Kenn takes the Cake (and Cupcakes, too)!

Cake anyone? Or how about a delicious, festive and fun cupcake? Kenn made these delightful delectables for a recent Birthday celebration. Coconut and chocolate cupcakes feature a swirled buttercream frosting, and topped with a sugared daisies - perfect for Summer! A very special Birthday Cake was made for a very special person - Mary Rita was treated to luscious vanilla layer cake in a wonderful oval shape, topped with a beautiful, frosted message! Flanked by two gorgeous, sugared lilies. Happy Birthday Mary Rita!

Chocolate & Pear Tart

Have a few extra pears in your basket? Why not try an easy, delicious Chocolate & Pear Tart? Mike made for a Sunday dessert from an Everyday Food recipe. Everything is made in the food processor - featuring a ground almond-based batter with eggs, cocoa, vanilla and almond extract. Simply pour into your favorite tart pan (no rolling or pressing needed) and top with ripe, sliced pears. Bake for 50 minutes and voila! A glaze of warmed Apple Jelly finishes off this tart, or sprinkle with confectioner's sugar. Perfect for that quick and easy late Summer dessert!

Ginger Zucchini Cupcakes

Got some extra zucchini from your garden? Who doesn't this time of year! Mike baked a batch of Ginger ZucchiniCupcakes, made with honey, olive oil, chopped candied ginger, cinnamon and of course, zucchini. The frosting was a basic Martha Stewart Cream Cheese frosting, but with cinnamon and ground ginger added. The "cups" in these cupcakes are Wilton "nut" cups and they make for a neat little "mini cupcake". Moist, delicious and healthy!

Morning Blueberry Muffins

Who doesn't love a fresh, moist blueberry muffin in the summertime, or for that matter, anytime! Elaine baked this beautiful batch of Double Blueberry Muffins, a recipe from the Martha Stewart publication, Everyday Food. Adding cornmeal in the mix give these muffins a distinctly rustic flavor and lemon zest adds the "zing"! A dab of sweet, creamy butter would make these muffins melt in your mouth. Or perhaps a cup of tea or that first cup of morning coffee? Delicious!

Scones ala Blueberries

Here's a delicious solution when you have an excess of summertime blueberries. Mike made this batch of Blueberry Scones with a somewhat "puff pastry" technique. Frozen sticks of butter were grated, kept frozen and then mixed with the dry ingredients, milk and sour cream. The dough was rolled and folded like puff pastry, with only 2 turns. On the final rollout, frozen (fresh) blueberries were pressed into the flat dough, then rolled up and pressed into a flat log. This method helped keep the blueberries whole and the buttery, cakey treat is more moist than the traditional scone. Delicious with raspberries, blackberries... the list goes on!

A Cool Treat!

Aren't these just the perfect Summertime "cooler"? Elaine whipped up these Pineapple Cinnamon frozen pops -and just in time, now that the dog days of August are upon us. A healthy alternative to sugar-laden popsicles, these treats both look AND taste delicious! The recipe comes from the June Issue of Body + Soul (page 23). This recipe uses 3 cups of pineapple chunks (known for anti-inflammatory properties), 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/4 cup fresh orange juice. The wonderful "pop molds" are from the Martha Stewart Collection at Macy's. They're so COOL, aren't they?

Blueberry Nectarine Pie

You are looking at a "first". Mike's first "make & bake" pie came out better than expected. He used a recipe from "Baking with Julia" by Dorie Greenspan. Sliced nectarines and fresh blueberries make up the filling, half of which are sauteed in sugar, flour and lemon zest until gently boiling. When mixed with the remaining fruit, fresh lemon juice was added. The butter crust is Martha Stewart's pate brisee recipe - it turned out quite flakey, buttery and held up nicely with all the blueberry and nectarine juices. An egg wash atop the crust and a dusting of turbinado sugar finished the preparation and added just the right "sweetness"!