Chocolate Macarons with Rosewater Buttercream

Macarons make me giddy. I love all the bright and beautiful colors, the variety of delicious fillings and, of course, the adorable, petite size. Every time we go to my favorite French bakery in West Seattle, Bakery Nouveau, I always have to buy every flavor they have and then quickly devour them all on the fifteen minute drive home. The question of shelf life of macarons in our household is similar to the question "How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?" We may just never know...

Honey Beer Bread

 

There is nothing better than the smell of fresh, baking bread permeating the house. For this reason, bread is one of my favorite things to bake. Unfortunately, most yeast breads take a least a couple of hours to make, having to let the yeast rise and then actually baking the bread. I have been scouring the internet for a good quick bread to add to my recipe box for occasions where I only have a few minutes  but would love to have some fresh bread to accompany my dinner.

Hot Cross Buns

"Hot cross buns!

Hot cross buns!

One ha' penny, two ha' penny,

Hot cross buns!"

For many years I thought that hot cross buns existed only in a child's nursery rhyme and held some sort of weird, archaic symbolism like "Ring Around the Rosie." It wasn't until a couple years ago at my hubby's (then boyfriend's) parent's house that I learned that, in fact, hot cross buns are a real baked good! My hubby's mom had purchased a dozen of them from a local bakery and had warmed them up to serve along side our Easter dinner. After only one bite, I was extremely taken by these little spiced rolls that were decorated so neatly with frosting crosses. The insides were light and fluffy, the spices were delicate yet present and the currents provided a nice burst of sweetness every few bites. I knew right away that these were going to be an Easter staple from then on out. 

German Chocolate Cake

This week my dad turned the big 5-0! In honor of this monumental celebration, I baked one of his favorite cakes: German Chocolate. German chocolate cake is a chocolate layer cake that is filled with a gooey coconut-pecan frosting. Yummy!

Beet Brownies (Daring Bakers' Challenge)

Whew! It has been a crazy month. My school work finally caught up with me and instead of spending my time experimenting with recipes in the kitchen, I have spent my time working with the same techniques over and over. But spring break is finally here and just in time for this month's Daring Bakers' Challenge.

Ruth from Makey-Cakey was our March 2013 Daring Bakers' Challenge host. She encouraged us all to get experimental in the kitchen and sneak some hidden veggies into our baking, with surprising and delicious results!

Raspberry-Lemon Mini Pies

It must be pie week in the Rainy Baker household! Coincidentally, after baking my Meyer Lemon Pie yesterday afternoon, we learned new pie techniques later that evening in class. This left me with a lot of leftover pie dough. Mini pies are all the rage right now, appearing all over foodgawker and the blogasphere. I have never tackled mini pies before and thought this would be an excellent use for my scraps of pie dough. This is a good reason to always save any extra pie dough you may have! I also had leftover raspberries and Meyer Lemons from previous baking experiments and thought these would be a lovely combination for my pies.

Shaker Lemon Pie

It's that time of year again, everyone! Meyer Lemon season. If you have never had a Meyer Lemon, it is a delicious, sweeter relative of the common lemon. Originally native to China, the Meyer Lemon is a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange. Due to their temperamental nature, the majority of Meyer Lemon crops are only able to be harvested between November and April. I was lucky enough to stumble across a bag of them at Costco last week and I knew that I had to use them to make a Shaker Lemon Pie!