SMS: Sweet Almond Cake and a Goodbye

I was VERY excited for this cake because it contains three of my favorite things... Almonds, lemon curd, and mascarpone. The cake itself contains ground almonds and I must say, I LOVED the cake. The layers are filled with homemade lemon curd and then the entire cake is frosted with a mascarpone frosting. Overall it was a great cake and I am glad I made it!

Thanks to Katie of Katiecakes for hosting this week. The recipe can be found at her blog.

Now for the sad part of this post... This will be my final SMS post. I have so enjoyed baking along with this group over the past 15 months but I am unable to give 100% to the group anymore. Even with cutting back to 2 TWD and 2 SMS recipes a month and scaling back the recipes (sometimes to an 8th of the recipe!), it is just too many sweets.

On top of all of that, I still have my Daring Baker commitment and my CIA homeschool list. Unfortunately, there isn't enough time to bake everything I want to bake or enough mouths to eat it all!

I still look forward to checking out what the SMS bakers are creating and thanks for a great ride!

SMS: Cherry Almond Granola

I heart granola. Give it to me plain, in a bowl with some milk, or on top of my yogurt. I just can't get enough! I loved this granola since it was full of almonds, dried cherries, and golden raisins. It was SO good! It calls for a variety of grains, but I just went with this from Bob's Red Mill to avoid having to buy multiple items.
Thanks to Wendy of Pink Stripes for hosting this week. The recipe can be found at her blog.

SMS: Toasted Almond Lemon Bars

I made these lemon bars before with Cookie Carnival and was excited when they were chosen for this week's SMS. I love the sweet almond crust and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE anything lemon. These are definately a great lemon bar and I will continue making them!

Thanks to Rebecca of Indecisive Baker for hosting this week. The recipe can be found at her blog.

SMS: Chocolate Walnut Brownies... Minus the Walnuts and in Sundae Form

While this isn't going to become my go-to brownie recipe, it is a good one and was extremely good as a brownie sundae!

Thanks to Tiffany of A Spoonful and A Heap for hosting this week. The recipe can be found at her blog.

(On a side note, I am visiting family in Phoenix right now, so there won't be many posts until I get home later this week.)

SMS: Sour Cherry and Almond Biscotti

It's been a while since I have made biscotti so I was very excited to see it pop up in the SMS rotation. Nathan and I really enjoyed this one. It is filled with dried cherries, almonds, and lemon zest. Yum, yum, and yum!

Thanks to Tracey of Made by Tray Tray for hosting this week. The recipe can be found at her blog.

SMS: Honey Chestnut Madelines

I love madelines even though I haven't had many. I have made more plain madelines (just a little lemon zest) and they disappear before I realize what is happening!

These madelines are a little fancier with brown butter, ground hazelnuts, and honey. To be honest, I think I prefer plain madelines. Not to say that these aren't tasty because they are. Just not my favorite.

The recipe can be found at Cafe Chibita.

SMS: Chocolate Orange Macaroons

Think Mounds bar with orange zest. If you like coconut, you will love these. If you don't like coconut, stay far away. :) I went the chocolate chip route instead of chopping chocolate because I had chips on hand.

Thanks to Ellen of Blue Tree Green Heart for hosting this week. The recipe can be found at her blog.

SMS: Coconut Custard Pie

I love coconut. I know it is one of those things that people either love or hate... there really isn't an in between for people when it comes to coconut. But for me, I love it. I will eat it pretty much any way you give it to me.

I was excited to try this Coconut Custard Pie. Yes, I made minis again, but there is just no way that we were going to eat an entire pie. The custard is a basic custard flavored with cinnamon and nutmeg. One thing to note is that the custard is made in the food processor... no stovetop necessary. :)

The coconut is actually placed on the bottom of the pie crust and the custard is poured on top. After baking, you are left with a silky, creamy custard pie. So delicious!

Thanks to Ruby of I Dream Of Baking for hosting this week. The recipe can be found at her blog.

SMS: Orange Blueberry Muffins with Pecan Crumble

First things first... Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there! I hope you have a wonderful day!

Now... THIS is a good blueberry muffin! It starts with Melissa Murphy's basic sweet muffin recipe (butter and heavy cream, anyone?) and adds in orange zest, nutmeg, and blueberries.

Now if that isn't good enough, how about take the Pecan Crumble (from the Apple Orchard Crumble which was my SMS pick back in October) and throw that on top of the muffin. Mmmmmm!


I put the crumble on half of the muffins and left the other half plain. I think the muffin was good enough to stand on its own, but I really did enjoy the crumble. But, you are talking to a girl who prefers the crumbs on a crumb cake over the cake itself!

Thanks to Chaya of Sweet & Savory for hosting this week. The recipe can be found at her blog.

SMS: Peanut Butter Truffles

Peanut Butter. Chocolate. Yum.

(And this is the type of post you get when I am writing after hosting 10 five year olds for a birthday party! heehee)

Thanks to Mara of Love Your Mother Earth for hosting this week. The recipe can be found at her blog

SMS: Sweet Potato Cake with Cinnamon Rum Glaze

I was on the fence with this recipe. I don't eat sweet potatoes all that often, but Nathan loves them and asked if I could make this cake.

I made the cake as written, glaze and all. Usually I would omit the rum from the cake since I don't drink, but I was making this for Nathan and I thought he would enjoy the cake, glaze and all.

The cake itself was delicious. It was the glaze I had a problem with. The rum flavor was way to strong for me and I ended up just eating the inside of the cake. Nathan, on the other hand, really liked the cake. Considering he was the one I was making it for, I would call that a success.

Thanks to Lorelei of Mermaid Sweets for hosting this week. The recipe can be found at her blog.

SMS: Pecan Shortbread Cookies

Happy Easter! I hope everyone is enjoying a wonderful morning with their families!

These cookies are called many things... Mexican Wedding Cookies, Russian Tea Cakes, or my favorite, Snowballs. Melissa Murphy calls them Pecan Shortbread Cookies. Whatever you may call them, they are good! You can't go wrong with a pecan shortbread cookie rolled in powdered sugar!

Thanks to Lara of The Lab for hosting this week. The recipe can be found at her blog.

SMS: Double Crusted Caramel Apple Pie

Sorry in advance that this post is going to be short. I don't think I mentioned that I was in Phoenix visiting family for the last 4 days or that I am headed back to El Paso this morning. It has been a fun visit but also a very busy one! I had thought I would have more time to get this post written but instead I have been spending my time with family and friends (which is a wise choice, no?). :)

Caramel. Apples. Flaky Pie Crust. What else do you want in a pie? It was delicious and I loved making a miniature pie in order to get it eaten before I left. Although now that I am looking at the pictures, I am wishing I had some sitting in the fridge waiting for me at home!

Thanks to Susan of Baking with Susan for hosting this week. The recipe can be found at her blog.

SMS: Carrot Cupcakes with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

Yay! I'm back with Sweet Melissa Sundays this week! I love carrot cake, so I knew that I would be making this one.

I don't know if I am in love with this particular carrot cake or not. It wasn't bad but there wasn't anything special about it. It was just a good carrot cake. Does that make sense?

On the other hand, the cream cheese frosting was so yummy! Let's be honest... I haven't met a cream cheese frosting that I didn't like but the addition of orange zest to this one was fantastic. While the cake was just okay, the frosting put it over the top and actually made this one heck of a carrot cupcake.

Thanks to Julie of A Little Bit of Everything for hosting this week. The recipe can be found at her blog.

SMS: Strawberry Lemonade

I am so excited about a drink for SMS this week! Don't get me wrong... I LOVE baking. It is my true passion but it is nice to have a little variety in a baking group. When the recipes for February were posted, I knew right away that I would be making this one.

It is exactly how you would imagine. A delicious strawberry lemonade. Not too sweet, not too tart. It is just right. And yes, I am channeling Goldilocks a bit! :)

Thanks to Jessica of My Baking Heart for hosting this week. The recipe can be found at her blog.

SMS: Easy Chocolate Mousse

Happy Valentine's Day! A delicious chocolate mousse is the perfect SMS recipe choice for today. Chocolate and Valentine's Day go hand in hand. It just isn't Valentine's Day without a little (or a lot!) of chocolate!

This mousse really was easy to make. Melt chocolate, whip eggs, whip cream, fold together. It really doesn't get much easier than that!




It was delicious and creamy and we all enjoyed it very much. Melissa Murphy suggests topping it with fresh berries, but I couldn't resist adding a bit more chocolate.

Thanks to Spike of Spike Bakes for hosting this week.

Also, please stop by and enter my giveaway HERE.

SMS: Black Bottom Brownies

Mmmmmm.... Black Bottom Brownies. Fudgy, chocolatey brownie on bottom. Yummy, creamy cheesecake on top. Does life get better than this?

Thanks to Cynthia of Bakingtherapist for hosting this week. The recipe can be found at her blog.

SMS: Lemon Walnut Sour Cream Pound Cake

I am back with Sweet Melissa Sundays today and boy is it a great recipe to come back with. The recipe choice was Lemon Walnut Sour Cream Pound Cake and it is delicious! Plus it smells AMAZING!

The cake itself has just the right amount of lemon and is so moist. I love the walnut chunks throughout the cake and the crunch they provide. I am not used to nuts in my pound cakes but I was pleasantly surprised. The cake is finished off with a lemon and sugar glaze that adds just a little more lemon. I really enjoyed this cake!

Thanks to Raeann of Basically, Baby Boots for hosting this week. The recipe can be found at her blog.

No SMS... New Plan!

No SMS here this week.

I have decided to pick 2 SMS recipes and 2 TWD recipes each month to make sure that I am keeping up with my commitment to the groups. This way I still can stay in the groups and enjoy trying new things but I won't have to waste food. Between you and me, I need my Germany girls back so I can give them all my cooking! :)

So I will be back with SMS in two weeks. See you then!

SMS: Raised Waffles with Warm Brown Sugar Bananas

I was thrilled when Raised Waffles with Warm Brown Sugar Bananas was chosen for this weeks Sweet Melissa Sunday. This recipe was my number 2 choice when it was my turn to host SMS. I love waffles, I love bananas, and what's not to love when you put the two together?

I prefer the waffle recipe I usually use, but these waffles were a close second. I really enjoyed the banana topping and would occasionally substitute it for the blueberry syrup that tops my waffles. :) This is high praise considering that in my house waffles ONLY come with homemade blueberry syrup!

Thanks to Lauren of Fried Pickles and Ice Cream for hosting this week. The recipe can be found at her blog.