I’m back with a pretty American recipe, it has to be said. It’s got pumpkin and bourbon — two flavors that will always epitomize America to me. People go a little crazy for all things pumpkin pie spiced as soon as the first day of autumn arrives. I work for Allrecipes in Seattle, and the arrival of the PSL (Pumpkin Spice Latte) in Starbucks is somewhat of a milestone every year, and heralds the onslaught of fragrant cakes, and all things pumpkin related. When I moved here first, I was a little cynical about the whole obsession with pumpkins, but now it’s kind of comforting and synonymous with a cozy American fall (Help, I’ve been sucked in!!!) Continue Reading…
We still have lots of apples in the garden, so I was trying to think of ways to use them up other than making apple butter (we now have enough apple butter to get us through the next apocalypse, or winter, whichever comes first!) It’s the time of year for caramel apples. I do like the idea of caramel apples, but I have never been a big fan of eating them. They always seem kind of impossible to eat and raw apple and caramel is not nearly as nice as slowly cooked apple and caramel. So, instead of caramel apples, I came up with this caramel apple cake. Continue Reading…
Summer has arrived with a bang this year in Seattle, and we are already enjoying bounty from the garden (lettuce, spinach and strawberries). There is a small problem with the strawberries though … the problem being they are very small. They are literally the size of a fingernail. I shouldn’t complain though, as they incredibly sweet and tasty. Every time I step out into the garden I find myself eating them straight from the plant. They are disappearing fast as a result, so this weekend I gathered a few and made these delicious strawberry and nectarine muffins. Continue Reading…
Our new kitchen is almost ready, and I am so excited to start cooking again. In the three weeks we were without a kitchen, it was actually the simple things I missed most – fresh coffee, the smell of home-made bread, and being able to make an omelet! Now, that I am back though I have a huge list of new and crazy recipes I want to try. Meanwhile this week’s recipe is an oldie taken from my gluten free eBook. It’s a deliciously moist flourless chocolate cake, which is probably my favorite chocolate cake in the world (and I’m including chocolate cakes with flour in this list). Continue Reading…
Before I moved to America I had never even heard of Peeps®. Now I know that people go crazy for them here, and they are one the most popular Easter candies in America. Peeps are essentially brightly colored chick and bunny shaped marshmallows dusted in sugar. Continue Reading…
When I was young my sister Zoe used to make a great coffee cake. I used to think coffee cake was incredibly sophisticated as a child. Generally in Ireland coffee cakes were not made with coffee. Just absorb that sentence for a second. You have to remember it was the eighties and coffee hadn’t quite taken off. Continue Reading…