A couple weeks ago, I had bread pudding for the first time and it was delicious. I decided to try my hand at making my own bread pudding using some homemade cake doughnuts that I baked a few days ago. The cake doughnuts were great because they soaked up all the custard plus I didn’t want to throw them out.

I modified a bread pudding recipe I found online by adding in extra spices. The result was good. I had to leave the bread pudding a little longer because it was a little too wet. The extra oven time helped. When I served the bread pudding the top was crunchy and the middle was moist. A friend sent me a recipe for a coconut bread pudding, will definitely make that next.

I had some leftover croissants and decided to make this croissant French toast this weekend. I added in some extra chocolate chips Just because. It’s a super simple recipe from Ina Garten. This dish is great for brunches or if you want to up your breakfast game.

This was a crowd pleaser and I’ll definitely make this again.

Took a break for a while but I’m getting back into the kitchen. Baking this cranberry walnut quick bread for breakfast. So good. Perfect with coffee or tea. ☕️🍞#cranberrywalnut

Banana Bread Breakfast

Bananas are my least favorite fruit but when we buy them I hate to see them go to waste. I feel compelled to use them before they go bad. I used two leftover bananas to make this chocolate chip banana walnut bread.

I think this is the perfect way to start your morning. The banana bread is warm and has the right amount of chocolate chips and has a nice crunch from the walnuts.

I plan to have one slice a day with a cup tea for breakfast.

French Yogurt Cake

Made this French yogurt cake with a grapefruit and rosemary glaze for a dinner party this weekend. The cake was not too sweet or bitter. This can be enjoyed with a cup of coffee or tea or as a late morning or afternoon snack

S’mores Bark

I’m not quite ready to let go of summer just yet. Made this s’mores bark over the weekend to munch on during the football games last week. They’ve also made a great during the week snack.

Stacked Strawberry Shortcake

Sometimes you see a dessert and as much as you’d like to make it, you feel like you can’t because of how hard the recipe is. This recipe from the New York Times Cooking has several steps but it’s not that hard to make if you break it down into sections: the shortcake, the fruit, and the cream.

I really enjoyed making this shortcake. I did have some stumbles. I didn’t have blueberries or any other berries, just strawberries. My oven also over heated so the bottom of the shortcakes burned a little. Not that my guests minded. They wanted to take the leftovers home.

This shortcake would also make a great birthday cake. I plan to make it again with different combinations of fruit blueberries and peaches or strawberries and blueberries. I’m excited at the possibilities.

Butter Cookie Gallete

I wanted to make a graham cracker galette this weekend to bring to a dinner party, but I didn’t have any graham crackers on hand, just butter cookies. So I used them instead of the graham crackers. It’s okay to experiment with your baking. In the end the guests didn’t mind at all. They liked that the dessert was not overly sweet. The butter cookies gave the galette a lighter texture. I served this galette with freshly whipped cream. You can use ice cream if you choose.

One other note: if your galette leaks it’s perfectly fine to still eat.

Sharing recipes

This week one of the bakers in a baking group I belong to was nice enough to share a recipe for this chocolate chip cake.

Halfway through the process of making this cake, I realized that I didn’t have any orange juice. So I substituted coffee. It didn’t ruin the cake but it did give the cake a nice flavor and softer texture. My guests didn’t complain at all. They really enjoyed it. Sometimes it’s fun to experiment with your baking. Take a chance and see what happens.

Blueberry Banana Bread So I had some leftover bananas and blueberries in my fridge, so I whipped up this blueberry banana bread. The banana bread has a nice balance of flavor between the blueberries and bananas. It tastes great warmed in the oven. I’ll be having this banana bread for breakfast this week.

Strawberry cobbler. The perfect way to end a long holiday weekend. This cobbler was so easy to make. I macerated the strawberries in sugar and balsamic vinegar for a couple of hours. Then I used a basic cobbler recipe to make the base of my cobbler. The cobbler is not too sweet and goes well with vanilla ice cream. You should try it this weekend.

Butter Tart Bars Made these butter tart bars for a 4th of July barbecue. You can make these bars a day ahead. Keep them in the fridge and then pull them out 30 minutes before you serve them. It will make them easier to cut. Serve them by themselves or with ice cream. Happy 4th everyone!

Flourless chocolate cake in a cast iron skillet. Been so busy these last few weeks that I haven’t had time to bake. I decided to dip my toe back in the baking waters and whip up this flourless chocolate cake from Real Simple magazine. It’s very easy and you only use one pan to make it. This cake is best served with ice cream or softly whipped cream. The cake is very light and makes a great summer dessert. I would make one change to the recipe. Instead of making everything in the cast iron skillet, I’d use another bowl to make the cake and then pour the finished product into the cast iron pan. The recipe calls for folding the egg whites into the chocolate mixture in the cast iron pan. That isn’t easy. My guests didn’t seem to mind. They even took the left overs home.

Made this Devils Food Pie for a Memorial Day dessert BUT we ate so much food that I didn’t get a chance to really enjoy it. I won’t have that problem today.

Basket full of madelines Forgot to add the powdered sugar to these vanilla honey madelines’ but they were still good.

Easter Sunday desserts. Nothing says spring like a carrot cake. To make this carrot cake, I used a tube pan. I wanted a different shape nothing round or square. I made a small amount of cream cheese frosting and slathered the top with frosting. I didn’t want to over due it with the frosting, so I just did the top. The cake was very moist and light. A great way to end an Easter dinner.

Cranberry Bread

I got tired of eating croissants this week so I decided to bake some cranberry bread using fresh frozen cranberries from my freezer. It’s not a spring breakfast but I needed to shake up my usual breakfast routine.

The nice thing about this bread is that it’s not too sweet. The cranberries add the right amount of tartness. This bread goes great with a cup of tea or coffee

What do you like to have for breakfast?