Rhubarb-Almond Cake

If you’re looking for a summer dessert this is it. I love rhubarb & have traditionally enjoyed it most in a strawberry rhubarb pie (mmmm). My aunt is allergic to strawberries so when deciding on what to bring for (Easter) dessert at my Grandma’s house I opted for this Rhubarb-Almond Cake. It’s light but moist. It’s sweet, but not too sweet. The rhubarb offers the right amount of tartness to make you want seconds.

Apple Dutch Baby

I love pancakes, I do. They do take some time to make as you have to make one individually. If you don't have that time to make a dozen pancakes when you're serving guests or more than two people I suggest a dutch baby pancake. It's basically a giant pancake you bake in the oven & then cut up like a pie to serve. So with the time you save flipping your cakes you can get your kitchen clean (because you really don't need to dirty that many dishes to make a dutch baby) & you can actually relax after brunch.

Have you made a dutch baby? What do you put in yours?

Better Home Cooking Basics: #37 Use Plastic Wrap for a Stick-Free Way to Roll out Pie Crust

I learned this trick for a stick-free way to roll out pie crust from my mom.  Start by tearing off two big pieces of plastic wrap. Lay one down on the cutting board or flat surface that you'll be working on. Place your ball of dough on the center of the plastic. Lay another piece of the plastic wrap on top. If you plastic isn't large enough use more pieces & overlap them. Then using a rolling pin, roll the dough out between the plastic wrap. You won't need to worry about extra flour making your dough too tough or your dough sticking to your rolling pin.  Plus, it makes it easier to get the dough off the cutting board & into your pie pan. Win. Win.

 Get more of my better home cooking basics here.

Better Home Cooking Basics: #21 Always us a Rubber Spatula to Stir Melting Chocolate

This tip comes from my chocolate gurus over at Chocoley. Whenever you're working with chocolate like I did for yesterday's post, never use a wooden spoon to stir the chocolate. (Gasp! Yes I know I used to do this too!) Wooden spoons retain smells (mmm yummy garlicky broccoli) & moisture which will ruin the chocolate. So for best results use a rubber spatula. I'm going to work this into my baking in general because as much as I love garlic - it doesn't pair well with chocolate (or does it?).

Check out more better home cooking basic tips here.

Better Home Cooking Basics: #20 Eyeball Measurements for Cooking & Measure Exactly for Baking

When I post cooking recipes (think chicken or veggies) you can usually get by with eyeballing the measurements - adding more or less here & there. When I post baking recipes (think chocolate chip cookies & cakes) it's best to use the measurements given exactly. Baking is a more precise chemistry so break out your measure cups & spoons so that the final sweet product rises when it should & cooks evenly without burning on the outside while the inside is soupy & raw (eww!). If you don't like to measure - stick to cooking & find a good bakery in your neighborhood.

Check out more better home cooking basic tips here.

Mama Jean's Irish Soda Bread

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Hope you’re celebrating the luck of the Irish with a green bagel or green beer or maybe some Irish Soda Bread. Last night, like most nights, I turn to Chris around 9pm & say “should I make [insert name of the blog post you’re reading now]?” To which Chris responds, “now?” Which he already knows the answer to that question is yes. So last night, my mom’s Irish Soda Bread was up-to-bat. Turns out I should’ve read through the entire recipe first because it has to bake for an hour & 20 minutes (80 minutes!!!!) & then it has to cool. So the photo you see above is what we ate for breakfast about 20 minutes ago.

How are you going to celebrate St. Patty’s Paddy's Day? Let me know in the comments below & if you have a great Irish Soda Bread recipe I’d love to see it.

Fudgey Made-from-Scratch Brownies

While watching all the Olympic athletes work up a sweat I had a craving for exercise brownies. We usually have a stock of brownie mix in the house & Chris usually will whip up a batch at the sheer mention of the word.  We didn’t have any brownie mix but after a quick web recipe search & ingredient assessment I found a way around the no-boxed-brownie mix-in-the-house-problem - I made them from scratch! They’re actually a lot easier than you think. They take a bit longer then just pouring out the box mix because you have to measure basic ingredients like butter, sugar, flour, salt & cocoa powder but other than that they didn’t take that long & were deliciously decadent. Next time you're in the brownie mix section I hope you'll grab some cocoa powder & give this old scratch thing a try instead. If you opt for the boxed mix which is your fave? Let me know in the comments below.

The Baker Chick's Cinnamon Rolls

As you may know, it's more or less freezing outside. Earlier this week instead of going to the gym I made cinnamon rolls. When it's super cold out you really should just throw on your favorite soft pants, crank the oven & bake something sweet.

After perusing the internet & recipes by Paula Deene & The Pioneer Woman I came upon a new (to me) blog, The Baker Chick.  I immediately loved this blog & decided that her 90-minute browned butter cinnamon roll with cream cheese frosting recipe was the one for me.

My one word of advice would be to read the recipe all the way through & to plan for a pan that the recipe calls for. I did not follow this advice & found myself with cinnamon rolls popping out of my pans! Fortunately, the outcome was still delicious, in fact dangerously so. After Chris & I taste-tested the fresh rolls out of the oven we knew we couldn't keep them in our house. I packed up two to-go containers of rolls to share with our teams of coworkers in the morning. There was no way we could have been trusted at home with them alone. They wouldn't stand a chance, we would have eaten them all!  Luckily our coworkers took care of the leftovers :)

Read more for tons of photos & The Baker Chick's full recipe. Be sure to check out her other recipes like these blueberry cinnamon rolls on the-baker-chick.com, too.