#Dessert

Whole wheat apple muffins - they look unassuming, but they taste so good…

I think I may have mentioned recently how much I love fall. Well, fall and baking go together like you wouldn’t believe! Ever since the air started getting crisper, I’ve been baking every weekend and an alarming number of weekdays. As a rule, I don’t love baking as much as I love cooking, mostly because I’m terrifically lazy. Baking requires precision measurements and exact times. I prefer throwing things together and letting them stew for hours. But it’s fall and my kitchen is cold so I need a hot oven and warm spices to keep me toasty!

Rhubarb Strawberry Crumble

I don’t think I’ve mentioned it on here yet, but I get a biweekly CSA box delivered to my home. CSA boxes definitely aren’t for everyone (I used to waste a shameful amount of produce when I was younger and received one) but they are great for my cooking now. I end up with produce I never would have bought otherwise.

Rhubarb is in that category, but I’m really not sure why. I like rhubarb, I grew up eating wonderful strawberry rhubarb pies that my mother and grandmother made. My sister is crazy for the stuff. It definitely has a presence in my life – but not on my shopping list. I have never, ever gone out of my way to buy rhubarb. I’ve just ended up with it, either as a gift or in my CSA box. And thank goodness for that!

On the heels of last week’s delicious disaster, here is the recipe for Lemon Lime Layer Cake with Lemon Whipped Cream Frosting and Raspberry Filling. This cake is springy (texturally speaking, but it also suits the warm weather) and flavorful - the lemon makes it taste lighter than all that whipped cream should make you feel. Raspberry is meant to be paired with lemon! I served this alongside fresh strawberries and ended up dipping the berries in the whipped cream ( another match made in heaven!) If you are fancier than me, try decorating the cake with fresh berries on top of the cream.

Sometimes, life just doesn’t work out the way you want it to.

Lemon lime layer cake with whipped cream frosting

Take last weekend for instance. It was Friday night and I was so excited for the weekend to come. It was my sister’s birthday AND my grandfather’s birthday, so the whole family was getting together to celebrate and I was in charge of the cake. I found out I was in charge of the cake when my sister texted me a recipe link and the words “My Birthday”. Nothing else. We communicate so easily in my family.