Orange Blueberry Cake

My friends gave me a ton of oranges from their tree. When we couldn’t bear the thought of eating another orange, I had a thought – if lemon cake is good, why not orange cake? I also had some blueberries from the local community garden. My first Orange Blueberry Cake was entirely consumed in one…

Key Lime Pie Cupcakes

I wanted to make a St. Patrick’s Day dessert, and my neighbor had just given me a bunch of limes from her tree. So I decided to make Key Lime Pie Cupcakes. To get that familiar key lime pie flavor I used sweetened condensed milk instead of sugar in both the cupcake batter and the…

Key Lime Cake

I had a big container of sour cream, I had key limes, and I had a dinner party I needed to bring a dessert to. It was an intimate dinner party for 4, so I thought there would be leftovers of this Key Lime Cake, but I ended up having to make another one the…

Mango Cake

I got a box of huge, perfectly ripe mangoes, and after gobbling a bunch down and using a couple to make mango lassi, I still had one left. While I’m on Team Pie, I had some friends coming over who are on Team Cake (there’s just no accounting for taste). So I decided to use…

Lemon Ricotta Cupcakes

I was gifted a bag of gluten-free flour, and had absolutely no idea what to do with it. I happened to see an article that said gluten-free flour is actually better for making cupcakes with a more even crumb, and since I’ve been wanting to figure out uses for my gluten-free flour decided – what…

Peach Blueberry Yogurt Cake

Still had some not-quite-peak-season peaches, as well as some blueberries that were a bit on the tart side. I thought baking them into a cake might be nice, and it was! I liked the aesthetic of the white and yellow peaches too. Guessipe 4 TBSP butter, softened 1 cup + 2 tsp sugar 2 eggs…

Apple Olive Oil Bundt Cake

My friend who gave me the bundt pan started asking when he’d be getting another bundt cake. I’ve had an itch in my brain about olive oil cake ever since I had an amazing one at Osteria Mozza, and that was years ago! It was finally time to try my hand at making one. I…

Mini Amaretto Cakes with Blood Orange Topping

After my Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Blood Orange Topping was such a hit, I found myself constantly thinking about how the amaretto made that topping shine. And it occurred to me that I could really showcase the amaretto flavor by using the blood orange topping on amaretto cake. I’d also been trying to come up…

Lavender Lemon Cookies

So far my adventures in cooking with lavender have been successful, so I’m gonna keep going. I recently had some lemon cookies at a party, and as I was eating them couldn’t help thinking a lavender lemon cookie could be a treat. It is! Guessipe 1 stick butter 1 cup lavender sugar 1 TBSP lemon…

Lavender Madeleines

Now that I have lavender sugar, my first experiment in using it was these Lavender Madeleines, which I have to say turned out great. I have had this worm in the back of my mind about making madeleines ever since I watched the movie The Transporter (yes, Jason Statham is one of my guilty pleasures…

Persimmon Crisp

Our Cookbook Club tradition is to do a Friendsgiving event in November, where instead of using a cookbook everyone makes a dish that’s either a Thanksgiving tradition for them or something new they want to try this year. It’s persimmon season, and my friend recently gave me a bag full from her tree. I make…

Quince Custard

A friend of mine gave me some quince, which are in the pear and apple family but aren’t eaten raw. I baked them into a custard which my boyfriend liked so much he said it was the best dessert I’ve ever made (though I should make the disclaimer that he has a really short memory…