Strawberry Shortcake, at its seasonal best, starts with beautifully ripe berries freshly cut and macerated. Layer these on shortcake still slightly warm from the oven. Finally top with cream, cool and just whipped. The subtle play of warm cake against cool cream, of tender berry against crispy crust, of tart fruit bathed in sweet juice, makes a beautifully balanced and expressive dessert.
This Angel Food Cake, inspired by a favorite book, is dependably light in texture and, when served alone or with fresh berries, is light in calories too. For many, that makes it a sweet indulgence and a perfect any-occasion dessert.
A Taste of History Following our snow day last Thursday, it got cold. Cold for Portland, that is. The roads cleared and life got back to normal but snow lingered in the back yard and the air stayed fresh and chilly. My craving for Hot Chocolate lingered too. I have […]
Looking for a reason to celebrate? The calendar is full of happy occasions that are perfect for sharing a slice of this intimate little Cherry Cheesecake. Made with honey flavored chèvre and topped with beautiful Honeyed Balsamic Cherries in a gingersnap crust, this small cheesecake goes a long way toward […]
How is cooking like writing poetry? It is, in the end, all a process of alchemy. To make a chocolate truffle or pen a verse, we begin with a bit of this and a bit of that. Soon, the happy affinity of one bit for another transforms the whole into a new creation. What we end up with is often quite delicious and so much more than the sum of its parts.
Composed of layers of creamy biscuit pudding, melted chocolate (or currant jelly) and sweet meringue, Alvine’s Bread Pudding makes delicious use of broken biscuits or day old bread. This old-fashioned recipe was printed in a charming hand-crafted cookbook assembled by the church in my hometown. The meringue layer is an appealing addition to this familiar dessert.
Homemade biscuits, cut in rounds or baked as a loaf, are delightfully plain fare; a tasty, filling and well appreciated comfort food that is a joy to share with family and friends. Serve them as Uncle Hal did, with Karo Syrup, for a 1916-style dessert. Or dress them with a smear of good butter, honey and fruit jam, anytime.
There is a certain magic to dressing a moist delicious cake in a costume of sweet creamy frosting. With just a few items from my kitchen pantry I can express a creative inspiration in a way that is both fun and economical. All finished, I take a few photos. Then I share a slice, savoring the sweetness of life’s simple blessings.
A Sweet Ghost Cake makes a cute edible decoration for Halloween. Use a Basic Box Mix Pound Cake recipe for the batter and create the ghostly shape by baking it in mixing bowls you may already have in your kitchen. Then decorate with Buttercream Frosting for a spooky finish.
Thinking of desserts with universal appeal, Cheesecake hovers right at the top of the list. Almost everyone I know likes cheesecake in one form or another. Cheesecake also rates high on the list of desserts I like to make. While cheesecake recipes often seem quite long and potentially complicated, in […]
Homemade Ice Cream – Past and Present Nothing pulls a thread through summers past and present quite like homemade ice cream. I have fond memories of taking turns providing the muscle for Aunt Hen’s hand-cranked ice cream freezer when I was a child. The homemade ice cream it made was […]
Around page 75 of Cooking With Curtis Grace, there is a recipe for Zucchini Bread. It makes two lightly spiced, delightfully moist and nutty loaves of quick bread. This is the best Zucchini Bread I have ever tasted and it is probably the only recipe for Zucchini Bread I will ever use.