there are few cakes that cross my mind as often as the pink champagne cake i made two years ago does. i think this is due to a combination of three things: 1) it's one of the prettiest cakes i've ever made, 2) my life was in complete turmoil when i made it, and 3) the [...]
i took the red-eye megabus home from d.c. last thursday night and arrived in durham friday morning, bleary-eyed but ready to bake in my own kitchen. i scrolled through pinterest and came across molly yeh's adorable sugar cookies, which seemed like the perfect way to start off my holiday baking, but after reading the recipe, [...]
since i was born on the last day of january, i won't get to experience my golden birthday until i turn 31. that'll be in more than a decade! because i have to wait so long, i've been living vicariously through other people's golden birthdays for as long as i remember. people usually either forget [...]
scroll through the pictures again, but this time imagine that the frosting is stitched thread. it could totally pass for embroidery, right?! especially the bird with both of its wings spread (fourth from the top). otomi-style patterns come from the otomi people, who live in the sierra madre oriental mountains in hidalgo, mexico. the prints' figures are said [...]
british english is so much better than american english.* especially the insults. i'd much rather call someone a tosser or a prat than an idiot or a dumbass. i'd also like to start saying "cheers" in place of "thank you." apparently brits call sprinkles "hundreds and thousands"?? that's cool. it's sort of a mouthful but it [...]
a few years ago, everyone became obsessed with red velvet cake. ben & jerry's came out with a red velvet ice cream, oreos released red velvet cookies, and pop tarts invented a red velvet toaster pastry. in recent months, the red velvet craze has died down and been replaced by a new flavor: birthday cake. birthday [...]
i like some artificial fruit flavorings - banana laffy taffys, sour apple lollipops, and blue raspberry slushies are all delicious - but i have a strong aversion to anything made to taste like strawberry. that goes for strawberry milk, strawberry jelly beans, and store-bought strawberry ice cream. the quarts of neopolitan ice cream with chocolate, vanilla, [...]
i don't mean to brag, but i think it's safe to say that i was the tooth fairy's favorite little kid. our relationship went waaaay past the conventional money-for-tooth exchange. she left notes under my pillow every night, regardless of whether i'd lost a tooth. sometimes the notes were even accompanied by small gifts: a thimble, [...]
edinburgh castle sits swathed in a shroud of cold fog, perched atop a craggy bluff overlooking the scottish capital. while visiting the city in november, my parents and i trekked up edinburgh's cobbled streets to take a self-led tour of the castle. unfortunately, after five minutes of standing in the wind, my appendages were purple and [...]
i have writer's block or maybe i should call it a strawberry jam SORRY you’ll need a 6-inch cake ring and a 6×20 strip of acetate cake (recipe from chocolate moosey) 1 cup sliced fresh strawberries 1 tbsp water 2 cups flour, sifted 1 1/2 cups + 2 tbsp sugar 1 tbsp baking powder 1 tsp kosher [...]
LENA'S LUNCHBOX 