That Quest

Tags

baking, Cake, Chocolate brownie, Chocolate chip, Cream Cheese Frosting, Doughnut Plant, Food, recipes, Red velvet cake, Valentine, Valentine's Day

So that quest in search of the perfect Valentine’s Day treat I told you about?

Ya.

Well, safe to say, I’m torn.

Countless super-duper-yummy-scrumptious-must-make-now options. Seriously, you guys. It’s a problem.

I thought I’d chronicle some of the recipes I’m looking at. That way, I’ll easily be able to come back to this post at later dates in order to try more of the recipes. I’m also thinking that perhaps I may just find a treat you can’t resist baking either. Just maybe. Wouldn’t that be a great bonus? [And remember...baking is the best therapy. The best!]

In no particular order…

• Strawberry Lemonade Bars. Straight up lemon bars are downright amazing. So strawberry lemonade bars?! Must be exquisite! These would probably be especially good in the summer with freshly picked strawberries!
• Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies. It’s no secret; I love both red velvet and cheesecake in their various forms. And brownies aren’t half bad either, are they?! Wouldn’t these be cute if after baking you used a heart-shaped cookie cutter to make them a perfect fit for Valentine’s Day?
• Brown Butter Cake with Cookie Dough Frosting. Cookie Dough Frosting?! Sign me up! I’ll admit this cake doesn’t especially scream “Valentine’s Day!” – which is kind of what I was hoping for, but it just sounds deeelicious! [So glad I discovered that blog too with this quest of mine! Other recipes I'd love to try? Candied Lemon Cake, Coconut Cream Birthday Cake [who says you need a birthday to make it!], Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Cookies. And that’s just the beginning!]
• Tangent: I also discovered this blog. Although I don’t think any of the recipes are the right fit for what I have in mind this time around, I’m definitely eager to try out some of the recipes: Citrus Banana Smoothie, Pumpkin Black & White Cookies, Vanilla Mango Cupcakes with Cinnamon Swirl & Cream Cheese Frosting, Butternut Squash Soup with Hazelnuts and Parsley Pesto, Poppy Seed Focaccia with Lemon and Goat Cheese, Banana Coconut Streusel Muffins, Strawberry Peach Banana Smoothie, Gingered Ren Lentil Dal & Garlicky Naan, Goat Cheese Hazelnut Drop Biscuits, Ginger Plum Applesauce. Whew. Told you it was a good find of blog!
• Now, I don’t like raised doughnuts [the only doughnuts I like are the cake [and occasional raised, I'll admit] doughnuts from Doughnut Plant in NYC], but if I did, I’d bake these up in a flash…Pink Raised Doughnuts with Toasted Coconut. I bet my mom would adore these.
• Apricot and Lavender Tart. Mmmm! Again, not the most Valentine’s Day themed dessert, but it sure sounds intriguing!
• Dark Chocolate Brownies with Raspberry Goat Cheese Swirl. Goat cheese. Enough said. [In my book, goat cheese=to dieeee for!]
• Amanda, who gave me the recipe for these bars this past summer, suggested this snickerdoodle cake with this cream cheese frosting. I can’t even imagine how tasty it must be…I mean, snickerdoodle in cake form, with cream cheese frosting?! [See her comments on this post to see how she altered the recipe!]
• I’ve also been toying with the idea in my head of making chocolate chip cookies, but instead of the normal chocolate chips, chopping up some of that Lindt Dark Chocolate Chili and using it. I’ve never tasted it, but I’ve heard it’s amazing. I love chili and chocolate too, so it’s a tempting idea to try.

Seriously, you guys…what to do?????

[And knowing me, who says I'm done looking?! ]

Red Velvet (A Plea for Recommendations!!)

Tags

baking, Cake, cakes, competition, Cooking, cupcakes, dessert, Food, layer cakes, recipe, red velvet, snack, suggestions, sweets

I have a request for you…

You see, I’m having a friendly little competition with a friend to see who can come up with the best red velvet cake (there are even judges involved!). As far as I know at this point, appearance/decorating does not matter; it’s purely based on taste.

Now normally, I wouldn’t hesitate one bit if someone asked me to make them a red velvet cake…I do have an old standby that is quite good. But, this is a competition! I need the best of the best, the creme de la creme of red velvet cakes!

Here’s where you come in…would you mind sharing with me your absolute favorite red velvet cake recipes? I will be doing trials…so chances are, if you suggest it, I’ll try it.

I know, I know…I’m quite intense with my so-called “friendly competition!” But can you blame me? I want to win! Is that so wrong?

Thanks a bunch!

Sweet Tooth (Wedding Cake)

Tags

baking, Baking and Confections, Cake, Chocolate, Home, Mousse, wedding, Wedding cake

When I mentioned to you guys that I recently made a wedding cake, I was met with the hunger to hear more about it from some of you. So naturally, I’d love to tell you a bit more about it!

Besides fashion, baking is another passion of mine (although fashion most definitely comes first). I’m always craving sweets and thus baking…trust me, at my house, you almost always have baked goods! Baking also proves to be quite therapeutic for me – honestly, the best kind of therapy (although not so much for the waistline….!).

Anyway, a bit over a month ago, my aunt and uncle were telling me how my cousin had yet to select a wedding cake for her then in-just-a-month-wedding. She wasn’t finding what she wanted at a reasonable price. A joke was thrown out that I should make the cake, and actually, that sounded like an amazingly fun type of challenge for me. Fast forward to a week later, and I was officially making the cake!

Suffice to say, my mind was on the cake nearly 24-7. I tested recipes every weekend (sometimes weekdays too) and did much research.

I ended up doing two different flavors, both as collaborations with what my cousin, the bride, wanted. The cake was three tiers, with the top and bottom tiers being vanilla cake with a chocolate mousse filling, and the middle tier being a chocolate cake with a chocolate hazelnut mousse filling. The entire cake was iced in an off-white buttercream (no fondant!!!). Around the bottom of each tier was a ribbon matching the color scheme of the wedding. On the top of the cake was a monogram with the bride and groom’s initials that the bride picked out.

Oh, and have I neglected to mention that I wasn’t even baking this cake in my own kitchen? Ya, it’s true. I baked it in my cousin’s (the bride’s) kitchen, and it was actually the first time I had ever even seen her kitchen, let alone baked in it (we live in different states). Regardless of this and the fact that I am in reality a novice to the wedding cake industry, I am proud – and relieved(!!!) – to say that the cake turned out! Not only did it taste great (if I may toot my own horn!), but it also did not collapse, something which always worried me a bit!

A few fun, random facts:

• 10 pounds of butter used in the entire cake
• approximately 16 or so hours to make the cake (not including the hour transportation to the venue and the set-up time)
• 84 ounces chocolate used (bittersweet and semisweet)
• 4 dozen eggs used
• bottom tier alone weighed 35 pounds

And yes, the question you’re all asking, “Would I do it all again?”

Yes, I’d do it all again. In. A. Heartbeat.

*I know you may all be disappointed about this, but I, unfortunately, am not going to share pictures. This is simply to protect the privacy of the bride and groom.

Some Explaining

Tags

Baking and Confections, Cake, Cooking, fashion, Home, style, styling, styling request, Weddings

Uhhh…hi! It’s me! Yes, I am alive! Obviously, I have some major explaining to do, considering it’s been a bit over a month since my last post (yikes!)! Honestly though, I’ve got no other explanation for you other than the simple and probably overused answer of, “I’ve been busy.” This statement does hold some merit for me though, truth be told. I mean, guess what? I made a wedding cake (and started practicing for it – the minute I found out I was getting the green light to make it - just five short weeks before the big day).

Suffice to say, life’s been busy but amazing in many ways lately. Of course, there have been a few bumps in the road too, but it’s all about keeping perspective.

On to some fabulous, exciting news…I have a styling request coming up for you very, very soon! Stay tuned!

*And, as always, thanks for your support.

Texts, Cupcakes, Clothes, and Vending Machines

Tags

aid, Alexander Wang, baking, Cake, candy, cell phone, clothes, clothing, communication, Cook, Cupcake, earthquake, Entertainment, fashion, Home, Japan, link, phones, Quick Buttercream Frosting, relief, soda, style, styling, support, telephones, text message, texting, vending machine

Boy, do I have some good finds in this week’s mid-week pick-me-up! Take a look:

Cindi has launched her new photography website with her husband! I’m so excited for the two of them! Congrats!

I’m loving Alicia’s combination of black lace and leather…those Alexander Wang shorts are gor-geous!

This is a really interesting post about over-analyzing text messages…I know I do it all the time! What about you?

Goodness, gracious…all of these cupcakes flavors have my mouth watering - Sour Cream Strawberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting, Mango Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting and Coconut, Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache and Cream Filling, just to name a few.

Anh makes an all-taupe ensemble look oh, so chic, as usual. Seriously, this woman can do no wrong!

I’m loving Dylana’s outfit with this great leather jacket, pink striped top, and green flow-y skirt (oh, and those shoes!). This is a great way to give softness a bit of an edge!

These vending machines are ingenious – you can donate money to Japan by entering money, or you can choose to give your change from whatever you got to Japan ! …So getting that pack of M&Ms wouldn’t make you feel so guilty if the change went to a good place!! Such a smart idea!

Any of these links in particular ones you love? And do you have any cool links to share with me?! Please do!

(*note: All pictures used belong to the sources from which they were pulled.*)

Dessert turned Styling

Tags

accessory, anthro, anthropologie, baking, Baking and Confections, Blouse, Cake, cheesecake, chinos, Chocolate, clothes, clothing, Color, Cooking, fashion, Graham cracker, heels, Home, Jewelry, luxury, Nutella, Palette (computing), pants, ring, shoes, style, styling, top, Trousers

I hope you’ve all gotten a chance to look at my post from earlier today on the Nutella Cheesecake Layer Bars I made today. If not, I highly encourage you to at least go take a quick peak, as it relates to this post!

I’m all for combining my love of fashion (my first love) and my love of baking (my second love). Therefore, I thought I’d do an inspired styling based on those Nutella Cheesecake Layer Bars (which I’ll from here on out refer to as NCLB for conciseness’ sake). After all, I find these bars to be quite inspiring…1) they’re graphic with their three differently colored layers, 2) they’re luxurious, 3) I love their sophisticated color palate of cream and shades of brown.

So, I took this…

…and translated it into this!….

Arced Crosshatch Blouse – $148

Metier Chinos (brown) – $98

Oxer Heels – $398

Commuter Tote (navy…but looks rather black) – $348

Juxtaposed Gems Ring – $198

There is no doubt this look is not lacking in the sophistication or elegance department! All of the pieces, separately and together, seem polished. When put together though, they still feel effortless and not at all stuffy. The look gives off an aire of luxury and indulgence too though, which is found very much in the NCLB.

While I did take some liberties by changing up the color palette of the styling from the NCLB (I added black which the NCLB did not have), I still feel the ensembles evokes a similar feeling to the bars.

Now if only I could wear this look while chowing down on the bars…

From Internet to Reality

Tags

baking, Baking and Confections, bars, Butter, Cake, cheesecake, Chocolate, Cooking, Cream, Cream cheese, europe, Fahrenheit, fashion, Food, France, Graham cracker, Home, homemade, mid-week pick-me-up, Nutella, Paris, recipe, Sugar, Tablespoon, Vanilla extract

Yesterday, in my Mid-Week-Pick-Me-Up link share, I pointed out some Nutella Cheesecake Layer Bars that had my name written all over them. I mean, hello?!?! Nutella…and…cheesecake…YUM! I mentioned that there would be a good chance I would be making the bars soon.

Well guess what? I made them already. From internet to reality, they’re now sitting in my stomach fridge.

Don't they look glorious?!

Ready for a little “tour” of these puppies? Have a look…you might want to hold your jaw up before you start looking so as to keep the drooling from the mouthwatering you’ll surely experience to a minimum…

that's headed straight to my mouth! *swallowed*

...going in for another bite...

...*swallowed*....time for another bite...

POOF...all gone! (don't worry...those crumbs were licked right up!)

I’m sure most of you are wondering, “SO?! How were they?!?!?!!?!?”

Well, they were good. Pretty darn good. Are they my favorite dessert ever? No. Then again, though, I do bake super-duper often, so I’m probably more jaded than some of you. Anyways, I still think you should give them a try! (And, of course, then tell me what you think of them!) And in terms of level of difficulty…these aren’t bad at all. Don’t be intimidated at all!

*Some of you may not know this, but second to fashion, my heart lies with baking (and cooking, to an extent). While I don’t normally share recipes, I thought I would today because I did mention these bad boys to you yesterday.

.

Nutella Cheesecake Layer Bars

adapted from The Moonlight Baker (blog)

.

8 chocolate Graham Crackers (I’m guessing a chocolate wafer cookie – no frosting – would work well too)

1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

2 eggs, room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup and 1 tablespoon heavy cream (divided)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons Nutella

.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Grease an 8-inch-by-8-inch pan. Line with foil down the middle with an overhang on two opposite sides. Grease once more.

In a food processor, crush the Graham crackers until they’re in fine crumbs. Add the cooled, melted butter and continue pulsing until evenly combined.

Evenly press the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for about 12 minutes, or until set. Allow to cool.

In a large mixing bowl, combine with an electric mixer until combined and smooth the room temperature cream cheese, room temperature eggs, sugar, 1/4 cup heavy cream, and vanilla extract. Remove about 1/3 of the mixture and place in a separate bowl (you can merely eyeball it or get fancy and use your kitchen scale).

In the new bowl with 1/3 of the mixture, add 1 tablespoon heavy cream and all of the Nutella. Mix until incorporated.

Carefully, using a spatula, spread the vanilla cheesecake batter over the cooled crust. Put the Nutella cheesecake batter over top in dollops, so as to make it easier to spread without mixing the two layers. Then, evenly and gently spread the Nutella layer.

Bake in the oven for about 35-40 minutes, or until just the middle of the bars jiggle when the pan is moved. The edges may crack some and move away from the edges of the pan – this is fine.

Allow to cool and refrigerate for about 3 hours (if you can wait that long). Using the tin foil handles, remove the bars from the pan and slice into however big of pieces you wish – I won’t judge! Enjoy!

Mid-Week Pick-Me-Up

Tags

baking, Cake, clothes, clothing, Cook, Cooking, Cupcake, designer, dessert, fashion, fashion designer, Fridays, Fruit curd, Home, inspiration, internet musings, links, mid-week pick-me-up, musings, Peanut butter, recipe, runway, Stella McCartney

I decided that instead of pulling inspiration from around the web on Fridays, from now on I’ll do so on Wednesdays, for the most part. This way, it’s a mid-week pick-me-up! Ready for today’s pick-me-up (which is shorter than usual, considering it’s been less than a week since last time I shared links)?!

I bet you’ve never seen a maternity photoshoot quite like this…underwater! I don’t know how it was done, but the end result is absolutely breathtaking!

The lovely Kristina announced yesterday that she is releasing a book! Congrats! I know it’ll be unbelievably well written!

I’m loving Nat’s care-free, effortless chic look she submitted for the Sakura Bloom Styleathon’s first round. It just works, don’t you think?

Surely Stella McCartney’s summer collection makes you think of food:

How could it not? Well, one blogger has come up with the perfect cake using the collection as inspiration (thanks to Glitter Guide for originally pointing this out to me!)!

And the best part? The cake sounds YUMMY too (citrus cake w/ lemon curd filling and lemon/orange icing!!!)!

(photo credit)

 

Call me a sweet lover (which isn’t a lie, actually!), but I have another food related finding…have you ever thought of topping your cupcakes with two frostings? What about swirling them, but coming up with a perfectly neat finished product? Well, Your Homebased Mom showed readers how to do this with her Peanut-Butter Chocolate Twist Cupcakes. I’m sure, however, it could be done with any cupcake you could imagine! How cool! (Your Homebased Mom is the mother of fashion blogger Totally Tessa!)

That wraps up this week’s link sharing! Stay tuned for next week Wednesday’s Mid-Week Pick-Me-Up: Internet Musings! In the meantime, I’d love to hear about some of your own favorite findings!

And P.S. Did you see the launching of a new feature here on The Anthropologie Connoisseur yesterday? If you missed it, head on over here. To learn about submitting looks, I’ll send you in this direction - it’s really a simply process! Thanks!

It’s an Honor

Tags

anthropologie, Baking and Confections, birthday, Cake, Chocolate, Chocolate chip, clothes, clothing, Cooking, Home, J.Crew, style, styling, thanks

Readers, it’s an absolute and total honor. Imagine my surprise today when I visited Effortless Anthropologie on my daily blog rounds, and found that I had been nominated for “Best Outfit Stylings” in the Anthropologie Blogging Awards! Yes, I do take pride in the strong styling aspect of this blog, but wow, it was still a surprise. I thank you so much for the nomination, Readers. You truly have no idea how much it brightened my day (a wonderful day-after birthday present!)! Now, I really don’t expect to win, as this is still a relatively new blog, but again, it means a great deal! Thanks!

Anyway, as you know, my birthday was yesterday! It was lovely! I started out the day on a decadent note…chocolate chip pancakes, with Ghiradelli 60% cocoa chocolate chips (they’re huge!). For dinner, I had some awesome guacamole, mango salsa, and cheese quesadillas (avocado is my favorite food!). Dessert was chocolate cake with salted caramel frosting. It was divine, and I can’t wait to have more tonight! As for gifts, I received J. Crew’s Stretch Twill Minnie Pants in black, J. Crew’s Dressage Belt in black, and J. Crew’s Traversa Cardigan in sweet almond. I also got two books – one on dresses that changed the world and the other on shoes that changed the world. I got a calendar for 2011 with pictures of vintage Paris posters as well. And, I’ve been told I’m going to receive more gifts…perhaps some Anthro?! What great gifts! I’m so lucky and blessed!

(Minnie pants)

(Dressage Belt)

(Traversa Cardigan)

(all images from here)

I’m actually wearing the Minnie pants today (petite, size 00). Besides looking adorable, they are incredibly comfy! The cardi is super cute on (size XS, a bit big but doable), but I’m having doubts about the belt (size S). While its design is great, it’s big on me. I could add extra holes, but because of the design, I could only add one. I’m not sure if that would do the trick or not. I’ll update you on whether I decide to keep it or not.

 

Lastly, thank you so, so, so much for the kind birthday wishes! They were so nice to read!