Homemade Limoncello

Homemade Limoncello

Limoncello is an Italian Lemon Liqueur, made from grain alcohol infused with lemon peels, served (chilled) after dinner in tiny cordial glasses.  Traditional Limoncello is produced in Southern Italy along the Amalfi Coast, from Sorrento Lemons (Limone di Sorrento).  Here in Southern California, access to Sorrento Lemons is quite limited – but one of the [...]

Dolly’s Lemon Raspberry Chiffon Pie

Lemon Raspberry Chiffon Pie

This awesome lemon chiffon pie was introduced to me by an acquaintance in Canada, a fabulous woman named Dolly.  It’s so simple and easy to make – and tastes so light and refreshing.  It’s the perfect sweet and tart summer-time pie! I used about 7 small organic lemons (or you could use about 4-5 regular [...]

Strawberry Bread

Fresh Strawberry Bread

It’s summer time again!  That means that strawberries are in season, and most likely on sale.  I got some large ripe packages of strawberries at the local supermarket for $4.99 per box… not too bad. But there are only so many strawberries a person can eat… so to use them up before they went bad, [...]

Yellow Squash & Pistachio Lemon Cake

Yellow Squash & Pistachio Lemon Cake

Have you ever had one of those moments when you’re staring at a single squash, wondering, “What am I going to do with you?”  (Yeah…  Probably not.)  But that was me tonight, and I had no plan.  It was time to clean out the refrigerator – and I had one yellow squash, one lemon, a [...]

Chocolate Matcha Zebra Cake

Chocolate Matcha Zebra Cake

A year ago, I posted my efforts to make a Chocolate Matcha Marble Cake, inspired by a Bakerella recipe that I read the year before.  While the resulting cake was delicious, I wasn’t quite happy with the way it looked visually.  I think the problem was that instead of using the Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa Powder [...]

Japanese Strawberry Cake (a.k.a. Chinese Birthday Cake)

Strawberry Whipped Cream Cake, A.K.A. the Chinese or Japanese Birthday Cake

My favorite cake of all time is the Japanese Strawberry Cake.  I have wonderful memories of visiting Little Tokyo in Downtown LA as a child, and getting a slice of this insanely delicious, light, and delicate cake from the Japanese bakery.  The year I got my very first real job (2000), I decided to buy [...]