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Saturday, 18 August 2012
AW 2012: just add berries. .(scribbled at 00:05 )
With September just peeping around the corner, I ended up doodling and collaging in my Archie Grand journal to create a rather huge moodboard of Autumnal design for AW2012. It's a working process (I'll upload an image once it's complete)- but fundamentally a palette of burgundy and berry shades are totally dominating the long months ahead.
That, and the Baroque motif that recurred frequently with Dolce and Gabbana's AW2012 designs:
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| If this doesn't have suitability for a PV at the National Gallery, then nothing does. |
Unlike other trends about to previously have hit the high streets of Blighty, there's an abundance of ways to interpret this look and it still retains wearability. For one, shades of berry are much more flattering in terms of make up than SS2012's pastel hues ever were (powder yellow eyeshadow, were they taking the p*ss?). LANCOME have achieved an antidote to all the mints and lavender you could wish for with their new range of L'Absolu Nu lipstick, I'm really lusting for this brilliant berry shade entitled 'Rouge Mousseline'. It also happens that my mother is popping by for a visit next weekend, so hopefully in addition to the usual food package (haha...) there may also be a cosmetic or two to devour...
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AW2012 Collage in progress:
my laptop also happens to be a fetching shade of burgundy... |
I've already made a bit of sartorial effort with this trend, having picked up a vintage Laura Ashley shirt in a dashing shade of red wine last time I went back home to visit my parents. Another attempt, was a dozen red velvet cakes, courtesy of the Hummingbird Bakery cookbook:
Red Velvet Cupcake Recipe
Recipe Courtesy of the beautiful Hummingbird Bakers.
Makes 12 (muffin sized!) cupcakes
Ingredients:
-60g unsalted butter at room temperature
-150g caster sugar
-1 Egg
-10g Cocoa Butter
-20ml unnatural red food colouring (go for a liquid one)
-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
-120ml buttermilk
-150g plain flour
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
-1 1/2 tsp white wine vinegar
Cream Cheese Frosting:
-300g sifted icing sugar
-50g unsalted butter at room temperature
-125g cold cream cheese
Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 170 degrees/gas mark 3
2. Put the butter and sugar and beat using an electric whilst until light and fluffy. One this is done, beat the egg in slowly.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the cocoa powder, red food colouring and vanilla extract to make a thick dark paste. Add this to the butter mixture, making sure that EVERY SINGLE BIT OF RED FOOD COLOURING HAS BEEN MIXED IN.
4. Slowly pour in half of the buttermilk, and beat this until well mixed. Add half the flour and beat again. Repeat this process until both ingredients have been blended in smoothly.
5. Add the salt, bicarb of soda and vinegar and beat on a high speed for a remaining few minutes.
6. Spoon this all into your cakes cases, so that they're around 2/3 full. They should take between 20-25 minutes in the over, and will all be quite springy once complete (do the skewer test as necessary)
After these have cooked and whilst they're cooling on a wire rack, prepare the cream cheese frosting:
7. Beat the icing sugar and butter together with an electric mix until everything forms well together. Add the cream cheese in one go and beat again until fully incorporated. Continue beating until light and fluffy, but take care not to over beat.
8. Spoon onto your cupcakes.
NB: Do not leave out the vinegar. I was pretty tempted to leave it out as I felt far too lazy to buy a whole bottle of white wine vinegar, until someone I work with told me they'd turn out pretty naff if I did that. She's an amazing baker so I did wisely to go with her advice, and here's what they turned out like:
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| With a smidgin of grated dark chocolate topped onto each cupcake. Yum. |
I am totally feeling burgundy next season too, in more ways than wine... (ha. I am
murdering the berry puns this evening!)
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| Buckled Chelsea Boots; Deena & Ozzy at Urban Outfitters; £120 |
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| Jumper; H&M; £12.99 |
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| Waxed Jeans; Zara; £39.99 |
Am totally going to justify the H&M sweater as an 'investment' piece, regardless of the fact that it costs around a tenner. I can picture it getting worn now, in my idyllic (and unrealistic) winter fantasies of reading by a log fire and drinking a pricey bottle of merlot whilst reading my copy of Eric Fernie's Art History and its Methods.
Alas, my classiness starts and ends there. This is a photo my best friend took of me devouring one of my cupcakes as we skyped the other night. It appears I'm actually eyeing up the cake here. Not cool.
In other news, I am actually in love with these Alexander McQueen /Puma collaboration Dextral hi tops that I saw a few weeks back when the Designed to Win exhibition opened at the Design Museum. Oh my, they're more devour-able than any cake out there. And going by the above photograph, that's evidently saying a lot...
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| Img Courtesy: Hypebeast |
Labels: AW2012, Baking and Patisserie, Berry, Burgundy, Designed to Win McQueen Puma, Hummingbird Bakery, Red Velvet Cupcakes, Sartorial
