Wednesday, 9 2011
Via Ruffles and Stuff
I have quite a collection of clutches in my closet because as much as I love my handbags, sometimes a nice-looking, good-sized clutch is that way to go to complete an outfit.
Here is a simple tutorial on how to transform your plain clutch into a gorgeous petal & ruffled-inspired fashion accessory.
Materials:
1 clutch
Can of Metallic Gold Spray Paint
4 “Silk” Flowers
Directions:
Take apart the flowers and spray the petals, and a light coat on the clutch as well, in case it peeks out anywhere.
Then cut the petals apart.
Use a glue gun to glue the petals on the clutch, with the biggest petals on the bottom, in-between sized on the middle row, and smallest on top.
Then glue a strand of gray glass pearls on, and finish it with a little foam flower (or any other bauble you can find or like).
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Thursday, 3 2011
They had us at “vintage”. Excuse while we prepare to drool over this summer lookbook. We love you, Gary Pepper Vintage… we really do.
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Sunday, 9 2011
post by Food Editor Ayu
One of so many things I hate about living in Jakarta is the lack of fun chocolate candies, read: American goodies. Just few weeks ago, we weren’t able to find Mars Bars, Snickers, Hershey’s and M&M’s anywhere in Jakarta, although one fancy supermarket has started stocking all goodies I said above, my favorites still have not make any appearance, Reese’s peanut butter cup and Twix.
The closest place I can get my Reese’s and Twix fix is Singapore which means like few hundreds dollar worthed plane ticket. So that means, all I can do is begging anyone who is going to a place where Reese’s and Twix existed to bring me some of those home. My dear friend went to Singapore and of course I asked her to bring me those goodies, she brought me very few Reese’s peanut butter cups which I immediately turned into brownies. I devoured ‘almost’ the whole pan of the brownies and yet, my chocolate peanut butter crave is just got worst.
And my decision to make these chocolate peanut butter krispy bars couldn’t be any more right. These bars are probably the best stuff I have ever made. They satisfy that salty-sweet crave and give you the extra crunch from the krispy bars. The only problem is, how to manage yourself from finishing the whole thing, because maybe, they worth the calories.
CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER KRISPY BARS
recipe from Baked: New Frontiers In Baking
1 3/4 cups crisped rice cereal
¼ cup sugar
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
5 ounces good-quality milk chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup creamy peanut butter
3 ounces dark chocolate (60 to 72 percent cocoa), coarsely chopped
½ teaspoon light corn syrup
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick or 2 ounces) unsalted butter
1. Make the crispy crust: Lightly spray a paper towel with nonstick cooking spray and use it to rub the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan. Put the cereal in a large bowl and set aside.
2. Pour 1/4 cup water into a small saucepan. Gently add the sugar and corn syrup (do not let any sugar or syrup get on the sides of the pan) and use a small wooden spoon to stir the mixture until just combined. Put a candy thermometer in the saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat and bring to a boil; cook until the mixture reaches the soft ball stage, 235 degrees F.
3. Remove from the heat, stir in the butter, and pour the mixture over the cereal. Working quickly, stir until the cereal is thoroughly coated, then pour it into the prepared pan. Using your hands, press the mixture into the bottom of the pan (do not press up the sides). Let the crust cool to room temperature while you make the next layer.
4. Make the milk chocolate peanut butter layer: In a large nonreactive metal bowl, stir together the chocolate and the peanut butter. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and cook, stirring with a rubber spatula, until the mixture is smooth. Remove the bowl from the pan and stir for about 30 seconds to cool slightly. Pour the mixture over the cooled crust. Put the pan in the refrigerator for 1 hour, or until the top layer hardens.
5. Make the chocolate icing: In a large nonreactive metal bowl, combine the chocolate, corn syrup, and butter.
6. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and cook, stirring with a rubber spatula, until the mixture is completely smooth. Remove the bowl from the pan and stir for 30 seconds to cool slightly. Pour the mixture over the chilled milk chocolate peanut butter layer and spread (actually, I found it easier to just roll it around until it coated smoothly, avoiding the risk of picking up any of the peanut butter layer with it) into an even layer. Put the pan into the refrigerator for 1 hour, or until the topping hardens.
Cut into 9 squares and serve. The bars can be stored in the refrigerator, covered tightly, for up to 4 days.
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Wednesday, 15 2010
Dujour is travelling the world and we want you to come along! Introducing Voyage Dujour, a new occasional feature online documenting the most adorable a delicious spots perfect for the Dujour Girl in cities across the world. First stop? Stockholm! Bon Voyage.
This week’s trip hostess is Haleigh from Bardot in Blue.
The Story Hotel
The sweetest spot to slumber in Stockholm. You will feel right at home in this adorably decorated boutique hotel complete with a backyard and delicious daily homemade breakfast. Map This
www.StoryHotels.com
Beyond Retro
Get lost in this sea of vintage! Shop the best vintage frocks below puffy pastel clouds of cancans, digging for treasures in boxes of giant silk bows and racks of satin and silk. What more could a Dujour girl ask for? Map This
www.BeyondRetro.com
Devil’s Delight
This lingerie shop is so cute it must be sinful! Girlie delicates decorate the shop along with pearl adorned pastries that are the perfect mix of naughty and nice. They stock everythhing a girl needs to feel fabulous underneath it all. Map This
www.DevilsDelight.nu
Strand
No one leaves brunch with the Swedes at Strand hungry! They cover all things sweet and salty, with the sweet definitely being the best part as you iron your own heart shaped waffles and smother them in jam, vanilla and more. Map This
www.HornstullStrand.se
Vurma
Have your coffee and cake with a heart. Cosy up on their plush benches and enjoy the cute vintage inspired decor with birdcage wallpaper and neon cups. Craving something healthy? Try their fresh organic lunch menu. Map This
www.WheresCool.com
Grill
As girlie as barbecue can get! Cluttered with curiosities and knick knacks each corner is cosier than the next. The shabby chic eaterie cooks up some of the heartiest food in town for brunch, lunch, and dinner. Map This
www.Grill.se
Story Bar
Not only is Story a great place to stay, but also a great place to drink! Their bar stirs up the most delicious artisan cocktails. Order a White Garden and enjoy sipping this delicious eldferflower and nectarine creation! Map This
www.StoryHotels.com
Berns
The grand salon of one of Stockholm’s most historical hotels is a great place to stop for a drink. Antique crsystal chandeliers and modern art with cast quite the ambiance over your cocktail. Map This
www.Berns.se
Hornstulls Strand
This charming little stretch along the water is a perfect place for a stroll. Visit the patios of the cafes and bars along the strand and then sit along the bank to feel the swedish sun on your skin in the summer and breath in the fresh crisp air in the fall. Map This
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Sunday, 5 2010
by food editor Ayu
“As American as apple pie,” how I love that quote. Isn’t it wonderful that every country has it own pastry? Croissant for France, Tiramisu for Italy, Apple Pie for America. There are so many recipes for apple pie and each recipe claims to be the best and the original one, so how you decide on one recipe? You go to your favorite cookbook of course, your favorite cookbook that has the recipe for classic apple pie. Baked cookbook is my favorite cookbook and their recipes are anything but classic, so one classic recipe must mean something really good. And it did! It is a good pie, the crust is perfectly flaky and the addition of whiskey in the apple filling made it ‘different’. Its definitely worth a try! Plus, what better time than fall to bake a fresh apple pie right?
CLASSIC APPLE PIE
makes one 9-inch pie
2 balls of Classic Pie Dough (recipe to follow)
½ teaspoon cornstarch
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
7 medium Granny Smith apples
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon whiskey
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 large egg, beaten
1 tablespoon raw sugar
1. Dust a work surface with a sprinkling of flour. Unwrap one of the balls of chilled dough and put it directly on the work surface. Roll out into a 12-inch round. Transfer the dough to a pie dish and carefully work it into the pie dish, folding any overhang under and crimping the edge as you go. Wrap and freeze the crust until firm, about 2 hours, or up to 3 months.
2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and the light brown sugar. Peel and core the Granny Smith apples, then cut them into 1/8-inch wedges.
3. Heat the butter over medium heat in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan. Swirl the saucepan occasionally until the butter begins to brown. As soon as the butter is evenly browned, add half the apple wedges and cook over low heat for 10 minutes, or until the apples are softened.
4. Add the remaining apples and the cornstarch/sugar mixture. Mix until the sugar has melted, then add the vanilla, whiskey, and cinnamon to the saucepan and cook for 5 minutes, or until the filling is bubbly and thick. Do not overcool.
5. Dust a work surface with a sprinkling of flour. Unwrap the remaining ball of chilled dough and roll out into a 12-inch round.
6. Pour the pie filling into the frozen pie crust, and top the second dough round. Trim the dough, leaving a ½-inch overhang. Crimp the edges together, brush with the beaten egg, and sprinkle with the raw sugar. Cut 3 steam vents into the pie crust.
7. Bake the pie until the filling bubbles and crust is golden brown, about 1 hour. Cool the pie on a rack for 1 hour. Serve warm or at room temperature. The pie can be stored in the refrigerator, tightly covered, for up to 2 days.
PIE DOUGH
2 balls of dough, enough for 2 single-crust or 1 double-curst (9-inch) pie
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon fine salt
1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
¾ cup ice cold water
1. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, and salt together. Cut the cold butter into cubes and toss the ubes in the flour mixture to coat. Put the mixture in the bowl of a food processor and pulse in short bursts until the pieces of butter are the size of hazelnuts.
2. While pulsing in quick, 4-second bursts, drizzle the ice water into the food processor through the feed tube. As soon as the dough comes together in a ball, remove it from the food processor
3. Divide it into two equal balls. Flatten to a disk and wrap each disk first in parchment paper and then in plastic wrap. Refrigerate the disks until firm, about 1 hour. (The dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before proceeding with the recipe.)
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Wednesday, 1 2010
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Sunday, 21 2010
post by guest food editor Ayu
I’m always attracted to a yeast cake recipes, but I have never tasted one and never baked one. That is why I always dreamed of tasting one and baking one. All this time, I always skip a yeast cake without any good reason and god, have I been wrong! I decided to bake this kugelhopf after I spent days of craving and dreaming about a cake with slight hint of yeast in it.
Everything went very smooth from measuring to mixing to rising although I skipped a few rising steps and didn’t measure the butter properly. It was a very light dough and very sticky and I had my hopes high and it went to the oven. After 10 minutes of baking time, I took a peek and there it was, the sad dough’s top went down- floppy, ugly, and not glorious. I carried on baking the kugelhopf, soaked it in butter and sprinkled it with sugar while it was still hot.
Fast forward 15 minutes, I cut the warm kugelhopf, took a bite and smiled so wide- this is the yeast cake I’ve been wanting to try, although it didn’t rise right in the oven and got all ugly, the taste is just glorious. So its worth a try for sure!
KUGELHOPF
adapted from Dorie Greenspan
1/3 cup moist, plump raisins
Scant 1 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
1/3 cup just-warm-to-the-touch whole milk
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
3 tablespoons sugar
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
For the soak
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
Sugar, for dusting
confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Instructions:
1. Bring a little water to a boil in a small saucepan and toss in the
raisins. Turn off the heat and let steep for 2 minutes, then drain the
raisins and pat them dry.
2. Put the yeast and milk in the bowl of a stand mixer and, using a wooden
spoon, stir until the yeast is dissolved. Add the flour and salt and stir
just to moisten the flour—don’t be concerned, the mixture will be shaggy
and there may be dry patches.
3. In a small bowl, beat the eggs and yolk together lightly with a fork.
Fit the mixer with the dough hook, if you have one, and, working on low
speed, pour in the beaten eggs, mixing until they are incorporated. Add
the sugar, increase the mixer speed to medium-high, and beat until the
dough comes together and smoothes out a little, about 5 minutes. Reduce
the mixer speed to medium and add the butter in 4 to 6 additions,
squeezing each piece to soften it before adding it and beating until each
one is almost fully incorporated before adding the next.
4. When the butter is blended in, the dough will be very soft. Increase
the mixer speed to medium-high and beat, scraping down the sides and
bottom of the bowl as needed, until the dough pulls away from the sides of
the bowl and climbs up the hook, about 10 minutes. Remove the bowl from
the mixer and stir in the raisins. Scrape the dough into a clean bowl,
cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until nearly doubled
in size, about 1 1/2 hours. (The length of time will depend on the warmth
of your room.)
5. Deflate the dough by lifting it up around the edges and letting it fall
back with a slap into the bowl. Cover the bowl again and put it in the
refrigerator. Slap the dough down in the bowl every 30 minutes until it
stops rising, about 2 hours. Then, if you have the time, let the dough
rest in the refrigerator overnight. (The dough can be wrapped tightly and
refrigerated for up to 2 days.) (I skip this step)
6. Generously butter a 9-inch kugelhopf mold (8-to-9-cup capacity) and put
the chilled dough in the pan. Cover the pan lightly with buttered
parchment or wax paper and let the dough rise in a warm place until it
comes almost to the top of the mold, 2 to 3 hours.
7. When the dough has almost fully risen, center a rack in the oven and
preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
8. Remove the paper and bake the kugelhopf for 10 minutes. Cover the pan
loosely with a foil tent and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until
the kugelhopf is golden brown and has risen to the top — or, more likely,
over the top — of the pan. Meanwhile, line a baking sheet with foil and
place a rack over it. Remove the kugelhopf from the oven and unmold it on
the rack.
Soak the cake
1. Melt the butter and gently brush the hot cake with it, allowing the
butter to soak into the cake. Sprinkle the hot cake lightly with sugar and
cool it to room temperature.
2. Right before serving, dust the Kugelhopf with confectioners’ sugar.
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