Pie. Because Tuesdays are boring.
INGREDIENTS

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/4 cup light brown sugar

2 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup room-temperature buttermilk

4 eggs, room temperature

6 tablespoons cooled melted butter

zest and juice of 1 lemon

9” graham cracker crust

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together sugars, flour, and salt in a bowl.

Whisk buttermilk, eggs, melted butter, lemon zest and juice, and vanilla in a separate bowl. Whisk in the sugar mixture.

Pour into pie crust and bake for about 45 minutes until just set. Let cool and dust with confectioners’ sugar.

I worked with this recipe.

I found this at the Food52 website but couldn’t find the black sesame seeds.  I added some raising and some walnuts.

DIRECTIONS

½ cup melted butter, cooled

2 cups flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2/3 cup sugar

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

½ cup applesauce

½ cup almond milk

1 2-inch piece of ginger, peeled and finely grated

1 teaspoon vanilla

¾ teaspoon sea salt

2 large carrots (7 oz. total) coarsely grated

½ cup chopped walnuts

½ cup golden raisins

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

INGREDIENTS

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 8½ by 4½–inch loaf pan.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and cinnamon.

In a large bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, applesauce, almond milk, ginger, vanilla, and salt. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the flour mixture, followed by the carrots, raisins and walnuts, and finally the butter.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle the top with the sesame seeds. Bake until the middle of the loaf has puffed and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes.

Let cool completely in the pan before slicing.

I got the recipe here.

Cayenne pepper is what makes this chocolate hot. 

INGREDIENTS

1 stick unsalted butter

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1 cup flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

3/4 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

I worked with this recipe.

This has been a family favorite ever since I can remember. I just added some chocolate on top.

INGREDIENTS

1 lb. cream cheese

1 lb ricotta

1 lb sour cream

scan cup of sugar

4 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon lemon juice

3 tablespoons corn starch

3 tablespoons flour

Chocolate Topping

4 oz. chocolate chips

4 oz. melted butter

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Grease a spring form pan (medium sized).

Blend all ingredients with hand mixer until smooth. Bake for 1 hour and then turn off oven and leave for 2 hours.

Melt butter and pour over chocolate.  Let chips melt and then pour over cake. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

When a regular brownie won’t do. Not that there is anything wrong with a regular brownie.

INGREDIENTS

1 package cream cheese, softened (8 oz.)

¼ cup sugar

1 egg

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

¼ cup butter

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

½ cup white sugar

2 eggs

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan.

Combine cream cheese with 1/4 cup sugar and 1 egg in a mixing bowl; beat until smooth. Stir 1 cup chocolate chips into the cream cheese mixture. Set aside.

Fill a saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Turn the heat off, and set a heatproof mixing bowl over the water. In the mixing bowl, combine butter with the remaining cup of chocolate chips; stir until just melted and blended together. Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and 2 eggs, then sift together flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into chocolate until evenly blended.

Pour half of the batter into the prepared baking pan. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the chocolate layer. Top with remaining chocolate mixture (this doesn’t need to completely cover the cream cheese layer). Using a knife, swirl the top chocolate layer into the cream cheese to make a marble pattern.

Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 25 to 30 minutes, or until top is crinkled and edges pull away from sides of the pan. Cool thoroughly. Cut into 12 to 16 squares.

I worked with this recipe.

I wanted to make this cake for it focused on techniques that I have never done before. Thanks to Smitten Kitchen for the inspiration. You can find the original post here.

INGREDIENTS

Cookie Layers

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 teaspoon baking soda

3 large eggs

1/4 teaspoon fine sea or table salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 1/2 cups flour, divided

Frosting and Filling

32 ounces sour cream

1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

DIRECTIONS

Begin the day before: Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Get 2 baking sheets (or even better, round pizza pans) down, more if you have them. Tear off 6 sheets of parchment paper large enough to have a 9-inch circle on it.

Make cookie/cake dough: In a medium-sized saucepan, combine the sugar, honey and butter over medium heat. Once simmering, cook for 3 to 4 minutes (no specific temperature needed), it should get a faint shade darker and smell wonderful. Whisk in baking soda.

Remove from heat and set aside for 2 to 3 minutes. It’s not going to significantly cool off, just settle a little. Lightly beat your eggs in a spouted measuring cup (for easiest pouring) or small bowl. Whisking the honey mixture vigorously in the pot the whole time, drizzle the thinnest stream (think: 1/2 teaspoon at a time, that slowly) of the eggs into the honey mixture. Do not stop mixing. Continue until all of the eggs are thoroughly whisked in.

Stir in the salt and vanilla and 3 cups (390 grams) of the flour with a spoon. The dough is going to be thick like a bread but you’ve got this. Stir in the last 1/2 cup of flour 1/4 cup at a time.

Shape and bake the cookies/cakes: Lightly flour your counter and divide the still-warm dough into 8 even pieces. Roll the first one between two sheets of parchment paper (no flouring needed) to a slightly-bigger-than-9-inch round. Remove top sheet of parchment paper. Very lightly dust the top with flour if you’re going to put something on it (such as the bottom of a 9-inch cake pan or the rim of a 9-inch bowl) to trim the shape to an even 9-inch circle. Save the trimmings — put them aside on one of the sheets of parchment paper, it’s fine if they overlap a little. Dock the circle all over with a fork. Slide your 9-inch round onto a baking sheet and bake for 6 to 7 minutes; it should feel firmish and get slightly darker at the edges. Slide the cookie onto a cooling rack. Go ahead and reuse the parchment for another layer.

Meanwhile, while the first layer is baking, roll out your second piece so it’s ready to go into the oven as soon as the first comes out. If you’re making good time, get the third ready too and continue to bake them two at a time. Keep adding the unbaked cookie trimmings onto one piece of parchment paper. Repeat this process as you bake each round and you’ll have all 8 baked before you know it.

Finally, take that last sheet of parchment with all of the cookie scraps on it and slide it onto a baking sheet and bake it, checking in at 4 minutes, because the thinnest scraps will want to burn quickly. By 5 minutes, all should be baked until pale golden. Let cool completely.

Fill and frost the cake: Whisk sour cream and sweetened condensed milk together in a large bowl. Once cookies are cool, place a dab of the sour cream mixture on your cake plate and place the first cookie on top of it to help adhere it.

Scoop 3/4 cup sour cream mixture onto the center of your first cookie layer. Spread it only a little from the center, leaving a good 1- to 2-inch margin of unfrosted cookie. Stack the second cookie on top and repeat until you have 8 layers.

This will quickly become a huge mess. The sour cream is going to spill out and down the sides anyway. It’s also going to want to slide around and not stay neatly stacked. It’s totally okay because the filling will thicken as it absorbs into the cookies. Put the cake in the fridge for a couple hours (1 to 3) and when you come back to it, nudge the stack gently back into place and use a spoon and icing spatula to scoop the spilled-out filling back up the sides and onto the top of the cake. Don’t worry about it looking neat. Let it chill overnight.

The next day, finish the cake: Grind your baked, reserved cookie scraps in a blender or food processor, or bash them into crumbs in a bag with a rolling pin.

Take your cake out and do one final frosting clean-up. Spread any newly puddled sour cream back up the sides and across the top. If you’d like to make a decoration on top of your cake, take one of those used pieces of parchment paper and cut a stencil with it. Place it gently on top of the cake.

Use a small spoon to sprinkle the top and sides of the cake with the crumbs. In the coolest trick I saw on a cooking video, use a pastry brush to gently brush the crumbs off the stencil and across the cake in a thin layer. Remove the stencil and parchment paper strips and look at that clean serving plate.

You can serve the cake right away, or keep it in the fridge for up to 5 days. When slicing, I found that a knife dipped in hot water made picture-perfect cuts.

I’ve been sick for a few days and have not been able to bake.  Thought I’d get back in the saddle with this simple, delicious fave.

INGREDIENTS

Nonstick spray

2 cups flour

5 tablespoons sugar, divided

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt + 1/2 teaspoon salt to sprinkle on top of bread

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3 tablespoons butter, chilled, cut into cubes

1 cup buttermilk

2/3 cup raisins

1 tablespoon caraway seeds

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray 8-inch-diameter cake pan with nonstick spray. Whisk flour, 4 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in large bowl to blend. Add butter. Using fingertips, rub in until coarse meal forms. Make well in center of flour mixture. Add buttermilk. Gradually stir dry ingredients into milk to blend. Mix in raisins.

Using floured hands, shape dough into ball. Transfer to prepared pan and flatten slightly (dough will not come to edges of pan). Sprinkle dough with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and caraway seeds.

Bake bread until brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool bread in pan 10 minutes. Transfer to rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

I worked with this recipe.

So simple, yet so delicious.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups heavy cream

4 tablespoons Amaretto

3 lare eggs

2 large egg yolks

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided

1 teaspoon vanilla

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 325°. In a saucepan, heat cream and amaretto until bubbles form around sides of pan; remove from heat. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, egg yolks and 3/4 cup sugar until blended but not foamy. Slowly stir in hot cream mixture. Stir in vanilla.

Place six 6-oz. broiler-safe ramekins in a baking pan large enough to hold them without touching. Pour cream mixture into ramekins. Place pan on oven rack; add very hot water to pan to within 1/2 in. of tops of ramekins.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean; centers will still be soft. Immediately remove ramekins from water bath to a wire rack; cool 10 minutes. Refrigerate until cold.

To caramelize topping with a kitchen torch, sprinkle custards evenly with remaining sugar. Hold torch flame about 2 in. above custard surface and rotate it slowly until sugar is evenly caramelized. Serve immediately or refrigerate up to 1 hour.

You can also use the broiler to caramelize the top.

I worked with this recipe.

Bread, butter, chocolate.

INGREDIENTS

3 cups flour

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon instant yeast

Approx. 1 1/2 cups water

1/2 cup chocolate chunks

Fudge Butter

1 stick of salted butter, softened

1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

Dash of flaked salt

DIRECTIONS

Mix together the first 3 ingredients. Slowly add the water until dough is wet and a little loose. Fold in chocolate chunks.  Cover and let sit on the counter overnight.  In the morning heat oven to 500 degrees with dutch oven in it so it gets hot too.  Once the oven and pot have been heating for about 30 minutes, plop the dough into the dutch oven. Cook covered for 30 minutes.  Take lid off and let the top of the bread brown for about 10-15 minutes.

At any point, make the fudge butter:

Heat chocolate chips in microwave in 30 sec increments until melted.  Put aside and let cool.  Mix into softened stick of butter by hand or in mixer.  Sprinkle with flaked salt. Refrigerate while not using.  Let sit out for a few minutes before serving.

For all those in love, this cake is for you. Angel food cake with angel frosting.

INGREDIENTS

CAKE

1 1/4 cups sugar

3/4 cups flour

pinch salt

1 1/4 (approx 6) egg whites

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Frosting

1 egg white

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1/2 cup boiling water

1-2 drops food coloring (red or pink will make pink)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375°. Line bottom and sides of a mini cake pan with aluminum foil, allowing 2 to 3 inches to extend over sides of pan. (Do not grease pan or foil.) Sift together first 3 ingredients.

Beat egg whites and cream of tartar at high speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until stiff peaks form. Gradually fold in sugar mixture, 1/3 cup at a time, folding just until blended after each addition. Fold in vanilla. Spoon batter into prepared pan. (Pan will be very full. The batter will reach almost to the top of the pan.)

3. Bake at 375° on an oven rack one-third up from bottom of oven 15-20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Invert pan onto a lightly greased wire rack; let cool, with pan over cake, 1 hour or until completely cool. Remove pan; peel foil off cake. Transfer cake to a serving platter.

To make frosting, mix all except boiling water in large mixing bowl.

Add boiling water all at once and beat 5 to 7 minutes on high until light fluffy and good spreading consistency. Don’t overbeat or the mixture will become grainy. Frost cakes and use kitchen torch if  you like that kind of thing.

I worked with this recipe.