That cream tho.

Triple Ginger Mille Crepe Cake

(adapted drastically from the Green Tea Crepe Cake from Martha Stewart)

Crepes (makes about eighteen)

Active time: 1 hr. 10 min.

Total time: 1 hr. 40 min., plus chilling

2 cups cake flour

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon french gray sea salt

2 1/4 cups whole milk, room temperature

6 large eggs, room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 cups butter melted, plus another 1/4 cup for pan

Ginger Pastry Cream

Active time: 30 min.

Total Time: 30. min, plus chilling

3 cups whole milk

1/2 cup sugar

1/8 cup molasses

Pinch of coarse salt

1 tablespoon sliced, fresh ginger left in large pieces

6 large egg yolks

6 tablespoons cornstarch

3 tablespoons butter

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup candied ginger, minced

1.) For Crepes: Place flour, sugar, salt, milk, eggs, vanilla, ginger, other spices, and butter in blender. Blend well for a minute or so. Scrape down sides as needed, then cover and chill in the refrigerator at least two hours or overnight. While chilling, make pastry cream (recipe below).

2.) Process batter again (briefly) to remove lumps. Lightly coat a small skillet with butter. If possible, use a non-stick skillet coated with butter. My crepes would have turned out thinner if I had had access to one. Heat over medium heat until butter begins to smoke. Pour 1/4 cup of batter into center of pan and swirl to cover. Reduce heat to medium-low and return pan to heat. Cook till edges are golden and center is firm, about a minute. Lift and flip crepe either with a large spatula or your fingers. If using fingers, be careful - it can hurt rather badly. Cook 15 seconds more, then transfer to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Feel free to stack the crepes as they come off the heat - they will not stick to each other.

3.) For Cream: In medium saucepan, combine milk, 1/4 cup of sugar, molasses, the salt, and fresh ginger slices. Cook over medium-high heat until mixture comes to a simmer. Fish out ginger slices.

4.) In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks, cornstarch, and remaining 1/4 cup of sugar. Whisking constantly, slowing pour about 1/2 cup of the hot mixture into the egg yolk mixture. Continue adding the hot stuff to the egg yolks, whisking until incorporated. Return to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it thickens and comes to a boil. Let boil, still whisking, two minutes.

5.) Remove from heat and, straining out any lumps, add vanilla and minced candied ginger. Add butter and stir until butter melts and mixture cools, about 5 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap pressed directly onto the surface of the cream to prevent a "skin" from forming. Chill until cool, at least 2 hours and up to two days.

6.) Assembly: Assemble your cake by alternating layers of crepe and cream. Sift a half-teaspoon of cinnamon overtop of the cake and decorate as you wish!

Spiced Raw Pecan Butter

8 oz. raw pecans

Pinch of sea salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground mace

How To: Dump everything into the blender or food processor. It's a loud, longish process so be ready to stop the blender every thirty seconds and scrape down the sides with a spatula. You are essentially babysitting the nuts as they are spun from whole nuts to nut-meal to sticky powder to nut-butter. This process takes 6-10 minutes. If your nuts are not spectacularly oily or if you prefer a runnier nut-butter, feel free to add a teaspoon of coconut oil to the mixture. But don't give up! Your nuts will turn into butter. I promise.

Makes 1 cup

Happy weekend! I hope I've been able to help you up your toast game! Trader Joe's had bags of raw hazelnuts...I'm plotting a raw, clean version of Nutella. Mwahahah. Catch you kids later.

Fourth Step: Find the sandwich counter which, having entered the doors, ought to be directly in front of you at the back of the store. But don't order a sandwich. What you'll want to do now is go to this funky looking hammock thing hung from the ceiling to the right of the counter, near the drinks cooler:

See that? Bread Ends: $1. Each bag contains five hunks of various types of bread, sawed off the ends of the sandwiches. Each chunk of bread is enough to feed one person without stuffing them or having leftovers. Snatch a bag up: you've just done bread-for-five at twenty cents per head. Highest of fives.

Step Five: Find your perfect cheese. Inside, it will soon become obvious to you where the cheese is kept: in a beautiful, beautiful cooler with a beaming man or woman standing behind, wire-bundle at the ready to slice off a gleamy, creamy piece of whatever you fancy.


But first, make sure you check the "discount cheese" bins which are usually on a rack someplace in the center of the store because there could be a weight-limit on how small a piece of cheese you can buy, whereas the "discount" bin usually contains smaller pieces and/or the ends of bigger blocks.
As for types, might I recommend the Wisconsin, the 2-year Aged Red Leaf cheddar, apple-wood smoked cheddar, Cotswold Double Gloucester, Havarti, or a young Holland Gouda? But I've never bought a cheese I disliked. Also, if you liked smoked sausages, getting a landjaeger is a good choice. This will hike up your price-per-head about .50 but it's worth it.


 The cheese shops sell drinks that run about $2 per bottle/can. I love the lemon, blood orange, or grapefruit San Pellegrino but the birch-beer is also yummy. Typically, though, I try to bring my own water-bottle. Choose your cheese: purchasing a couple good, low-price cheeses from The Cheese Shop (enough for five people) will cost five or six dollars. Remember to ask the cheese-man for a plate and knife! To the cheese, we added dried cherries which cost $4.


Step Six: Exit and find a spot for your picnic. I have three spots which I favor. One is top secret, but I will share the other two. The first can be found by walking the opposite way down Duke of Gloucester Street (away from the college, toward the historic section) until you reach the Palace Green. Instead of picnicking on the Green, however, which can be crowded, so turn to the right and head into the empty field/segue lined with trees which gently slopes down to a quiet road. This is prime picnic territory. The other spot can be found in the yard of two buildings near the parking lots on the corners of Francis and Henry streets. No one has told us not to sit there...but I'm not really sure they're officially Colonial Williamsburg property at all. However, it's a very pretty, secluded spot while being smack-dab next to your car. See? You can see Merchant's Square perfectly.


Step Seven: Spread out and enjoy yourself! Use the paper bags bought with your foodstuffs as plates. They ought to supply you with napkins as well. This is where your instinct as to How To Have A Good Picnic gets to have its say. From here on out, you're on your own and I trust you'll have a pleasant time! Williamsburg picnics are my favorite and my specialty. I hope the weather is just lovely for you...maybe you'll even hit Golden Hour.



So to recap, here are the costs of having a spontaneous, prep-free picnic (drinks aside):

Picnic For Five:

- Bread: $1
- Cheese: $6
- Sausage: $2
- Dried Fruit: $4

Total: $13
Total Per Guest: $2.60

Two dollars and sixty cents. And that's if you went for the landjaeger, which some of you will want to skip. For atmosphere, faux Parisian-vibes, ease, and Pinterest-level, it can't be beaten! And if you want to take some of that money you saved and splurge on a coffee later? Go to Aroma's (from The Cheese Shop, one block to the right, one block up) and get a chai latte. You'll thank me later.
I hope this post will be helpful to those of you who end up in Williamsburg...it's a tried and true method I'm very fond of. Bon chance! 

As you can see, I used a candle instead of a campfire. If you do the same, just be sure that you don't use a scented candle. These babies have enough flavor without adding Black Orchid Soy to the palette. Also, unless you like your marshmallows toasty (burnt) as I do, be sure to rotate the marshmallow over the flame so they don't randomly catch fire. Ahem. Kids, don't try this at home. I also assume that you know how to make a s'more so I won't detail that process here. If you are ignorant of such things, I'm afraid you'll have to chump it. S'mores cannot be taught. They are an art.

Chocolate Graham Crackers: (based off recipe from The Kitchenarian via Paintchips & Frosting)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Line two cookie sheets with parchment or waxed paper.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt, cocoa, sugar, and baking powder together. Cut the butter into the flour mixture using a pastry blender or two knives criss-crossing.
3. Combine the maple syrup in cream in a small bowl, stir until the syrup dissolves completely in the milk.
4. Add the liquid into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix it with a fork until the dough comes together. Add a little more cream if necessary, but don't add too much because the dough needs to be workable.
5. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface and fold it over gently 10 to 12 times, until smooth.  Divide the dough in half and keep the remaining dough covered in the bowl.  Transfer half the dough to a piece of parchment.
6. Roll the dough until it's about 1/16" thick. Cut out circles with a small cookie cutter or shot glass and prick with the tines of a fork. Place the rolled-out dough pieces on the lined baking sheet.  Repeat with the remaining dough. Repeat with second half of dough. 
7. Bake the crackers for 12-15 minutes, or until they smell good and chocolatey. Halfway through baking, sprinkle top of crackers with sugar.
8. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with a little more sugar and scoop onto a rack to cool. Assemble s'mores per usual.