Desserts

Holiday Pumpkin Cravings: Pumpkin Bars

Holiday Pumpkin Cravings: Pumpkin Bars

Whoa! It’s Christmas at my local Costco! I haven’t even embraced the idea of Halloween yet, let alone considered spending $1000 (Yikes!) for an artificial tree. (For that price, maybe the tree comes complete with the presents!)  Pumpkin is beginning to sound good to me, though.…

A Honey of a Honey Cake

A Honey of a Honey Cake

Happy belated new year to those who celebrate. Last week, the Internet was rife with recipes for Honey Cake to celebrate Rosh Hashanha. Some of the postings were ebullient paens to the cake and its spicy flavors. I couldn’t resist and selected a recipe from…

Oldies But Goodies: 40th Anniversary! Marion Burros’ Plum Torte

Oldies But Goodies: 40th Anniversary! Marion Burros’ Plum Torte

    Every month Blue Cayenne features recipes from our archive of more than four hundred recipes. These recipes are our “Oldies But Goodies.” Today’s Oldie But Goodie recipe is for Marion Burros’ iconic Plum Torte. This month marks the 40th anniversary of that recipe…

Oatmeal Brown Butter Cookies and The Maillard Reaction

Oatmeal Brown Butter Cookies and The Maillard Reaction

Cookies never get old.  These Oatmeal Brown Sugar Cookies are a delight worth adding to your repertoire of cookie recipes. This recipe is from the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen Cookbook Shelf Love. The cookie is called Verena’s Road Trip Cookie in the book.  It is a…

Pretty as a Picture: Lemon Berry Yogurt Cake

Pretty as a Picture: Lemon Berry Yogurt Cake

  Lovely. Such a nice word. This cake is lovely. It’s pretty. The swirl of berries inside makes it beautifully appetizing. And, most importantly, it is delicious.  Right now, we are in the midst of a bountiful berry season here in Southern California, so this…

Plum Yogurt Cake

Plum Yogurt Cake

  Suddenly, the scent of plumson a mountain path:sunrise!—Matsuo Basho, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch     Plums are in!  I’ve got to agree with the delightful Basho haiku above. Plums are all good things–even sunrises. As you know if you read this blog,…

Dessert! No-Bake Lemon Custard

Dessert! No-Bake Lemon Custard

It was a party in a dessert bowl. We were celebrating the happy birthday of my neighbor and good friend Sarah, and I needed a light dessert to follow an ambitious Mexican menu.  Sarah loves everything lemon, so I prepared this Melissa Clark (New York…

A Belated Happy Nowruz: Persian Walnut Cookies

A Belated Happy Nowruz: Persian Walnut Cookies

So many interesting holidays. So little time. Nowruz, the Persian New Year, was celebrated on March 21, the Spring Equinox. With spring just “springing” here in Southern California, this is a belated nod to that celebration. Nowruz has been celebrated for more than 3000 years.…

Buttermilk Miso Maple Cake

Buttermilk Miso Maple Cake

This is a Dorie Greenspan recipe.  This little cake is maple sweet and miso savory at the same time, or, as Dorie puts it “on the brink of savory.”  In a preface to this recipe, she wrote that, were she to own a B &…

Oldies But Goodies: Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Oldies But Goodies: Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Every month Blue Cayenne features recipes from our archive of more than four hundred recipes. These recipes are our “Oldies But Goodies.” Today’s Oldie But Goodie recipe is for a Chocolate Guinness Cake. You’ll find it here. You don’t want to miss this great recipe…again. Want…