Have you heard about the Tom Cruise cake? It's the Doan's Bakery Bundt cake that Tom Cruise sends all his friends every Christmas. It's a rich coconut-flavored butter cake filled with chunks of white chocolate, covered with cream cheese frosting and shredded coconut. Several of Cruise's famous friends have gleefully admitted to looking forward to … Continue reading White Chocolate Coconut “Tom Cruise” Cake
Baking
Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
There are many resources to learn to bake gluten free. There are many others to learn to bake sugar free. However, there are very few (read: none that I've found so far) that combine the two restrictions. Both gluten free flours and sugar substitutes tend to dry out baked goods more than their traditional counterparts. … Continue reading Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
You’ll Never Believe It’s Gluten (and Sugar) Free: Double Chocolate Mocha Cupcakes
Upon being put on a restricted diet, one of the things I missed the most was chocolate. So once I could tolerate baked goods once again, I set out to find safe but chocolatey treats. I first turned to my new favorite gluten-free baker, deciding to convert her small batch chocolate cake into cupcakes, so … Continue reading You’ll Never Believe It’s Gluten (and Sugar) Free: Double Chocolate Mocha Cupcakes
Hamantaschen
It's almost Purim for our Jewish friends! Purim celebrates one of my favorite Bible stories: Esther. Her bravery resulted in the Hebrew people being liberated from persecution. Perhaps you were born for such a time as this. (Esther 4:14) To commemorate, the Jewish people often make a filled cookie called Hamantaschen, which translates to "ears … Continue reading Hamantaschen
You’ll Never Believe It’s Gluten-Free: Orange Drizzle Cake
Did I lose you on that term, gluten-free? I don't blame you; it's been horribly abused and vilified. A gross percentage of GF treats are bland, claggy, dry, and generally awful. But what if I told you they didn't have to be? Most of our current baking habits, knowledge, and training are based on our … Continue reading You’ll Never Believe It’s Gluten-Free: Orange Drizzle Cake
Dark Chocolate Tart
I decided to make a homemade birthday treat for my mother-in-law this month, and she happens to love dark chocolate. Not just love, but adore! So when I saw this recipe for a proper - yet relatively easy - dark chocolate tart from one of my favorite online bakers, Christina from Scientifically Sweet, I knew … Continue reading Dark Chocolate Tart
Citrus Extract
What do you do when you receive a gorgeous bottle of vodka, but you don't actually drink alcohol? Make extract! When Danielle from Rustic Joyful Food handed me a bottle of her new grapefruit and pomelo flavored Florescence Vodka, I immediately knew what I was going to do with it. I loaded up the entire … Continue reading Citrus Extract
Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies
Have you discovered Joy the Baker yet? She's fantastic, especially for desserts! In her most recent magazine publication, this recipe jumped out at me. With my husband's boisterous affinity for anything apple cinnamon, I knew we had to try them! These taste like an oatmeal cookie and a snickerdoodle had a baby, loaded up with … Continue reading Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies
Thanksgiving Turkey Pie Design
Looking for a way to make a basic pumpkin pie more festive for Thanksgiving? Put a turkey on it! TIMESAVER TIP: You don't even have to make anything from scratch! This works great with refrigerated/frozen pie crust and a premade pie from the freezer section/bakery of your local grocery store. Just make sure, before you … Continue reading Thanksgiving Turkey Pie Design
One Pan Baked Oatmeal with Fruit
I don't know why it took me so long to try baking my oatmeal. I was convinced it took longer than cooking on the stovetop, so why would I try it? And then I tried it. YUM! Perhaps it's just this recipe, this combo, this method, but I am now enthusiastically pro-baked oatmeal! Reason #1: … Continue reading One Pan Baked Oatmeal with Fruit
Mainstay Kitchen & Home 