I went clothes shopping the other day and remembered why I dislike it so much. Nothing ever seems to fit me properly. It will be just right in one spot, but too big in another and too small somewhere else. Jeans, for example, are always too long. Whenever I go shopping, I have to base my decisions on the true cost of any item of clothing, which is usually the inflated price tag plus the hidden cost of getting it altered.

So I was standing in the change room, weighing up the benefits of a Little Joe top I had fallen in love with which was too big in the shoulder area, and it occured to me that I also experience similar hidden costs at work and in life. Unfortunately, there is no price tag you can place on the value of working a specific job or making a significant decision in life. How then will you know if you can afford these costs? At what point will you be able to recognise that the costs are starting to outweigh the benefits? When is it time to put the job back on the rack and try something else?

Maybe for me, clothes shopping is like life. I’m not particularly adept at it. I stumble along, managing to be vaguely presentable and every now and then, meet people along the way who I ‘fit’ with.

This dessert is inspired by Jordan Khan and the classic flavours of lemon meringue pie. The frozen liquid sable recipe is from Under Pressure by Thomas Keller. It is sandy, like normal baked sable, and melts luxuriously on the tongue. Because it is liquidised, it is capable of being frozen and twisted or cut into unusual shapes. My original twists of sable looked slightly more impressive than the picture, but it started to wilt a little as I spent too much time trying to get a decent shot. I might take more pictures next weekend when I have the time, and will include them in this post. This dessert is for Dan, who I believe as a friend, doesn’t have any hidden costs.

And for the record, I didn’t get the Little Joe top.

I had lunch at a friend’s place over the weekend. She happens to make the most divine sweet things – most recently, a Noah’s Ark cake with little sugar animals – monkeys, lions, elephants. Clumsy me, I picked up an elephant to ooh and aah over it, and not only did the head drop off, but half of it’s ear also chipped off! So I don’t think delicate sugar art is really my thing.

Instead, for Habeas Brulee’s theme for SHF #26, I’ve raided my cupboard for some long-unused items. Along with a bag of coloured sugar and some maple sugar chips, I’ve used ye olde faithful icing sugar to decorate a batch of beautifully buttery shortbread biscuits. The biscuit is quite delicate with a nice snap to it, and an enhanced crunch and presentation factor thanks to the colourful sugar crystals. And might I add, a light dusting of icing sugar has managed to cure many a baking mistake of mine in the past. So here’s to the art of sugar therapy..

The recipe for these biscuits comes from Shannon Bennett’s My Vue. Instead of rolling each slice out individually as per the original recipe, I rolled and baked the dough as a large sheet, then stamped out the shapes after the shortbread was baked. The best part of making this, was nibbling on the trimmings!

Shannon Bennett’s Sable Biscuits :

450g plain flour
50g cornflour
400g butter, chopped into dice, at room temperature
200g icing sugar
4 egg yolks
pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 160’C. Sift the flour and cornflour into a mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and add the butter and sugar, work together with your fingertips until no hard lumps remain. Add the egg yolks and salt, drawing in the flour. Work until the dough resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Do not overwork. Roll the pastry into a log and refrigerate for several hours. Cut the dough into 6mm slices and briefly knead each slice. Roll each slice out to a thickness of 3mm; they will be extremely delicate. Place on a greaseproof paper-lined baking tray, allowing space for spreading. Bake for 10 minutes, or until just golden on the edges.