Groovy and colourful doodle cake

For the longest time I had been wanting to make one of those cakes in which you get an unexpected splash of colour when you cut the cake, so when my best friend got me a box of Duff Goldman's tie-dye cake mix I jumped at the opportunity at the first birthday that came up.

Goethe's color wheel from his 1810 Theory of Colours

It was so much fun to make. I think it is a great idea to make this with kids, you could use the chance to teach them all about color theory.

I really had a blast, and it was a piece of cake to make (haha). All the ingredients needed were the flour/sugar mix, 3 tablespoons of oil, 3 egg whites and some water. I guess if you make it at home you could make a basic Angel food cake.

Once you have the dough nice and fluffy (by beating the egg whites with the oil and dry ingredients) it is just a matter of dividing the dough in six parts, painting it by adding drops of magenta, cyan and yellow food color, and arranging it in a greased and floured cake pan using your imagination, preferably following the rainbow: red, then orange, then yellow, then green, then blue, then purple.

I filled the cake with freshly homemade lemon curd, strawberries and cheese-cream frosting (200 gr. butter, 200 gr. cheese-cream and 400 gr. powdered sugar beat together). Afterwards I covered it in a thin layer of fondant (I love Satin Ice) and then everyone went crazy doodling messages, flowers, bees, dragonflies on top of the cake.

I do not normally like artificially prepared cake boxes, as I prefer to get the freshest ingredients and just do everything from scratch, but this cake came out really good and everyone thought it was a really fun idea.

Seen in Amsterdam

The other day we went for one of our walks in Amsterdam, the sun was shining bright and it was just perfect. We had soft ice-cream, a merveilleux, and avocado sandwich and a stop for mint-tea and hummus on bread at one of my favorite places, Café de Jaren (Nieuwe Doelenstraat 20-22). I love it so much because it is central, the food is good, though not overpriced, you can get international press free to read while you are there, if you are lucky you get to sit in a terrace by the water, and everybody mingles there: old, young, families with kids, businessmen, groups of girlfriends catching up...

We were able to sneak a peek inside the renovated Rijksmuseum and I was impressed. It looks like one of the big museums, it could have been the Louvre or the British Museum. There is a sort of tunnel in the middle of the building where it's possible to bike or walk through. It was the first time I saw it, as it had been closed to the public for so long.

We walked and walked and walked, we did some small shops, and we serendipitously found a good friend of mine and her boyfriend during our stroll and stopped for a chat.

Do you have any cities that  you love because no matter how many times you visit there is always something new?

Anyone's got tips for traveling with babies?

 Baby Y. will be going on her first transatlantic flight, and as we slowly start to prepare, I am getting a bit overwhelmed with all the tips around. What seems to be clear is that we should make sure she is sucking on something during takeoff and landing.

So far, inspired by these parents, I am preparing goodie bags with some traditional Dutch candy (Haagse Hopjes, butterscotch caramels, Kandijkoekjes) and earplugs along with a funny little note.

Other than the basic stuff (plenty of diapers, enough clothes, baby wipes, a few toys, and a couple of blankets) is there anything else that we should be bringing? 

  

Our stroller is huge, and as much as we love it, I don't think we are bringing it, as we have heard baby gear gets really bad treatment, so what we are bringing is her baby carrier and her car-seat. I kind of wish we had this gadget that lets you move the kid around the airport and also functions as an extra luggage trolley. 

Does anyone have any experiences here? Opinions? Ideas?

Ice-Cream World Tour: Fanielje in Leidschendam

 I have been wanting to write this post for about a year, but we hadn't had the chance to come back to the source. Last year, the winter lasted very, very long. A good friend of mine had come to visit us last April, specifically to bike along the tulip fields. However, even if it was already mid-April, except for some dandelions here and there, no flowers were in bloom. So, instead of taking the tulip route (Bollenstreek) as we had planned, we took the bikes and went from Zoetermeer to Leidschendam, stopping in the old center for pancakes and ice-cream. For some weird reason we didn't have the camera with us at the moment, but I did not forget that ice-cream and we were determined to go back. That first time I tasted their orange ice-cream and it was glory, no artificial flavours. It was like licking a soft, fresh, real orange.

Anyhow, we have been blessed with glorious summer days, which for us mean only one thing: ice-cream. I am not exaggerating when I say that this is the best ice-cream I've tasted in The Netherlands, maybe in other countries too. It is the real-deal. Perfect, creamy, natural. This time we tasted strawberry, tiramisu, lemon and cookies. They were all delicious. I can not wait to come back for more. The center of Leidschendam is very pretty too, if you are ever in the area you shouldn't miss a visit to Fanielje (Sluisplein 6, Leidschendam).

Childhood memories (and giveaway winner)

I loved reading all your childhood stories, so thanks to everyone who participated in the giveaway. My first memories involve zoos, playing in the water, my little brother and cake. Now that I think about it, I wrote a post on that over at Lauren's last year. To think so much can change in 12 months.

But I guess what you are here to find out  who is the winner of 20 USD at Cotton Babies (picked with the help of random.org). And that would be: Ambyr, of the D girl with her hilarious story:

"First childhood memory? Hmm. Well - I remember my aunt gifted me an old barbie - but she was ugly - so I gave her to my friend down the street. I think I was 8 or 9. My mom told me to get the barbie back - but my friend couldn't find her. Probably because she was super ugly. I wouldn't doubt that my friend burned her or fed her to the dog. lol"

Congratulations Ambyr, I will email you the coupon today! Thanks again to everyone who took part in the game. 

Temperature. Or, the concept of cold.

This post has been written by the husband, a little bit like Kamel appears every now and again over at Better in real life. Speaking of which, you should absolutely read K's mother's day post. It is just, so beautiful. This will most likely not be a regular feature, but maybe now and then we'll get to hear M's voice. 

Wind, hail, and rain do nothing to the boy. Shown here: Windproof raincoat bought in Barcelona, when it was supposed to be glorious, sunny warm and instead it started raining dogs and cats.

Amanda and I are having a lot of discussions about the temperature lately, since the arrival of our little Yulia. We have had our funny misunderstandings in the past, like me having to buy sweaters and a windproof jacket in Barcelona while visiting Amanda, but the differences in our thoughts and perceptions are very clear today. Our main discussion regarding Yulia is whether or not she should be covered by a swaddle when she is carried around in the house.

Amanda grew up in warm and sunny Mexico. Sure it can get “cold” there in the mornings and evenings, but the temperature never drops beneath 10º degrees Celsius. And sure, she spent some time in Switzerland, but the warmth of the Mexican sun never left her mind. She walks around the house on slippers and most of the time has a blanket wrapped around her. She “claims” that there are these “huge” drafts, making parts of the house colder than the rest. So it is no surprise that Amanda thinks that Yulia needs a swaddle, since she is a small baby and the house is cold. The more blankets she is covered in the better.

I, on the other hand grew up in rainy and windy Holland. Where the temperature does become negative in winter. And since Holland is a bike country, I spent plenty of time biking in the rain, snow and hail. During exam period you would spend the first 15 min of the exam getting warm and dry. I walk around the house on my socks and in a t-shirt. I don’t feel any drafts or temperature variations throughout the house.

So, according to my view, Yulia does not need a swaddle in the house when I carry her around in our house. Even during the short trip she takes naked from her room to the shower, where we install her bath.

A temperature is a numerical measure of hot and cold. Its measurement is taken by detection of heat radiation; particle velocity or kinetic energy, or, most commonly, by the bulk behavior of a thermometric material. It may be calibrated in any of various temperature scales: Celsius, Fahrenheit, Kelvin, etc.

The temperature indication throughout our house is a cozy 20º degrees Celsius, but it is funny to see that an objective value such as temperature can be perceived so subjectively based on one’s background.

How are you influenced by your background?