16-24: French Chocolate Cake

16-24: French Chocolate Cake

I recently attended a baby shower for a former co-worker and took it as an opportunity to knock out two more Simply Delicious desserts: 16-39: Apricot Tart and this one, 16-24: French Chocolate Cake. I wanted to bring something fruit/nut and something just plain chocolate, since some people there had nut allergies and others might just want something simple and chocolate.

16-24 French Chocolate Cake

This was a combination birthday party/baby shower (same person being honored for both), which will hopefully explain the odd decorations on my version of the cake. I’ve spared you pictures of the worst of my decoration choices, but let’s just say I made liberal use of all 4 colors of a grocery store icing kit. I kept meaning to hit a craft store for better cake decorations (or even Amazon), but time got away from me. ⏳


Read more

16-14: Orange-Almond Cake

16-14: Orange-Almond Cake

No, this isn’t a repeat of 16-47: Orange-Almond Pie–at least, not exactly. 16-14: Orange-Almond Cake uses almond paste while the pie version used almond meal (flour). This one also includes dark chocolate, which ALWAYS goes well with almond and orange flavors. ?

In the interest of not eating the whole cake at once (which is possible with something like this), I’m going to bake 12 individual cakes instead with a mini-Bundt pan that I have. That way, I can make them all, wrap and freeze them so that we can pull out a portioned piece for dessert without the temptation of eating the whole thing.


Read more

16-9: Raspberry Tart

16-9: Raspberry Tart

Here’s a simple dessert that’s easy for a dinner, gift, or even just a snack. 16-9: Raspberry Tart is exactly what it sounds like–pie crust in a tart pan filled with raspberry preserves and topped with bits of dough. Simply Delicious uses a simple drop method for the dough topping, but I think we can do better than that. ?

Why did anyone think that amorphous blobs of dough were an acceptable tart topping? ?‍♀️


Read more

17-57: Coffee Cake Wreath

17-57: Coffee Cake Wreath

This recipe, 17-57: Coffee Cake Wreath is really delicious and the wreath presentation is really pleasing to the eye. ?

Our kitchen equipment collection has been curated by Jamie over the years. We have the perfect pair of scissors to cut this dough in our knife block.


Read more

15-51: Frozen Strawberry Yogurt

15-51: Frozen Strawberry Yogurt

15-51: Frozen Strawberry Yogurt: I really liked this cold concoction. I have never attempted a frozen desert before this. I’m glad to say this recipe was a great success. ?

This card describes the flavor like a certain presidential candidate I am loathe to quote, except it’s so quotable…it’s fantastic. ?


Read more

15-1: Lemon Mousse

15-1: Lemon Mousse

It took more than two years, but I’ve finally ventured into the last untouched dessert category – Group 15: Cold Desserts – with 15-1: Lemon Mousse. I’ve experimented with mousse before, both within this project and in my own cooking (here’s one of my desserts from my restaurant days), but I’ve never made this version. It’s simple, refreshing, and a good summer dessert. ?

This recipe is for lemon, but you could probably substitute orange, lime, or something else citrusy that’s similar if you want to get creative/different with it. This freezes/holds well, so you can make it even further in advance of the night before if you want. ❄


Read more

17-27: Nut Cookies

17-27: Nut Cookies

17-27: Nut Cookies are tremendous. My mother certainly never baked cookies like this. She is into the traditional chocolate chip variety only. ?

This was my first time baking with rye flour, which we had left over from when Jamie made 17-37: Holiday Cookies. ?


Read more

17-55: Scottish Shortbread

17-55: Scottish Shortbread

Here’s another good cookie press recipe. It’s a long way away from the holiday season, and cookie cutters/presses tend to get a bit dusty during the spring & summer months. I had a bunch of shapes for the press that weren’t holiday-related, so I decided to get creative with some colors & flavor extracts and use 17-55: Scottish Shortbread to play with the press.

Theirs look really thick–mine came out thinner since I used the press. These would probably work well with differently-shaped cookie cutters too, not just rounds. As I learned, they also work well with food coloring and flavor extracts.

I ended up using these for Mother’s Day gifts, and made a mix of three colors/shapes to bag up and mail/hand out. ?


Read more

16-18: Lemon Basil Tart

16-18: Lemon Basil Tart

Here’s one I’ve wanted to make for a LONG time, but never got to. I had even intended to do a version of 16-18: Lemon Basil Tart when I worked at the restaurant and was doing tarts every week moonlighting as the pastry chef, but the day I intended to make it, we were short on lemons and basil. Now I finally have a chance, and I even have the big tart pan in which to properly make it.

16-18 Lemon Basil Tart

I didn’t even see until now that they mention that basil is related to mint–it makes sense. In this tart, the basil functions a lot like mint, and gives the tart a “fresh” flavor that just lemon wouldn’t provide. It took me a while to get to it, but it was worth it. ??


Read more

16-28: Raspberry Meringue Cake

16-28: Raspberry Meringue Cake

Safeway had a deal on raspberries a few weeks back, and I knew there were some raspberry recipes lingering in Section 3 of the book that I needed to get to sooner or later. After purchasing said raspberries, the only recipe that I had all of the other ingredients for was this one, 16-28: Raspberry Meringue Cake.

16-28 Raspberry Meringue Cake

I didn’t make this for a ladies’ luncheon or anything cult-of-domesticity like that–I made this to eat. I shared some with my husband, but sometimes, you just don’t need a special occasion for cake.


Read more