Blueberry Lavendar Cake

I have this thing for lavendar right now, in cookies in cakes in scones..but you have to be pretty careful with how much you use in a recipe because too much can result in a dessert that tastes like soap (and I can tell you from experience that soap does not taste very good)!

I’ve done this cake in many variations but this one is my favorite so far. A touch of lemon zest really compliments the lavender and blueberries and since I have a slight obsession with cornbread, I added a touch of cornmeal which gives a nice crunch to the moist fluffy cake. It's so versatile it can be a crowd pleasing dessert or just as perfect served with a hot cup of tea on one of our good ol Vancouver rainy days.

Blueberry Lavendar Cake
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour (used Anita's Organic)
1/2 cup white flour
¼ cup cornmeal
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup cane sugar
½ tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon zest, finely grated
½ tsp lavender, finely chopped
1 large egg
½ cup + 3 tbsp buttermilk (used Avalon)*
½ cup blueberries
2 tbsp coarse ground cane sugar

*Buttermilk can be substituted by using a dairy alternative such as almond milk, just add 2 tsp of apple cider vinegar to it.

1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter and flour a 10” tart pan with a removable bottom or a 9” cake pan.

2.Combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

3.In a mixer cream butter and sugar until fluffy, add egg and vanilla and continue to beat until completely incorporated. Scrape down sides of the mixer as you go.

4. On low speed add ½ the dry ingredients to the mixer, then buttermilk, then rest of the dry mix. Add in lavender and lemon zest and mix just until batter comes together.

5. Spread batter evenly into prepared pan and push blueberries into the batter. Sprinkle with coarse cane sugar.

5. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden and when a toothpick is inserted, comes out clean. Serve warm or room temperature.

Caramelized Banana Cake with Toasted Coconut and Cream Cheese Icing

I'm sorry chocolate hazelnut cake but you've been replaced. I have found a new favorite cake! With all of these glorious ingredients how could you go wrong? Gooey caramelized bananas squished between moist fluffy banana cake slathered in cream cheese icing and topped with toasted coconut. Don't be afraid of the list of ingredients! Have you ever made banana bread? Well you are halfway there then. I don't even really want to tell you where I got the idea of cream cheese and banana cake.....well okay fine I'll tell you...but I will have you know that a lot of kids in Jr.High were forced by their parents to go to band camp too! Yes band camp.. and no I didn't play the flute. I never went to a religious school but for some reason the place where band camp was held was religious, which meant before every meal we had to pray. As a 14 year old and someone who had never been to church, I found it a bit awkward but I remember thinking heck I will pray as long as they serve me up that delicious warm banana bread with cream cheese icing!! Growing up there was always a loaf up banana bread hanging around the kitchen but I had never had it slathered in cream cheese icing! To this day I still remember it as one of my first oh.my god. (no pun intended) food moments.

It was also just cherry blossom season here which is one of my favorite times of the year, so I knew just how I wanted to decorate this cake. Also if you are not the best at icing, this is the perfect cake for you! Since this cake gets completed coated in toasted coconut, you don't have to worry about doing the perfect icing job. I made this for my good friends birthday and when I went back home to Calgary I showed my family the pics and my brother said I want THAT cake!! I obliged but made it a bit healthier by using more whole wheat flour, cut back on the sugar and used low fat cream cheese to make the icing. I honestly thought it tasted just as good as the first time I made it, so I leave you with the healthier rendition of this cake.

Gooey caramelized banana filling

Middle shot

This was the cake I made for my bro and family. Not as pretty as the cherry blossoms!

I love cherry blossoms.

Caramelized Banana Cake with Toasted Coconut and Cream Cheese Icing

Banana Cake(Makes one 8" cake)

2 medium very ripe bananas, mashed

2 eggs

1 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup + 1 tbsp buttermilk

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour two 8" cake pans, line bottom with baking paper.

2.In a bowl mix together both flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

3. In another bowl beat eggs, sugar and oil. Add bananas and vanilla.

4. Alternate adding dry ingredients and buttermilk into banana mixture.

5. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool.

Caramelized Bananas

2 medium bananas, one ripe, one a bit more firm, sliced

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

2 tbsp butter

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

*splash of rum is optional*

1. In a large frying pan stir together your sugar and water. Place heat on med-high. When you see it start to turn color, stir the mixture so it caramelizes evenly. Even if it looks clumped together, don't worry, just keep stirring and it will melt.

2. When it turns golden/slightly dark brown take off the heat and add your (optional rum) butter, salt and vanilla.

3. Add in your soft banana first and let it melt into the sauce then add your firm banana which should keep its shape. Leave aside to cool.

Cream Cheese Icing

1 1/2 cups low fat cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

3 cups icing sugar

2 tbsp whipping cream (or almond milk or regular milk)

1 tsp vanilla

1. In a mixer beat the cream cheese, add butter and mix. Slowly add in vanilla, icing sugar and whipping cream. If the icing looks too soft, add a bit more icing sugar.

Toasted Coconut

2 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. On a baking sheet spread out coconut evenly and toast until golden brown. Approx 5 minutes. (Keep a close watch as it browns quickly)

To assemble:

1. Cut the tops off both 8" cakes and eat them while you decorate. On one of the cakes, spread with the caramelized banana filling, leaving a 1 inch border around. Invert the other cake on top (cut side down).

2. Ice the cake and coat with toasted coconut.

3. Top with your favorite flower.

Poundcake with Passionfruit Curd and Pomegranate Seeds

Well I am finally back after quite the hiatus! I wont go into details, but have you ever had a feeling when you just stop believing in yourself, your capabilities and your passion? Something like that happened to me and as a result my blog has suffered, but I'm BACK! I'm still trying to figure out the true purpose of what cooking means to me, but in the meantime I will leave you with something I made for our Christmas dessert...

Passionfruit curd! Oh.my.god. I don't know why I hadn't thought of this before! I've always loved lemon curd but after making this, I dont think I'll ever go back. It's sweet, tart and has a more tropical edge than lemon. It takes curd to a whole other level. I think curd (what a terrible word no?) is extremely versatile, pour it over poundcake and top with whipped cream and pomegranate seeds, use it as a filling for cake, mound it into tart shells and top it with meringue, dunk coconut madeleines into it..or do what I did and forget all of these ideas and just eat it by the spoonful!

Passionfruit Curd

2 cups passionfruit puree

2 eggs

2 egg yolks

1 cup sugar

2 tbsp cornstarch

1/4 cup butter

1.Whisk together eggs, sugar, passionfruit puree and cornstarch. Bring to boil over med-high heat, boil and stir for 1 minute.

2. Remove from heat, whisk in butter, strain through sieve into bowl. Cover with plastic wrap layed right on top of curd (to prevent a skin from forming) and let cool.

Chocolate Toffee Cookie Cake

So it was my friend Julie's birthday last weekend and she is a big lover of baking, especially cakes! She's just starting out and I have promised her a lesson in cake decorating but in the meantime, just knew for her own birthday I had to make her a special cake! I had asked her what her favorite flavors were and the only thing she told me was CHOCOLATE. A girl after my own heart. If there is one thing I love most in the world it's chocolate chip cookies so it only seemed right that I incorporate it with another love of mine, moist chocolate cake! I was afraid the chocolate buttercream might soften the cookie layer overnight, but after biting into a piece of cake the cookies were still crispy and chewy. I figured I mine as well throw toffee in too, since I'd already taken it to that sugar level! Plus I loved the contrast of all the browns and gold, I was pleased how it all came together. I know this is where I'm supposed to tell you the recipe on how to make the cake but unfortunately all these recipes come from the bakery I used to work at, Crave so I can't reveal them to you! One of the best places I've ever worked my old bosses really knew how to treat their staff. Not only extremely nice, also very generous with staff meetings catered with good food and monthly staff gifts, a VIP Cowboys Stampede party, always stocked fridge and freezer with food for us to eat, free massages..I could go on! I have so many good memories from working there. My ol bosses deserve every bit of success they have had and recently were named 2 of the top 40 under 40 entrepreneurs of Calgary! If there are a few things I've learned from Crave, it would be how I would treat my employees, run an insanely successful business and how to ice a cake!

Ready to be assembled!

Rolling out the mini cookies, making sure each one had a chocolate chip (I would feel ripped off if I got a cookie with no chocolate chip in it, wouldn't you?!)

Middle layer of the cake-Chocolate Buttercream, Toffee Bits and Crumbled Chocolate Chip Cookies

After being out of the bakery for sometime now, I was relieved to know I can still ice a cake! I still got itt!

Finished on site

Warm Chocolate Pumpkin Cake with Pumpkin Butter and Cinnamon Scented Whipped Cream

So a couple days before Halloween some friends decided they wanted to do pumpkin carvings. One of them an Art History major and the other three talented artists, I was trying to think what the heck I was going to carve into my pumpkin. Of course the first thing that came to mind was something food related! I thought about it, couldn't think of anything (besides seeing this excellent pumpkin on Butter on the Endives blog that was made into a hamburger with real lettuce, cheese, tomato and a sesame seed bun using the leftover pumpkin seeds) and realized why not let them do their kind of pumpkin art and I will do mine? So I looked up pumpkin recipes and came up with this! The original recipe was a two layer cake with ganache and pastry cream which would have taken too long to make since I wanted something that would be fast and easy to whip up while they were carving, so instead I changed the batter recipe, served the cake warm, dolloped it with pumpkin butter made with the leftover puree and finished it with whipped cream and a final dusting of cinnamon and icing sugar. Using pumpkin made the cake soo moist and cakey and served warm, its the perfect dessert for those chilly fall nights!

Above: My pumpkin art....Below: Their pumpkin art!

Warm Chocolate Pumpkin Cake
(Makes 1 - 8'' cake and 12 cupcakes or 2- 8'' cakes) This can be made into a cake as well-Cool both 8'' cakes, slice off tops of cake to make a flat surface, fill middle with pumpkin butter, invert one cake cut side down onto the filling and cover with whipped cream.

1 3/4 cup flour (plus more to coat pan)
1/3 plus 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp fresh ground nutmeg (optional)
1 15 oz can pumpkin puree
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp butter, softened (plus more to grease pan)
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 8'' pan and dust evenly with flour. Tapping out any excess flour. Line bottom of the pan with baking paper
2. Combine together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. In another bowl combine pumpkin puree, oil and cream.
3. In a mixer beat butter and sugar until fluffy, add eggs and vanilla.
4. Add in dry ingredients and wet ingredients, alternating, starting and ending with the dry ingredients.
5. Divide batter in half, and place in 2-8'' pans or 1/2 in one 8'' pan, the rest into lined cupcake molds.
6. Bake cakes for 30-35 minutes, cupcakes approx 15-18 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
7. Serve warm with pumpkin butter and whipped cream

Pumpkin Butter (*note this is not a typical pumpkin butter recipe)
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1. Combine and chill in fridge

Cinnamon Scented Whipped Cream
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp icing sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1. Whip cream slowly adding in icing sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. Whip to soft peak and chill in fridge.

5 minute Chocolate Cherry Buttermilk Cake (No Joke!)

11:52pm and I am on my computer when I came across this recipe for 5 minute chocolate cake. Noo wayy...I said to myself, this I have to try!! 5 minutes later I'm in the kitchen grabbing flour, cocoa powder and other ingredients, thinking of how I can change the recipe. Instead of milk I used buttermilk and kahlua, unrefined rapadura sugar and threw in some chocolate chips and bing cherries leftover from my turnovers that I had pitted and froze. Three minutes in the microwave and dessert was ready! Okay, so maybe its not the same as a cake from the oven, but how else can you have cake when you only have 5 minutes to spare!? So fun, if my roomies woke up and came into the kitchen I might have looked like a crazy person I was so delighted with this recipe..haha! I'll definitely make this again. Everything is mixed right into the mug so there is no mess either!


5 Minute Chocolate Cherry Buttermilk Cake (Serves 1)

4 tbsp flour

3 tbsp unrefined sugar (or white sugar)

2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder (I used the good stuff Valrhona)

pinch of salt

2 tbsp buttermilk (or milk)

1 tbsp Kahlua (or just use 3 tbsp milk)

1 egg

2 tbsp oil

1 tbsp chocolate chips

1 tbsp bing cherries (or other berries)

splash of vanilla

1 mug

1. Combine all dry ingredients in mug, add in buttermilk, oil, vanilla and egg and stir till combined. Fold in chocolate chips and cherries

2. Microwave on high for 3 minutes. Serve warm and if available, with ice cream or whipped cream

Triple Berry Chocolate Shortcakes

I went to a dinner party at a friends place and wanted to bring a dessert that was A. Chocolate (for selfish reasons as I was craving chocolate and hey who doesn't love chocolate?!) B. Summer worthy and C. Transportable. I thought about a cake but without a cake container or cake box they are a helluva pain to transport and in a hot car with icing? No Thanks! The answer? Individual chocolate shortcakes! Easier to make than a cake, all you have to do is pack your shortcakes in a tin, berries and whipped cream in separate containers and throw it all in a small cooler. As a bonus individually plated desserts always just seem to look nicer too. Also if you are in a time crunch (which I was!) this dessert can be made start to finish in about half an hour. Nobody needs to know you didn't sweat it out in the kitchen all day!


Triple Berry Chocolate Shortcakes
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3 tbsp granulated sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup cold butter, cubed
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup chocolate chunks, roughly chopped
1 egg lightly beaten
3 tbsp raw sugar (or any coarse sugar to sprinkle on top)

2 cups whipping cream
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 tbsp vanilla

fresh berries (I used strawberries, blueberries and raspberries)
fresh mint (for garnish)

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
2. Add in cold butter and using a pastry blender or your hands mix until butter is the size of small peas. Mix in chocolate chunks
3. Add in buttermilk just until combined
4. On a lightly floured board knead dough gently until it all comes together.
5. Roll out approximately 2 cm thick, round.
6. Cut into circles using a 6cm round cutter and place on a baking sheet lined with silpat or baking paper
7. Brush the tops of the shortcakes with the beaten egg and sprinkle with raw sugar
8. Bake for 12-15 min. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool.
9. While shortcakes are cooling, in a mixer whip the whipping cream, slowly adding in the icing sugar and vanilla. Whip until soft peaks form
10. Slice strawberries if using.

Rhubarb Blueberry Blackberry Crumble Cake

Ahh how I love summer farmer's markets...so inspiring! In season right now is the oh so lovely rhubarb, actually what am I saying? I used to hate rhubarb! Unless it was dipped in a pound of sugar of course. I think I may have found a new appreciation for it, the rhubarb I picked up this weekend at the market didn't taste anything like the stuff we used to pick from our backyard! I sauteed it quickly in a pan with a splash of vanilla and a sprinkle of sugar just until soft. I know strawberry and rhubarb are usually the complimentary couple but I wanted to switch it up a bit and there were some nice looking blueberries and blackberries at my local grocer. I also doubled this cake recipe since I was feeding a bigger crowd for a bbq. Thanks to Dinner with Julie for another great recipe!

Rhubarb Blueberry Blackberry Crumble Cake (from Dinner with Julie)
Cake:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup low fat sour cream or plain yogurt
Fruit of your choice


Crumble:
1/2 cup whole wheat or all-purpose flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1-2 tbsp ground flax seed (optional)
2 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp butter (not softened)

1.Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 8" pan
2.Combine all crumble ingredients until well combined
3.For cake, combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl
4. Using a mixer cream butter and sugar together. Add egg and vanilla
5.Alternate adding the dry ingredients and sour cream in, starting and finishing with flour.
6.Place batter in pan, top with fruit and then crumble
7.Bake for 35 min or until toothpick inserted comes out clean

Piece of cake: Raspberry Lemon Curd Cake

No really, I swear it really was a piece of cake to make! So maybe it wasn't my finest decorating job, but it was tasty ! I hummed and hawed over what kind of cake to make for my friends birthday, chocolate cake? nahh, too original..chocolate cardamom cake with cream cheese icing? a little too out there...maybe its my obsession with all things lemon right now that I settled on a lemon curd filling with fresh raspberries sandwiched between two nice fluffy layers of sponge cake topped with whipped cream...sweet, tart and satisfying.
Sponge cake
1 1/4 cup sifted flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
6 eggs, separated
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 tsp vanilla

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two 8 inch cake pans by buttering and flouring pans then putting parchment paper circles on the bottom of each pan
2.Sift together flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder and salt
3.Beat egg whites until frothy, gradually add 1/2 cup sugar, beating until stiff peaks form
4.Combine egg yolks, water, vanilla, slowly incorporate dry ingredients into this mixture. Beat until thick and lemon colored
5. Fold egg whites into egg yolk mixture and place into prepared pans
6.Bake for 45 min or until toothpick comes out clean

Lemon Curd
(adapted from Donna Hays modern classics cookbook)
1 cup fresh lemon juice
200 g butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
6 egg yolks

1.Place lemon juice and butter in a saucepan. When butter is melted add sugar, eggs and egg yolks.
2.Stir constantly over medium-low heat until mixture thickens (8-10 min)

Whipped cream
2 cups whipping cream
1/4 cup icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups fresh raspberries
mint (to garnish)

1.Whip cream, add vanilla and slowly adding in icing sugar until soft peaks form.

To assemble:
1.Peel parchment off bottom of one of the cakes, place enough lemon curd to cover the center of the cake and 2 cups of raspberries on top of curd
2.Flip the second cake over so the parchment side faces up, place on top
3.Cover with whip cream and garnish with more raspberries and mint