zucchini + lemon glaze cake

 

i hope everyone had a lovely mother's day weekend! my mom came up to the city & we made her a huge brunch which included farm eggs, bacon, home fries, blueberry pancakes & coffee galore. i think it is safe to say we spoiled her. for dessert & for a little snack on the drive home, i made one of her favourite cakes... zucchini cake! between her & my aunt, i have consumed a LOT of zucchini cake in my days. sometimes it takes a little bit of convincing to get people to try a cake full of a vegetables, but it is the most flavourful & moist cake there is. this recipe features king arthur flour's white whole wheat flour. it is so easy to bake with as it is much milder in texture, colour & flavour than regular whole wheat flour. regular whole wheat flour can be a little too overpowering when baking with. another interesting feature of the white whole wheat flour is that it is identity-preserved, this means it is traceable from field to flour & raised with sustainable farming practices. i used half white whole wheat flour & half all-purpose flour in this recipe, my family didn't even notice the difference.

ingredients

for the cake:

for the glaze:

  • 1 cups glazing sugar (or powdered sugar)
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1-2 teaspoons heavy cream

directions

for the cake

  • preheat oven to 350 degrees. grease a large bundt pan.
  • in a large mixing bowl add the raw sugar, oil, eggs & vanilla. stir until eggs are pale yellow in colour.
  • add in the grated zucchini & pineapple. mix until well combined.
  • in a separate bowl, sift both flours, baking soda, salt & cinnamon.
  • add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients & mix until just combined.
  • pour into the bundt pan & bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.
  • let cool completely before flipping & glazing.

for the glaze

  • in a mixing bowl, add the sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice & cream. stir until a smooth glaze is formed. if glaze looks runny, add more sugar. if glaze looks too thick, add more cream.
  • pour over bundt cake & serve.

caramel s'more pie

 

because it is not quite camp fire season, i am bringing s'more time inside with this deconstructed s'mores pie. the thick graham cracker crust is my absolute favourite type of crust.. i always give myself a little extra. to be honest, because of the crust alone i like this s'more pie better then your average s'more! the filling is made with two types of dark ghirardelli chocolate; twilight delight + dark & caramel. i topped it off with a fluffy marshmallow meringue. the pie crust & filling needs to be made a few hours in advance to allow the chocolate custard layer to set properly. you can finish it off with fresh meringue right before serving. if you don't like meringue you should first try this one, i promise you will change your mind. BUT if not, an alternative would be to top it with marshmallow fluff! just don't forget to torch the top with a kitchen torch or in the oven using the broiler. it puts the final toasted s'more touch taste & look to it.

ingredients

for the graham cracker crust

  • 2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

for the caramel chocolate filling

  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 1 cup whipping cream
  • 1 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 4 large egg yolks (save the whites for the meringue topping)
  • 4 ounces dark chocolate, roughly chopped (8 squares of ghirardelli twilight delight)
  • 4 ounces dark caramel chocolate (8 squares of ghirardelli dark & caramel)
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

for the marshmallow meringue

  • 4 large egg whites
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

directions

for the graham cracker crust

  • in a mixing bowl combine graham cracker crumbs, butter, sugar, salt & vanilla. stir until combined.
  • press the mixture firmly into a greased pie dish creating a 1-inch crust around the edges.
  • bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes & let cool completely before adding the chocolate filling.

for the caramel chocolate filling

  • in a saucepan add milk, cream, sugar, cornstarch, sea salt & egg yolks. whisk until the egg yolks have broken up.
  • cook over medium heat, constantly stirring until mixture thickens.
  • remove from heat & immediately stir in dark chocolate, caramel chocolate, vanilla extract & butter until silky smooth.
  • pour into pre-baked graham cracker crust & let set in the fridge for 2-4 hours.

for the marshmallow meringue

  • when ready to serve, prepare the marshmallow meringue. in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment add the egg whites. whip until soft peaks form.
  • gradually add the sugar & vanilla. whip until stiff peaks form.
  • spread over pie & using the broiler or a kitchen torch brown the top until golden brown to resemble a toasted marshmallow.
  • serve immediately!

this post was created in partnership with ghirardelli chocolate! you can find the two types of chocolate i used here &  here. 

like what you see? get it here. copper sauce pot | copper double handled pan | shun knife | cutting board | linens

salted vanilla + chocolate truffle cupcake

 

it's national truffle day! FINALLY a day i can get on board with. aside from the obvious of celebrating by stuffing my face with endless LINDOR truffles, i thought it would be nice to bake them into something too! a salted vanilla cupcake, stuffed with a surprise milk chocolate LINDOR truffle. if a surprise gooey chocolate truffle isn't enough, i finished them off with a drizzle of truffle ganache & a sprinkle of sea salt. i know my sister in alberta is beyond jealous looking at this right now, because these are one of her favourite chocolates too. good thing it's her birthday this week & she will be flying home.. should i be a nice sister & save her one!? when i worked downtown, there was a LINDOR store in the concourse of my office building. they had piles & piles of different flavours of truffles i didn't even know existed! i was like a kid in a candy store. what is your favourite flavour of truffles?!

ingredients

(makes one dozen cupcakes)

for the cake

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 3/4 cups white sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
    * 12 LINDOR truffles, whole

for the frosting

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 3 cups icing sugar, or to taste
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • coarse sea salt, for topping (like sprinkles)

for the chocolate ganache

* 6 LINDOR truffles, roughly chopped

  • 1 teaspoon heavy cream

directions

  • preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
  • in the bowl of a stand mixer cream the butter and sugar. add the egg & vanilla extract, beat until light and fluffy.
  • in a separate bowl sift the flour, baking powder, and salt. gradually add it to stand mixer at low speed, alternating with the milk.
  • divide the batter evenly amongst 12 lined cupcake tins. place a whole LINDOR truffle in the centre of each cupcake & push down.
  • bake for 12-15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
  • for the buttercream add the butter, sugar, vanilla & salt to the bowl of a stand mixer. beat until frosting is light & fluffy, about 8 minutes.
  • while the buttercream is whipping make the chocolate ganache. melt truffles in a microwave safe bowl. Add cream & stir until silky smooth. let cool slightly.
  • pipe each cupcake as desired. drizzle with truffle ganache & a sprinkle of coarse salt.

this post was created in partnership with lindt chocolate. happy national truffle day!