Delicious Vegan Banana Bread

Long time no talk! You may have noticed a lack of recipe postings from me lately, but don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about my blog! I’ve been incognito for a two main  reasons: 1) I’ve been applying to colleges and recently got accepted to my first choice (YAY!!!!!!) AND 2) I’ve been experimenting on and off with adopting a vegan diet. I must say that a vegan lifestyle brings many health and energy benefits, but it does not supply a wide array of dessert options. Without butter and eggs, recipes are limited and the few vegan baking attempts of mine have not yielded great results…that is, until I found this amazing vegan banana bread recipe.

Red Velvet Cake

Happy Valentine’s Day!!! On a day like today, I’m going to reference the words of one of my favorite actresses, Emma Stone: “you’re a human being, and life is wonderful, so eat the damn red velvet cupcake.” And she’s right! Even out of all the fancy layer cakes, red velvet is definitely my flavor of choice and what’s even more exciting is that it’s a Paula Deen recipe, which means it must be utterly delicious!

Butter Pecan Rum Cake

Holiday desserts are fun, but we all know that an old-fashioned bundt or coffee cake will always take the grand prize. Traditional desserts hold a precious place in my heart, especially ones like this delicious, Paula-Deen inspired Butter Rum Cake! From its moist, vanilla cake to its shiny glaze, this is the ultimate no-fail dessert! 

Chocolate Angel Food Cake

With recent Thanksgiving and Hanukkah celebrations, I’ve eaten way too much food in the past week than can be healthy for anyone. So if you’re like me, you’re in need of a serious detox. This Chocolate Angel Food cake is anything less than delicious, but it’s certainly a lighter recipe with fewer calories! (Hooray!) 

Chocolate Ganache Stout Cake

Surprise!…Here’s a full-sugar, chocolate-coated dessert to enjoy: an incredibly tall and delicious Chocolate Ganache Stout Cake! I recently started incorporating liquor in some of my desserts, like in a Butter Rum Cake (recipe coming soon!) and this very tasty chocolate cake. (Don’t worry–the alcohol cooks off.) Using stout in this cake adds a richer, deeper dimension to the chocolate without making it seem too heavy.

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake

Introducing my next “healthy” recipe adventure: a delicious chocolate chip zucchini cake, courtesy of my absolute favorite chef in the world, Paula Deen! While this recipe may not exactly be up to paleo diet standards, at least it features multiple cups of a green vegetable–pretty healthy for a traditional Paula dish. This cake reminds me of a banana bread coffee cake hybrid, a combination of my two favorites desserts! 

Brownie Skillet Cake (Penn Appetit!)

I’m so excited to post this recipe not only because its incredibly delicious but also because it’s featured on University of Pennsylvania’s online food magazine, Penn Appetit! You can see my post on their site, or view the recipe below. Enjoy!!

Angel Food Cake

Just looking at my latest Memorial Day BBQ Recipe Roundup post made my eyes full! Although I do love my share of sugar, chocolate, cookies, and cakes, I was in the mood for something lighter, like a classic Angel Food Cake. Not only is it one of my mom’s favorite cakes but it is also my best friend’s dad’s dessert of choice, a usual guest at our family events like our recent barbecue. (If you’ve read more of my recipe posts, you’ll discover that my mom has many “favorite” desserts.) This recipe was pretty intricate because a traditional Angel Food cake is so perfectly light from its fluffy batter, which must be handled gently, similar to that of a souffle.

5-Layer Ferrero Rocher Nutella Dream Cake

Happy, happy birthday to my amazing sister! Because I bake for every holiday, birthday, or even just  Sunday night family dinners, my sister required that her birthday cake top them all. My first thought was an elaborate bright pink cake, but I had already covered that with my Pink Chocolate Ombre Cake, so I moved onto the next thought: a Ferrero Rocher layer cake! (Keep in mind that I had just tasted Nutella for the first time quite recently, so its decadent and addicting amazing-ness had just dug a special place in my heart! )

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Happy birthday, Paula Deen!! In honor of my most trusted and beloved recipe source, I made my favorite of her recipes–red velvet cupcakes. Surprisingly, out of all her buttery cakes and gooey chocolate bars, these cupcakes are her best dessert yet! (And as a very discriminating red velvet critic myself, that praise means a lot!) But although I am picky in finding the perfect red velvet cupcake, when the recipe is right, the flavor is fantastic because it gives you a touch of chocolate without the overly rich heaviness, and Paula’s deliciously moist cupcake recipe definitely passes the test!