I had my first cake pop at Starbucks recently. The tiramisu flavored one is sooo delicious! I thought it was their invention, only to realize cake pops have been around for some time now. I came across this book, and decided to have a go at making them:

I was able to find a great recipe for the chocolate cake and cake pop at  The Kitchen.  It’s always more fun to have a purpose for baking – in this case, Easter, family, and friends!  I put on some old Beatles music, donned one of my favorite aprons and baked away:

As usual, Hiro was by my side waiting for something to fall from the sky :

The decorating part was a bit tedious, but I am quite pleased with the results.  The cake made from scratch turned out really good Oh, and as usual, I changed out the oil with apple sauce in the cake recipe:

After having summer like weather the last few days, the temperature dipped a few notches; enough  for me to look at the ripe bananas in the basket and think – banana bread!  So, I spent part of the morning happily baking away:

Here is the recipe if you are interested.  I don’t recall where I got it from, but I replaced the butter with apple sauce.  I have gotten in the habit of  making this switch – fresh apple sauce the better. You can click on the recipe for a larger version:

I had lunch with my friend Donna yesterday. She has a bunch of hens that lay the most wonderful eggs! they come in different colors, and when I get a hold of fresh laid eggs, I love to make Pavlovas. Pavlovas are meringue desserts that we discovered while living in Australia. It is named after a famous Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova. I like to top mine with fresh fruits and drizzle it with chocolate.  Since it only requires egg whites, this time I made sure not to waste the yolks, and made a Lord Baltimore cake too:

Here are the recipes for both desserts (you can click on them for larger versions):

And here is the namesake, Prima Ballerina Anna Pavlova:

I love to bake, but after having children (many moons ago), that went by the wayside except for during the holidays. Cookies are a must during the Christmas season, and I usually have three staple cookie recipes plus a few new ones I try out. This year, I stuck with my usual three that I have made since I was a teenager! – Russian Tea Cookies, Peanut Blossoms, and Lucy’s Lemon Squares. These are really standard cookies, but I’ve listed a couple of the recipes here: You can click on them to enlarge.

I just love the vintage style cup and saucer set I got from Starbucks a few years back: