Everything Sirious
I bake almost every day; rather than list all my bakes, I thought I’d list those that were exceptional, along with suggestions, comments, and sources.
This was amazing. I was doubtful just because of the olive oil for no good reason – I used Wegmans extra virgin lemon olive oil and subbed almond milk for the whole milk. Absolutely yummy, very moist, great taste, lovely tea or breakfast cake. (And I love this site for recipes as well).
https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/food-cooking/recipes/a44950730/olive-oil-cake-recipe/
While you could easily make these with another type of jam/center, raspberry is one of my favorites, and this recipe does not disappoint in any way, shape or form – even my non-raspberry liking friend loves them! It is basically a very good shortbread ‘bar’ with a strip of jam in the middle and a light piping of sweetness on the top (which you could skip if you wanted). Be sure to use butter, not margarine, and a good quality jam (Bonne Maman my go-to). Ignore the 1/2 cup designation and use what you feel like. I also used heavy cream for the glaze (vs. evaporated milk).
Saw these and thought not much can go wrong with orange and cranberry, one of my favorite combos, and then add in cream cheese frosting – WELL. Sure enough, this is a five star bake! And it makes quite a bit, so if you’re looking to parcel off some pieces to thank the UPS Driver (see https://www.facebook.com/ChannellingKindness/ post of 12/11/23 ), these just might be your ticket! My one comment on the recipe is the 1/4 cup of orange zest can be, depending on the size of your oranges, quite a few oranges (took 6 for me), so keep that in mind before you get started. My bake time was also a little bit longer than indicated – closer to 28 minutes.
https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/orange-cranberry-cookie-bars/
THIS! OMG on these cookies. If you like marzipan, if you like almond, if you like crunchy outside and chewy interior, if you like gluten free/cholesterol free, and if you like fairly easy, these are SO good. Truly in my top five cookies ever.
https://foodtasia.com/almond-paste-cookies/#tasty-recipes-6790-jump-target
Let me start with the realization in my 60’s that I always thought I loved apple pie, because my mother loved apple pie and I always made it for her, therefore I should love it. I like it, but it actually doesn’t fall into the love category. There are so many other flavors of pie I’d much rather have. (Kind of like NYC – I grew up there and always thought I loved it – until I visited it for the umpteenth time as an adult and realized that I really didn’t like it that much). Anyways, I digress. This dessert combines the goodness of the apple middle of apple pie with a cake like crust that keeps the middle moist and delicious but not loosey goosey. A Polish apple cake, it is just one more of the successes I’ve had in the Baking With Dorie cookbook (which I cannot recommend highly enough). And top it with homemade vanilla ice cream (flavored mine with brandy), and this is as close to heaven as it gets.
Sweet plus tart, this is the most scone like (dryish that melts in your mouth); definitely best eaten the day they are made. SO good. https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/glazed-lemon-blueberry-scones/
This is an amazing chocolate cupcake recipe. It outshines many of the others I have tried. I did use an imported cocoa, so highly recommend a good quality cocoa. The chocolate is dark and rich, the brown sugar addition deepens that, and the buttermilk ensures it’s moist. Just delicious. https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/super-moist-chocolate-cupcakes/#tasty-recipes-66438
Absolutely down and out delicious. Being a New Englander, I grew up with hermits (pun intended) and these cookies do not disappoint. Chewy, deeply molasses and spicey, they keep well, and you can’t eat just one!
This cake has been my go-to cake for a triple layer 6″ cake with a lovely vanilla flavor, perfectly moist, and easily filled with all sorts of options. Today I followed the cake/filling recipe in Frosted (Bernice Baran), using lemon curd between the layers, but choosing an ABC frosting instead of the suggested American Meringue Buttercream.
Despite a dam of frosting, as well as trying the ‘seal it in technique’ (Georgia’s Cakes), the lemon curd oozed all over. It took several crumb coats and repairs before I could mask the lemon that insisted on blending with my ABC.
Speaking of ABC, I remain a fan of this frosting more so than any other I have tried, although I continue to work to make it not taste as sweet. Hard to do when it’s so full of sugar, but today’s experiment included: using Amish roll butter, adding in 2 TB super chilled heavy cream and 1 TB super chilled sour cream, 1 TB lemon juice, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 TB meringue powder, and beating for about 15 minutes. Still sweet but less so – I feel like I’m getting there. And the texture was good for spreading and piping. So much patience required in this cake decorating business – cannot do it when I’m tired.
Recipe from Bernice Baran’s Frosted – I’ve said it before, the recipes in here are just fantastic. Lots and lots of five star bakes IMHO.
First off, a three layer 6″ cake was the perfect opportunity to test out, side by side, the bake even strips mentioned in my previous post – they really do make a difference. Much less of a dome to the cake, but most importantly, a lovely finish to the sides – see for yourself (one on the left, no strip). If you are a baker, absolutely worth the $10. Note: I do think they bake a little slower, so you may need to add another 5 minutes to the bake time.
Now for the cake, LOL. Wonderful caramel chai taste on the drip – will use that in other recipes, just yummy, though not quite as thick as I would like. And the cake is very moist and has a great spiced pumpkin taste. The frosting – I took it upon myself to substitute giant orange pumpkin marshmallows instead of the regular marshmallows called for in the frosting. The taste is great (and I’m a fan of the color); I did run into an issue with the consistency of the frosting (a bit goopy and required several periods in the fridge) and the marshmallow left clumps of chewy toasty marshmallow in the frosting (not necessarily a bad thing, but you wouldn’t have been able to pipe this frosting). All in all, this is an amazing spiced cake, and I’m not even that much of a pumpkin fan! I may have to change my opinion!
