I am excited to share with you my first Daring Bakers entry. This group of bakers has grown to over 600 members and each month take on a new baking challenge. These different blog events have really challenged me to try things I normally will not consider and I can see my baking abilities improving.

This month was Dorie Greenspan’s Perfect Cake from her Baking cookbook. Morven hosted this months challenge. I almost never make traditional cakes and dreaded it a bit. In the end I really enjoyed the process and liked this cake. It is a versatile recipe allowing the baker to make it your own. I think it is the perfect all occasion cake. It is pretty and tasty too!

Notes: I used buttermilk and substituted blackberry preserves because I love the combination of lemon and blackberries. The only disappointment was that the cakes don’t rise as much as I anticipated. I even used the Swan Downs Cake Flour that Dorie said she used in her note to the group.

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I love granola bars, not the soft ones but ones that are crunchy and a mix of salty and sweet. Recently I purchased my first Nigella cookbook, Nigella Express. I saw these breakfast bars and immediately tried the recipe.

I used a mixture of pumpkin and sunflower seeds, along with the peanuts. They came out super crunchy just like I hoped. I think you can play with this recipe and and add the different dried fruits or nuts. They keep in a plastic container for about a week.

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This morning, on a beautiful sunny California day, I wanted something light for breakfast.

I ended up making a breakfast parfait from things left in my kitchen. I had strawberries and blackberries and used this yummy granola I buy at Zinc Cafe.

Zinc Cafe is a local cafe and market in both Corona del Mar and Laguna Beach. I happened to meet the owner this last year, waiting in line for an IPhone one Saturday morning. Yes, I was one of those crazy people. He was inspired by Alice Waters, Cafe Fanny. They serve delicious food. Breakfast feature frittatas, homemade scones and oatmeal. The one nearest me has a little wine and cheese area where I have discovered many yummy cheeses.

Their granola has oats, pecans, flax seed, coconut and orange rind. It is light and crunchy.

You can take this recipe and make your own creation from your refrigerator. This would make a great starter for a brunch.

1 container yogurt ( I used Yoplait Orange Creme)
1 cup of berries
1/4 cup granola

Take a glass, parfait glass or a wine glass. Spoon part of the yogurt on the bottom, top with the granola, then the fruit. Repeat the layers and then sprinkle 1 teaspoon of granola over the top of the fruit.

Browsing through cookbooks last weekend I discovered this recipe for Grapefruit Sandwich Cookies. I love grapefruit. Eating one for breakfast is always so refreshing. Recently I started exploring recipes that incorporate it.

These cookies are light with a subtle hint of grapefruit. I added a twist by dipping some in white chocolate but in the end I like the light flavor of the original.

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I confess I have had a fear of yeast breads. Reading the ingredients of this weeks Tuesdays with Dorie baking event my breath quickened, I was overwhelmed at the three pages of instructions. I was longing for someone to choose one of the shorter, quicker recipe. But then would it be a challenge? Peabody of Culinary Concoctions by Peabody hosted this weeks event.

I woke up early one morning last week and decided to dive in.

The recipe starts with making one recipe of Brioche dough. As I started through the steps of mixing the dough and then adding in the butter I started thinking this isn’t so bad. I put it in a bowl and waited for it to rise. An hour later sitting in my chilly apartment I realized that would be the true challenge.

I ended up turning on my electric (the only time I have been thankful for electric) oven to 200, opened the door and set the bowl on it. After about 20 minutes things started moving. I left it on the counter for another hour until it had doubled in size.

Then, I moved it to the refrigerator and only once, “slapped it” down because it wasn’t really rising all that much. I had survived step one.

The next morning I was eager for step two and the finished product.

I made the pastry cream, wishing I had done that the day before to allow more time for cooling and setting. I went on to the raisins, which required dousing with rum and igniting. Well, I have a few fire issues. I lived next to two houses growing up, that burned to the ground. Being pulled from the front door of your house at age 6, along with your pregnant mother, leaves you with a healthy respect for fire. Our house survived but not we had watched part of our neighbors burn down. Sorry - back to the snails.

So, I did not ignite the rum but twirled over a hot stove. It seemed to work.

I rolled out the dough which I must say looked like a beautiful thing as I layered the cream, raisin and cinnamon sugar over it. I wound it as tightly as I could, cut my little snails and lined them up ready to bake. Glancing at the recipe again I noticed the words, let rise another hour and a half. That ’s what happens when you skim read! So another round of fighting the morning chill to get the dough to rise.

Finally, I baked them until the tops were golden brown. I drizzled the glaze over the warm rolls and was finally rewarded with the delicious, creamy, crisp brioche snails.

They were worth every minute! My nephews seem to agree as fighting ensued over the small portion I had left. I am baking another batch to deliver this morning. I have conquered my fear of yeast breads!

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Today is St. Patrick’s Day. I am part Irish and just started a food blog. Irish Soda Bread was a must. I saw a recipe by Julia Child and whipped it up while talking on the phone. Not a good idea. It had only 4 ingredients and seemed so easy.

Then I opened the oven to this ugly loaf of bread. I trimmed a piece off and thought it’s missing the raisins. Julia’s did not call for them. This was quite possibly the worst thing I had ever made….sorry Julia.

Now truth be told I know good Irish Soda Bread. Muldoon’s, this adorable Irish pub just a few blocks down in Newport Beach serves up a delicious Irish Soda Bread. I remembered it being a bit sweet so off I went in search of a better recipe and to the store for more buttermllk.

It turns out there are many variations of Irish Soda Bread on the web. Here are a few others you might be interested in.

• Deb at Smitten Kitchen’s made a Skillet Irish Soda Bread

• Elise at Simply Recipes serves up her version of Irish Soda Bread

• Jesse at Cakespy.com serves up fun versions - even green scones

I ended up creating my own from a few recipes I saw. In doing so I created the largest Irish Soda Bread ever made. The bread was tasted much closer to the ones I remember. The outside was crisp but inside was a moist crumb.

My goal - I have one year to get the Muldoon’s recipe and bake it up for you.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

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It is our one month anniversary here at Adventures in the Kitchen. It has been fun meeting so many nice people here in the world of food bloggers.

Most people would serve cake at their anniversary party but when looking through some old magazines this week I came across a recipe in Bon Appetit that declared fries as one of the top foods for the year.

I love potatoes - baked, mashed, fried they all tasted good to me. It has not been a good and healthy love affair at times. Eating too many of those deep fried morsels or the introduction to the potato skin in the 70’s that came along with TGIFriday’s. These did not help my life long struggle with weight.

So on most days I would never order or make french fries. The thought adds pounds to my thighs. Reading the article a recipe for oven roasted caught my eye. These were baked so they were low in calories and they looked very crisp and tasty. I decided to give it a try.

I cut up my potato, coated with a bit of canola oil and topped with the a dash of salt. Twice I turned them and shook the pan a bit because I do like them crispy. They came out crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I wish you were here to try one!

So today, one month into my journey of food blogging, I share these with you and thank you for stopping by.

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Something about turning our clocks forward, longer daylight and warm spring days made me go looking for summer recipes. Simple dishes that can be put together. Mango Coconut RIce is a dish I discovered a few years back and make often in the summer. This is a great side dish for any type of grilled fish or chicken even a stir fry.

The coconut milk adds a rich depth to the rice and the lime brings a subtle tang to the dish. This rice is moist, light and flavorful. The mango is a great addition to rice.

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When I was a little girl my mom would bake this coffee cake from the Bisquick box. Do you remember those? I loved the chunks of cinnamon sugar topping. I would count the minutes until it came out of the oven. On a cold, rainy Saturday morning nothing tasted better.

I wish you could smell the buttery, cinnamon smells escaping from the oven as I write this. It smells just like those coffee cakes from back then. I am sure the Bisquick recipe would not stand up today to those memories but here is one that will.

Try not to gasp as loud as I did when I saw the amount of butter. Remember this makes 24 large pieces. You will think there is a crazy amount of topping but it that is what makes this so good.

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Earlier, I raved about Pizzeria Mozza, a great little restaurant in Los Angeles and what great food they have. Their signature dessert that everyone raves about is called Butterscotch Budino with Caramel Sauce. The first time I visited Mozza the waiter recommended it.

I have made this two times at home. The recipe was featured in the New York Times. It is not super easy but is worth the effort. The combination of the creamy butterscotch pudding, tart creme fraiche topping and a hint of fleur de sel salt is perfect. My friends were skeptical when I told them about it but became believers after the first bite!

I started with the Butterscotch Budino , which is basically Butterscotch pudding. The recipe said to wait until it turned dark drown, nutty color but it started as dark brown sugar so it was hard to tell when it had carmelized. The second time I went by the time and was happier with the results.

Next, I added the cream mixture followed by the butter and rum. The first time I forgot to add the milk and it broke up. I was able to whisk it in and it turned out after all. It seems to be forgiving in that even if every step is not perfected the end result is still a good thing.

I spooned the pudding into ramekins, covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated.

For the caramel sauce I swirled the sugar, corn syrup, water mixture and let it become amber color and added the cream mixture. It was a bit smoky amber with the vanilla beans showing.

I made the cream mixture but don’t think I thickened the cream enough first. The second time I made it a bit thicker. The last time I served in a little glass which was made a more attractived presentation. Both times I’ve made it the dessert has been a huge hit.

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