Tag: dessert

Take it Easy

Rosh Hashanah without an apple cake would be like Thanksgiving without a pumpkin pie; an unforgivable travesty. Combining the most essential edible harbinger of a sweet new year, you’re practically asking for another 365 days of misfortune if you should overlook this staple. As we turn the page on the year 5781, let’s not leave anything to chance.

Dense with tender fruit and a moist crumb, it’s a homey, humble dessert that’s as soothing to make as it is to eat. Anyone who can wield a spatula will pull out a perfect ring of dark brown cake, aromatic spices infusing the whole kitchen with their sweet bouquet. Fool-proof and crowd-pleasing, this formula has withstood the test of time, rising to the occasion to feed parties big and small. Such a generous cake is an excellent guest itself, perfect to make ahead or keep for days after the event.

Such an easy-going treat would be welcome for any celebration, but is also just as well suited for an everyday simple indulgence.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)6 Comments

Trifling Matters

Shattered beyond repair, my once grand glass trifle dish lay in ruin. Wordlessly closing the cardboard shipping box that had become its tomb, I placed it by the door, ready for the next trip to the dumpster. No tears were shed, no outpouring of emotion could be summoned. It was a devastating loss, without a doubt, but I was already numb from uncovering the very same scene in each of the over 40 packages I shipped to save moving expenses. Of all the pieces I would mourn, the trifle was at the bottom of that list. Who really needed a vessel that would feed a crowd in the middle of a pandemic, after all?

Glorious layered affairs that are the stuff of royalty, grand parties, and celebratory gatherings throughout the centuries, there is no such thing as a small trifle. It transforms into a parfait or a verrine when scaled down; no less delicious, but a far cry from its original grandeur. Even the most humble of ingredients can become sublime in such a magnificent presentation.

This one stacks as a summery strawberry shortcake fit for a crowd. Soft cubes of freshly baked vanilla cake soak in jam like sweet sponges, layered with fresh berries, buttery custard, and clouds of whipped coconut cream. Though simple in concept, it makes a big impression as one generous, family-style indulgence.

Time heals all wounds. No, it’s not possible to put those irreparably fractured shards back together, but there is hope for a new start. A new life, a new community, and a new trifle dish; some how, they all seem linked in my mind. It’s just a trifle, but being able to share it freely with a full home of new friends feels incredibly significant.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)3 Comments

Let Freedom Ring

Americans are not shy about letting their opinions be known, particularly when it comes to matters of freedom. From the very inception of this country, our founding fathers were shouting from the rooftops about liberty and justice for all. That ideal was a bit skewed and misleading at the time, silently omitting the vast majority of the population, but after a few hundred years of mucking about, I’m cautiously hopeful that we’re on the right path to actually realizing that dream.

“…if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.”

-Martin Luther King Jr.

On this particularly joyous 4th of July, when many reunite, emerging from quarantine cocoons for the first time in over one and a half years, there’s so much more to celebrate than just the baby steps forward on the journey towards true freedom. Vaccination does feel akin to emancipation; we must never forget the struggle to get here, nor those not fortunate enough to see this day.

It’s truly a bittersweet moment for me, acknowledging both the immense progress we’ve made collectively, and still the terrible, horrendous, and heinous setbacks that continue to plague the country. As a rule, however, I’d like to focus on the positive. Though many still suffer, I want freedom to ring, loud and clear, in every home and especially… Every home freezer.

Yes, it all comes back to food! Finally free to serve friends in-person, I’m thrilled to whip up a batch of frosty ice cream doughnuts from Super Vegan Scoops! to symbolize the endless ring of freedom intended for all inhabitants of these fifty states.

For a more thematically appropriate attire, these cool contenders are all dressed up in a variation of the white chocolate shell icing. For a blue tint, it just takes 1 teaspoon of butterfly pea tea powder (also known as “blue matcha,”) and the red is infused with 1 teaspoon of powdered beets. Add festive sprinkles and voila, you suddenly have some beautiful, festive food to share.

At long last, on this 242nd observance of our independence day, I hope that freedom truly can ring for one and all, and may it taste as sweet as vanilla bean ice cream.

Hannah (BitterSweet)5 Comments

Sundaes Everyday

If you’ve ever flipped through a new cookbook and thought, “Man, that recipe looks amazing, but I’m just too tired to start from scratch,” or “I don’t have all the ingredients here,” or “I just don’t have the time,” you’re not alone.

Even simple formulas can become daunting given the demands of work, family, and life in general. Wouldn’t it be great if you could just treat those glossy pages like a restaurant menu, ready to order on a whim?

For anyone living in the Austin area or craving some culinary tourism, June and July are your lucky months.

Sweet Ritual, esteemed vegan ice cream parlor and frozen dessert specialists, will treat your taste buds to limited edition specials based on the creations in Super Vegan Scoops!

Celebrating the launch of the book, you’ll be able to spoon into a Boba Tea Parfait or Elvis Banana Split without doing any of the prep work or cleanup afterwards.

Make your own custom boba masterpiece; take your pick from the full spectrum of milkshake flavors and add tapioca pearls to it. There’s no wrong way to swirl it up, though strawberry and coffee get top billing from the tireless tasters scooping it out as Sweet Ritual staff.

If you want to make like a banana and split, you can pick out two scoops of ice cream to perch upon a caramelized banana, house-made peanut butter shell, crunchy peanuts, and a spiced coconut bacon topping. It truly is fit for a king!

Once you’ve fallen in love with the flavors, you can pick up signed copies of Super Vegan Scoops! to take home with you, too.

Churning out premium dairy-free ice cream made with local suppliers and local produce to use real fruit, fragrant spices, and handmade baked goods in every scoop, Sweet Ritual should already be at the top of your list for a dessert fix. Getting my creations featured is genuinely a dream come true, so come visit, share about it on social media, and prove to me that it’s real!

You’ve got two months to indulge, starting right now. Ready, set, scoop!

Sweet Ritual
4631 Airport Blvd, Suite 125
Austin, TX 78751

Hannah (BitterSweet)6 Comments