Sansa's Favourite

Did anyone else also catch the première of Game of Thrones season 3 last night? Freakin' epic as usual. If only they were like Mad Men in airing two episodes back to back for their season 5 première. What's novel about watching HBO's hit TV show this time round is that I know completely what's ahead for the most—I finished A Dance With Dragons over spring break earlier. My knowledge of what's going to happen hasn't dampened the suspension and tension of the show much, but it is just rather strange to see story lines still unfolding before you on screen when the books are already deep in discussion on the consequences of said plot lines. I have to admit that I do, on occasion, go on the forums to talk about different conspiracy theories and the interpretation of certain prophecies. You can say I'm perpetually under the nerd glaze.*

For my birthday/première party, I made Sansa's favourite dessert in the books and the show: lemon cakes. These babies are seriously lemon-y. For someone who only ventures into the kitchen on the rarest of occasions (this being the one of them), I'm glad these turned out as well as they did. My friends all gave more than two thumbs up. Wash it down with a good pint of mead or ale and you're all set for a perfect night of epic TV watching (the GoT Blond Ale aren't shipped to my area until next week).

I have said previously that I don't feel all that much different after turning the big 2-0, but now that I've thought more about it, along with so much success in baking, I have decided to stop blogging about fashion and will turn my attention towards writing a food blog. After turning 20, developing my own style and mastering the art of curating my wardrobe, I no longer see a point in talking about curating anymore. I am done with fashion and I plan to retire style blogging. The old style/fashion posts will remain, but otherwise the categories will be revamped to reflect the new direction in content. Thank you so much for following me for the past two years!

The recipe originally appeared on The Inn at the Crossroads.

Elizabethan Lemon Cakes II 

This is an original recipe, based on cake receipts from A.W.’s Book of Cookrye (1591) and The English Huswife by Gervase Markham, 1615. A round cake such as this is described in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, where it is compared to the shape of the medieval round shield, the Buckler. Our changes: The original recipe didn’t call for lemon, which we added in. It also didn’t specify a type of seed, so we opted for the classic pairing of lemon and poppyseed.

Ingredients:

•  ~2 cups unbleached flour 

• 1 pkg. yeast 

• 3 Tbs. warm ale (or water; marsala can work, but watch the yeast) 

• dash of baking soda (optional; can dry out cakes a little!) 

• 1/8 tsp. salt 

• 1 stick unsalted butter 

• 3/4 cup sugar 

• 2 eggs, beaten 

• 1 tbs. poppy seeds 

• Juice of 1 lemon 

• zest of 1 lemon 

For glaze:

• Juice of 1 lemon 

• 2 Tbs. honey 

Sift together the flours and salt; set aside in large bowl. Dissolve yeast in warm ale, along with 1/8 tsp. of the flour mixture. Your yeast should bubble up after a few minutes, indicating that the yeast is still active. Cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and seeds, followed by the lemon zest and juice. Gently add the yeast to this mixture, then begin to fold in the flour. Use as much flour as is needed to make a smooth, thick batter.

Grease your cupcake pan, and fill the cups 2/3 full. Bake in middle of oven at 325° F for 10-15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool slightly before turning onto a cake rack. While they cool, mix the lemon juice and honey for the glaze.

 When the cakes have cooled significantly, brush the glaze on. This will take several passes since the glaze soaks into the cake. You can also poke holes in the tops of the cakes with a toothpick for the juice to run down into. For an extra lemony kick, try topping your cakes with lemon curd!

*as defined Peter Dinklage on his recent appearance on The Daily Show