Almond-Raspberry Cake - by Lisa

Uh, wow where did this month disappear to? Nothing like waiting until the end of the month to START baking the first of four recipes! I opted to start with this one since I bought the raspberries for it knowing we were quickly heading out of season.

I didn't think I'd like this one so much since I didn't think I was a big fan of almonds. But I decided to snack on a couple of leftover almond slices and found that I really liked them! Who knew? :) The only things I really needed for this recipe were the almond paste and raspberries. I lucked out and found the 7oz tube of almond paste (something I've never bought nor heard of before!) at my regular grocery store.

Everything came together pretty easily, although the butter/almond paste/sugar mixture didn't get quite as fluffy as I expected. I don't think it negatively affected anything tho. I also opted to go with the almond extract over the vanilla extract, altho I briefly considered doing half of each.

Since moving into our new place, I've been a little hesitant with the new oven. On one hand I am absolutely in LOVE with it. It is an AGA Legacy - a dream stove/oven! But on the other hand, it is a bit temperamental and I've had some challenges in learning how to bake with it. I've burned a few things already, so I was super extra cautious in watching this cake. I used the convection setting, set the temp about 20 degrees lower, set the timer for 10 min less than the minimum suggested bake time, and watched the cake like a hawk! I'm glad I set the bake time for what I did, because it was ready to come out at 25 min!

 

After letting it cool for about 20 min, my husband and I dug in. It definitely had a nice spongy texture and very pleasant taste. The raspberries give it a nice pop of flavor as well. I am quite happy with how it turned out and tasted and would certainly consider serving this at a brunch type event. (PS - Sorry about some of these photos. I'm also learning how to work with a new lens on my camera!)

Coconut Rice Pudding - by Summer

I can't remember if I have ever had rice pudding before.  I have to say, I wasn't overly excited to make this recipe.  I do like coconut and I have liked the pudding recipes that we have made so far, so I figured I probably would like this one too.  I do like making pudding, because it's tasty and so easy to make.  And since it's easy, I was all about trying to make this one this week.  The little ones haven't been sleeping the greatest, so I am a little behind myself in that area. 

This dish has relatively few ingredients and the only thing that I had to purchase was the rice and coconut milk.  It took a total of about 30 minutes to make.  I think I could have let it cook for a couple of minutes longer.  Basically you put everything in the sauce pan and let it cook for 25 minutes.  While it was cooking, I toasted coconut in my toaster oven. 

After it cooled for 15 minutes, I spooned some into a bowl and topped with the toasted coconut.  I wanted to taste it warm.  I really liked the taste and the texture.  My son tried some, after a little convincing, and at first he said "mmmm . . ." and then he said "yummy!"  I tried it again tonight after dinner and it still tasted good chilled.  I honestly can't decide which way I like it better.  I am now really excited to try the regular rice pudding, perhaps next month :-)

Almond-Raspberry Cake - by Summer

We're back!  It was so nice to have the summer off, but I have been itching to get back to baking!  It was super hot here in MN, so I was glad that I didn't have to turn on the oven for a few weeks, but now it's September and that means fall, right?

To kick off Labor Day weekend, I decided to try the Almond-Raspberry Cake.  It's the end of berry season, but I thought we could sneak one recipe in!  This is a very easy little cake to make.  The only ingredients that I needed to pick up were the almond paste and raspberries.  The recipe calls for 7 oz tube of the almond paste, but my grocery store only had cans that were 8 oz.  No problem - I just used my kitchen scale and scooped out 1 oz and then used the rest of the can.

We also had a choice of vanilla or almond extract, and I opted to go with almond.  I have it on hand and vary rarely use it, so I thought this would be perfect.  The smell of the batter is unmistakeably almond, that's for sure.

It baked up in 35 minutes, although the edges looked a little dark.  I am worried it baked too long and I probably should have checked it about 2-3 minutes sooner.  The middle looked light, but it was most definitely done.

We all loved this cake.  It actually seemed to taste better after letting it sit wrapped in plastic overnight.  Even though I thought I might have over-baked it, wasn't dry at all.  My mom thought it tasted like a shortbread cake.  I would definitely make this again.  It was easy and very tasty.  Although next time I might try adding a glaze over the top (my dad's suggestion).

Sweetie Pie

Just a quick post to announce the birth of my daughter, Edith Ann. She was born on Thursday, June 30th at 10:09 pm. She is 9 lbs, 10 oz and 22 inches long.

Sesame-Oat-Pecan Cookies - by Summer

Finally - I am finishing up the last recipe for May.  I know I have been so slow to finish up these last few.  I don't have any reason other than the fact that I haven't felt like baking and am so tired.


I got everything ready this morning and pulled out the food processor.  Immediately my son started panicking and crying.  Apparently he will still traumatized from the last time I used it.  So, I actually had to wait until he went down for his nap before making the cookies.  The dough was very, very sticky. 

 I remembered Lisa's post about having issues with the cookies spreading, so I took Beth's advice and chilled the dough.  I was only going to chill it for about 30 minutes, but it ended up being more like a few hours.  I was worried the dough would be really hard, but it wasn't.  It scooped up just fine.

The cookies baked for 11 minutes and fortunately they didn't spread too much.  They are rather chewy and definitely have a unique flavor.  I can't say that I love them, but I have never had another cookie like them before.  My husband also thought they tasted interesting and commented on the after taste.  My son, who saw my husband eating the cookies, wanted a bite and he seemed to enjoy them quite a bit!

Lisa and I will be taking a hiatus this summer.  I am due (overdue to be exact) to have my second child any day now and Lisa is getting ready to move back to the Midwest (HURRAY!!)  We'll be back in September after things have settled down for both of us.  Have a great summer!

Caramelized Banana Bread Pudding - By Summer

Oh dear - I am so behind in making the rest of the May recipes.  My only excuse is that I am 9 1/2 months pregnant and desperately trying to get ready for baby number 2.  I think we are finally ready, so now I can get back to the baking.  Unfortunately at the beginning of this week, the weather was in the 90's and 100's!!  Craziness!  I could not justify turning on the oven during those temps.  But it's nice and cool now, ad nI am hoping to finish up in the next couple of days!

I was really excited that Lisa picked this recipe.  I was very close to picking it for this month myself.  I haven't ever had bread pudding, but the caramelized and banana part sound really good to me!  The recipe calls for a 9 x 13 pan, which I know is far more than we could ever go through, so I decided to cut the recipe in half and made it in an 8 x 8 pan instead.

It's actually quite easy to make this, so I don't know why I was putting it off.  I didn't have any trouble finding the Challah bread.  My only problem is that the loaf was really big (24 oz) and the recipe calls for 12 oz.  But never fear - I would not let that bread go to waste.  I figure it would be perfect for French toast and it was!  I also realize as I am typing up this post - I did a great job of halving everything in the recipe, but the amount of bread!  I used the full 12 oz, so it may not have as much pudding . . .

 Mine didn't cook for quite 60 minutes, which probably isn't surprising given the fact that I had way more bread than needed and the pan was smaller.  I liked the taste of the bread, but I wasn't a fan of the bananas in it.  They were way too sweet for me (I know - shocking - too sweet!).  I am definitely interested in trying this again, but with the right proportions and maybe minus the bananas.

Carrot Cupcakes - by Lisa

 I have been a baking fool this week! One early in the week, and then a recipe a day these last 3 days! Whew! I have to say, these tasty little cupcakes were by far my favorite of this month's choices. It's been awhile since I had carrot cake, and I've always enjoyed it. These cupcakes took it to a whole new level, and I loved the spicy kick that the ginger brought to them. I also made the cream cheese frosting to go on top, but I took a cue from Summer and made just half a batch of the frosting. It seems like that was the perfect amount!

These were really easy to throw together. I got to use the carrots from our local CSA, and the only special ingredients I needed to purchase were the crushed pineapple and orange marmalade.  Like Summer, my batter also yielded 14 cupcakes, so I had two extra little guys to bake off at the end.

I got to share these with friends of ours and they were an instant win! And of course, Caiden's eyes lit up when he saw them lined up on the counter. He got to have one as a special treat, and he loved it! I look forward to making these again!