Sicilian Girl

Tweet Over the years, I have made various types of cakes with ricotta (even pancakes), such as, almond ricotta cake, blueberry breakfast cake and lemon ricotta cheesecake. This cake is different because it is not from scratch … I used a cake mix! As we are all aware, due to the Corona Virus, certain home […]

Tweet A coffee and tea time favorite, this praline pound cake is one of those Southern cakes that is a consummate example of down-home goodness. I love this type of “needs no icing” kind of cake, that is not only the perfect offering for a friend who stops by for coffee, but is right at […]

Tweet   During  the 1980’s when I lived in Campbell, California I entered a baking contest. It was for the Campbell Prune Festival held in the streets of our historic downtown. This was a wonderful celebration of community sponsored by the Sunsweet Prune Company, formerly known as The California Prune and Apricot Growers Association. Judged on […]

Tweet The town of Marsala is located in the north west part of Sicily and produces a fortified wine bearing her name. In the late 1700’s the wine was ‘fortified’ with Brandy thus giving it a longer shelf life for all those seafaring men. I recently had a neighbor (who is an excellent baker) ask […]

Tweet Who among us doesn’t enjoy a great pastry or coffee cake? Whether it’s a small wedge with that first cup of coffee in the morning or a generous slice shared with a friend in the afternoon, cake and coffee just go together. The combination of creamy mascarpone filling, sweet berry preserves and a toasted nut […]

Tweet Pound cake has been around for a very long time, as the original recipe dates back to the early 1700’s. The cake was called pound cake because the only ingredients were one pound of flour, one pound of sugar, one pound of butter and one pound of eggs … that’s a lot of cake! […]

Tweet As a rule, when a recipe calls for toasted nuts, it really is non-negotiable. Toasting intensifies their nutty flavor and whether the nuts are whole, sliced or slivered, you can taste the difference! If I only needed a small amount to sprinkle on a salad or use as a garnish, I would toast them […]

Tweet       Spring Cupcakes                    

Tweet   Many years ago when my son Joe was just a little boy, we spent Easter in the California Sierra’s. We have a cabin surrounded by sugar and ponderosa pine trees, white firs, cypress and a couple of magnificent oaks with a redwood forest down the road. It’s our own little piece of heaven […]