A Mid-Winter Trip and Mid-Winter Cakes
A little excursion to Scottsdale, AZ and four PDFs for delicious cakes to brighten your days!
I missed you all last week! I’m sorry for the delay in writing, my son and I took a little sightseeing trip to sunny Arizona accompanying my husband while he was busy working at a conference. Keep reading for my favorite Scottsdale spots, as well as four recipe PDFs for the perfect cakes to enjoy on these almost Spring days…some of which you can even pretend aren’t cake!
I asked for your Scottsdale, AZ recommendations and got some incredible responses! See below for a list. I feel like I was a on a food tour, spending our days walking around and tasting all the delicious treats. We enjoyed balmy weather and a beautiful lack of responsibilities. My son has always been my favorite companions, and as he gets older, he becomes even more my favorite dining partner. He was such a fun friend to have on this adventure!
One of my new favorite past-times in new cities is to check out bookstores to see if they carry my cookbook! It’s so fun to see it in the wild, and I love to leave a signature behind for someone to find. My son and I also got to check out the Museum of Illusions which was endless fun for us both!
Now, we weren’t able to hit every spot, but here are some of the repeat responses I got from our Arizona based Turkuaz Kitchen friends. Bolded are the ones I was able to hit!
Coffee/Pastries/Breakfast:
Valentine’s
JoJo Coffeehouse (I tried, but the line was so long and I was so hungry! It was highly recommended and obviously very well loved by the town)
Cafe Monarch
Village Coffee Roaster
Four till Four
JL Patisserie
Berdena’s
Dinner:
FnB
The Mission
Latha
The Mick Brasserie
Olive & Ivy
Farm and Craft
Ocean 44
Culinary Dropout
Sizzle Korean BBQ
Postino
Pizzeria Bianco
The Chuckbox
Uchi Scottsdale
Hai Noon
Here are some of the flaky pastries served at JL Patisserie, along with delicious coffee.
Olive and Ivy is a long-time favorite of mine, with the most gorgeous interior connected to a large patio, with Mediterranean inspired dishes full of fresh flavors. I highly recommend it if you ever make it out that way!
One of our favorite meals was at Uchi with these beautifully plated sushi rolls. Our meal was chef’s choice and everything was delicious. We also had a great meal at Sizzle Korean BBQ, where instead of cooking it ourselves they cooked right in front of us as well! I loved their tofu stew.
I can’t wait go back and try more! Luckily, my husband has attends a conference there with some regularity, so I’m sure we’ll be there again soon.
I often have a cake or a similar pastry in the fridge ready for slicing when we need a sweet treat. Here are some of my favorite options, not too rich to be overwhelming, but perfect for satisfying that dessert craving!
This Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Banana Bread is easy to prep and always lovely to have around. You can keep it simple and enjoy a warm slice of the bread, or dress it up as a dessert with a scoop of caramel cream!
I love to utilize whole citrus in cakes, not only for the lack of waste, but because the pith and peel provide an incredible depth to the sweetness. This loaf cake utilizes whole oranges which are an ideal marriage to the chocolate swirl and irresistible chocolate exterior.
Another way you can use whole oranges is in this fabulous Ombre Citrus Cake, where candying orange slices of different varieties (here I used regular oranges, navel oranges, and blood orange) and then laying them below the batter give you a gorgeous ombre effect once flipped upside down. A light and fluffy sponge are the ideal pairing for the sweet, balanced citrus syrup. I know you’re going to love it.
Lastly for this week, I’m so excited to share a dessert I have been dreaming about for months. While on book tour in Chicago, we stopped for a late night dinner at Mi Tocaya Antojeria. The end to our delicious meal was a tres leches from Kristoffer’s Cake. When I tell you it was incredible, that is an understatement, and I knew I had to try and recreate it at home. I include some tips about the soaking level of the syrup within the recipe, as this makes a big difference for the final product, so be sure to ready the notes!
I love receiving your emails and updates of where you’ve traveled and the food you’ve eaten! Thank you for your delicious recipes. ❤️I appreciate you soooo much!!
I would love to hear from Betül. Anything she presented was full of love and pleasure.