DB Digest - February
A little Love from Me to You
The biggest treat for me is staying in. Making a special dinner, whether its just for two or maybe a Galentine night with my closest friends. And of course my burgundy bubbles lend themselves perfectly to such an occasion.
A white linen table cloth, pink wave place mats and red napkins add a dash of Valentine flair. No need to make a grand gesture with a giant bouquet, instead a couple of red and antique pink roses from the glorious Grandirosa in one of my bud vases is a gift that will bring joy and last forever.
Or how about a few home baked treats for those you love. My Austrian grandmother would bake these Linzer Herzchen for me every Friday. Smooth, buttery and light, they are super easy to bake and make everyone who receives them feel incredibly special
RECIPE
Ingredients:
375g plain flour
200g ground almonds
200g caster sugar
pinch of salt
200g unsalted butter
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
200g raspberry jam
icing sugar for dusting
How To:
pre-heat your oven to 180C or 350F and line two baking trays with parchment paper or silicone mats.
First cream your butter and sugar in a mixer or by hand and add the eggs, then add the flour and almonds, salt and vanilla until you've formed a smooth dough that's not too sticky. I like to roll my dough to 3mm thickness between two sheets of parchment or one parchment and a layer of cling film so that the surface remains smooth and doesn't stick to your table or your rolling pin. Even better if you can then cool your dough for fifteen minutes in the fridge before cutting out your hearts. Remember you are cutting a heart base and then the top with a central heart cut out.
Making sure the dough is chilled will help the cutting out of the shapes and prevent them distorting as well as spreading during baking.
Set on a baking tray leaving a centimetre at least between each one and bake for 14 minutes or until light golden brown on the edges. Remember smaller biscuits bake faster.
When they are baked, leave them to cool on the tray before moving as they will be soft. Once cooled place a dollop of your favourite jam in the centre and place the top half over the base. Press gently and then sprinkle with icing sugar.
And now for my gift from me to you...
To celebrate Valentines Day, I'm excited to announce a special gift. I will be giving away one set of 6 bespoke napkin rings to one lucky winner.
I have hand painted gold hearts onto my gorgeous new vellum ceramic napkin rings (plain ones will be launching in the spring), making them the perfect accessory for your Valentines Day table.
The competition will run until the 9th of February and is on Instagram.
How to enter: it’s super easy - follow us on Instagram @dbceramic and then tag someone you love, whether that be a family member, friend or partner!
1 tag per entry and entries are unlimited. Competition is open worldwide – good luck!
Ps. How pretty do the biscuits and the rings look on my new Vellum fluted small cake stand? The un-gilded version in this beautiful soft satin glaze we are calling Vellum as well as in a Teal and Burgundy Bubble will launch in the Spring and I can't wait!
Meanwhile I hope you have a wonderful month ahead!
Those who know me, know how much I love a red lip to brighten any outfit. If I'm feeling a little low, a dash of red lip lifts my spirits. I have so many, and all of them a special place in my heart (and co-ordinating wardrobe). However my current favourite is by Trish McEvoy. I was introduced to Trish McEvoy's matt red lip colour in Vixen by the brilliant Cath Weller and I haven't stopped wearing it since. The perfect red for winter, with a slight blue tone to the red but not too dark, it has serious smooch staying power.
I'm a proper stationery geek and love searching for the perfect pen. Cue Tom's Studioand his refillable Lumos pen. They come with 9 different interchangeable tips and I've chosen an elegant peacock green ink to write with and especially love changing the nip from the 1.0 size nib for my daily note taking and jotting ideas down to the special brush pen for my thank you notes.
Come Winter I'm always in need of warding off some illness or other. My favourite way of doing this is my taking regular doses of vitamin C and if I feel a scratch in my throat or a smidge under the weather I multi dose until I start to feel better. This new Liposomal Vitamin C from Victoria Health is high-strength and fast-absorbing, supporting your immune system, energy levels, and collagen formation as well as being easy on the stomach.
My hands are constantly in water, clay or glazes. Not great for my hands and certainly not great for my nails or having a chic manicure for that matter. Gel polishes were not an option either as they chipped off in just a few days. That was until I discovered Bio Gel. I've now had my gel on for three weeks and no chipping despite spending many an hour in my studio. Not only do they do the most beautiful colour range but this gel won't damage my nails. Result on both counts.
Mary McCartney's Feeding Creativity, combines her passion for food and photography by cooking 60 of her favourite recipes for friends, family, musicians, actors, artists and visionaries.
Mary prepares a special dish for each, which they enjoy together at her home or studio. I especially love the anecdotes from these culinary gatherings. Mary caters to each gastronomic occasion in her culinary journey, from having pancakes with Cameron Diaz for breakfast to sharing artichoke appetizers with HAIM.
