I’m really not one for cakes (cheesecake is the one exception, but that’s totally different). But I have to admit, every once in a blue moon there is nothing better than a huge cup of coffee and a slice of coffee cake. I absolutely loved this recipe. I actually only made it because I had all the ingredients on hand, but it was so simple and quick to get together. Perfect for a quick breakfast sweet or an easy last-minute tea/coffee date.

I have to say that this coffee cake is definitely at its best straight from the oven. Despite wrapping  the cake up nice and tight, the next day it was close to rock solid the next day. That’s just the way gluten-free flours tend to be. A quick 10, 15 seconds in the microwave and the problem was solved.

So I guess now that Thanksgiving has come and gone here in the States, I guess that means the holiday season is officially upon. I must admit I am a bit of Grinch. Mainly because I think christmas has just gotten far too out of hand. There is only one thing that I absolutely adore about the holiday season and that’s the obscene amount of baking that I can do. It’s the one time of the year that mass quantities of baking are socially acceptable.

I’ve already started thinking of fun and new recipes I can start testing out on my friends and family. It’s great having a willing and able built-in test audience, especially since I’m not too keen on sweets. I light of my mini dessert obsession this recipe seemed like the perfect combination of experiment and great taste. I really wanted to try out my new mini bundt pan (how fun is the word ‘bundt’?). I’m not sure if it was me, the recipe, the oven or the pan, but it was rough going when things came out of the oven. Luckily, after a bit of coaxing, everyone got their act together and cooperated in the end. The salted caramel flavor made this chocolate cake even richer. Add in the frosting and it was one of the sweetest and richest desserts I have ever come across. I decided to sprinkle on a bit of flakey sea salt to enhance the caramel flavor and cut the sweetness just a bit.

The International Delight Facebook page shares coupon savings and a chance to share your delight this holiday season.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of International Delight. The opinions and text are all mine.

Earlier today I was discussing baked goods with my friend Zack (we don’t like them). This whole conversation came out of a discussion of birthday cakes (it’s my birthday today, we were just randomly discussing cakes). I like savory things much better. Personally I would be much happier if someone gave me a wheel of brie or blue cheese, stuck a candle in it and called it a day. There is one exception to my dessert rule and that would be cheesecake. I do like cheesecake.

This isn’t your typical cheesecake. There is blue cheese involved, which is initially why I wanted to make this. Combining my favorite cheese and my favorite dessert just seemed like a brilliant idea. I was slightly hesitant about the fact that there is no sugar added into the cheesecake. One of them fell apart when I was removing them from the muffin tin and I stole a bite and it was not a good idea. Luckily when I served them with the pears, it was a very enjoyable (and unusual) combination. I had enough crust for 14 cheesecakes, but only enough filling for 13. I would recommend only doing 12 as some of my came out a little thin on the cheesecake end of things. Luckily I like my cheesecake on the crustier side of things, so I wasn’t too bothered by that.

So this is what started my whole strawberry craze. My friend Amy (hi Amy!) posted on my Facebook about how delicious strawberries and balsamic are. True story. It’s a delicious combination. I remember making a strawberry balsamic dessert in high school and I felt super grown-up and sophisticated. That phase didn’t last long. Amy’s comment made me really crave some kind of strawberry balsamic combination, but I wanted to try something a little different.

These popsicles are super refreshing and so easy to make. I definitely plan on making these a lot over the summer. Next time though, I would change a few things. I would probably either cut back on the sugar or up the balsamic a bit.The strawberries were definitely sweet enough on their own and didn’t need a whole 1/4.  The vinegar flavor was there, but I would have preferred it to stand out a little more.  And the freshly ground pepper… I love pepper, but every now and again I would find myself biting into what I thought was a little strawberry chunk only to be (rudely) surprised by pepper. Definitely make sure your pepper is finely ground.

Balsamic Strawberry Popsicles (from Epicurious)

• 2 cups sliced, hulled strawberries (from about 1 pound berries)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 1/2 tablespoons good-quality balsamic vinegar
• Freshly ground black pepper

1. Place the strawberries and sugar in a food processor and pulse just until the mixture is finely chopped and juicy but still chunky; you don’t want a smooth purée. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the balsamic vinegar and a few grinds of pepper.
2. Spoon the mixture into ice pop molds and insert sticks. Freeze until firm, at least 6 hours or up to 1 week.
3. To unmold the pops, run hot water over the outsides of the molds for a few seconds, then gently pull the sticks.

And I’m back! I disappeared over the last week or so and it was kind of accidental. Basically, there was a snafu with a power cord before a big trip. Oops. I had all sorts of grand plans to share delicious recipes while I was gone, but onwards and upwards.

Where did I disappear to exactly?

JAPAN!

Tokyo to be exact and it was amazing. One of my good friends is working in Tokyo at the moment, so it was the perfect excuse to visit. Apart from exploring the city, meeting some amazing people and celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, the highlight of the trip was definitely the food! Every meal I had was better than the last one. I ate a lot of things that I have had the Americanized version of before and wow, I have been missing out. I also ate a lot of things outside of my normal food comfort zone. You have to be a little adventurous when you travel.

The only downside of all the amazing food, is the fact that I will never be able to eat sushi again, which makes me sad. One morning we woke up at 3.30 to get down to the Tsukiji Fish Market and see the tuna auction. Afterwards we went and had sushi for breakfast. I cannot even put into words how amazing this sushi was. All other sushi has been completely ruined for me. According to my friend I had a look of total disgust on my face the entire time we were eating. Yes, I was totally disgusted, because all other sushi will just pale in comparison for the rest of my life. But it’s kind of okay, since I guess that’s just an excuse to go back!

Now, let’s get back to business.

Cheesecake is one of the few desserts I really, really like. Well, love actually. Naturally, I was intrigued by Japanese cheesecake.

This cheesecake is very different  than your standard American cheesecake. The consistency reminds me more of a sponge cake or angel food cake combined with custard than an American cheesecake. It’s very light and airy. It also does not have a crust of any kind. The crust is kind of , sort of, my absolute favorite part of an American-style cheesecake, so off the bat this cheesecake had a disadvantage to winning me over.

I topped my Japanese cheesecake with matcha (green tea) powder (not mold, I swear) and a raspberry sauce. Both helped give a bit of color and flavor to the dessert. I did enjoy this cheesecake, but it probably won’t be on the top of my must make again list.

Japanese Cheesecake (adapted from allrecipes.com)

• 6 ounces cream cheese
• 1/2 cup milk
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup white sugar, divided
• 4 egg whites
• 2/3 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line the bottom of a 9 inch round cake pan cake pan with parchment paper.
2. Warm the cream cheese and milk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until cream cheese is melted. Remove from the heat and set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, beat egg yolks and half of the sugar until light and fluffy using an electric mixer. Fold the cream cheese mixture into the yolks. Sift in the flour and cornstarch, and stir until blended.
4. In a separate bowl, using clean beaters, whip egg whites with cream of tartar until they can hold a soft peak. Gradually sprinkle in the remaining sugar and continue whipping to stiff peaks. Fold egg whites into the cream cheese mixture. Pour into the prepared cake pan. Place the pan on a baking sheet with sides.
5. Place the baking sheet with the cheesecake into the oven, and pour water into the baking sheet until it is half way full. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, then reduce the heat to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Continue to bake for 15 more minutes. Let the cake cool before removing from the pan.
6. Run a knife around the outer edge of the cake pan, and invert onto a plate to remove the cake. Peel off the parchment paper and invert onto a serving plate so the top of the cake is on top again.

Does anybody remember the great peanut butter price rising scare of 2011? Well, when I heard about the cataclysmic events that were going to be caused by peanut butter prices skyrocketing, I did what any sane person would do; Ran to Costco and bought the biggest jar of peanut butter I could find and since this is Costco, it obviously came in a 2-pack. Fast forward to this week and as I was looking for a large can of tomatoes in the bottom of my kitchen pantry, I stumbled upon, not one, but two unopened Costco-sized jars of peanut butter. Fortunately, processed peanut butter could survive the apocalypse, so it was still good. It was upon seeing these two jars that I realized that my visions of becoming rich via the illicit peanut butter black market I had hoped would emerge as a result of worldwide peanut butter prices rising, that I should probably set about actually using some of the peanut butter I have been hoarding.

Enter these cookies! These are the easiest cookies in the world to make! There’s no baking, there’s peanut butter, there’s chocolate, there’s oatmeal, what’s not to love?

I cut the original recipes suggested sugar in half and they were still plenty sweet. I think 2 cups would be way too much. My only word of advice is to use the fridge or freezer to help them set. Maybe it was because it was unseasonably hot the day I made these (around 80F/26C, in February… Gross.), but they would not harden. I stuck the cookie sheet in the fridge for about 30 minutes and they were perfect.

 This is one of the easiest and most refreshing desserts you will ever make. The dessert reminds me of the magical summer I spent studying abroad in Cambridge. It’s light, airy and screams of summer, but it is also the perfect no-bake, in a hurry dessert. The meringues make the cream absolutely amazing. The berries and the cream are great, but add in the meringue, and it gives the dessert the best type of contrast.

I made this with both thawed frozen blueberries and fresh ones. The frozen definitely worked better. The juices that form as the berries thaw out, definitely make the dessert all the better. Any berry will work this dessert, so feel free to go wild.

Blueberry Eton Mess (adapted from Food Network)

• One 1-pound bag frozen unsweetened blueberries, thawed
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 1 scant cup chilled heavy whipping cream
• Eight 2-inch vanilla meringue cookies, coarsely broken (about 2 cups), plus 2 more, halved

1. In a medium bowl, using a potato masher or fork, mash the berries and any juices into a chunky sauce.
2. Place the sour cream in a 1-cup measuring cup. Add enough chilled heavy cream to fill the cup completely. Scrape the cream mixture into a deep medium bowl. Beat the mixture until thick and stiff with a handheld electric mixer. Fold in the broken meringues.
3. Divide the sauce in half and spoon into the bottom of four serving bowls or glasses. Divide the cream mixture in half and spoon on top of the sauce. Repeat the layers using the remaining sauce and cream mixture. Top each parfait with a meringue half and serve immediately.

Make these. Make them right now! Seriously, you need these at your New Year’s party. Everyone will love them.

They can also make a cheap (and easy!) addition to any party. You don’t need to use fancy, expensive champagne for this. I used a 7 buck bottle of prosecco from Trader Joe’s. No one will know the difference.I  also used frozen strawberries only because the fresh ones looked gross and were a dollar more.

Champagne Jello Shots (from That’s So Michelle)*

• 1 box of jello (the big 8 serving size box) – (I used peach)
• 1 1/2 cups boiling water
• 2 1/2 cups champagne/prosecco/sparkling wine
• strawberries (optional) (I used frozen)
• 2 oz. plastic or glass shot glasses – (I used 10 ounce plastic glasses and filled them half way-ish and got 12 shots.)

1.  Mix your jello and boiling water in a medium sized bowl, stirring until jello powder has all dissolved. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
2. Stir in champagne and refrigerate for another 30 minutes or until jello has just slightly thickened.
3. Set aside about 3/4 cup of your jello and champagne mixture for creating the foam top and put it back in the refrigerator. 
4. Pour jello and champagne mixture into your shot glasses, then drop a few sliced berries in each glass.
5. Refrigerate overnight. Before serving whip your 3/4 cup left over jello until it becomes white and fluffy and resembles foam. Spoon “foam” on top and serve.