I once had a well meaning friend ask me, “could you provide some pointers for planning and styling events like you?”

Me: “Take all the art classes available to you in high school. Proceed to study architecture in college, diving obsessively into the psychology of place and empathizing with the future occupants. Work with people more intense and more experienced than you, then obsess over all the details and expect to sleep inadequately.”

Poor girl probably just wanted an answer like “try the streamers at X & Y party store in X & Y neighborhood, but I had to go all “if you want to make a pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe” on her. 

Words like “simple” and “minimal” describe … they describe next to nothing in my life. I love time-intensive creative processes and obsessing over little details. I bring this same approach to baking. I’m not one of those food bloggers, at least for the foreseeable future, who churns out recipes from one pot or using a minimal list of ingredients. I mean no disrespect. When it comes time to do the dishes, I often wish I were one of those minimalist bloggers, but it’s just not my style (to each her own). 

I realize not everyone comes to this corner of the web to bake the layered cakes with the homemade fruit fillings and spiked whipped creams you might find here. Hell, even I don’t bake like that on a weekly basis (much to the chagrin of my sweet tooth), which is why I’m excited to partner with Healthyish Foods to bring you ideas for appeasing those sweet cravings in ways that won’t include a kitchen full of dishes or elaborate frosting techniques. 

Healthyish Foods offers subscription-based, pre-measured baking kits, so when your cravings hit, you simply add high-quality butter and organic milk to the mix, in one bowl, pour into a baking cup, bake, and enjoy! 

This is one of the very few baking mixes you’ll ever read about on this corner of the web, but these cakes are not overly sweet, and most importantly, the ingredients are organic. Plus, these cakes can be fun party favors- allowing guests to personalize their cakes-for-one (here I go, complicating simple, single-serving cakes, turning dessert for one into a gathering, and adding more details). With Memorial Day Weekend upon us, here’s an idea for my best skill- complicating the simple. 

Before firing up the burgers and dogs this weekend, drizzle pineapple, peaches and nectarines with coconut oil and grill to sweet, caramelized perfection. Pair the grilled fruit with the cake of your choice, garnish with sprigs of fresh mint, and serve with a dollop of your favorite organic ice cream.

For an extra detail- turn those grilled peaches and mint into a fruity take on a Mint Julep. 

To start adding grilled fruits to Healthyish cakes specifically, use the discount code “QUELCY17″ at checkout for 10% off, for the duration of your subscription or gift. Take advantage because this may be the simplest means to a dessert end I ever offer.

Happy Grilling!

p.s: This post is sponsored by Healthyish Foods, but all opinions and fruit-topped cake bites are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support With The Grains.