Monthly Archives: September 2013

Honey Bran Muffins

I woke up this morning a bit homesick. I’m not usually that way, but I woke up missing Southern California in the fall. The sun still shining but a chill in the breeze, perfect weather for a hearty Sunday brunch. There’s this place near where I grew up called The Kettle. They’re open 24 hours and you could get anything on the menu at any time. The best thing about The Kettle was that you could choose muffins as your side dish, and bran muffins at that. I know right? Muffins as a side? You might think it’s a bit strange but anyone from the South Bay knows that The Kettle’s muffins could be eaten anytime, anywhere and with anything.

So herein, folks comes my dilemma. Purchase a plane ticket upwards of $1,000 to fly from London to LA to feed my homesickness craving, or attempt the impossible: recreate those sticky-sweet, hearty, chewy, crave-worthy muffins right in my own little London kitchen. If only I could jump on that plane! Well, off to the kitchen.

I didn’t have very high hopes for this experiment. Those muffins are so high up on my favorite foods list that they must be so technically difficult, time consuming and physically draining to make, right? Wrong! They were surprisingly simple and taste just like the original. I told my husband what I was attempting and he told me that I shouldn’t get upset if they didn’t turn out right. The look on his face when he tried them said it all. I’ve done it folks! The weekend just got a bit sweeter and stickier!

Strawberries & Cream Buttermilk Cake

In the words of Lana Del Rey, I’ve got that summertime sadness. More so the end of summertime sadness. Going back to school always brings a bit of the blues, so I decided to make a cake that I had made earlier this summer to really celebrate the season. One last night to eat the best of the warm summer nights: strawberries.

Strawberries are one of my favorite things about the summer months. Sweet, juicy and delicate British strawberries have a season that is gone even before you start to look for the precious ruby red fruits. To celebrate the season I dove head first into a bowl of strawberries and whipped cream: the most classic, simple and satisfying of desserts. But sometimes you just want cake, am I right?

I love a good Strawberry Shortcake. It was always my birthday cake of choice growing up. Most kids are diving head first into chocolate and sugary vanilla confections while I preferred the lightly sweetened whipped cream piled high on top of an airy sponge and scattered with slivers of plump strawberries. So I wanted to make one to celebrate the fast fleeting season of the British strawberry. But then I looked in the fridge and saw a lonely, desperate to be used carton of buttermilk. Sigh, I hate wasting good ingredients. So Buttermilk Cake it is!

This cake is a great hybrid of a Strawberry Shortcake and a classic Buttermilk cake. There’s a hint of vanilla in the cake with makes it that much more interesting and delicious.It is a simple and heartwarming cake that will please even the most diehard Shortcake fans (ie ME). I promise, you won’t be disappointed when you tuck into this delicious taste of summer, even if it is September.

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