Crème Brûlée

This Crème brûlée recipe comes from Ina Garten's Barefoot in ParisShe prefaces the recipe by saying it is "the ultimate 'guy' dessert. Make it and he'll follow you anywhere." The "just before serving" blast with a kitchen blowtorch fills a room with the amazing aroma of burnt sugar and the blowtorch adds drama to the event.

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Fruit Cobbler

With fruit season upon us, I have been bombarded with newsletters and magazines filled with fruit baking ideas. Finally I have taken some time to sort out all the terms - so many - eek! There are crisps, cobblers, and crumbles; grunts, bettys, pandowdys and slumps. Discover the differences and make this fab cobbler!

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Coffee Almond (Gluten-Free) Cookies

These gluten-free, incredibly tasty cookies serve as a great way to use up leftover egg whites that you may - as I do - have frozen for future use. Links back to the source trail offer a version that uses hazelnuts instead of almonds. Enjoy with your next coffee break!

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Orange Date Squares

At markets and bake shops I am a sucker for buying date squares. Two weeks ago I wondered aloud why I never make them myself? Rose to the 'self-challenge' using this recipe from Canadian Living's new Sweet & Simple Cookbook. Many of the recipes use fruit that is at the market now, or in the months to come. I gave up putting stickies on pages I like - I may have to try every recipe over time..

Click here for the recipewhich links back here if you wish to leave a Comment or ask a Question. 

Strawberry Coulis (Sauce)

It's July. In the olden days, strawberry season would be over, but now with ever-bearing strains, local strawberries are still appearing weekly at my market. What to do when I overdo the shopping and end up with leftovers that are just a week bit past their "best before" date? Make - and freeze - strawberry sauce - aka coulis. 

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Fruit Crumble

I often crave a fruit crumble. It lets me enjoy seasonal fruit with a bit of texture, has fewer calories than pie - and is easier and faster to make than a pie. This one seems fool proof and I have already used it often as a way of enjoying the wonderful fresh ingredients appearing at our local markets. This works with any fruit! By using a food processor, I can make this in a jiffy!

Click here for the recipe page, which links back here if you wish to leave a Comment or ask a Question. Happy baking!

Grandma Cake

For over 50 years, this has been THE family cake, appearing at every seasonal event and celebration. it has some steps which demand that the baker be in a patient, Zen mode. For a while my mother called it Dobos torte. My favourite thing about this cake is that I convince myself that will 15 eggs, I should count it as protein - not dessert - hehe. Check out the related Blog post.

Click here for the recipe page, which links back here if you wish to leave a Comment or ask a Question. What was your traditional family  cake?

Carrot Cake

Google Carrot Cake and there are 14 million results! My files contain more than one of those many variations. Some use pineapple to achieve the moist texture we associate with this treat. This Looneyspoons recipe uses pumpkin. I now use only this recipe and that is because of the calorie count - though it does taste great! The Podleski Sisters always aim to achieve the best possible balance between flavour and calories / nutrition. A simple internet search reveals that many carrot cakes weigh in at 700+ calories per slice!! And that!! - is why I went years without eating any. But not any more...

Click here for the recipe page, which links back here if you wish to leave a Comment or ask a Question. Happy baking!

Red Velvet Cake

Great for Valentine's, Canada Day, Christmas - though who needs an excuse to make Red Cake?

My grievance (if you can call it that) is that Red Velvet Cakes / Cupcakes more often than not seem red-brown, rather than red. Years ago, on "Good Eats", Alton Brown offered up a red cake recipe and explained the science behind it all. In brief,  "the reaction of acidic vinegar and buttermilk tends to better reveal the red anthocyanin in cocoa... This natural tinting may have been the source for the name "red velvet" as well as "Devil's food". (Source) The addition of some food colouring pushes the "red-brown" closer to red.

Click here for the recipe page, which links back here if you wish to leave a Comment or ask a Question. Happy baking!