Search Results for: Pies & cakes

Lemony-Poppy Seed Cake + Great Celebratory Spring Recipes

Posted on May 21, 2016 by Peggy

Memorial Day picnics, graduation parties, weddings, showers and anniversaries. In the coming weeks you may be called upon to create a celebratory dish or two. Pound cakes are wonderful spring and summer desserts as the center hole of a bundt or fluted cake pan creates an ideal “vase” to insert fresh seasonal flowers or herbs. This cake (which … Full recipe post »

Tracy’s Famous Squash Blossom Honey Cake

Posted on Apr 23, 2016 by Peggy

So you want to write a book? Maybe you’ve already written one. If so, I’d love to trade notes!  If you are toying with the idea of writing your first book––be it a novel, cookbook, memoir, book of poetry or dummy guide–be prepared to have your cage rattled and buckshots pummelled across your backside; in short, be prepared to  bleed. At … Full recipe post »

“We must have a pie…

Posted on Dec 2, 2015 by Peggy

Stress cannot exist in the presence of a pie.” (David Mamet, Boston Marriage) But sometimes it can when making your first pie. A home cook worth his or her salt understands the most basic of recipes can sometimes be the trickiest. Take pie crust. If you make the pastry right the first time, it’s probably because you … Full recipe post »

Ginger-Molasses Bundt Cake with Lemon Curd

Posted on Dec 10, 2013 by Peggy

Today I began cooking for a holiday party I’m hosting the day after tomorrow. One item I want on the menu is an old-fashioned spice cake, and while thumbing through cookbooks in search of a recipe, I was imagining rich layers of flavor that would be more redolent of spice than cloyingly sweet. No such … Full recipe post »

Fourth of July Sheet Cake

Posted on Jul 2, 2013 by Peggy

Happy Fourth! If the day finds you late to the table with minimum of time to cook, and you’re scrambling to come up with a festive celebratory dish, I have a suggestion: Skip the following recipe, purchase a boxed cake mix, canned white icing, blueberries and strawberries, and this celebratory cake can be out the … Full recipe post »

Annamarie’s Chocolate-Poppyseed Cake

Posted on May 30, 2012 by Peggy
Annamarie's Chocolate-Poppyseed Cake

When Annamarie invites me to her home for cake, I drop everything. I know the cake will be sublime, and her recipe well-tested and flawless; she spares no detail to assure you won’t fumble. The finest cakes are often the centerpiece of celebrations, so it’s critical that the recipe be well-organized and easy to follow. Annamarie tells … Full recipe post »

Starry Night Tort

Posted on Jan 1, 2012 by Peggy
Starry Night Tort

Happy New Year!  Here’s a recipe inspired from Bon Appetit, which we enjoyed after feasting on our traditional Hoppin’ John with a side of greens. My son Zan’s girlfriend, Lucy, brought dessert. This was not any old store-bought pie, mind you. This was a dessert from the heavens; a recipe for dreams. Lucy says that, for the … Full recipe post »

Annamarie’s Strawberry-Rhubarb Cake

Posted on Jul 7, 2011 by Peggy
Annamarie's Strawberry-Rhubarb Cake

Ann Arbor, for me, is best described by its neighborhoods: a tapestry of people woven together in brick and wooden homes, safe-guarded through the winter as wrapped and valuable gifts. As spring meanders into summer, as each present is carefully unwrapped, colorful jewels emerge, scattered about our town. Tucked between Packard Road and South Industrial, … Full recipe post »

Sweet Potato Pecan Pie

Posted on Nov 22, 2009 by Peggy
Sweet Potato Pecan Pie

Like my favorite eggnogs, I adore sweet potato and pecan pies with a splash of bourbon in the filling. The edgy flavor of bourbon, to me, mellows the sweetness of the pie. Think Leonard Cohen romancing Marie Osmond. If you’re a fan of Marie Osmond, but never listen to Leonard Cohen, substitute kahlua for the … Full recipe post »

Fig and Yogurt Cake

Posted on Oct 3, 2009 by Peggy
Yogurt and Fig Cake

One of my favorite things about following a recipe is making changes, substituting ingredients based on the season and leftovers in my fridge. Flattened breads and fallen, runny cakes, however, have taught me not to be so cavalier about switching out ingredients when baking. I’ve learned to be on guard, measuring each ingredient to the … Full recipe post »

Annamarie’s Lusciously Lemony Wedding Cake

Posted on Sep 11, 2009 by Peggy
Annamarie's Luciously Lemony Wedding Cake

Serendipitous, ultimate cake-walking luck! An example of why I love this town: I can go out for an evening stroll with my husband, run into friends I haven’t seen in ages, then be invited – that exact instant – to a wedding cake tasting! How thrilling was this accidental invite, to be a member of … Full recipe post »