British Desserts

We recently made our first trip across the Atlantic.  Our passports have been stamped and we have been bitten hard by the travel bug to do it all again.  Because cakes and all desserts are of course "my thing" I tried to grab a few photos before we gobbled them down.  That turned out to be a harder issue than it sounds like.  We walked all day and enjoyed  so many sights that by the time we sat down to dinner and started recapping the day with each other we just dug right in before thinking half of the time.  So some of these are also just what we found enjoyable through the window.

Coffee of many varieties was a daily necessity - several times actually!! This one was from Jacob's Coffee House in Bath.

No bake cookies

A few weeks ago I was standing at the grocery store counter waiting to pay just like any other time.  But this time I succumbed to the impulse buying strategy imposed upon us while we wait.  There was a beautiful looking no bake cookie all packaged up and waiting to help me make my drive home nice and yummy and I didn't resist.  Afterward, however, I started looking at the ingredients list and realized that I could make that same cookie very easily.  It was a good one; no preservatives or gluten or anything.  I looked through my recipe box and found a couple of different ones and compared them to the ingredient list.  With a couple modifications I came up with the same components and adjusted the amounts to what looked to be right.  I was so pleased with the results!

The only problem is that now I have a wonderful recipe that takes very little time to put together and makes absolutely delicious cookies!  I call them 4 way stop cookies because

British Flag Cake

My daughter loves all things British.  In fact she is kind of obsessed with the music scene over there and that fits since she is studying to work in the music industry after college.  So it was with all of our blessing that she applied for the study abroad program and it was all of her own effort that gave her the ability to go.  She was accepted and without hesitation we decided it was the best excuse ever to make it a family vacation!

Her birthday is in the middle of the summer so I have had the opportunity to spend it with her each summer so far.

Gluten Free Crispy Peanut Butter balls

Peanut butter balls are typically one of those treats that are made during the Christmas holidays.  But sometimes there are events that need to be given that much special attention too.  Unfortunately these came to my mind to make for the family gathering after the memorial service for a very special woman - Craig's aunt Joyce.

The three sisters: June, Joyce and Dixie

I always held a special place in my heart for Joyce because I felt that she and I were alike in some ways.  Only, she was much better at showing her love and compassion than I have ever been.  She was a strong woman of faith, put her family as her top priority, was very strong in her opinions, kept lists and bins, travelled all over the world and spent more years than she would have liked in the middle of house remodeling projects.  My girls loved her deeply, Craig loved her deeply and I loved her deeply.  But even more than that - we all confidently know that she loved us just as deeply too.

So with that said, and now that I've wiped my still-fresh tears away, I will try to describe this recipe.

Surprise inside "sweet" 16 gluten free cake

I'm still cleaning up my files to get all the baked goods posted that I have actually been able to make in the last couple months.  This one was a favorite for sure!  My young cousin was turning 16 and I very much wanted to do something special for him.  I've made a couple pretty nice cakes for his little sister (you can look at here at one of them) but had never had the opportunity to make one for him.  But, being a guy, and a quiet one at that (not to mention that he's grown up with 4 older girl cousins and a little sister), I couldn't make some "sweet 16" style cake.  He is a wonderful swimmer so I decided to do an understated blue, wave style ombre

GF Banana Donuts with Maple Bacon glaze

It's been a while. . . . I had to stop baking each week because there wasn't anyone to give everything to and the scale was obnoxiously telling me it wasn't a good idea that I was eating it all.

Sometimes I just get a craving for something and can't get it out of my head.  That's what happened with these donuts.  Actually it was the maple bacon glaze that I really wanted

Strawberry Pavlovas for Valentine's Day

With Valentine's Day approaching it is required to have a great dessert.  Or at least it should be and chocolate is by far the top choice for most.  I thought I would try to come up with something a little different this year, and lighter if possible.  Upon going through several old pictures I came across a pavlova I had done before with lemon curd and berries - very yummy - and I thought about changing it up a little for this holiday.

Pavlova's are a large version of a meringue cookie and will hold whatever shape you put it into before it goes into the oven.  I decided that instead of just going with the standard round, I would give it the festive heart shape for this season.  I also thought that I would go with the traditional color scheme as well and nothing says love in February like pink with strawberries and sprinkles.  Then because I was trying to keep this light, gluten free and do something new, I decided to add some coconut milk whipped cream also.

It is a pretty easy dessert for a lot of wow factor you just have to be ready to put a little time into it