Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

Summer here in southern BC is a veritable cornucopia of fresh, ripe berries of all kinds. Blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and blackberries – all are plump and sweet from the summer sun. This Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake is easy to whip together and highlights the best of our summer fruit.

Cake: it's what's for breakfast. Yep, you heard me.

Since summer has arrived in full force, I’ve been a busy bee; buzzing from one activity to the next. As a result, my garden has been — shall we say — gently neglected. Oh who am I kidding? It is overgrown on the west side with blackberries. 10-foot tall raspberry canes as thick as a baby’s arm, with razor-sharp thorns just waiting to bleed any unsuspecting passers-by. The up side? The branches are so heavy with giant, glossy berries, they are practically laying on the ground. We love berries of all kinds, and this is my absolutely favourite coffee cake to make with fresh berries. Any berry will do – use whatever you have.

Prepare to inhale several slices of this raspberry goodness.

Click through for the recipe....

A Very Dog-tastic Birthday Cake

A Very Dog-Tastic Birthday Cake

My sweet little boy turned one on Sunday! Yes, you are correct in assuming my sweet little boy is actually a big, drooling, furry, dog!

Here's Cooper when he was a wee pup:

Cooper as a wee puppy; only 6 weeks old.

As I am always making cakes for everyone in the family, I wanted to make one for Cooper. It had to be special; quality, dog-tummy-friendly ingredients, and still look somewhat birthday cake-ish. I think I was successful!

What's in a dog-tastic cake? Wild salmon, brown rice, free range egg, mashed potatoes, and greek yogurt. Drooling yet?

Coming up with ingredients wasn't that difficult. I pictured a meatloaf-type construction and went from there. I used canned wild salmon and mixed it with some cooked brown rice for a binder. Then I mixed in a free range egg. I divided the mixture into two 4" springform pans and baked them until set. The mashed potatoes are simply instant mashed (perfect for a frosting texture!) mixed with greek yogurt.

Oh please can I just eat it right now? Hurry and take the photo already!

I think he liked it.

Sluuuuurrrrpppp!

Want to make one for your pooch? Click through for the recipe...

Angel Food French Toast with Mascarpone Cream and Raspberries

Yup, it's french toast. Made with cake.

I made french toast with angel food cake.

Yes, my dears, you read that correctly! We have been on a little french toast kick lately. We have tried different breads, thicknesses, egg-to-milk ratios, toppings and the like. I got this idea – the angel food cake idea – from an older issue of Bon Appetit magazine. What a great resource! Their suggestion: substitute sliced angel food cake for bread in your favourite french toast recipe. My eyes glazed over and after I finally retrieved my chin from the floor, I had made a decision. Challenge accepted!

I find angel food cake to be very sweet. While I was sure the egg dip would tone that down a little, I wanted to offset that sugar-hit with the tartness of fresh raspberries, and the tang of creamed mascarpone cheese. I also made raspberry sauce (my sis-in-law calls me the Saucy Saucier, because sauce is awesome, and should be consumed in mass quantities).

The night before my experiment, I baked up an angel food cake. I left it to cool overnight on the kitchen counter, and to dry it out a little as well. OK, OK, you caught me. I forgot about it and went to bed. In spite of my neglect, the resulting cake was just a teensy bit dried out – perfect for soaking up some lightly-beaten eggs mixed with a bit of milk.

The result? Angel food french toast, served with a dollop of mascarpone cream, fresh raspberries and drizzled with raspberry sauce was a little bit of heaven. Dessert for brunch, if you will. I think this would also make a great dessert after a fancy brunch. The toast is very delicate and sweet, and soaks up the raspberries and cream like a dream. 

Mmmm deliciously messy

I ended up with some leftover cake, and you probably will as well. Store it in an airtight container in your fridge, and get creative with some layered desserts!

Golden brown goodness!

Click through for recipe and instructions

Raspberry Greek Yogurt Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream

Raspberry Greek Yogurt Layer Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream

One fun benefit of belonging to a large family is plenty of birthdays. Each birthday means another birthday cake, of course! We recently attended a party for my Mom-in-law's birthday, and for her celebration, I wanted to try something special. This Raspberry Greek Yogurt Cake fit the bill perfectly.

It has fruit in it so it's healthy, right? Right? Hello?

This cake is very moist, and the fresh raspberries add bright flavour. The recipe below makes four layers, but I only used three for the cake. Yup, that left one layer leftover for me! 

Happy birthday to a special lady! Photo by Marlee O.

Because this was a birthday cake for a special lady, I made lots of frosting so I could make the cake look extra special. To make a regular, two-layer cake, simply halve the recipe below and use only the Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream.

The yogurt makes this cake moist and rich.

Click through for the recipe and instructions.

Apricot Kuchen

Something's kuchen in das kitchen

As the grey, blah days continue, my thoughts drift back to summer and idyllic days driving through vineyard-covered hillsides. One of our vacation destinations this summer was the Okanagan. Anyone who reads my column regularly will know that it is a regular haunt of mine! We stayed with friends, and they sent us home with a generous box of apricots from their garden tree. What a wonderful gift! Our hostess, Margie, made us a version of this Apricot Kuchen, which I absolutely loved. “Kuchen” means cake, and fresh-picked fruit plus cake equals a summer treat like no other.

Behold my bounteous orbs!

These tiny apricots were at the peak of ripeness. I had to be extremely careful not to squeeze them too hard or they would burst! The cake is a simple short cake – it is really easy and doesn’t have many ingredients. Lay the fruit on top of the batter and it sinks down ever so slightly into the cake. A light dusting of cinnamon and sugar on top creates a smoky, caramelized crust on the fruit. After baking, brush the top of the cake with a glaze made from melted apricot jam. In the end you get a fruity little coffee cake, to enjoy in the afternoon with tea, or as I have been doing — with breakfast. This Apricot Kuchen was even better the next day, as the juices from the cooked apricots and the glaze soaked into the top of the cake. Yum! 

Fruity wheel of awesomeness

To peel or not to peel?That is a personal preference, for sure. My personal preference was to not fuss over peeling 12 tiny apricots! The fruit was so ripe that the skins were practically non-existent after baking. However, if I were to make this with peaches, I would definitely peel them. You can make this cake with any stone fruit such as peaches, plums or nectarines. Try it with cherries — I recommend you use a cherry pitter so you don’t go crazy!

This was my second breakfast.

Click through for the recipe and instructions

How To: Zebra Striped Cake

So chic!

I have been seeing this cool, zebra-striped technique everywhere lately, and wanted to try it out for myself. I love all my striped clothing – why not cake, too? I had been putting it off because it looked like it would be really complicated. Guess what? It isn’t! It is SO easy. Your friends will be amazed at your cake wizardry, when presented with this fun cake with the zebra-striped surprise inside.

I made my cake in red and white stripes, but you can use any contrasting colours. This cake would look fantastic with vanilla and chocolate stripes! The darker the chocolate, the better.

For simplicity, use 2 two-layer boxed cake mixes – one white cake, and the other devil’s food cake.

Click through for the recipe and tutorial 

Caramel-Glazed Apple Quick Bread

Coffee break time!

The transition between summer and fall is the time of year I love the most. Slightly cooler than summer, but not yet the blah grey drizzle of winter. Visions of sweaters, boots, and warm comfort foods dance around my head. Apple varieties appearing at the market is starting to grow as crops are harvested in the orchards.

Pink Lemonade Ombre Petal Cake

Pretty in pink: Pink Lemonade Ombre Petal Cake

What is “pink lemonade” anyway? The super-sweet, tart lemonade is a staple around our place in the summer! It quenches without being too sour. You can add things to it (soda, vodka, more vodka) to make it extra special. Try blending a couple of tablespoons of frozen pink lemonade concentrate with ice, Grand Marnier and vodka for a fancy pink frozen cocktail.

Manly Desserts: Guinness Chocolate Cake with Bittersweet Chocolate Ganache and Bailey's Cream Cheese Frosting

Manly Guinness Chocolate Cake for Manly Men

Happy Father's Day! Today, we celebrated dear, old Dad. Many of you spent the day with Dad, as I did, participating in his favourite activities, or Dadtitivies. Golfing, fishing, boating, hunting, NASCAR — all the manly-man things Dad does anyway, but on Father's Day we get to go with him.

My Dad chose his favourite activity — lunch. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree as that's my favourite activity, too. We took him to his favourite lunch spot (Tim Horton's), and then back home for a home-baked treat.

Rhubarb Custard Cake

Pretty, red rhubarb

Spring has arrived, and that means it's the time of year when well-meaning neighbours and relatives gift you with armloads of ruby red rhubarb. You thank them — "You grew it yourself? Fanstastic!" — but you're secretly wondering what you're supposed to do with it. 

Lemon Lemon Cake

Zesty!

When life hands you lemons — make Lemon Lemon Cake! I made this cake twice last week, and I LOVE it. I am so IN love with it, I will have to MARRY it. Seriously.

Happy birthday Marie Antoinette!

Today is the birthday of my cake-loving mascot, Marie Antoinette!

I am in love with Sofia Coppola's movie version of her life, inaccuracies aside. Everything about the costumes, the sets, Kirsten Dunst's performance, makes me giddy. I just wish the DVD would come out on Blu-ray already! Do you hear me, Sofia?

Chocolate Ruffle Cake

I love birthdays. There's nothing I love more than a shared celebration with family and friends. Recently, we celebrated the birthday of the wonderful Pamela, my friend and sister-in-law. I just need to say that Pamela is generous, effervescent, fun, hilarious, clever, talented, creative and a culinary genius. As a surprise, I made her a chocolate birthday cake. However, I decided I need to fancy it up with a nifty frosting technique. Here is the result — Chocolate Ruffle Cake!

Pretty, ruffly and girly — a perfect birthday cake for the birthday girl.

Red Velvet Cake

Luscious Red Velvet Cake, with pretty cream cheese frosting roses

When I was a teenager, my family was transplanted from western Canada to rural Mississippi for a short time. That year brought daily lessons of culture shock, the main one of course was the food. I have many memories of shiver-inducing food, however, I did fall in love with one dessert: Red Velvet Cake. This moist, sweet, beautifully red cake with its tangy white frosting was a wonderful treat; not quite birthday cake, not quite chocolate cake, but something unique and new to me.

Chocolate Sheet Cake

Yuuuuuuuuuuuuum. That is all.

I call this my Last Minute Cake. No need to worry about remembering to take out butter or whatnot; everything is melted together in a pot on the stove. This easy cake can be mixed by hand and baked in one large pan! Rich and fudgy and chocolatey—and the chocolate glaze icing will knock your socks off. The first time I made the icing and tasted it, my eyes bugged out and I immediately reached for a larger spoon. Here's a tip: divide the batter among two 8x8 pans - freezing one cake for later use.

Recipe after the jump!

The Famous Chocolate Cake

The Famous Chocolate Cake!

There's no denying it: I like cake. This cake — The Famous Chocolate Cake —  is my favourite, and the most-requested cake choice by my family at get-togethers, birthday parties and barbecues.

Jason and Pam serve the cake with ice cream; Robin waits in anticipation for his piece.

It has a rich, deep chocolate flavour and a dense and moist crumb. It is easily customizable with different fillings such as custard or raspberry jam. It is simple to make and if you follow the instructions, it will never fail you. Enjoy it, as we did, with a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon or an ice-cold glass of milk.

Banana Cake with Chocolate Buttercream and Coconut Custard

Banana cake is such a homey, comforting treat. Baked into loaves and drizzled with sour cream glaze and enjoyed with cafe latte, slices of banana loaf are available at almost every coffee shop for good reason. Baked into a cake pan and topped with rich, chocolate buttercream or cream cheese frosting, banana cake can be sliced into tasty squares and served after lunch. Or made into muffins, delectably studded with dark chocolate chips. The possibilities are endless for this home baked treasure.

Banana Cake hot out of the oven

This banana cake recipe comes from my Mom, who made it in a cake pan with vanilla buttercream for me and my sister to devour as a special after school snack. It had bananas in it, so it was healthy, right?