fruit | I Wanna Bake!

Cherry Peach Crisp

Posted on August 31, 2016 by Katie Gaffen

Somehow, summer is almost gone, and we’re gearing up for the season of pumpkins, apples, and cinnamon. Yea, fall! As the dog days of summer begin to give way to the promise of cooler weather and shorter days (in the northern hemisphere, at least), I’m doing my best to make good use of the last of summer’s seasonal produce. Just a few days after discussing the differences between cobblers, crumbles, and crisps, I found the biggest peaches I have ever seen during a recent trip to the grocery store. Clearly, a peach cobbler/crumble/crisp was in my future.

Clafoutis

Posted on July 27, 2016 by Katie Gaffen

We’re currently at the tail end of one of my favorite seasons of the year: cherry season! Josh and I celebrated by picking 6 pounds of them while we were in Traverse City, Michigan last week (6 pounds was me exercising restraint). I would have loved to take them ALL home, but I know there’s no way I can use them fast enough. Sigh.

Aren’t they beautiful?

Ginger Lime Madeira Cake

Posted on July 13, 2016 by Katie Gaffen

Two weeks ago, I was pleasantly surprised to see that PBS is now airing season 6 of The Great British Baking Show on Friday nights. To celebrate, I decided to try (at least) one recipe from each episode. This week’s experiment is Madeira cake (the first episode’s Signature Challenge).

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins Made with Leftover Frosting

Posted on May 25, 2016 by Katie Gaffen

Apologies for the late post! I’ve been struck with an acute case of laziness, so when 10:30 rolled around last night, I realized that there was no way this post was going up at normal time. After a small bout of illness early in the weekend, I had a surprisingly productive Sunday, the fruits of which should be showing up on this blog in the coming weeks. I guess it’s not surprise that I had to make up for all that productivity with a decent period of unencumbered sloth. 😉

Preakness Black-Eyed Susan Cupcakes

Posted on May 18, 2016 by Katie Gaffen

The Preakness (the second leg of the Triple Crown) is this Saturday! I’ll admit that this is the race I most often forget about because after the Kentucky Derby happens, I’m already making my plans for the Belmont Stakes. This year, I wanted to make sure to show the Preakness some love by recreating its official drink, the Black-Eyed Susan, as a dessert. I’ve already done Mint Julep Bundt Cake this year, so let’s see if I can make it through the Triple Crown of Baking in 2016!

Easy Strawberry Banana Cornbread

Posted on May 11, 2016 by Katie Gaffen

Once again, I fell into the trap of buying a bunch of bananas. Just like last time, I got through about half of them before the rest managed to turn a particularly unappetizing shade of brown. I’d been planning to make a dessert cornbread with strawberries for awhile now, and having used bananas in the place of eggs before (a pretty standard vegan substitution), I had a feeling it was finally time to make it happen.

Lemonhead Cookies

Posted on April 6, 2016 by Katie Gaffen

I know the calendar says that spring has started already, but I have my doubts. It’s snowed twice in the last week here in Cleveland, and there’s no end in sight yet. With that in mind, I am taking it upon myself to bring elements of spring into my life, from brightly colored dresses, to butterfly wall stickers, to (you guessed it) fruity cookies. I’ve been waiting eagerly for awhile now to share these lemon cookies with you (about as impatiently as Cookie Monster in this commercial), and this past snowy weekend seemed like the perfect time to test them out. Here’s to sunnier days ahead!

Hamantaschen

Posted on March 23, 2016 by Katie Gaffen

Purim begins today, and that means it’s the season of hamantaschen! For those who haven’t yet experienced the joy that is eating a hamantasch (I hadn’t until two years ago), it’s time to fire up your oven right now (well, actually after many hours of chilling, but we’ll get to that later). There are various stories about the symbolism of the triangular cookies (you can read more about them here and at the link above), but in general, they represent the villain of Purim, Haman. The most traditional filling is made of poppy seeds, but fruit fillings are also common.

Chocolate Strawberry Pie

Posted on March 9, 2016 by Katie Gaffen

My first wedding anniversary is right around the corner, so naturally this calls for pie! This is a recipe that my husband and I developed together while we were dating. It’s been through several revisions since then, but the version I’m presenting today is the one we served at our wedding (along with six other varieties of pie, of course). It’s just the right mixture of strawberry and chocolate, as well as crunchy and smooth.

Lemon Pomegranate Cheesecake

Posted on February 17, 2016 by Katie Gaffen

Once again, it seems I’m late with a holiday post. Several food holidays are bunched up in the beginning of the year (Mardi Gras, Valentine’s Day, Packzki Day, etc.), so I’m falling a bit behind in my production schedule. That said, this lemon pomegranate cheesecake is going to be great any time of year, with or without the pink hearts on top.

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