Rosewater Raspberry Pound Cake

This raspberry rosewater pound cake is loosely based on this pound cake recipe by Martha Stewart. The unconventional flavors of this cake are a refreshing treat that makes this cake good enough to eat all by itself, although it's certainly delicious with vanilla ice cream. Rose water can be found at most Middle Eastern and Indian supermarkets - just make sure to get the water, and not rose syrup. Enjoy!

Here's the recipe:

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3 eggs, at room temperature
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3-4 tbsp rose water
• 2 tbsp whole milk
• approx. 1/4 cup raspberries (frozen or fresh)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

2. Beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy.

3. Add eggs in one by one, and beat together until combined.

4. Add 3-4 tablespoons of rosewater depending on your preference and beat again until just combined.

5. In a separate bowl, whisk 2 cups of flour and 1/4 tsp. of salt so that the dry ingredients are sifted. Add to the wet ingredients in 3 parts, beating until just combined after each addition. 

6. Grease a 9" by 4" loaf pan with butter and spread the batter into the pan evenly.

7. Decorate the top with raspberries as shown below. 

8. Bake for 1 hour, tenting with foil if necessary to prevent the top of the cake from browning. Allow it to cool for at least 30 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Cheesecake Stuffed French Toast & Blueberry Compote

Cheesecake stuffed french toast makes a decadent and easy breakfast. I made this with a blueberry compote for Mother's Day and it was an immediate hit. It takes only a few minutes longer than french toast would. I pulled this together in the morning and, again, forgot to take process photos, but luckily it's a very simple recipe. The blueberry compote is completely optional - I just enjoy the fruity taste to offset the creaminess of the filling, but you could certainly go without, or use different fruit. This recipe yields about 4 stuffed toast pieces. Enjoy!

Here's the recipe:

• 8 slices white bread
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 -1/2  cup of milk (depending on consistency you prefer)
• pinch ground cinnamon
• dash ground nutmeg
• 2 tbsp. butter 
• 4 tbsp. sugar plus more for compote if necessary
• 4 oz. cream cheese
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• blueberries

1. In a bowl, whisk together eggs and milk until it has a decent consistency. Whisk in 1 tbsp. of sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

2. Heat a pan on medium, and grease with some butter. Dip bread in mixture, coat completely and cook on the pan until golden brown with a custard-like center. Repeat for all 8 slices of bread.

3. Meanwhile, beat cream cheese with sour cream until fully combined. Add in 3 tbsp. of sugar and beat for about 1 minute.

4. Spread about 3/4 tbsp. of the cream cheese mixture on top of one piece of warm french toast. Press another piece of toast on top

5. Heat blueberries in a saucepan until reduced to a compote. Add sugar to taste if necessary. 

6. Serve toast warm with a heaping spoonful of blueberry compote. Enjoy!

Mango Pineapple Upside Down Cake

I don't normally bake cakes with tropical fruit, but I decided to try this recipe out for a Mother's Day surprise (with a few tweaks). Unfortunately, I whipped it together in the afternoon and forgot to take pictures, but it was super easy to make! The cake was moist and delicious, and the flavor of the fruit really shined through. I was afraid the brown sugar on the bottom would overpower the fruit and become syrupy, but to my surprise the flavors complemented each other perfectly. You can use either frozen or fresh fruit for the cake, but if the fruit is particularly sour, you may want to adjust the amount of brown sugar you use. This cake is delicious served warm by itself, or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

Here's the recipe:

• 1 stick of unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 cup diced pineapple
• 2 medium mangoes (about 1 cup), diced 
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup baking soda
• 1/4 cup baking powder
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 3 tbsp. whole milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

2. Beat 2 tbsp. of softened butter with the brown sugar until light and fluffy. Line an 8" x 8" baking pan with parchment paper, grease it with softened butted, and then spread the brown sugar mixture evenly along the bottom of the pan. 

3. Mix the diced fruit together. This should yield about 2 cups of fruit. Spread over the brown sugar mixture in the baking pan.

4. In a large bowl, whisk in flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder so that it is sifted and well combined. 

5. In another bowl, beat the remaining 6 tbsp. of butter with 3/4 cup of sugar until light and fluffy - for about 3 minutes.

6. Add in eggs, one by one, and beat until combined.

7. Add in half of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, beating until fully combined. Next, add sour cream, the second half of the flour mixture, and the whole milk, beating to combine between each addition. 

8. Pour batter over fruit and brown sugar mixture. Bake for 50 minutes, rotating pan at 25 minutes to ensure that the cake bakes evenly. 

9. Allow the cake to cool for about 10-15 minutes, and then invert onto a serving platter. Peel parchment paper away and serve warm. Enjoy!