Strawberry Shortcake Cake

Happy Canada Day to all you Canadians!!

My friend, Dev and her boyfriend, Tyler had a Canada Day BBQ. They supplied all of the meat and side salads, so I decided to bring a dessert.

Rather than making a bunch of biscuits for strawberry shortcake, I made one massive strawberry shortcake cake. I thought it was unique and it was also easier (and less messy) to serve at a BBQ.

Here's what you'll need for the cake:

1 1/2 cup cake and pastry flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk
6 Tbsp salted butter
1 Tbsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon extract
3 eggs
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2- 2 cups strawberries, washed and sliced

Here's what you'll need for the frosting:
1 tsp gelatin
2 cup whipping cream
1/2 confectioner's sugar
2 tsp vanilla


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 8" cake pans and line the bottom with parchment paper; grease the parchment paper as well.

In a small bowl, combine cake flour, baking powder, and salt.

In a small saucepan, combine the milk and butter, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add the vanilla and lemon extracts.

In a separate large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until it is pale yellow and fluffy. While continuing to beat the eggs and sugar, slowly add the hot milk mixture. Next, fold in the flour mixture and stir until combined.

Spread the cake batter evenly between the two prepared pans. Bake for 20-25 minutes. There are a number of ways to make sure the cakes are done: 1) They are golden brown; 2) You press lightly on the center of the cake and it springs back; and 3) A toothpick comes out clean when inserted.

Once the cakes are finished baking, set them on a wire rack to cool. Once they have cooled, turn them upside down and return cakes to the wire rack.

While the cakes are continuing to cool, you should make the whipped cream frosting. In a small bowl, mix together the gelatin and 1/4 cup whipping cream. Let mixture rest for 5 minutes, then place the bowl over barely simmering water until the gelatin has completely dissolved. Remove the bowl from heat and let cool to tepid. In the meantime, in a mixing bowl, whip the remaining whipping cream until thickened slightly, then add the confectioner's sugar and vanilla, whipping until the mixture is the same consistency as shaving cream. Add half of the gelatin mixture to the whipped cream frosting, then fold in the remaining half.

To decorate the cake, spread a bit of the whipped cream frosting over the bottom cake. Place a layer of sliced strawberries on top of the whipped cream frosting. Spread more of the whipped cream frosting over the first layer of strawberries, then add a second layer of strawberries. Next, spread some whipped cream frosting on the bottom of the top cake, and place it frosting side down on the bottom cake. Finally, use the remaining whipped cream frosting to frost the entire cake (top, and sides). Add some whole strawberries on top for garnish. Store in refrigerator until you serve it.

Enjoy :)

Lemon Blueberry Loaf

For the first time in years, I went to Costco. It was great. I feel like we could save so much money by going there every couple of weeks. The one downfall of our Costco trip was accidentally buying three LARGE tubs of plain yogurt —I thought it was plain greek yogurt, which I eat almost every day. At first, I was just going to use the plain yogurt as I would use greek yogurt, but it's not even close to being the same. There's no thick creaminess in non-greek plain yogurt; in fact, it's quite runny!

So, how do I use all of this plain yogurt so that it doesn't go to waste? Well... I incorporated it into baking! First up, lemon blueberry loaf, which I found at Erica's Sweet Tooth and adapted slightly.

It's super moist and easy —and without any glaze, it's the perfect breakfast loaf.


Here's what you'll need for the bread:

1 1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp AP flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup plain yogurt
1 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup salted butter, melted (vegetable oil will also work)
1 1/2 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)

Here's what you'll need for the lemon syrup:
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup granulated sugar


Preheat the oven to 350 degree F and grease the bottom and sides of a 9 x 5 " loaf pan.

In a small bowl, toss the blueberries with 1 Tbsp of AP flour. In another small bowl, whisk together the remaining flour, baking powder, and salt.

In a large bowl, whisk together yogurt, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla, and melted butter/oil.

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Once all the ingredients are combined and well mixed, gently fold in the blueberries.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 50- 55 minutes, or until you insert a toothpick and it comes out clean (or nearly clean).

Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then tip the pan upside down and transfer the loaf to a wire rack to cool completely.

While the loaf is cooling, combine the lemon juice and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Cook for another 2-3 minutes on low. Remove from heat and set aside. Note: You can also do the lemon syrup in the microwave; just be sure to stir the mixture every 30-45 seconds.

Using a skewer or toothpick, poke holes in the top and sides of the loaf. Using a brush, spread the lemon syrup all over the bread. Although the loaf may appear to be drenched in lemon syrup, it will soak into the bread.

Enjoy :)

* Also, if you want to add a lemon glaze, simply combine 3 tsp of lemon juice and 3/4 to 1 cup of confectioner's sugar in a bowl (depending on how thick you want the glaze; for thicker glaze, add more confectioner's sugar; for thinner glaze, add less confectioner's sugar). Spread the glaze over the top of the loaf and let harden before serving.

Poppyseed Challah Bread

It's been nearly a year since I made challah bread —I don't know why; it's soft, delicious, and not too hard to make. AND, secretly, it's kind of fun to make and the final product is so pretty haha This time I used a recipe from Smitten Kitchen, which was slightly different than the recipe I used previously, but just as good.


Here's what you'll need:

1 1/2 Tbsp of active dry yeast
1 Tbsp + 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup olive or vegetable oil, plus more for greasing the bowl
5 eggs
1 Tbsp salt
~8 cups AP flour
poppyseeds for sprinkling


In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and 1 Tbsp of sugar in 1 3/4 cups lukewarm water. Make sure the water isn't too hot or it will kill the yeast (i.e., your bread will not rise), but also make sure the water isn't too cold or it will not activate the yeast (i.e., your bread will not rise) haha Let set for a few minutes.

Whisk oil into the yeast mixture, and beat in 4 eggs, one at a time. Then, add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and salt. Gradually add the flour until the dough holds together. Now, it's kneading time! On a floured surface, knead dough for approximately 10 minutes or until it is smooth. Add additional flour if necessary.

Rub oil on the inside of a large bowl and place dough. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place for one hour or until doubled in size. I learned a trick to help with rising. Boil a pot of water and place it on the bottom rack of the oven, and the bowl containing the dough on the top rack of the oven. Close the over door and let rise. The steam from the pot of boiled water really helps with rising. Awesome trick.

After the dough has risen for one hour, punch it down, cover, and let rise for another 30 minutes. You can use the pot of boiled water trick again if you want. I did.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Once the second rising has finished, divide the dough in half and form two balls. To make a 4-braid challah bread, take one ball of dough and divide into four equal balls. Using your hangs, roll each ball of dough into a strand (approximately 12 inches long). Place the 4 strands in a row, parallel to one another. Pinch the tops of the strands together and tuck underneath. Now, for the braiding. Move the outside strand over top of two strands and under one strand. Repeat this process, moving from left to right, until the loaf is completely braided. Pinch the ends together and tuck underneath. Repeat this process with the second ball of dough.

Place the loaves on the parchment lined baking sheets.

Beat the remaining egg and brush it on top of the loaves. Sprinkling with poppyseeds. If you don't have poppyseeds, you can use sesame seeds or no seeds (your choice!).

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown. If you find that the loaves are browning up quickly, you can place a piece of tin foil over the top of the loaves.

Let loaves cool on a wire rack before slicing. Enjoy :)

Also, for more details on braiding and forms of braid (e.g., 6-strand braid), see my previous post: Challah Bread

Spiced Peach Muffins

I woke-up early and had an urge to bake a tasty breakfast treat before heading off to Two if by Sea for our weekend morning Americano. Since we had fresh peaches on hand, I decided on spiced peach muffins. I adapted this recipe from King Arthur Flour by halfing the recipe, replacing the vegetable oil with melted butter, and adding more of the spices.

Here's what you'll need:
2 1/4 cup AP flour
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1 egg
6 Tbsp salted butter, melted (or vegetable oil)
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp milk
2 large peaches, diced (~ 1 1/2 cups)
granulated sugar


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line or grease a muffin tray.

In a large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, salt, baking powder, allspice, nutmeg, and cinnamon, and stir together.

Add the egg, melted butter, and milk to the dry ingredients. Stir until combined.

Now,  fold in the diced peaches.

Divide the batter evenly between ~8-10 muffin liners (I went for 8 because I like big muffins). Sprinkle the muffins with granulated sugar and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.

Enjoy :)

Cookies 'n' Cream Cookies

My friend Laura and I thought we should incorporate snacks into our Tuesday night softball league, so I decided to bake some cookies —unfortunately, softball was cancelled this week and I was stuck with 25 cookies!! Luckily, we had our first book club meeting that same night so I brought a bunch with me. If you like the traditional Hershey's Cookies 'n' Cream chocolate bar, you will absolutely love these cookies. The flavour is very similar.

I should note that this recipe does make quite many cookies (~25 large cookies), so you can easily half the recipe and the cookies will turn out equally delicious.


Here's what you'll need:
1 cup salted butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cup AP flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 package of oreo cookies (use as many or as little as you'd like)
1 1/2 cup white chocolate chips*

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the oreo cookies in a ziploc bag and crush them into small chunks.

Cream butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until well combined. Add the vanilla, and eggs, one at a time, mixing well.

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl and stir to combine.

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing well. Finally, gently stir the crushed oreo chunks and white chocolate chips into the cookie dough batter until combined.

Place medium to large size balls of cookie dough (think golf ball size or even a little bigger) onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes, or until they are a very light brown colour on top.

Let cool for five minutes, then transfer to a wire rack!

Enjoy :)

*If you don't have white chocolate chips, you can easily substitute milk chocolate chips. I simply prefer the taste of white chocolate chips.

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

Dan's mom comes this weekend and I know she loves lemon baked good, so I thought I'd try out a couple of recipes in advance. First up —lemon poppyseed muffins from Joy the Baker.


Here's what you'll need:
2/3 cup sugar
zest and juice of one lemon
2 cups AP flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup buttermilk*
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup salted butter, melted
2 tbsp poppyseeds
+ extra sugar for sprinkling on top of muffins


Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line a muffin tray with paper cups (or grease muffin tray).

Grate the lemon for zest. Place the 2/3 cups of sugar in a large bowl and rub the sugar with the lemon zest until the sugar turns a pale yellow. Using a large spoon, stir in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, and melted butter.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until combined. Fold in the poppyseeds.

Divide the batter evenly across 10-12 muffin cups. I make really large muffins, so I only got 10 muffins out of this recipe. Top the muffins with a sprinkle of sugar and bake for 18-20 minutes. My oven is fussy and fluctuates a lot and my muffins were quite large, so mine took about 20 minutes or so. You'll be able to tell when the muffins are done because the tops will start to turn a light golden brown —this means they're ready to come out!

Let muffins cool on wire rack. We topped the muffins with some of Bill's homemade NFLD blueberry jam :)


* If you don't have buttermilk on hand, you can simply add 1 tbsp of white vinegar or lemon to just under a cup of milk. If you let the mixture sit for ~5 minutes, it will start to curdle and form buttermilk (see this link for details: Buttermilk substitute). Alternatively, you can also use sour cream.