Bakers Royale

Blueberry Bundt Cake

Naomi — Thu, 23 May 2013 05:55:47 +0000

Alright, here goes – career killing post #5, or maybe 20, but who’s counting at this point: I don’t know what it is lately, but my fanboy status for Cook’s Illustrated has been waning with the last two issues.

How can this be? This is like the no-fail magazine.

Continue reading: Blueberry Bundt Cake

©Bakers Royale

Hazelnut Crepes with Honey Whipped Cream and Fruit

Naomi — Mon, 20 May 2013 05:53:11 +0000

Sometimes fancy doesn’t work and you just have to go back to basics. This started out as a crepe cake, but all that fruit caused the layers to slip and slide until half way through the assembly the cake literally collapsed on its side.

So yeah, this is missing a visual impact. But I can assure you the brown butter hazelnut crepes are something to taste, along with the honey whipped cream—go ahead pair this with the best seasonal fruit you have on hand and see your way to a serving or two.�

Continue reading: Hazelnut Crepes with Honey Whipped Cream and Fruit

©Bakers Royale

Strawberry Truffle Pie

Naomi — Fri, 17 May 2013 06:04:27 +0000

Okay, I brought pie, so please allow me to be a whiner.

This past week I lost my Instagram feed. Talk about things that make you want to cry. No, I’m not being dramatic. That’s 4,000 relationships gone overnight. Many of whom I will never get back and don’t even know where to begin, because many of them (and/or you) I know from handles like A19_jillsli. Therein lies the problem– off by one digit or letter and it might as well be like we never met.

Continue reading: Strawberry Truffle Pie

©Bakers Royale

Lemon Scones with Mixed Berries

Naomi — Tue, 14 May 2013 05:14:15 +0000

It’s tea time, breakfast time . . . oh, let’s be real—these Lemon Scones with Berries, from Heather Christo’s book The Generous Table, are anytime food.

If you haven’t seen the book, let me share: it’s beautifully bound and full of easy, entertaining menus for each season. If you are like me, then you probably love to entertain but you don’t necessarily love all the preparatory fuss—this is the book for you

Continue reading: Lemon Scones with Mixed Berries

©Bakers Royale

Cowboy Caviar Couscous Salad

Naomi — Wed, 08 May 2013 05:20:19 +0000

Spring is here, which means summer is around the corner, thereby—bringing us all closer to bikini season. Yay, you say. I know—who doesn’t want to eat like a bird and work out like a maniac for a little natural nip-tuck. So to help you along, let me suggest this Cowboy Caviar Couscous Salad and the book Absolutely Avocados from Gaby Dalkin.

Yeah, you guessed it: book review.

Continue reading: Cowboy Caviar Couscous Salad

©Bakers Royale

Funfetti Lemon Macarons with Blackberry Mascarpone Filling

Naomi — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 06:31:01 +0000

Yeah, I’m stuck on macarons. I’m not particularly sure why, other than I am stubborn and love a good challenge. For every dozen successful batch I make, I still experience a batch where the cookies either explode or implode. And admittedly, for every failed batch, my eloquence will belt out a string of profanity in a fit of frustration. Classy—I know.

But let’s stay on point and ignore my poor coping skills.

Continue reading: Funfetti Lemon Macarons with Blackberry Mascarpone Filling

©Bakers Royale

Black Tea Cake with Blackberry Lime Jam & Honey Whipped Cream

Naomi — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 07:38:58 +0000

By now you are aware I have a love-hate relationship with cake. The love part is easy: it’s all about the devour (okay, and as of late, the cake smashing). The hate part comes with—well, sculpting it. But even with that, I have a foot on each side of the dividing love-and-hate line. As a result, this year I’m going to ask the magnificent one to please bless me with a deft caking decorating hand for my birthday.

Because come’on no one wants to hear me drone on about my cake carving skills paralleling those of a crying toddler whose crayon-fisting hand can’t stay in the lines while coloring. Yeah, I’m dramatic—spank me.

Continue reading: Black Tea Cake with Blackberry Lime Jam & Honey Whipped Cream

©Bakers Royale

Mocha Crunch Macarons

Naomi — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 06:24:31 +0000

Rant alert. But let’s get the food out of the way first, okay? You are looking at some Mocha Crunch Macarons. I threw some instant coffee granules in the batter and then flavored the filling with coffee – so yeah, super strong in coffee flavor. I served these at a little soiree two weekends ago along with a few other desserts and this was by far the biggest hit. Although one person complained they tasted burnt – obviously, not a coffee drinker (so says the ego-fragile baker).

(image via iPhone)

And now the rant: If you are going to tell a white lie, please don’t involve me—especially, if it’s to support a what is obviously untrue.

Continue reading: Mocha Crunch Macarons

©Bakers Royale

No-Bake Cashew Butterscotch Pretzel Bar

Naomi — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 15:12:58 +0000

After a week of mind-losing exercises, I decided to forgo making a cake for something fast and easy, like this no-bake butterscotch bar from Better Homes and Gardens. The original recipe is peanut butter based, but since I have a peanut allergy, I flipped it to cashew butter and added a little bit of cayenne for an added kick to the sweet and salty combo.

Now that we have the food talk out of the way, let’s talk crazy: taxes, time management and socks. Yeah, what a cluster. Last week started with a panic attack about taxes. Lucky for me my tax guy is kick ass and by the time my begging text for help reached him, and before I could put my phone down, he came back with “I anticipated that you would need an extension”. No joke or exaggeration, I wanted to kiss the man. Instead, I gave my usual texting gratitude of “You are awesome!!!”, followed by a series of smiley hugging emoticons suitable for a fourth grader, not an exchange between two professional adults.

Continue reading: No-Bake Cashew Butterscotch Pretzel Bar

©Bakers Royale

Easy Apple and Apricot Crisps

Naomi — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 05:43:55 +0000

Do you know how badly it sucks when you are all hazy in the head and you can’t even manage to punch out a 200-400 word post? It’s insanely frustrating. I’m not sure what is going on these days, but my head is trading off creative blocks between recipe developing, photographing and now writing.

Seriously, have you ever asked yourself, “Where the hell did all my sensibility go on this, this and this?” No? Than you are way better than me. In fact, let me confess, there are many days I feel like I’m hacking my way through life. And yes, we’ve spoken about these career killing statements of mine. But despite that—or because of that—it keeps me hungry for discovery and drives me to create

Continue reading: Easy Apple and Apricot Crisps