Strawberries and Cream Bread Pudding

She's taken this long to post and now she's back with ugly photos and even uglier lookin' food?!

I bet that's what you're thinkin', right? Well, this is one of those recipes you'll have to take my word for because, I won't lie, it doesn't photograph well. It's good. Guaranteed to make you lick the bowl, and your fingers... and whatever else the creamy topping happens to land on, because you'll want to savor every last bit of it.

Strawberry ice cream fans, this recipe's for you. It's like a bread pudding, except it's made with a spongy cake (recipe below), and it includes fresh strawberries, and the aforementioned messy creamy topping, of course. Sprinkle coconut flakes on top or eat it right outta the bowl, it's good either way. BUT eat it cold, like right after you've taken your morning jog on another scorching hot day, when you really need a sweet reward for all your hard work. Don't feel guilty, either, this is actually pretty lean...but I can't say it's low in calories ;).

Speaking of sweet rewards, I was recently rewarded for my hard work. 21 hours of intense work. Let's just say, they don't call it labor for nothin'. Here's my sweet reward, and the reason why I've been gone for so long :).

Gluten-Free sticky apple carrot pudding cake with apricot cinnamon sauce

Not all that's gooey is good. For instance, you know those green bags that are supposed to prevent your produce from getting old too quickly? Well, like all things that claim to halt or slow-down the aging process, they do stop working after awhile.

Stick your hand into one of these bags when it contains half an onion that hasn't seen the outside of the veggie drawer for a few weeks and you will encounter the bad kind of gooey.

How about walking over an already mushed grape on the kitchen floor without socks on? Not good.

Gooey things that are good: sticky toffee pudding -- yum, my favorite dessert! How about caramel sauce? Yes, very good. Another thing to add to the list? This gluten-free sticky apple carrot pudding cake with apricot cinnamon sauce! A mouthful it is. I wasn't sure if cinnamon and apricots would mix, but oh how they do, especially in a powdered sugar based sauce. It offers a nice combo of tart and sweet cinnamony flavors.

This cake does kind of remind me of sticky toffee pudding, but fruity and spiced up. If carrot cake and sticky toffee pudding got married in the fall, they might have this pudding at their wedding :).

By the way, did anyone see Diners, Drive-ins and Dives tonight?! I have been craving that burger with poached pears, brie and pancetta on a toasted pretzel bun since I saw it on the show. I just might have to figure out a way to make it this weekend! :D

It's Almond Butter Pudding Time!

One of the not-so-fun things about baking is that sometimes the mistakes made during the recipe-inventing stage are irreparable. As a result, not-so-tasty and nearly toxic treats, like my vanilla fig basil cupcakes, get thrown in the trash and (while giving off a putrid aroma) get shunned even by Oscar the Grouch himself. You may think I am exaggerating, but this is exactly what happened with my vanilla fig basil cupcakes!

This month, basil is the Iron Cupcake Challenge secret ingredient. I don't know how other folks are putting their cupcakes together using such a potent herb, but I can't seem to formulate a recipe that includes basil and doesn't leave me gagging. One bite of those vanilla fig basil cupcakes and I was convinced they were far from salvageable. There was no way I could convince them, not even in the least bit, to taste like something worth calling a cupcake. Jose was nice enough to just say they tasted like sweet focaccia bread; I begged to differ and felt they tasted more like a green, furry, and long ago forgotten about something or another that can inhabit a back-of-the-fridge Tupperware...you know what I'm talking about!

Now, moving on to a less grotesque topic, let's hear about the Almond Butter Banana and Honey Pudding! Well, I'll be honest with you, I meant to make muffins. BUT Because I forgot to add XANTHUM GUM (a very cool word and incredibly significant gluten-free baking ingredient), the muffins fell into themselves. Yes, it was as if they were excited to come out of the oven after baking, but then (as if engaging in an act of rebellion) deflated upon realizing they were xanthum gumless!!! Oh, but they were tasty! I grabbed a big ol' spoon and dove right in...then it hit me!!! They taste like banana pudding!

Ah! What a relief. Thankfully, these xanthum gumless muffins were salvagable! Who knew muffins could be transformed into a bread pudding?! It worked out great because I just so happened to add the right amount of wet ingredients, so they didn't come out dry at all. I actually plan on replicating this recipe again some time in the future :). Oh, but don't get me wrong, I certainly won't forget about the xanthum gum the next time around ;)!