Tag: Strawberries

Swedish Krem and Berries

Posted August 17, 2023 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

 

 

Today’s dessert from RONIA THE ROBBER’S DAUGHTER is the perfect ode to summer. After all, what could be more summery than fresh berries and cream? Ronia often mentions wild blueberries and strawberries during her rambles through Matt’s forest, so when it came time for me to plan this menu, I went hunting for a berry-themed dessert.

I chose a recipe for Swedish krem (cream) and berries I found on The Kitchen Magpie, which ties in beautifully with the book’s Scandinavian setting. Swedish krem is a breeze to make and SO delicious! The cream is rich and just sweet enough, while the berries offer a touch of tartness. I’m definitely making this next time I cook for a crowd. It’s the perfect make-ahead treat for a party!

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Poppy Eyebright’s Wedding Cake: Hazelnut Honey Cake, Elderflower Whipped Cream, and Fresh Strawberries

Posted June 22, 2023 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

 

 

Guys, this may be the most delicious thing I’ve ever made. I’m not even kidding. Poppy Eyebright’s wedding cake was my biggest motivation for making a Brambly Hedge menu to begin with, seeing as it’s the most iconic food in all the Bramby books. I’m SO glad I made it. It turned out amazing!

I feel like whenever anyone talks about Brambly Hedge food, we can’t help but gush about Poppy’s cake: three tiers of sponge cake interspersed with layers of cream and strawberries. I think we all imprinted on this cake because it’s simple yet decadent and highlights fresh, comforting flavors. It’s the physical embodiment of all things Brambly!

Interestingly, the description of Poppy’s wedding in the Brambly Hedge book SUMMER STORY doesn’t contain a description of her cake. Instead, we see several illustrations that include a cake fitting the description above. There is a larger, fancier cake in the illustrations as well. However, it hasn’t achieved the first cake’s level of fan recognition. This might be because it’s more formal, making it less emblematic of Brambly Hedge’s cozy cottage aesthetic. I like to imagine the larger cake was for the guests, while the smaller one was a bride and groom cake for Poppy and Dusty.

With that in mind, I decided to make mine a 6-inch cake. Since the book gives no description of the flavor, I decided to take my inspiration from another Brambly Hedge book. SPRING STORY describes Wilfred Toadflax’s birthday cake as “hazelnut cake with layers of thick cream,” which fits well with the illustrations of Poppy Eyebright’s wedding cake.

To start, I took the sponge recipe from the Honey Clementine Cupcakes in my new cookbook, A LITERARY PICNIC, and subbed in ground hazelnut for some of the flour. I was afraid it wouldn’t rise properly, but it turned out incredible. It’s quite possibly my best sponge recipe ever. It’s a lovely golden brown on the outside, and inside it has a texture that is somehow delicate and substantial—like if cake and banana bread had a baby.

For the cream layers, I whisked some elderflower liqueur into whipped cream, which added a lovely floral sweetness. To balance the richness of both the cake and the cream, I dotted fresh strawberries between the layers and added whole strawberries on top for decoration.

Could this be my magnum opus? It’s definitely one of my proudest culinary moments, and the pictures turned out amazing too (I had some perfect weather for outdoor photos!). So grab a plate and take a slice of this masterpiece out for a relaxing snack in the sunshine. It begs to be enjoyed with fresh air and greenery!

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Wild Salad

Posted July 7, 2022 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

 

 

Summer is here, and with it comes picnics, firepit cooking, and a banquet of fresh foragables. This abundance is what inspired me to choose MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN for my July-August menu. In the book, 10-year-old Sam Gribley runs away from home and lives alone in the Catskill Mountains, foraging and trapping his food. He describes dozens of wild edibles, most notably a “wild salad” of dandelion greens. So that’s what we’re making today!

Sam doesn’t specifically state what’s in the salad (apart from the greens), so I included lots of other items Sam eats in the book like fresh strawberries, apples, walnuts, and bird’s eggs (I used quail eggs). I roasted the walnuts in maple syrup, since Sam makes maple syrup in the book, and I for one LOVE a good candied nut in a salad. Of course, Sam wouldn’t have had any dressing, but I whipped up a quick maple syrup vinaigrette because to me salad just screams to have something holding everything together. I’m glad I did, because I think this is my new favorite dressing! It’s sweet-tart, with just a hint of spice from stone ground mustard. If you want to drizzle something book-accurate on your salad instead, you could whisk some maple syrup with a bit of rendered animal fat.

Full disclosure: I found the dandelion greens a bit bitter, but I would DEFINITELY make this again with a mix of dandelion and other greens.

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Very Hungry Caterpillar Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Tortilla Chips

Posted July 29, 2021 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

 

As you may recall, the Very Hungry Caterpillar LOVES fruit. When he eats his week-long feast, fruit makes up most of his diet, so today we’re making a recipe that includes every fruit he ate Monday-Friday. Say hello to my 5 Fruit Salsa!

This salsa is composed of finely diced apples, pears, plums, and strawberries generously drizzled with a refreshing clementine white balsamic vinaigrette (the clementine is the 5th fruit). Of course, every salsa needs something to dip in it, so I baked up some flower-shaped cinnamon sugar tortilla chips. 

This has to be of the easiest recipes I’ve ever made. Perfect to throw together before a party or as a snack! Munch on, little caterpillars! 😀

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Sabriel’s Dried Fruit

Posted May 4, 2017 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 11 Comments

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Welcome to our latest Book of the Month: Sabriel, the first installment in Garth Nix’s Old Kingdom trilogy! Sabriel was on my TBR for years before I FINALLY got around to borrowing the audiobook from my library last September. It was sooo good! I love Sabriel as a main character, and did I mention that the audiobook is narrated by Tim Curry? So yeah, there’s that awesomeness too. Plus, some of the foods in the book sound SO delicious that I knew I wanted to make a menu for Sabriel here on blog. So here we go!

When Sabriel first visits the Old Kingdom, she must trek through the snowy, treacherous countryside to her father’s house. Her only sustenance: dried fruit and homemade toffee.

I’ve made fruit chips from apples before, but I’d never tried making more traditional dried fruit. Now seemed like as good a time as any to try! Plus, with a new baby taking up pretty much all my time, I could use some healthy, ready-made snacks to save for emergency munchies! 🙂

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Badger’s Set Salad Bites: Dandelion Greens with Berries, Blossoms, and Strawberry Vinegar (an AWR Original!)

Posted May 19, 2016 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 3 Comments

As much as Homily complains about not wanting to live in a badger’s set, something tells me she’d secretly love the challenge. Homily lives for homemaking, and making a home out of a badger’s set is no small feat! These Badger’s Set Salad Bites are inspired by the wild, field-to-table food the narrator hypothesizes Homily would serve at her new home. They feature dandelion greens, fresh berries, and edible blossoms. And don’t forget the homemade strawberry-infused white balsamic vinegar for dressing! As with all our recipes from The Borrowers, each salad bite is the perfect size for a full-size Borrower meal or a Human Bean appetizer! 🙂

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Ford Prefect’s Apocalypse Trail Mix: Essential Nutrients for When the World’s about to End

Posted May 1, 2014 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 3 Comments

  

Happy May Day, everybody! It is with great pleasure that I introduce our new Book of the Month (and first sci-fi pick): The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy! This is easily one of my favorite books. It’s quirky, original, yet sometimes profound. And since May 25th is Towel Day, I knew this month was the perfect time to feature a Hitchhiker’s Guide menu. Let’s get started!

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