Finding Nemo... eating cake!

Guys I just realised I haven't posted this cake from when I was in Como at the end of this summer. So here it is now! Luckily enough I found the recipe again; the net can be tricky with this stuff.

Ingredients:

180 gr. flour

180 gr. sugar

65 gr. butter

100 gr. grated coconut

150 ml. milk

1 egg

1 tablespoon baking powder

Grated peel of 1 lemon

Juice of 1 lemon

Confectioner's sugar

Procedure:

Beat the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy, then add the egg. Separately mix the flour and baking powder with the milk trying to eliminate lumps. Now blend the two mixtures gently and add the coconut, lemon peel, and juice. Spoon the batter in a cake mould and bake at 180•C for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. When cool sprinkle with confectioner's sugar and, if you wish, decorate wit some fondant. I decided to go for a fishy which reminded me of Nemo, one of my favourite Disney/Pixar characters and movies.

Enjoy

Martina

Blueberry mine... BOOM!

This cake is like a mine, a true blueberry explosion in your mouth! BOOM! BERRY! BOOM! Everybody loves it, that´s all I have to say... To bake this amazing cake I follow the recipe of the one and only Hummingbird Bakery.

Ingredients:

350 gr. unsalted butter at room temperature

350 gr. caster sugar

6 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

450 gr. plain flour

2 tablespoons plus 2 tsp baking powder

280 ml. soured cream

250 gr. fresh blueberries, plus extra to decorate

For the cream cheese frosting:

300 gr. icing sugar

50 gr. unsalted butter at room temperature

125 gr. cold cream cheese

Procedure:

Preheat the oven to 170°C.

Put the butter and sugar in a mixer with a paddle attachment and beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, the vanilla extract, the flour, and baking powder and keep beating until well mixed. Add the soured cream and mix until creamy.Gently stir in the blueberries by hand until evenly dispersed. Pour the mixture into the prepared mould and bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until golden brown and the sponge bounces back when touched. Leave the cake to cool slightly in the mould before turning out to cool completely. When the cake is cold, put it on a serving plate, cover the top and sides with the cream cheese frosting and decorate with more blueberries. 

The frosting:

Beat the icing sugar and butter together in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment until the mixture comes together and is well mixed. Add the cream cheese and beat until it is completely incorporated.

Enjoy ♥

Martina

The Darling

Concept stores! I love concept stores! Especially when the concept involves cupcakes, tea, bracelets, clothes, and you can truly see the dedication and passion of the person behind it. And I love them even more when you find them by chance, just walking through the streets of a big and busy city, maybe getting lost, and then suddenly you step into a completely different world; the world someone has created and has decided to share with you. 

So this is how it happened. When I was Amsterdam this summer I came across a very lovely and unique shop. Something I had never seen before, something I immediately fell in love with. It´s The Darling. As the "About us" on their page says this is a sugar-sweet shopping paradise in the middle of the busy Nine Streets is Amsterdam. Entering this shop evokes a "child entering a candy store" feeling, you really don´t know where to start or what to look at. It´s a magical combination of colourful accessories, cute knick-knacks, affordable brands and vintage, lovely furniture, mouth-watering cupcakes on two floors: shop downstairs, café upstairs. Behind every item and every detail, one can perceive the search for uniqueness this shop wants to sell to its customers, outclassing all mass production chains and mega stores. With limited budget at The Darling you can still find a one-off outfit.

Put all this together with a cupcake and you´ll have a lovely afternoon. The Darling Cupcake Café is a hangout where you can take a break enjoying a coffee, a tea or a fresh juice and savouring some sugar sweet cupcakes which are true works of art. Whilst sitting at the big coffee table upstairs you feel a bit like Alice in Wonderland, having a tea party with the Mad Hatter and all his pots and cups and sugar bowls. And if the weather is nice you might be lucky enough to get the table outside! Unfortunately the cupcakes and all other sweets cannot be sold online, but many other items can be found online on The Darling´s web shop here.

This lovely shop is also an inspiring place to celebrate. Wether it´s a party or a simple get together The Darling´s atmosphere makes it a perfect location. And to keep the concept of The Darling vibrating, the shop also hosts various workshops and events, such as beading, customising, knitting, and cupcake pimping. The idea of creating a space where fun, creativity, fashion, food, and sociality meet is brilliant. It´s so nice that I would like to live in Amsterdam just to be able to go to The Darling more often! 

I cannot praise the idea and not mention the person who had it. So here´s to you Nadine! The proud owner of The Darling. Where and when to find her and her beautiful shop? Here:

Runstraat 4

1016 GK Amsterdam

+31 (0) 20 422 31 42

Open on Monday from 1pm to 6pm, 

Tuesday through Saturday from 11am to 8pm, 

and Sunday from 12am to 6pm. 

Believe me this a place you want to go to when you are in Amsterdam. Forget about the touristic rubbish and go search for some real pearls. I loved The Darling because it is kept like a secret gem: if you find it amongst the side alleys of Amsterdam it will shine and make you happy you were there.

Enjoy ♥

Martina