Tag: Dessert

Almond Pinwheel Pastries

Posted April 17, 2025 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

Who’s ready for dessert? The final recipe in this month’s menu is an ode to almonds, and it’s sooo delicious!

In THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND, the castaways eat lots of stone pine almonds, which are similar to pine nuts. However, since the castaways treat these nuts as a dessert, I decided to make my dessert recipe for this menu using true almonds, along with other ingredients they had on the island.

Since they have flour and dairy products in addition to almonds, I decided to combine them all to make pastries with almond-cream cheese filling. Neb is the main cook in the story, and he takes a lot of pride in his work. I like to imagine this is something he would make to celebrate a big moment on the island, like their first batch of milled flour or when Herbert recovered from a terrible sickness.

Since puff pastry is basically just flour,butter, and salt, I knew Neb would have all the ingredients to make it, so I used that as my pastry base. For the filling, I combined almond paste and cream cheese, two other ingredients Neb would be able to make with what he had on hand. I made them in a pinwheel shape as a nod to the windmill the castaways built at their home base, Prospect Heights.

These turned out AMAZING! The sweet, almond-y, creamy filling is a delightful contrast to the crisp, delicate pastry. I was really excited for my husband to try these, since he loves those flavors. He liked them, but I wasn’t prepared for how much my son would love them. He’s already asking for them for his next birthday (for context, his birthday was last month).

He’ll be excited to hear I’m planning to make more to bring to Easter festivities this year!

1850s Spice Cake

Posted February 13, 2025 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

If you’ve been following along with the rest of my menu inspired by AGNES GREY, then you know it’s time for a Victorian-era dessert! Cakes were a popular Victorian indulgence, and Agnes specifically mentions spice cake in her story, which she says she enjoyed with some currant wine. In fact, the exact word she uses for the cake is that she “demolished” it. Considering what a restrained character Agnes is, I’d say that’s a glowing review of the cake!

I really wanted to use a historically accurate spice cake recipe, which means it would need to come from some time around the 1840s. I decided to go with this 1850s recipe for gingerbread spice cake by Sarah Gonzalez. I love this version because it’s rich and thick in the best possible way. It’s almost as fudgy as a brownie! Sarah’s recipe includes modern mascarpone frosting, which sounds delicious. However, since I’m trying to make something closer to what Agnes Grey would have eaten, I decided to swap it out for just a simple dusting of powdered sugar (though I’ll probably add the frosting next time I make it!).

Thanks for joining me on this Brontë-inspired journey through Victorian recipes! I can’t wait to start my next Brontë book. I think I’ll read VILETTE next!

Bluey’s Pavlova

Posted December 19, 2024 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes, Pop Culture Corner / 0 Comments

Here she is! The pièce de résistance, the crown jewel, the recipe you’ve all been waiting for. . . pavlova! Of all the foods featured in BLUEY, this one seems to hold the most fascination for fans of the show. Maybe it’s because pavlova originated in Australia, or maybe because the animators’ cartoony rendition of it looks so inviting and whimsical. Either way, this dish definitely received the most votes from my kids when I was deciding what to make for my BLUEY menu. So let’s get started!

If you’re unfamiliar with pavlova (as I was), it’s a large baked meringue topped with whipped cream and fruit. The meringue has a thin, crunchy exterior and marshmallowy interior and should be white to off-white in color. I started with my go-to meringue recipe and the baking instructions from this Blackberry Cardamom Pavlova recipe from Adventures in Cooking. Then I tweaked it all as I refined the results. It took a LOT of experimentation (I lost count somewhere around 8 pavlovas), but I finally found the right combo of ingredients, bake temp/time, and cool time to get the right color and texture. I might play with it some more at a later date, but I’m happy with where it’s at right now.

I’ve got to say, eating pavlova is a truly magical experience. The outside has a delicate crunch, and the inside is soft and fluffy. Adding the whipped cream and fruit adds extra freshness and lightness, preventing the meringue from being too sweet. I love that pavlova has so many flavors and textures and that they all work together instead of competing with each other. I’m planning to make it again for my daughter’s Bluey-themed birthday party next month.

I’ll see you all for another recipe (and a new menu) in a couple weeks. Until then, have a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

Rhaenyra’s Lemon Cakes and Arbor Gold Wine from THE OFFICIAL WESTEROS COOKBOOK

Posted November 28, 2024 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book Events and Tours, Book of the Month Recipes / 1 Comment

Hi, everybody! Since today is Thanksgiving, I thought it would be fun to share a special bonus post: a recipe from THE OFFICIAL WESTEROS COOKBOOK by Cassandra Reeder, creator of The Geeky Chef blog. I’ve been a fan of Cassandra’s work since my early days of blogging, and I’ve shared her recipe for Miruvor here in the past. I’m super excited to share an all-new recipe from her latest cookbook with you today. Let’s get started!

BEATRICE’S DIRT: Pudding Cups with Marzipan Mushrooms, Edible Moss, Frog Gummies, and Pumpkin Candies

Posted October 24, 2024 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

When we meet Beatrice’s bluebird family in OVER THE GARDEN WALL, her mother continually reminds everyone to “eat some dirt,” even going so far as to spoon feed it to Wirt. It’s never explained why she fixates on this, though it could be a reference to the fact that some birds eat sand and grit to help grind up their food. I loved the idea of making pudding and Oreo dirt cups for my OTGW dessert, but of course I wanted to jazz it up a little bit!

Instead of topping the cups with gummy worms, I decided to decorate them with stuff from the show: gummy frogs and candy pumpkins! Originally I did chocolate rocks too, but I decided they made it all look too busy in the pictures (you can definitely add the chocolate rocks to yours though!). To make the top of the pudding cups look more like the forest floor of the Unknown, I added a bed of edible moss and some morel mushrooms sculpted from homemade marzipan! I got the idea for the moss from a cake I saw by Must Love Herbs (you should seriously check out all her cakes—they’re sooo beautiful!).

My kids loved these pudding cups! My son, a big marzipan fan, especially loved the mushrooms. These were so fun to make, and I love that all the decorations are little throwbacks to the show. Perfect for an OVER THE GARDEN WALL watch party!

Strawberry Syllabub

Posted August 15, 2024 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

Deciding what to make for my EMMA dessert was difficult—but in a delightful way. I knew I wanted a Regency-inspired strawberry dessert as a nod to the afternoon Emma spends picking strawberries at Donwell Abbey, but there were so many wonderful options it was hard to choose!

The Regency era boasts a plethora of delicious desserts, many with adorable names like “flummery,” “fruit fool,” and “syllabub.” I already made strawberry fool for the new extended edition of my cookbook, A LITERARY PICNIC, so I decided to do a twist on syllabub for this post. I took some inspiration from Max Miller’s Everlasting Syllabub on Tasting History and the elderflower whipped cream from my Poppy Eyebright Wedding Cake recipe.

Most syllabubs contain whipped cream (or sometimes egg white), slightly sweet alcohol, citrus, and sugar. If fruit is involved, it’s usually set on top or layered with the syllabub. That reminded me too much of strawberry fool, so I decided to make a strawberry jam and fold it through the syllabub. This resulted in a beautiful light pink pigment. I love how it turned out!

Mouse’s Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies

Posted June 20, 2024 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

The moment has come! It’s time to wrap up this menu with a recipe from the titular book of the IF YOU GIVE A MOUSE A COOKIE series. Of course it was always going to be chocolate chip cookies, but I wanted a way to make them just a bit different. Then I thought: mouse-sized cookies!

This was my first time making mini chocolate chip cookies, but not my first time playing with scale. I’ve made giant chocolate cookies before (once for The Hobbit and another time for Where the Wild Things Are), but mini cookies are a whole different animal. For a giant cookie, you want it to be a bit more poofy and and cakey, since it needs enough structural integrity to hold up to being cut into slices. Mini cookies, on the other hand, should be less cakey to help them retain moisture, since it’s easy to over bake them.

Using my giant cookie recipe as a jumping off point, I scaled down and adjusted the proportions to create a soft, chewy cookie–one that wouldn’t be prone to dryness, even if it’s over baked a minute or two.

I’m very happy with the flavor and texture, though I think they came out a little pale. I think I’ll try refrigerating the dough for a day or two next time. I’ve heard aging the dough like that produces a more golden brown cookie (and more complex flavor!).

Hasselback Baked Apples with Granola and Skyr

Posted April 25, 2024 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

At the beginning of JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, the characters enjoy breakfast in an Icelandic village before traveling to Snäfell (a dormant volcano) to begin their descent into the Earth. Curious about what they may have eaten there, I started to research Icelandic breakfasts and discovered that skyr (high-protein yogurt) is a popular breakfast item. I’ve made homemade yogurt in the past, and I thought it would be fun to try a new variety. But what to pair it with?

I decided to do a breakfast-y baked apple topped with skyr and granola. Instead of baking the apples whole and stuffing them with filling, I decided to make them hasselback style, cutting them in half and cutting thin slices into the tops. This way, the toppings can slip between the slices, allowing each bite to be more balanced. I developed my own hasselback apple recipe loosely based on the baked apples in my cookbook, A LITERARY HOLIDAY COOKBOOK. The granola is a crunchy, pared-down version of the granola bars in my latest book, A LITERARY PICNIC. For the skyr, I started with a recipe by the Jules Food blog and tweaked it to suit my experience.

These apples turned out delicious! They have just the right balance of sweet, savory, soft, and crunchy. The best part is, even though they’re super healthy, they actually eat like a dessert. So you could have them for breakfast, a special treat, or both!

Chili and Cinnamon Infused Chocolate Bonbons with Horchata Caramel Filling

Posted February 15, 2024 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

Time to wrap up my first menu of the year with a dessert I’ve been looking forward to for months: chili-cinnamon chocolate bonbons with horchata caramel filling, inspired by MY FINE FELLOW! When I first read the book, the descriptions of elegant gourmet food floored me, and this was one of my favorites. The idea of chili-cinnamon chocolate sounds amazing all on its own, but throw in caramel flavored with horchata and you’ve got something downright decadent.

To make these bonbons, I added ground cinnamon and chili powder in a pot with some chocolate and melted it down, letting the chili and cinnamon infuse into the chocolate. I used this chocolate to line some candy molds (I decided to use a crown mold since, in the story, these are made for the Royal Culinary Exhibition). For the filling, I started with an horchata recipe I found on AllRecipes and subbed out the milk for heavy cream (this helps cut down on the water being added to the caramel later, which helps control consistency). I caramelized some sugar in a pan, then added in some butter, a bit of the horchata cream, and a touch of chili powder.

These. Bonbons. Are. INREDIBLE! I can’t get enough of them. The chili lends a savory warmth that is accentuated by the horchata, and it helps cut the intense sweetness of the caramel. Interestingly, the individual flavors of the chili, cinnamon, and horchata aren’t easy to isolate. Instead, they come together to make a new, warm, rich flavor, which is balanced by just a touch of bitterness from the chocolate. My four-year-old tried one, and when I asked her if she liked it, she sighed and pretended to faint on the floor. I’d say that’s high praise!

Mrs. Hall’s Shortbread

Posted December 14, 2023 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 3 Comments

A meal inspired by ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL can only end with this dessert: Mrs. Hall’s shortbread! Although Mrs. Hall is known for dozens of delicious dishes, her shortbread is iconic. In fact, PBS even published an official recipe for these cookies! Naturally, that’s the recipe I used in today’s post (though I did spruce it up a tiny bit with a cookie mold!). The snowflake cookie mold used here is made by House on the Hill and was gifted to me by a family friend. This was my first time using a cookie mold, but it was super easy and fun. Definitely planning on using it again to make make Christmas cookies later this month.

I love how the finished cookies turned out. They’re super buttery, and the snowflake pattern shows up perfectly! My husband and son are especially big fans. Three cheers for Mrs. Hall and her shortbread! 😀