A wish, a gift, noodle bowls, and a last minute dessert

The 2025 cookbook is here!

Welcome to Let’s Get Lost! I’m Rebecca, a recipe developer, food photographer, passionate people watcher, and chaser of new experiences. You might know me from my recipe websites, Of Batter and Dough and A Little and A Lot.

My husband and I are nomads without a home base but with many modes of transportation, namely an RV, a motorcycle, and a sailboat. I write recipes and stories for curious people who believe experiences are more important than things and who want more adventure.

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Attention Lost Supper Club Members!

This newsletter would not exist if not for the members of The Lost Supper Club, who show their support with a paid subscription thus ensuring that the vast majority of readers can keep reading this newsletter for free. An annual subscription to The Lost Supper Club is just $35.

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My wish for you

This week’s newsletter is short and sweet this week, my friends, as we are enjoying as much time with our friends and family as we can.

The holiday season is always a mixed bag and I know there are many of you who are struggling this year with loss and grief. In the years after loosing our son in 2020, the holiday season felt like a landmine. There were happy moments… but you just never knew when you were going to step on a mine.

I suppose that’s still true, but the happy moments stretch much wider and the moments of grief are less sharp around the edges. Time can sometimes be merciful.

Wherever you are, whatever is going on in your life, however you celebrate, or if you don’t celebrate at all, I hope you have a week that includes at least a few sweet moments.

I am grateful that you’re here, and I know that there’s no good way to phrase that and not sound trite, but it’s true. This newsletter is read across all 50 states and 94 countries, and there have been many times this year when the reminder that there are good people everywhere has come from you. I’ve needed the reminder. I’m glad you’re here.

Today you’ll find a super easy last-minute holiday dessert that will honestly knock the socks off anyone you share it with, it’s soooooo good.

Also, yesterday I was honored to talk with Nicki Sizemore about her newest cookbook, Mind Body Spirit Food. This is a deeply personal book that reminds us of the importance of how we feed ourselves, not just what we feed ourselves.

We talked about the book while cooking one of the recipes from its pages, Chili Crisp Tahini Noodle Bowls, a recipe that will be available tomorrow in Nicki’s newsletter.

If you were able to join us LIVE, thank you for being there. If you missed it, here’s where you’ll find the replay…

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Mascarpone Cream and Cake Parfaits!

I made these on a LIVE streaming class with the delightful Lolly Martyn from Italy. During the class, Lolly used egg free mascarpone cream to transform a pandoro into a true showstopper.

I prepared an egg-rich mascarpone cream and then layered it with cubes of butter cake for decadent parfaits. Scroll down for the link to the class recording. Here’s the recipe!

For the butter cake:

• 1 1/4 cups (150 grams) all-purpose flour

• 2 tablespoons (14 grams) cornstarch

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 8 tablespoons (4 ounces/ 113 grams) butter, salted or unsalted, at room temperature

• 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons cups (175 grams) granulated sugar

• 2 large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature

• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

• 3/4 cup (170 grams) buttermilk, at room temperature

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C). Grease and flour the inside of a 8-inch cake pan that’s at least 3-inches deep.

2. Add the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt to a bowl and stir with a wire whisk to combine.

3. Put the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, until the mixture is light and fluffy.

4. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the eggs and the egg yolk one at a time, beating well after each addition.

5. Stir the vanilla into the buttermilk. Add the flour and buttermilk in alternating additions: ¼ of the flour, ⅓ of the buttermilk, ¼ of the flour, ⅓ of the buttermilk, ¼ of the flour, the last of the buttermilk, and the last of the flour. After each addition, mix on low speed just long enough to barely incorporate. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl a couple of times. After the last addition of flour, use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to stir the batter, ensuring all the ingredients have been well combined.

6. Scoop the batter into the prepared cake pan, smoothing it into an even layer.

7. Bake for 30-35 minutes. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out without any evidence of raw batter.

8. Allow the cake to cool inside the pan for 5 minutes then gently turn it out onto a wire baking rack. Allow the cake to cool completely, then cut into large bite-size cubes.

Coffee and Mascarpone Cream:

• 6 tablespoons (75 grams) granulated sugar

• 3 large, cold, pasteurized egg yolks

• 16 ounces (452 grams) mascarpone cheese

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 tablespoon of rum, more to taste

• 1 tablespoon cold strong coffee, more to taste

• Unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting

1. Use an electric mixer to beat the sugar and egg yolks until the mixture is light in color and thick, about 2-3 minutes. Add the mascarpone and beat until completely incorporated and smooth.

2. Add the salt, rum, and coffee. Beat to combine. Taste and add more coffee or rum if you like.

To assemble the parfaits:

1. Add a few cubes of cake to a glass or a bowl and top with a generous layer of mascarpone cream. Repeat these layers, cake cubes and mascarpone cream. Dust the top with a bit of unsweetened cocoa powder. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Notes: For a stronger coffee or rum flavor, sprinkle the cubes of cake with some additional rum or coffee. The mascarpone cream can be flavored in whatever way you like, it doesn’t have to be rum and coffee. Instead, use vanilla or almond extract, or even lemon or orange extract, or play around with different flavored liquors!

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This newsletter would not exist if not for the members of The Lost Supper Club, who show their support with a paid subscription thus ensuring that the vast majority of readers can keep reading this newsletter for free. As a thank you, I try to provide those paid subscribers with some cool stuff. Find out more about becoming a member of the Lost Supper Club.

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Let’s Get Lost Cookbook, Volume 2

All the recipes from every issue published in 2025

This year’s cookbook is HERE and it’s exclusively available, for free, to members of the Lost Supper Club.

Here’s where to get your copy.

I have had the pleasure this year to get to know many of you, some of whom I’ve even gotten to meet in person.

Every once in a while someone asks us if life on the road, with no home base, gets lonely. The answer of course, is no. Community doesn’t only come from rooting yourself in one place. Community can be found everywhere.

Thank you for being here. Thank you for supporting this publication. And thank you for offering your many words of encouragement, thoughtful comments and messages, and even friendship. I know I say it often, but this publication would not exist with out you.

xo

-Rebecca

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Recommended reading

Take a deep dive into Christmas in Tuscany with these two posts from Christine, My Tuscany Roots. I had the pleasure of visiting Tuscany several years ago and have been wanting to go back ever since. These posts have only stoked that fire and given me visions of what a holiday trip might be like.

A Taste of Italian Holidays: Two Classic First Courses.

Tuscan Appetizers for the Holidays.

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