Not quite right // Kugelhopf

Wanting something so much that you strive for perfection every time is a fulfilling feeling and when you bake something that doesn't match that, you write down what you did, figure out what went wrong and start again. I made kugelhopf. I don't think it was wrong let's say, I just don't think it was as it could or should be. The texture wasn't as soft as I wanted and flavours didn't shine through like I wanted. This was my spiced fig and lemon kugelhopf...

Sweet sweet delicate figs bursting with summer tones, I'm not sure there is anything more beautiful....

But in the end, it still looked pretty and tasted wonderful warm with slathering of proper butter. 

If it wasn't for the pot mould I picked up from a French antiques shop a few years ago I would never have made this, that mould was the start of my antique baking equipment collection. After purchasing said mould and having a long discussion with owner of said shop I went home with the difficult task of finding a recipe for this Alsatian cake. Now I won't say this too often, but thank god for the Great British Bake Off because I used this recipe, which I adapted with spiced honeyed figs and lemon instead of apple and cinnamon though I may have to try the latter next time!

Italian almond biscuits // Little treats

Little treats... little, delectable, delicious, sweet treats. These are quite possibly my favourite thing to eat alongside a shot of strong black coffee with a good crema. Being a favourite of mine, I thought I should really learn how to bake them and was pleasantly surprised by how simple these moorish biscuits are to make (yet slightly messy if you dig in with your hangs, as did I... queue biscuit dough being flung everywhere).

There are umpteen recipes around for these biscuits, I went for David Lebovitz which you can find here yet I put my own twist on these lovely things with the addition of homemade raspberry and blackcurrant jam. The addition of stem ginger is pretty wonderful as well and I'll soon be making a whole batch of stem ginger Italian almond biscuits.

These perfectly sized treats are chewy and sweet and everything you want from a biscuit, they would go perfectly after a strong cheese course to finish a meal. Or you could just sit and eat them one after another...

Beautiful handmade cup and saucer purchased in Damme near Bruge -  here