- I love angel food cake and my favorite is a plain, vanilla flavored one. That said, every once in a while I am tempted by an angel food cake with a little more flavor, like The Galley Gourmet‘s Raspberry-Swirl Angel Cake with Crème Fraîche, which looks like a perfect early summer variation on a basic angel food. The cake has a lightly sweetened raspberry puree swirled into it, which gives it a beautiful look and infuses a lot of flavor. If you, like me, tend to pair angel food cake with fresh fruit, this is a great way to dress it up for a festive barbecue or picnic.
- Another delicious looking summertime cake that is packed with fruit is the Sprinkles Strawberry Cake from Becoming Betty. This is a sheet cake version of the strawberry cupcake recipe from Sprinkles Cupcakes. The cake uses lots of fresh strawberries, which are pureed so that they can be easily incorporated into both the cake and the frosting. It has a bright, fresh berry flavor because it all comes from real berries. This type of cake would be even better for serving a crowd than a batch of strawberry shortcakes.
- French macarons are a cookie with a reputation for being difficult to make. They’re easier than they look, but many recipes make a huge batch of the little French treats and that alone can be a turn off to trying a recipe Dessert for Two made Small Batch French Macarons, a recipe for classic macarons that only makes half dozen cookies. That is the perfect number to not only inspire you to give the recipe a try, but also the perfect number to satisfy a craving for the crisp and chewy cookies. These are filled with creamy Nutella, although you can experiment with buttercream frosting or lemon curd for other flavor variations.
- The Bakery Chick‘s Spicy Cheddar Cheese Straws are buttery, crunchy crackers that are made with generous amounts of extra-sharp Cheddar cheese and crushed red pepper flakes. They crackers come together easily and are simply cut into strips before baking. They’re the perfect shape for snacking. These crackers are much less work than making a homemade yeast bread – especially in the summer when it is hot and you don’t want to spent all day in the kithen – and would also make a great side to a bowl of homemade soup or to a plate of salad.
- Chocolate cake fans might want to try their hand at baking Vanilla Sugar Blog‘s Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Filling and Espresso Buttercream. This two-layer cake has a great chocolate flavor and a tender, soft crumb. There is coffee in the cake batter, and while its flavor is not too strong, it is drawn out by the espresso buttercream covering the cake – although the chocolate ganache on top of that ensures that chocolate is the dominant flavor here! A layer of raspberry jam in the middle of the cake adds some sweetness and gives you an excuse to garnish the cake with fresh raspberries.
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Janie
May 11, 2011My grandmothers favorite cake was vanilla Angel Food Cake with ROSE oil in it..it was so good..she dressed it with a lightly rose flavored glaze. I can not find Rose oil now. I have found rose water but it isn’t the same ( much the same as peppermint oil not the same as peppermint flavoring.)
If you ever come across Rose oil PLEASE post it…thanks..
DessertForTwo
May 11, 2011Thanks so much for linking to my small batch of macarons 🙂
Audra@The-Baker-Chick
May 11, 2011Thank you so much for including my cheddar straws in your “bites” segment! Your blog has been an inspiration to me from the beginning! 🙂
vanillasugarblog
May 12, 2011aww thank you! xoxox!