go big or go home: lemon meringue pie

This is a birthday pie I made for my husband last month. He's born January 2nd and if there is a time when desserts are the last thing on my mind, January 2nd would be the day. But this pie works. There's no cloying chocolate or sticky caramel to wrangle with. Instead of a sickening sweetness, this pie is the perfect balance between sweet and tart. And let's just face it, this is a showstopper and while it may not be light in calories, the texture is ethereal and airy.

Glance down at the recipe and take a look at the steps involved. Scared? Don't be. Sure, there are crusts to make (but I make it easy by crushing cookies instead of rolling dough), curd to prepare and egg whites to beat, but really, this pie is about one hours worth of prep in the kitchen. The rest is just waiting. The waiting is murder, but like all good long waits, the results are divine. And like I said, it's a whopper of a dessert that packs a punch not only in pure deliciousness but in beauty as well. Make this pie and you will receive accolades and kisses (just make sure you make it for someone who you want kisses from).

So go ahead and make someone's day. Make this pie and celebrate in the most delicious way. The leftovers (if you have any) also make a wonderful *ahem* breakfast along side of a hot strong coffee. You know, just saying.

Also, I should mention that I'll be writing for ReadyMade's food & kitchen blog, Feast. I'm super excited that I was asked to be a part of the ReadyMade empire as I've been reading the magazine since nearly their very first issue. I'll be writing about different things than what I blog about here, but it will always be food-related. So please stop by, leave a comment and add us to your RSS feed!

lemon meringue pie
(filling & meringue recipe adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook)

vanilla cookie coconut crust
35-40 Nilla wafers, finely crushed
1/4 c shredded unsweetened coconut
1 T sugar
1/4 c melted butter

lemon filling
4 large egg yolks
1 scant c sugar
4 1/2 T cornstarch
1/4 t salt
1 c water
1/2 c milk
1 T unsalted butter
2 t lemon zest
1/2 c lemon juice

meringue
4 large egg whites
1/2 t cream of tartar
1/2 t salt
3/4 c sugar

Make the pie shell:
Preheat oven to 350F. If you have a food processor, I envy you. Whizz away. If you don't, just crush the cookies with a rolling pin. I put the cookies into a ziplock bag and then place a tea towel over top. Smash away and get your ya-ya's out. Dump crumbs into a large bowl, add in coconut and sugar and stir. Pour in melted butter and stir again. Press mixture evenly and firmly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9 inch tart or pie pan. Bake for 6-8 minutes until fragrant and slightly golden. Set aside.

Make the filling:
1. Whisk together yolks in a medium bowl. In a medium sized saucepan over medium heat, whisk together sugar, cornstarch and salt. Whisk in milk and water until cornstarch and sugar dissolves and mixture starts to thicken.

2. Very slowly pour one cup of the hot liquid into the beaten yolks and whisk away. Pour this mixture back into the saucepan and continue to whisk over a simmer, until mixture thickens, about 3 minutes.

3. Remove from heat and add in butter, zest and lemon juice and whisk until the butter has melted and the mixture is smooth and glossy. Place some plastic wrap or parchment paper over top so that a skin doesn't form.

Make the meringue:
With a stand or electric mixer, beat egg whites with salt and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Turn up the speed and add in the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time and continue to beat until stiff peaks form.

Assemble & bake the pie:
Pour lemon filling into the warm shell. If the shell isn't warm, just reheat in the oven for a few minutes. Spread meringue smoothly and evenly over top, covering the lemon filling completely. Using your spatula, swirl and draw up peaks in the meringue so it looks pretty. Bake until the meringue is golden, about 15 minutes. Cool pie to room temperature for 2 hours and then refrigerate until cold, about another 2 hours.

coronation grape galette

Yup, I made a galette out of grapes. I know, I know, you probably just snack on grapes or maybe scatter them into a chicken or waldorf salad. But making a pie out of my favorite grape ever is a worthy cause. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and I'm in heaven. Best thing, it's not even hard to make. You can get the recipe and the story over at Poppytalk, where you'll find me posting about food on Wednesdays.

cherry buttermilk sherbet

I have been seeing homemade ice creams, sorbets, granitas and sherbets popping up on food blogs all summer long and it's been driving me bonkers! I really, really wanted to make some ice cream but I also didn't want to find all the ice cubes needed for my ancient-but-oh-so-beautiful turqouise ice cream maker. I wondered if it was possible to make ice cream without an ice cream maker? And then I remembered that last year I did make a Seville orange ice cream sans and it turned out just fine indeed.

It's cherry season around here and I had some dark, sweet Bing cherries from the Okanagan just waiting to be used up...perfect for an icy treat. I also had buttermilk in the fridge and figured it would add the perfect amount of creamy tang to this sherbet. From the photo above, I obviously didn't have a cherry pitter*, so I just used a knife to un-pit the cherries. They were going to be blended up so I wasn't looking for intact-looking cherries. I just put on some loud music and got my pitting groove on!

Once you finish pitting, the hard part is over. The ingredients are easy enough to come by and the process is simple. I didn't strain the liquid after blending which would have removed the cherry skin, but I actually liked the added texture of the itty-bitty nubbly bits. If you don't, go ahead and strain the mixture before adding in the sugar. Now, the only thing you have to do is wait it out...and the wait can be a bit of a buzz-kill, especially when it's really, really hot outside.

However, once the wait is over, scoop on in. The resulting sherbet is ripe and bursting with cherry flavour: it's heady and gorgeous in taste and well, just look at the damn thing! It's beautiful and it scoops like a dream. Enjoy this now while cherries are at their peak. I mean it, just do it.

* Uh, little did I know, I did have a cherry pitter. Cornelius brought it to my attention. He inherited it from his grandma and it sat unbeknownst to me in our drawer of strange kitchen things. Next time.

cherry buttermilk sherbet
3 1/3 c cherries
3/4 c sugar
1/3 c pomegranate-cherry juice blend
1 3/4 c buttermilk
2 T bourbon
1 t almond extract
1/4 c lime juice

Pit the cherries and place into a medium-sized saucepan. Add in the juice and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer until cherries are soft, about 20 minutes. Use a hand blender or transfer the hot mixture to a blender and blend well until everything is totally liquefied. Stir in sugar until it has dissolved completely. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

When the cherry mixture has chilled, add buttermilk, bourbon, almond extract and lime juice and stir to combine. If you have an ice cream maker, pour into maker and churn. Otherwise, pour mixture into a large rectangular cake pan and put in the freezer. Whisk the mixture every hour or so until it sets. Transfer to a lidded container and freeze for at least 4 hours.

the best strawberry rhubarb crumble ever

This is the best strawberry rhubarb crumble ever, no foolin'. Sure I can be a bit generous in my praise at times, but trust me on this one. Go make this dessert now. Skip ahead to the recipe. I'll wait.

I made this dessert a while ago and I can't believe that I haven't posted it until now. Not only is it the very best crumble that I have ever made, but it's so perfect for this time of year when local rhubarb and strawberries have started to appear at farmer's markets around town. Throw a scoop of ice cream on top and hot-diggity-dog! Or spoon some into a bowl of hot Scottish oats the next morning and make your breakfast cry out for more.

I adapted the recipe from Smitten Kitchen and it will definitely turn into a staple for all kinds of fruit come summer and fall. I can imagine some pretty amazing magic with nectarines, raspberries and blueberries in July. But for now, I'll just have to look fondly at these photos and drool slightly over my keyboard.

strawberry rhubarb crumble
4 stalks rhubarb, diced
3 c strawberries, quartered
juice of one small lemon
1/4 c sugar (I used fruit sugar)
3 T cornstarch
pinch nutmeg

topping
1 c flour
1 t baking powder
1 T brown sugar
3 T raw sugar
zest of one lemon
1/4 c melted butter + 1 T olive oil
1/4 c chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 375F. Add the rhubarb and strawberries to a casserole pan, tossing with the sugar, cornstarch and nutmeg. Squeeze in lemon juice and stir to combine. Set aside.

In a small bowl combine all the topping ingredients, except walnuts. Using a wooden spoon, stir everything until clumps form. Use your hands to scatter the topping evenly over the fruit. Sprinkle top with walnuts. Bake for 45 minutes until the topping is golden and the fruit have created a bubbly sauce. Cool slightly and serve with ice cream.

the no-bake chocolate peanut butter oatmeal "cookie"

To me, no-bake cookies come right out of old cookbooks with worn canvas covers. I've seen plenty of no-bake recipes while browsing through my vintage cookbook collection, but never thought to try them myself. Then I spied these no-bake chocolate peanut butter oatmeal cookies on Ezra Poundcake and something told me....Go! Now! No-bake these immediately! Well, that was last fall and I only made them a few days ago. Obviously, I'm tardy when it comes to following my gut. But no more. These are seriously the easiest cookies anyone could ever make, so what are you waiting for?

I'm actually hesitant to call this a cookie. They remind me of a chocolate haystack candy that my mom made when I was little. They were amazing and this no-bake recipe is the closest thing I've had since I was nine. It's like a sweet bite of memory overload. I followed the original recipe and used tablespoons to drop the mixture onto waxed paper, but in hindsight I'd use just a teaspoon. Smaller lumps would make for better bites. Plus, these babies are sweeeeeeeeeet! Next time I'd cut the sugar and increase the peanut butter, but I'm not sure if that would screw up the recipe. Thoughts? Oh and another bonus? Easy to make vegan by switching in soy milk and soy margarine!

These cookies/candies make use of the stove top, so they are perfect for summer sweets when turning on the oven would be criminal. Plus they are delicious served cold, which makes them a refreshing bite of chocolatey goodness. I tried a keeping a batch in the freezer and a batch in the fridge for testing sake. The ones in the freezer were stickier and gooey and the ones in the fridge were almost sandy in comparison. I liked the sandier fridge chilled cookies best, but do whatchya like! Either way, they'll go quickly.

no-bake chocolate peanut butter oatmeal cookies
(adapted from Ezra Poundcake)
1/2 c butter
2 c sugar (I used a scant 2 cups)
1 t salt
1/2 c milk
4 T cocoa
1/2 c natural peanut butter
3 to 3 1/2 c old-fashioned oats
2 T vanilla

In a medium sized saucepan, mix together the first five ingredients and bring to a boil. Let boil for 1 minute and then remove from heat. Add in remaining ingredients and then use a teaspoon to drop the mixture onto cookie sheets lined with waxed paper. Chill until set. Keep in refrigerator.

birthday cake for the birthday girl

I love birthdays. It doesn't have to be my own, any birthday will do, as I'm not picky in the least. Birthdays equal fun times, friends, family, laughter and best of all, cake. Presents are nice too, but cake, well, you can't beat cake. Today is my birthday and you better believe that I've baked myself a nice cake. It may look a little crufty around the edges but a nice soft blob of whipping cream will hide the dark cruft nicely. When dinnertime rolls around, you can bet that I'll be cutting myself a nice fat slice. After reading Molly's book, A Homemade Life, I knew that her Winning Hearts & Minds cake would make it to my birthday table. I'm not going to post the recipe here since you can read it on Orangette, or better yet, get yourself a copy of her book. Judging by scent alone, this cake is going to be great!

But I don't want you to leave this post empty handed. I want to give you all a nice bit of cake, so I am posting a recipe I made for my mother-in-law's birthday a couple of weeks ago. It looks a bit rustic, but don't let that stop you from taking a second helping. The original recipe called for an 11 inch cake tin but all I had was an 8 inch one. I poured as much batter that would fit into the tin & then made one muffin (a tester!). I was worried about a spill over with all that batter packed into such a small tin, but despite some over-zealous bubbling, things turned out well.

This cake is perfect for a casual celebration. It's quick to whip up and it's utterly unfussy in the best way. This cake is bursting with strawberries (but you could easily sub in raspberries, blackberries or blueberries) and there is a sprinkle of raw sugar and a kiss of salt over top for a surprise crunch. It's not too sweet so that you can easily convince yourself that this makes the most ideal breakfast in the world....even when especially when topped with whipping cream and homemade strawberry sauce. As for the salt, I couldn't really taste it at all, so it's up to you to bump up the salt, or leave it out entirely. So celebrate your birthday or someone else's with cake, it's easy to find a reason to celebrate.

salt-kissed strawberry cake
(adapted from 101 Cookbooks)
2 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 T baking powder
1/2 c brown sugar
zest of 1 large orange
1/2 t salt
2 eggs
1 c yogurt
1/4 c butter, melted and cooled a bit
1 c of strawberries, roughly chopped (more if you like)
3 T large grain raw sugar
1 t kosher salt

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Butter and flour an 11 inch cake tin.

2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and zest and set aside. In another bowl, beat together the eggs and then stir in the yogurt and butter. Add the wet ingredients into the dry and mix lightly until combined.

3. Pour* batter into prepared tin and drop strawberries into the cake. Smush them a bit to let the juices run if you wish. Sprinkle the tops with the raw sugar and a light dusting of the salt. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the top is golden. Serve with whipping cream and strawberry sauce. Or eat plain.

* Batter will not be runny by any means. Pour is more like "plop".

completely smitten, cranberry & blood orange loaf

I've been completely taken with blood oranges. They're everywhere in the markets now and it is a lovely way to send off winter. Pink, fragrant and just a little bit tart, I love you blood orange, you make me hopeful!

A few days ago I made a delicious blood orange/lemon/honey-ade. Tart and refreshing, it quenched my desire for a summer drink...powerful stuff, since I had woken up Friday morning with a serious craving for a root beer float. And then, there was the issue of cake. I wanted something sweet but not too decadent and when I stumbled across the The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook's recipe for an orange-cranberry loaf, I knew I had found my weekend cake calling.

While it's not a gooey frosted cake, it is one tasty loaf. It's dense and slices wonderfully. I made the recipe as is, subbing in blood oranges but next time I make this I'll reduce the sugar. It's definitely sweet....and a bit too sweet for my taste buds. It's quick to whip up before guests arrive, the batter is pleasingly pink and pretty, and there's only 2 tablespoons of butter in the entire recipe. Not bad for a lovely little loaf!

blood orange & cranberry loaf
(adapted from The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook)
2 c all-purpose flour
3/4 c or 1 c sugar (depending on your sweet tooth)
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1 t salt
zest from 3 oranges
3/4 c blood orange juice (about 3 oranges)
1 large egg, at room temperature
2T unsalted butter, melted
1 c cranberries, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour a loaf tin. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and orange zest. In another bowl, combine the orange juice, egg and melted butter together. Add in the flour mixture and stir until just blended. Throw in the cranberries and combine. Pour batter into tin and bake for about 1 hour or until cake tester comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack.

bittersweet ganache glazed bourbon cupcakes (vegan!)

Today I realized that I totally forgot about my blog birthday....though I guess it's not one to mark down in the ol' birthday calendar. Yes, way back in February of 2005 I started this little home o' mine and four years later, I'm still here. It's a comfortable space and it's really brought a lot of joy into my life as strange as it sounds. I'm so appreciative of everyone who leaves comments, sends me emails or says hello to me on the street because they've read my blog. It's really quite an exciting adventure and I've met so many wonderful people that I think I'll stick around for a bit longer.

These cupcakes you see before you weren't made for my blog birthday but for my friend's real life birthday. I wanted something pretty and something quick to bake up and these cupcakes fit the bill perfectly. I used the same old, same old chocolate "wacky cake" recipe but decided to throw in a bit of bourbon cuz this was for a lil' party afterall, and a bit of booze always makes things better.

My original plan was to create a raspberry frosting but somehow the addition of real raspberries to the earth balance margarine (my friend is vegan) for the buttercream created some weirdness. The buttercream kind of "broke" and it went all dotted and no amount of whipping could cure it. I wasn't happy with it so I just made a decadent bittersweet ganache to top the cupcakes (kissed with more burbon, of course!). It was a good choice.

Cupcakes? Check out my archives:
vegan coconut cupcakes
red velvet cupcakes
limoncello & coconut cupcakes filled with lemon curd
spicy chocolate vegan cupcakes with peanut butter frosting
vegan chocolate cupcakes
pumpkin cupcakes

Or visit Vancouver's Coco Cake Cupcakes for tons of cupcake prettiness and inspiration!

vegan bittersweet ganache glazed bourbon cupcakes
1 1/2 c unbleached white flour
1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 c sugar
1/2 c vegetable oil
3/4 c brewed coffee
1/4 c bourbon (Jack Daniels, Wild Turkey)
2 t pure vanilla extract
2 T vinegar

for ganache:
1/4 c almond milk (+ additional)
2 oz bittersweet chocolate (not more than 60% cacao if marked), finely chopped
1 t light corn syrup
2 T bourbon
pinch of kosher salt
sprinkles

1. Preheat the oven to 375-degrees. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt and sugar into a large bowl. In separate bowl, measure and mix the oil, coffee, bourbon, and vanilla. Slowly pour the liquid ingredients into the bowl and mix the batter with a whisk.

2. When the batter is smooth, add the vinegar and stir quickly. There will be pale swirls (and some bubbling) in the batter where the baking soda and vinegar are reacting. Stir just until the vinegar is evenly distributed throughout the batter (the color becomes more consistent throughout).

3. Pour batter into a lined muffin tin and bake for 25 minutes–testing with a toothpick. Remove and place to cool on a baking rack.

4. In a small sauce pan, heat up the milk and the chocolate. Stir often until melted. Add more milk if needed. Mix in the corn syrup, bourbon and salt and stir until blended and until the ganache reaches an almost spreadable consistency. Let cool. The ganache will thicken up slightly and spread on your cupcakes. Sprinkle with sprinkles.

baked apples and a little begging...

I had baked apples once as a kid. I wasn't too impressed, but then again I was picky and fruit didn't count as dessert in my books. Fortunately, tastes change and baked apples are pretty rad. And easy to make. It helps if you've already got dinner in the oven, so the oven is nice and heated, but if not that's okay too! It's winter and turning on the oven certainly helps to heat up our apartment.

I got the idea for this dish when I looked in my fruit crisper and saw three sad looking apples. These babies needed a higher purpose and baking them into soft sweet dessert is a fitting end, I think. To stuff the apples, I just used stuff found in my cupboards...my homemade granola and bits of nuts and dried fruit. Any nuts, coconut or dried fruit would work. Dried figs would be wonderful here! I used hazelnuts but honestly, I wasn't a fan of them in this dish. Next time I'll use almonds, walnuts of pecans instead. I used brown sugar, but raw sugar or honey would be nice too. I also cut down the butter since I was going to be serving this with ice cream...no need to add a huge amount of extra fat! And if you don't have port, don't bother running out to buy some. Just use apple juice, red wine, brandy or even water would be fine. Simple and easily adaptable...my favorite kind of recipe!

And hey look, I've been nominated as Best Canadian Weblog for the 2009 Bloggies! I'm so super excited, more so than I'd care to admit, but dammit, I'm thrilled! Voting is open until February 2nd and if you could spare the time and wouldn't mind throwing me a vote for Best Canadian Blog, I'd be so thankful! Thank you also to everyone who took time out to nominate for me. I'm not much of a begger, but pretty please with sugar on top? Please, please, please vote for me. Thank you!!

baked apples in port
3 apples, cored
2 T brown sugar
3 T granola
1 T dried cranberries
1 T chopped almonds, walnuts or pecans
1 t butter
1/4 c port (or apple cider or cranberry juice)

1. Preheat oven to 350. To core the apples, use a paring knife and cut a triangle shaped wedge out of the top of the apple. Use a spoon to get out the remaining core. Do not cut through to the bottom of the apple. Place apples in a small glass baking dish.

2. In a small bowl combine the brown sugar, granola, dried cranberries and nuts together and stuff into each apple. Divide the teaspoon of butter into three and plop a the butter on top of each apple. Pour port on the bottom of the baking dish.

3. Bake for 30 minutes, basting occasionally. Serve with ice cream.

happy new years: glazed chocolate cake with sprinkles

Oh, the holidays...so much going on, lots of parties, and way too many sweets! But c'mon, this rich chocolate cake is way too pretty to ignore. I spied this recipe on the Gourmet website and fell in love with the photo immediately. This cake screamed holidays and glamour and it's nice to end a holiday meal with a bit of a spectacle. I made this as our dessert on Christmas day and the cake was moist but it was the bittersweet ganache that stole the show. Be sure to use a good chocolate for the frosting...I used a dark bittersweet chocolate from Callebault and it was amazing.

A chocolate cake shouldn't be fussy and this one is simple as it is stunning. The red dotty sprinkles helps to make this cake festive and gives everyone a reason to celebrate. And have I got a reason to whoop it up a little. The CBC has listed me as one of the "best of the food blogs". Huzzah!

glazed chocolate cake with sprinkles
(adapted from Gourmet)
1 c all-purpose flour
1/3 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1 t baking soda
1/2 tn baking powder
1/4 t salt
1/2 c unsalted butter, softened
1 c packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs at room temperature
1 t pure vanilla extract
1/2 c yogurt
1/2 c skim milk

for ganache:
1/4 c half & half cream (+ additional)
3 1/2 oz bittersweet chocolate (not more than 60% cacao if marked), finely chopped
2 ts light corn syrup
sprinkles

1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour a round 9x2 cake tin or bundt pan and set aside. In a large small bowl, sift together dry ingredients (flour to salt). In a large bowl, mix together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add in eggs, one at a time, and vanilla. Combine the milk and yogurt in a small bowl. Add flour and milk mixture alternating in batches, beginning and ending with the flour.

2. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan, about 35 minutes. Remove from oven and cool slightly. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack.

3. While cake cools, bring the cream to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add in chocolate and whisk until smooth. If the chocolate is too thick, add in a touch of extra cream. Stir in corn syrup and set aside to cool. Using a spatula, spread glaze over cake and decorate with sprinkles.

for maman: date & raisin squares

When I was little, my mom had her standard dessert recipes. She made a really fantastic chocolate chip cake (always in a pretty bunt pan) for birthdays and every summer to make use of the pear bounty from our 2 trees, she made pear crisp. During the winter though, the date square ruled. It seemed healthy since it was full of oats and dates but with all that butter and sugar, this square isn't really fooling anyone. Despite the fact that I would have rather snacked on something chocolate, I really did love my mom's date squares. With a glass of cold milk and a crumbly still-slightly-warm square, it was the perfect treat.

My mom isn't doing very well health-wise and she's currently in the hospital. I wanted to do something extra special in my holiday package to my parents. Of course I packaged off my dad's favorite cookies along with trying to recreate her date square. Despite having only half the amount of dates needed and subbing in raisins for the balance, I think I surpassed her version. My friend who ate a square thought they were the most flavourful date bars she had ever eaten and some friends of Cornelius who lucked into a couple of squares immediately wanted the recipe. So here it is. Sweet, buttery, oaty goodness. Pure and simple. I know my mom will love them.

Oh, and please stop by the Canada's Food Network blog to read my latest post on my brunch experience at a new local neighbourhood restaurant, 2 Chefs and a Table.

date & raisin squares
oat mixture:
1 1/2 c flour
1/2 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 c butter, room temperature
1 c brown sugar
1 1/2 c rolled oats

filling:
1 c dates, cut up
1 c raisins, cut up
3 T brown sugar
1 T sour cherry jam
1 T amber rum
zest from 1 lemon & 1 orange
1 c orange juice
1 t lemon juice
1 t cornstarch mixed with a little bit of cold water to create a slurry (optional)

1. Add flour, baking powder , soda, and salt into a large mixing bowl. Mix in butter, sugar and oats and combine well. Press half of the mixture into a 13 x 9 inch baking pan.

2. To make filling, combine all ingredients except for the cornstarch in a small saucepan. Cook until thick and smooth. If it's not thick and smooth, add in the cornstarch slurry and cook for 3 more minutes until thick. Set aside and cool.

3. Pour cooled date mixture over the oats and spread evenly. Cover with remaining oat mixture and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Cut into squares while still warm and cool in pan.

you don't need sassy, you need spice cake

Some of the best things, when put to paper, oftentimes just don't sound that spectacular. Spice cake? Really? It just doesn't have the ring of awesomeness. Holy-Mother-Flipping-Totally-Rad-Spice-Cake, maybe. Please do not let the lackluster photo or hum-drum name sway you into not making this cake, because really, you must make this cake. It's good. Real good. With every bite my husband was rendered speechless and when he did muster up words, he rapturously muttered things like "be still my heart"*. When the last piece was eaten, I cried a little inside.

Make it now and thank me later. Oh, and go read about my food & wine autumn roadtrip outside of Vancouver for the Food Network blog.

spice cake
2 c flour
1 t cinnamon
1/4 t ground cloves
1/4 t ground nutmeg
1/4 t ground cardamom
1/4 c ground almonds
1 1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 c brown sugar
1/4 c molasses
1 egg
1/2 c oil
1/2 c yogurt
1/2 c milk
1/2 c toasted pecans, chopped
1/2 c raisins

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, combine the flour, spices, ground almonds, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In another bowl, mix together the brown sugar, molasses, egg and oil until combined. In a measuring cup, mix the milk and yogurt together and set aside.

Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and gently blend. Add in the milk mixture, along with the pecans and raisins and mix until just combined. Grease and flour a bunt pan and pour in the mixture. Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, 45-55 minutes or so (depending on the size of your cake pan). Cool slightly on rack and then invert cake from pan and let cool completely or eat warm.

* Okay, he did not say "be still my heart", but it sure paints a better picture than "this is good cake" (which I already mentioned anyway, so there).

it's a cinch: oatmeal coconut pecan squares with chocolate chips

Summer seems to be fading here in the ol' Northwest. Grey skies, constant rain and cooler temperatures set up shop this morning and things don't seem to be letting up. I'm not impressed. At least I've got some heirloom tomatoes and some Rathtrevor cheese from yesterday's farmer's market to keep me company. But instead of holding onto fading memories, I decided to take this new direction out for a stroll and do a little baking. So I dug out some pantry staples and whipped up this little number. Easier to make than cookies and the results are sweet, chewy and dense. Did I mention good? Oh yeah, really good. The recipe exists in so many places online, that it's hard to find its lineage. With so many variations, I think it's safe to say that this recipe belongs to everyone. Here's my stab at it.


oatmeal coconut pecan squares with chocolate chips
1 c rolled oats
1/2 c flour
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c chocolate chips
1/2 c unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 c chopped pecans
1/4 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
5 T unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 egg
1 t vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Combine all the dry ingredients (oats through salt) in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, mix together the melted butter, egg and vanilla. Dump the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until well blended. Oil up an 8x8 pan and pour mixture in, patting the top flat with your hands while making sure the mixture gets into the corners. Bake for 25 minutes and cool. Cut into squares.

move over pie: raspberry, black currant & nectarine galette

Baking a pie is a pretty wonderous thing. Somehow there's much more meaning and memories that end up baked into a pie than, let's say, a cupcake. Not that I'm dissing everyone's favorite cupcake. It's just that pies seem to remind us of days gone by, of grandmothers, of pies cooling on kitchen windowsills. They are a bit old-fashioned and antiquated, but the act of baking a pie from scratch shouts out love, plain and simple.

Let's face it. Pies can be fussy and a bit frightening, what with finding the perfect pie dough recipe to flirting with disaster just trying to roll out the damn thing. So that's why I've become enamored with the galette. A galette is what one would call a bit rustic and freeform. It only involves rolling out 1 piece of dough rather than two, since the dough folds over creating it's own top crust. It's brilliant, really. It's beautiful in it's own way and one bite will bring all those old-timey memories flooding back.

This isn't the first time I've made a similar pie. Last year I was very successful rolling out a wonderful cornmeal crust that held the fruit beautifully. It declared it a dream crust. This time, however, I wanted to try something a bit more traditional and stumbled across Molly's crust. It wasn't as easy to work with in that I had to add more water to the dough and it didn't hold it's shape very well. Figuring it was bungled, I just threw all the crumbs, loose bits and doughy bits together, and held it tight with some plastic wrap. After sleeping in the fridge overnight, the dough seemed just fine in the morning. I rolled it out and it surprisingly held together. And how did it bake up? Flaky and light, just like I had dreamed. I may just have a new contender to my dream pie dough recipe!


raspberry, black currant & nectarine galette
For crust (crust recipe modified from Orangette):
5 T ice water, plus more as needed
1 t white vinegar
1 ½ c unbleached all-purpose flour
1 T sugar
¾ t kosher salt
9 T cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

2 c raspberries
2 nectarines, sliced
1/4 c black currants
1/2 c sugar
zest of 1 lime
2 T cornstarch
1 egg, lightly beaten

1. In a measuring cup, combine the water and vinegar and store in the fridge until ready to use. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, flour and salt together. Using a pastry knife, blend in the butter until you are left with a mixture resembling coarse crumbs about the size of peas. Slowly add in the vinegar/water combo and use a wooden spoon to gently blend the mixture so that it holds together lightly. Spread plastic wrap on the counter and dump dough into the middle of the plastic wrap. Seal tightly and press into a disc. Refrigerate for 4 hours or over night.

2. Preheat oven to 375. In a large bowl, combine together the fruit, sugar, cornstarch and zest. Blend gently. Set aside.

3. Roll out the dough on a floured surface until it's fairly thin (about 1/8" thick) and move dough over to a walled cookie sheet. Place berry mixture in the middle of the dough and then fold the dough edges around the fruit, pressing gently around each fold to contain the juices. Brush crust lightly with egg.

4. Bake galette for about 40 minutes until the crust is golden, the fruit turns soft and the juices run bubbly. Let cool and serve with vanilla ice cream.

the big bad banana: jacked-up banana bread

You should know by now that I do not like bananas. However, my one banana exception is for banana bread and it's funny that my most popular recipe is for banana bread. But I think I've found a match for the ever-delicious chocolate-chip laden and cinnamon-sugared crunch of the UBC cake. This one doesn't have chocolate or a heavy hand when it comes to spices, but that's not to say it is without kick. A nice glug of rum makes this bread even tempered but with a little bit of the crazy-eye. And every good cake needs a bit of crazy.


I found this recipe on Smitten Kitchen particularly appealing since I had 3 very brown bananas tucked into the freezer. She adapted her recipe from another food blogger and I have adapted hers based on what I had around the kitchen. I didn't have a bottle of Wild Turkey laying about, so I subbed in some Jamaican amber rum and pecans for crunch. It's easy, delicious and I can't wait until I have a few more big bad bananas around so that I can mash them into submission for this cake. Scrumptious with fresh berries sprinkled about, or as my husband prefers, smeared with unsalted butter. It's good for an evening snack and even better for breakfast.

You better believe me that I was very sad to see this last slice go. One more thing...head over to the Food Network Canada blog to read my post on the Alibi Room. Finally, beer lovers in Vancouver have a place to revel that is not my living room. Hooray!


jacked-up banana bread
adapted from Smitten Kitchen
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1/3 c melted Earth Balance margarine (but any light flavored oil or butter should do)
3/4 c lightly packed brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 t vanilla
1 T rum
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
1 t baking soda
pinch of salt
1 1/2 c of flour
1/2 c chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350. Mash up your bananas and then add in the melted margarine and brown sugar. Mix about with a wooden spoon until well combined and then toss in the egg, rum and the rest of the spices. Add the baking powder and a pinch of salt and combine. Add the flour and then finally the pecans and pour batter into a lightly oiled loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour or until cake tester comes out clean. Remove from oven. When cooled slightly, remove from pan and put on rack to cool completely. Or just dive in when ready.

100 breakfast proof: pina colada fruit salad

Pineapples are one of my favorite fruits. I love them plain, grilled or shoved into a burger. It doesn't take much to transform the pineapple into something special. When we were couch-surfing in Utrecht last September, our hosts had served pineapple tossed with fresh mint. That's it. It was a very memorable end to a great evening.

This morning I had a small pineapple that I had found on special for 99 cents in Chinatown. I also had some strawberries that were a little past their prime. So I cut them up and created a boozy syrup out of rum and honey and vanilla. A little shredded coconut sprinkled about and it was perfect! It lifted what could have been a ho-hum fruit salad into the realm of fancy pants-ness. The heady scent of rum, vanilla and coconut is seriously intoxicating without being down-right boozy. It definitely made my Monday morning, but it's more suited for a light summer dessert or weekend brunch item. This would be great with waffles, scones or pancakes or tossed with a bit of fresh mint or, oooh, even pistachios! Imagine the pineapple possibilities.

pina colada fruit salad
1 small pineapple, diced
1 basket of strawberries, sliced
3 T unsweetened angel flaked coconut
3 T honey
4 T amber rum (I used my favorite Appleton Estate from Jamaica)
1 t vanilla extract

In a large bowl, whisk together honey, rum and vanilla. Add fruit and coconut and toss. Serve in small bowls.

Want more pineapple recipes? Dig into my archives:
African yam & peanut soup
Ginger pineapple chicken
Jerk chicken pineapple skewers
Pineapple baked beans
Pineapple-coconut vegetable curry
Strawberry-pineapple popsicles

midnight at the oasis: apple crumb coffee cake

It's great to wake up and have breakfast ready and waiting. Last night I made this coffee cake that I saw on La Vie Cerise and decided that it would be perfect for a Saturday morning with a whole lot of coffee. And it was. The topping was plentiful and sweet and the apples scattered throughout the cake added just the right amount of tartness to balance everything out.


But the thing about baking this cake was that I started it quite late in the evening....after 1 am to be exact. And because it was so late, I wasn't in best form and I missed an ingredient—baking powder. I didn't realize it until I started typing out the recipe this morning. Doh! And since I'm in confession mode, I also over-baked this cake. I guess that's what happens when it's late and I'm not so focused. Oops! Not that you'd ever know it cuz this cake is good, miscalculations and all. So maybe my cake didn't rise very much and was a bit too golden, it was still a fantastic way to start the day along with a whole lot of strong coffee.


Want more? Why not head over to my latest post over at the Food Network Canada and say hi! Vancouver is quickly losing it's history in the rush to build up a condo or two (thousand) and this weekend marks the end of Wally's Burgers, a local burger joint. Read my write up on the Food Network Canada blog, Bazaar.

apple crumb coffee cake
1 1/2 c flour
2 1/4 t baking powder
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 t salt
1/2 t cinnamon
1 egg
1/2 c milk
1/2 c canola oil
1 Granny Smith apple, chopped

crumb topping:
1/2 c brown sugar
1/4 c flour
2 T butter
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 c walnuts

Preheat oven to 400. Butter and flour an 8" round cake pan, shaking off any excess flour. Prepare crumb topping in a medium-sized bowl, crumbling mixtures with your fingers until it looks like crumbs. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together dry ingredients. In a smaller bowl, combine egg, milk and oil. Add the wet to the dry and mix. Add in apples and stir until combined. Pour batter into prepared pan and top with crumb mixture. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean. Let cool. Prepare a pot of your favorite coffee and go to town.

balls! balls! balls! buckeyes and snowballs for all!

My friend just had her birthday a little while ago and because I got sick and then she got sick, I haven't gotten around to passing along her gifts yet. Tonight the hand-off will take place, barring any unforseen sicknesses! After wondering what to give as a special vegan birthday treat, I decided to make 2 different kinds of uber-yummy balls.

Buckeyes are an insanely addictive peanut butter and chocolate confection that I had seen on my friend's flickr stream. When I googled for the recipe, a ton of variations came up, so I decided to forge ahead and give it a go, cutting back the amount of sugar and butter, along with making it vegan-friendly. Most recipes call for rice krispies but I only had Vector (which is my favorite store-bought cereal because of the cinnamon and crunch, by the way) and it worked out really really well. If I make these again (and Cornelius totally wants me to), I'll add in even more cereal just for more of a crunch. Beware, besides being super addictive, they are also kinda melty, so keep in the fridge and don't eat outside in the hot sun or you'll be a tasty delicious mess.


The next kind of vegan ball (hee hee), is a recipe I found tucked into an old thrifted vintage cookbook. The kind of found hand-written note that someone used as a bookmark. I love it for that reason alone! Besides turning this recipe into one a vegan could love, I also cut the recipe in half because it was a gift and I didn't want to end up eating the leftovers all myself! Feel free to double this recipe as it was meant to be. These aren't super sweet which is nice but you can definitely use sweetened coconut if you want a sweeter flavour. I added in some chopped almonds, but any kind of nut or dried fruit (or not!) would do.

peanut butter buckeyes
1/4 c Earth Balance margarine
1 3/4 c natural crunchy peanut butter
1 c powdered sugar
1 c of crispy cereal (I used Vector)
1 c semi sweet chocolate

1. Get your margarine and peanut butter to room temperature and combine them, adding in the powdered sugar. Stir well. Crush cereal with your hands (oh the power!) and mix them in too. If you aren't using a flake cereal, you may not need to crush (poor you). Roll mixture into balls and freeze.

2. Melt chocolate in microwave and roll each ball in the melted chocolate and place on a cookie sheet. Freeze until firm. Store in sealed container in the fridge.

coconut snowballs
1/2 c sugar
1/4 c Earth Balance margarine
1 t vanilla
1/4 c cocoa
1/4 c almond milk
1/2 c shredded coconut (plus more for snowy coating)
1/4 c chopped almonds
1 1/2 c oats

1. In a medium sized pot, combine the sugar, margarine, vanilla, cocoa and almond milk over medium-high heat until everything is melted and comes to a simmering boil. Let boil for 3 minutes and remove from heat.

2. Add in the coconut, almonds and oats and stir well. If it's a bit too wet, add in a bit more coconut. When cooled slightly, take a tablespoon of the mixture and roll into a ball.

3. Add coconut to a plate and roll ball into it...creating the look of a "snowball". Store balls in a sealed container and refrigerate.