Monthly Archives

April 2017

Desserts

Carrot Cake with Almond Cream and Flowers

Here is my present to the Easter Bunny: A spectacularly delicious Carrot Cake with Almond Cream and cute little flowers made from sliced almonds and candy covered chocolate eggs (you could use M&Ms too. It’s really moist, very carrot-y, not too sweet and very flavorful. Came out great and I am actually really pleased. The photos aren’t so great, because I had to take them early in the morning. The cake was a present for a friend and I needed to deliver it early this morning before prime “photography time”. 🙂
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Appetizers/Starters, Breads, Sweet Snacks

Sweet Potato and Brown Butter Hot Cross Buns

I know that Hot Cross Buns are more of a Good Friday then than a Maundy Thursday thing, but seeing they are *everywhere* right now, I thought that you wouldn’t mind the recipe a day early. Every year I try to make a new variation on the Hot Cross Bun theme, and this year, believe it or not, they have Sweet Potatoes in them. A little different, I know, but super yummy. They also made the yeast go crazy, so these are really light and fluffy. I should have waited for them to cool a little more though, because the glaze kind of melted and made the crosses look all freaky. Oh well. 🙂
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Cookies, Sweet Snacks

Chocolate Almond Butter Cookies

A couple of years ago, I made these Almond Butter Cookies, which turned out great, so I thought I would revisit the recipe and throw it for a twist and add chocolate. They turned out really well too and aren’t too sweet, which is my favorite kind of cookie. Sort of like biscotti (though not nearly as hard), these go great dunking in coffee. Also, if you don’t have a funky cookie stamp, just use a fork to make a little pattern on the top, but definitely remember to chill them before baking, otherwise the pattern completely disappears.
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Appetizers/Starters, Cookies, Savory Snacks, Sides

Parmesan Linzer “cookies” with Bourbon Pear Onion Jam

OK, another one of my more odd ball recipes. And I won’t lie to you: it was precipidated by the fact that I had a couple of pear-shaped cookie cutters. I know, rather silly. And then I found this interesting sounding Bourbon Pear Onion Jam from Stonewall Kitchen so these savory linzer cookies were born. They match well with cheese and wine or beer. They might not be for everyone, but they turned out quite nice, so I am pleased.
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Desserts

Champagne Mango Coconut Tart

Every year right about this time of year, Champagne Mangoes (the smaller, all yellow ones) go massively on sale at Whole Foods, often 5 for $5, and sometimes even cheaper. That was the impetus of this tart… mangoes are cheap, the weather is miserable and this would cheer up and otherwise dreary day (if nothing else, just the color!). It’s modeled after a Key Lime Pie, but not quite as tart. The coconut is actually a last minute addition, only because I had a package of shredded coconut in the house. All in all, not much of a joke on this April Foods Day.
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