Recipes & Food Styling

Happy Birthday, beautiful Violet!

Violet turned 5 on November 1, and we always celebrate her birthday with a Halloween costume party. We give candy out to the neighbor kids from the garage, and invite all her doggy friends over for puppy treats.

This year, Violet was a raven!

We had a Shadow Cake (follow link for recipe) and Syllabub. Syllabub is an addictive punch drink that was popular in the 1840s, which is when my new book is set – during the time of Edgar Allan Poe. Syllabub is a mix of apple cider, milk, cream, and ice. It is seasoned with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom. It is even better with a splash of brandy, whiskey or cognac!

Syllabub

Yield: 16 servings

½ cup milk

½ cup sugar

2 ½ cups apple cider

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped until stiff peaks are formed

6 cups of ice

3 star anise

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional: use a hand grater to freshly grate the nutmeg)

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

12 cinnamon sticks

In a punch bowl, mix all of the ingredients together, except the spices and the heavy whipping cream, and stir until they are well blended. Fold in the heavy whipping cream. Add ice. Use a stencil to form the shape of a skull on top of the cream. Place a cinnamon stick in each punch cup for guests to use as a flavorful stirrer.