It’s that time again! Time to thrill you with my December Favourites! Or as I like to call them, Mes Petits Plaisirs;)
This month I have TWO favourites. The first will gift you absolute relaxation and pleasure (and romance!) and the second? Well, you will be the talk of any party or celebration with this one! Let’s dive in, shall we?
My December Favourites
Novel – Seven Letters From Paris by Samantha Verant
I discovered this novel about 2 years ago. I’m always on the look out for a great francophile novel and when I read the synopsis for this book I KNEW I had to read it.
Synopsis:
At age 40, Samantha Verant’s life is falling apart-she’s jobless, in debt, and feeling stuck… until she stumbles upon seven old love letters from Jean-Luc, the sexy Frenchman she’d met in Paris when she was 19. With a quick Google search, she finds him, and both are quick to realize that the passion they felt 20 years prior hasn’t faded with time and distance.
Samantha knows that jetting off to France to reconnect with a man that she only knew for one sun-drenched, passion-filled day is crazy-but it’s the kind of crazy she’s been waiting for her whole life.
After reading this book (in about 1 day) I just had to find the author and tell her how much I loved it (Facebook is a wonderful thing!) I told her how much her story reminded me of my own personal love story in France and she encouraged me to write about it. So I did! Samantha Verant is the inspiration behind my blog series: The Making of a Spiritual Woman: A Pilgrimage That Began in Paris.
This blog series has been THE most watched series here on The Elegant Life. So many women tell me they see themselves in different parts of my story. ENJOY discovering yourself!
Click HERE -> Seven Letters from Paris: A Memoir
to purchase: 
to purchase:
Recipe – Best Ever Victoria Sponge Cake Recipe
This cake has such a lovely, soft flavour and a very moist texture. Best of all, it takes no more than 5 minutes to prepare. Okay, even better than that, it looks absolutely elegant and will be the showstopper of any party or celebration. Ready to learn the recipe? (Watch how in the video above at minute 4:50)
Ingredients:
160 g/5 1/4 oz. caster sugar
250 ml/8 fl oz. vegetable oil
225 ml/ 8 fl oz. natural yoghurt
2 eggs
225 g/ 8 oz. plain flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
250ml/8 fl oz. double cream (whipping cream)
25 g/ 1 oz. icing sugar
100 g/4 oz. fresh raspberries plus 8 same sized raspberries for the garnish
Method:
Grease 2 round bakings pans.
Preheat oven to 160°C/325°F.
In a blender or food processor, mix the sugar, oil, yoghurt, eggs, flour, baking powder, and vanilla until just mixed. Be sure not to overmix.
Evenly pour batter into the cake pans and bake in oven for approx. 30 minutes (until lightly browned and top springs up when touched).
When ready, flip both cakes onto a cooling rack. Leave until cool.
Pour cream into a medium bowl. Add icing sugar and whip until stiff peaks form.
Fold in the 100 g raspberries.
Place 1 cooled cake on a cake pedestal. Spread the raspberry cream mixture on top. Place second cooled cake on top of the cream.
Sift icing sugar on top to lightly garnish the surface. Finally, place the 8 raspberries on top to decorate.
Voila! Un beau gateau!
See you in 2018!!!
Love,
SHOP THIS POST – December Favourites
I LOVE this scale! You can place one bowl on it and add all of your ingredients into that bowl, whether it be liquid or dry, metric or imperial! You just press the “zero” button after each ingredient and voila! No clean up (except the one bowl)! CLICK IMAGE TO PURCHASE
J’adore this vanilla extract! It is a full bodied vanilla that really takes your baking to a whole new level. The difference is truly distinguishable. CLICK IMAGE TO PURCHASE.
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2 Comments
Another wonderful post Erin, thank you! That cake looks amazing, so impressive and yet so simple. I look forward to trying it for whatever next event comes up for me.
For my fellow USA bakers – in case you didn’t know… double cream = heavy whipping cream, caster sugar = granulated sugar, icing sugar = powdered sugar, or confectioners sugar. Using organic, unbleached flour will make the cake even more tender.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to all!
So thrilled you enjoyed this post – trust me, your guest will beg you for the recipe:) And thank you for clearing up the translation for North American readers. Having lived outside of Canada for so long, I sometimes forget that the names are different!