Rosemary Chocolate Chip Olive Oil Cake

Apr 3, 2016

So, I really am struggling with calling this cake.

It’s honestly not that sweet at all. It’s got a light crumb, and feels a lot like a zucchini or banana bread (maybe a bit less moist than banana bread).

I was really intrigued by the sweet and savory combination, with the rosemary. To be honest, the flavor didn’t bowl me over, mostly because I felt like the chocolate overwhelmed things a bit. It was simple and good, but not earth-shattering.

I’m a sucker for rosemary, and fresh herbs in general, and love the idea of using them in baking sweets. As I was eating this, I kept re-imagining it as a slightly different flavor combo, particularly citrus and herb. Maybe lemon and rosemary, or grapefruit and thyme? Something a little punchy to contrast with the earthiness of the herbs. Let me know if you have ideas! But regardless, this really was a lovely breakfast treat, and got totally devoured at work in an hour or two.

Easy, Awesome Challah Bread

Apr 26, 2015

ISN’T IT PRETTY?!?!

Seriously, this bread is just beautiful. And it’s not just beautiful, it’s amazingly soft and flavorful and perfect.

I’d never had challah bread before this, but basically it’s a yeast-leavened, lightly-sweet braided dough made with eggs, then brushed with an egg wash before baking. It can be soft or dense, made with many different grains, created into other shapes (spirals, circles, birds, etc.), but at its heart it’s just a slighly sweet eggy bread.

And I can’t imagine that it gets much better than this recipe! First-try bread recipes can be tricky sometimes, and rarely are they absolutely perfect the first time. But this recipe was super forgiving (I let it rise quite a bit longer than the recipe called for), the braiding was super easy, and the final product made me want to eat ALL THE BREAD. And I’m not even a bread person…

Let’s just look at it again, shall we???

Okay, moving on…

Caramel-Glazed Apple Bread

Jan 5, 2014

It’s weird. As a self-proclaimed caramel hater (okay, maybe “hate” is strong, but “non-lover”), I somehow made two different awesome recipes within a couple weeks back in November where caramel was the star. The first was the caramel pear crumble pie I made for Thanksgiving, and the second was this fall-worthy gem.

Obviously, apple and cinnamon are a can’t-miss combination. But the caramel glaze really elevates this bread beyond what a regular powdered sugar glaze would. It gives not just a sweetness but a warmth, and the burnt sugar caramel flavor deepens everything.

This is one of those beautiful quick bread recipes that’s super easy to throw together—I mean, the bread takes as long as it takes to chop the apples, basically. And you get not one, but two, loaves of sweet bread that can feed hungry overnight guests for breakfast, delight your co-workers, or punt as an easy dessert.

You start with a couple of these bad boys…

Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake

Nov 29, 2013

I actually made this about a month ago, but haven’t had a chance to bring its greatness to you yet. I love ricotta, and I love lemon, so this is a recipe tailor-made for me. First of all, it’s super easy—just blend everything together, throw it in a pan, and call it a day. But secondly, it can do double duty as both a breakfast and a dessert.

This is the perfect antidote to holiday food excesses. It’s light and sweet and tart, so a great alternative to all of the heavy, rich desserts we’re usually consuming this time of year. It would be great to have on hand for company to just snack on whenever they want.

If I had any complaints about this recipe, they would probably be about the texture, which can be a little dry, but since it’s pound cake that’s really more the nature of the beast. It’s good on its own, but even better with some tea or coffee.

I had some overflow batter, so I greased up a ramekin and baked little individual pound cakes. Next time I think I’d use a few more ramekins and do shallower mini cakes, or else it can get a little bread-y.

Lemon Zucchini Bread

Jul 29, 2013

Yeah, I know, it’s weird.

We have regular zucchini bread. We have chocolate zucchini bread (seriously, it’s awesome!). But lemon? Color me intrigued…

My love affair with lemon is legendary and long-standing. But something about this recipe kind of weirded me out, so I kept passing over it and trying other things. Then I told myself to put my big girl panties on and give it a try.

First, I had to shred zucchini, and anyone who knows me can tell you that I absolutely HATE shredding things—mostly because I usually end up shredding my fingers too. But I survived.

And lemon zest is the best! It’s basically an excuse to make any recipe. I also decided to make this recipe a little healthier so it would be a good breakfast food (vs. a dessert), so I used way less glaze than the recipe called for.