I don’t know what’s come over us lately. Okay, maybe I do: house guests, apple season and the smell of winter in the air. It’s got us pining for “celebration food”: rich meals, hot desserts, double cream, English ale and lots of wine.

The nice thing about celebration food is that it seems to inspire everyone to get into the kitchen (or out in the orchard) and participate in the festivities. After all, celebration food is not just about the eating, it’s about getting happy with friends and appreciating all the amazing food we have access to, be it from the shop or from the orchard. Even the hangovers don’t seem so bad when there’s leftover apple pie in the freezer.

Victoria Sponge Cake

Tim is becoming quite a pro at the good ol’ Victoria Sponge Cake (an English classic, though relatively new to me). Note to folks trying this at home: you can’t make whipped cream with single cream, there isn’t enough fat in it. Use double or whipping cream.

Recipe: High Fearnley Whittingstall’s Victoria sandwich recipes

Vanilla Ice Cream

A necessary addition to apple pie. This was possibly the best vanilla ice cream I’ve ever had: made in the ice cream maker from David Lebowitz‘s recipe in The Perfect Scoop.

David’s recipe seemed to have been made for my purpose:

Everyone should gave a great recipe for Vanilla Ice Cream in their repertoire. Here’s my favorite, which you can serve with anything, from a freshly-baked fruit pie, a warm berry crisp, or simply smothered with dark chocolate sauce or caramel sauce and toasted nuts.

Recipe: Vanilla Ice Cream

Pumpkin Soup

Tim made two batches of this delicious soup last week, the first with a butternut squash, the second with what may have been a kabocha squash. Both were delicious and simple to make with basic ingredients: squash, cream, butter, sage, onion, stock, salt and pepper.

Recipe: Pumpkin (or Winter Squash) Soup from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian

Cauliflower Cake

With 10 eggs and 250g of parmesan, the cost of this Ottolenghi masterpiece alone makes it celebratory. But it is so delicious, and gaining popularity (see the post over at Smitten Kitchen).

Recipe: Cauliflower Cake