Once, some time ago, I made some soft, melt-in-your mouth cookies and posted them on the internet. A viewer got triggered and insisted that cookies must be crunchy. I have to disagree! Cookies can be crunchy, crisp, soft, chewy, sandy or anything your heart desires. These soft, pillowy cookies are light and airy like little clouds. They could almost be called little cakes. The texture is similar to whoopee pies, but not as sticky. They’re delightfully delicious and have been well-loved by my family for two generations. They’re perfect for a spring teatime treat or alongside a glass of lemonade at a picnic.
Lemon Blueberry Cloud Cookies
Soft, pillowy cookies made with ricotta cheese and fresh blueberries, topped with a tangy lemon icing
Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt until well combined.
In a large bowl, beat the butter, with an electric mixer on medium speed, until smooth Add the ricotta cheese, sugar and lemon zest. Beat until well combined. Beat in the egg and vanilla until incorporated. On low speed, gradually mix in the flour mixture, just until combined. Fold in the blueberries.
Place rounded tablespoon-size portions of dough about 2 inches apart onto the cookie sheets. Top the cookies with additional blueberries. (If your cookie dough is sticky and hard to work with, refrigerate it just until it's easier to work with, about 30 minutes to 1 hour.)
Bake until the bottom edges of the cookies are lightly browned, about 11-13 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack. Top the cooled cookies with icing. Best eaten the day they're made.
Icing
In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, melted butter, salt and 1 tablespoon (15ml) of lemon juice until well combined. Add additional lemon juice as needed to achieve the desired consistency. Whisk until smooth.
Purée the strawberries in a blender or small food processor. Pass the purée through a mesh sieve into a small saucepan. Stir in the sugar and 1/2 cup (118ml) of water. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Turn the heat down to low and simmer until the sugar has dissolved and the syrup thickens, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Pink Whipped Cream
In a large bowl, beat the whipped cream to soft peaks with an electric mixer at high speed. Add the powdered sugar, strawberry extract and food coloring in 3 separate additions. Continue beating just until stiff peaks are formed. Set aside in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Strawberry Rose Pancakes
In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together until well combined. Set aside.
Purée the strawberries in a blender or small food processor. Pass the purée through a mesh sieve into a medium bowl. Add the egg, milk, melted butter, vanilla extract and food coloring (if using) and whisk until well combined. Stir this mixture into the flour mixture just until combined. A few lumps are okay. Stir in the rose petals.
For each pancake, scoop 3-4 tablespoons of batter onto a hot oiled griddle. Flip the pancakes when bubbles form on the surface. Continue cooking until the pancakes puff and are lightly browned.
Notes
*To find the gel food coloring I used, click here.**To find culinary dried rose petals, click here.
We’ve all heard our parents telling their childhood stories of walking miles to school and suffering worse hardships than we ever had to. My mom used to tell me stories like that, but she had a sense of humor, so her stories were always fun to listen to. She used to tell me about her friend’s mother, who would make big, delicious oatmeal cookies. My mom would trade her baloney sandwich nearly every day to get one of those cookies from her friend. She reminisced about those cookies so much, that I set out to make her some when I learned to bake. She and my grandmother would taste test batch after batch of my cookies over the years. I have probably baked enough oatmeal cookies to circle the earth. Okay that’s an exaggeration, but seriously I have baked quite a few. Of all the oatmeal cookies I’ve baked, these are one of my favorites!
Most of the time when you see fruit added to an oatmeal cookie, it’s dried fruit, like raisins or cranberries. That’s mostly because if you just dump fruit into your cookie dough, the fruit releases water, leaving soggy spots in your cookies. To solve that issue, for this recipe, I macerate the blackberries before baking. The purple blackberry juice that’s released from the berries is used to make a beautiful lilac icing to drizzle over the cookies.
2cups (about 8-10 oz or 227-283g)fresh blackberriesCut large berries in half
2tablespoons (25g)granulated sugar
Oatmeal Cookies
1 ¾cups (7 7/8 oz or 223g)all purpose flour, sifted
1 teaspoonbaking soda
1teaspoonfine sea salt
½teaspoonground cinnamon
½cup (4 or 113g)unsalted butter, softened
1 ¼cups (8 3/4 oz or 250g)packed brown sugar
2 largeeggs
1 ½teaspoonspure vanilla extract
3cups (10 oz or 283g)quick oatsNot instant oats
Icing
¾cup (3 oz or 85g)powdered sugar, sifted
1tablespoon heavy cream
2-3tablespoonsreserved juice from blackberries
Instructions
In a small, light colored saucepan, melt 1/2 cup (4 oz or 113g) of butter over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until deep golden and fragrant. Keep a close eye on it. It can go from toasted to burned very quickly. When you see brown particles form, remove from heat and immediately transfer the butter, including the particles, to a small bowl. Refrigerate until solid, about one hour.
Place the blackberries in a medium-size bowl. Sprinkle with granulated sugar and toss to coat. Let sit for 30 minutes until the berries release their juices.
Drain the blackberries and reserve the juices.
Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
In a separate medium-size bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the brown butter, softened butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs and vanilla extract in three separate additions and beat until well combined.
Stir in the flour mixture just until combined. Stir in the oats just until combined. Gently fold in the blackberries.
Scoop 1/4 cup sized portions of dough, about 2 inches apart, onto the prepared cookie sheets. *I used a #16 2-ounce scoop.
Bake until the cookie tops are set and the edges are golden brown, about 13-15 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Pass reserved blackberry juice through a sieve to remove the seeds.
In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, heavy cream and one tablespoon of the reserved blackberry juice until smooth. Add more blackberry juice, a little at a time, until the desired consistency is reached. Drizzle the icing over the cooled cookies.
This cheerful little loaf cake feels like a spring or summer picnic with lemonade and sunshine. It’s similar to a pink lemonade cake that my elderly neighbor used to make when I was growing up. She made it for all the neighborhood kids and we always gobbled it up. When I was about ten years old she taught my friend and me how to make it. She used a yellow cake mix in a large baking pan and poked holes all over the cake, then drenched it in a pink, sugary lemon icing. I transformed that happy pink lemonade memory into a delightful loaf cake made from scratch.
1cup plus 2 tablespoons (5 oz or 142g)all purpose flour, sifted
1teaspoon baking powder
½teaspoonfine sea salt
¼teaspoonbaking soda
¼cup (2 oz or 59ml)whole milk
¼cup (2 oz or 59ml)sour cream
1cup (7 oz or 200g)sugar
½cupvegetable oil or neutral oil of your choice
2largeeggs
1tablespoonlemon zest
1 ½teaspoons strawberry extract
1-2dropspink gel food colorI used Americolor deep pink*
Lemon Syrup
juice of one lemon
¼cup (1 3/4 oz or 50g)sugar
Icing
2tablespoons (1 oz or 28g)unsalted butter, softened
1cup (4 oz or 113g)powdered sugar, sifted
2-2 ½tablespoonslemon juice
½teaspoonstrawberry extract
pinchfine sea salt
1tiny droppink gel food colorI used Americolor deep pink*
Instructions
Pink Lemonade Cake
Preheat oven to 325ºF (163ºC). Line the bottom of an 8 X 4-inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Grease and flour the sides.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda.
In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and sour cream.
In a large bowl, beat the sugar, oil, eggs, lemon zest and strawberry extract until smooth.
Stir in the flour mixture in two additions, alternating with the milk mixture. Stir just until combined. Stir in food color a little at time until your desired shade is achieved.
Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean, about 45-50 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare lemon syrup.
Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and transfer to a cooling rack. Poke holes all over the top of cake with a skewer.
Brush the warm cake generously with the lemon syrup. Let the cake cool completely, then top with icing.
Lemon Syrup
In a small saucepan, combine the juice of one lemon with enough water to equal 1/4 cup. Add sugar and stir over medium-low heat until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat.
Icing
In a medium bowl, beat the butter, powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, the strawberry extract and a pinch of salt, until smooth. Add more lemon juice until your desired consistency is reached. Mix in gel food color.
If you landed here from one of my social media accounts, welcome! I’m really glad you’re here. I love to create fun, pretty and sweet treats like these delicious blueberry donut holes! The thing that really makes these special is the homemade blueberry sugar, which adds a burst of blueberry flavor. Freeze dried blueberries are combined with sugar to create a beautiful, flavorful sugar that you can use for many other things. It can also be used in tea, lattes, lemonade, cocktails or sprinkled on cookies or scones. Keep in mind that freeze dried blueberries are not the same as dried blueberries. Dried blueberries still contain some moisture, so they won’t work for this purpose.
The donut hole batter comes together quickly and easily. The most challenging part for me is frying them. I found that using a thermometer and testing one donut hole first, helps you determine the perfect oil temperature. Using a small portion scoop helps you get uniform donut holes. Make sure the outside of the scoop is clean between each donut to help them keep the round shape and avoid pointy tails.
Blueberry Donut Holes with Homemade Blueberry Sugar
2tablespoons (1 oz or 28g))unsalted butter, melted
½cup (4 oz or 118ml)whole milk
1teaspoonpure vanilla extract
1 ¼cupschopped fresh blueberries
oil for frying
½cup (3 1/2 oz or 100g)blueberry sugar
Instructions
Blueberry Sugar
Process freeze dried blueberries and sugar in a food processor or a clean spice grinder until finely ground. Be careful not to over process or you may end up with powdered sugar.
Blueberry Donut Holes
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat sugar, eggs, melted butter, milk and vanilla extract until well combined.
Add flour mixture and mix just until combined. Do not over mix. A few lumps are okay.
Fold in chopped blueberries.
In a heavy saucepan, heat 1 1/2 inches of oil to 340ºF.
Drop tablespoon size portions of batter into hot oil. I used a #60 portion scoop.** Don't overcrowd the pan.
Cook donut holes until golden brown on all sides, about 2-4 minutes, flipping halfway through. If donut holes cook too quickly on the outside, turn heat down.
Briefly drain donut holes on paper towels, then toss warm donut holes in blueberry sugar. Serve immediately.
Notes
Success tips: Use a small ice cream scoop sprayed with nonstick spray to drop donut holes into oil. Make sure the outside of scoop is clean between each donut hole to keep the round shape and avoid tails on your donut holes.*To find freeze dried blueberries, click here.**To find the portion scoop I used, click here.
Crinkle cookies, also known as crackle cookies, have been around for a very long time. The pretty, crispy, cracked exterior and the soft, moist interior are what we love about them! There’s definitely no shortage of recipes for crinkles out there, everything from chocolate to red velvet. I even saw an audacious cookie company selling lemon crinkles for twelve dollars each, more money than it will cost for this entire batch! So many of the recipes I tried were disappointing, especially the ones made with cake mix. So I created my own version which happened to go viral! Here’s to making sure delicious lemon crinkle cookies are available for all to enjoy.
This recipe requires a bit of chilling, which I know many people don’t like because they’re impatient. I happen to be one of those people. Old fashioned crinkle cookies require about 3 hours of chilling. My recipe has the addition of cornstarch, which helps prevent spreading and allows for a shorter chilling time. As an added bonus, cornstarch makes the cookies more tender. Win win!
Fresh lemon zest and lemon juice in these cookies is crucial to the best lemon flavor. A bit of pure lemon extract is added to enhance that flavor. Don’t be tempted to use imitation extracts. The flavor will disappoint you. I added two drops of lemon yellow food color, which made them so pretty they look like pure sunshine!
Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Lemon cookies with a crackled, crispy exterior and a soft, tender interior
1-2dropsyellow gel food coloring (optional)*I used Americolor lemon yellow
½cup (60g)powdered sugar
Instructions
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt and baking soda until well blended.
In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar and lemon zest together until pale and fluffy. Beat in the egg until well incorporated. Mix in the lemon juice, extracts and food coloring until well combined. Add the flour mixture and mix just until combined.
Refrigerate the cookie dough for 30 minutes to one hour.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Roll the dough into balls, about 2 tablespoons each. I used a #30 portion scoop*. Roll the dough balls generously in powdered sugar.
Place the dough balls about 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets.
Bake until the cookies are set, about 10-12 minutes. Let them cool on the cookie sheet for 1 minute then transfer to a cooling rack.
Notes
*To find Americolor lemon yellow gel food color, click here.**To find a #30 cookie scoop, click here.To find the striped wax paper pictured above, click here.
I don’t think I’ve ever created a recipe that delighted all of my senses as much as these cookies. I used dried rosebuds in the cookie dough, but you can also use dried rose petals. Whether you purchase dried rose petals or make them yourself, they’re pleasantly fragrant with a subtle flavor. To find dried rose petals, click here. To find dried rosebuds, click here. I pinched the calyx and stem off of the rosebuds to avoid large crunchy bits in the cookies, then I crushed the roses with a mortar and pestle. You’ll hear the satisfying crunch of the delicate, dried rose petals. You can also place them in a plastic bag and roll over them gently with a rolling pin.
The finished cookies have a rustic, almost shabby chic look with their cracks, rose-speckled dough and beautifully imperfect dried roses. And of course, you’ll want to sample a warm cookie. The cookies will taste tender and slightly sweet with a hint of rose. I like a more subtle rose flavor in my baked goods. But if you prefer a stronger rose flavor, feel free to add a small amount of rose water to your dough. Start with 1/4 teaspoon, because a little goes a long way.
If you’re like me, you’ll taste a spoonful of the raspberry ganache because you can and should. For the raspberry ganache, please use a good quality white chocolate! In some recipes, it’s fine to use white chocolate chips or candy melts if you prefer, but NOT this one. In my humble, yet educated opinion, you should never use chocolate chips to make ganache. I studied chocolate in culinary school with a master chocolatier. I never use chocolate chips for ganache because they contain stabilizers that keep them from melting completely, which prevents you from having the smoothest ganache possible. They also contain less cocoa butter and tend to have a waxy mouth feel.
For this recipe, when it comes to butter, you should also be a little bit picky for successful baking. Low quality butter tends to contain more water and your cookies may spread too much. So make sure to use good butter. Your butter should be room temperature, but not warm. If the butter is shiny, it’s too warm. Don’t try to speed up the softening of butter with your microwave. That’s not a hack, in spite of what you may hear on the internet. Microwaves heat unevenly and will potentially melt your butter. The best way to speed up the softening of your butter is to simply cut it into cubes. By the time you get the rest of your ingredients ready, the butter should be soft enough to use. My last, but most important success tip, is to weigh your ingredients.
You’ll find this recipe and more delightful bakes, in my cookbook “Enchanted Baking.” Click here for more info.
Raspberry Rose Shortbread Cookies
Mari Vasseur
Rose petal shortbread cookies filled with white chocolate raspberry ganache
3ounces (or 85g)white chocolate, finely choppedDo not use white chocolate chips
30dried rosebuds for decorationoptional
Instructions
Cookies
Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper
In a large bowl, beat the butter, with an electric mixer on medium speed, until smooth. Add the rose petals and beat on low speed until combined.
Add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Beat until well combined.
On low speed, mix in the flour in two additions. Beat just until combined.
Roll the dough into 1 1/4-inch balls, about 1/2 ounce (14g) each. Place the dough balls about 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets.
Bake for 7 minutes, then remove from the oven. Press indentations into each cookie with a 1-inch diameter pastry tamper or with the flat top of a 1-inch diameter bottle cap.
Return the cookies to the oven and continue baking until the edges are light golden brown, about 5-6 more minutes.
If the indentations in your cookies lose definition, press again with the tamper or bottle cap while the cookies are still hot on the baking sheet.
Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Filling
In a small saucepan, bring the pureéd raspberries to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer until the purée is reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Transfer the raspberry reduction to a small bowl and set aside.
Place the white chocolate in a medium heat safe bowl and set aside.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the heavy cream to a simmer, just until bubbles form around the edges. Do not boil. Stir in the raspberry reduction and heat just to a simmer again. Do not boil.
Pour the hot cream mixture over the white chocolate, making sure all of the white chocolate is submerged. Let it sit for 3 minutes, then stir with a spatula until smooth. Let the ganache cool until slightly thickened. Spoon about 1/2 teaspoon into the indentation of each cookie. The ganache will continue to firm up as it sits.
When the ganache in the cookies has firmed up, decorate with dried rosebud or rose petals, if desired.
These Blueberry Earl Grey Tarts have three individual components, which, when combined together, are absolutely delicious. I experimented with each separate component of this recipe until I perfected them individually. The tart crust is flaky and tender, yet sturdy enough to hold the filling. The filling is just sweet enough for my sweet tooth and the whipped cream has just enough Earl Grey flavor.
This recipe makes enough whipped cream to cover the entire tops of the tarts or you can be like me and try to be artistic and avant-garde with your whipped cream. To make the Earl Grey infused whipped cream, use your favorite Earl Grey tea, whether it’s loose leaf tea or a teabag. We don’t discriminate here. All forms of tea are welcome! I do have a favorite Earl Grey tea. If you want to check it out, click here. The tea will make your whipped cream a dull pale yellow. This issue is purely aesthetic. I added a tiny bit of violet gel food color which brightens the whipped cream. You can add more if you want a lavender shade.
Blueberry Earl Grey Tarts
Mari Vasseur
Personal-sized tarts with sweet blueberry filling, topped with Earl Grey whipped cream
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, powdered sugar and salt until well blended. Work in the butter and egg yolk, with a pastry blender or with your fingertips, until pea sized pieces are formed. Add ice water one tablespoon (15ml) at a time until the dough comes together.
Form the dough into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour or up to overnight.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to a scant 1/4-inch thickness. Cut the dough into six 5-inch rounds.
Press the rounds into six 4-inch or 4 1/4-inch tart pans. Dock the bottoms of the tart crusts with a fork. Freeze for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Place the tart pans on a large baking sheet. Line the tart shells with 6-inch parchment rounds. Fill with pie weights. (You can use dried beans or rice if you don't have pie weights.)
Bake the tart shells for 12 minutes. Remove the parchment paper and pie weights. Continue baking until the tart shells are light golden brown, about 4-6 more minutes.
Blueberry Filling
Set aside 1 cup (155g) blueberries. Combine the remaining 3 cups blueberries, sugar, corn starch and lemon juice in a medium-sized saucepan.
Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until blueberries are softened and sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the reserved 1 cup of blueberries during the last minute of cooking. Remove from heat and let cool completely.
Earl Grey Whipped Cream
Combine the heavy cream and tea leaves or tea bag in a small saucepan. Heat just until bubbles form around the edges.
Transfer the mixture to a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let cool. Pass the cream through a sieve to strain the out tea leaves or remove the tea bag. Cover the surface with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator to chill.
Transfer the chilled cream to a large bowl. Whip with an electric mixer until thickened. Add the powdered sugar and food color in separate additions and continue whipping at high speed just until stiff peaks begin to form.
This moist, flavorful banana bread is my favorite banana bread recipe to date. It has the perfect texture. Not mushy or gummy like so many banana bread recipes out there. I like to add chocolate chips and/or toasted pecans to make it extra delicious.
Favorite Banana Bread
by Mari Vasseur
Moist, flavorful banana bread with chocolate chips and optional pecans
1 ½cups (191g)all purpose flour, sifted, plus 1 teaspoon for the chocolate chips
1teaspoon baking powder
½teaspoonbaking soda
½teaspoon fine sea salt
½teaspooncinnamon
¼teaspoonground nutmeg, preferably freshly ground
1cup (200g)packed brown sugar
⅓cup (70ml)avocado oil or neutral oil of your choice
2largeeggs, room temperature
½cup (113g)sour cream or full fat Greek yogurt, room temperature
1 ½teaspoonspure vanilla extract
¾cup (170g)mashed bananas(about 2 medium bananas)
½cup (60g)coarsely chopped toasted pecansoptional
2tablespoons (15g)chopped pecansoptional
1 ¼cups (213g)semisweet chocolate chips, divided
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350ºF (165ºC). Line the bottom an 8 x 4-inch or a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Grease and flour the insides.
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg until well blended.
In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, oil, eggs, sour cream and vanilla until creamy and well blended. Stir in the bananas until incorporated. Mix in the flour mixture just until combined. Do not over mix. Stir in the 1/2 cup of pecans if using. If using chocolate chips, set aside 1/4 cup (43g) for the top and toss the remaining 1 cup (170g) of chocolate chips with 1 teaspoon of flour, then mix them into the batter.
Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle the loaf with the chopped pecans or 1/4 cup (43g) of chocolate chips. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, about 40-50 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove the loaf from the pan and transfer it to a cooling rack to cool completely.
If you love chocolate cake, this is the post for you! Chocolate cake is one of the best comfort foods there is. I’ve tasted many over the years, but my all time favorite was one I had growing up. I’ve spent years trying to duplicate the moist, nostalgic cake from my childhood. I noticed that nearly every chocolate cake recipe on the internet is a variation of the century-old recipe from the Hershey’s Cocoa tin. I think many people have passed it down as a family recipe, each grandmother adding her own personal touch. Even some celebrity chefs have claimed it as their own. It’s an easy, delicious, moist recipe and its popularity is well deserved. You can tweak the flavor additions a bit to make it your own too. It’s a recipe that’s hard to mess up.
This cake is topped with the ultimate silky, smooth, deeply chocolate frosting. I developed this recipe mostly because I couldn’t find a chocolate frosting recipe that didn’t taste gritty and/or look speckled from the cocoa powder. Swiss meringue buttercream with melted chocolate added is one alternative. But, while it is smooth, silky and perfect for piping, it’s missing that deep chocolate richness. Another option is chocolate ganache. It looks rich and creamy in those viral videos, but it’s a little too rich and overpowering to use as frosting in my opinion.
I think this frosting is the one! It has the best of both worlds, velvety but not too rich. You’ll notice that this frosting contains maple syrup. The syrup gives it a very subtle maple flavor in the background, but mostly, it helps to make the frosting silky and gives it shine. You can adjust the sweetness level of the frosting by choosing the chocolate you prefer. I used bittersweet chocolate, which I think is just right. This recipe makes enough frosting to frost a 2-layer 6-inch cake. You can easily double the recipe for larger cakes.
Vintage Chocolate Cake
by Mari Vasseur
Rich moist classic chocolate cake with silky chocolate buttercream frosting
1 ⅛cup (145g)all purpose flour, siftedPlus more for dusting the pans
½cup (45g)unsweetened cocoa powder, siftedPlus more for dusting the pans
1teaspoonbaking powder
½teaspoonbaking soda
¾teaspoonfine sea salt
1 ⅓cups (265g)sugar
1largeegg
1largeegg yolk
⅔cup (155ml)buttermilk
⅓cup (70ml)vegetable oil
1 ½teaspoonspure vanilla extract
⅔cup (155ml)hot coffee or espresso
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
½cup (148ml)pure maple syrup
3tablespoons (45ml)water
¾cup (67g)unsweetened Dutch process or dark cocoa powder, sifted
½teaspoonespresso powderoptional
1 ¼cups (283g)unsalted butter, softened
1cup (113g)powdered sugar, sifted
⅛teaspoonfine sea salt
8oz (227g)dark, bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, chopped*not chocolate chips
Instructions
Chocolate Cake
Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line the bottoms of two 6-inch cake pans with parchment paper. Grease the insides and dust with a mixture of equal parts flour and cocoa powder. Wrap the cake pans with damp cake strips if you have them.
Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a medium-sized bowl. Add the sugar and stir until well blended.
Combine the the egg, egg yolk, buttermilk, vegetable oil and vanilla extract in a small bowl. Whisk lightly to combine.
Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and beat, on low speed with an electric mixer, until combined. Stop the mixer. Scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl with a spatula. Turn the mixer up to medium speed and beat for 30 seconds. Add the hot coffee and stir until well combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans, dividing batter evenly between the pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 25-28 minutes without cake strips or about 28-32 minutes with cake strips.
Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes then remove the cakes from the pans and transfer to a cooling rack.
Trim the cake layers to your desired thickness, from 1-inch to 1 1/2-inches thick. Fill and frost with chocolate buttercream frosting.
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
In a small saucepan over low heat, whisk together the maple syrup, water, cocoa powder and espresso powder until smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
Melt the chocolate in a medium-sized heat safe bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water, making sure the water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl. Remove from heat and set aside to cool to lukewarm.
In a large bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer at medium speed, until smooth and pale. Add the powdered sugar and salt and continue beating until smooth and well combined. Gradually add the the cooled maple syrup mixture and beat on low speed until combined. Stir in the melted chocolate until well blended. Smooth out any air bubbles by stirring gently with a rubber spatula.
Notes
*For smoothest results, use chopped bar chocolate and make sure chocolate is completely melted. Do not use chocolate chips. Chocolate chips do not melt completely and can make your frosting lumpy.
To the indecisive German baker who invented marble cake, I thank you! Marble cake, sampler platters and tasting flights are the perfect solution for those times when you just can’t decide. Let’s take one more decision off the table. No longer will we have to decide between chocolate and strawberry cookies. These marble cookies are the best of both worlds. Chocolate and strawberry are opposites in many ways, but complement each other so well. After all, who doesn’t love chocolate covered strawberries?
The dark chocolate cocoa powder gives these cookies a deep chocolate flavor. Freeze dried strawberries provide the sweet strawberry flavor and color. I crushed the strawberries with a mini food processor, but you can also use a mortar and pestle, a clean spice grinder or a sturdy plastic bag and a rolling pin. When you crush the 1 1/2 cups of freeze dried strawberries called for in the recipe, you’ll end up with about 1/3 cup of strawberry powder. To find freeze dried strawberries, click here.
This recipe makes about eighteen cookies but you can also make nine large cookies. Follow the instructions in parentheses for large cookies.
1 ½cups (35g)freeze-dried strawberries, finely crushed to a powder(1 1/2 cups before crushing)
⅓cup (28g)dark unsweetened cocoa powder
Instructions
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt until well blended.
In a large bowl, beat the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar, with an electric mixer at medium speed, until pale and fluffy.
Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract in three separate additions, making sure each addition is incorporated before adding the next. On low speed, mix in flour mixture just until combined.
Divide the dough in half. Leave half of dough in the bowl and place the other half in a separate bowl.
Add the freeze dried strawberries to half of the dough and mix just until combined. Add the cocoa powder to the other half of the dough and mix just until combined.
Roll the dough into 1 1/2 teaspoon size balls. (For large cookies, roll the dough into tablespoon size balls.) To form the cookies, place two chocolate dough balls and two strawberry dough balls in your hand in a checkerboard pattern. Roll into a ball. Repeat with the remaining dough balls and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Place the dough balls about two inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes, until cookies are set and edges are golden. (For large cookies, bake 14-15 minutes.) Transfer to cooling rack. (For large cookies, cool on cookie sheet one minute, then transfer to cooling rack.
A good scone has a way of making you feel elegant, especially if you pronounce it ‘skon’ instead of ‘skōne’. I went to a lovely tea recently where scones were served, along with an array of dainty tea sandwiches and desserts. The scones were round with pink sugar sprinkled on top. Pretty pink food is always so promising. Unfortunately, the scones were hard, dry and bland. No amount of clotted cream slathered on them could help. There’s nothing elegant about a dry, hard bite of a scone that you have to struggle to choke down. Scones should be dense and slightly dry and crumbly, but there’s no reason we can’t make them more delicious. It’s fun to add fruit, chocolate, herbs, nuts or whatever you like to make them more delightful. These Raspberry White Chocolate Scones are tender and buttery with bursts of flavor from the fresh raspberries and white chocolate. I added pink sparkling sugar for texture and, of course, to make them look pretty!
Raspberry White Chocolate Scones
by Mari Vasseur
Tender scones with fresh raspberries and white chocolate, topped with crunchy sparkling sugar.
½cup (118 ml)cold heavy cream plus extra for the tops of the scones
¼cup (57g)cold sour cream
1teaspoonpure vanilla extract
¾cup (128g)white chocolate chips or chunksNot chopped white chocolate
¾ cup (113g)fresh or frozen raspberries
Pink or white coarse sparkling sugar
Instructions
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together until well combined. Work the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips or with a pastry blender until pea size pieces form.
In a small bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, sour cream and vanilla until well blended. Stir the cream mixture into the flour mixture until a shaggy dough forms. Gently fold in the white chocolate chips and raspberries.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Form the dough into a 1-inch thick round, about 6 1/2 inches in diameter. Cut the dough into 8 wedges.
Place scones 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Chill the scones in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Brush the tops of the scones with heavy cream. Sprinkle with coarse sugar.
Bake until the edges look golden brown, about 20-24 minutes. Transfer the scones to a cooling rack.
Notes
*To find pink sparkling sugar, click here.This recipe was updated on 3/23/2023.
