Welcome to Part 2 of my baking adventures! If one benefit has come about from not leaving our house, baking is definitely it. It's gotten me to try recipes I've been meaning to learn for some time AND has gotten companies to release some of their most loved recipes! Disney Parks Blog has been sharing a lot of their classic recipes for fans to recreate at home.
Mickey Mouse Beignets
Back in April Disney shared their beignet recipe and I knew I had to make them! Unfortunately we didn't have vegetable shortening and the 2 times I tried to have someone on InstaCart buy it they couldn't find it...grr! So when Christian finally went to the grocery store - for the first time since we started isolating - I had him get me some along with heavy cream. When I first saw the recipe I also had him 3D print me some Mickey cookie cutters so I could do mickey shapes instead of regular beignet shapes (you can buy official ones here.)
Rosemary Focaccia Bread
Focaccia is one of my favorite breads so naturally I had to make some of my own. I found a recipe I liked on Gimme Some Oven and modified it slightly by adding some fresh oregano leaves from our garden in addition to the rosemary! Definitely want to make this again with different herbs - maybe some caramelized onions too, yum!
Pizza Express Doughballs
Pizza Express Doughballs are one of my must-get treats every time I go to London. Probably a good thing I learn to make them on my own as international travel will be weird for a while (not that I was planning a trip to London, but it’s always an option if I find cheap flights.) The recipe is in their highlights on Instagram - you can also find it here! Next time I make these I'm going to make them a little smaller and freeze half so we can enjoy them longer.
As Easy As Apple Pie's Moist Chocolate Cake (no eggs, no butter)
We made this cake when we had milk but didn't want to use up eggs or butter. It wasn't the best cake I've ever had but it was pretty good! Definitely needs the powdered sugar on top. We also added chocolate syrup to make it taste more chocolatey. Between this and the Depression Cake I shared in Part 1 I'd choose the DC every time.
Strawberry Rumble
A variation on this raspberry rumble recipe because we didn’t have raspberries. We also didn’t have sliced almonds for the top, which adds a nice texture. It was still delicious! My favorite part is the frosting - a simple Swiss Meringue.
Dark Chocolate Sorbet
Once we bought our fancy cocoa powder I decided to try my hand at making some ice cream! We don't have an ice cream maker but this was still super easy to make. It's SUPER rich so you won't need a lot to feel satisfied.
Pizza Crust
Pizza dough counts as baking, right? We usually buy our dough at the grocery store but since I have tons of yeast I thought why not!? This first recipe I tried was from King Arthur Flour. It was a little too crunchy for my liking and could use some more salt but Christian really loved the crispiness! When I ate my second half the next day it was softer and I enjoyed it more. Now I'm on the hunt for a super fluffy soft pizza dough to try.
I'm trying to ease myself back into blogging, but still no outfit photos...I did take a set a few weeks ago that I'll post eventually. Just waiting on Christian editing them.
Since quarantine began I’ve found comfort in baking. I used to love baking desserts and somewhere along the line I “got too busy" and stopped. But, being stuck inside for weeks on end, having a new - or favorite - recipe to bake on the weekend gave me something to look forward to.
Here are some of the things I've been baking lately. There will be a part 2 because I have too many for one post!
Chocolate Almond Dasquoise with Creme Patissiere
I’ve wanted to make a Dacquoise cake for a few years after seeing a ton of bakers make them on various Food Network championships. I saw a Nigella Lawson recipe for a “Gooey Chocolate Stack” that I liked the look of - she made it with a creme patisserie as the filling/topping. Before I made it I realized it didn’t use almond flour/almonds which is what makes a dacquoise a dacquoise - it needs to use a nut. I did a quick google and found a “Chocolate Almond Dacquoise” recipe on kosher.com. I adjusted the dacquoise recipe to use 6 egg whites so I could make the full recipe of creme patisserie and make 3 layers.
When we baked the dacquoise they came out SUPER crunchy which made me think we did it wrong (it’s basically macaron batter so i assumed it would be soft and chewy,) but once they had been stacked with the creme patisserie it softened them a bit which made it easier to cut and eat. The bottom layer had the most crunch because it only had creme on one side.
Homemade Bread
At the beginning of isolation Christian and I didn't want to go to the store or order grocery delivery (which we have only done twice this whole time) so we decided to make our own bread. Luckily I had some yeast packets to use. We loved how it came out and Christian decided he wanted to always make our own bread. so we bought a big package of yeast and make it every other week. We've been using this Taste of Home bread recipe but I have tried this no-knead bread recipe too. I want to try other eventually ones but we'll see!
Chrisitan did start going to the grocery store in the middle of last month to get deli meat because he had to go back to work in the office so we do go every other week now (3 times so far and I only went in once) but we're still making our own bread!
Chocolate Depression Cake
This is one of our favorite quarantine baking discoveries. We have been using a recipe from Budget Bytes that includes frosting but this is a very common recipe from the depression so they are all basically the same. We've made this 3 times already and are destined to keep making it for years. One note I'll make is try to use quality cocoa powder. We've used both Hershey's and a fancier brand, the fancier one is definitely better. But Hershey's will still be tasty! We used Rodelle Dutch Processed Cocoa.
Bagels with Pâte Fermentée
I was very excited about this one, I've always wanted to make my own bagels but was too scared. These were fairly easy but we need to get better at rolling them into the bagel shape so they close better. We used a recipe from King Arthur Flour but changed up how we baked them based on this Isolation Baking Show with Gesine and Jeffrey episode where they used the same recipe. Definitely watch for some helpful tips! We started them toppings down on a silpat and an upside down baking tray at 500F and then flipped them for the remainder of the baking at 425F. Next time we'll bake them longer so they get a bit more browned.
UPDATE: I made them again this weekend and they came out better but I forgot to let the dough rest before making the bagel shape so they are a little flat! Next time I'll get it right, haha
Instant Oatmeal Cookies
These cookies were made with instant oatmeal packets. Yep, you read that right! We bought them pre-isolation hoping to eat them while we were low on breakfast foods but I don’t like the texture of oatmeal and Christian wasn’t a huge fan of the flavor. SO I googled recipes and chose one from Sweet and Savory by Shinee! I added chocolate chips and sprinkles - she used m&ms and nuts - and they are so good!! Can’t wait to make them again!!
Nigella's Chocolate Olive Oil Cake with Almond Flour
I was looking for recipes to use up some almond flour that was going to expire and stumbled upon this recipe from Nigella Lawson. Nigella is amazing so I knew it would be delicious (one of my favorite desserts is her chocohotopots) The texture may throw you off a bit at first because of the almond flour but it’s nice and soft! If you have any chocolate-loving fruit hanging around eat it with that. I had each bite with a slice of strawberry and it’s so gooood!
French Macarons
Another almond flour recipe. I've been making them at least once a year for 10 years and decided to try a slightly different recipe this time and experimented with baking mats. They all were relatively the same, but the macarons were hardest to remove from macaron mat. (Go figure 🤣) Here is the original french macaron recipe I used to use.
Anyone else like me grow up watching Sailor Moon before waiting for the
school bus? It was a daily tradition
for my sister and I. Ahh, memories! I still have bootleg versions of the
series I bought while in college but have since upgraded to the newer
released Blu-Rays. Never getting rid of the original ones though, I love
the old voices! (And yes, I still call Usagi her American name,
Serena, I like it better!) Same thing for Darien, ha ha.
As I'm sure most of you know, I'm not a HUGE makeup person. I'm usually too lazy to put much effort into my look. But when I do want to wear makeup I go big with Chanel (what can I say, if I'm going to wear it, I might as well love it!) I have a few other random brands here and there but that's the bulk of my makeup.
Last year, Colourpop came out with a Disney collection that included one of my favorite characters, Meg! I bought her bundle knowing I most likely wouldn't use it (bright purple eye shadow isn't really my thing.) I did try the lip gloss and really liked the formula - which is big for me because Chanel lipstick is one of the few with a texture I like.
Earlier this year they released a Sailor Moon makeup collection. I resisted buying it the first time around because I had been having some slow work months and didn't need them. When they sold out within 30 minutes I found myself regretting my decision. Luckily for me, they did a re-release in June! I had wanted to splurge on the whole set for $89 but that sold out in seconds so I settled for just the lip glosses and a blush to get a variety of packaging. Once again I purchased knowing I wouldn't use them often, they're more of a collectors piece because I love Sailor Moon.
If you want to own anything in the collection I'm afraid you'll have to resort to paying jacked up prices on eBay. Darn those scalpers who buy up everything super fast!
If you want to get into the show, or relive your childhood, VIZ Media has been re-releasing the 90s version on DVD and Blu-Ray the past few years as part of the 20th anniversary. You can also watch Sailor Moon Crystal which is based a little more off the manga, but they aren't finished yet so if you start you'll have to wait a while for the next installment. Both are also on Hulu.
Sailor Moon Limited-Edition BluRay
I took advantage of a Shopbop promo earlier this month for an extra 25% off sale. I scored a beautiful Ba&sh Paris dress to wear to my brother's wedding. I'm not usually one for long dresses but I felt the occasion called for it and this dress popped out at me while I was perusing the dress section. I almost didn't buy it because it was a bit pricey but since I was using gift cards I decided to treat myself! It's sold out on Shopbop now but you can still get it Ba&sh website or Farfetch. For sizing I bought a 2/Small, which is my usual. I'm fairly short (about 5'2") and it drags a teeny bit with the 3.5" heels I want to wear with it.
THE (modified) RULES
- Be mindful of purchases
- Quality over quantity
- Basics are best
Clothes:
- FARM Rio Amazonian Ombre Mini Wrap Dress c/o Shopbop ($127.50, retail $170)
- Burberry beaded owl sweater via eBay ($75, retail $2950 in 2012)
- Stella McCartney Wild Cat Skinny Ankle Jeans via eBay ($15 after ad money, retail $735)
- *NEW!* Ba&sh "Perla" dress in Green Light c/o Shopbop ($236.25, retail $630)
Basics:
- J Brand 811 Mid Rise Skinny Leg Jean in Moral ($0 after $25 credit & ad money, retail $228)
- Madewell Camp Shorts in Faded Rosebud c/o Shopbop ($35, retail $50)
- Ancient Greek Sandals 'Clara' Sandal c/o Shopbop ($221.25, retail $295)
- Sperry Rio Aqua Slip-On Sneaker ($14.83 via DSW, retail $64.99)
Accessories:
- Ray Ban 'Erika' Sunglasses in Havana c/o Shopbop (retail $163)
- Madewell Medium Slim Saddle Bag c/o Shopbop ($118.50, retail $158)
- Shashi Princess Leia Necklace c/o Shopbop ($55)
Activewear:
- SPANX Look At Me Now Seamless Leggings in Indigo Leopard c/o Shopbop ($68)
Gifted from Brands:
- AUrate Pearl Studs in Rose Gold (retail $150)
- AUrate Medium Chain Bracelet in Rose Gold (retail $50)
Total spent in June: $0
Total spent in 2020: $104.83
There's only so much isolation a girl can take before she shops online. I was doing so well at resisting the urge. But then at the end of last month I got an email from eBay. A seller offered me a discount on a sweater I'd been following for a while. For those of you that are longtime blog readers you'll remember when I DIYed a Burberry owl sweater. To this day I still have an eBay alert setup for "Burberry owl" because I couldn't get the real thing out of my mind. A month or two ago I found this one and followed it knowing I probably wouldn't buy it. Long story short - I bought it. See this post for more.
I also used my Shopbop partnership money for some purchases. I wanted a new pair of leggings for when I eventually get out hiking or walking (still holding out hope for our camping trip for the 4th of July, but I doubt that will happen due to mandatory quarantines upon entering Vermont.) I also ordered a cute pair of Madewell shorts on sale for $35 in a rusty pink since I just have denim and green/beige khaki shorts at the moment. Finished off the order with 3 of the same necklace - one for Mom for Mother's Day and then one for my sister and I so we could all match.
Another eBay purchase ended the month of excessive purchasing. I've been searching for a Stella McCartney cat print blouse for a friend and in the process I found these awesome leopard print jeans! I got the seller down to $80 and had some ad money to cover most of the purchase! Brand new with tags too!
THE (modified) RULES
- Be mindful of purchases
- Quality over quantity
- Basics are best
Clothes:
- FARM Rio Amazonian Ombre Mini Wrap Dress c/o Shopbop ($127.50, retail $170)
- *NEW!* Burberry beaded owl sweater via eBay ($75, retail $2950 in 2012)
- *NEW!* Stella McCartney Wild Cat Skinny Ankle Jeans via eBay ($15 after ad money, retail $735)
Basics:
- J Brand 811 Mid Rise Skinny Leg Jean in Moral ($0 after $25 credit & ad money, retail $228)
- *NEW!* Madewell Camp Shorts in Faded Rosebud c/o Shopbop ($35, retail $50)
- Ancient Greek Sandals 'Clara' Sandal c/o Shopbop ($221.25, retail $295)
- Sperry Rio Aqua Slip-On Sneaker ($14.83 via DSW, retail $64.99)
Accessories:
- Ray Ban 'Erika' Sunglasses in Havana c/o Shopbop (retail $163)
- Madewell Medium Slim Saddle Bag c/o Shopbop ($118.50, retail $158)
- *NEW!* Shashi Princess Leia Necklace c/o Shopbop ($55)
Activewear:
- *NEW!* SPANX Look At Me Now Seamless Leggings in Indigo Leopard c/o Shopbop ($68)
Gifted from Brands:
- AUrate Pearl Studs in Rose Gold (retail $150)
- AUrate Medium Chain Bracelet in Rose Gold (retail $50)
Total spent in May: $90
Total spent in 2020: $104.83
