Walnut Spice Cake + Cream Cheese Frosting

If you love autumn, spices, and beautiful cakes, this recipe is right up your alley. I've been trying to keep my excitement for fall to a minimum, because I really do love the summer and am trying to master the practice of enjoying the present (not successfully, mind you). I've really been in the mood for pumpkin pie spices, hot apple cider, leather boots and mums! So I stayed inside on Labor Day instead of roasting in the Pennsylvania humidity. I cranked the AC, threw on a sweater, and baked a cake. And let me tell you, this cake is amazing. It is so moist and flavorful and does not last long in my house.

Walnut Spice Cake + Cream Cheese Frosting

WALNUT SPICE CAKE RECIPE

1 cup raisins
1 cup walnuts
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup boiling water
2 1/2 cups flour, sifted
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 whole egg
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon lemon juice or lemon extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Grease two 8 inch cake pans. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Mix raisins and chopped walnuts in a bowl. Add baking soda and boiling water and stir. Let sit while you prepare the rest of the batter. Sift flour and cinnamon. Cream buter and sugar, a little at at time, scraping the sides often. Add the whole egg and yolks, beatin gwell after each. Add lemon and vanilla.

Beat in half of the flour mixture, and then the bowl of soaking raisins, walnuts, baking soda and water, and then incorporate the other half of the flour mix. Pour into pans.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on rack for five minutes and then remove from pan.

CREAM CHEESE ICING RECIPE

8oz. regular cream cheese
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 lb. powdered sugar

Beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the vanilla extract and incorporate, scraping the sides. Slowly, 1/2 cup at a time, add the powdered sugar until smooth, thick, and creamy. Refrigerate for at least a half hour before icing the cake.

Dark Chocolate Bark with Dried Cherries, Apples and Pistachios

Lured by November warmth, deepening hues of foliage, and new sights to see, we have been exploring parks around our neighborhood.



We're beyond belief spoiled.





Our favorite park so far has to be Pastorius in Chestnut Hill. If live in Philly and own a dog, or just live in Philly, you need to check out this gorgeous space before snow hits the ground.



In preparation for the holiday season, I've been trying to brainstorm reasonable gifts for neighbors. Holiday dark chocolate bark seems the perfect choice...impressive-looking, decadent and seasonal.



Grab a few bars of your favorite dark chocolate (I hit my local Trader Joes and picked up the Dark Chocolate One Pounder). Melt the chocolate down using a double boiler and spread evenly across a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Let cool for several minutes and proceed to sprinkle with any toppings you see fit. I went with dried apples, dried cranberries and pistachios (all from Trader Joes as well). Let cool completely and store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.



Once completely cooled, go ahead and break the chocolate apart. Be careful, the chocolate melts quickly when touched, so don't spend too much time worrying about the perfect breaks or if you're a perfectionist, use a wooden utensil.



Once it's all broken up, throw back in the refrigerator to firm up again.



And finally, dress it up and package for friends. I'll be perusing thrift stores over the next few weeks for antique tins to line with parchment or brown tissue paper and wrap a red ribbon and some bakers twine around for a near-effortless holiday treat.

Saffron Cardamom Donuts with Lavender Honey Glaze and Crushed Pistachios

In the world of baking, incorporating an nontraditional spice into a traditional baked good can provide an exciting challenge to your taste buds and make you experience a pastry with new eyes (or tongues).



Traditional go-to spices, cinnamon and nutmeg, are wonderful, warm, and familiar. But sometimes I like to challenge my taste-buds and expand my palette a bit, which is exactly what this recipes offers. The complexity of new flavors helped me savor the dessert and feel more satiated.



This recipe takes traditional cake donuts to another level by incorporating Spanish Saffron and Cardamom. To balance the earthly flavors of the spice-infused donuts, I made a Lavender Honey Glaze and sprinkled some crushed pistachios over the tops. It was really delicious and fresh-tasting.

Here's how it all breaks down...
In the spirit of full disclosure, this recipe is not for the faint of heart. It requires a good four hours of time and even more patience and attention. So save it for a day when your distractions are few and far between. And if you never have those kinds of days... well, just enjoy these photographs and we'll leave it at that.



Saffron Cardamom Donuts with Lavender Honey Glaze and Crushed Pistachio
Donuts

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/4 teaspoon (or about 20 strands) saffron
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla (or almond) extract
• 1 tablespoon shortening

Glaze

• 1/2 cup Lavender-infused honey
• 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
• 3 tablespoons hot water

• 1 cup crushed pistachios

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease or spray a doughnut pan.

In a small saucepan, combine 3/4 cup milk (I used 2%) with saffron strands. Gradually bring to a boil, stirring frequently. As soon as milk starts boiling, remove from heat and let steep for 1-2 minutes, stirring often. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes. This process releases the saffron flavor from the strands and infuses the milk with a deep yellow color.

In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, cardamom, cinnamon and salt. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, saffron-infused milk, vanilla (or almond) extract and shortening. Beat until mixed. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until well blended.

Fill each doughnut form approximately 3/4 full. Bake 8-10 minutes in the preheated oven until the doughnuts spring back when touched. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly (5-10 minutes) before removing from the pan and placing on cooling rack.

As doughnuts are cooling, prepare the glaze by combining 1/2 cup of Lavender-infused honey with 1/2 cup sifted confectioner's sugar. Add 3 tablespoons of hot water, one tablespoon at a time until the mixture is blended.

Dip the cooled doughnuts into the glaze upside down (face first) until they are a little more than halfway submerged. Turn right side up and place on cooling rack (side note: this is a sticky messy process, so I would recommend placing wax paper or aluminum foil under the cooling rack to catch any runaway glaze.)

As soon as the glaze is applied, sprinkle the crushed pistachio on the top of the doughnut, pressing larger pieces into place if necessary.

Allow to cool for an additional 10 minutes and then enjoy! These babies are best enjoyed the day of :)

peach blueberry blackberry pie

I went to the market yesterday and the peaches, blueberries, and blackberries were in abundance and ridiculously cheap. So, of course, I bought way too many. Upon arriving home, I had already decided upon making a pie.



Before you begin preparing a pie filling, whip up the pie dough crust and throw it in the refrigerator to chill for about 30 minutes. I use this recipe and swear by it's ease.



This recipe calls for peeled peaches and unless you get the perfectly ripe peach, I always think peeling is a pain.

As a trick, boil water in a large pot and throw the peaches in for 30-60 seconds depending on ripeness. Take them out and transfer immediately to a bowl full of ice (stops the cooking). After about 2 minutes, take them out of the ice water and peel them with ease.



A good crumble recipe can cover a multitude of pie sins.





Peach Blueberry Blackberry Pie with Crumble Topping

Filling

1 pound of ripe peaches
1 pint blueberries
1 pint blackberries
1/4 cup sugar or Splenda
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 1/2 tablespoons tapioca or corn starch
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of ground allspice

Oatmeal Crumble Topping

1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
Sprinkle of cinnamon
Sprinkle of salt

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Move the oven rack to the bottom third of the oven. Toss the fruit with the sugar, lemon, zest, spices, and tapioca or corn starch. Pile the fruit into the pie shell. Combine the oats, brown sugar, flour and spices and then add the unsalted butter pieces until the butter is coated and the mixture is crumbly. Spread over the fruit mixture and bake for 40-45 minutes. Let pie cool for at least 1-2 hours before serving.