Pear Hazelnut Chocolate Cake & A Weekday Bowl Template
weekend bakes, weekday bowls + making time for spring cleaning
Allô! 👋
Clear out the cobwebs, polish those glasses, it's time to clean up last season's mess. Whether the weather that awaits outside agrees with the calendar on your wall or not, it's official: spring has sprung.
Now, I don't know about you, but to me, this is when a new year starts. For me, January 1st comes and goes, and, aside from adjusting to jotting down a new digit at the end of the date, my life sort of goes on just the same.
Spring, however — whether it feels like it's arrived in February or in May — now there's a time for renewal.
The days are longer than the nights again, the breezes grow less frigid with each passing day, and, everywhere you go, a general feeling that everyone and everything is undergoing some sort of transformational reawakening permeates the air.
Time to emulate nature by breathing new life into our own homes! That's right, I'm talking about doing a little bit of spring cleaning.
Of course, “spring cleaning” doesn't have to mean embarking on an overwhelming project that requires scrubbing and scouring yourself to exhaustion. For me, it can be as simple as popping some pastel-hued flowers into a vase, changing the bed linens (perhaps swapping out a dark and heavy winter duvet for a lighter spring number), and throwing the windows open every now and again for a bit of extra daylight and fresh air.
When it comes to food, I like to mimic the season by keeping things light, simple, and mostly green. Not all that much is in season at this time of year, making it a perfect period to pare down your cooking and use up your pantry and cold storage essentials.
In this newsletter, you'll find some recipes for relaxed weekend bakes (including chocolate cake) and uncomplicated weekday bowls, as well as a few tips for freshening up both your home and yourself for the season. Hope you enjoy, and I wish you the loveliest of transitions into April.
Happy spring cleaning (and eating),
👋simone
a sweet weekend bake:
pear & hazelnut chocolate cake
🍫
What better way to round off a weekend of valiant spring cleaning than by filling your home with the sweet sweet scent of roasting pears and the mesmerising fragrance of warm cocoa as it slowly melds with toasted hazelnuts?
If that doesn't sound totally delicious, you're still in luck — the recipe below can be tweaked in more ways than one. Pear can be swapped out for apple or even banana, that ever-seasonal fruit. Instead of hazelnuts, you could use almonds or walnuts. Or, if you're not in the mood for chocolate at all, may I suggest this toasted almond cake? Replace the plums with pears and I promise you've got yourself something wonderful. If, however, you're lucky enough to have found rhubarb already, I feel it is my duty to inform you that this ultra moist olive oil cake exists (and has yet to let anybody down).
Whatever you decide to bake, I do hope you enjoy making, tasting, and sharing your chosen cake as much as I did mine — you deserve it!
•••
PEAR & HAZELNUT CHOCOLATE CAKE
serves 6-10, depending on the sizes of your slices and of your appetites
bakes in a 24cm / 9.5in cake tin
INGREDIENTS
• 110g hazelnuts or another buttery nut like almond, pecan or walnut
• 125g unsalted butter (+ more for greasing the tin)
• 125g granulated sugar (+ more for dusting the tin)
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp fine sea salt
• 100g flour
• 25g cocoa powder
• 1¼ tsp baking powder
• 2 large or 3 medium ripe pears*
*pick a variety that will hold its shape once baked, like Concord, Bosc, Bartlett, Anjou or Forelle
note: bringing all your ingredients to room temperature before combining them into a batter will help them emulsify and incorporate air better, leaving you with an airier cake and an easier bake!
METHOD
note: if you want to split up your baking time, consider that step 1 can be done ahead of time (up to a day or two before baking)
1. Preheat the oven to 175°C. Place 110g hazelnuts on a baking or sheet tray, and toast them for 7-10 minutes, until fragrant and toasty but not too browned. Transfer to a clean dish towel while the nuts are still warm. Hold the ends of the cloth so as to form a closed bundle, then remove the skins* as best you can by rolling and rubbing the nuts around in your hands.
Once the nuts have cooled and most of their skins are removed, add them to a food processor and pulse until you've achieve the texture of small crumbs.
*the skins can taste unpleasantly bitter, that's why we remove them
2. Grease your cake tin with butter, then sprinkle it with sugar (you could use flour here instead, but I am partial to the crystallised crunch of a sugared cake edge). Depending on whether your tin is springform or not, you may want to butter it then line it with parchment paper instead, so as to facilitate the removal of the cake after baking. Set the prepared tin aside.
3. Preheat the oven to 165°C. Place 125g of room-temperature butter into a large bowl, and start beating air into it using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. Add in 125g sugar, and continue to cream the butter and sugar until the mixture becomes homogeneously pale and fluffy.
4. Beat 2 eggs into the butter and sugar mixture, one at a time, this time using a whisk. Add the ½ tsp salt and 2 tsp vanilla and keep whisking until well combined.
5. In a medium bowl, combine the ground nuts, 100g flour, 25g cocoa powder, and 1¼ tsp baking powder.
6. Peel the 2 or 3 pears, reserving one for decorating the top of the cake. Cut the other(s) into large bite-size chunks, to be incorporated into the batter.
Halve and core the pear reserved for the top. Next, slice each half across into slivers, all while keeping these thin slices together. Then, nudge the tops of the sliced pear halves gently to fan out the slices.
7. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ones in three separate additions, gently folding one into the other until just combined, then delicately fold in the pear pieces as well.
8. Pour and smooth the batter into the prepared cake tin, then distribute the reserved fruit over top, taking care not to press the pear slices in too deeply so as to avoid them sinking during the bake.
9. Bake the cake for around 50 minutes (feel free to start checking after 40-45 minutes or so, especially if your oven tends to run hot), or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
10. Leave the cake to cool for at least 15 minutes before removing it from the tin. All that's left to do is enjoy — perhaps still-oven-warm with a cool scoop of vanilla ice cream, or cold-and-day-old along with a hot drizzle of homemade chocolate sauce.
The cake should last 3-4 days at room temperature and up to 5-6 in the fridge, though it is admittedly at its best on its first two days. Wrap it well so it doesn't dry out!
the weekday bowl
( three suggestions + a template )
🍲
As much as I love to try new (to me) ingredients and cook them in new (to me) ways, I don't always feel inspired to spend much time or effort coming up with a meal. That doesn't mean I don't always want to eat well, however. Quite the contrary. I always want the food I eat to leave me feeling good. So, for those times when I want to eat well but am running low on time, energy, creativity, ingredients, or some combination of the above, I turn to my little list of go-to's and make something quick, low-effort, familiar, and delicious.
Building such a list and keeping one's fridge, freezer and pantry stocked accordingly is essential. For me especially, I tend to get my inspiration from whatever fresh produce I am able to find on a particular week, but once all the produce has been cooked and enjoyed, my inspiration runs dry and I often end up scratching my head about what to prepare. Cue the list.
My own repository of low-effort meals includes some form of chili (I am never without onions or garlic, and I always try to keep canned beans, canned corn, and canned whole tomatoes in my cupboards, as well as the appropriate spices — and my fridge usually contains jarred roasted peppers and tomato paste), vegetable soup (the key to this one is a mix of frozen vegetables, stock cubes, frozen leafy greens, and a good dried herb blend), dried pasta with either a quality store-bought sauce or a very quick variation on the garlic/chili/olive oil trifecta, and a dal or curry of some sort involving lentils or chickpeas or tofu (or sometimes all three), lots of spices, and occasionally the addition of coconut milk or cream. I usually have eggs and greens in the fridge, so sometimes it's just a fridge-cleaning omelet with a salad, and we often also have bread, stale or fresh — and that always pairs well with a blitzed soup or brothy beans.
If you're struggling to come up with new ideas, I personally often return to this post of mine, because it offers a good reminder of what keeps me well-fed and happy.
That template of something green, something hearty, and something starchy, plus some sort of vinaigrette, seasoning or dressing, has served me extremely well.
For example, the something green in the lunch above includes three different kinds of lettuce, steamed broccolini, thinly sliced radish and cucumber. In the dish below, it's lettuce, radish, carrots, green onions, and hot peppers. In the meal at the top, there's also cabbage and avocado. You'll notice that although my “something green” does tend to include green foods, it mostly is just a catch-all for vegetables. What matters most is that is leaves room for variety.
Something hearty is generally something with protein in it — think lentils and other legumes, eggs, tofu, meat, poultry or fish. The quickest/easiest are generally anything in a can, like sardines or beans, though I admit having a special fondness for the soft-boiled egg.
The something starchy, it perhaps goes without saying, encompasses anything that's filling and, well, starchy. This can be a whole grain, some sort of pasta or noodle, or a tuber, but also a legume like chickpeas or white beans. Above I used potatoes, below two kinds of rice, and at the top soba noodles. Grains like spelt, wild rice, buckwheat and sorghum are often fantastic here, as well as being incredibly versatile.
Lastly, the vinaigrette, seasoning or dressing is meant to involve any kind of aromatics, flavourings, and garnishes you like. This includes oils and vinegars, alliums like shallots or garlic or green onions, spices and herbs, nuts and seeds, and nearly any condiment you can think of. This last step really lets you customise and change up your meal depending on your mood and what you have on hand, and also has the added bonus of reinventing one of these “template meals” if you're faced with eating leftovers of the other three categories but still want new flavours. Make a miso ginger dressing one day and a sesame chili sauce the next, or a lemon vinaigrette for the first meal and a balsamic dressing for the second, and you've really got no reason to be sad about eating the same thing two days in a row. You could also simply use the same dressing every time. You do you. The beauty of it all is that you can make whatever you like.
recipes from the site
ideas from breakfast to dessert
✨
asparagus & spiced eggs on toast
If you're a fan of runny egg yolks, you hardly need an excuse to eat this fantastically quick dish — be it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
leeks vinaigrette on creamy white beans
Meltingly soft leeks on a bed of creamy white beans. Leeks vinaigrette meets brothy fennel beans. What's not to like?
tortilla de patatas, with gochujang + woody herbs
A Spanish classic with a twist!
double citrus madeleines
These gently cardamom-scented lemon madeleines come with a pretty pink blood orange glaze and are perfect for sharing (or for enjoying all to yourself)!
a savoury weekend bake:
cheese & herb scones
🍃
Savoury sage scones! Made with cheddar and chives and everything that jives with that oh-so-classic combination. These ones are fantastically golden and crisp on the outside, superbly soft and tender, beautifully flaky and layered on the inside (thank you butter), as well as a marvellous excuse for...
10 spring cleaning tips
from a non-expert, with love
🌸
I don't know if it's a consequence of having lived in long-winters-Norway, or if I'm just slowly getting better at this thing called adulthood, but in recent years I have *gasp* slowly started to become... a “spring cleaning person”.
At the risk of sounding trite and predictable, giving your space a bit of a refresh after a few months of using it as a winter hideaway really has the potential to do wonders for your mood.
Beyond the physical act of cleaning your home, I find that spring also marks a wonderful opportunity to tidy up your mind and shake up your habits. Below are some spring cleaning tips for that have brought me great joy and that I, in turn, hope have the potential to spark something in you too.
•••
1. INVITE FRIENDS OVER
If, like me, winter is your peak season for cocooning asocially at home, inviting people over for an afternoon or evening of food and fun is a fantastic excuse to revitalise your space. Nothing helps me notice the dust and grime I've been blindly putting up with faster than the prospect of a visit from people I want to pamper and host.
2. STEP OUTSIDE
Like, every day. For a reason other than “I need to go to work/school/the grocery store”. Find somewhere green nearby, big or small, and visit it as often as you can. This is the time when leaves are budding, grass is growing, and flowers are blossoming — all at record pace. Wouldn't it be a shame to miss out on the literally awesome unfolding of such a short-lived spectacle? Plus, after all that winter darkness, it's nice to finally be able to contemplate the evening post-dinner stroll once again.
3. BRING SPRING IN
Buy or forage some flowers — daffodils, crocuses, and hyacinths are all early spring varietals — and bring them indoors. Better yet, plant a seed and watch it grow! Now's a great time to get some herbs going for a lush kitchen garden this summer, be it in your backyard, on your balcony, by a windowsill, or on your kitchen countertop.
4. ROTATE & ELIMINATE
Duvet getting too hot? Swap it out for a lighter one. Washing and using the same bath towels over and over even though you've got nice spare ones languishing in the closet? Rotate! If you can't wear your winter coat, hat or mittens without breaking a sweat anymore, it's time to retire them for the season and tuck them away. Bring out the wind breakers, the rain coats, the rain boots and light scarves. Donate those clothes you haven't worn all year. Wash the throw and cushions that live on the couch. When it comes to fabrics and linens, it really is time to lighten and freshen things up.
5. REVIEW YOUR ROUTINE
Did you make any resolutions this winter, or set any intentions on your last birthday? How are those going? Checking in on your goals and evaluating whether your daily routine still aligns with the direction you chose to move in is a good habit to adopt, especially during seasonal transitions. In fact, spring seems particularly well-suited for the occasion — after all, isn't the season about rebirth?
6. TIDY YOUR TO-DO'S
Have you been meaning to hang a picture on the wall? Sew a loose button back onto a shirt? Oil a squeaky door hinge? Read that book you got over the holidays? Now's a great moment to tackle and whittle down that list. No need to make it a big deal, spring does last three months after all. Start small and go slow. As long as you're moving forward, that's the way to go.
7. REINVENT YOUR INVENTORY
Have some frostbitten peas languishing in the back of your freezer? A forgotten jar of pesto hiding behind all the newer, shinier pasta sauces in the cupboard? An opened tube of tomato paste that may or may not have been residing in the fridge for more than 12 months?
The approaching hungry gap makes this a good time to take stock of freezer and pantry items that may have been lingering on the kitchen shelves for a bit too long. Empty your cupboards, clean them well, check expiry dates, dispose of anything that looks past its safe consumption, and bring to the forefront any items that need to be eaten soon. Challenge yourself to use up what you've bought before shopping for more!
8. MAKE PLANS
Yes, spring's only just started, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't plan for summer now! Whether you're preparing for a summer garden, training for that June marathon, or budgeting for an August holiday, it's nice to make plans for the warmest season now, before we all get too hot to even be bothered. Put in place those systems and processes now, then sit back as you maximise your chances of achieving the results you've spent all winter daydreaming of.
9. NOTICE
Notice and appreciate this short-lived moment of the year! Embrace the rain that comes with melting snow and burgeoning leaves, treasure the mud that signals green lawns to come! Everywhere we look, things are getting greener, buds are getting larger, birdsong is getting louder. This is a special time of year, one many have been waiting for all winter. Live it. Breathe it. Cherish it. For soon it will be gone again...
10. CELEBRATE
You've made it though yet another year! What's not to celebrate? Get ready for that first picnic, that first wild garlic, that first rainbow, that first rhubarb. That first walk in the park without a jacket on, that first sighting of cherry blossoms. It's a new season, a new year, and potentially even a new you. Let's celebrate that! Woohoo!
p.s.: I am not suggesting that anyone does all of these things at once, or even that you do them all! That seems like a bit much. But sometimes it's nice to have a little nudge or a gentle reminder. Trust me — this list is as much for you as it is for me.
That's all from me this month! Looking forward to seeing you next time 💛
This was a Substack edit of an archived newsletter. To read the newsletter in its original format, click here.