Happy first day of fall here is the total opposite of a fall recipe for those of use that don’t have the weather to match the pumpkin we’re all chomping at the bit to inhale.

The weather in SoCal has been super wishy washy lately, I could’ve just worn a tee and no pants yesterday but then a hoodie was needed this morning when I took the dogs out, and then of course the mood swing continues with a high of 90 next week.

But all that is great because we have this cake that’s fun and delicious and has all of my favorite spring/summer things so we can be cool and not uncool and have this when it’s 90 and crack open the can of pumpkin when I’m forced to wear pants.

This gem comes from Naomi over at Baker’s Royale, queen of baking, queen of blog pastries, queen of oven treats. We can now add cookbook to that whole list. I’ve been a huge fan of Naomi’s since forever, so it was great when we went from internet friends to real life friends/styling buddies when I went to go and work with her on prepping and styling for her book.

It ended up being the perfect combo of us and the photographer with her assistants that seriously made it one of the best shoots to work on, hands down, greased gears x 100. It helped that we all had a mild obsession with coffee and the baked goods we were pumping out.

The book itself is really great and fun with all the twists on classic desserts with new ones added in, everything looks delicious and I can guarantee it all tastes good too. This cake was one of my favorites on the shoot because the combo of the tart jam filling and lime poppyseed cake was so spot on perfect and I loved how it’s a nice surprise when you cut into it, almost like a jelly donut that won’t ruin your favorite blouse.

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I’m just a guy, standing here, asking you to give coney dogs a chance.

Only because you’re going to probably scroll past this whole post down to the recipe and go jesus, I just want a chili dog why are there so many ingredients and what the shit is allspice, cinnamon and yellow mustard doing in there. I get it, I do, it’s weird (only a little weird for me because I made this chili a while back with the same spice profile), weird enough for my mom to doubt me when I told her about them and what I was putting in the chili but guess what she ate 2 hot dogs aaand all of her words.

Coney Dogs are a super regional thing, originating in of all places not coney island but Detroit. I only know of them because growing up our dad would take us to the Coney Island Restaurant when we were in Downtown Fresno and they were so good. and so different. Hot Dogs covered in sauce like chili covered in yellow mustard and white onion, like a buck a piece so I would get 3 and eat them all in less than 5 minutes like my life depended on it no regrets.

The last time I was up in Northern California visiting my family I was talking to my sister about the chili dogs and we both agreed that we needed to figure out a recipe, find the spice that was in there, nancy drew that shit. I did the research and discovered the chili dogs were in fact a thing, the Coney Sauce was laced with allspice and cinnamon, depending on where you got them and they were always topped with a squiggle of yellow mustard and diced onion. 5 batches of chili later we’ve landed on what I think is as close as I can get to that magic I remember from almost 20 years ago.

Next time you’re in need of a chili dog go for this stuff. It’s saucy, spicy, and interesting, exactly what a chili dog should taste like, praise be the chili dog. And if you wanna know more about the coney dog and the coney sauce, of course you do because you’re weird like me, here are a couple videos, one of which also explains the mystery of what had happened to Audrina Patridge.

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THIS ONE’S FOR U TOMATO HATERS! **Plays Pizza Bagel song while running on stage and throwing this pizza into the crowd even though no bagels are involved because my catalog of pizza songs is very limited, sue me.**

This recipe is exactly what it sounds like if it sounds like we’re using blended up corn instead of a tomato sauce and it’s genius (all thanks to my v cool friend Izy Hossack, of top with cinnamon fame). Her book The Savvy Cook came out last month and it’s full of of just really good, simple dishes that anyone can make.

Everything has limited ingredients, there’s a helpful section with each recipe to help use up any leftovers you might have, and it’s all vegetarian. * But very filling vegetarian because that’s Izy’s magical talent.

The corn on the pizza though is so so smart and perfect for all the corn in the grocery stores right now. It plays just like a tomato sauce with a little bit more of a creamy texture. To make sure it’s not too sweet, because corn is perfect right now, we just add some salt and a pinch of red pepper flakes and it’s perfection. If you’re looking for a good cookbook with simple filling recipes go buy Izy’s Book. RIIIIGHT NOWW.

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Hello Hi Happy Tuesday I brought you the thing that everybody loves on instagram during the summer: S’mores. But because I’m just as extra as I am basic I went and put together a whole trifle situation that involves cake, pudding, and marshmallow fluff. Wonderteam extra powers activate.

I’ve actually wanted to make a honey graham cake for a while now so I could have some sort of alternative to the classic cracker in desserts or to use with fruits during the summer and then it just happened that Bob’s Red Mill wanted to collaborate on something and praise be, the Brown Butter Honey Graham Cake was born.

There were actually several no-go’s before the final cake had happened. It’s tricky baking with whole wheat flour and not getting a super crumbly end result but luckily the honey helps out with that a little, but there’s still a lesser amount of the graham flour that could be used than all-purpose to give us a nice crumb. After a few failed loaves I landed on the idea of melting the butter to give it more of a pound cake consistency and less of a cakey consistency then went one step further by browning the butter. Usually with brown butter you need to use more so you don’t lose the moisture but that honey came in and swept me off my feet yet again which was great because that nutty flavor you get from browned butter works magic and gives you even more of that classic graham cracker flavor profile.

I think the cake by itself is fantastic, I really do (I’d eat it with half a jar of peanut butter if it wasn’t socially unacceptable) and it’s perfect for all the summer produce that might need a hearty pairing but there’s something magical about combining it with a rich pudding and meringue faux fluff that makes me happy I have another vehicle for s’mores flavor consumption.

Special shout out to Bob’s Red Mill for sponsoring this post and helping keep this site/me moving/shaking/grooving.

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Are cakesicles a thing?

I’m currently up in the air headed to Seattle with no wi-fi so with no google so I’m just going to assume that somebody else out there figured this out years ago, bless them they are a savior.

Last year I messed with these cobbler pops for popsicle week that I very much still love enough to maybe get a cobbler pop tramp stamp? but that’s still a maybe. I think my favorite part of all of it surprising* was the chunks of cakey cobbler topping that sort of get chewy in the freezer.

*Should not be surprising actually because I prefer all forms of cake very cold like a beautiful weirdo.

The way we’re kind of changing things up from last year is that this is literally a slice of cake shoved into a popsicle mold and doused with the tres leches mixture that is very beautiful and something I could probably just drink on it’s own. The whole cake sort of soaks up the liquid and creates something very similar to the regular tres leches but just, frozen. It’s perfect for the summer and the cake itself is way easier than the traditional sponge, the only little bit of bob the builder cosplay is the construction and building of the popsicles but I promise it’s 100% worth it.

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It’s heeeeeeere!! Popsicle week 2017 extravaganza year 5 house down boots.

YEAR. 5.

And every year it just keeps getting bigger and stronger and now even prettier. The Popsicle Week page got a nice nip tuck/slight injection and he looks better than ever. Nowwww starting with this year you can actually see the images of all the pops and sort through them by the type or a dietary restriction you might have. It’s 2017!

And just like all the years prior you can keep up with the popsicle week page on the actual page but you can also just search around all the social medias with the #popsicleweek.

Another new thing happening this year is that I was in Allrecipes Magazine talking up the whole week! There’s a spread in there with some really good popsicles and all the tips and tricks that would require loose flowy sleeves to hide. And as if that weren’t enough I’m going to be up in Seattle but also on their facebook page this wednesday at 2pm pst talking up popsicles and why I love them and why I love this week. We’re going to making some blueberry cobbler pops from last year and maybe gossiping about freezers and popsicle molds.

Speaking of which, I finally put together  some of my favorites for popsicle molds because in the 4 years I’ve done this it took year 5 to really get me there. I know molds can be an investment (one of the main reasons popsicle week happens so you’ve got a resource) but the good news is that there are some affordable options out there. Also disclaimer this is not in any way sponsored but these are all affiliate links so I get a small kickback. Buuuut the good news is you can google search and buy these wherever your heart desires.

1. CHICHIC Set of 6 DIY Popsicle Molds – these are actually brand new to me, introduced by whoever found them at Allrecipes for the spread, but I love their size and shape, perfect for kids, aaaand there’s a cap that can help hold the stick in there along with the plastic sticks so you can choose and aren’t forced to use a flimsy plastic stick. The only con is that there are a lot of pieces but I just keep them in a gallon ziptop bag and everything’s good.

2. Norpro Frozen Ice Pop Maker – This mold’s probably my favorite of all favorites (don’t tell the others) but most of the popsicles are made and tested using this one. It’s held up extremely well through several years of popsicle week and a couple moves. There’s another brand that has the metal lid but I actually prefer the plastic because it tends to not stick to any of the popsicles if they freeze over and it’s more flexible when removing.

3. Tovolo Groovy Ice Pop Molds – These are my favorite for just leftover smoothie or whatever option. They’re a little bigger (4oz vs the 3oz norpro molds) but there’s a base that holds them all in there where I can easily remove one if I want to or just use one if I have some extra something that I want to freeze or experiment with.

That’s about it for this year, keep your eyes on the page/prize and show everyone what you’re making with the #popsicleweek!