Posts Categorized: 8. Desserts

Chocolate Poppy Seed Torte- Fancy Dessert!

Ground Poppy Seeds Add Richness to Chocolate Torte

I have fond childhood memories of my great grandpa bringing us poppy seed pastries from a Dutch bakery. So of course I was excited to try a torte recipe using the poppy seed paste. My husband wasn’t acting very excited that we were having a poppy seed cake for dessert on Sunday. ‘Till he found out about the chocolate part! Then we were both happy 🙂

Poppy Seed Cake

Warm honey syrup's poured over poppy seed cake once baked

I wanted to make a poppy seed cake for my husband’s birthday, but he hadn’t been too thrilled with the original recipe. Fine. He was right. The first cake was not exceptional. So I pushed myself to create a better dessert. “Poppy Seed Honey Cake” sounded awesome, so at least I had a good name.

I searched the web, but didn’t find anyone else who had used honey in a simple syrup to pour on while the cake’s still warm. But that was my plan. In my research, I did find an article about the virtues of not over-heating honey. Supposedly, the flavor is better when the honey isn’t baked into the cake, and it’ll retain more nutrients. Perfect—my plan was to thin the honey in a bit of warm water, then pour it over the baked cake. If it would have even more flavor this way, hurray!

White Chocolate Cake w/ Strawberries

White Cake with Poppy Seeds, White Chocolate, Strawberries

I originally made this cake with cake flour. Well, I don’t make too many cakes, so the next time I went to use it, ew–it had bugs in it! So…I’m much happier with the alternative: using less regular flour and adding a bit of cornstarch. That brings the protein level to that of cake flour, and makes quite a light cake in the process.

Tres Leches Cake w/ Coconut

Tres Leches Cake with Coconut- no leftover syrup

My husband says a cake can use a fancy name, to distinguish it from any average cake. Of course, a good recipe helps too! There are a lot of recipes for this type of cake, but I wanted one that wouldn’t leave me with pools of leftover Tres-Leches liquid. Yes, we managed to gag down…

Chocolate Sponge Cake w/ Raspberry

Fancy First Birthday Cake decorated w/ roses

So…I don’t make cakes this fancy all the time. But, for a first granddaughter’s first birthday, let’s do this! The recipe’s for 15-20 people, ’cause–do we really want to make almond paste and spread layers with flavored fruity syrups, AND frost it, if it’s not for a decent number of people?!

Lemon Curd: Whole Egg, Honey-Sweetened

Lemon Curd w/Whole Egg (& Peel of Lemon)

I filed this recipe under “Healthy” AND “desserts”, since it seems to be both. So good on top of yogurt! It’s usually used for fancy teas, with scones and clotted cream, but I’m thinking this version will go well in my smoothie even- ha! I mean, it doesn’t contain sugar, and I used Kerry-gold pastured butter, and a neighbor’s fresh chicken eggs. Of course it’s good for me, right? Oh, plus it uses whole egg. Protein! This lemon curd seems a tad lighter than the traditional- a bit more like custard. Yummm…

Date Bars

Less Sugar Date Bars

I made these with the grandkids—they were surprised that the dates turn into this yummy filling, just by cooking with some water. Oh, and you can make these gluten-free, just by using processed oats (“oat flour”) in place of wheat flour.

Peach Ice Cream (Peachy KEEN!)

Homemade Peach Ice Cream, Easy

Finding good organic peaches, totally fragrant and delicious, can be challenging. Of all places, Safeway had ’em, and they must’ve been picked at just the right time. They were SO GOOD! So I had to add some to this recipe. Healthy, right? After all, they’re ORGANIC! OK, I might not splurge on this all the time, but it was a treat…

Castle Cake: Great Fun for a Boy’s Birthday!

Castle Cake- Use Cones for Towers

A castle cake project the whole family can help with. We scavenger hunted at various stores for the supplies. My husband and older grandson did the math, for cutting the cake into the right sizes, and we all decorated it. Fun!

Pistachio Gelato

Easy Pistachio Gelato

Gelato had been a mystery to me- it seemed extra intense and creamy, so I assumed it must have more cream in it. Fact is, gelato is best made with more whole milk and less cream than regular ice cream. The fat in cream coats the tongue, which ends up muting the flavors (who knew?!). So, using less cream is the secret- that’s why gelato is so flavorful!