Cherry Cake Pop Recipe!

Do you say cake pops or cake truffles? Either way, there's nothing quite as cute, bite-size and party-ready than these cherry-shaped treats! Equally as fun to make as they are to eat, I'd love to share this super easy cake pop recipe with you...

Easy Cherry Cupcakes!

You gals already know that I'm having  feelings about cherries this summer! Let's keep this thing going, shall we? Here's a quick cake-mix hack and cute decorating idea for easy cherry cupcakes...

5-INGREDIENT CREAMSICLE CAKE!

Orange you glad it's summer!? For me, once the sun's out and the barbecue's going, it's all about friends, family and fun. To kick off the season, I'm sharing an easy 5-Ingredient Creamsicle Cake and cute citrus-themed DIY project that you can share with your summer crew. Can't wait to hear what you think!

Raspberry & Almond Marzipan Cookies!

I'm a sucker for bar cookies—lemon squares, brownies, blondies, you name it! So I'd love to share my new favorite with you, marzipan squares with raspberries and almonds. Get ready to fall in love. This recipe could not be easier to make and comes out perfectly chewy, gooey and addictive. 

Easy Funfetti Strawberry Shortcakes!

Funfetti cake mix hacks have become so expected: Funfetti cookies, ice cream, truffles, cake mix dip and blondies. Boring! That's why I've dedicated my life to creating next-level Funfetti treats that go way beyond the ordinary. You loved my Funfetti Lemon Bars. Now I'd like to introduce you to: Funfetti Strawberry Shortcakes! 

The 3-Ingredient Tiki Punch That Puts All Other Summer Cocktails To Shame—MAKE IT!

I was going to wait until tomorrow to post this but I thought you might want to plan for happy hour. If you love pineapple...and booze...and making a statement with your drinking vessels, this is the 3-ingredient cocktail for YOU!

The Biggest, Fluffiest High-Hat S'more Cupcakes Ever—Summer Party Ready & Easy To Make!

Just when you thought summer s'mores couldn't get any better, someone turns 'em into the fluffiest cupcakes ever! Marshmallow Fluff is my favorite ingredient—remember these!?—and I love adding it to meringue. It gives the plain egg-white topping extra flavor, which (lets be honest), it desperately needs.   

5-Ingredient Strawberry-Almond Semifreddo—The Fanciest Easy-Dessert You'll Ever Make!

This holiday weekend, I plan to enjoy my share of frozen treats: Ice cream cones, popsicles, maybe even an ice cream sandwich (or three) but definitely NOT ice cream cake! That's one icy treat I could never warm up to. 

Miniature Rhubarb Galettes—Best Teeny Fruit Pies For Summer Parties!

I felt surprisingly inspired at the famers' market and whipped up a feast with local staples like crunchy snap peas, Long Island duck, and the most beautiful rhubarb I've ever seen—bright pink!

My Absolute Favorite GIANT Birthday Cake Skillet Cookie—Plus An Awesome Giveaway!

Friendly reminder: Enter to win your copy of a fabulous new skillet cookbook I'm giving away on the blog—details here!! And if you're on the fence, I whipped up a giant skillet cookie for a little inspiration...

Best Sweet Corn Pudding Pie Ever! Must-Try, End-Of-Summer Perfection.

All summer long we've seen sweet corn desserts popping up on our favorite restaurant menus in Brooklyn. I've had a sweet corn dessert–idea of my own brewing for some time now. Since there was a bunch of corn leftover from yesterday's Corn Silk Tea post, I set aside a little time to play with the idea last night: Sweet Corn Cream Pie!

Summery Sweets: Mixed-Berry Sangria Crisp—My Latest On Refinery29!

To sweeten the end of a fabulous summer, I made 3 transitional Americana desserts for Refinery29: a crisp, crumble and cobbler (all of which can be tweaked as the weather cools down). The idea I was most excited about is this Sangria Crisp! 

Summery Sweets: Easiest Striped Ice Cream Cake Ever—4 Ingredients!

Happy Monday, all! Before you get all serious and Monday-y, let's talk about ice cream for a minute okay? Personally, I plan on eating/serving it as much as I can while summer is still here. I know ice cream is a year-round treat but I rarely go for it unless the weather's warm—what about you? 

Easy Entertaining: Stuffed Roasted Peaches—My lastest on Refinery29!

Good morning, lovely friends! How is everyone? My apologies for disappearing without notice. Boyfriend and I took a short trip to Michigan to visit his family. The plan was to write a goodbye post but I was hustling to finish a story for Refinery29 and simply ran out of time—alas! (I think time speeds up right before a trip, don't you? There's never enough of it.)

Anyway, the Refinery29 story in question was published yesterday, if you're interested: Roasted Summer Peaches, 5 ways! Roasted peaches are one of my favorite late-summer desserts—they're so easy and chic. All you need are a few simple ingredients, like pistachios, dark chocolate, fresh ricotta cheese and/or amaretti cookies. You can see all 5 methods over on the Refinery29 site but here's a little preview to wet your whistle (my favorite!) Raspberry Cheesecake Stuffed Peaches...


RASPBERRY CHEESECAKE STUFFED PEACHES
SERVES: 4

4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
Kosher salt
4 ripe peaches
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup raspberries

1. Preheat the oven to 400˚. Line a baking pan with parchment paper. Put the cream cheese, sugar, egg, vanilla, and a pinch of salt in a food processor fitted with the blade attachment and pulse until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl, as needed.
2. Halve the peaches: For each peach, run your knife along the natural crease of the peach, pressing down to the pit. Hold the peach in your hands — one hand on each half — and twist in opposite directions to release and pull apart. Remove the pit; scoop out center of each half using a melon baller or small spoon. (Slice small piece off rounded side, so the peaches sit flat, if desired.)
3. Arrange peaches in the prepared baking pan. Brush cut edges with melted butter; drizzle with lemon juice. Fill each peach center with the cheesecake mixture and top with a few raspberries. Bake until peaches are golden and soft and the filling just sets — about 20 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving. 

There are 4 more Stuffed Peach recipes over on Refinery29—Crunchy Pistachio, Lemon-Ricotta, Orange-Amaretti and Bourbon-Praline (above)! Head on over there for the recipes xo Erin

Simple Summery DIY: Homemade Strawberry-Flavored Vodka & Berry Tags!

Hey, friends—happy Friday! I know it's not officially summer yet but it sure feels like it, so I'm thinking it's time for us to start talking Summery DIYs! I'm excited to share some simple projects with you that I'm totally loving this summer, starting with my Homemade Strawberry-Flavored Vodka! 

Summer Dessert: Buttermilk Peach Pound Cake Recipe

Currently wrapping up this beauty to give to our editor for her birthday. It's a buttermilk-peach pound cake. I love making this cake, especially with buttermilk because it always comes out a little tangy and sticky—mmm! But I decided to make this cake for her because: (1.) the peaches in the Fort Greene farmers' market have been super juicy and fabulous, and peaches and buttermilk make great friends (2.) I found this girlie paper tube pan and my heart melts for almost all gift packaging supplies. Fingers crossed she likes it! 

BUTTERMILK PEACH POUND CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE GLAZE
SERVES: 8 to 10

FOR THE CAKE
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan 
3 cups granulated sugar 
6 large eggs, plus 1 egg yolk 
2 to 3 tablespoons vanilla extract 
Finely grated lemon zest, optional 
3 cup all-purpose flour 
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk 

3 to 4 peaches, chopped 

FOR THE GLAZE

4 tablespoons cream cheese, softened

1¼ cups confectioners' sugar

3 tablespoons milk

¼ to ½ teaspoon vanilla extract 

1. Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 325˚. Lightly butter a tube pan and place it on a baking sheet; set aside. Beat the butter and sugar with a mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, beating between each addition. Add the vanilla and lemon zest, if using. 

2. Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture, alternating with the buttermilk, in three additions, scraping down the bowl as needed. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and top with the peaches. 

3. Bake until the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick comes out clean, about 1 hour, 30 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet 5 minutes, then transfer the pan to a rack and cool completely. Run a knife along the sides of the pan to loose, then turn out onto a cake plate. 

4. Make the glaze: Whisk the cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, milk and vanilla in a bowl until smooth (add more milk and/or confectioners' sugar to reach your desired consistency). Drizzle over the cooled cake. Let sit 15 minutes until set. 

Washi Tape Serving Cups & Kind-Of-Homemade Ice Cream for July 4th!

 

BIG news, folk! Target is selling its own brand of washi tape (that fancy Japanese paper tape we're seeing everywhere these days!) and it's super cute and super cheap: $4.00 for 4 rolls, packaged by color. Fabulous deal, right? I snagged 1 red pack and 1 blue pack for a little 4th of July crafting—look at all the pattern combos you can play with within the red-white-blue color scheme!

Easy Dinner: Strawberry-Peach-Basil Shortcakes & Antipasti!

Happy weekend, all! Do you have something fabulous planned for today? I had the day off yesterday (and had every intention to be productive) but all I have to show for it are a few photos of the kind-of-homemade dinner I pulled together. Maybe it was the heat. Maybe it was the too-good-to-pass-up cheese counter at Brooklyn Lader. Whatever the reason, I was not in the mood to cook a full meal. So I "made" one of my favorite simple summer dinners: antipasti, salad and a fruity dessert.

I picked up spicy sopressata, Iberico ham, Cacciatore boar salami, super-ripe goat cheese, Italian bitto cheese and a hunk of tom de savoie, then turned some leftover baguette we had in the freezer into croutons and crostini. My boyfriend taught to warm up a piece of charcuterie by rubbing it on your upper-lip right before you eat it. Apparently it helps you get the most flavor possible out of each bite. Have you ever done this? It looks a little funny, like you're sniffing cold cuts, but it works! 

I went out quickly to buy a few bottles of rose and ended up trapped in the rain—how romantic if I wasn't alone! I returned home soaked (but with wine inhand!) and just enough time to dry off, make dessert and a big caesar salad before a friend came over for martinis and storm-watching. 

I may not have accomplished much with my free day but dinner was mighty tasty and I'm feeling utterly relaxed :) Enjoy the sunshine. Here's a recipe for last night's dessert... 

STRAWBERRY, PEACH AND BASIL SHORTCAKES
SERVES: 4


FOR THE SHORTCAKES
1 cup self-rising flour
Pinch of salt 
2 tablespoons sugar 
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus melted butter for brushing
3 ounces cold milk
Coarse sugar, for sprinkling


FOR THE FILLING
2 cups sliced strawberries
1 tablespoons sugar 
1 cup sliced Georgia peaches
Small basil leaves (optional)
Vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream, for serving


1. Make the shortcakes: Preheat the oven to 425˚. Whisk the flour, salt and sugar in a bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender, or quickly work it in with your fingers, until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Stir in the milk to make a shaggy dough. 
2. Scoop the dough into 4 piles on a parchment-lined baking sheet and gently pat each into a 1-inch-thick round disks (dust your hands with flour, if needed). Brush the top of each round with melted butter, then sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.
3. Meanwhile, make the filing: Toss the strawberries and sugar in a bowl; set aside until syrupy, about 10 minutes. Toss the peaches and basil in another bowl. 
4. To serve, slice each shortbread in half. Fill with the strawberries, strawberry syrup, peaches and basil, if using. Serve with vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream.