Ingredient: all purpose flour, sifted

Lavender White Chocolate Scones

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
Lavender white chocolate scone
Click here to watch the video of Lavender White Chocolate Scones

These lovely Lavender White Chocolate Scones are soft and tender on the inside with crisp golden exteriors. The pretty, lilac coarse sugar gives them a subtle crunch. The sweet, melted white chocolate is the perfect contrast to the fragrant, earthy notes from the lavender.

Now, let’s talk a little bit about lavender. I used one teaspoon of lavender in these scones, which I think is the perfect amount to give a hint of lavender, without tasting too floral. You can adjust the amount to your preference. Just taste the cream before adding it to the scones. You can use any culinary lavender in this recipe. English lavender is usually used for culinary purposes. Spanish and French varieties tend to be too strong. People are enchanted by lavender because of its beauty and soothing scent. A little touch of lavender makes these scones magical.


 

Lavender White Chocolate Scones

by Mari Vasseur
Tender, soft heart-shaped scones with crisp, golden edges topped with coarse sugar
Print Recipe
Course Breakfast, Brunch
Servings 9 scones

Ingredients
  

  • ¾ cup (177ml) heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon culinary lavender *
  • 1 ¾ cups (223g) all purpose flour, sifted
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 7 tablespoons (99g) cold, unsalted butter, cubed
  • ¼ cup (57g) cold sour cream
  • 1 cup (170g) white chocolate chunks or chips (not chopped white chocolate)
  • Lavender or lilac coarse sparkling sugar**

Instructions
 

  • In a small saucepan, heat the heavy cream and lavender over medium heat, just until bubbles form around the edges. Turn the heat to low and simmer gently for 1 minute. Strain the lavender cream into a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.
  • Heat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt until well blended. Work the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips or with a pastry blender until pea size chunks form.
  • Whisk together 1/2 cup (118ml) of the chilled lavender cream with the sour cream. Stir this mixture into the flour mixture until a shaggy dough is formed. If your dough seems too dry, add 1-2 more teaspoons of heavy cream. Fold in the white chocolate chunks.
  • Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Fold the dough over onto itself a couple of times. Do not overwork the dough! Pat or roll the dough into an 8-inch round, about 3/4 inch thick. I used 2 3/4-inch heart biscuit cutter*** to cut out 9 scones.
  • Place the scones about 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheet. Brush the scones with the remaining cream. Sprinkle with sparkling sugar. Bake until golden, about 15-17 minutes.

Notes

*To find culinary lavender click here
** To find the sparkling sugar I used click here
***To find the heart shape biscuit cutter I used click here
Keyword lavender white chocolate, scones

The Nutcracker Land of Sweets Cupcakes

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
Nutcracker Land of Sweets Cupcakes

The tradition of enjoying the Nutcracker Ballet at Christmastime has been in my family for over 20 years. The Nutcracker Land of Sweets is a magical theme that has me mesmerized. Gingerbread, candy canes, gumdrops and billowy clouds of pink frosting are what dreams are made of. And that’s exactly what these dreamy cupcakes are made of. The cupcake flavor is a subtle spice cake. The recipe is adapted from a Martha Stewart cake recipe I made last summer. The original cake was paired with blackberry jam, but I knew plum jam would be perfect for these cupcakes. I topped them with a mildly sweet, fluffy Swiss meringue buttercream.

Part of the fun of making these cupcakes began at the store as I collected the sweets to decorate the cupcakes. Another perk of the job is taste testing the candy. I discovered that purple spice drops are licorice flavored and red spice drops are cinnamon. Who knew?

You might also like my Nutcracker Land of Sweets inspired candy bark. It’s a delightful holiday bark I designed that is often imitated. To view it, click here.

The Nutcracker Land of Sweets Cupcakes

Spice cupcakes filled with plum jam, topped with fluffy pink frosting, gingerbread men and Christmas candy, and dusted with sugar snow
Print Recipe
Course Dessert
Servings 12 cupcakes

Ingredients
  

Spice cupcakes

  • ¾ cups (3 1/4 ounces) all purpose flour, sifted
  • ¾ cups (3 ounces) cake flour, sifted
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • small pinch ground cloves
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ½ cup (4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
  • ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons (6 1/8 ounces) fine granulated sugar or regular granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 large egg white
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract
  • â…” cup whole milk
  • ¾ cup plum jam I used red plum jam

Pink Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream

  • 4 large egg whites
  • 1 â…“ cups (9 3/8 ounces) fine granulated sugar or regular granulated sugar
  • 1 ½ cups (12 ounces) softened, unsalted butter, cubed
  • 1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract or pure vanilla etract
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 2 drops pink gel food color I used Americolor deep pink

Decorations

  • small gingerbread cookies
  • mini candy canes
  • assorted candies such as spice drops, gumdrops, peppermints,
  • sprinkles or sugar pearls
  • powdered sugar

Instructions
 

Spice Cupcakes

  • Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a 12 serving muffin pan with disposable baking cups. (I used silver foil liners.)
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, spices and salt. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
  • Add egg, egg white, and vanilla, one at a time, mixing until well combined.
  • Add flour mixture in two additions, alternating with milk. Mix until combined.
  • Divide batter evenly into wells of prepared muffin pan, filling about 2/3 full.
  • Bake until light golden and toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 16-18 minutes.
  • Let cool in muffin pan for 5 minutes. Gently transfer cupcakes to cooling rack to cool completely.
  • Core the center of each cupcake, removing a 3/4-inch deep circle. Fill with jam and replace the circle top.
  • Frost cupcakes with pink Swiss meringue buttercream. Decorate with cookies and candies. Lightly sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Pink Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercreamgue Buttercream

  • Combine egg whites and sugar in a heatproof bowl. Set over a pan of gently simmering water.
  • Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and temperature of 160ºF is reached.
  • Transfer mixture to the bowl of a stand mixture with a whisk attachment. Whisk on low speed, gradually increasing to medium-high speed. Whisk until glossy, stiff peaks form and mixture reaches room temperature.
  • Turn mixer to medium-low speed. Add butter, a few pieces at a time, allowing the butter to fully incorporate each time before adding more.
  • Switch to paddle attachment. On low speed, mix in vanilla, salt and food color. Continue mixing on low speed for a few minutes until smooth.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart Spice Cake
Keyword cupcakes

Apple Spice Cookies with Brown Butter Icing

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
Apple Spice Cookies with Brown Butter Icing

These Apple Spice Cookies were one of my most popular cookies last fall so I decided to bring them back a little early this year. The combination of cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla in this cookie dough will remind you of cinnamon rolls and apple pie and inspire you look forward to fall.

The apples in this recipe are cooked briefly on the stovetop to bring out the flavor and create the perfect texture. Dropping raw apple chunks into cookie dough or cake batter is usually not a good idea. If you’ve ever baked an apple pie, you know that apples release liquid as they cook and that liquid will end up in your baked cookies, creating soggy spots. So definitely don’t skip this step!

These gorgeous, golden brown cookies are perfectly delicious on their own, but extra credit goes to the Brown Butter Icing for taking them over the top!

apple spice cookies with brown butter icing

Make sure to head over to Instagram to watch the video of these Apple Spice Cookies being created: Click here

Apple Spice Cookies with Brown Butter Icing

Spice cookies with fresh apples and brown butter icing
Print Recipe
Course Dessert
Servings 12 cookies

Ingredients
  

Cooked Apples

  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 cup (4 oz or 113g) chopped apples (1/4-inch pieces) I used one large Granny Smith apple
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Apple Spice Cookie Dough

  • 1 ½ cups (6 3/4 oz or 191g) all purpose flour, sifted
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ½ cup (4 oz 113g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup (7 oz or 200g) packed brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • ½ teaspooon pure vanilla extract

Brown Butter Icing

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • ½ cup (2 oz or 57g) powdered sugar, sifted
  • ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • pinch fine sea salt
  • 1-2 tablespoons whole milk

Instructions
 

Cooked Apples

  • Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add apples, sugar and cinnamon to the skillet.
  • Cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples are tender, about 4-5 minutes.
  • Remove from heat and let cool completely. Drain any excess liquid from the cooled apples.

Apple Spice Cookies

  • Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy.
  • Beat in the egg, egg yolk and vanilla extract, one at a time, until well combined
  • Stir in the flour mixture, just until combined.
  • Fold the the cooled apples into the cookie dough.
  • Divide the dough into 12 equal golf ball size portions and place them 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
  • Bake until golden brown, about 11-13 minutes. Let cool 1 minute on the baking sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Brown Butter Icing

  • In a small saucepan, cook the butter over medium heat until golden brown and fragrant. When brown specks start to form in the bottom of the pan, remove from heat.
  • Immediately transfer the browned butter to a small bowl. Whisk in the the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, salt and 1 tablespoon milk. Add more milk as needed to reach desired consistency.
  • Drizzle the icing over the cooled cookies.

Notes

NOTE:  If your cookies spread too much when baking, refrigerate dough for 30 minutes, then bake as directed.
Keyword cookies, holiday, thanksgiving

Pumpkin Spice Muffins with Caramel Filling

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
pumpkin spices mini loaves with caramel filling

In early September, I saw someone announce the fall season on social media. In addition to people pointing out that it was too early for the announcement, the word police corrected the person with the word autumn. Since both terms are correct, we can call the season whatever we prefer. I think autumn is a pleasant sounding word, so I’ll use it for the rest of this post. Whatever you call it, these Pumpkin Spice Muffins are a perfect little celebration of the season. They have just the right amount of warm spices, making them so fragrant that your kitchen will smell like cozy autumn heaven.

pumpkin spices mini loaves with caramel filling

I originally made them in mini loaf pans, but I thought they would be cute as muffins too. They’re so cute and delicious that I often give them as holiday gifts. This year I decided to try them in ramekins and I loved the results! I used 6-ounce ramekins, but you can use 8-ounce ramekins, any size mini loaf pans, a muffin pan or even an 8 or 9-inch loaf pan. Keep in mind that baking times will differ. To find the ramekins I used, click here.

Pumpkin Spice Muffins with Caramel Filling

by Mari Vasseur
Tender pumpkin spice muffins with caramel filling and luscious cream cheese frosting
Print Recipe
Course Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert
Servings 7 muffins

Ingredients
  

Pumpkin Spice Mini Loaves

  • 1 ½ cups (191g) all purpose flour, sifted
  • 1 ¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
  • â…› teaspoon ground nutmeg preferably freshly ground
  • 1 pinch ground cloves
  • ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup (200g) brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup (225g) pure pumpkin purée
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • â…“ cup (100g) caramel sauce, purchased or homemade
  • ¼ cup (28g) roasted, salted shelled pumpkin seeds

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 3 ounces (85g) cream cheese, softened
  • 6 tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, softened
  • ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 pinch fine sea salt
  • 2 cups (240g) powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1-2 teaspoons heavy cream, room temperature

Instructions
 

Pumpkin Spice Mini Loaves

  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Grease and flour seven 6-ounce ramekins or six 8-ounce ramekins or any mini loaf pans of your choice.
  • In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, nutmeg and cloves until well blended.
  • In a separate large bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar together, with an electric mixer at medium speed, until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until incorporated. Beat in the pumpkin purée and vanilla extract until well blended. Stir in the flour mixture just until combined.
  • Divide the batter evenly into the prepared ramekins. Bake for 15-25 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Do not overbake.
  • Cool completely if serving in ramekins or remove from pans after cooling for 10 minutes. Continue to cool on wire rack.
  • Make 3/4-inch wells in the center of each muffin. Fill with caramel sauce. (For loaves, poke multiple holes with a skewer. Fill with caramel sauce.) Top with cream cheese frosting and pumpkin seeds

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together, with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth and well blended. Do not over beat.
  • Add the vanilla extract and salt and beat until combined. On low speed, gradually beat in the powdered sugar incorporated. Add the heavy cream and continue beating at low speed smooth. Remove any bubbles by gently stirring with a spatula.
Keyword muffins, pumpkin, pumpkin spice

Peaches & Cream Scones with Caramel Icing

Posted on by Mari Vasseur

Peaches & Cream Scones with Caramel Icing

Tender scones with fresh peaches, topped with a quick caramel icing
Print Recipe
Course Breakfast, Brunch
Servings 8

Ingredients
  

Scones

  • 1 ¾ cups (7 7/8 oz or 223g) all purpose flour, sifted
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 7 tablespoons (3 1/2 oz or 100g) cold, unsalted butter, cubed
  • ½ cup (4 oz or (118 ml) cold sour cream
  • ¼ cup (2 oz or 59ml) cold heavy cream Plus more for tops
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup (about 7 oz or 200g) chopped fresh peaches, patted dry Peaches should be ripe but still firm, not over ripe.
  • egg wash (optional) 1 egg whisked with 1 tablespoon of water

Icing

  • ¼ cup (2 oz or 57g) salted butter
  • ½ cup (3 1/2 oz or 100g) packed brown sugar
  • â…“ cup (2 5/8 oz or 78 ml) heavy cream

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
  • Work the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or with your fingertips until pea size pieces form.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the sour cream, heavy cream and vanilla.
  • Mix the sour cream mixture into the flour mixture until a shaggy dough forms. Fold in the peaches.
  • Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Press the dough together and fold it over onto itself a couple of times.
  • Pat or roll dough into a 7-inch round. Cut dough into 8 wedges. Transfer to the prepared baking pan. Brush the scones lightly with egg wash or heavy cream.
  • Bake until golden brown, about 18-22 minutes. Transfer the scones to a cooling rack.

Caramel Icing

  • Melt the butter a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the brown sugar until smooth, about 2 minutes.
  • Whisk in the heavy cream and heat until bubbly. Remove from heat. Set aside to cool slightly. Drizzle or spoon the icing over the cooled scones.
Keyword peach, scones

Fairy Puffs

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
Fairy Puffs sugared mini muffins wtih edible flowers

My dad used to take me on walks in the woods to look for fairy rings when I was a child. I wanted to see a real fairy so badly! I read a book about fairies, hoping to learn more about them. Fairies love little cakes, milk, honey and butter so I’m sure these Fairy Puffs would be fairy approved.

My Fairy Puffs recipe is loosely based on an old favorite mini muffin recipe. I tweaked it quite a bit, including the addition of pink dragonfruit powder. Dragonfruit has a subtle flavor, so the bright fuchsia powder is mostly for color. But oh what a beautiful color it is! You can find dragonfruit powder in healthy food stores or online. To find the dragonfruit powder, also known as pink pitaya powder, I used, click here.

fairy puff muffins

Decorating these little cuties was so entertaining! After sampling multiple variations of sparkling sugar and cinnamon sugar, I decided that dipping the bottoms of the muffins in butter and cinnamon sugar, then dipping the tops in butter and sparkling sugar gave them the perfect balance of sugar and spice. I had purchased some edible flowers a couple of days prior, and they added a pretty, magical touch. The flowers I used are called bachelor’s buttons and I got them at a local gourmet flower seller.

sugared mini muffins with edible flowers

Fairy Puffs

Print Recipe
Course Breakfast, Brunch
Servings 24 mini muffins

Ingredients
  

Fairy Puffs

  • 1 â…“ cups (6 oz or 99g) all purpose flour, sifted
  • 3 tablespoons dragonfruit powder *See note below
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • Scant ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • â…“ cup (2 5/8 oz or 75g) unsalted butter, softened
  • ½ cup (3 1/2 oz or 100g) granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • ½ cup (4 oz or 118ml) whole milk

Topping

  • ½ cup (4 oz or 113g) unsalted butter, melted
  • ½ cup (3 1/2 oz or 100g) granulated sugar
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ cup (3 1/2 oz or 100g) sparkling sugar crystals **I used combinations of white, pink, purple & blue
  • edible flowers (optional)

Instructions
 

Fairy Puffs

  • Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease and flour a 24 serving mini muffin pan.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, dragonfruit powder, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
  • Add egg and beat until smooth.
  • Add flour mixture and milk alternately in two additions and mix just until combined.
  • Transfer batter to prepared muffin pan, filling muffin cups about 3/4 full.
  • Bake until toothpick inserted in center of muffins comes out clean, about 12-14 minutes. (Be careful not to over bake. Check a few minutes early. Small muffins can dry out easily.)
  • Let cool in pan for 5 minutes. Remove puffs from pan and transfer to cooling rack. (Loosen puffs with a small offset spatula or butter knife if necessary.)

Topping

  • Combine granulated sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl.
  • Place colored sparkling sugar crystals in another shallow bowl.
  • Dip the bottoms of each puff in melted butter, then into cinnamon sugar mixture.
  • Dip the tops of each puff in melted butter, then into sparkling sugar.
  • Decorate with edible flowers if desired.

Notes

*To purchase dragonfruit powder, click here.
 **To purchase pink sparkling sugar crystals, click here.
 
Keyword cake, muffins

Raspberry Lemonade Brownies

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
Raspberry Lemonade Brownies by Brownie Mischief

Raspberry Lemonade Brownies are the perfect easy recipe for spring and summer. They’re so pretty and delightfully delicious! The fudgy lemon batter is brightened with fresh lemon zest and raspberries, then topped with a sweet-tart burst of flavor and color from fresh raspberries. The icing contains no food coloring. Just three raspberries will give you that luscious shade of pink!

I want to clarify that lemon brownies are not lemon bars. We all know what a lemon bar is. The one we all know and love has a lemon curd filling on a shortbread crust, possibly drizzled with lemon icing or sprinkled with powdered sugar. The lemon brownie is a whole different animal. Don’t mistake lemon brownies for lemon cake either. Lemon brownies contain white chocolate which gives them a rich, fudgy texture like their chocolate cousins. We may be tempted to call them blondies, but blondies have a butterscotch flavor and typically don’t contain chocolate. Now that we got that straightened out, we can sleep peacefully tonight.

Raspberry Lemonade Brownies

Print Recipe
Course Dessert
Servings 16 bars

Ingredients
  

Raspberry Lemonade Bownies

  • 6 ounces (170g) white chocolate, finely chopped
  • ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, cubed
  • ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • ¼ cup (59ml) fresh lemon juice
  • Zest of two medium lemons
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 ¾ cups (223g) all purpose flour, sifted
  • 1 cup (170g) raspberries plus extra for serving, if desired

Raspberry Lemonade Icing

  • 3 raspberries
  • 1 ¼ cups (142g) powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1 tablespoon (14g) melted butter
  • 2-3 tablespoons (30-45ml) fresh lemon juice

Instructions
 

Raspberry Lemonade Bownies

  • Preheat the oven to 325ºF (165ºC). Line an 8-inch square baking pan* with parchment paper.
  • In a medium microwaveable bowl, melt the white chocolate and butter in the microwave for 20 second bursts, stirring after each one. Alternately, melt the white chocolate and butter on the stovetop in a heat safe bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir gently until smooth.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, egg yolk, lemon juice, zest and salt until smooth and well combined. Stir in the melted white chocolate mixture. Add the flour and mix just until combined. Gently stir in the raspberries.
  • Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan. Bake until the top is set, the edges are light golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs on it, about 23-28 minutes. Let the brownies cool in the pan.

Raspberry Lemonade Icing

  • In a medium-size bowl, smash the raspberries with a fork.
  • Add the powdered sugar, melted butter and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Whisk until smooth, adding more lemon juice as needed. Spread the icing over the cooled brownies.
  • Cut into 2-inch squares and serve with additional raspberries, if desired.

Notes

*To find the 8 x 8 inch pan I used, click here.
 

Mini Hummingbird Cake

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
Mini Hummingbird Cake

If you haven’t noticed already, I love little cakes. Mini cakes are not only cute and charming, they’re likely to make you very popular. This recipe makes two darling Mini Hummingbird Cakes, one to keep and one to share. Hummingbird Cake is a delightful way to use your ripe bananas. The version I’m sharing here also contains pineapple, pecans and coconut. This fruity, nutty combination reminds me of spring and would be perfect for Easter or a spring picnic.

Mini Hummingbird Cake

by Mari Vasseur
Hummingbird Cakes filled with bananas, pineapple, pecans and coconut, topped with cream cheese frosting and decorated with graham cracker crumb moss and fresh chamomile flowers.
Print Recipe
Course Dessert
Servings 2 4-inch 2-layer cakes

Ingredients
  

Hummingbird Cakes

  • 1 ½ cups (191g) all purpose flour, sifted
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, softened
  • ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
  • ½ cup packed (100g) packed brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon (15ml) vegetable oil or neutral oil of your choice
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup (227g) mashed ripe bananas (about 2 large bananas)
  • 1 8 oz (227g) can crushed pineapple, drained
  • ½ cup (60g) chopped pecans, toasted
  • ¼ cup (28g) sweetened dried coconut flakes, chopped* See note below

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 1 cup (227g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 tablespoons (30ml) heavy whipping cream, room temperature, divided
  • 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 4 cups (482g) powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1 8 oz (227g) package cream cheese, softened

Optional Decor

  • Green gel food color I used Americolor avocado green**
  • Yellow gel food cool I used Americolor lemon yellow***
  • Vodka
  • 6 graham crackers (two squares each), crushed
  • Fresh pesticide free chamomile flowers

Instructions
 

Hummingbird Cakes

  • Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line the bottoms of four 4-inch cake pans**** with parchment paper. Grease and flour the insides.
  • In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon until well blended.
  • In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar, brown sugar and oil with an electric mixer, until pale and fluffy. Beat in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract in three separate additions, making sure each one is incorporated before adding the next. Stir in the bananas, pineapple, pecans and coconut until combined.
  • Transfer the batter to prepared cake pans, about 1 cup of batter in each pan. Place the filled cake pans on a baking sheet.
  • Bake until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, about 25-28 minutes. Cool the cakes in pans 10 minutes then turn the cakes out onto a cooling rack.
  • Trim the cakes to 1-inch thickness. Fill, stack and frost the cakes with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • In a large bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer until smooth and pale. Beat 1 tablespoon (15ml)of heavy cream, the vanilla extract and salt into the butter until well combined. On low speed, beat in the powdered sugar a half cup at a time, until well combined.
  • In a medium-sized bowl, mix cream the cheese with remaining 1 tablespoon (15ml) heavy cream, with a spatula until smooth. On low speed, beat the cream cheese mixture into the butter mixture until smooth and well blended. Smooth out any bubbles by stirring by hand with a spatula.

Decor

  • To make the graham cracker crumb moss: In two small bowls, dilute 1/8 teaspoon of each gel food color with a few drops of vodka. (Vodka will dissipate as the crumbs dry.) Place the graham cracker crumbs in a plastic food bag. Add diluted food colors a little at a time and seal the bag. Shake the bag and gently massage it to distribute the color. Add more diluted food color as needed until desired your shade of green is reached. Spread the crumbs out onto a parchment lined baking sheet to dry. Apply the crumbs to bottom edges of the frosted cakes.

Notes

*Chop the coconut flakes to achieve a finer texture. This step is optional.
**To find the avocado green food color gel I used, click here.
***To find the lemon yellow food color gel I used, click here.
****To find the 4-inch cake pans I used, click here.
Keyword cake, hummingbird

Strawberry Shortcake Crumble Muffins

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
strawberrry shortcake crumble muffins

Have you noticed the strawberry shortcake crumble topping trend? I noticed many people sharing various versions of the crumble recipe all over Tiktok. I’ve seen the topping on cake, cupcakes and countless other desserts. Most people seem to make it using strawberry gelatin mix and vanilla pudding mix. The version I’m sharing here uses freeze dried strawberries instead. I’m not opposed to using gelatin mix, I just seriously love the tart, natural flavor of freeze dried strawberries.

This topping is irresistible on these tender strawberry muffins. I wanted to pile on as much crumble topping as possible so I used tulip baking cups. They’re made of grease-proof parchment paper squares. You can buy them online or make them yourself with squares of parchment. You can use the link provided at the end of the recipe to find the ones I used. Keep in mind, if you use standard muffin liners, you’ll use less batter and topping for each muffin, so you’ll end up with a few more muffins.

I used fresh strawberries for the puree in the muffins, but feel free to use frozen, defrosted strawberries if you cant get fresh ones.

Strawberry shortcake crumble muffins

 

Strawberry Shortcake Crumble Muffins

by Mari Vasseur
Strawberry muffins topped with strawberry shortcake crumble
Print Recipe
Course Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert
Servings 12 muffins

Ingredients
  

Strawberry Shortcake Crumble Topping

  • 1 cup (128g) all purpose flour
  • ½ cup (100g) sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup (113g) cold, unsalted butter, cubed
  • 1 cup (14g) freeze-dried strawberries, finely crushed* (weigh or measure before crushing the strawberries)

Strawberry Muffins

  • 2 ¼ cups (287g) all purpose flour, sifted
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 â…› cups (225g) sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon strawberry extract
  • ½ cup (118ml) buttermilk
  • ½ cup (118ml) strawberry purée
  • 1-2 drops pink or red gel food coloring optional

Instructions
 

Strawberry Shortcake Crumble Topping

  • In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt until well blended. Work the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips until it looks like sandy, with no large pieces of butter remaining.
  • Place half of crumble mixture into another medium-sized bowl and combine it with the crushed freeze dried strawberries. Mix well and press it together with your fingers to form pea sized pieces. Gently combine the two bowls of crumble together. Set aside in refrigerator while preparing the muffin batter.

Strawberry Muffins

  • Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Line a 12 serving muffin pan with tulip baking liners or parchment squares.
  • In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt until well combined.
  • In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar, with an electric mixer on medium speed, until pale and fluffy.
  • Beat in the eggs one at a time until incorporated. Beat in the extract until well combined. Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed, just until combined. Add the buttermilk, strawberry puree and food coloring. Beat on low speed, just until combined.
  • Divide batter evenly into the tulip muffin liners. (If using standard muffin liners, fill them 2/3 full.) Sprinkle crumble topping evenly over the batter.
  • Bake at 375ºF (190ºC) for 5 minutes, then turn oven temperature down to 350ºF (180º) and continue baking until topping is golden and a toothpick inserted in center is clean, about 12-17 more minutes. (If your topping starts to brown too quickly, you can cover the muffins with a bit of aluminum foil.) Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack.

Notes

* A small food processor or a clean spice grinder is helpful to pulverize the freeze-dried strawberries. Pass the crushed strawberries through a sieve to remove seeds if desired.
To find tulip baking cups, click here
To find floral tulip baking cups, as seen on TikTok, click here
 
Keyword muffins, strawberry

(118ml)

Cherry Blossom Cookies

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
cherry blossom cookies

Each spring, I look forward to the sight and fragrance of beautiful botanical blooms, especially cherry blossoms. We often think of cherry blossoms as something unique to Washington D.C. or Japan, but cherry blossoms can be found in many regions of the United States. Georgia has many thousands of the beautiful pink trees. They can also be found in my home state, California. Here in California we also have many other types of beautiful blossoming fruit trees.

Inspired by the beautiful pink blossoms, I baked some cherry blossom cookies. There are many varieties of the blossoming pink trees. The Yoshino variety that we love to admire is not the same as the trees that produce cherries that we typically eat, but I decided to make the cookies cherry flavor. Cherry extract is more accessible, but it’s also possible to make the cookies sakura blossom flavor if you prefer. You can purchase culinary sakura blossoms or sakura powder and flavor the cookies with it.

These perfectly pretty, pink cookies are easy to make and fun to decorate. You can sprinkle sparkling sugar on them before baking and call it a day or you can make some pink cherry icing and add sugar pearls or sprinkles. Either way, they look beautiful and taste delicious!

 

Cherry Blossom Cookies

by Mari Vasseur
Pink cherry flavored sugar cookies with cherry icing
Print Recipe
Course Brunch, Dessert
Servings 6 dozen

Ingredients
  

Cherry Blossom Cookies

  • 1 cup (227g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 6 tablespoons (3 oz / 85g) cream cheese, softened
  • ¾ cup (150g) sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon pure cherry extract or natural cherry flavoring *see note below
  • â…› teaspoon pure almond extract
  • 3 cups (383g) all purpose flour, sifted
  • Pink gel food color **see note below

Cherry Icing

  • 1 cup (120g) powdered sugar
  • 1 pinch fine sea salt
  • 4-5 tablespoons (59-67ml) whole milk
  • ½ teaspoon pure cherry extract or natural cherry flavoring
  • Pink gel food color

Optional Cookie Decorations

  • White sparkling sugar
  • Pink sugar pearls
  • Pink nonpareils

Instructions
 

Cherry Blossom Cookies

  • In a large bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese together with an electric mixer on medium speed, just until smooth and well blended.
  • Add the sugar and salt. Beat on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Mix in the egg, then the extracts until incorporated.
  • On low speed, mix in the flour in two additions, just until combined.
  • Mix in the food coloring, a tiny bit at a time, until the desired shade is achieved.
  • Divide the dough into two disks. Wrap them in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours or up to overnight.
  • Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  • On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to 1/8" thickness. Cut out cookies with a 2-inch blossom cutter..***
  • Place the cookies about 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle with sparkling sugar if using.
  • Bake for 7-9 minutes until the bottom edges are lightly browned. Remove from the oven and transfer the cookies to a cooling rack.
  • Cool completely then ice with cherry icing, if desired. Decorate with sugar pearls or sprinkles before the icing sets.

Cherry Icing

  • In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, salt, 3 tablespoons (45ml) of milk and the cherry extract. Add additional milk until the desired consistency is reached. Whisk together until smooth.
  • Mix in pink gel food color, a tiny bit at a time, until the desired shade is achieved.

Notes

*Do not use imitation cherry flavoring or extract. Imitation extracts may make your cookies taste medicinal. 
** I used Wilton gel food color in shade rose. Click here to find it. 
*** Use your favorite blossom cookie cutter or click here to find the blossom cutters I used.
Keyword cherry, cherry blossom, cookies

Strawberries & Cream Tarts

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
Strawberries & Cream Tarts

May is when I get to pull out all of my summery recipes. These pretty little Strawberries & Cream Tarts remind me of a summer day. The kind of day when you’re outside enjoying the sunshine and you’re craving a cool, refreshing dessert. This strawberry cream filling alone is so delicious that I could just eat the entire bowl with a spoon. But since I’m extra, I had to create an aesthetic dessert with it.

I used my favorite tart shells for this recipe, but this would also be delicious with those little pre-made graham cracker pie crusts if you want to take a shortcut. The reason I love this tart crust recipe so much though, is that it actually tastes delicious. Once, a few years ago, I purchased a beautiful, small fruit tart from a famous bakery. The fruit was vibrant and glistening and the pastry cream filling was sweet and silky. Now we need the sound of a mic drop, because the tart crust was hard and flavorless, like cardboard! Ever since then, I knew I would settle for nothing less than a delicious tart crust.

Strawberries & Cream Tarts

Print Recipe
Course Dessert
Servings 6 4-inch tarts

Ingredients
  

Tart Crust

  • 1 ½ cups (6.75 ounces) all purpose flour, sifted
  • ¼ cup (1 ounce) powdered sugar, sifted
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ½ cup (4 ounces) cold, unsalted butter, cubed
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1-2 tablespoons ice water

Strawberry Cream Filling

  • 2 cups (16 ounces) strawberry puree Plus more for garnish
  • ½ cup (3.5 ounces) granulated sugar
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • 2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin powder
  • ½ cup (4 ounces) cream cheese, softened
  • ½ teaspoon strawberry extract
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ cup (4 ounces) cold heavy whipping cream

Instructions
 

Tart Crust

  • In a bowl, whisk together flour, powdered sugar and salt. Set aside.
  • Work in butter and egg yolk with a pastry blender or with your fingers, until pea size pieces are formed.
  • Add ice water, one tablespoon at a time, until dough comes together.
  • Form dough into a disc. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for one hour.
  • On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to a scant 1/4-inch thickness
  • Cut dough into six 5-inch rounds. Press rounds into six 4-inch or 4 1/4-inch tart pans.*
  • Dock the bottoms of pie crusts with a fork. Freeze for 30 minutes.
  • Heat oven to 375ºF. Place tart pans on a large baking sheet.
  • Line tart shells with six 6-inch parchment rounds. Fill with pie weights. (You can use dried beans or rice if you don't have pie weights.)
  • Bake tart shells for 12 minutes. Remove parchment paper and pie weights. Continue baking until tart shells are light golden brown, about 4-6 more minutes.
  • Transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.

Strawberry Cream Filling

  • Pass the strawberry purée through a mesh sieve to remove large seeds.
  • In a medium saucepan, simmer the strawberry purée until it's reduced by half. Stir in the sugar and continue cooking over medium heat, until the sugar is dissolved. Transfer to a medium bowl.
  • Meanwhile, place 3 tablespoons of water into a small bowl. Sprinkle gelatin powder over the top of water. Let sit until water is absorbed, about 5 minutes.
  • Pour the gelatin mixture into the warm strawberry reduction mixture and stir until fully incorporated.
  • In a large bowl, beat cream cheese on low speed with an electric mixer until smooth.
  • Add extracts and beat until combined.
  • Add the strawberry reduction mixture to the cream cheese a little at time. Beat until well combined.
  • In a medium bowl, beat heavy whipping cream with an electric mixer at high speed until stiff peaks form.
  • Fold whipped cream into strawberry mixture.
  • Spoon into cooled tart shells. Smooth tops with a small offset spatula. Refrigerate for two hours. Garnish with sliced, fresh strawberries.

Notes

*To find the tart pans I used, click here.
Keyword strawberry, tarts

Orange Vanilla Bean Donut Holes

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
Orange Vanilla Bean Donut Holes

During citrus season, in the heart of winter, my backyard orange tree is brimming over with fresh oranges. So I love bringing some fresh-picked sunshine to my family with these fluffy Orange Vanilla Bean Donut Holes from my childhood. When I was a child, my parents used to love taking our family to a smorgasbord. The owner would always come out from the kitchen and say hello to my parents. He made delicious fried donut holes that my brother and I looked forward to at the end of our meal. At home we duplicated the donut holes using a recipe from an old cookbook. Unfortunately the cookbook is lost, but this recipe is pretty close to the original. Tossing the little donuts in vanilla sugar makes them even more fragrant and delicious. The vanilla sugar can be used immediately, but for the best flavor, make it in advance.

The original recipe had vanilla and nutmeg in it, which are classic cake donut flavors. The addition of fresh orange zest and juice makes them vibrant and flavorful. I love making different flavors of these donut holes. To view Blueberry Donut Holes, click here.

 

Orange Vanilla Bean Donut Holes

by Mari Vasseur
Orange & vanilla donut holes, fluffy & fragrant on the inside, crisp & sugary on the outside
Print Recipe
Course Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert
Servings 24 donut holes

Ingredients
  

Donut Holes

  • 2 cups (255g) all purpose flour, sifted
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • ½ cup (100g) sugar
  • Zest of 1 large orange
  • 2 tablespoons (28g) melted butter
  • ½ cup (118ml) orange juice
  • 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla bean paste
  • ½ cup (100g) vanilla sugar Recipe below
  • Oil for frying

Vanilla Sugar

  • ½ split vanilla bean
  • ½ cup (100g) sugar

Instructions
 

Donut Holes

  • In a large, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt until well blended.
  • In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, orange zest, melted butter, orange juice and vanilla bean paste until creamy and well combined. Add this mixture to the flour mixture and mix just until combined. Do not over mix. A few small lumps are okay.
  • In a heavy saucepan, heat 1 1/2 inches of oil to 340ºF (170ºC). Place the vanilla sugar in a medium-sized bowl.
  • Drop tablespoon-sized portions of batter into the hot oil. (I used a #60 portion scoop**) Don't over crowd the pan.
  • Fry the donut holes until golden brown on all sides, about 2-4 minutes, flipping halfway through. If the donut holes cook too quickly on the outside, turn heat down a bit.
  • Briefly drain the donut holes on paper towels, then toss them in vanilla sugar. Serve warm.

Vanilla Sugar

  • With the dull side of a knife, scrape the seeds out of the vanilla bean.
  • In a small bowl, whisk the vanilla seeds together with sugar, breaking up any clumps. Use immediately or make in advance and let the flavor develop 1-2 weeks in a covered container.

Notes

**To find vanilla beans, click here.
*To find the scoop I used, click here.
 
Keyword donuts, orange vanilla