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Desserts

Desserts, Sweet Snacks

Spring Has Sprung Garden Party Cake

All of a sudden, it seems to be spring. After this winter here in Boston, I never thought that we’d be saying “Gosh, it’s hot!” again, but here we are on May 7 … and it’s downright hot. So, in celebration thereof, I made this here cake. I actually have a bit of a philosophy that I have broken with this cake — which is that I think that a cake should look like a cake, not like something else — but eh, rules are meant to be broken sometimes and I ended up with this cutsie little cake. It’s just a chocolate cake with raspberry filling, chocolate butter cream frosting and lots of mini-M&Ms.
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7. May 2015
Desserts, Sweet Snacks

Browned Butter Bourbon Pecan Chocolate Chip Pie
aka Kentucky Derby Pie

In a couple of days, the Kentucky Derby will be run for 2015. I’ve been seeing a lot of photos out there for Mint Juleps and such, but thought I would go in another direction with my homage to the the Running of the Roses: Pie. No surprise there, eh? I’ve been this type of pie been called Chocolate Chip Pie, but with my addition of Pecans and Bourbon, it almost seemed more appropriate to rename it as Kentucky Derby Pie. Southern, and all that. It is ooey and gooey on the inside, perfect for pairing with vanilla iced cream.
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30. April 2015
Desserts, Sweet Snacks

Lemon, Poppy Seed and Almond Cake, with Blueberries and Sweetened Greek Yogurt (GF, but not dairy free)

The other day, a friend of mine mentioned that she had a craving for lemon poppy seed “something” … muffins, pound cake, etc. I saw this recipe online, modified it a bit and had a go. It is Gluten Free and just uses almond meal instead of flour. If it were to make it again, I would cut down on the almond meal and make it half with regular wheat flour (seeing I have no real reason to be eating gluten free). Also, I think that a great improvement would be to use wild blueberries, instead of the cultivated ones, as they just don’t have enough flavor. But alas, it isn’t blueberry season until a few months from now, so I used what I had.
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26. April 2015
Desserts, Sweet Snacks

Pistachio and Spicy Salted Caramel Deep Chocolate Brownies

Over the years, I have posted a lot of brownie recipes on this site. They are perhaps my favorite “go to” thing when I have to make something in a hurry, because even the “from scratch” type of brownies don’t take very long to make and you can add so many varying flavors to them. Case in point: these Pistachio and Spicy Salted Caramel Deep Chocolate Brownies. Make your own spicy caramel sauce and a gourmet style brownie is made. Also, I love the whole salty and spicy thing on chocolate, so I used the Falk Salt Chipotle Sea Salt again.
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24. April 2015
Desserts, Sweet Snacks

Apple Pie with Whiskey-Soaked Tart Cherries

I woke up this morning in a horrible mood. Well, I am not sure that “waking up” was actually part of the equation as I had been awake for the most of the night. There were some bad dreams and the weather was horrible, with pelting rain and thunder and lighting. The cats were none too pleased about the whole thing and I just didn’t get a good night’s rest. I felt completely discombobulated.

But for me there is something about being in the kitchen that allows me to reset. So I did just that, even though it was a busy morning with my “real life”. I love pie but didn’t really have enough apples for just a regular apple pie, but I did have a jar of tart cherries. I steeped them in some whiskey as I was making the pastry and voila: Apple Pie with Whiskey Soaked Tart Cherries. The flowers are intended to be cherry blossoms, because it is, in theory, that time of year. Oh, and it stopped raining, and my mood has improved.
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21. April 2015