While mandarin oranges were still in season, I’d hoped to find the perfect recipe to utilize the cute little fruits. I love colorful mandarins because here where I live, they’re the only citrus fruit with a genuine pretty orange-colored peel. Zesting the yellow-green sour oranges or lemons just isn’t as visually appealing as picking up…
Technique is Everything
Yesterday I learned a lesson that cost me more than a dozen cupcakes: Technique IS Everything. I began with high hopes for Old-Fashioned Cupcakes that I´d seen made on Paula Deen´s ¨Paula´s Best Dishes.¨ These basic vanilla cupcakes had rave reviews online, and seemed to be just what I was looking for. Following the directions…
Vegan Chocolate Cake
Although most of my readers are probably not of the vegan persuasion, I just have to share with you this fabulous recipe for a moist, rich chocolate cake that has won my heart and just so happens to be vegan. I stumbled upon the recipe in Midwest Living Magazine, which advertised the cake as a…
Sourdough Carrot Cake
Last year, I started my own living refrigerator culture of sourdough starter. My little pet has been a great help and very appreciated participant in many of my baking adventures. He has given lift to many a pancake, borne the long rising hours of the bread to which his name is given, shown he likes…
Raspberry Crumb Cake
Although raspberries may be out of season in the north, that is no cause for denying yourself the privilege of scarfing down this sweet, streusel-topped buttery cake speckled with summer’s juiciest berries. Head to the freezer section, grab a bag of your favorite frozen berries, and have at it. This recipe, an Ina Garten adaptation,…
Very Berry Cake
What is flowered on the outside, floured on the inside, and sandwiched with raspberry jam? Good job! You’re right, it’s very berry cake. In a pinch for a last-minute birthday celebration tomorrow, I rummaged through the pantry and found the bare bones for a berry cake of sorts: a half package of grape gelatin, half…
The beauty queen that wasn’t
Have you ever seen a celebrity without makeup? Sometimes, you’d never even recognize them if they passed by on the street. It’s magically transforming, the job that professional makeup artists can do, and most mornings I wish I could win a consultation to absorb a little of that genius. On the other hand, how many…
The one that got away
Luckily for me, the one that got away was not the love of my life (he just left for work, actually). In fact, my peach yogurt cake slipped out the door this morning along with Husband without making it first to the photo shoot. For the visually centered, imagine a pineapple upside-down cake. Remove pineapple,…
Bring in the New Year Bundt
I’m very happy to announce that Husband and I are finally home after our long holiday trip. As predicted, the mothers, kitchen queens that they are. fed us well, from coconut flan to steaks to my favorite split pea soup and enough sugary treats to last the year long. Arriving home last evening to a…
Apple Gingerbread Muffins
With one small Red Delicious in the refrigerator, I had to think pretty small scale for this month’s challenge. I’ve hit the muffin jackpot with this one: the apple gingerbread cupcake. This gem of a muffin has warm spicy tones highlighted by tender chunks of apple throughout. The muffin is moist and delicate, with warm…
