All Gold Bolo Rei

This Bolo Rei is missing its traditional jewels.  Candied fruits in neon colors are not bedecking the top, and piles of chopped dried fruit are not baked into the dough.

It is more like a simple gold crown for the king.  A lack of ostentation.  A Portuguese King Cake which has been subjected to austerity measures.

But this cake is not a socio-economic political statement.  It is merely a matter of taste-- MY taste.  In the past few years of tasting bolo rei in Portugal, I have found the visual impact of the fruit entirely cancelled out by its off-putting taste and slimy shiny texture.  Meh.

This year I decided to attempt a makeunder on this Lisbon holiday staple.  The result was a golden, crusty, simple, sweet treat that made for many a happy winter breakfast.

Applesauce Cake with Brown Butter Frosting

This is not a cake to wheel out for a flashy dinner party.  This is a cake which will happily sit on your counter, beckoning to you throughout the week.  It will say things like:

"Care for a morning snack with your coffee?"
"Oh, what a tough day you had a work, let me console you!"
"Come on-- curl up with me and a glass of milk before bed. You know you want to."

This cake is a simple pleasure to enjoy a whole week long.  Because it is made with apples, it only gets yummier and more moist as the days pass.  And since it is made with apples, you can believe that it is healthy enough to eat every day at any hour.

Finnish Pulla

Finland.  It was a land of mystery.

Before 2009, this country made me think of:  Snow.  Marimekko.  Double vowels.  Lapland.  The Flying Finn.

Then Bacalhau Boy and I had a two week honeymoon there.  Christmas 2009 was spent mainly above the arctic circle meeting the real Santa Claus, dogsledding, snowmobiling, steaming in saunas, watching the sun set at 3 pm, and spending one night in a bed (and room) made entirely out of ice.

The Ice Hotel: carved entirely out of snow and ice.  Amazing.  Also: one night was enough.

I don't know why, but I have been getting nostalgic for Finland lately.  Perhaps it is getting to be that time of summer when an ice bed and some cozy soft sweaters sound appealing.  Or perhaps it is because I have a natural tendency to be all sentimental and nostalgic without provocation. Either way, this weekend I decided to try my hand at some homemade Finnish Pulla.

Corn Muffins

Saturday mornings have a special magic, don't they?  I vividly remember sitting on the living room floor as a little girl, eating cereal and watching Jem and the Holograms.  Truly truly truly outrageous! Oh, and Pee Wee's Playhouse-- the fabulous Miss Yvonne rocked my 10-year old heart with her poofy skirts and poofier hair. But my all-time favorite treat actually came in between the shows, in the form of Schoolhouse Rock.  Conjunction Junction may deserve the credit and/or blame for making me an English major.