Friday 31 August 2007

The Little Black Book of Style




Elle magazine Fashion Director Nina Garcia, has come up with every girl fashion Bible, with the contribution of designers such as Donatella Versace, Zac Posen, John Galliano to mention only a few...

Nina Garcia has plenty to keep her busy—a new baby, Project Runway, and her latest venture, The Little Black Book of Style.

"It took much longer than expected because I had a baby in between!"

When asked what was the number one universal style rule all women should follow? she replied There are no rules! she hopes women will learn from her book to be comfortable and confident in their style.

“The Little Black Book of Style,” hitting shelves on Tuesday


Monday 27 August 2007

'If I Knew You Were Coming I'd have Baked a Cake!'


Courtesy of Martha Stewart living, The last of the summer cake recipe we can all try and recreate at home, fingers crossed it will look just as good!

Peaches-and-Cream Ice Cream Cake
For layers with a colorful contrast, use two different varieties of peach sorbet.
Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pan
1 1/2 cups cake flour, not self-rising
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, separated
1/2 cup buttermilk
Vegetable-oil cooking spray
1 1/2 pints vanilla ice cream, slightly softened
1 1/2 pounds ripe peaches, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 2 1/4 cups)
2 pints peach sorbet, slightly softened


Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-by-12-inch cake pan, and line with parchment paper. Butter parchment; set aside. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl; set aside.


Put butter and 3/4 cup sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Mix in egg yolks. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the buttermilk. Transfer batter to a medium bowl; set aside.

Put egg whites into the clean bowl of mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; beat on medium-high speed until foamy. Gradually add remaining 1/3 cup sugar, beating until soft peaks form. Gently fold half of egg-white mixture into batter with a rubber spatula. Fold in remaining egg white mixture. Transfer to prepared pan.


Bake until light golden and a cake tester inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool a wire rack 15 minutes. Invert onto rack; remove parchment. Let cool completely. Trim cake to 10 by 5 inches. Cake can be refrigerated, wrapped in plastic, up to 1 day.

Coat a 10-by-5-inch loaf pan with cooking cooking spray; line with parchment, allowing a 1-inch overhang on long sides. Coat parchment with cooking spray. Line with plastic wrap, allowing a 3-inch overhang.

Stir ice cream and peaches in a medium bowl; spread into prepared pan. Freeze until firm, about 2 hours. Spread 1 pint sorbet over ice cream; freeze until firm, about 1 hour. Spread with remaining pint sorbet; top with cake.

Cover with plastic overhang. Freeze until firm, at least 2 hours or up to 4 days.

To loosen cake from pan, wrap a damp, hot towel around pan. Lift out. Serve immediately.

Thanks Martha