and Sicilian. So here are some tasty ideas for you (I have tried them all already):
To start with here are some pistachio cupcakes with buttercream icing. An easy combination of vanilla cupcakes dough with some pistachio grenadine inside and outside. Crunchy and creamy all at once.
And now pistachio-vanilla pudding with Sicilian "pasta di pistacchio" and pistachio cream. "Pasta di pistacchio" is basically nothing other than pistachio marzipan and is typically Sicilian.
Third on my list is this lovely pistachio sponge cake with sugar glaze, shortbread bunnies, and candied roses and violets. This cake is not from me, but from the very talented Annalisa, whose cakes and sweets I adore (I will soon write a post about her baking).
Last but not least this amazing pistachio cake with pistachio cream filling and pistachio grenadine. Pistachio cream is soooo good! It is like Nutella but green. To make it yourself is very expensive, so I suggest you buy it; take a look here.
I like baking with pistachios, they are a wonderful (also expensive) ingredient, and I am "jealous" of these recipes, but if I did inspire you and you would like to have the ingredients and steps for the preparation one of these desserts just leave a comment and I will post! Promise!
Enjoy ♥
Martina
Sunday, 3 March 2013
Banachoc muffins
Hey all! Did you have a nice weekend? A nice, intense, and sunny weekend? I did!
And to fill my belly... banana and chocolate muffins! For the dough simply follow this recipe with half the ingredients. Well of course you can use the same amounts if you plan on making many many many muffins, but remember that bananas have to be eaten within a couple of days. For the icing I smashed one banana and mixed it with icing sugar, a spoon of butter, and cocoa powder. And there you are: a very easy recipe which doesn´t look to pretentious but tastes delightful. By the way the way the cases I used are from the Spanish brand Lekue, they are made of silicon, can go in the oven, can be washed in the dishwasher, plus they are really cute, and useful.
Enjoy ♥
Martina
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