I think that I love cream cheese more than the average person. I wasn’t really aware of this until I was doing a video call with a couple of friends, while making myself a bagel, and they both were shocked and awed by how much cream cheese (and how much everything bagel seasoning) I put on said bagel.

I mean, I had just had a baby a few days prior, and my body was extra hungry. But honestly, I don’t even need to make excuses. I’m not embarrassed. The truth is, I just love cream cheese. Anytime, anywhere.

It can go savory in crab-stuffed salmon recipe and crock pot beef stroganoff. It can be used as the “sauce” on roasted cauliflower pizza. And my Baileys brownies wouldn’t be the same without their spiked cream cheese frosting.

Today, I’m sharing a recipe for the absolute best chocolate cake I’ve ever made, paired with, what else? Cream cheese frosting!

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I’m not one to celebrate all the “food holidays” (is there a national bacon in the oven day?), but it just so happens that I had this recipe ready for you, and today is also National Black Forest Cake Day! So, let’s celebrate, I guess!

My husband has worked for a Germany-based auto parts supplier for over a decade, so we’re pretty familiar with German culture and cuisine.

Black Forest cake is perhaps the most well-known German dessert in America. The exact history of the name is up for some debate, with some believing the name is derived from a specialty liquor made in the Black Forest mountain range of southwestern Germany.

Others claim that the name is inspired but a traditional outfit worn by women in the same region. The costume includes a hat with big red pom-poms on top (represented by the cherries on the cake).

Now that my very simplified history lesson is over, let’s make some Black Forest Cupcakes! These chocolatey cupcakes are topped with fresh whipped cream, and they have a surprise cherry filling made with Kirsch syrup. If you’re not sure what Kirsch is, don’t worry, I have all the details for you!

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With a small kitchen and limited storage, I’ve weeded out most appliances, tools and pans that serve a single purpose. They just take up too much valuable real estate.

The only exception I’ve made is my beloved egg cooker, which cooks the most perfect hard boiled eggs for shrimp deviled eggs and Easter salad.

And for whatever reason, a single special bundt pan has stuck with me. I bought this pan probably over 10 years ago. I saw it in a catalog (I believe this particular shape/style was being re-released for some type of Bundt anniversary) and just knew I had to have it.

I find that Spring is a time where I make cakes more often than the rest of the year. I’m not sure why, but I think it has something to do with my love of light cakes with bright, fresh flavors, like citrus and berries.

This orange bundt cake recipe is a breeze to mix up, and, like my lemon curd cake and Black Forest cupcakes, it’s perfect for any special occasion, like Mother’s Day or Easter, or a Spring birthday.

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Today marks the ten year anniversary of hitting “publish” on the very first post on Foxes Love Lemons (this poorly lit but delicious shrimp and polenta). Ten years! Almost 700 recipes later, what started as a hobby while I found a “real job” became my full-time, very real job, and I couldn’t be more thankful for that.

Curiously though, for a blog with “lemons” in the title, most of my top five posts of all time don’t really include that much lemon. Creamy salmon pasta really just has a lemon wedge garnish, and I feel like it’d be weird to serve bacon in the oven with lemon.

Chicken parm soup and Asian noodle salad are both delicious and very popular, but again, no lemon! Thank goodness my lemon smoothie rounds out the top five and brings all the lemon with it.

I’m also bringing all the lemon today with this cake I made to mark this anniversary. This lemon curd cake has a rich layer of lemon curd in between two layers of perfect yellow cake, finished off with a lemon curd buttercream.

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Zombie Halloween Cupcakes are perfect for spooky season!

When I was pregnant, my daughter’s due date was early November. My husband and I hoped for a Halloween baby!

We dreamed of a homemade haunted house birthday party with my Halloween deviled eggs recipe and other Halloween food, and spooky cupcakes to take to school.

Well, she arrived only a few days early, a week after Halloween, and of course the only important thing was that she was happy and healthy.

So maybe these Halloween cupcakes won’t be for any of her birthday parties (maybe Black Forest cupcakes instead?), but we can always have a Halloween party as well!

Save the candy corn shots and Halloween charcuterie board for the adults, but these zombie brain cupcakes can be enjoyed by all ages!

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These Monster Cake Pops are so easy, it’s scary!

So, just to warn you: I have a LOT of Halloween food ideas coming up in the next month. If you’re a Halloween hater, you might want to check back occasionally for the non-Halloween recipes, but don’t say I didn’t warn you!

We are unabashedly Halloween lovers around here, and October can’t come and go without enjoying a Halloween charcuterie board and Halloween deviled eggs!

Is it normal to have an entire drawer in your house devoted to Halloween sprinkles and candy eyeballs of all sizes? And a skull mold to make cheese skulls for Halloween salad?

Maybe not, but here we are. These shortcut Halloween Cake Pops are made with mini donuts and donut holes, for an easy, adorable sweet treat with lots of eyeballs.

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When it comes to Valentine’s Day, Jeff and I don’t take it too seriously. We *maybe* get each other cards, if we remember. But if somebody forgets, there’s no hard feelings.

I can’t remember the last time we got each other gifts, although one time Jeff did stop at a flower shop and buy me discounted flowers that WERE LEFT OVER FROM A FUNERAL (true story). Ah, romance.

So it should come as no surprise that we also usually avoid restaurant meals, figuring we can go out to eat (and get better service and not a stupid prix fixe menu) any other day of the year.

We usually just consider the day an excuse to cook something more delicious for dinner than usual, like salmon pasta made with sockeye salmon, or lasagna cottage cheese.

Or sometimes even just a board filled with Valentine’s Day snacks and a couple of rosemary cocktails is all we need for “dinner”.

And if we want something sweet but ridiculously easy, I’ll make something like these Valentine’s dessert shooters.

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Mug cakes may have been a social media laughingstock for a little while (something about a sad single girl dessert?) but that’s just silly. Mug cakes are the perfect way to make an impromptu cake for one person (or more!) any night of the week.

There are a ton of varieties of chocolate, vanilla and sprinkle mug cake recipes available online, but not as many seasonal options.

This cake in a mug recipe uses both fresh apple and applesauce to create a fruit-forward fall dessert that cooks in 90 seconds, and gets even better when you top it with caramel.

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Everybody who knows me well knows that the 4th of July is my favorite holiday. It’s nice weather and low commitment. There’s no customary big meal to prepare and no presents to buy. It’s just pure relaxation and enjoyment.

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“One of the best desserts I’ve ever made.” I don’t say something like that lightly, because let’s face it: even though I’m not the biggest dessert fan, I HAVE made a lot of desserts. In culinary school, I made pastries and all manner of sweets for months on end.

At my recipe testing job for a publishing company, I spent two weeks straight perfecting a rolled pumpkin cake. I made that same cake, day in and day out, trying to get it just right. Thanksgiving Rice Krispies treats took a few rounds to get perfect, too.

And now, I have freelance clients who do request desserts from time to time. So, “best ever” is a high bar.

(more…)

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