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Whiteout Cake: White Cake With Whipped Vanilla Almond Buttercream
I’ve been craving white cake lately. Plain white cake with white frosting—the kind you have at weddings, office parties, kids’ birthdays…you get the idea. Normally I’m a chocolate cake fan (if I have to choose), but occasionally I just need something lighter, preferably topped with fruit. Thus, this white cake with whipped vanilla almond buttercream was born! The Classic White Cake I know that a plain white cake seems a little…boring. But if it’s done right, it’s anything but. First of all, you could keep your white cake just plain-old-vanilla (no judgement—vanilla can be delicious), but I like to add a smidge of almond to mine. It gives the cake…
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Fridge Cleanout Galette (a.k.a., Any Fruit Galette)
It’s that time of year when I buy more fruit than I can eat. There’s just so much amazing fruit in season…peaches, plums, cherries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries…I try to eat as much as I can. But ultimately I end up with some that’s…shall we say, “overripe”? That’s where this recipe comes from. I took all of the close-to-rotting fruit from my fridge, added some sugar, wrapped it in pastry, and baked it. My friends lovingly refer to this treat as “fridge trash pie,” but I doubt anyone would search for that in Google, so I decided to call it Fridge Cleanout Galette. But you could also call it Any Fruit…
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No-Bake Key Lime Cheesecake
“Summertime…and the livin’ is easy…” Louis Armstrong had it right…summertime is for easy living (or easy livin’, if you’re Louis). And that extends to baking. Summer is the time for easy, simple desserts that taste great but don’t take a lot of time…and, preferably, ones that don’t require us to turn on the oven. This No-Bake Key Lime Cheesecake fits that bill perfectly. A Simple but Delicious Mashup of Two Great Desserts Summer BBQs, picnics, beach days…all require tasty snacks. This no-bake cheesecake is perfect for all of our warm-weather gatherings this summer. This is a mashup of two crazy delicious desserts…key lime pie and cheesecake. It combines the brightness…
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Espresso White Chocolate Chip Cookies
I’m a coffee fiend…always have been. In high school, my bestie and I would smuggle flavored coffee creamer into Perkins or Country Kitchen and sit there for HOURS drinking pots of coffee late into the night. These days, I’ve switched to decaf (and even that I can’t drink after 4pm if I want to sleep at night…gotta love getting older), but I still can’t live without the taste and smell of coffee. And it shows in my baking—whenever I think about what recipe to create next, I almost always gravitate to coffee or chocolate (or both). What can I say…I know what I like! Case in point: these Espresso White…
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Mini Almond Biscotti
One of the first times I visited a newer coffee shop in town, I ordered my usual coffee (decaf americano), and it came with a teeny tiny almond biscotti. It was adorable. And delicious. I knew then and there that I had to go home and make my own mini almond biscotti. And here they are! Mini But Mighty These cuties have every bit of the flavor of a regular-sized biscotti, but in mini form. They’re the perfect little treat for your afternoon coffee break (or for breakfast…you do you). Plus, they’re easy to make. If mini isn’t your jam, I have a regular-sized biscotti recipe on the site too.…
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Chocolate Mini Egg Cookies
It’s hard to believe it’s already the second week of April(!!) , and Easter is this weekend. My sense of time is a little messed up right now though, as I’ve been sick the past couple of weeks. Thankfully, I think I’m nearing the end of it — this weekend I finally had enough energy to do some baking. And these Chocolate Mini Egg Cookies were at the top of my list. A Chocolatey Treat for Easter When it comes to baking for Easter, chocolate isn’t usually the first thing that comes to mind. I think of carrot cake, pavlova, or maybe something lemony (like these Mini Lemon Cupcakes). But…
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Nutty Chocolate Chip Cookies
I don’t know about you, but I never stop wanting to bake (and eat) chocolate chip cookies. Don’t get me wrong, I love baking all kinds of treats (thus…this blog exists), but I’m always thinking of different kinds of chocolate chip cookies to make. (Case in point…check out the list at the end of this post) Anyway, these Nutty Chocolate Chip Cookies have been floating around in my brain for months, and I finally got around to making them and writing up the recipe. Nuts and Chocolate Are Besties If you’re not a nut lover, you probably won’t like these cookies. You could leave them out, I suppose, and you’d…
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Mint Chocolate Cupcakes
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the subtle power of comfort food. Maybe it’s the war in Ukraine, maybe it’s the fact that we’re coming up on two years of the pandemic, or maybe it’s any number of other difficult and scary things happening in the world. But whatever the reason, there’s something innately comforting about sharing food with those we love when we can’t control what’s happening around us. When I think about comforting desserts, I think of cake. Especially chocolate cake with a rich, creamy frosting. In that vein, I created these über-comforting Mint Chocolate Cupcakes. They’re perfect for St. Patty’s Day, but can offer a dose…
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Tiramisu Brownies
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. Whether you like this particular holiday or not, you have to admit it’s a great excuse to eat chocolate. And although we don’t actually need an excuse to eat chocolate, it’s still a great reason to make — and eat — an over-the-top chocolate dessert. Our assignment for Valentine’s Day 2022: Tiramisu Brownies. Brownies…But Sexier Yep, these beauties are a mashup of brownies and tiramisu. Think deeply fudgy brownies with pieces of ladyfingers mixed in, then covered in a thick, creamy mascarpone-whipped-cream-Kahlua topping and a hearty dusting of cocoa powder. A decidedly sexier version of brownies…perfect for Valentine’s Day. The Fudgiest Brownies This…
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Lemon Drop Sugar Cookies
It’s officially citrus season, and I’m officially thrilled about that. I love that citrus season happens in the middle of winter — it’s like a kiss of summer sunshine during the coldest, darkest time of year. And, of course, I love citrus-flavored treats. This Grapefruit Pound Cake and these Mini Lemon Cupcakes are two of my favorites. These Lemon Drop Sugar Cookies are my newest addition to that list. Sugar Cookies: Wildly Underrated Sugar cookies don’t get the acclaim that they should in the dessert world. Really, apart from cut out cookies at Christmas, they don’t get much facetime at all. That’s a shame, because when done well, the sugar…
Recipes and Musings from the Zenith City
