Over the years, I have seen a number of recipes in old school Southern community cookbooks for green tomato cake. The idea intrigued me - it sounds so old fashioned and resourceful to me. I could just imagine a cook making the most of everything in the garden to create something special, or I like to imagine that this cake is born of scarcity, a recipe that uses what’s on hand … [Read more...] about Green Tomato Vanilla Cake
Sweets
Fresh Fig Flaugnarde
Flaugnarde is a regional variation of the classic French clafouti, and similar to a more American Dutch baby. A simple vanilla and nutmeg batter surrounds the seasonal fruit and comes out of the oven puffed and golden, but settles into a lovely custard-y base for the juicy figs. And let’s face it fig flaugnarde is fun to say (it’s pronounced Flo-nyard). Nutmeg highlights the … [Read more...] about Fresh Fig Flaugnarde
Lemon Blueberry Bars
Sweet, sweet summer – the season bursting with berries. I try my best to eat seasonally – I very rarely have fresh blueberries when they are not in season, so I wait with anticipation for them to show up at the farmers markets. It makes them all the sweeter for the waiting. But that sometimes leads me to overbuy, so after the syrup and jams are made and I’ve eaten my fill out … [Read more...] about Lemon Blueberry Bars
Fresh Peach Pound Cake with Bourbon Butter Glaze
Last year, I accidently bought twenty-five pounds of peaches. An orchard that produces particularly delicious fruit had a special pop-up and I just happened to drive by. I couldn’t resist, even though it was the middle of the week and I was busy and had no particular plans for that much fruit. But boy was I glad I did. I ate as many as I could out of hand, made jars and jars of … [Read more...] about Fresh Peach Pound Cake with Bourbon Butter Glaze
Strawberry Ginger Cake
Strawberries ring in the start of the canning season for me. I get so excited, I buy quarts and quarts. Which means I sometimes end up with some surplus after I make jars and jars of jam, more than I can eat on my own. So I look for simple, quick ways to use them creatively. I love baking with strawberries that bleed sweet pink juices into the finished product and give a nice … [Read more...] about Strawberry Ginger Cake