oh-so-quiet

this dessert is probably one of my fondest memories. It was the dessert my grandmother, on my fathers side, would always do when she’d come to visit, or when we went to stay with her. It was pure joy, and ever since she passed away, no one in our family baked it again. It was too special.

On our last visit to Pedro’s grandmother, I copied a couple of recipes from her old cookbook, and asked her about a recipe for almond caramel pie. And there it was.

I baked it once, and ate it straight from the oven. And for a split second, she was there, again.

Almond Caramel Pie

For the batter:

150g caster sugar

150g strong flour

2 eggs

100g butter

1 teaspoon of baking powder

For the filling:

100g caster sugar

125g butter

3 tablespoons milk

150g peeled almond

How to make it:

In a bowl, mix the sugar and the butter until soft and creamy, and then add the eggs, flour and baking powder.

Line the moulds and bake in a medium hot oven, for about 15 minutes, or until golden.

For the filling, put the butter, milk, sugar and almonds in a pan on a medium heat and let it cook until the mixture is sticky and golden – make sure you stirr often so that it does not stick to the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat, and spread the caramel almonds on top of the cooked batter and let it cook for a few minutes in the oven.

I didn’t buy any flowers this past week, so this is just some random images I had  saved and think they sum up my mood.

Recipes from an Italian Summer

I Know How to Cook

Ready for Dessert: My Best Recipes

Dough

These simply gorgeous wedding invitations were designed Mae Mae Paperie and handwritten by Betsy Dunlap.

yes, I might be a bit obssessed with them.

These screen-printed recipe tea towels from Mozi are cute, and really handy when you tend to forget your recipes!

The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie

This was one of the first cookie recipes I made, and it is a keeper. They’re really tasty, so easy to make and if kept in a jar or container, last at least a couple of weeks. Even if I could swear you won’t be able to keep them for that long ..

Quantities

• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups milk chocolate chips

How to Make Them

1. In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
2. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugars on medium-high until light and fluffy, 6 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low and beat in eggs, one at a time. Beat in vanilla. Mix in flour mixture just until incorporated; fold in chocolate chips and chunks.
3. Using a 1/4-cup ice-cream scoop or a large spoon, drop dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet (you should have 24) and refrigerate 1 hour. Preheat oven to 180º.  Arrange 6 unbaked cookies, 3 inches apart, on each of two parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until edges are light golden brown, 17 to 18 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool. Bake remaining dough using new parchment.

this embroidered wedding invitation by Anna Bond is amazing!

New York City is three months away.

photo via sfgirlbybay

It’s been a busy busy week and I’m so glad it’s Friday and that tomorrow we’re heading to Porto for some fun.

I hope you all have a great weekend!