Tag Archives: dessert

Sweet Fregola Sarda Arancini with Spiced Blackberry Coulis

Sweet Fregola Sarda Arancini with Spiced Blackberry Coulis

I’m not going to lie – this recipe is a little banana cakes. My brain got to working on making fregola sarda into a dessert and did a lily pad leaping move from rice pudding to beignets to arancini to a coulis in lieu of marinara. Wait, what? No, stay with me. These bites of majesty are like rice pudding in fried form, a delicacy well-worth your attention. Continue reading

White Chocolate Brownies with Walnuts © Photo by Angela Gunder

Toffee Macadamia Nut Bars

I’ve always been partial to blondies, but these bars are just ridiculous. Adding buttery macadamia nuts and sweet toffee chips to the batter is luxe and a half. Top the whole thing off with salty coconut and I am in dream land. Continue reading

Lemon Pound Cake with Fresh Berries © Photo by Angela Gunder

Lemon Pound Cake with Fresh Berries

So what do I do, non-baker that I am? Create a yummy lemon glaze for a Sara Lee pound cake, top with seasonal berries and garnish with whipped cream and lemon zest. Let me tell you, it was sexy through and through, all the while saving me precious time to deal with the other courses of the meal I was preparing. So maybe I should call this the gift cake. I mean, it did manage to give me precious minutes of my life back. Continue reading

Strawberries with Elderflower and Mint © Photo by Angela Gunder

Strawberries with Elderflower and Mint

Over the years, I’ve tweaked the recipe, if you even want to call it a recipe as it is so simple to prepare. I add chopped fresh mint for color and a few tablespoons of the wickedly floral liqueur St. Germain to bring out the lush flavor of ripe fruit. Let the little troublemakers hang out, and in a matter of minutes, you have the most perfect dessert. Continue reading

Apple Crumble Ice Cream © Photo by Angela Gunder

Apple Crumble Ice Cream

The secret to making this recipe well is getting all of the components good and cold before putting them in the ice cream maker. Make sure to leave plenty of time to stage all of the ingredients and know that when you are done, you’ll be rewarded with a quart of loveliness that will last you for a goodly while. Continue reading

White Chocolate Cherry Bread Pudding © Photo by Angela Gunder

White Chocolate Cherry Bread Pudding

Bread pudding is the dessert of my dreams – unlike anything else in baking which requires precision and accuracy, bread pudding is forgiving and versatile. This particular bread pudding is the perfect celebration of flavors and textures – the creamy white chocolate melts into the custard and the cherries stud the spongy bread with tart sweetness. Continue reading

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Simple Gingerbread Cookies

I found this recipe of hot mess Sandra Lee’s in passing while getting together my list of Christmas goodies to bake, and to my horror, the one that seemed like some majesty was hers. With a few tweaks made by my expert baker of a sister, this recipe absolutely goes into the pantheon of keepers for all time – chewy, spicy goodness that’s perfect for the holidays. Continue reading

Lemon Curd Muffins © Photo by Angela Gunder

Lemon Curd Muffins

Using sugar cookie dough out of the Pillsbury tube, I pressed out mini tarts into a muffin pan and topped them with the lemon curd. A short bake later, and we were all treated to chewy, lemony goodness with a snowy topping of powdered sugar. Here’s to the little victories in life, to include my ability to actually bake something awesome. Continue reading

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Cannoli Ice Cream

This recipe was born of a request from Dennis to whip up some pistachio ice cream without the actual whole nuts in it – just smooth pistachio goodness. As my brained churned with thoughts of embellishments and goodies to add to the ice cream, I thought, why not a cannoli? Ricotta, chocolate, pistachios and crispy fried pieces of dough all swirled together into some frozen majesty. Continue reading

watermelonsorbet

Watermelon Sorbet

This sorbet is an absolute delight that celebrates the joy of the season – fresh watermelon. The sticky pulp is heightened by zesty limes, with just a bit of grenadine and cherry to enhance its bright pink color. Continue reading

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Berry Lemonade Sorbet

I make this treat in an ice cream maker so as to give it lightness and creaminess, but if you’d like to enjoy it in a little more icy format (or if you don’t have an ice cream maker), you can absolutely make it as a granita. Continue reading

acaiyogurt

Açai Blueberry Frozen Yogurt

I love this recipe because it’s such a short list of ingredients that begets something so wholesome and lovely – not to mention that you could absolutely, positively never get this in the store. Continue reading

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Sweet Tomato Tart

What better way to enjoy the sweetness of a tomato than in a simple tart brushed with currant jam until a rich, garnet color and then baked just enough to release the natural juices and crisp up the delicious tart crust? You’re welcome. Continue reading

Basil Ice Cream © Photo by Angela Gunder

Basil Ice Cream (Basil Gelato)

I decided to make a batch of basil ice cream because I am a fan of the glory of the celebration of the sweetness of basil. It’s different, yes. But it is so so very good. Eyes of wonder good. Continue reading

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Nyquil-Induced Trishy Lou Brownies

This recipe is actually a hack of the clutch recipe of my best friend Kate’s mom’s brownie recipe, combined with the idea of Nyquil Brownies as featured on Bittersweet Blog. Let me tell you this, if ever there were two recipes that were meant to be combined, it’s these two. Continue reading

guinesscupcake

Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes

The recipe is not for the lighthearted, but you can be sure that when all those unhealthy things come together, it’s going to be nothing but goodness. Continue reading

Dark Chocolate Pecan Banana Bread

Dark Chocolate Pecan Banana Bread

Banana bread is not only exceptional with old bananas, it truly can ONLY be made with old bananas. So next time you’re thinking about tossing those seemingly junky bunches, save them for this delicious treat. Continue reading

White Chocolate Brownies with Walnuts © Photo by Angela Gunder

White Chocolate Walnut Brownies

Throw out all your preconceived notions of “brownies” – this one is a total winner. The bars are dense and moist like a brownie, but also light and slightly crumbly like cake. Best of all, the crunch from the walnuts and the slight saltiness of the treats make it a total winner. Continue reading

Coconut Tres Leches © Photo by Angela Gunder

Coconut Tres Leches

I decided to simplify the process with cake mix – god forbid I give you a cake recipe that involves skill because heaven knows I’m no baker – and one up the sweetness with a bit of salty coconut. Replace the water used in the box of cake mix with coconut water, and then swap out the traditional cream in the leche bath for cream of coconut, and voila, a showstopping dessert with little to no fuss. Continue reading

Red Velvet Cake © Photo by Angela Gunder

Red Velvet Cake

If you ever wanted to know the one time that I take a shortcut in the kitchen, this would be it. And I’m not ashamed, because when I came up with this one, I was floored by the results. The ingredients produce the moistest, airiest cake you could imagine – make this once and most other Red Velvets will pale in comparison for your enlightened taste buds. No hype there. It’s just that good. Continue reading