Royal Affair (Last Royals Book 2)
Page 31
Also by Cristiane Serruya
I write suspenseful and heartwarming contemporary romances steeped in luxury, loss, lust, and love.
Have you read them all?
SHADES of TRUST
Two billionaires who never fail to get what they want. They both want the same woman. Only one would get her.
Meet Ethan, Sophia, and Alistair in this suspenseful eight-part series romance!
~ TRUST Series standalone romances ~
SHADED LOVE
Love Painted in Red prequel
Eva May, daughter of a recently widowed, strict man, is in dire straights. Not only she is in love with a man her father doesn’t approve, but she is also pregnant.
LOVE PAINTED IN RED
2016 KindleScout winner
Tavish and Laetitia will discover falling in love is life’s greatest risk! A sizzling suspenseful contemporary romance made of loss, lust, and love, which will keep you guessing until the end!
DAMAGED LOVE
One lie tore two lovers apart, breaking both their hearts. And even the truth might not be enough to mend their damaged love.
~ EVER MORE Series standalone romances ~
SO MUCH MORE
He needs a woman to play the perfect wife—sex included, no emotions attached. She needs to pay off a debt before she ends up with broken legs—or worse.
FOREVERMORE
Billionaire widower Aleksander Maximilian’s daughter, Olivia, is dying of brain cancer. To grant his beloved daughter her wish to spend her last Christmas in Lake Tahoe, he gathers a palliative care team. But he didn’t count on having on it, the woman he had kissed on the night before...
EVERMORE
He is rich, powerful—and blind. She is beautiful, intelligent—and engaged to a corrupt politician affiliated with the Russian Mafia. Forbidden romance ignites, but the consequences for breaking off the engagement is death. For both of them.
October 2018
~ LAST ROYALS Series standalone romances ~
ROYAL LOVE
A king without a bride. A young woman struggling on her own. And a chance encounter that could provide an heir to the throne…
ROYAL AFFAIR
She wants a night of wild fun to mend her broken heart—no commitment needed. He thinks his life is complete—until she shatters his perfect illusion. It’s all fun and games until he goes after her heart…
ROYAL TROUBLE
Not even a king has authority over the power of love…
August 2018
ROYAL MASQUERADE
Friedrich Von Kröenenberg is now the thirteenth Grand-Duke of Lektenstaten, a title with responsibilities he’d never wanted.
September 2018
~ THE DIARIES Series ~
FROM THE BARONESS’S DIARY I
The Erotic Escapades of Baron Beardley’s Wife
Young, beautiful, and voluptuous, the Baroness finds that in Beardley Manor innocent flirtations can become erotic sex escapades. And soon Lady Chloe’s diary pages are filled with her adventures—and misadventures!
FROM THE BARONESS’S DIARY II
The Adventures—and Misadventures—of Lady Chloé
Lady Chloé has yet to resolve the mystery of her husband’s frequent business trips and why he's desperate to create an heir. And, of course, she wants more than just a tryst with her gardener lover. She wants love!
FROM THE BARONESS’S DIARY III
June 2018
~ Other books ~
THE MODERN MAN
The modern state of man, his thoughts, feelings, and life are dissected by the author in a direct, sensible, and poetic style.
All the royalties from THE MODERN MAN and its translations are donated to Doctors without Borders.
~ Soon * ~
~ Summer Love, a suspenseful steamy TRUST Series standalone romance, featuring the Brazilian hunk, Felipe Espírito Santo;
~ Mistaken Identity, TRUST Series standalone romance, featuring Valentina Espírito Santo;
~ Unexpected Trouble, TRUST Series standalone romance, featuring Victoria Espírito Santo;
~ Royal Mess, Last Royals #5;
~ One Day More, Ever More #4;
~ The Kingdom of Perfection, my first kid’s story written under the pen name Cristiane Allevato;
* Titles may change.
About Cristiane Serruya
USA TODAY and AMAZON bestselling author, Cristiane Serruya—or just Cris—lives in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with her husband, two teenage daughters, and Loki, her Shetland sheepdog.
She’s graduated at Law School, with a Master’s in Business Law, and also has a BA in Fine Arts, all from PUC-RJ. She’s studied in England, Switzerland, Italy, and France, and, of course, Brazil.
In 2011, after twenty-two years of practicing law, Cris decided to give writing a go. And—amazingly!—it was just the piece that was missing from the puzzle of her life. Now that she’s hooked, she can’t free herself—and doesn’t want to be freed.
If not typing away stories, Cris is reading her favorite authors and pampering her family. Meeting interesting people—in person or on line—gives her the inspiration for her characters. Also, there’s a little bit of her in them as well—including the bad ones, of course.
Visit www.CrisSerruya.com, discover her other romances, and win free books!
Stalk Cris on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and BookBub to be tuned in for news on her works, giveaways, and promotions!
1
Royal Roast Pheasant
The perfect roast pheasant recipe cooked for Angus & Siobhan’s wedding was something of an accident.
In the rush of getting everything done for the wedding, Lekten Palace Chef lost the key to the cellar and had to use rosé wine.
It added a surprising lightness to the dish, unlike the more robust recipe with red wine he was about to do.
Ingredients:
■ Sea salt and black pepper
■ 2 pheasants (young hens are best)
■ Olive oil
■ 1 pack (100g or 31⁄2oz) pancetta lardons
■ 1 red onion, peeled and cut into thin rings
■ 1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped into slithers
■ 2 juniper berries crushed with a few black peppercorns
■ 700g (241⁄2oz) charlotte potatoes, cut on the diagonal into 3 pieces
■ 6 rashers pancetta or streaky bacon ■ 2 large glasses rosé wine
Instructions:
■ Preheat the oven to 200°C or 400°F.
■ Salt and pepper the pheasants.
■ In the bottom of a large, cast-iron casserole, heat a glug of olive oil and brown the pheasants all over. Set aside.
■ Tip in the lardons and fry until nearly crisp on a high heat.
■ Add the onion, turn the heat down and cook for a few minutes, stirring continuously until soft. Add the garlic, a small scatter of sea salt, crushed juniper berries and peppercorns and cook for a further minute. Add the potatoes and stir it all together.
■ Sit the pheasants on top and cover the breasts with the pancetta rashers or bacon.
■ Heat the wine and pour it over. Put the lid on and place in the oven for 45 mins to an hour.
Serves 4
Tips:
■ The Rosé wine can be substituted by leftover sparkling pink prosecco.
■ To roast any gamebird, put half an inch of wine in the pan to help keep the bird moist and tender.
2
German Wedding Cake
Wedding customs and rituals vary significantly around the world, and the cake is no exception.
Though American-style wedding cakes are slowly making their way into Europe, countries such as Germany are hanging onto their own traditions.
German couples often serve up a rich nut genoise or sponge cake to their guests. The cake is usually laced with liqueur or syrup; filled with jam, marzipan or nougat; and covered in fondant or ganache. Any use of artificial coloring on a cake is considered a major f
aux pas.
Baumkuchen or Baumstrietzel is a layered cake with honey and almonds common to German-speaking cultures that has been served at patrician weddings since the Middle Ages. This labor-intensive German cake gets it name, which translates literally as Tree Cake, from the many thin rings that form as layer upon layer of cake is baked. It requires a rather elaborate production method and it’s quite time consuming to make, that’s why it’s considered the King of the Cakes.
Traditionally, Baumkuchen is made on a rotating spit in a large oven made specifically for the task. Even layers of batter are poured onto a cylindrical form, which is rotated around a heat source, and each layer is allowed to brown before a new layer of batter is poured.
Visually, each layer is separated from the next by a golden line, resembling the growth rings on a crosscut tree. When 15-20 layers are complete and the cake is up to 3 feet tall, the cake can be removed and sliced.
But you can bake the classic cake in a standard household oven.
Ingredients:
■ 1/2 lb butter
■ 1-1/2 cup powdered sugar
■ 10 eggs separated
■ Zest of 1 lemon
■ 2 tbsp brandy or rum
■ 1 cup flour
■ 1 cup cornstarch
■ 1 pinch Salt
■ 1-1/2 cup apricot jam
■ parchment paper
■ 11 oz bittersweet chocolate or white chocolate
■ 3/4 cup refined coconut oil
Instructions:
■ Preheat the oven to 440°F/225°C.
■ Whip butter and sugar well until creamy, thick, and fluffy. Gradually add egg yolks—one by one—and the rum, lemon zest, salt, almonds, flour and cornstarch to the butter-sugar mixture until a light, foamy batter forms.
■ Beat the egg whites with the salt and remaining powdered sugar until very stiff. Stir about 1/3 of the egg whites into the yolk mixture, then stir in the flour mixture.
■ Divide the batter in two, and spread flat onto two greased baking sheets—or into a 8-1/2" springform pan greased with butter.
■ Bake in the preheated oven for about 8 minutes on the uppermost oven rack or broil in a preheated for 2 minutes or until golden brown. Watch carefully, this browning can take place very quickly.
■ Flip the sheets of cooked cake onto a flat surface to cool.
■ Repeat until all the batter is gone—you should have about 4 thick layers.
■ When the cake is done, let it stand a few minutes before running a sharp knife along the sides of the pan.
■ When cool, cut each sheet from the lengthwise into four strips. Spread a thin layer of apricot jam on seven of the eight cake strips. Set the strips on top of one another, placing the plain strip on top.
■ Cover with parchment paper. Place a heavy wooden board on top let stand several hours. ■ Cut the edges of the cake clean and sharp and brush the edges with the remaining apricot jam.
■ Once the jam is set, you can add an additional glaze of thinned almond paste or immediately finish the cake with a thin icing made from powered sugar or the highest quality chocolate available—use your favorite chocolate.
Serves 16
Preparation time: 45-60 minutes