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This cheesecake is the perfect example of something that is simple, that can be made infinitely more complicated.  Google a recipe for cheesecake and you’re sure to find methods that call for you to cook it in a water bath to keep it from browning or tell you that you’ve got to stand on your head while reciting the alphabet backwards for the last 14 minutes of the cook time to keep it from cracking.  Ugh.  Complicated.  I’m here to tell you… this is not one of those recipes. Yes, this cheesecake will brown – on the edges AND the top.  So what.  And it will probably crack in the middle too.  But guess what?  It will taste just the same.  Yep, sure will.  And if you don’t like the way it looks, drizzle it with some chocolate syrup and add a dollop of whipped cream – heck, even a dollop of Cool Whip…  yes, I said Cool Whip.  This is seriously the easiest cheesecake.  It’s perfect for when you need something UNcomplicated. Do ...

These Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes are made with a pumpkin spice cupcake that’s full of chocolate chips and topped with a cream cheese frosting! They are the perfect way to cure your pumpkin craving this fall! Oh my goodness, it’s officially starting to get cold here and I’m simultaneously thrilled that it’s cooling down and terrified for the cold weather. It’s getting down into the 50s at night and in my world that’s quite chilly. We haven’t made the jump to turning on the heat since it’s still warm during the day so I’ve been piling on an extra blanket at night. That also means it’s chilly when I wake up in the mornings and it is quite the deterrent to getting out bed and out of the warmth. INGREDIENTS: PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP CUPCAKES 1/4 cup (56g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled 1/4 cup (60ml) vegetable oil 5 tbsp (75ml) milk, room temperature 1 cup (108g) light brown sugar, unpacked 1 tsp vanilla extract 2 eggs 1 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp (179g) all purpose flour 1 tsp baking...

You don’t need an expensive (and sometimes not all that good) box of chocolates for Valentine’s Day when you can have these. Homemade always tastes better. They’re easy, no-bake, and ready in about 15 minutes. Homemade always tastes better and these are easy, no-bake, and ready in about 15 minutes. The almonds are coated in dark chocolate. I like dark chocolate bars for melting purposes in this situation rather than chocolate chips.I went a little crazy with Valentine’s sprinkles and I love salty-and-sweet things and added a pinch of sea salt flakes to the top of each cluster but it’s optional. INGREDIENTS: 6 ounces dark chocolate (I recommend a bar rather than chocolate chips if possible), coarsely chopped and melted 1 cup Fisher Whole Natural Almonds sprinkles, to taste sea salt flakes, optional and to taste DIRECTIONS: To a medium microwave-safe bowl, add the chocolate and heat on high power to melt, about 90 seconds total, stopping every 15 seconds to check and stir. After chocolat...

Chocolate Cupcakes with a Rolo Centre, Caramel Buttercream Frosting & Even more Caramel, Chocolate and Rolos! Hello Heavenly Rolo Cupcakes! I honestly think these are some of the most delicious Cupcakes – I realise there aren’t that many Rolos on mine, but I had eaten a majority of the second packet before it had got to putting any on top (hence why there is only 1 and a half of one on each cupcake), but the mixture of the cupcakes, the buttercream and the drizzles is heavenly. I really hope you like these as much as I did, ENJOY!! Ingredients Cupcakes – 175g Unsalted Butter, room temperature – 175g Light Brown Sugar – 3 Large Eggs – 140g Self-Raising Flour – 35g Cocoa Powder – 1-3tbsp Whole Milk – 24 Rolos (one 126g bag) Caramel Buttercream Frosting – 150g Unsalted Butter, room temperature – 375g Icing Sugar, sifted – 75g Caramel – I used Carnations Caramel* Decorations – 2 tbsps Caramel – 50g Milk Chocolate, Melted – Rolos Method 1) To make the Cupcakes – Heat your oven to 180C/1...

If banana and chocolate are your thing, then you are going to love our Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Muffins. They are deliciously soft and moist, with chewy golden brown tops, and full of chocolaty goodness! Bake in a preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the tops of the muffins are golden brown, slightly cracked and firm, but still a little soft in the center. Check out my toothpick tip, it’s really helpful for checking cakes, muffins and quick breads, and it’s a little different than you may think. Cool muffins for 5 minutes, then remove from tin and cool on a rack. Our Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Muffins are deliciously soft and moist, with chewy golden brown tops, and full of chocolaty goodness! Ingredients ½ cup butter, slightly melted 1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed 2 large eggs 2 teaspoon vanilla extract 3 ripe bananas, mashed 2¼ cups flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, reserve a few for the tops Inst...

Heavenly zesty lemons transform this cake into something truly special. Citrus cakes are always a crowd pleaser – so much fresh, bright, tangy flavour, it’s like eating sunshine. Even if you don’t have limoncello, this is a really good basic recipe. If you don’t have, or don’t want to use alcohol, simply substitute it with good old lemon juice. You’ll still get great flavour which is helped along by the zing of lemon zest. Limoncello is a southern Italian lemon liqueur traditionally served cold as a digestif. It’s also ridiculously easy to make if you’re so inclined. Homemade limoncello is a great gift – especially for men (I tend to find buying presents for the men in my life challenging). A gift idea for you – combine this cake and a bottle of limoncello (homemade or not) for a great present. Ingredients For the cake: 2 eggs 1 cup vanilla Greek yogurt 1 cup sugar ¼ cup canola oil zest of 1 lemon 3 Tbs Limoncello (or lemon juice) 2 cups flour 1½ tsp baking powder ½ tsp baking soda ¼ t...

These Red Velvet Cupcakes are super moist and topped with a delicious chocolate cream cheese frosting! They’d be great for any time, but with some super cute heart decorations, these babies are all decked out for Valentine’s Day! The frosting is a chocolate cream cheese. You could totally leave out the cocoa and add in a bit more powdered sugar for a regular cream cheese frosting if you like. I just decided to change things up and add some chocolate. It pairs well with the red velvet and chocolate is yummy, so I went for it. But either would be delicious. Once the frosting is added, the sides of the frosting are dipped into sprinkles and the cupcakes are topped with cute little hearts. I made the hearts with red candy melts, which are super easy to work with and dry nice and firm. You could even make other shapes, or little words like I did with the “love” on these strawberry cupcakes. So many options! No matter what though, these cupcakes are super moist, fluffy and totally delicious!...

Growing up we loved drinking them on porch after dinner. It’s amazing how two simple ingredients root beer and ice cream combine to make something extraordinary. I think that holds true with these cupcakes as well. Growing up we loved drinking them on porch after dinner. It’s amazing how two simple ingredients root beer and ice cream combine to make something extraordinary. I think that holds true with these cupcakes as well. Ingredients 1 box Chocolate cake mix 3 Large eggs ¼ C Water ½ C Milk ½ C Vegetable oil ½ C Sour cream 1 tsp Vanilla extract 3 tsp Root Beer Extract Icing Ingredients: ½ cup heavy cream ¼ cup powdered sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract Instructions For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl until well combined. Line a muffin tin with cupcake papers. Fill each around ⅔ full. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Cupcakes are done when a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 3-5 minutes. Then cool completely ...

Mini Chocolate Peanut Butter Pies are an easy, make ahead, almost no bake rich, decadently DELICIOUS dessert with a toffee graham cracker crust, creamy peanut butter filling, and silky chocolate ganache topping sure to satisfy all your peanut butter, chocolate cravings.  That doesn’t mean you won’t want five.  The filling is a whipped combination of cream cheese, sugar, toffee bits (you don’t taste the “crunch” – they just add a little something-something-something) and splashes of vanilla and cinnamon. So really, you should make these Almost No Bake Mini Chocolate Peanut Butter Pies as soon as possible because they are every chocolate lover, peanut butter lovers dream.  Go,  Be a dream maker. INGREDIENTS Graham Cracker Toffee Crust 5 whole graham crackers (the whole sheet) 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 1 tablespoon brown sugar 2 tablespoons toffee bits (I use Heath Bits ‘O Brickle Toffee bits) Peanut Butter Pie Filling 1 cup heavy cream 6 ounces cream cheese...

Okay, I waited as long as I possibly could before pulling out the lime desserts on you again this year, but it has begun, so if you like lime as much as I do, get excited!  If you don’t…uh, what’s wrong with you?!  I kid, I kid!   Now I like my lime desserts super tangy, and unfortunately this one is not, but the coconut makes up for that!   There’s coconut milk, lime juice and lime zest in the cupcake base.   And the frosting, oh my!  It’s my favorite cream cheese frosting with coconut extract! I love coconut almost as much as I love lime!   Since the lime is very light in flavor, my favorite way to eat these is to use that little garnish of lime on top and squeeze it over the frosting, then go to town on that cupcake!   I also wait to put the toasted coconut on top until just before eating because it stays crisp that way and adds a great contrast in textures with the light, fluffy cupcake, smooth creamy frosting, and the...

These Strawberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting are perfect! So moist and fluffy! And they are an amazing copy of one my favorite cupcakes! So I think I’ve mentioned it before, but in case I haven’t here’s my little secret: Even though I bake mostly from scratch these days, I grew up on box mixes and store bought cakes. It’s true. I know there’s a camp of people who are totally box mix haters and then there’s a camp that’s all about them. I personally love them at times when I want something easy. And you will never convince me that Funfetti Cake with Rainbow Chip Icing isn’t the best cake ever. But I also love baking from scratch. I’ve always loved cake, but I loved it even more when I started having from-scratch cakes. There’s just so much variety and I love that. That said, my favorite besides Funfetti was always a strawberry cake mix with cream cheese frosting. There’s just something about the strawberry cake mix flavor. I know some might think it’s artificial, but whatevs. I ...

THESE SALTED CARAMEL APPLE TARTLETS ARE NOT ONLY AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS, BUT BEAUTIFUL TOO! THIN APPLE SLICES ARE ARRANGED TO LOOK LIKE A ROSE AND DRIZZLED WITH A YUMMY, SPIKED SALTED CARAMEL SAUCE. My friend Vanessa gave me these beautiful apples from her CSA box. I was surprised that apples are still growing this time of the year in the Pacific NW. They were perfectly crunchy and tart and just begging to be baked into something delicious! Since Valentine’s day is right around the corner, I opted to do something fitting for the season – Salted Caramel Apple Tartlets. I also got a new toy this weekend. Something I’ve been wanting for quite a while… A mandoline! And, I LOVE it! These nifty tools slice, julienne and make waffle cuts. They slice REALLY thin. I decided that these apples would be the perfect vehicle to put my new tool to the test. Layers of apple arranged to look like little rosebuds. The slices need to be extra thin so that they are pliable enough to wrap around each other. T...

Pumpkin spice cupcakes or muffins – either way this grain-free date-sweetened recipe is the perfect fall snack or frosted dessert! Jump to Recipe Or muffins. They can pull off the frosting-free look quite flawlessly too. I posted these chocolate cupcakes last week, and judging by the remake rate since I think we can agree that cupcakes are quite possibly the most perfect dessert form. Chic. Shareable (or not). Less work than a cake. More frosting than a muffin. And actually healthy with a little date-sweetening savvy. However I got a lot of questions asking for a grain-free option. WHICH I AM THRILLED ABOUT. Not because I had a ready and tested answer, I didn’t (although I do now!) But because I am obsessed with grain-free baking at the moment (a. it makes me feel good and b. almond flour is the best thing ever), and clearly I am not the only one. I was worried you wouldn’t be on board with the subtle oat → grain-free shift that has been taking place around here, but it seems many of y...