Birthday and Brick Pathways
A birthday spent walking the streets of Georgetown, a late spring treat, and a sentimental sweet.
As you may have heard, I recently celebrated my birthday! Turning a year older has made me reflect on how much I’ve accomplished in the past year, exciting changes on the horizon, and how grateful I am to share the journey with you all. This past year has been full of so many milestones for me and Turkuaz Kitchen: my first cookbook was released and became an instant NY Times Bestseller, I went on book tour, and to top it all off, there’s a new family member on the way! I’m fortunate to have family, friends, and followers all cheering me on. Time flies by so fast. Speaking of grateful, I can’t imagine a better way to celebrate than spending some time in Georgetown with my family.
The brick pathways and colorful homes here transport me to another world or different time. The architecture feels like something out of a novel, especially with all the late spring foliage everywhere. I could (and did!) spend hours just walking around and taking it all in. D.C. is one of our favorite cities to visit; we love having it nearby our home in Blacksburg, and we’re always finding new favorite places to eat—while being sure to revisit some tried-and-true ones as well! Here are the highlights from this trip:
Tatte Bakery — A bakery and cafe that has it all: pastries, coffee, breakfast, sandwiches, salads… All of it delicious!
Zaytinya — Mouthwatering meze plates with Turkish, Greek, and Lebanese influences. We take Mediterranean cuisine very seriously in our household, and this restaurant definitely holds up!
Dolcezza — Our favorite gelato in the area. I got the classic combination of dark chocolate and hazelnut, but there are so many flavors to choose from! My husband always goes for the pistachio and salted caramel.
I’ve been hearing that I missed out on YELLOW, so that’s definitely on the list for next time! If anyone else has recommendations, I want to hear what your favorites are, too.
I love spending time with my husband and son when we travel, but can I confess my preferred way to celebrate my birthday? A solitary walk with a view. A simple pleasure, but there’s no better way to spend a morning, especially somewhere as idyllic as Georgetown. It’s not always easy to take a quiet moment for yourself, but sometimes it’s just what I need. It took some real effort to sneak away on my own, but being able to have a slow morning waking up, grabbing some coffee, and wandering the streets before the rest of the world was awake was truly magical.
In the spirit of birthdays, I’ve picked out some items that make it possible to bake and decorate your own layer cake as well as any bakery.
Springform Pan: A must for cheesecakes, but also handy with other cakes for even baking and easy release. This one from Williams Sonoma is nonstick!
Cake Leveler: For those who have trouble cutting even layers with a knife, this tool will help you get perfectly uniform layers.
Offset Icing Spatula: Necessary for getting smooth crumb coats and spreading your frosting, icing, or toppings of choice evenly.
Cake Stand: It’s not a birthday without a few special touches. A cake stand will display all your hard work!
Piping Tips: The tips from Ateco are high quality and will help you create beautiful designs and borders.
Cake Collars: This will help you keep everything together while decorating! I used it for my Sponge Cake recipe, which you’ll find later in this newsletter.
Piping Bags: To pipe frostings and fillings. You may use with pastry tips, or just cut the end off. I prefer these disposable, plant-based bags.
Citrus season may be ending, but I find these creamy, refreshing flavors perfect for the warming weather—and for entertaining. If you want a dessert that’s sure to impress but not quite as time-consuming as a cake, look no further. These mandarin possets, which I made with Sumo mandarins, look stunning but are actually quite easy to make.
It wouldn’t be a birthday without some cake, and this year I decided to make one very near and dear to my heart—my take on the Whole Foods Berry Chantilly Cake. Here, I fill it with the Vanilla Pastry Cream from my cookbook, but feel free to use any pastry cream of your choice.
The Berry Chantilly Cake was a frequent feature of my early married days. Once I discovered that my husband loved it, I dedicated myself to replicating it and made it weekly. No surprise, he quickly gained weight so it was a short-lived tradition, but it was such a significant memory in our relationship so we have no regrets. Now I make it periodically for special occasions, and I know you’ll love it as well!
When you make these desserts, I hope you have the opportunity to share them with loved ones. They’re best enjoyed that way!
Waiting for the newsletter.so happy to read and know about your additional family member on your way.wishing you a very happy birthday and all the blessings for your health and happiness.
Thank you for sharing this dessert. I made it for our 13th anniversary. It’s delightful!!