CCCB: Ulysses

(May 2, 2019)

This is the last entry in this blog series (where I read an old unread book and bake something, because that’s a thing), and I wanted to bake something non-sweet for a change. But not bread. After considering a lot of things that straddle the baked goods/dinner continuum it all of a sudden occurred to … Continue reading CCCB: Ulysses

CCCB: The Fall of Hyperion

(April 11, 2019)

I’ve done too many almond-based goods, so I thought I’d try my hand on some profiteroles with this recipe. Approx. Because I didn’t really want the chocolate part. Most of the recipes stress how “simple” this recipe is… but it has the normal number of ingredients. What’s simple, perhaps, is that it uses something as … Continue reading CCCB: The Fall of Hyperion

CCCB: Marya: A Life

(April 4, 2019)

Last week I did croissants to indifferent results, so why not try something that has almost as bad reputation for being tricky: Macarons. And then I found this recipe for liquorice macarons. Yes! But then I started to study it, and it seems kinda odd. I mean 2 cups of chocolate chips for the filling? … Continue reading CCCB: Marya: A Life

CCCB: The Edible Woman/Surfacing/Lady Oracle

(March 28, 2019)

If there’s one thing an amateur cook shouldn’t attempt (and there’s nobody more amateur than me), it’s croissants, apparently. So I wanted to give it a try. It’s 3x more futzy than any other recipe I’ve attempted. It’s not that any single step is particularly daunting, but there’s just so many of them with hours … Continue reading CCCB: The Edible Woman/Surfacing/Lady Oracle

CCCB: The Ticket That Exploded

(March 21, 2019)

For this week’s cake I’m making something called “tropical aroma”. I know you’re thinking “pineapple and mango?” now, but this is an old-school chocolate cake, and the tropical ingredients are cinnamon, nutmeg and coffee. And possibly the chocolate. That’s tropical too, right? I’m not a coffee drinker (I guzzle tea by the gallons), but I … Continue reading CCCB: The Ticket That Exploded

CCCB: Magic Hour

(March 14, 2019)

I’ve never made a pie before, which isn’t surprising, I guess, because I’ve basically never baked in my life before starting this blog series. So I was just thinking about what to make, and the words Lemon Meringue Pie just popped into my head. So I’m going to make that, even though I’ve never tasted … Continue reading CCCB: Magic Hour

CCCB: Woman on the Edge of Time

(March 7, 2019)

Thursday is baking day, and I chose a cake I haven’t tasted in decades: The Tosca Cake. It’s apparently named after that most jumpingest of all opera heroines. Perhaps it’s named after her because it’s a pretty heavy cake and Tosca fell like a rock into the river? The comment on that page, however, claims … Continue reading CCCB: Woman on the Edge of Time

CCCB: Downriver

(February 21, 2019)

For the baking today, I’m going to do a slight re-run: A few weeks ago I did a knead-free pan bread. Which turned out delicious. But it seemed to me that the recipe just had a few more complicated steps than seems necessary: You’re supposed to fold the dough a few times before doing the … Continue reading CCCB: Downriver

CCCB: Miracle of the Rose

(February 6, 2019)

When I went to the kitchen equipment store and asked for the stuff I needed to bake these things, the shop assistant asked me “you’re making smultringer (literally “lard rings”) after Christmas?” incredulously. Which was slightly weird. These are things one makes in Scandinavia at Xmas, but they’re eaten all year long, because these are … Continue reading CCCB: Miracle of the Rose

CCCB: Jane Eyre

(January 17, 2019)

Thursday is book’n’bake day. The bready hype the last few months has been the no-knead bread recipe from the New York Times. (Were they the ones responsible for the one-pot pasta travesty that was all the rage a couple of years ago? That thing was vile.) But let’s give it a go. You basically just … Continue reading CCCB: Jane Eyre

CCCB: Last and First Men/Star Maker

(January 10, 2019)

Wow, it’s Thursday, so something must be baked. And it’s not me! Years ago, there was a fabulous cookie in the stores here. They were made by Walkers, and they were “stem ginger” cookies. They were glorious. Chewy, flavourful, in your face. Apparently nobody else liked them, because they disappeared only to be replaced by … Continue reading CCCB: Last and First Men/Star Maker

CCCB: Composed on the Tongue

(January 3, 2019)

IT IS THURSDAY AND I MUST BAKE I had a lot of egg whites left over from making custard, so I thought I’d just make something very simple to go with this week’s book: Meringue. OlĂ©! Caramba! Gaucho! But I put lots of liquorice powder into the er dough before piping it onto the silicone. … Continue reading CCCB: Composed on the Tongue

CCCB: El desorden de to nombre

(December 27, 2018)

For the baking part of this challenge, I chose the Norwegian delicacy “school bread”, which is a bun with a dollop of custard, and then coconut frosting on the exposed bready parts. I’m guessing it’s called that because it’s very sweet and kinda fulfilling, what with all the wheat, sugar and egg involved. Not a … Continue reading CCCB: El desorden de to nombre

CCCB: The Two of Them

(December 20, 2018)

It’s Thursday, so I have to pick a book to read. Hickory dickory… I choose The Two of Them by Joanna Russ. Many of the books I’ve apparently avoided reading for two and a half decades have good reasons for not being read. This is not one of them. I bought, at the time, all … Continue reading CCCB: The Two of Them

CCCB: Oliver Twist

(December 12, 2018)

It’s Thursday, so it must be time to bake something and read a book I’ve avoided reading for a couple of decades. I’ve done cake and cookies, so why not bread? Nutty bread. Looks like the flour:nut ratio is 25:10, and I have no idea whether that’s like totally nuts. I have baked a couple … Continue reading CCCB: Oliver Twist

CCCB: The Place of Dead Roads

(December 6, 2018)

It’s Thursday, so it must be time for some baking and an old book. I decided on ginger nuts, and I wanted a recipe that would give me slightly soft cookies. So I went for one with syrup. Does that makes sense? I don’t know? Do I look like I know what I’m doing? There’s … Continue reading CCCB: The Place of Dead Roads

CCCB: Haunted

(November 29, 2018)

It’s Thursday, so it must be time to pick an ancient unread book from the bookcase and bake some cake. The lucky winner this week is Haunted, a short story collection by Joyce Carol Oates. This is a collection of horror stories published in various magazines: It’s time for a shocking confession: I’ve never read … Continue reading CCCB: Haunted

CCCB: Mind as Passion

(November 22, 2018)

Eenie meenie… It’s Thursday, so time to pick another book to read from the cache of my most ancient unread books and bake another cake. And this time the lucky winner is Susan Sontag: Mind as Passion by Liam Kennedy. Which I apparently bought at a sale in mid-90s (so it’s a bit newer than … Continue reading CCCB: Mind as Passion

CCCB: Larque on the Wing

(November 15, 2018)

Like everybody, I’ve got a bookcase of unread books, but perhaps weirdly, mine is organised along a simple principle: Older books sink towards the bottom. That is, as I read books, I compact the rest and move them towards the bottom left. It’s a sedimental journey. The last couple of years I’ve read very few … Continue reading CCCB: Larque on the Wing