Summer fruits are the star in my Very Berry Crisp, a Bijouxs Basics Recipe from the Little Jewels Kitchen. Continue reading Bijoux’s Basics: Very Berry Crisp
Category: Dessert
Marsala Olive Oil Cake
Bijouxs has lots of love for Olive Oil cakes. Baking got me through the days of cooking confinement. Thank goodness that is all behind us. I bring you Marsala Olive Oil Cake, another Little Jewel from the Kitchen.
OLIVE OIL CAKE
Marsala Olive Oil Cake is a version of the the now famous olive oil cake, Torta di Olio, from Maialino Restaurent in NYC. I posted my citrus take on that cake here. I love to see recipes get passed around, and changed, as happens many times with most of us who cook. Just a little more of this and less of that. I saw this cake by Chef Camilla Marcus, via Eye Swoon and adapted it. Just what I needed another olive oil cake recipe! One reason I love these sturdy olive oil cakes it that they are not a bit fussy and one-bowl wonders. I chose Marsala for the fotified wine, I feel Marsala is under utilized for baking. Marsala was a popular cooking wine back when I started my food education.
RECIPE ARCHIVE
This cake is a recipe I photographed during the dark days of the confinement. I was able to get some groceries delivered so I kept calm and cooked. Was it really two years ago? I built quite an archive during that period, with about 20 more recipes that are waiting to be shared. “Cooking can keep a person who tries sane” this truth from John Irving.
So, let’s keep cooking with Bijouxs Little Jewels from the Kitchen.
Small Batch Coconut Cake
Just the two of us…and we are hungry for a little Coconut Cake (think your favorite Lemon Bread). To the rescue–Small Batch Coconut Cake, this cake is diminutive in size but big on flavor, another Little Jewel from the Bijouxs Kitchen.
BREAD OR CAKE?
OK, what is the difference between a bread and a cake? I have always been confused. Yes, there is a difference, simply put it has to do with the leavening agents used. This post on Food 52 breaks it all down. Confusingly, classic Lemon Bread is really more like a cake baked in a loaf pan. So this recipe can be either cake or bread, which ever you like.
SMALL BATCH BAKING
All that confusion aside, simple sweet loaf cakes are my favorite. Mini loaves are easy to share with friends, take to parties, and of course are just enough for the two of us. Lemon Bread is the classic that bears repeating so, enter Small Batch Coconut Cake, a tropical take on the favorite.
COCONUT CAKE
Simple pantry ingredients make this cake. A sweet glaze is poured into the hot cake that creates a tender, flavorful cake. This recipe makes a perfect size cake for small households.
Enjoy another Little Jewel from the Bijouxs Kitchen.
Ada Boni’s Chocolate Cupcakes
Happy Sunday! I bring you an incredible chocolate cake recipe that hits all the marks in today’s food scene: no dairy, no butter, a perfectly vegan cake; oh did I mention the recipe is from Italy in 1929? Amazing cooks, making something from nothing in hardship days-Ada Boni’s Talisman Cake, a true little jewel.
ITALIAN REGIONAL COOKING
This cake popped up on my IG feed a while back-it looked like a mistake, another flawed recipe from the internet. After research I found out that this cake, Ada Boni’s Talisman Cake, is from a 1929 cookbook that was touted at the time as a book to give new brides as a wedding gift. This peaked my interest and down the rabbit whole I went to understand the history of this recipe. Not to my knowledge, I had a copy of Italian Regional Cookbook I picked up for couple bucks at a local thrift shop, also by Ada Boni!. My cookbook collection is out of control.
CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES
Back to the cupcakes (cake) recipe. This cake recipe does read like mistake. I was skeptical, but after multiple bakings, each time comes out fantastic, whether made as a cake or cupcakes. So, dense, so much chocolate, hard to believe recipe. The best thing is the simplicity. Dry ingredients in a bowl, add the wet and orange rind and bake, that’s all, really.
A couple of things, do not over bake or add more than called for orange zest or cinnamon, I went a little overboard one time, not good.I frosted the cupcakes with a rich coconut milk vanilla-bean labne (thick yogurt) whip. I love the tang and it keeps things dairy-free. Frost with your favorite vanilla frosting, or go crazy and do chocolate, you can’t lose either way.
HISTORIAL RECIPES
I can’t say enough how much cooking knowledge I have gained from reading from cook’s of the past from all over the world. My cookbook collection is a treasure. Food is universal, something that connects us all.
In creating Bijouxs Little Jewels from the Kitchen over 10 years ago, my was goal to bring you the” little jewels” a curated collection of recipes from different time periods and cultures. Now with 500 recipes on the website to search, you will find an abundant collection of eclectic recipes, something for everyone and every meal.
Stay tuned for a new chapter and format for the next ten years. Thank you for being a part of Bijouxs Little Jewels from the Kitchen.
Bijouxs Featured 805 Living Home Issue
Merci, Merci again to 805 Living Magazine! Grateful to again be featured in The Home Issue. The central coast is now my new home with fresh grown produce right down the street. My Spice Poached Bananas are included in this month’s issue. On newsstands and online.
THE 805 COMMUNITY
Big thanks to the publishing team at 805 Living for including me in this Spring issue. After working as a home design consultant in Santa Barbara for 6 months, I came to know many of the great food options along the Central coast. The food community is growing.
COASTAL LIVING
The beautiful coastline creates so many opportunities for fresh seafood and a wide variety of produce grown in the many agricultural communities. The sea has influenced many of my new recipes, such as the incredible Hope Ranch Mussels with Fresh Ginger & Thai Basil and classic California Fish Tacos using our local California Rockfish.
SPICED POACHED BANANAS
This featured recipe is a take on classic Bananas Foster from New Orleans. The original recipe was inspired by a recipe from the famous chef Lee Bailey, who was way ahead of all things on food & home styling. I had the chance to take a cooking class with him and have one of his cookbooks signed – very nice memory.
ON THE HORIZON
Wow! This post marks No. 500 on the blog. Stay tuned by signing up for the recipe newsletter, there are new things coming to Bijouxs Little Jewels from the Kitchen.
