In summer, I tend to gravitate toward desserts that are fruit forward and maybe a little lighter. I am not going to try and claim Peach Bourbon Pound Cake or Blueberry Buttermilk Bread Pudding are diet food, they are just less intense. But I go all out here with a deep, decadent chocolate cake tinged with dusky blackberries and rich red wine. The I top it off with a thick, … [Read more...] about Chocolate Blackberry Cake with Red Wine
Sweets
Simple Carrot Cake with Brown Butter Frosting
If you have followed me for any amount of time, or read my Southern Sympathy cookbook, then you know I am not much of one for making layered, frosted cakes. I lack the patience or skill to make them look lovely and attractive and I may be thrilled with the taste, but very rarely with the appearance. So I stick to Bundt cakes and sheet cakes, or simple single layers like this. … [Read more...] about Simple Carrot Cake with Brown Butter Frosting
Old Fashioned Buttermilk Cake
Winter can produce a few challenges for creative cooking. Most of the produce is dormant, or at least I’m starting to get tired of the same things. Tantalizing Spring is just around the corner, but the doldrums carry on. After the flurry of cooking for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year, even Valentine’s Day and Mardi Gras, the kitchen can get a little humdrum. But I say … [Read more...] about Old Fashioned Buttermilk Cake
Hazelnut Toffee Brownies
I really love these brownies. They came about one weekend when I was tasked with bringing a dessert to a dinner. I concocted a rather elaborate idea using a ton of expensive ingredients. It was a total flop, I mean it did not work at all. But I still needed to supply the sweet and I didn’t want to show up with something store-bought. Nor did I want to try something elaborate or … [Read more...] about Hazelnut Toffee Brownies
Honey Drops
Several years ago, I had several friends who took up beekeeping. Not sure why that suddenly became a big hobby, but I was all for it, as they would bring me jars of honey. Most of them seemed to have moved on from the bees, or at least from leaving jars on my doorstep. And the truth is, I miss it. It always made me exercise my recipe development muscles to find ways to use it. … [Read more...] about Honey Drops
