Cookbook of the Week, 7 November

I’ve decided to up the ante this week and try a more ambitious cookbook.  I have a few freezer meals ready and waiting, so this week, I’m going to focus on some baking.  My birthday is this week, so I figure that it’s a good week to get stuck in and eat some cake!

To quote pretty much every Masterchef contestant, ‘Pastry isn’t really my strong point’, so I have a challenge ahead.  Last Christmas, I received a fabulous parcel from a mysterious address in New York. ‘423 Amsterdam Avenue?’ I thought to myself. A quick Google search reminded me that it is the address of one of my favorite places on earth: Sarabeth’s West.  My genius mother had arranged for for the brunch mecca of the Upper West Side to send me a care package: a selection of petite jams & jellies, mouth-watering hot chocolate mix, and the the most gorgeous cookbook. I am ashamed to say that 11 months later, I have done nothing with the book except drool over its gorgeous photos and nurse a case of nostalgia for my college days of long, lazy brunches with my girlfriends.  This week though, I’m going to take the bull by the horns, break out my bundt pan and piping nozzles and bake, bake, bake.  (And hope I receive a lot of invitations to friend’s houses, as I should not be left alone with too much cake!)

My plan is to start off with something relatively simple (a lovely-looking espresso cake) and move into a higher realm as the week progresses. I’d like to try some breakfast pasty, but I’ve just read the recipes for croissant and danish pastries, and they scared the life out of me, but maybe I’ll manage some brioche.