A couple of fun, new (baby-related) projects to share here: a custom shower invitation, and also some new baby-themed thank you notes, available now in the shop. For these thank you's, I'm experimenting with a new technique - they are individually painted by hand, so each card is its own little work of art. I'm really happy with how they turned out!

It's almost Mother's Day! Here are just a few favorite gift ideas for the mothers in your life....all the sources are in the links below the images.

1. A beautiful bouquet of flowers  2. A pretty hanging terrarium (plus maybe an air plant)  3. Beautiful heirloom scissors that she probably wouldn't buy for herself  4. A paint-splatter tote bag (to carry around all her mom stuff)  5. A simple necklace she can wear everyday  6. A lovely cookbook, with delicious recipes and beautiful pictures to flip through  7. A letterpress card, to tell her how much you loaf her  8. A pretty t-shirt (with a donation from every shirt going to support women through Equality Now)  9. A sweet butter dish that she'll use every day  10. A monogrammed leather pouch for her purse or travel  11. A simple modern ring that goes with everything  12. A heartfelt love note

We made these scones last weekend for Easter brunch, and they tasted like springtime. They're cream scones with a nice delicate texture, and roasting the strawberries first with a little balsamic vinegar concentrates the strawberry flavor.

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

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ROASTED STRAWBERRY CORNMEAL SCONES

for the roasted strawberries:

• 1 ½ cups hulled strawberries, halved or quartered if large
• 1 ½ tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 ½ tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 400°. Toss together the strawberries, brown sugar, vinegar, and salt on a baking sheet lined with foil, and roast for about 25 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the berries are shrunken and the juices thicken.  Make sure you pull them out before the edges of the juices burn.

Leaving behind any excess juices, lay the roasted strawberries individually on a piece of parchment on a plate or baking sheet, and freeze for half an hour or so, until solid.

for the scones:

• 2 cups (240 grams) all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup (28 grams) cornmeal, medium or fine grind
• 1 tablespoon (12 grams) baking powder
• ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon (6 grams) kosher salt
• 6 tablespoons (85 grams) cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2” pieces
• roasted strawberries, frozen (recipe above)
• 1 cup heavy cream, plus extra for brushing tops
• coarse sugar for sprinkling

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper, and preheat oven to 425°.

Combine flour and cornmeal in the bowl of a food processor, and run for about 10 seconds or so to grind the cornmeal a bit finer. Add the baking powder, sugar, and salt and pulse to mix. Add the cold butter and pulse until the mixture resembles a crumbly meal with tiny pea-sized bits of butter. Transfer mixture to a large bowl. 

Gently stir in the frozen strawberries, so that they are coated in dry ingredients, then stir in heavy cream. When you’ve mixed it in as best you can with the spatula, go ahead and knead it once or twice in the bowl, to create one mass. Do not worry about getting the dough evenly mixed, but be careful not to overmix.

Turn the dough out onto a piece of parchment and gently roll or press the dough out to a long log, about 3 inches wide and ¾ inch thick. Cut into squares, and then each square in half to make triangular scones. (Alternatively, you can roll out to ¾ of an inch and use a biscuit cutter for round scones.) Place scones on prepared baking sheet, brush the tops with cream, and top generously with coarse sugar.

Bake the scones for 12 to 15 minutes, until well-browned at the edges.

*If you’d like to make these ahead, they freeze well; shape the scones, but don’t top with cream and sugar yet, and freeze them well-wrapped on a baking sheet. You can bake them directly from frozen – just add a couple minutes to the baking time.

Makes 12 medium-sized scones.

This cake has finally cured me of my fear of whipped egg whites. I've avoided whipped egg white recipes ever since I first subscribed to Martha Stewart Living (in about fourth grade), and tried to make a wedding cake for my aunt. It was a genoise without any chemical leavening, and was a total bust. The cake layers came out totally flat, and we ended up buying a grocery store cake. Since then, either my baking skills have greatly improved, or this cake is much more forgiving. I've now made it twice, and it came out light and fluffy and delicious with no difficulty both times. And didn't seem that scary at all.

The recipe comes from Deb of Smitten Kitchen; I've adapted it to fit an 8-inch cake pan because that's what I have, and also because it makes a really nice small dinner party (4-6 people) size, but if you'd like a 10-inch cake, you can use her quantities and directions in the link below. We couldn't decide whether to use the chocolate ganache or not, so I covered half the cake, black-and-white cookie style. It's delicious both ways - without the chocolate ganache, you get a nice, crunchy, sugar top, and I served it with caramel sauce and ice cream. And with the chocolate, well, it's chocolate.

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

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HAZELNUT BROWN BUTTER CAKE, WITH OR WITHOUT CHOCOLATE GANACHE

• 95 grams (about 2/3 cup) hazelnuts
• 140 grams (1 stick plus 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter
• 1/2 vanilla bean
• 100 grams (1 cup minus 2 tablespoons) powdered sugar
• 30 grams (1/4 cup) all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 4 large egg whites
• 25 grams (2 tablespoons) granulated sugar
• coarse sugar for sprinkling and/or chocolate ganache (recipe below)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Spread the hazelnuts on a baking sheet, and toast 12 to 15 minutes, until they’re golden brown and smell nutty. Wrap them in a clean dish towel, let them steam for 5 minutes or so, and then rub to remove as many of the dark skins as possible. Let them cool.

Cut out a circle of parchment paper to fit in the bottom of an 8-inch round cake pan (I used a springform pan). Brush the pan with a little melted butter or spray with cooking spray and line the bottom with the paper, then butter the paper as well.

Place the 140 grams of butter in a medium saucepan. Slice the vanilla bean lengthwise, and use a paring knife to scrape the seeds onto the butter. Add the vanilla pod to the pan, and cook until the butter browns and smells nutty (about 6 to 8 minutes). Set aside to cool to room temperature. Remove the vanilla pod and discard.

Grind the hazelnuts with the confectioners’ sugar in a food processor until they’re finely ground. Add the flour and salt and pulse to combine.

Place the egg whites and granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Mix on high speed 4 to 5 minutes, until the whites form very stiff peaks. When you turn the whisk upside down, the peaks should hold. Alternate carefully folding the dry ingredients and the room temperature brown butter into the egg whites, about a third at a time.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan, and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the cake pulls back from the sides and a toothpick comes out clean. Sprinkle the top with coarse sugar. Cool on a rack 30 minutes. Run a knife around the inside edge of the pan, and invert the cake onto a plate. Peel off the paper, and turn the cake back over onto a serving platter. If desired, cover with ganache (below). Or do what I did, and go half and half.

Makes one 8-inch cake (about 6 servings).

For the chocolate ganache:

*Makes enough to cover half the cake; to cover the whole cake, double the amounts.

• 60 grams (2 ounces) bittersweet chocolate
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream

Finely chop the chocolate and place in a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream, either in the microwave or on the stove, until just barely starting to bubble. Pour the cream over the chocolate, let it sit for a minute, and then stir to melt.