“Guests are really surprised by them, and they add something fun and unusual to
the meal,” says Maia du Plessis

A story from my childhood in Norway: With a little help from chickens, Mormor always had the sweetest raspberries around. And with a little inspiration from her, I have a light, summery breakfast treat to share with you.

MY MORMOR was an avid gardener. All summer long, she could be found outdoors, knee-deep in soil, and I was her garden helper, weed picker, and coffee-and-cigarette fetcher. On our breaks, she would tell me all about the different ways to garden while she drank coffee and I drank lemonade.

Mormor had a big garden with fruit trees, vegetables, berries, and lots of flowers. I can still remember the juicy taste of sun-warm berries picked right from the stem. There is still nothing like it! I asked her once why her raspberries were so much bigger than the neighbors’ berries. Her secret, she said, was the chicken droppings she used as fertilizer. Chicken poop was not the answer I expected. Oh well! They sure tasted good.

Our tradition, when the first raspberries were ripe, was to pick them for pancakes. We are talking the thin almost crepe-like Norwegian pancakes here. Mormor would stir some berries into a sauce—no sugar needed—and add the rest on top. No sugar in the batter either. You don’t really need it since the filling is always sweet. I must admit, I added a sprinkle of sugar on top of mine. You know how kids are!

Mormor could also flip the pancakes in the air. She tried to teach me, but I gave up after one of my tries ended up hanging from the ceiling lamp. I never did learn how to do it!

From Martha: "Ombre cakes are so elegant, and much simpler to create than people think. My buttercream gets its pinky hue from blackberry syrup rather than food colouring, so you get their delicate, autumnal flavour in every bite.

The honeycomb should be made and put on top of the cake just before serving, because when it is left out in the air it starts to weep and becomes sticky pools of sugar rather than glorious, bubbly shards. I make this cake in smaller 18cm/7inch tins to add extra height."

From Dana Cree: "Baked goods do something peculiar when boiled with milk: they dissolve and become stretchy and elastic. Throw the mixture into a blender, and this strange concoction becomes velvety and thick, like pudding. I first encountered this magic trick at a restaurant full of them, called Alinea. There, a pudding made by boiling brioche and cream was served with raspberries for an elegant “toast-and-jam” bite. Since then, I’ve applied the same principle to just about every other kind of bakery treat I can get my hands on—like gingerbread or devil’s food cake. Most recently, I’ve been reducing glazed donuts to a velvety pudding to flavor ice cream.

Buy the most delicious glazed donut you can find. This might be from a local shop where donuts are hand-forged, or from Krispy Kreme, or even from your grocery store’s bakery case. And don’t stop at donuts; you can use this recipe with any cake, cookie, or pastry you desire."

I love gin & tonic! It's such a wonderful and refreshing treat.  When we recently hosted an event I wanted to make a cocktail that combined gin from our partners at Junipero Gin with jam from our friends at  Bonnie's Jam... and my Jammy Gin & Tonic was born!  It's such a delish drink.. you're going to be drinking it nonstop from now on!