Beet Mini Cakes (Daring Bakers' Challenge)

A couple weeks ago, while out at a restaurant with friends, I tried a chocolate beet cake for dessert.  It was ok - it tasted nice and chocolaty, but it didn't have any beet flavor, which left me a little underwhelmed.  A couple days later, I discovered that the Daring Bakers' challenge for this month was to use vegetables in our baking.  I knew what I must do: create a beet cake that does taste like beets, and see if it is any good.

Ruth from Makey-Cakey was our March 2013 Daring Bakers' challenge host. She encouraged us all to get experimental in the kitchen and sneak some hidden veggies into our baking, with surprising and delicious results!

Olive Oil, Lemon, & Orange Cupcakes

It's late winter, and I've been craving something tangy, sweet, and above all, colorful.  These cupcakes fit the bill on all three counts.  The cupcakes themselves are olive oil and orange.  They're filled with a deliciously tart lemon curd, and crowned with a whipped orange cream cheese frosting.  Bam!  The cure for winter in a tasty little cupcake-shaped package.

Raspberry Cheesecake (A Late Valentine's Day)

 Whew!  My husband and I are mostly moved into our new house...mostly.  Well, at least we've unpacked essentials like pillows, blankets, the computer, the cat, and the Kitchenaid.  I'm getting used to the new kitchen, which has a gas oven instead of an electric one (weird).  So far, I've managed to tackle a couple small baking projects, and I'm finally ready to post about a scrumptious raspberry cheesecake, which I originally made for Mr. Buttercream for Valentine's Day.

Gevulde Speculaas (Daring Bakers' Challenge)

The first Daring Bakers' Challenge of 2013 was a traditional Dutch spice cake: gevulde speculaas.  The outside is a slightly crunchy pastry, full of all sorts of delicious spices, and the inside is a creamy almond paste.  Yum.  Excellent challenge!

Francijn of Koken in de Brouwerij was our January 2013 Daring Bakers’ Hostess and she challenged us to make the traditional Dutch pastry, Gevulde Speculaas from scratch! That includes making our own spice mix, almond paste and dough! Delicious!

Pecan Macarons

These macarons are the tasty result of a fortuitous mistake and a hungry husband.  Originally, I intended to make a macaron version of one of my favorite winter desserts - a buttermilk pecan pie.  Instead, I ended up with a super-delicious pecan punch-to-the-face in macaron form.

Earl Grey & Vanilla Bean Birthday Cake

 

It's my mother's birthday again!  My mom loves tea, so I decided to make her a little earl grey cake this year.  Since earl grey is a pretty mild, delicate flavor, I decided to accompany it with a subtle vanilla bean buttercream.

Pear Pie

Ah, winter.  Seattle's color palate is dominated by grey, dark grey, and very dark grey.  Today is the shortest day of the year (fingers crossed that it's not the last day ever).  Sunset is officially at 4:20, but it'll start getting dark by 3:30.  And the endless winter drizzle, which will last until May at least, has begun in earnest.

So...it's absolutely necessary to brighten the winter days with some warm, sticky, delicious pie.  Pear pie is one of my favorites.  I first made it last Christmas instead of the apple pie I usually bake, and, although it's almost blasphemous to say in my family (we really care about pie), I actually prefer pear to apple.