Category: Cakes

No. 491Recipe Card Posted on by — Leave a comment

Victoria Tray Cake

Victoria Tray Cake | Bijouxs Little Jewels

While going through my cookbook collection I remembered a recipe for a “sheet” cake by Nigel Slater that I had wanted to try. Off work for a day I made Nigel’s Victoria Cake, with of course some minor revisions. A simple, straightforward cake easy to prepare–Victoria Tray Cake, a little jewel from the kitchen.

COOK VS CHEF

The past 10 years of my blog, Bijouxs Little Jewels from the Kitchen, I have honed my skills in food photography and cookbook design, working solo to create a brand of food style and books I am proud to call my own. I am not a chef, however I am a skilled, experienced cook, specializing in home cooking as a private chef for clients and my own family. I adore Nigel Slater’s Cookbooks and his writing.  So honest and talented he has influenced many recipe ideas into my work as a private chef, and also cooking in my home for family and friends. 

CLASSIC CAKE

The Victoria Tray Cake comes from this book, which I highly recommend. This is the kind of cookbook you pick up from time to time and read more from his seasonal kitchen diary, loaded with recipes.  What a marvelous idea to begin a kitchen journal. I have my little jewel collection file with hundreds of my favorite recipes, many of which I have shared with you on the blog. At this time, 490 recipes are all free on my website so grab them while you can.

I love simple baking as my skills lean towards cooking, which for me is a much more flexible kitchen experience. This cake therefore is very simple. A sheet cake that is prepared with on hand pantry ingredients and utilizes frozen fruit, perfect. Great for snacking, packing for lunches or alongside a cup of afternoon tea.

Victoria Tray Cake-another little jewel from the Bijouxs Kitchen.

No. 480Recipe Card Posted on by — Leave a comment

Claudia Roden’s Orange & Almond Cake

Orange & Almond Cake | Bijoux Little Jewels

An old world cake for the Passover and Easter holidays—Orange & Almond Cake is a delightful and simple cake. Discovering a vintage recipe cookbook is always a little jewel. Somewhere in my web-wanderings I discovered a middle eastern cake comprised of nothing more than whole oranges, ground almonds, eggs and some sugar, this cake intrigued me. Continue reading Claudia Roden’s Orange & Almond Cake

No. 450Recipe Card Posted on by — Leave a comment

Coffee-Cream Crunch Tiramisu

Coffee-Cream Crunch Tiramisu | Bijouxs Little Jewels

From my curated Bijouxs Little Jewels recipe collection comes this Coffee-Cream Crunch Tiramisu. I have had the recipe in my file since I found it (1980’s? 1990’s?) A wonderful ‘cake’ constructed with ladyfingers, coffee buttercream and lavishly coated with toasted hazelnuts, a little jewel from the Collection.

BIJOUXS RECIPE COLLECTION

Yes, there really is a Bijouxs Recipe Collection. Housed in a file box and binders containing recipes collected since I was 16 years old. Wow. I am so happy that I began the collection long ago. Nothing digital in those days, I resorted to ‘tear sheets’ from magazines, all filed by recipe category. Going through the file, each recipe takes me back to the time I collected it. Many recipes I have made, but there are hundreds I still hope to try. Most were collected from the top food and design magazines of the days, such as House & Garden, Saveur, Gourmet, W Magazine and other publications. My work as a designer led me to create Bijouxs Little Jewels from the Kitchen, photographing and sharing beautiful recipes for the home cook.

COFFEE-CREAM CRUNCH TIRAMISU

The history of this recipe goes way back, so far I don’t recall the exact date, but I can visualize the photos and recipes. I found the recipe clipped and pasted on a card in the file, thank goodness I did. This has been a go-to quick dessert. You can find ladyfingers at most supermarkets, which make this a cinch. The recipe is close to tiramisu, but not really. The ladyfingers are dipped in sweetened coffee, but the mascarpone cream is swapped out for a rich coffee buttercream. The toasted hazelnuts really add the texture. A friend suggested the nuts be chopped a little finer, that is your call. The original recipe was coated with rough chop hazelnuts, like my version pictured. Simple purchased ingredients, no baking, and make-ahead option make this a favorite dessert, right behind this cake. 

Coffee-Cream Crunch Tiramisu | Bijouxs Little Jewels

450 RECIPES

Hard to believe but this recipe marks number 450! Crazy how fast the time has gone. I am very proud of keeping Bijouxs real. Real food prepared and photographed without all the styling. Keeping it real for over 10 years. I know there are now SOOOO many food blogs and recipes online. Thank you to those who have stayed with me and purchased my cookbooks. I hope that the recipes bring joy and beauty to the home cook. 

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