April showers bring May flowers, right? Well with all of this rain that we are experiencing in Charleston right now, there better be a dang field of flowers growing all over this entire city once May hits! Yes, I love the rain, I love the smell, I love how peaceful it can be if you happen to be walking in the rain—with a parapluie of course—I am all about the rain, don’t get me wrong! Yet this kind of rain isn’t the cute kind, isn’t the let’s go dancing in it and splash in puddles and be adorable, it’s the aw shoot. We are about to get some slight flooding, some really drenched lawns, and I’ll definitely be getting splashed walking to work—that kind of rain.

So, my ever so sweet baking friends, I have decided to play a little bit of pretend!

Don’t worry, I realize that I am almost 26, but this is the acceptable kind of make believe.

While making this recipe, I turned on some good ol’ Edith Piaf and pretended it was springtime in Paris; just another reason that rain can be absolutely gorgeous and romantic. I then began to daydream about this time last year, when I was actually in Paris, having my fair share of Champagne and people watching, which is probably one of my best talents…

…

…Okay, back to reality! Yes I love rain, I love France, I love springtime, and what do all of those add up to? Me craving lavender. Lots and lots of lavender. And voilá, I give you a cake that is soaked in lavender! Of course, mes amies, you read that right, and it’s every bit delicieuse as it sounds. I made these little cakes, well, petits! In my opinion, single serving, and when you drench the lemon honey cakes in lavender infused cream, I mean, need I say more?!

Oh and remember why rain is so magnifique?! This cake was born during a terrible rain storm, yet filled with the most love and happiness and lavender!

Here you have it, my April showers please bring May all of the flowers poke cake—poking being what you must do to the cake in order to create some nice little homes for the lavender cream to seep into! As I listen to the rain come crashing down outside, my ears are filled with a little bit of “…je ne regrette rien…” and my tummy is stuffed full of a yummy, light little cake!

cake ingredients

Butter—2 oz, or ¼ C

Sugar—3 oz, or ¼ C + 2 TBL

Honey—1 oz, or2TBL

Eggs—1

Flour—6 oz, or 1 C

Baking Powder—1 tsp

Salt—¼ tsp

Lemon Zest—1 lemon

Lemon Juice—1.5 oz, or 3 TBL

Milk—4 oz, or ½ C

process

Preheat your oven to 350˚ F.

In the bowl of your mixer, cream together the butter, sugar and honey.

Add in the egg, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl well.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Add the lemon zest to the dry ingredients.

Alternating between the milk and dry, add to the mixer, while on low speed.

When you have finished, add in the lemon juice.

Scrape down the bowl one final time to make sure that everything is combined.

Spray 4-4” can pans, I used our Le Creuset mini cocottes for this, with nonstick spray.

*Note: if you would rather use a larger 6” or 8” cake pan and just make one big cake, that would be equally as delicious! Make sure to bump up bake time.*

Fill each one up halfway.

Bake in your preheated oven for 30 minutes, until the top springs back when touched and the cake is a light golden color.

Allow to cool completely before adding in the Lavender Cream!

lavender cream ingredients

Whole Milk—4 oz, or ½ C

Dried Lavender Buds—2 TBL

process

In a small saucepot, combine the milk and lavender; bring to a boil.

Once at a full boil, turn off the heat and cover the pot.

Allow to steep for 10-15 minutes.

Strain the lavender buds, keeping the milk.

When you are ready to use for your cakes, poke little holes all over the cake for the cream to soak into.

Pour a few spoonfuls all over your holey cake and let sit about 1 minute.

Top with fresh fruit (Strawberries work wonders!), whipped cream, or nice and simple by itself, and enjoy!

Bon Appétit!

Have I mentioned that I am the ultimate snacker? While I try to make the better decisions like carrots and nuts, if a chocolate chip gets in my line of sight, I can’t help myself and just go for it!

With winter upon us and Storm Jonas covering our little city of Charleston in about 18” of snow, the most physical activity that we’ll be getting anytime soon is shoveling, shoveling and more shoveling, meaning that choosing healthy and filling snacks is a must. Do I wish that I had a little bit more self-control and focused more on meals and less on snacks? Absolutely! But then I wouldn’t be able to eat these insanely good granola bars, or these Whole Wheat Muffins packed with protein, so maybe snacking is the way to go!

On Thursday when I headed to the supermarket the day before the big storm hit, I stocked up on the must haves—fruits, veggies, lots of milk, coconut flour, chips and salsa…

I got home, and was like yes, chips and salsa are fabulous, but if we want something hearty, healthy and filling when it’s time to find our cars under the snow, we need a little something else. Roberto and I really love a good granola bar, but sometimes they can be full of ingredients that no one has ever heard of, and that’s just a no go in this house!

Cue in these granola bars.

The base had to be oaty and nutty for me, always! From there, you can really add anything—spices, seeds, fruit, chocolate! The option of a nut flour is definitely there, but coconut flour adds a slight sweetness, so you can add little to no sugar in the rest of the bar. I love all types of dried fruit, and the dried cranberries can be swapped for something else. The crucial points in this bar? Oats, coconut flour, honey and peanut butter. It is best to use honey over agave or maple syrup because it has more of a viscous texture compared to the others and therefore will hold the bar together better. Almond flour and butter instead of coconut flour and peanut butter? Certainly—you can change that!

If I haven’t won you over so far, get ready for this. This recipe makes 8 bars. Each bar comes in at a delicious 225 calories, 13g of fat and 5g of protein! Tell me you aren’t grabbing your mixing bowl right now!

These granola bars are super healthy, full of great quality ingredients and will fuel all activities—from shoveling to stacking wood to all of your winter storm fun!

ingredients

Oats—1.5 oz, or ½ C

Coconut Flour—1.5 oz, or ¼ C

Pecans, chopped—2 oz, or ½ C

Dried Cranberries—1.5 oz, or ¼ C

Cayenne Pepper—¼ tsp

Cinnamon—½ tsp

Chia Seeds—0.2 oz, or 1 tsp

Salt—¼ tsp

Honey—2.5 oz, or ¼ C

Peanut Butter—3.25 oz, or 1/3C

Vanilla Extract—0.2 oz, or 1 tsp

Chocolate Chips—3 oz, or ¼ C + 1 TBL

process

Preheat your oven to 300˚ F.

In a bowl, combine the oats, flour, pecans, cranberries, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, chia seeds and salt. Mix.

In a heat proof bowl, combine the honey and peanut butter.

Heat in the microwave, or it can be over the stove in a pot, until the peanut butter is nice a melted. *I like to use crunchy peanut butter for this recipe, it gives the bars an added crunch factor—but creamy is fine too!*

Once melted, add in the vanilla extract, and pour all into the dry ingredients mixture.

Using either your hands or a spatula, mix until combined. Your granola mixture will feel slightly stiff, but that’s what you want!

Fold in the chocolate chips.

*You may add the chocolate chips in with the rest of the dry ingredients and mix with the melted peanut butter and honey. The end result in taste is the same, but the chips will melt, making your bars more a chocolate color!*

To bake, I use a square 8”x8” pan, line it with parchment and press the bars evenly into the pan.

Bake in your preheated oven for about 18-20 minutes, until the oats just start to brown.

*You could also freeze the bars instead of baking to hold their shape, but I love the crispy oat texture and taste!*

Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Cut into bars—you will get 8 out of this pan, and they are only 225 calories each!

Bon Appétit!