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The Royal wedding is tomorrow and a friend suggested I repost this old scone recipe for the occasion. I love eating scones but certainly don’t like all the calories… This is my healthy version. You can slather a huge amount of clotted cream and not feel too guilty. Enjoy these with a cup of English tea and enjoy the wedding. Speaking of the wedding, will you be up early morning or will you dvr it??

When it comes to eating out- one of my all time favorite things to do is- afternoon tea. I love the tradition and of course the food! I love the idea of sitting in a very adult and pleasant place; drinking tea and eating all the finger sandwiches and scones. When we were in London and Scotland, I made sure to go a few times for high tea. I usually get the darjeeling tea; all the sandwiches I can eat and of course – my favorite – currant scones. The subtle flavor is just enough to enjoy them with lots of jam and clotted cream. Oh- how I love the clotted cream- if it wasn’t so bad for me- I would eat it all the time. There is a place in Chester, NJ that serves great afternoon tea- I have not been in a very long time- now that I am writing this piece- I will be going very soon!

Typically scones are made with all purpose flour and lots of butter. The texture is crumbly and a bit dry- perfect combination for jam and cream. I do have a recipe I have been meaning to try for a long time- it is for traditional English scones given by my English Aunt. For whatever reason- I have never made them at home. Recently, I had a friend ask me if I could post a scone recipe on the blog. I remembered the one I have from my Aunt and thought about using the recipe- but I realized it has a lot of butter … and somehow it didn’t appeal to me. I started looking for other recipes but nothing stood out. Then, one day I had an overripe banana and I didn’t want to make my usual banana bread – so I thought- maybe I can bake some scones with it. Bananas are sweet and I wanted to pair a tangy ingredient to make the scones eatable without jam or cream- more like a snack- actually I was trying to save myself the clotted cream calories!- so I came up with dried apricots. I switched the all purpose flour for white whole wheat flour and decided to cut back on the butter a bit- this recipe does not have that much at all. I also decided to add some white chocolate chips- somehow using apricots made me think of white chocolate- they added a nice burst of sweetness to the scones.

Overall the scones were good- moist and not overly sweet- the bananas helped with the soft texture. I think next time I bake them- I might add an egg glaze on top with some extra sugar. They would be a bit more aesthetically pleasing. In terms of taste, they were delicious- Sia loved them and I gave them to my husband for breakfast- which he loved!

Click here for the recipe… »

Delicious brownies for Valentines Day…

This is yet another version of the quick brownies I have made in the past. I don’t make them very often as this treat has two cups of sugar. Even though I use turbinado sugar, it is still a lot.

Once in a while I do get in the mood and make them- they are very sinful. I modified them by using dried, tart cherries. As I was thinking of complementing flavors, amaretto and almonds came to mind. So, I added both to the mix- why not- the more the merrier.

I thought of adding toasted almonds but then I wasn’t sure if anyone who might be eating the brownies is allergic to them- so I avoided them. I do think they will be delicious with the nuts.

While the brownie pan was in the oven, the house smelled divine. My daughter came back from school and her nose lead her to the kitchen and like a little puppy, she sniffed her way to the brownies.

I wasn’t sure if she will like the treat with tart cherries and the almond flavor- but she clearly had no problem . She loved it and so did my husband. I have to say, they were delicious- a bit dangerous to have in the house. I kept munching on them all day and it is especially bad for me since I am in the kitchen practically the whole day- it was not good.

The good news is they are delicious- the bad news is they are delicious and you will eat them all…
Click here for the recipe… »

This is a great dessert to make for Valentines Day… enjoy.

I grew up eating pineapple cakes and pastries. I recall going to restaurants and bakeries where this cake was the most popular to eat. It was layers of soft, moist white cake, filled with whipped cream and pineapple. It was not overly sweet and most of all the icing was delicious. I think that is the reason why I don’t like buttercream or any other kind of icings. It just doesn’t taste fresh to me and most of the time they are overly sweet.

We were going out for dinner with some friends and I asked them to come back to our house for dessert. I was in the mood to bake a cake- I haven’t done it in a while. Somehow the pineapple cake came to mind. I bought the crushed pineapple and the whipping cream. Now, as some of you know, I do all of my baking with white whole wheat flour. I was a bit torn which way to go with this dessert. Since the icing is not overly sweet, the cake stands out. I wasn’t sure how the whole wheat flavor will taste with the rest of the ingredients.

I decided to go ahead with the whole wheat flour and went looking for whole wheat cake flour. Cake flour has less protein than the rest and results in a softer cake. I was not able to find whole wheat cake flour so I came home and made my own. For 2 cups of cake flour, I used 1 and 3/4 cups of white whole wheat flour mixed in with 1/4 cup of corn starch. I proceeded with a recipe I found on the internet but used extra light olive oil and raw sugar instead of butter and white sugar.

I went ahead and baked the cake and assembled it. It is very important to soak the layers well and properly with the pineapple juice to ensure a moist cake- especially if you are using white whole wheat flour.

My daughter was extremely excited to taste this dessert since I told her it was my favorite treat growing up. I was a bit concerned how she would react to the nutty cake flavor. Well, I don’t know what I was worried about- she loved it. My husband and I could taste the difference- it is not the same but it is a welcome change. For those of you looking for that authentic flavor, I would stick to regular cake flour. Me, on the other hand, will be making this cake again with the whole wheat flour. It was delicious- moist, soft and creamy.

Brought me back to my childhood. I love how food has the ability to transport you thousands of miles away…. Enjoy this delicious pineapple and fresh cream cake- you will love it.

• 2 cups cake flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup extra light olive oil
• 1 cup raw sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ¾ cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 2 9-inch cake pans.
In bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt with a wire whisk.

Cream oil and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla and mix until completely combines. Slowly add flour alternately with milk. At end of addition batter should be should. Divide between 2 pans.

Bake the cakes for about 25 minutes. Cool 5 minutes in pan, then invert onto a rack and cool completely before frosting.

• 1 pint whipping cream
• ¼ confectioners sugar

Beat the cream till it forms stiff peaks. It should take about 5 to 7 minutes. Keep aside.

• 1 (14 ounces) crushed pineapple with juice

Strain the crushed pineapple saving the juice (it should yield about ¾ cup juice). Keep the juice aside. Add one cup whipped cream to the strained pineapple. Mix well.

In the meantime, add one layer on a serving platter. With a large spoon soak the surface with half of the pineapple juice. Add the cream and pineapple mixture and spread evenly on the cake. Add the second layer on top and press down gently. Soak the top layer with the remaining pineapple juice. Frost the cake with the remaining whipped cream.
Chunks of fresh pineapple can be added as embellishments on the top. Refrigerate before serving.

Another dessert idea if you are having a New Years get together. I love making fruit crumbles for a few reasons.

They are easy to make and don’t take a long time to assemble. You can put them together ahead of time and refrigerate or even bake and then refrigerate. It is a perfect make ahead dessert.

I also love crumbles because of all the fruit. I love fruity desserts. I am not a huge chocolate person and always prefer something with fruit and cream.

This one had pear in the filling and lots of spiced in the topping. I added cinnamon, nutmeg and quite a lot of ginger- which was the predominant flavor.

I served it with vanilla ice cream. I also like it with creme fraiche or even whipped cream.

Make this one- super simple and delicious…
Click here for the recipe… »

I have used the same recipe for the brownie bites as before. The difference is that I used extra light olive oil instead of butter (I wanted to make it healthier), and I have used a small cupcake container to make these delicious tiny bites for the holiday season.

Peppermint definitely comes to mind when I think of this time of year. One of the things I like to do when I am at the mall is to visit Williams Sonoma. They always have some kind of sample- especially this time of year. I love eating their peppermint bark- it is simply delicious. I have never bought it since it is quite expensive but I do eat lots of samples while I am at the store.

When Trader Joes opened up in Millburn, I was of course ecstatic. During the holiday season they have a variety of treats and chocolates.

While I was thinking about making these treats, I was envisioning icing with crushed peppermint sticks. So, when I went shopping at Trader Joes for my ingredients, and I didn’t find the sticks, I decided to buy the peppermint bark instead. It was much cheaper than the one I sample in Williams Sonoma.

I brought it home and tried it- well, it was delicious as well! I crushed it in a food processor and added it to the icing. These bite sized brownies are delicious and ideal to make for the holidays- enjoy!

• 2 cups evaporated cane juice
• 1 cup extra light olive oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 eggs
• 1½ cups white whole-wheat flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ cup cocoa powder
• ½ teaspoon salt

Preheat oven at 350 degrees.
Line a small 24 cupcake pan with cupcake liners.

In a large bowl, blend the sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla extract well. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder. Slowly add the dry ingredients mixing well in between. Pour the batter evenly into each small cupcake liner. Bake for 12 minutes if you like gooey brownies- a few minutes more if you like them more cake-like.

Peppermint Bark Icing

• ½ cup (4 oz) low fat cream cheese
• 1/8 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 1 cup sifted powdered sugar
• ½ cup crushed peppermint bark

In a mixer, add the cream cheese and begin beating until smooth. Sprinkle the powdered sugar and add the peppermint extract. Beat till the icing is smooth. Take out and add the peppermint bark. With a knife cover the top of each brownie bite.