Basil Buttermilk Ice Cream

Basil Buttermilk Ice Cream

Recently, I’ve been on an ice cream-making kick – lowfat vanilla, nocino, blackberry buttermilk, various attempts at the “perfect” chocolate, and then this past weekend, basil buttermilk. Part of this recent ice cream explosion is motivated by...
Blueberry Pie

Blueberry Pie

One of the many benefits of living in central Iowa is relatively easy access to high quality local food during the summer and early fall. Whether that means shopping at the local co-op, driving out to a nearby u-pick fruit farm, or heading to one of several...
Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Part 2

Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Part 2

I originally developed the peanut butter cake recipe for my friend Shoshana and she’s made the recipe several times both with and without my help. I tend to use my kitchen scale when baking because it’s easier to be consistent when baking by weight and I...
Grandma’s Homemade Fudge

Grandma’s Homemade Fudge

My maternal grandmother, Joyce, is famous for her chocolate fudge. I don’t know how many batches she’s made over the years, but its either hundreds or thousands at this point. Every Christmas Grandma gives each family, or grandchild living away from home,...
Eggnog Scones

Eggnog Scones

At the beginning of the holiday season I was asked by my boss, Bob, to develop a holiday scone for The Café (a.k.a. the restaurant that I work at). The first idea that came to mind was an eggnog scone. To develop the scone, I started with the base scone recipe that...
That Chocolate Cake

That Chocolate Cake

This is one of my standby desserts that I can pull out when I want to impress, but don’t have the energy for a major effort. There are several steps, but nothing about this recipe is complicated. While originally a two layer cake, I like the look of a four layer...