"Sinterklaas kapoentje, gooi wat in mijn schoentje" stroopwafel cake

"But, I don't want to eat my veggies", "I don't want to clean up", "I don't want to go to bed" barely exists at this time of year. The magic of Sint Nicholas means hoping to find goodies in your shoe in the morning, which means me saying at every "I don't wanna.." instance during the day "Humh, I wonder what Sinterklaas would say".

Being good is rewarded because a clean plate and house makes mama a very happy camper. Rewarded with tons of sweet treats, including this syrupy cake. Cinnamon spiced creme brulee cake with caramel and syrup waffles swirls and topped with more syrup and crushed syrup waffles. Perfect thank you for Sint Nick and the angel kids he inspires..though I wouldn't recommend putting a slice of this in a shoe till morning!

Christmas; the black and white list

Oh yeah, I can now kick it into high gear. The biggest, tallest tree I can find will be moving in the same afternoon as Sint Nick, so I can decorate like mad with my girl, who seems also infected by the bug called 'OTT at Christmas'.

My laundry room is stuffed to the gills with decorations, plant pots have been unceremoniously emptied for our own forest of mini pine trees, under the bed is host to kids gifts in differing states of wrapping and the postman is once again making daily trip to my door. Needless to say, we kind of went overboard..and for that reason the colour palette is minimal. Going perfectly with that minimal palette are these items on my wish list.

Downloadable print from Cocorrina captures exactly my Holiday feeling. The kids and us are plump, happy and a bit spoilt..if we can stay more nice than naughty. Hands down the best stockings on the scene are from Studio NL (check out the grid version as well). The everyday just got upsized and upscaled in my desk accessory crush. Oversized paperclip by Carl Auböck. The perfect way to end the day is a latte and this warm wintry candle from Eastwick..okay and maybe churros with salted caramel and telly..

Sunday is for..rum custard french toast with fig syrup

I was looking forward to this Sunday like I look forward to shopping! No early wake up call (except for the kids then), no place to be and no chores to get down. OK, back down on earth, I was still game. Sunday slows everything down and allows us one day to have lunch together. Lunch being french toast so rich my guy didn't even want to know what's was in them. Dripping in a sweet and sour reduction of figgy molasses poaching liquid from last week's tarte. I thought I'd made too much but I was fooling myself, just look at those satisfied mugs.

Toast

1 loaf of thick crusty bread

3 eggs

200 grams mascarpone

1/4 cup fine white sugar

2/3 cup whole milk

1/3 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla paste

pinch of salt

splash of dark rum

Syrup

poaching liquid

2 tablespoons brown sugar

Reduce the liquid and sugar on medium heat until it coats the back of a spoon.

Whip the mascarpone smooth and add the remaining ingredients except the rum, until smooth and combined. Add as much or as little rum as desired. Or omit the rum entirely but I definitely think it ups the flavour and the smell is amazeballs when the bread hits the pan. The batter should be as rich and thick as a custard. No need to soak, the bread just needs a quick dip. Fry in an uncrowded pan. I use creamed butter, because heck who's counting calories anymore.. Serve with a dusting of powder sugar and syrup. Let the hungry masses..I mean kids, eat lunch!

Copper trowel

I'm a sucker for candleholders, copper and beautiful, innovative products inspired by the everyday. The 'troffel' (Dutch for trowel) combines all of those. A single sheet of copper makes for a seamless, minimalist and architectural piece. From Belgium design brand Hausmerk. Founded in 2014 but already a perfectly curated collection of products that ooze understated quality (the wooden illustrations are perfection).

Lookbook; details

Outfits posts are for me the most time-consuming, frustrating to make. Food doesn't blink, sneeze or have fat days. So I figured I'd at least show you the details..

The portfolio is from By Gitte and the bandaid ring is by Jennifer Fisher.

Molasses figs, mascarpone custard & rose almond tarte

The working title of this dessert was roasted pomegrantate molasses figs with mascarpone custard on a almond and sugared rose petal tarte.. What can I say, I like you knowing what's on your plate. This dessert was inspired, like all others..'look figs in the supermarket', 'hey I have loads of nuts and a jar or rose petals in the pantry'. Basically mashing things together that caught my magpie eye. And that seems to work just fine because this is the shizzle..

Crust

3/4 cups almond flour
3/4 cups patent flour

4 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons brown sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

2 teaspoons powder sugar
2 teaspoons sweet syrup*

rose petals

Preheat oven to 180 degrees (moderate heat) celsisus. Toss the dry petals with powder sugar and place loosly on a baking sheet. Pour over the syrup. Bake on low till crisp, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool. Crush loosely with a mortar and pestle. Melt the butter and set aside. Combine sugar, salt and flours in a bowl. Make a well and pour in the butter and extract. Cut with a pastry knife until combined. Add the petals and continue incorporating the drier edges into the center until a moist dough forms. Press the dough over the bottom and up the sides of lightly greased nine-inch pie pan. Blind bake for 15 minutes. Set aside.

Custard

3 egg yolks

2 tablespoons sweet syrup 

2 tablespoons fine sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons flour

pinch of salt

1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 heavy cream

250 grams mascarpone cheese

Beat yolks, sugar and syrup until smooth. Add in cornstarch, flour and salt. Heat the milk and cream until light boil. Remove, rest for a minute of two and slowly pour a small about of the milk into the yolks, while whisking, to temper. Whisk in the remaining milk. Return to the heat and whisk on medium heat till  thickened. Because of all the thickeners, this puppy cooks quick! Remove from heat. Let cool for a minute or two while whipping the mascarpone smooth in a food processor. Add the custard and whip till smooth.  Let cool. 

Figs

16 figs

pistachio oil
pomegranate molasses
brown sugar
butter
calvados

pistachios
pomegranate molasses

pistachios
vanilla sugar

Rinse, dry and quarter figs. Toss with pistachio oil and place in baking tin. Sprinkle with molasses, brown sugar and top with small knobs of butter. Add a splash of Calvados or water. Roast until soft and fragrant. Crust and roast a handful of pistachio's in a dry pan. Grind the roasted nuts roughly with a sprinkle of vanilla sugar in a mortar and pestle. Set aside both figs and nuts to cool. Reserve the syrup (cook's treat..).

Once everything has cooled, assemble the pie. Spread the custard evenly over the crust. Place the figs in desired pattern over the custard and sprinkle the crushed pistachio's over the top. 

*For the sweet syrup I used leftover homemade vanilla buttermilk syrup but you can use honey, simple syrup or anything you have to hand.

Grey matter

Grey and concrete. Seemingly hard and cold but in essence full of variation and depth. Varying tones of grey, from rough to smooth is the study in perfect grey matter..

Metallic mirrors

I have posted about cool mirrors before and this is no exception, except in the fact that not only is the shape is different but also the colour and therefore the reflectiveness. I love this set of mirrors in bronze, copper, silver and black. This would be the perfect start to my Christmas deco fest. The mirrors can be found at &Klevering. 

Dinner; empanada’s!

I’m big on flavor. I love sweet, spicy, smoky, basically tastes that make my tongue sing..even it that's sometimes more of a screech for water. Don’t worry though, this dish is not one of those. This is my take on a empanada and  pastechi (an island chick is an island chick). The filling is more reminiscent of the the the first and the flakier crust the latter.

This combines my love of pastry, brown sugar and rum right into dinnertime! I added a dip of roasted red bell peppers with ricotta to soften the flavours. This dish is also relatively quick and kids eat it without too much complaining and that is something I can appreciate with two picky eaters at the table.

Filling
ground beef
black pepper, whole
cumin seeds
olive oil
garlic
bay leaves
cayenne 
chili
tomato paste
beef stock
dark rum
golden raisins
silvered almonds
ground cinnamon
brown sugar
angostura bitters
pastry dough sheets

Dip
1 red bell pepper
1 tomato
bay leaf
white wine
brown sugar
half tub ricotta
olive oil
lemon juice
garlic powder

Chop the pepper, deseed and chop the tomato. Add to a roasting tin and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with brown sugar, salt and cayenne pepper and toss to coat. Add a splash of white wine and water and roast on high till soft with crisp edges. Let cool. Tip into a food processor and pulse till smooth. Fold in the ricotta, add a a drizzle of olive oil, lemon juice and season with garlic powder, white pepper and sea salt to taste. Keep chilled till serving.

Heat the oil with bay leaves, whole peppercorns, crushed cumin and oil till fragrant. Discard the peppercorns and garlic. Brown the meat in the flavoured oil with ground cayenne and chili. Add tomato paste, stock, rum and let simmer till sauce thickens. Add the raisins, silvered almonds and flavour with cinnamon and bitters. Cook till raisins are plump.

Spoon the mixture onto pastry sheet and roll tightly. Press the ends together and pinch with a fork. Egg wash and sprinkle with remaining almond slivers. Make a small slit and bake in a moderate (170/180 Celsius) oven till browned, about 20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. 

P.S. sorry for the late post but it was one of those days where everything went pear-shaped and I ended up running around with a sourpuss toddler trying to fix it, only to get an accidental but hard smack in the shin by said toddler and then the school bell rung for my oldest..

My quiet office update

My workspace is in my bedroom so it's on display long after I switch off. And for that reason I have been forever switching my idea for the space. A diy desk, an old door, paint the existing desk, add crates, ply wall and the list goes on. I actually had an curated selection of accesories, colleting dust, while I continued to change my mind.

In the end, I fell for a much smaller, lighter desk and that set the tone to have this space light, bright and simple. This space is not about using any of the tech that seems to have become an actual physical appendage. This is my spot for reading, writing, sketching, basically for a quieter, more thoughtful workmode.

The desk is from Ikea, the green metal shelves are by Isabel Quiroga, the oak wall holders are pinch by Moebe. The glass and leather vase, hourglass and similar accesories can be found at By Zenz. The 2016 leather buckle calender is from One Must Dash.

Dutch Design Week

Fall is my favourite design season because of Dutch Design Week. I enjoy seeing all the amazing new designs, innovations in different fields and above all the passion an enthusiasm of the designers and makers. Not to mention all the good eats, because food makers are just as important..

Here's a view of some of the amazing designs, from lamps that do double duty as humidifers, to blue orchids and everything in between.