Pies, Cheesecake, and French Onion Soup Recap (Oh, My)

In one fell swoop, here's a last recap of all the pies (and other food-related items) I shared on Instagram (@jujulabean).  I'll give a little peek, and promise to do better in 2016...that's a resolution I'm going to keep!

I made 9 pies in one night (the peach sour cream was still in the oven) for a local cafe bake in August.

Cherry Almond

Triple Berry Crunch with Grand Marnier

Banana Cream Pie with Bittersweet Chocolate and Crystallized Ginger

Banana Cream Pie with Toasted Coconut 

(the camera made the coconut look a little orange here)

 Is 5 lbs. of apples too much?  The beginning...

The end...Double Apple Pie with Cornmeal Crust and Bourbon Caramel Sauce

Vanilla Bean Upside-Down Peach Cobbler with Cream

Salted Caramel Toffee Pumpkin Cheesecake

One view of my kitchen

Balancing Dessert (artwork by me)

Outside in the summer with my Bialetti Breakfast with La Mère Poulard Palets

French Onion Soup recipe courtesy of Sweet Paul Magazine.

Jumbo Chocolate Almond Muffin

Cranberry Walnut Clementine Cake

Yesterday I felt myself wanting a piece of happiness so I baked this Cranberry Walnut Clementine Cake.  It's still the holiday season so I actually had fresh cranberries in my refrigerator...and fresh clementines (!) which the recipe didn't call for, but the rind and juice of which I added.  Can you imagine that heavenly scent?  I almost think each morning I should squirt clementine juice and wonderfully bitter zest through the air!  O.k., so I'm getting carried away, I know.

I'm not sure why I don't post more of my baking...this I shall change, sweet foodie followers, for it brings me back to my youth when I would bake constantly in our large kitchen and dream of working at Chocolatier Magazine and being a pastry chef!

Now, I have a tiny kitchen, but I still love to bake.  It's art that edible, no?   Ironically, if I post a piece of artwork or a culinary creation, the latter seems to always garner more interest.  Not sure what that says about my art! ha!  Anyway, I'm just doing both for myself, I suppose, and am hoping you like to look at it, too. (-:

Cranberry Walnut Clementine Cake with Blueberry Acai Tea