Either way, you need to make some zucchini bread.

I originally got this recipe from one of my favorite farmer’s markets. They had samples. I tried one and said “Oh, yum! I’m going to need the recipe.” When I got home I read the recipe and nearly fell out of my chair. 3 cups of sugar. 1 cup of oil. No wonder it tasted so good! Call me crazy, but I feel like bread made with vegetables should at least try to exercise some restraint*.

So this is my altered version. It uses half the sugar and replaces half the oil with non-fat Greek yogurt, and it still tastes delicious. The texture is somewhere between cake and a muffin. They’re moist and lightly sweet with lots of cinnamon spice flavor – just the way I like my zucchini bread. I highly recommend adding chocolate chips (which I forgot – first time in my life I have ever forgotten chocolate!) and/or nuts, if you like that sort of thing.

This recipe makes enough to share – 2 loaves or a loaf and muffins – so feel free to pay that neighbor back for sharing their garden goods!

* For those of you rolling your eyes at the thought of using restraint in baked goods, stay tuned. The next recipe uses over a pound of butter and more than 4 cups of sugar. And heavy cream.

Zucchini Bread & Muffins

Makes 2 standard loaves
OR
5 mini loaves
OR
1 8×4 loaf plus 12 muffins

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups graulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
4 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
1/3 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt, such as 0% Chobani
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tablespoon water
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
chocolate chips (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350° Prepare baking pans – line muffin tin with liners and/or spray loaf pans with non-stick baking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (flour through cinnamon). In a medium bowl, beat eggs lightly. Add oil, yogurt, vanilla extract, lemon juice, and water. Whisk. Stir in grated zucchini. Pour wet ingredients into dry and whisk just until combined.

Divide batter evenly among prepared pans. Bake standard loaves about 45-50 minutes and mini loaves and muffins about 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire wrack. Store covered at room temperature, or wrap tightly and freeze for later.

But they’re also so much more.

They’re symbolic of my life-long love of chocolate and peanut butter. A life that I celebrated lasting 30 whole years just this past weekend.

(I plan to eat peanut butter and chocolate for at least another 30 years.)

But they’re also symbolic of the love we share through food. I was initially inspired to make these decadent bites when I heard about the tragic death of Jennifer Perillo‘s husband. Wait, that sounds weird. You see, dozens upon dozens of people, many complete strangers, reached out to Jennie and honored her husband Mikey by making his favorite peanut butter pie in the days after his passing. I don’t know Jennie and you might not either, but the outpouring of love and support for her that I witnessed online was awe-inspiring. It even led to the creation of Bloggers without Borders, an organization that harnesses the power of bloggers for those in need. And it all started with food.

In my family food has always been an expression of love and it’s one of the reasons I enjoy baking so much today. So go. Make these and share them with someone you love.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake Bites

Makes 12 bite-sized cheesecakes

I love (really, really love) cinnamon, so I added some to the graham cracker crust. You can skip it if you want. I also (really, really) love dark chocolate so that’s what I topped my bites with, but feel free to use milk chocolate if that’s you’re thing!

Ingredients

For the crust:
1 cup of graham cracker crumbs (7-9 graham crackers pulsed to crumbs in food processor)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
2 Tablespoons sugar
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 large egg

For chocolate topping:
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips, such as Ghirardelli 60% chocolate chips
2 1/2 tablespoons heavy cream

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray 12-cup mini muffin tin with non-stick spray.

Combine graham cracker crumbs, cinnamon and sugar in a food processor. Pulse to combine. With food processor running, drizzle in melted butter until mixture resembles wet sand. Divide evenly among muffin cups (about 1 tablespoon each). Press crust down firmly. (I used the bottom of a shot glass to get them nice and flat and compact!)

In a medium bowl, whisk together cream cheese, peanut butter and egg. (If needed, microwave cream cheese and peanut butter for 10-15 seconds to help combine.) Divide batter evenly among muffin cups (about 1 tablespoon each).

Bake at 375°F for 10-12 minutes, or until puffed (tops may crack) and no longer shiny. Cool on a wire rack to room temperature.

In a microwave safe bowl, combine chocolate chips and heavy cream. Microwave on high for 20 seconds at a time, stirring between, until chocolate is melted and a smooth ganache forms. (If your ganache turns out oily and gloppy, no biggie. Just add a little bit more cold heavy cream and stir until smooth.) Top cheesecake bites with a dollop of ganache. Eat any leftover ganache with a spoon (optional, but you know you want to.)

Store bites in fridge until ready to serve, or freeze. If frozen, thaw at room temperature.

Cheri over at Kitchen Simplicity asked me to do a guest post for her, and since I love her site I couldn’t say no. I mean, have you seen her photography? Gorgeous! And she features exactly the kind of recipes I like to eat – simple and delicious.

Check out my guest post on Kitchen Simplicity this week, where I confess my annual summer obsession with cherries and share my first clafouti recipe – Cherry Vanilla Bean Clafouti made with a real vanilla bean and fresh cherries. And while you’re there, take a look around at Cheri’s recipes and fantastic photography too!

“Must. Have. Chocolate.”

I made this cake for my dad for Father’s Day. Pay no attention to the fact that I named it “My Favorite Chocolate Cake” when it wasn’t even my cake. It was everyone’s favorite chocolate cake.

I’m terrible at frosting cakes but this is my best one yet! A little plain, but at least it turned out level. It’s all thanks to Zoe Bakes and her amazingly helpful “How To” cake decorating video series. If you need cake decorating help, check them out!

Chocolate cake is one of those desserts that’s relatively simple and unassuming, but also can easily turn out disappointing. I like my chocolate cake rich but not too sweet, moist and super chocolatey. This cake is all of those things, and it held up like a champ during a 2 hour car ride over mountains.

It’s amazing.

Don’t you just want to swipe your finger through that frosting?

The chocolate cake layers are tender but with a sturdy crumb that holds up to slicing. They’re also incredibly moist. Despite the somewhat light color, the chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream frosting is intensely chocolatey. I love swiss meringue buttercream because it’s not cloyingly sweet like some other frostings. The cake layers may taste a little on the salty side on their own, but when paired with the silky smooth, rich frosting, the salt and sweet balance is spot on.

The whole thing is a chocoholic’s dream come true. I’m already trying to find an excuse to make this cake again!

My Favorite Chocolate Cake

Adapted from Ina Garden and Sweetapolita
Makes one 9-inch, 2-layer cake

I usually dislike coffee in my chocolate cake because I feel like the coffee flavor overwhelms the chocolate flavor. However, I used a cup of coffee brewed on the weak side for this cake and couldn’t taste the coffee flavor at all so I say go for it. And can I say I just love that you can make this cake easily without using a mixer?

Cake Ingredients

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups sugar
3/4 cups good cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk, shaken
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray two 9-inch round cake pans with baking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. In another medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk, oil, eggs and vanilla. Pour wet ingredients into dry and whisk to combine. Add coffee and whisk just until combined. Batter will be thin and runny.

Divide batter evenly among prepared cake pans and bake at 350°F for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for about 30 minutes, then flip out onto a rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream Ingredients

4 large egg whites
1 cups granulated sugar
2 sticks of unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1/2 tablespoon vanilla
pinch salt
8 ounces quality dark chocolate, chopped (I used Callebaut dark)

I actually ended up using 5 egg whites because I was using fresh eggs and they were a little on the small side. The key to Swiss meringue buttercream is not to panic when it reaches the stage where it looks like it’s irrevocably ruined – just keep beating! If at the end your frosting is too soupy, it might be too warm. Pop it in the fridge for 15-20 minutes and then beat until smooth.

NOTE: I had exactly enough frosting to fill and cover my cake and no leftovers. If you want to add decorations of any kind, I recommend making 1.5 or 2 times this recipe to make sure you have enough frosting.

Directions

Remove butter from refrigerator and cut into cubes. Set aside. (By starting with this step, your butter should be just about the right softened-but-still-cool temperature by the time you’re ready to add it to your frosting.)

Set a saucepan with about 2 inches of water over medium heat and bring to a simmer (not boil). Add chopped chocolate to a large, heat safe bowl and set over saucepan with simmering water. Stir gently just until melted. Remove chocolate from heat and set aside. Keep water simmering.

Add egg whites and sugar to metal bowl of an electric mixer. Set mixer bowl over saucepan with simmering water. Whisk constantly until sugar has dissolved and an instant read thermometer reads 140°F.

Remove bowl from stove and attach to mixer. Using the whisk attachment, whip egg white mixture at medium speed until it forms a light, glossy white meringue and the bottom of the bowl feels room temperature to the touch (about 10 minutes).

Switch to the paddle attachment. On low speed, add butter one cube at a time, incorporating each completely before adding the next. Beat until smooth. (If it curdles, just keep beating!) Add vanilla, salt and melted chocolate, and continue beating until smooth again.

Assembly

Set one cake layer on a cake plate, cake board or pedestal. Add about 1/3 of the frosting and smooth into an even layer. Top with remaining cake layer (upside-down if cake is domed). Spread remaining frosting evenly on top and sides of cake.

Storage

Cake layers can be made ahead, wrapped tightly with plastic wrap, placed in a freezer safe bag and frozen. When ready to use, take them out of the freezer and frost immediately or allow to thaw at room temperature. I actually find it easier to frost frozen cakes because they are firmer.

I recommend making the frosting the same day you will be icing the cake. Once iced, the cake can be refrigerated. The icing will firm up in the fridge, making it easier to travel with the cake without ruining it.

If refrigerated, remove cake from fridge at least 1 hour before eating to allow frosting time to soften again. Leftovers can be stored however you feel comfortable, refrigerated or covered at room temperature. (Ours was stored at room temperature.)

No? Me neither.

On a completely unrelated note, it’s strawberry season so I made chocolate chip strawberry shortcake. I most definitely did NOT think this recipe was for an all chocolate shortcake, which had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that the original recipe was called “Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake” and also lacked a photo.

……

You’re not buying this, are you?

Ok, so maybe I thought this would be an all chocolate strawberry shortcake. It wasn’t until I had mixed all the ingredients together that I realized, “Huh. This isn’t chocolate after all.” But it turned out to be a happy accident, I think. In addition to the bourbon chocolate sauce (which is just like WHOA), an all chocolate shortcake would have overwhelmed the delicate flavor of farm fresh strawberries. This shortcake studded with chocolate chips was the perfect balance – a nice hit of chocolate, but you can definitely taste the strawberries.

Oh, and believe me, strawberry shortcake is better with chocolate.

Chocolate Chip Strawberry Shortcake
with Bourbon Chocolate Sauce

Adapted from Bon Appetit
Serves 6-8

This shortcake can be made in a number of shapes and sizes – bake it in a 9-inch cake pan for one large shortcake to feed a crowd, or pat it out and use a biscuit cutter or cut into wedges for individual shortcakes. These shortcakes are best consumed the day they’re made.

Filling Ingredients

2 pounds fresh strawberries, washed, hulled and sliced
3 tablespoons sugar
1 batch Bourbon Chocolate Sauce (can be made ahead)

Shortcake Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour
3 tablespoons + 2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3 ounces (about 2/3 cup) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup + 2 tablespoons buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Whipped Cream Ingredients

1 1/2 cups whipping cream
4 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

In a large bowl, sprinkle sliced strawberries with 3 tablespoons of sugar (more or less, depends on how sweet your berries are). Toss to coat and set aside. (Can be made ahead.)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter and flour a 9-inch cake pan or spray with baking spray (if making one big shortcake), or line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat (for individual shortcakes).

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add butter and smush between fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 2/3 cup buttermilk and vanilla extract, stirring to form a dough. Fold in chocolate chips.

If using a cake pan, transfer dough to cake pan a gently press to level top. If using baking sheet, dump dough out onto parchment paper and pat out into a circle about 1-inch thick. Cut into wedges or cut with a biscuit cutter and place on baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Brush top with remaining 2 tablespoons buttermilk and sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake until lightly golden brown on top and a toothpick comes out clean, 15-20 minutes for small shortcakes, 25-30 minutes for one big shortcake.

To make whipped cream, combined whipping cream, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of a mixer. Beat with whisk attachment until soft peaks form. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

To serve, cut shortcake(s) in half. Spoon strawberries and their juices on top. Drizzle with bourbon chocolate sauce, add whipped cream, and top with other half of shortcake.

Moms. They’re the best. They do it all and they do it better than anyone else ever could. My mom, aside from raising me all these years, is responsible for my love of food. Her family is Italian so I grew up eating amazing homemade food, like pasta sauces made from scratch and simmered on the stove all day long. I’m sorry to say I didn’t always appreciate it growing up though, probably because I assumed everyone ate that way so what was the big deal? As a teen I had more important things to do than eat (like sleep all day) and although I sometimes helped out with the cooking, I did it begrudgingly.

It wasn’t until I was grown and living away from home that I realized how much work my mom put into feeding us kids all those years and how great the food was. Living on my own and missing my mom’s incredible food is what finally motivated me to learn to cook. I craved the comfort of those home cooked meals that I so took for granted living at my mom’s house and the only way to get one was to make it myself.

Without my Mom, this site wouldn’t exist today. So thank you, Mom, for feeding me great food growing up, and for inspiring me to cook and bake and love food. To show our appreciation for my mom, my brother’s and I got together Mother’s Day weekend to cook a meal for her. My twin brother cooked an impressive and delicious rack of pork with a homemade chutney, my little brother brought mac & cheese (always a favorite), and to finish the meal I made this Lemon Curd & Cream Layer Cake.

You’ll have to forgive me for the lackluster photos. I was in a rush to get out the door with the cake so I didn’t have the time to take proper pictures. What you need to know is that this cake is bursting with lemon flavor. It’s two layers of white cake glued together with a thick layer of lemon curd, then frosted with a fluffy lemon curd & cream icing. If you have someone in your life you want to thank who loves lemon (like my mom), make them this cake. Nothing says “thank you” like cake!

Lemon Curd & Cream Layer Cake

Adapted from Gourmet
Makes one 8-inch or 9-inch two layer cake

The components can be made ahead and this cake can be assembled in advance, but once frosted you’ll need to keep the cake refrigerated. I found I liked the cake best still cold from the fridge, but the original recipe calls for letting it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.

Cake Ingredients

2 scant cups cake flour (not self-rising)
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Lemon Curd Ingredients

1 cup fresh lemon juice
4 teaspoons finely grated fresh lemon zest
1 cup sugar
6 large eggs
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, diced into small pieces

Frosting Ingredients

1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 batch of Lemon Curd (above), chilled

Directions

Make Lemon Curd: Combine all lemon curd ingredients in a medium sauce pan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until butter melts and curd thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon (about 6 minutes). Once thickened, remove from heat and pour through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap pushed against the surface and chill for at least 1 hour, up to 1 week.

Make Cake Layers: Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray 2 8-inch or 9-inch round cake pans with baking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine milk and lemon juice (mixture may curdle – it’s OK).

Beat butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Add eggs one a time, beating after each to incorporate. Beat in vanilla extract. Add half flour mixture , then half milk mixture beating on low after each until just combined. Repeat with remaining flour and milk mixture.

Divide batter evenly between prepared caked pans, smoothing tops gently with a spatula. Bake at 375°F for 15-20 minutes, until lightly browned and a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then flip out onto racks to cool completely.

Make Frosting: Using the whisk attachment on an electric mixer, beat cream and confectioners sugar to stiff peaks. Working with half the lemon curd (reserving the rest for filling the cake), fold a few spoonfuls of whipped cream into the curd to lighten it, then fold in remaining whipped cream.

Assemble Cake: Place one cake layer, top side up, on a cake plate. Spread with a thin layer of frosting then the reserved half of lemon curd. Top with other cake layer, top side down. Cover top and sides with remaining frosting.

If assembling the cake ahead of time, store in refrigerator in cake keeper or loosely covered plastic wrap (with toothpicks to hold away from frosting). Set at room temperature 30 minutes before serving, or serve straight from fridge.

Aside from chocolate, my dad really likes carrot cake. Carrot cake isn’t usually something that gets me drooling, but hey, not my birthday. The only hitch was that a carrot cake would not hold up well the long car ride to my parents’ house. That’s when I remembered a recipe for carrot cake cookies I saw in a magazine a few years ago. Perfect!

And oh, they were. Two-bite sized soft, cake-y cookies flecked with sweet carrots, chewy raisins and aromatic cinnamon. The original recipe called for sandwiching two cookies together with a dollop of cream cheese frosting. They’re good (if not messy) that way, but I found I preferred to eat them one at a time with a generous smear of frosting on top for a better cake to frosting ratio.

And eat them I did. For breakfast. As an afternoon snack. After dinner for dessert. I don’t even love carrot cake and I couldn’t stop eating them! I kind of forgot that they weren’t for me. Oops.

Carrot Cake Cookies

Adapted from Gourmet
Makes about 24 cookies (12 filled cookie sandwiches)

I don’t recommend using pre-shredded carrots. Freshly grated carrots have more moisture which I think is important to the cookie’s final texture. Chilling the dough before baking keeps the cookies from spreading too much in the oven. Don’t be afraid to bake these a day ahead – I thought the cookies had more flavor the day after they were baked.

Ingredients

3/4 cup golden raisins (2 1/2 ounces)
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
pinch of cloves
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 + 3 tablespoons cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup finely grated carrots (2 medium or 4 small)
1 cup walnuts (3 ounces), chopped

8 ounces cream cheese
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

Place raisins in a small bowl and add enough hot water to cover. Set aside for 5-10 minutes, then drain thoroughly and pat dry.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, spices, baking soda and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter, sugars, egg and vanilla until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in carrots, walnuts and raisins (drained!) on low speed. Add flour mixture and beat just until combined. Set dough in refrigerator to chill for 15-30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with Silpats or parchment paper.

Working with one baking sheet at a time, drop 1 1/2 Tablespoons of dough per cookie onto baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake each sheet separately, 13-15 minutes or until centers spring back to the touch. Cool on pan for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, pulse cream cheese and butter in a food processor, scraping down sides with a spatula as needed, until smooth. Add powdered sugar and vanilla, and pulse until combined.

If making ahead, store cookies at room temperature and frosting in refrigerator. Frost cookies before serving.

I don’t know about you, but that’s not gonna happen for me anytime soon. Let’s face it – I’ve never ever been golden bronze tan in my life.

So I decided to take my taste buds on a vacation instead. Did you know it’s pineapple season? Fresh pineapples are available in stores year round but peak growing season is March – July. Which is why I’ve bought and consumed 2 whole fresh pineapples in less than a week. They’re so sweet and delicious I can’t stop myself!

Nothing tastes more tropical to me than the combination of pineapple and coconut, like in the classic piña colada drink. Since it’s still on the chilly side here, I opted to go with the slightly warmer option of piña colada cake. This piña colada cake is a moist, coconut flavored yellow cake with bits of fresh juicy pineapple throughout, all topped with a coconut and pineapple glaze and toasted coconut.

It’s a vacation for your tongue. For the few moments it takes you to eat a slice, you’ll feel like you’ve been whisked away to a tropical island.

Piña Colada Cake

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Serves 8-12

Note: Cream of coconut is NOT the same coconut water or coconut milk. I used Coco Lopez cream of coconut for this recipe. It’s often found where you would buy cocktail mixers or in the ethnic foods aisle.

Cake Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tablespoon coconut rum or dark rum
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup cream of coconut, such as Coco Lopez
heaping 1/2 cup (2 1/2 ounces) finely chopped fresh pineapple

Glaze Ingredients

1 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 to 3 tablespoons pineapple juice
1 teaspoon coconut extract
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut, toasted*

Directions

* To toast coconut, spread shredded coconut in an even layer on a cookie sheet and bake at 300F, stirring every few minutes, for 10-15 minutes or until coconut is golden brown. Don’t walk away from the oven! The coconut will brown very quickly, so keep an eye on it. Set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan, or spray with baking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, then add rum and vanilla. Add cream of coconut and beat. (Batter may look curdled – it’s OK.) On low speed, add half of the dry ingredients at a time, mixing and scraping down bowl between each addition, until just combined. Fold in fresh pineapple with a spatula.

Spread batter (it will be thick) into prepared pan and bake at 350°F for 35-40 minutes, until the center springs back when touched and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then invert cake onto rack and cool to room temperature.

Once cool, combine powdered sugar, 1 1/2 tablespoons of pineapple juice, coconut and vanilla extract in a small bowl. Stir until a thick (spreadable but not runny) glaze forms. If too thick, add up to another 1 1/2 tablespoons of pineapple juice. Pour glaze over cake, nudging it to the edges with a spatula. Sprinkle toasted coconut on top. Store tightly covered at room temperature.

No wait, that’s just the Lemon Pudding Cakes.

Pudding cakes are a hybrid of two well-loved desserts – cake and pudding. But you don’t actually use either cake or pudding to make them. Confused? Sorry. All you really need to know is that you whisk together most of the ingredients, fold them into some whipped egg whites and bake. What goes in the oven as a soupy batter comes out as cake on top and pudding on the bottom – like magic. If you baked these with kids, I bet it would blow their minds. (OK, I admit it kinda blew my mind too.)

If you need some sunshine in your life, make these Lemon Pudding Cakes. They’re bright and sweet and light – a perfect pick-me-up after a long, cold winter or a dark and stormy Spring day.

Lemon Pudding Cakes

Adapted from Eating Well
Serves 8

I managed to use 4 6-ounce ramekins and 3 7-ounces very full ramekins for this batch, so you’ll need at the very least 8 6-ounce ramekins for the full batch. I strongly recommend using fresh squeezed lemon juice as it’s the star flavor in this very lemon-y dessert. I tried these both warm and chilled – I preferred mine chilled.

Ingredients

3/4 cup + 1/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup low-fat milk
2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 large egg yolks, room temperature
3 large egg whites, room temperature

powdered sugar, for dusting

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray eight 4- to 6-ounce ramekins with non-stick baking spray. Place ramekins in a roasting pan or baking dish deep enough to reach the top of the ramekins.

In a medium bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup sugar, flour and salt. Add milk, lemon zest, lemon juice, melted butter and egg yolks. Whisk to combine.

Using an electric mixer with a whisk attachment, beat egg whites on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. While beating, slowly add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Continue beating until egg whites form stiff peaks and look glossy. Carefully fold the egg whites into the batter. (It will be soupy).

Divide batter among prepared ramekins in roasting pan. Put roasting pan in oven and fill pan with enough really hot tap water to come halfway up the side of the ramekins. Bake until set on top and lightly browned, 25-30 minutes.

Cool ramekins on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature, or cover each ramekin with plastic wrap and chill to serve cold. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

And then there are the more humble cakes. They often look plain on the outside, but they taste fantastic. They’re quick to throw together and suitable for every day eating. This is one of those cakes.

What I love most about this Spiced Apple Bundt Cake, aside from how good it tastes, is how easy it was to prepare. There’s no creaming butter and sugar, no adding mixtures in intervals, no incorporating eggs one at a time. You pretty much just throw all of the ingredients in the mixer and turn it on. Done. As Ina Garten would say, how easy is that?

The cake itself is moist and sweet with just the right amount of texture from the apples and pecans. Because it doesn’t have any delicate layers or melt-able frosting, it would be easy to take along wherever you go. It tastes great plain, accompanied by just a cup of coffee or tea, but it also lends itself to dressing up too. You could easily add a glaze, top with more dried cranberries and chopped pecans and serve this as an easy dessert. Or you could warm up a slice and top it with a big dollop of plain 0% Greek yogurt for a decadent breakfast treat (like I’ve been doing all week). It really is a versatile cake and definitely one I can see myself making over and over again!

Spiced Apple Bundt Cake

Adapted from Epicurious
Serves 8-12

You can substitute raisins for the dried cranberries if you prefer, and 4 tablespoons of warm water for the apple cider & bourbon. I like spice, so I used heaping measurements for all of the spices in this recipe. Golden Delicious apples will work too, but don’t use Granny Smith – you need an apple that holds it’s shape.

Ingredients

1/2 cup dried cranberries
3 tablespoons apple cider
1 tablespoon bourbon or dark rum
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (packed) brown sugar (light or dark)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large Honeycrisp apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 cup (4 ounces) pecans, chopped

Confectioner’s sugar, for dusting

Directions

In a small bowl, combine dried cranberries, apple cider, and bourbon. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat the inside of a 10-inch bundt pan with baking spray.

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and salt. Add brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla. Beat on medium-high speed with the paddle attachment for about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides as needed, until batter is pale and smooth.

Add 2 teaspoons of liquid from the dried cranberries to the batter – drain the rest. (If you used water, you can skip that step.) Fold the cranberries, apples, and pecans into the batter.

Spoon into prepared pan, smooth the top, and bake at 350°F for about 1 hour, or until a skewer comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack, then invert cake onto rack to cool completely.

Store covered at room temperature. Dust with powdered sugar just before serving.