Special Treat

Peanut Butter Pie and Bacon. Because that's how I roll. 

I Die for Banana Cream Pie

I wanted to start off my 25 Southern Desserts challenge in the strongest way possible, and nothing is stronger than banana cream pie, my friend. Just about nothin', I tell ya. I started with my mom's recipe, made the pudding myself, and even decided to go with a whole-wheat pie crust to even out the gooey-ness of the cream pie. 

Mmmm, Gooey. Creamy. Pie-y. 

Sorry, I got distracted!

The verdict? A really nice balance between the whole wheat-iness of the crust and the over-the-top sweetness of the filling. If I had to make it again, I might do a nilla wafer crust instead or just go with all pudding. That's the best part, after all. But a valiant effort that even my mom gave the thumbs-up to.

Start with the good stuff... I used half white and half whole wheat flour + Smart Balance

I like bananas as my first layer

...then pudding, then nilla wafers

Drool drool drool. If you let the pie sit in the fridge for about a day, the wafers get soggy and add such an amazing texture to the mushy bananas.

Here, you can see the layers: crust, bananas, pudding, wafers, pudding, bananas, pudding, wafers, whipped cream

The two of us put quite a dent in it in one sitting.

Extreme Close-Up

Recipe after the jump!

Ode to Mint (And My Adorable Kitty)

 The mint is finally coming out of its wintertime slumber, and it's livening up my lemonade, mojitos, strawberry tarts (yes, you got it), and salads. You name it, I've thrown mint on it.

And my cat, Fifi, whom I call Beefy because of her habit of eating everything she sniffs out on the ground, is basking in the California sunshine once again. She's looking as adorable as ever. Thank goodness too because A) she was sick for a while, and B) it's really hard to get good pictures of an expressionless black cat when there is no natural light to be found.

25 Southern Desserts to Conquer

Yesterday, I was browsing around a few of my favorite food blogs that I usually read on Bloglovin, and I happened upon a very cool feature on Brown Eyed Baker, called My 100. The author, Michelle, has a list of 100 recipes that she has vowed to try out at some point in her blogging career.

I found this particularly inspiring for my project for several reasons:

1. Though I've baked many a southern dessert in my time, I've never taken the time to work down the repertoire and really refine everything. I also don't have photos to document these past baking ventures. 
2. There are many southern desserts I've been putting off trying because either they look too time-consuming or expensive or difficult. And I need to stop making excuses.
3. I think this will be a great way to reconnect with my southern past, through looking up old cookbook archives and reading about the history of certain desserts. 

I am excited to start off on my own little venture here, called 25 Southern Desserts to Conquer. 

Anyway, kudos to you, Michelle, for the inspiration!

I'm thinking I'll do banana cream pie or banana pudding to start things off on the right foot. 

Impromptu Southern Pound Cake

My friends and I had a pool party this weekend. They all drank a few beers, got hungry, we had strawberries. So, naturally, I whipped up this pound cake for everyone to enjoy. I'd like to note that I was sober, just so everyone knows that I was not making a pound cake this delicious after I'd had a few Coronas in me. That would be major skillz that I probably don't have.

Find the recipe below!

Close-up (with the Coronas of course)

The final spread

All together now (I just want to note there were a LOT of us there, okay!?)

Simple Southern Pound Cake Loaf

The original southern pound cake gave "pound" cake its name. It included one pound of butter, one pound of sugar, and one pound of flour. It also didn't include any baking powder, as the fresh eggs helped it rise like a charm. Sounds delicious... and a wee bit heart-attack inducing. I prefer this modified version adapted from Southern Living. 

Ingredients
2/3 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 cups sifted flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 325F. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.
3. Sift together the dry ingredients. Add to the butter mixture, alternating with additions of the milk and vanilla.
4. Pour batter into a greased and floured loaf pan about 3/4 full (the cake rises a lot).
5. Cook for 75 - 90 minutes, or until you insert a toothpick and it comes out clean.

Serve with fresh whipped cream and strawberries, blueberries, or other seasonal fruit.

Flour and Sugar,
Carrie Melissa

Inspirations for the Weekend

I've been baking all week, and I'm a bit tired of my standard fare. I'm dipping into my Pinterest pool for inspiration for recipe-testing this weekend.

I also just picked up the book Pie, and I'm pretty sure it's changing my life.

Apricot, Pistachio, and Lemon Shortbread Tart via Canelle et Vanille

Cake Batter Pancakes.... YESSSSS via Chez Knox

Bourbon Peach Hand Pies via smitten kitchen

Earl Grey Tea Cake with Rhubarb Cream Cheese Glaze via Raspberri Cupcakes

Well, those are just ridiculous. Now it's 10 AM and I'm in a sugar drought. 

Flour and Sugar,

Carrie Melissa

Wrapping Up Some Pies

I do apologize for the quality of these photos. I was up until 2 am individually wrapping these pies for an order that I am delivering today, and I had to use the worst fluorescent light known to man or woman. Just know that these are adorable, and that my work here is done (for today anyway).

Flour and Sugar, 

Carrie Melissa