bismarck

while half of my instagram feed was in iceland this weekend (???), i was enjoying a lovely weekend of firsts:

first time in bismarck, the great capitol of north dakota, filled with rolling hills and "now hiring" signs in front of every single fast food establishment.

first albino buffalo friend!! i saw them from a distance, outside of jamestown. we didn't actually become friends, but they look kind of friendly?

first fried egg roll skins as nacho chips, first bacon wrapped cheese curds

first days as a 26-year-old

first visit to space aliens (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) it was everything.

first north dakota man bun sighting (at my first north dakota speakeasy experience)

first nanaimo bar!

first neapolitan pizza this far from new york. it was really good and squishy.

first missile silo sighting

...

it was so crazy and fun! and now i'm recovering from all of the cheese curds and the open bar at the wedding. oops! how were all of your weekends??

-yeh!

marzipan marzipan blueberry cake

because it's my birthday.

!!

i bought myself these gifts: health insurance, a set of fringe & fettle bowls, and chickens (they will arrive mid-june!)

i am celebrating in this way: in bismarck, for my friend jean's wedding tomorrow! i plan to get a pedicure and help make cookies for jean's rehearsal dinner and drink and hang out with eggboy. 

i will eat: a greasy breakfast sandwich*, cheese fries*, friday pizza, and this marzipan marzipan cake.

i will drink: anything that is placed in front of me. it might have rhubarb simple syrup in it because i brought my own with me to bismarck.

i will listen to: mahler 5*

i will not: use the internet (too much).

*per tradition

last year i got the tastiest cake in the mail. it was so dense and almondy, i just wanted to lie in a bed of it. it was not too sweet and a perfect cake for the mail because it didn't require any frosting and it's one of those that gets better with age. (can i be one of those??? or do we even talk about age on our birthdays anymore? just cake? you're right, just cake.) it was so delicious and unique that it might have been one of the best cakes i've ever had. so this week, i tracked down the recipe, in amanda hesser's book cooking for mr. latte, and, well, covered it in marzipan. because that seemed like the correct thing to do during my birthday week. i also halved it to make it a mini 6-inch situation and added some blueberry jam because st. dalfour's wild blueberry jam is having a moment in my life right now. also almonds + blueberries = a very good thing.

---

marzipan marzipan blueberry cake

makes one 2-layer 6-inch cake

cake adapted from amanda hesser's almond cake

ingredients

cake:

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 c unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 c sugar

3.5 oz almond paste, cut into small pieces

2 large egg yolks

1/2 tsp almond extract

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 c all-purpose flour

assembly:

about 1/2 c blueberry jam

about 10 oz marzipan

gel or liquid food coloring

sprinkles

clues

cake:

preheat oven to 350 f. grease two 6-inch cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment.

mix together the sour cream and baking soda and set it aside.

in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. add the almond paste and beat at medium speed for 5 minutes. add the egg yolks one at a time and mix until incorporated. blend in the almond extract, the sour cream mixture, and the salt. reduce mixer to low and gradually add the flour until just combined.

divide the batter between the pans and spread it evenly. bake for about 30 minutes, until the tops are browned and the edges shrink from the sides of the pan. the centers of the cakes will likely cave in a bit once they come out of the oven but that's ok. let the cakes cool for a few minutes in their pans and then turn onto a wire rack to cool fully. you can wrap these in plastic wrap and keep them at room temperature for about a week or so. 

assembly:

level the tops of the cakes, if needed. spread a thick layer of jam on one layer and then place the other layer on top. spread a thin layer of jam all over the entire cake. 

roll your marzipan out on a piece of parchment paper into a large circle, about 1/4 inch thick. use the parchment to help get the marzipan sheet over the cake. smooth the marzipan down over the cake and trim the edges. knead food coloring into any excess marzipan and use it for decorations. stick on your decorations, complete the look with sprinkles!

---

-yeh!

pictured: cake stand // cake server // rolling pin

a macaron party

one thing about living 1,500 miles from the closest ladurée is that a french macaron sighting is literally less common than an albino buffalo sighting. 

so we compensate.  

we put on the french café spotify radio, we wear stripes and invite the town french teacher, and we pile into my kitchen to beat egg whites to stiff peaks and pipe dozens of little macaron shells. 

ok i'm saying this as if this is some sort of weird tradition that we do every month. we don't. yet. but! we did this past weekend for the first time and in the time that it would have taken us to ride the 6 train up lexington and then wait in line for ladurée (and take instagrams of our ladurée), we whipped up our batter, drank wine, made a sprinkle mess, and then ate macarons to the point of belly aches. well, really i got the belly ache, all of my friends are on wedding diets or whatever.

it was so fun!! i love a good chewy macaron. 

want to have your own macaron party?? here are my tips!

make a batch of shells in advance. this isn't 100% necessary if you have mad macaron skills, but i recommend doing this to a) make sure that you have the recipe down (here's my recipe) and b) so that there are some extra shells to fill while the ones that you actually make at the party are baking. 

sift the almond flour/powdered sugar mixture in advance. this process takes so long! it helps to do it in advance (or do most of it in advance and then demonstrate with the rest once guests arrive). 

buttercream. make a big batch of plain buttercream in advance and then set out extracts, food coloring, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and other flavorings so that guests can make their own macaron fillings.   

the setup. each guest should have a baking sheet with parchment (or you can have two guests to a baking sheet), one piping bag for the macaron batter, one piping bag for buttercream, a rubber spatula, a bowl for frosting, a plate for finished macarons, and a container for taking some home. also have some kitchen towels on hand, as well as decorations, like sprinkles! 

don't forget the salty snacks and wine. salty snacks because all of that playing with buttercream will make you crave them. i served sea salted butter dipped radishes, mini quiche, and caramelized onion tarts. and wine, of course! i served kendall-jackson's grand reserve late harvest chardonnay. omg it is so good. 

timeline. make the batter as soon as guests arrive, fill their piping bags, and get piping. since the macarons take a bit of time to sit/bake/cool, get this step out of the way and mingle/nosh/drink afterwards. at some point before the macarons come out of the oven, mix the buttercream and fill piping bags. assemble the macarons, decorate, and eat! 

-yeh!

---

thanks so much to chantell ziegler for helping with these photos!!

and thanks so much to kendall-jackson for sponsoring this post!! all opinions are mine mine mine.

pictured: this dress

cake decorating tips

oh em gee! how many cakes are you making this weekend??? is the answer 12? can it be 12?

i got decorating tips for you today!

how to get smooth edges, how to make an ombré situation, how to write things in frosting, how to stack up all 12 cakes on top of one another, etc., etc. right this way!!!

happy weekend, everyone!

(p.s. is it a farting whale? or an in-love snail? you decide.)

-yeh!