Hey guys, how’s life? Back with my monthly post of things I made last year!
I have to say, these posts always make me really hungry. Maybe even more hungry than my regular recipe posts! Which makes sense, because these special recap posts obviously feature a lot more deliciousness… On another note, they also make me feel old! Like, seriously? The blog is already two years old? When did that happen?
Of course it shouldn’t be so shocking. I mean, my baby niece – me very littlest niece – turned two last March. And I started the blog a week or so after she was born. And yes, I did make her a birthday cake. A Toothless cake, of all cakes! She’s a big fan of Toothless, that cute little dragon from ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ – which is one of my favorite movies right now, by the way. Along with ‘Wreck-it Ralph’. I’m sooo mature! Anyway, my baby niece, who really isn’t a baby anymore, has a Toothless stuffed animal and everything, so it came as no surprise that she requested a Toothless cake!
I didn’t post about it on the blog, though. As my Chocoholic’s Bat Cake shows, my cake-related talents lie elsewhere… I’m better at making cakes taste good, than making them look cutesy and like real (or animated) animals!
But anyway, let’s move on to what I made last April! I looooved these recipes. Last month I already shared a link for the Lemon Cake, because I made it for Easter in 2014 and I knew that by the time I would come around to posting this post, Easter 2015 would be weeks ago. But it’s also a great cake for spring!
1. Energizing Beet Smoothie with Raspberries and Chia Seeds
I made this smoothie because I lost my voice after Easter last year, and I was in need of a serious vitamin boost! Which is exactly what this delicious smoothie is. Yes, it has beets in it. If that puts you off, don’t stop reading, because I’m here to tell you that this smoothie doesn’t taste like beets. There are raspberries in there too! And orange juice! And strawberries! So just trust me when I tell you that this smoothie is not only really good for you – it even keeps wrinkles at bay – it also tastes amazing!
Sorry for my excessive use of exclamation points. It was totally called for…
2. Super Fudgy Coconut Brownies
These brownies are just crazy. Super fudgy (and I mean fudgy!) and super duper chocolatey. Like a great brownie should be. And that’s not all! They’re topped with a delicious coconut filing, made with grated coconut, sugar, cream and an egg white. And a little vanilla, for kicks.
If you’re serious about your love for coconut, double the recipe for the coconut topping though… The intense chocolate flavor of these brownies can easily overpower the coconut!
3. Lemon Cake with Whipped Cream, Lemon Curd and Raspberries
This will be, like, the third time I’ve said this in the past few weeks, but I made this cake for Easter last year. And I looooved it! It was a bit messy though… The reason why there isn’t a photo of a slice in the post is because the cake kind of collapsed when I cut into it. I blamed it on the mountain of raspberries hidden between the two cake layers. And the thick layers of whipped cream and lemon curd.
But taste over looks, right? Besides, I served this to my family, and they didn’t mind a messy cake!
4. M&M Cookies with White Chocolate Chunks
Last spring, when Lucy was still a baby/hadn’t learned to swim yet, the Rocking Rebel and I ventured outside on the first moderately warm spring day to teach her how to swim. She loves to swim these days, but that wasn’t always the case, so we eventually went in with her to make the water look a bit more friendly to her. Okay, okay, the Rocking Rebel did. Wading into two feet of still freezing water is what I like to call a man’s job. I’m sure all the girls reading this are with me on that one!
Anyway, after we got home, we parked ourselves on the couch with a plate of these crispy/chewy/soft cookies stuffed with peanut M&M’s and white chocolate chunks. I really recommend using peanut M&M’s in these! The peanuts make these cookies all the more awesome…
5. Three-Ingredient Chocolate Mousse
If you’re afraid of consuming raw eggs, even in a delicious chocolate mousse like this, don’t torture yourself by clicking on this link. This chocolate mousse is the best! It’s made with only three ingredients, namely eggs, chocolate and sugar. The whipped cream and raspberry are totally optional, but of course highly recommended…
Seriously guys, make this mousse right now! It can be whipped up in less than 10 minutes and it’s dreamy, rich, and just perfect in every way! Imma make some right now…
6. Chocolate Coated Honeycomb
Have you ever made Honeycomb? It only takes fifteen minutes to make and the result is a cookie jar full of dangerous looking honeycomb shards. If you want to go the extra mile and coat them with chocolate too – very advisable – that should take you another 5 minutes. The beauty of these simple and fast recipes? They give you more time for the important – or not so very important – things in life. Such as writing your very important – cough cough – master’s thesis. Or watching funny clips on Youtube…
Oh, if you like peanuts, sprinkle some chopped salted peanuts over the chocolate coated honeycomb when the chocolate hasn’t set yet. Very good!
7. Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Pancakes with Strawberries
I just realized something: I still haven’t posted the Rocking Rebel’s classic pancake recipe. I completely forgot about it… Will do that soon, I promise. Wait, I shouldn’t promise things like that because I will only forget about it again and then you’re going to be angry with me for breaking a promise. So let me just say: I will try to remember to post the Rocking Rebel’s famous pancake recipe this time!
Luckily, these amazing chocolate chip pancakes made with oatmeal more than make up for that missing recipe. These pancakes are thick, soft, fluffy, cinnamony and chocolatey all at once! Top with some warm strawberries, a few more chocolate chips and a drizzle of maple syrup and you have a killer breakfast or lunch!
8. Homemade Lemon Curd
I was going through a lemon phase last spring. Which resulted in this amazing homemade lemon curd, which is smooth, velvety and deliciously tangy, and the aforementioned lemon cake with whipped cream and raspberries. I used the lemon curd for that. Ba-duh…
I would have liked some scones with this lemon curd too, but I didn’t feel like making them. I should put those on my to-bake list. Along with that cake for my blog’s belated second birthday… I’m on to it! Really! Really…
9. Strawberry Rhubarb Pie with Mascarpone Cream
I made this delicious pie with my younger sister and we both absolutely loved it! The crust is sweet and buttery, the filling is tangy, sweet and delicious and the dollops of mascarpone cream we both couldn’t stop spooning on top of our slices just took the whole thing over the top! Nothing screams ‘spring’ as a rhubarb and strawberry pie, right?
We also had a lot of fun making it! It was a good thing my sister was there that day, because I misread my recipe and almost added an entire cup of cornstarch to the filling. Luckily, my sister is a bit more skeptical than me when it comes to adding crazy amounts of cornstarch to pie filling, so she made me reread the recipe. Luckily, thanks to her, this pie turned out amazing!
Anyway, that’s it. Enjoy these recipes guys!
New favorite food quote:
