Update from Upstate

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New York, summer, updates

Where in the world have I been?!

Aside from a bit of an absence from the blog (oops), I’ve been in upstate New York this month doing this again:

If you followed my adventures last summer, you may remember that I drove all the way from Texas like a nutter, but that I also spent some time working in Ohio afterward. This year it’s just New York, so I flew…and took two trains, a cab, and then got a ride to this place. Remote gig is remote!

Without the luxury of being able to overpack my trunk, I’m even more limited than last year in the unequipped dorm kitchen, but my little french press totally made its way up here. Bless that wonderful caffeinator. As you can imagine, I’m cooking super basic things that would bore you to tears and I definitely haven’t been baking. (Ironically, I made Butterbeer here a year ago which is now the most popular post by far, traffic-wise…)

Daring Bakers’ Challenge: Battenberg Cake!

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baking, Battenberg, British, cakes, curd, Daring Bakers, marzipan

Mandy of What The Fruitcake?! came to our rescue last minute to present us with the Battenberg Cake challenge! She highlighted Mary Berry’s techniques and recipes to allow us to create this unique little cake with ease.

You’ve seen these cakes, right? Likely it’s just been a photo on the box for a special pan and you’ve wondered, now how does that work? That was exactly my position with these cakes before the challenge was posted, and then once I saw how it was done, it seemed so obvious and simple.

Well, yes and no. Making a foil and parchment divider for a glass dish with rounded edges sounds like a super fun time, doesn’t it? If you agreed, you are a CRAZY person. Seriously. It turns out it doesn’t need to be perfect though because the batter is so thick, it isn’t going anywhere.