This dense, flavorful pound cake loaf is perfect with coffee or tea, and makes a delicious addition to brunch. And - hint, hint - it's a perfect cake to make for Mom on her special day this weekend. Best of all, it is surprisingly easy to make. You may already have the ingredients in your kitchen.

This recipe, slightly adapted from the book Bake From Scratch, makes two 8.5" x 4.5" loaves. As a small family, we usually halve the recipe. If you have a good scale, we recommend that you weigh the ingredients. That way you're assured of a good loaf. 

The recipe also has you make your own strawberry preserves filling. We used a purchased mixed berry jam in ours (our favorite is an all-natural French jam). If you use jam you bought, choose one that is a looser style, not a jelly for best results. We also added a simple glaze to the top and decorated with a few dried raspberries we had on hand. It's just as delicious naked!

We highly recommend that you read through this recipe before you make it. The mixing instructions are a little different than normal. ​You should always do this, but we have to confess - we often don't! 

​We'll post a VIDEO soon!

• 1/2 pound (225g) fresh strawberries, hulled
• 2 Tablespoons (30g) water
• 1 Tablespoon (8g) cornstarch
• 3 Tablespoons (36g) granulated sugar

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1. In the work bowl of a food processor, pulse strawberries until smooth, about 1 minute.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together water and cornstarch until smooth.
3. In a medium saucepan, stir together pureed strawberries and sugar over medium-high heat. Whisk in cornstarch mixture. Bring to a boil. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 1 minute.

Will yield about 1 cup.

This chocolate sugar cookie recipe yields perfect cut-out shapes and tastes DELICIOUS! Super chocolate flavor when you use a combination of natural and dutch process cocoa, as we did. The cookies don't spread and lose their shape. And they stay soft for days. This recipe, from Sally's Baking Addiction, is highly recommended if you want to make cut-out cookies and have a hankering for chocolate. Top with you choice of royal icing, glaze or buttercream frosting.

Our cookies are topped with New Hope Icing, a combination royal icing and glaze. Google it or find the recipe on our blog soon. We made ours for Easter, but can can, of course, choose any design you like.

Yield is about 18 largeish cookies. Feel free to double the recipe. Takes about 2 hours to make, including chilling.

This is a great topping for Irish coffee, hot chocolate or a chocolate dessert. Super simple to make in your stand mixer with SideSwipe or a whisk attachment. Watch the video to see how easily it comes together!

Pour ingredients into the chilled bowl of your mixer. Beat on medium speed until soft peaks form. Serve immediately. Keep any leftovers refrigerated until ready to use. May lose some volume as it sits.

This dense, single-layer cake is perfect for St Patrick's Day, but you may find yourself using this recipe when you want some simple chocolate cake. We're frosting it with a cream cheese frosting, but you might also like to top it with an Irish Cream Frosting (Bailey's or similar) or some Irish Creme Whipped Cream.

You don't need your mixer for this cake recipe, by Nigella Lawson. We made ours in a 6-inch springform pan and baked for 35 minutes. We had a little sinkage in the center, but our usual tests for doneness seemed accurate. (Toothpick and finger print bouncing back.) The cake, however, was done perfectly. 

Cake keeps for a several days at room temp and can be frozen. Refrigerate if you top with cream cheese or Irish Cream frosting. It you choose to use whipped cream, add that to individual slices just before serving! Serves 4-6.
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