Currents & Curses Bonus Content

The Lines that Inspired...

Limoncello Frozen Cocktail Mix

A team of five women was unheard of in the male-dominated field of nautical archaeology, and our partners at the software start-up were mostly women, too. I wondered if Gage thought we’d be spending the next year in Positano sunbathing and sipping limoncello. – pages 56-57

Sea Turtle Puzzle

His skin tone was a beautiful, Italian bronze, and as the sleeves of his shirt inched up, I caught the bottom edge of a tattoo on his forearm: a pair of sea turtles surrounded by a few abstract-looking waves. – page 119

Sea Witch Candle

They were streghe del mare—sea witches—with unparalleled power over the ocean. They boasted a magic found nowhere else in the world, a result of their lineage, having descended from the sirens who once inhabited the tiny Li Galli islets nearby. – page 14

Amalfi Coast Milk Bath Soak

The word belvedere, he explained, meant to look upon something beautiful, and indeed I could think of no fairer sight than the one in front of me now. It was as if the entire Amalfi Coast were spread out before us. – page 148

Ocean Spray Foaming Salt Scrub

She’d smelled the salt on the air, watched as the sea mist was expelled upward from the revolving whirlpool. – page 270

The Amalfi Coast

Amalfi Lemon Cake (Torta al Limone)

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups (180 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ½ cup (115 g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup (240 g) plain Greek yogurt (or sour cream)
  • Zest of 2 large Amalfi lemons (or regular lemons)
  • ¼ cup (60 ml) fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • Powdered sugar, for dusting

Instructions

  1. Prep: Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour an 8-inch round cake pan (or line with parchment).
  2. Mix dry: In a bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
  3. Cream butter & sugar: In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy (2–3 minutes).
  4. Add eggs: Beat in eggs, one at a time, scraping sides of the bowl.
  5. Flavor: Stir in lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla.
  6. Combine: Alternate adding flour mixture and yogurt, beginning and ending with flour, mixing gently until smooth.
  7. Bake: Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 35–40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
  8. Cool & finish: Let cake cool, then dust with powdered sugar before serving.