Mexican Lime Icebox Cake

I have many good things to say about this dessert. First of all, it's hands down one of the most delicious desserts I've ever made. Secondly, it is also the easiest dessert I've ever made (No cooking! Only four ingredients!), and since you don't need to cook anything it makes for a perfect summertime treat. Third, it is exotic enough to impress your friends and family without being too "try-hard." I'm biased: I love key lime pie so any lime-based dessert will pique my interest. Topping it with strawberry slices just pushes it to the next level. Strawberry and lime makes for a great combo, where the sweet strawberries cut the tart lime flavor. Can't wait to make this one again. It's my new favorite.

Roasted Banana Cupcakes with Honey Cinnamon Frosting

Alice turned 1 yesterday! We didn't plan an elaborate celebration but since we gave Elena cupcakes on her 1st birthday, we wanted to continue the tradition for Alice. I was just going to make a basic vanilla cupcake, but while I was flipping through my Martha Stewart "Cupcakes" book I found this recipe for roasted banana cupcakes. Alice LOVES bananas, more so than Elena ever did, and she inhales one for breakfast every morning (one morning I came down late and fed her one, only to find out that Eric had already given her one. This tiny child polished off two whole bananas!). I think we can safely say bananas are her favorite food. I made the recipe exactly as Martha instructed - except I used almond extract instead of vanilla - and I even busted out my pastry bag for the frosting:

                                     

Now, let me just say that I have never jumped on all the cupcake hype in recent years. Who doesn't love cupcakes? That would be me. I am not a fan of cakes or icing in general - I prefer pie! But these cupcakes and the accompanying honey cinnamon icing? Oh my gosh they were delicious. The cupcakes were the perfect fluffy-moist consistency and the icing was so light, like an airy buttercream cloud. I could see myself having cravings for these! All of us loved them - except for the birthday girl! haha. I guess she'll stick to plain bananas for now :)

Lemon Yogurt Anything Cake

This was absolutely YUM. Light, lemony and paired perfectly with the berries. I used a frozen mix of blueberries, blackberries and raspberries. I also used olive oil instead of vegetable. I think I will be making this often! Link here.

(I have a photo of my cake, but even the terrible iPhone photography that I have been plastering all over this blog is no match for how bad this photo came out. So I will spare myself the embarrassment!)

But the cake really was excellent.

Chocolate Chip Muesli Cookies

My recipe inspiration comes from many places: this is a recipe I found printed on the side of a Bob's Red Mill  package of muesli. Their muesli is the best. The recipe is found on their website (but is missing an ingredient). So I will include what I used below, with my alterations based on the ingredients I had on hand.

The cookies scream "healthy." And they are pretty good but the texture is weird. They are springy and chewy but not too moist, which is strange because the applesauce made for a runny batter that I thought would result in a moister cookie.

1 cup cake flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup applesauce
Scant 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 cup Bob's Red Mill muesli
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375. Blend applesauce, sugar and vanilla together. Beat in egg. Add flour, baking soda and salt and mix till incorporated. Stir in muesli and chocolate chips. Drop by spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. Makes 20 cookies.

                                  

Almond Joys

It was Eric's birthday last week. He's not a huge fan of desserts but there are a few things he absolutely loves: turtle bars. Coffee cake. And these homemade almond joys from a great recipe book that I got a few years ago by Karen Solomon, "Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It". So instead of a birthday cake he got these. And he was happy :)

They are incredibly rich and decadent. But very messy to make and to eat. I always make the mistake of making them slightly too large. I have to remember to make them smaller next time.


2 egg whites
Scant 1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups flaked coconut
24 almonds (you could use roasted and salted or plain; I've used both before and either type is good)
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Additional salt to sprinkle on top of chocolate (optional; but delicious)

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare a cookie sheet with a thin coating of oil.

Combine egg whites, sugar, vanilla and salt in a bowl and mix with a fork till incorporated. Fold in the coconut.

Spoon about 2 tablespoons of batter into your hand and form into a 1 1/2" log. Press two almonds on top of the log and place on the prepared cookie sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes or until bars are brown at edges. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

To coat bars: heat chocolate in a microwave or a double boiler. Using two forks, drop bar into the melted chocolate and coat lightly on all sides. Transfer to a sheet of waxed paper to cool completely.