Author: Mari Vasseur

Creamy Lemon Tarts

Creamy Lemon Tarts

One of the reasons I love baking is because of the joy it brings. In this case it’s joy and sunshine. These vibrant, lemon tarts are pure sunshine. With only four ingredients, they’re so easy to make that you’ll be surprised at how silky and delicious they are.

Print Recipe
 Creamy Lemon Tarts
Course Dessert
Keyword lemon, tarts
Servings
tarts
Ingredients
Course Dessert
Keyword lemon, tarts
Servings
tarts
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Place six 4-inch tart pans with removable bottoms* on a baking sheet.
  2. In a medium bowl, mix crushed cookies with melted butter until well combined.
  3. Press crumb mixture firmly into tart pans with the back of a spoon or the bottom of a small cup. It's important to press firmly, especially on the sides.
  4. Bake tart shells for 8 minutes. Let cool completely.
  5. In a medium bowl, stir mascarpone cheese with a spatula until smooth. Fold in lemon curd until well combined.
  6. Fill cooled tart shells with mascarpone mixture. Refrigerate tarts until set, about 2 hours.
  7. Carefully remove tarts from tart pans. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream if desired.
Recipe Notes

To find 4-inch tart pans, click here.

Blueberry Ripple Scones

Blueberry Ripple Scones

Once there was a blueberry scone. She was good and reliable. One day she felt bored and tired of her soggy blueberries. She thought about her friend, the other blueberry scone. The one with the dried blueberries. The shriveled up blueberries reminded her of raisin bran. “It’s time for a change,” she thought. So she grabbed her friend, and they headed over to Brownie Mischief for a makeover.

That’s how Blueberry Ripple Scones were born, at least in my imagination. These scones are the new and improved, elevated version of blueberry scones. They have a ribbon of sweet blueberry compote swirling through the tender vanilla dough, making them look beautiful and taste delicious. Although the blueberry compote is quick to make, it requires a little more effort than simply folding blueberries into the dough. But it’s definitely worth it. I like to make my compote the night before, then it’s ready to go when I make my scones in the morning.

Print Recipe
 Blueberry Ripple Scones
Vanilla scones with ribbons of sweet blueberry compote and crunchy sugar topping
Course Breakfast, Brunch
Keyword blueberry, scones
Servings
scones
Ingredients
Scones
Blueberry Compote
Course Breakfast, Brunch
Keyword blueberry, scones
Servings
scones
Ingredients
Scones
Blueberry Compote
Instructions
Scones
  1. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
  3. Work the butter into the flour with your fingertips or with a pastry blender, until pea size pieces form.
  4. In a small bowl whisk together the heavy cream, sour cream and vanilla.
  5. Stir the cream mixture into flour mixture until a shaggy dough is formed.
  6. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Pat the dough into an oval. Spoon dollops of blueberry compote onto the dough. Fold the dough over onto itself 3 times.
  7. Form the dough into a 1-inch thick round, about 6 1/2-inches in diameter. Cut the dough into 8 wedges.
  8. Place the scones 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Chill the scones in refrigerator for 20 minutes.
  9. Heat your oven to 375ºF. Brush the tops of scones with heavy cream. Sprinkle with coarse sugar.
  10. Bake until the edges look golden brown, about 18-22 minutes.
Blueberry Compote
  1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, cook the blueberries, sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice, stirring until the sugar is dissolved and the blueberries start to release their juices.
  2. Turn the heat down to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thick and jammy, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool completely. Cover and store in refrigerator until ready to use.
Recipe Notes

*To find coarse sugar, click here.

To find purple coarse sugar, click here.

Glazed Lemon Muffins

Glazed Lemon Muffins

However your day is going today, it’s about to get better. I can confidently say these lemon muffins are some of the best you will ever taste. Follow the recipe exactly, weigh your ingredients and you’ll be enjoying these soft, tender muffins in no time.

These delightful muffins are perfect for breakfast, brunch or an anytime snack. I love enjoying one with a cup of strawberry or chamomile tea.

Print Recipe
 Glazed Lemon Muffins
Soft, tender lemon muffins glazed with lemon icing
Course Breakfast, Brunch
Keyword lemon, muffins
Servings
muffins
Ingredients
Muffins
Icing
Course Breakfast, Brunch
Keyword lemon, muffins
Servings
muffins
Ingredients
Muffins
Icing
Instructions
Muffins
  1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Line a 12-serving muffin pan with tulip baking liners.* (You can also use standard muffin liners. They hold less batter so you may end up with a couple of extra muffins.)
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
  3. In a large bowl, cream the butter, sugar and lemon zest, with an electric mixer, until light and fluffy.
  4. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until well combined.
  5. Add extracts and beat until combined.
  6. On low speed, mix in flour mixture in two additions, alternating with half of sour cream after each addition. Mix just until combined. Batter will be thick.
  7. Divide batter evenly into muffin liners. (If using standard muffin liners, fill 3/4 full.)
  8. Bake at 375ºF for 5 minutes. Turn the oven heat down to 350ºF and continue baking the muffins until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean, about 12-16 more minutes. Do not over bake.
  9. Transfer muffins to a cooling rack to cool completely. Brush icing onto muffin tops with a small pastry brush.
Icing
  1. Whisk the powdered sugar, melted butter, and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice together until smooth. Add additional lemon juice until your desired consistency is reached.
Recipe Notes

*To find  tulip muffin liners, click here.

To find floral tulip muffin liners, click here.

Roasted Tomato Mac & Cheese


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Roasted Tomato Mac & Cheese

Cheesy, comforting mac and cheese with roasted tomatoes, bacon and fresh herbs. Serves two as a main dish or three as a side dish.

Course Dinner, Main Dish
Keyword mac & cheese, pasta

Servings
Servings


Ingredients

Course Dinner, Main Dish
Keyword mac & cheese, pasta

Servings
Servings


Ingredients


Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400ºF. Place tomatoes on a baking sheet. Gently toss with a drizzle of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

  2. Roast until tomatoes are blistered, about 15-25 minutes, depending on the size of your tomatoes.

  3. Turn oven down to 350ºF. Cook and drain pasta according to package directions.

  4. Set aside 1/4 cup of each of the cheeses for the top.

  5. In a small bowl, whisk milk and heavy cream together.

  6. In a 2-quart oven safe pot, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute.

  7. Slowly whisk in milk and cream. Heat until thickened, whisking out any lumps. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (I used 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.)

  8. Remove from heat. Gradually stir in 3/4 cup each cheddar and Gruyere cheeses. Taste sauce and season with more salt or pepper if necessary.

  9. Fold in cooked pasta, roasted tomatoes, bacon, 1 teaspoon parsley and 1 teaspoon chives. Top with remaining cheese.

  10. Bake in top third of the oven, just until cheese is melted, about 7-10 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining parsley and chives.

Pink Velvet Cookies

Pink Velvet Cookies

Whenever I walk into a bakery, my eyes are always drawn to anything pink. Pink cupcakes, cookies, donuts or anything with pink icing will inevitably come home with me. This probably started in childhood. Most bakeries back then, including the bakery my aunt always took me to, had pink boxes, so I associate it with delicious, freshly baked treats. Maybe pink desserts do taste better or maybe our minds just tell us that. Either way, if you love pink treats, you’ll love these cookies.

Pink velvet is similar to red velvet, but without the cocoa powder and red food color. The texture should be somewhat velvety, like red velvet cake. I have yet to taste a velvety red velvet cookie, but I think the texture of these cookies is pretty velvety as long as they’re not over baked. Pink velvet desserts are typically vanilla flavored. I upgraded the flavor by adding a touch of cherry flavoring. It’s not enough to give you cherry flavored cookies, but it will add depth to vanilla flavored treats. It’s an old bakery trick that I learned years ago that adds a fruity note in the background.

For best baking results, I recommend using a scale to weigh your ingredients, especially your dry ingredients. If you love baking, you should invest in a food scale if you don’t already have one.

To watch the Pink Velvet Cookies TikTok video, click here. To watch the Pink Velvet Cookies Instagram video, click here.

Print Recipe
 Pink Velvet Cookies
Pink vanilla flavored crinkle cookies with chewy exteriors and soft, velvety centers
Course Dessert
Keyword cookies, pink velvet
Servings
cookies
Ingredients
Optional
Course Dessert
Keyword cookies, pink velvet
Servings
cookies
Ingredients
Optional
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt.
  3. In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar and oil until light and fluffy.
  4. Beat egg whites into butter mixture in two addition, until well combined.
  5. Beat in extracts until well combined.
  6. Add gel food color, a little at a time with a toothpick, until desired shade of pink is reached. (Adding remaining ingredients will lighten the color slightly.) Beat until evenly distributed.
  7. Add flour mixture to batter and beat just until combined. Mix in white chocolate chips if using.
  8. Roll dough into balls, about 2 tablespoons each. I used a #30 portion scoop.*** Roll dough very generously in powdered sugar. Place two inches apart onto prepared cookie sheets.
  9. Bake until cookies are puffed and tops are set, about 11-13 minutes. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack.
Recipe Notes

*The cherry flavoring in this recipe is not intended to make a cherry flavored cookie. The addition of cherry flavoring adds a subtle fruity note. You can also use pure cherry extract. Use a bit less (scant 1/2 teaspoon)  because extracts tend to be stronger than flavorings. DO NOT use imitation cherry extract. It has a medicinal flavor that will disappoint you. If you want your cookies to be cherry or strawberry flavor, reduce vanilla extract to 1/2 teaspoon and  use 1- 1 1/2 teaspoons of natural cherry or strawberry flavoring.

**To find the pink gel food color I used, click here.

***To find the portion scoop I used, click here.

This recipe was updated on 2/14/23.

Little Strawberry Heart Cake

A cute little, stress-free, perfectly pink heart cake is my gift to you for Valentine’s Day. The vanilla cake is soft and fluffy. The frosting is super easy and delicious, with only two ingredients. It all comes together with fresh strawberries and it’s so good, you won’t want to share.

Print Recipe
 Little Strawberry Heart Cake
A six inch heart shaped vanilla cake with fresh strawberries and two-ingredient frosting
Course Dessert
Keyword cake, strawberry
Servings
Ingredients
Optional Decor
Course Dessert
Keyword cake, strawberry
Servings
Ingredients
Optional Decor
Instructions
  1. In a small bowl, combine strawberries and 2 teaspoons sugar. Set aside to macerate for about 30 minutes.
  2. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line the bottom of a 6-inch heart shaped cake pan*** with parchment paper. Grease and flour the sides.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
  4. In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar and oil with an electric mixer, until light and fluffy.
  5. Beat in egg and vanilla in two separate additions until well combined.
  6. In a small bowl, whisk together milk and sour cream.
  7. Beat flour mixture into batter in two additions, alternating with milk mixture.
  8. Transfer batter to prepared cake pan. Bake until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes. Let cake cool in pan 10 minutes then turn out onto a cooling rack to cool.
  9. In a large bowl, stir cream cheese with a spatula to smooth out lumps.
  10. Add marshmallow fluff and beat until well combined. Add food gel color with a toothpick and beat until evenly distributed.
  11. Split cake into two layers. Top the bottom layer with frosting. Drain strawberries and spoon onto cake. Top with second layer, then more frosting.
Optional Decor
  1. To make sugared strawberries, mix 1 part meringue powder with 3 parts water. Dip strawberries in meringue mixture, cover with sugar, then let dry. Alternately you can dip the strawberries in pasteurized egg whites, cover with sugar, then let dry.
Recipe Notes

*To find the gel food color I used, click here.

**To find meringue powder, click here.

***To find the heart cake pan I used, click here.

 

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies

These cute kitties were created as a special request by someone who grew up playing with Webkinz. Do you remember the Strawberry Cloud Leopard? It was a cute pink Webkinz plushie. The cookies are made of tender, buttery shortbread dough. They get their natural color and flavor from freeze dried strawberries. Mini chocolate chips are added to make the adorable leopard spots. I originally made this cookie dough into hearts for Valentine’s Day but it’s perfect for the Strawberry Cloud Leopards!

To watch the Strawberry Cloud Leopard Shortbread Cookies Instagram video, click here.

Print Recipe
 Strawberry Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies
Tender strawberry shortbread cookies dotted with mini chocolate chips
Course Dessert
Keyword cookies, strawberry chocolate chip
Servings
4-inch tall cookies
Ingredients
Course Dessert
Keyword cookies, strawberry chocolate chip
Servings
4-inch tall cookies
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Pulverize freeze dried strawberries to a powder with a small food processor or a clean spice grinder. Pass through a sieve to strain out seeds.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, powdered sugar and salt together.
  3. In a large bowl, beat butter until light and fluffy. Add freeze dried strawberry powder and vanilla extract. Beat until well combined.
  4. Add flour mixture and beat just until dough comes together. Fold in mini chocolate chips.
  5. Divide dough into two portions and form into disks. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
  6. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Alternately, you can roll dough between two sheets of parchment paper. Cut cookies into desired shapes. I used a 4-inch cat cookie cutter.**
  7. Place cookies about 2-inches apart onto prepared cookie sheets. To prevent excessive spreading, refrigerate cut cookies for 30 minutes prior to baking, especially if your dough becomes warm as you work with it.
  8. Preheat oven to 325ºF. Bake until cookies are slightly puffed and edges barely start to turn light golden brown, about 12-14 minutes. (Smaller cookies will need a shorter baking time.) Let cookies cool on cookie sheet for 3 minutes then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely. Decorate as desired.
Recipe Notes

To find a cat cookie cutter, click here.

Strawberry Sweetheart Brownies

Strawberry Sweetheart Brownies

At the Brownie Mischief website, all types of brownies are welcome. We all know and love chocolate brownies. But there are other less common brownies in the universe, that deserve to shine too. Let me introduce you to Strawberry Sweetheart Brownies. These lovely pink creations aren’t strawberry cake or strawberry blondies. They contain white chocolate and they’re made with the same baking method as brownies. When you bake chocolate brownies, you want to be careful not to over bake them, to achieve the rich, fudgy texture. The same is true for these strawberry brownies. When you test for doneness, the toothpick should have a few moist crumbs attached to it. If the toothpick is clean, the brownies have baked too long and will likely be a little dry and cakey, although still edible. So make sure to test for doneness well before the end of the baking time!

The baking temperature for this recipe is 325ºF. I noticed that when baking in a heart shaped cake pan, things tend to bake unevenly because of the shape. So I used a lower temperature to help with even baking. If you don’t have an 8-inch heart shaped cake pan, you can also use an 8-inch round cake pan. To find the cake pan I used, click here.

Strawberry Sweetheart Brownies

To watch the Strawberry Sweetheart Brownies Instagram video, click here.

Print Recipe
 Strawberry Sweetheart Brownies
A heart shaped strawberry brownie made with fresh strawberries topped with strawberry icing.
Course Dessert
Keyword brownies, strawberry
Servings
Ingredients
Strawberry Brownies
Strawberry Icing
Course Dessert
Keyword brownies, strawberry
Servings
Ingredients
Strawberry Brownies
Strawberry Icing
Instructions
Strawberry Brownies
  1. Preheat oven to 325ºF. Line the bottom of an 8-inch heart shaped cake pan*** with parchment paper. Spray the insides with nonstick spray.
  2. In a large heat safe bowl, melt butter and white chocolate together on the stovetop over a pan of barely simmering water or in the microwave for 20 seconds at time, stirring at each interval. White chocolate overheats easily, so be vigilant.
  3. Add the sugar and salt to the butter mixture and mix until well combined.
  4. Add egg and egg yolks. Whisk until smooth.
  5. Pass strawberry purée through a sieve to remove seeds. Set aside 2 tablespoons of strawberry purée for icing. Add remaining purée to batter. Mix until well combined.
  6. Add extracts and food color. Mix until combined.
  7. Stir in flour until combined, scraping bowl as needed.
  8. Transfer batter to prepared pan. Bake until toothpick inserted in center has a few moist crumbs on it, (not batter), about 25-30 minutes. Do not over bake. Let cool in pan. Remove from pan and top with strawberry icing.
Strawberry Icing
  1. Whisk all icing ingredients together until smooth and well combined.
Recipe Notes

*To make strawberry purée:   Purée clean, hulled and quartered strawberries in a blender or food processor. **To find the food color I used, click here. **To find the heart cake pan I used, click here.

This recipe was updated on January 24th, 2023

Luxury Hot Chocolate


Print Recipe


Luxury Hot Chocolate

Course Brunch, Dessert
Keyword drinks, hot chocolate

Servings
serving


Ingredients

Course Brunch, Dessert
Keyword drinks, hot chocolate

Servings
serving


Ingredients


Instructions
  1. In a small saucepan, heat milk and cream over medium-low heat just until bubbles form around the edges. Do not boil.

  2. Turn heat off. Whisk in honey and vanilla bean paste.

  3. Add chocolate and stir gently until chocolate is melted. Strain hot chocolate through a sieve into a teacup or mug.


Recipe Notes

For a dairy free version, replace the milk and cream with unsweetened almond milk. Replace the chocolate with vegan chocolate.

Cinnamon Crumble Scones

The weeks following the winter holidays always feel peaceful to me. The rush is over and it’s time to catch my breath and rest. When it’s chilly and raining outside, I love spending time at home curled up in my coziest fluffy pajama bottoms and fuzzy socks. Give me a blanket, 75 pillows, a warm cup of tea and these Cinnamon Crumble Scones for ultimate coziness!

The crumb topping on these scones will remind you of a cinnamon crumb cake, which makes them extra nostalgic and comforting. The technique of folding the dough over itself gives them a flaky layered texture. For the tenderest scones, make sure not to over work your dough.

To watch Instagram reel, click here. To watch extended TikTok video showing baking process, click here.

Print Recipe
 Cinnamon Crumble Scones
Course Breakfast, Brunch
Keyword cinnamon, scones
Servings
scones
Ingredients
Crumb Topping
Cinnamon Filling
Scones
Icing
Course Breakfast, Brunch
Keyword cinnamon, scones
Servings
scones
Ingredients
Crumb Topping
Cinnamon Filling
Scones
Icing
Instructions
Crumb Topping
  1. In a medium bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, sugar cinnamon and salt.
  2. Work in butter with your fingertips until it looks like wet sand. Press together to make dime size chunks.
  3. Set aside in refrigerator until ready to use.
Cinnamon Filling
  1. In a small bowl, mix filling ingredients together until well combined.
Scones
  1. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
  3. Work butter into flour mixture with your fingertips or with a pastry blender until pea sized pieces are formed.
  4. In a small bowl, whisk together heavy cream, sour cream and vanilla extract.
  5. Stir cream mixture into flour mixture a little at a time until dough comes together. If your dough is too dry add 1-2 more teaspoons of heavy cream.
  6. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Fold dough over onto itself a couple of times.
  7. Pat dough into an approximately 9 x 5-inch oval. Spread cinnamon filling on half of the dough to within 1/2-inch from the edges. Fold dough in half bringing short ends together. Press edges to seal.
  8. Shape dough into a 7-inch round, about 3/4-inch thickness. Cut into 8 wedges. (Or 6 wedges if you prefer larger scones.)
  9. Pinch the pointed tip of the wedges and tuck under to seal. This helps to prevent the top layer from sliding off while baking. Place wedges about 2-inches apart onto prepared baking sheet.
  10. Brush tops of scones with heavy cream. Top with crumb topping. Bake until light golden brown, about 18-22 minutes.
  11. Transfer scones to a cooling rack to cool. Drizzle with icing.
Icing
  1. In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, butter, 1 tablespoon of milk and vanilla. Add additional milk until desired consistency is reached.

Raspberry Truffle Brownies

Raspberry Truffle Brownies

Who else loves those heart shaped boxes of chocolates we see at Valentine’s Day? That adventurous first bite of chocolate, when you don’t know which flavor you’re getting, is so much fun! I adore the fruit ganache filled chocolate bon bons. If you love bon bons too, you’ll love these brownies. They’re rich, fudgy and topped with a silky raspberry ganache that makes you feel like you’re biting into a raspberry truffle. The ganache adds an elegant touch to these brownies, so dried rose buds, rose petals and crispy chocolate pearls were my toppings of choice.

This isn’t the first time I’ve created elegant brownies. I displayed beautifully decorated brownies at two previous cookie conventions and they were well received. Elevated brownies are unexpected, but they’re definitely appreciated!

To watch the Raspberry Truffle Brownie Instagram video, click here.

Print Recipe
 Raspberry Truffle Brownies
Course Dessert
Keyword brownies, raspberry truffle
Servings
Ingredients
Course Dessert
Keyword brownies, raspberry truffle
Servings
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 325ºF (165ºC). Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a couple of inches of overhang.
  2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder and salt.
  3. In a large heat safe bowl set over a pot of barely simmering water, melt the butter and chocolate together, stirring occasionally, until smooth.
  4. Beat the sugar into butter and chocolate mixture until well combined.
  5. Add the eggs, egg yolk and vanilla to the chocolate mixture and whisk until smooth.
  6. Fold in the flour mixture until combined.
  7. Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs on it, about 25-30 minutes. Do not over bake. Let cool completely.
  8. Place the white chocolate in a medium bowl.
  9. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, simmer raspberry purée until reduced by half. Combine heavy cream with the reduced purée in saucepan. Heat until bubbles start to form around the edges. Do not boil.
  10. Pour the hot cream mixture over the white chocolate, making sure its completely submerged, and let stand 5 minutes. Stir until smooth and well combined. Spread over the cooled brownies.
Recipe Notes

To find dried rosebuds, click here.

To find dried rose petals, click here.

 

Chocolate Gingerbread

Chocolate Gingerbread

Chocolate gingerbread is gingerbread’s elegant sister. It has the warm spices we love in gingerbread combined with the earthy depth of chocolate. Topping this rich, tender loaf with silky cream cheese frosting is the best possible choice to take it over the top. It’s a lovely loaf to enjoy during the holiday season and beyond. Enjoy it with a hot drink for a cozy, comforting winter treat.

Make sure to check out my method for making sugared cranberries below. No raw eggs required!

Print Recipe
 Chocolate Gingerbread
Course Dessert
Keyword cake, chocolate gingerbread
Servings
loaf
Ingredients
Chocolate Gingerbread
Cream Cheese Frosting
Course Dessert
Keyword cake, chocolate gingerbread
Servings
loaf
Ingredients
Chocolate Gingerbread
Cream Cheese Frosting
Instructions
Chocolate Gingerbread
  1. Preheat oven go 350ºF (180ºC). Line the bottom of a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Grease the insides and dust with a mixture of equal parts flour and cocoa powder.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, ginger, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cloves.
  3. In a large bowl, beat the brown sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla together until smooth.
  4. In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream and milk.
  5. Add flour the mixture to the batter in two additions, alternating with the milk mixture, beating just until combined.
  6. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 38-45 minutes.
  7. Cool the loaf in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn the loaf out onto a cooling rack to cool completely. Frost with cream cheese frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
  1. In a medium bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese together until smooth.
  2. Add the powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of milk, the vanilla and salt. Beat until smooth. Add additional milk, if needed, until your desired consistency is reached.
Recipe Notes

To make sugared cranberries and rosemary for garnish:  Mix 1 teaspoon of meringue powder* with 1 tablespoon of water. Place 1 cup of fresh cranberries in a bowl and coat them in the meringue powder mixture. Drain any excess liquid then coat the cranberries with granulated sugar.  Place them on a parchment lined baking sheet to dry at room temperature for at least 1 hour. Use the same method for sprigs of rosemary.

*To find meringue powder, click here.