I wanted to add a little something celebratory to a little friendship anniversary get-together, so a basket of beautiful French bubbly and gluten-free blueberry hand pies it was!
When I look at the dusting of powdered sugar, the vibrant berries, and the sprigs of mint on this double chocolate tart, my heart feels embraced. That is the hope of each baking endeavor, and the memory I aim to preserve with each photo.
By the weekend, I sounded like a caricature of a chain-smoking granny. My voice was shot. Probably a white flag of surrender from my body amidst a whirlwind two months. There was a trip to Florida. A trip to Nola. A beach photoshoot. A decision on a puppy... and more!
It takes a LOT of coffee to fuel big dreams, and my cookbook was no exception. Fun fact: I put the finishing touches on my manuscript while caffeinating at the Commonplace Coffee in Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill neighborhood, which is why I’m excited to partner with them on a giveaway.
The cake is light enough for breakfast and sweet enough for dessert, but I highly recommend taking an afternoon coffee and cake break, especially if you can share it with a friend.
I don't toss around superlatives like "game-changing" often, so believe me when I say this chocolate avocado frosting is worth trying. The almond-flour, avocado cake is so rich, creamy, moist, and chocolaty, I made it twice - once to celebrate my birthday in Florida and once to celebrate my birthday at a wintry cabin in Pennsylvania (I'm big on birthday celebrations).
This rosy brunch, a precursor to the COVID crisis, was a celebration of a few of the female bonds in my life. It was a celebration of what makes each of us unique and a celebration of what we share. It was my effort to look at my calendar, and my photos, and my posts to see if my values matched my life. Was I defining myself with work, or was I making time to foster relationships? Was I taking action, or was I falsely relying on "someday" and "sometime?"
I wanted my Valentine to know he is "simply the best," and while I may not be able to sing and strum the song like Patrick, I can say it in chocolate. Thanks to fellow devoted fans on Etsy and time in the kitchen creating these chocolate peanut butter roses, I conveyed that message with a very Schitty Valentine, which of course, you could turn into an any-time-of-year care package for the Schitty's Creek fan in your life. <3