Rum-Drenched Vanilla Cakes

How does Tuesday come around so quickly? Maybe it's just me but I feel like the summer is flying by. Oh well, I plan on enjoying every minute of my time off from school and that includes baking with the Tuesdays with Dorie group. This weeks recipe is Rum-Drenched Vanilla Cakes and it was chosen by Wendy of Pink Stripes.

This is a very nice little cake that has a dense texture. It is very much like a pound cake. After it is baked a syrup of water, sugar and rum is poured over it. Sitting overnight makes it flavorful, moist and wonderful. I think that it would great served with some fresh berries.

Dressy Chocolate Loaf Cake for Tuesdays with Dorie

Yea for chocolate. This weeks Tuesdays with Dorie recipe is Dressy Chocolate Loaf Cake and it was chosen by Amy Ruth of Amy Ruth Bakes. This is a nice recipe that looks elegant but it's really quick and simple to whip up. It's rich chocolate cake sliced into three layers and then filled homemade strawberry preserves. It would make a wonderful ending for a fancy dinner but I think that it's best served as a snack with a glass of cold milk.

TWD Raisin Swirl Bread

This weeks recipe for Tuesdays with Dorie is Raisin Swirl Bread and it was chosen by Susan of Food.Baby. I will be honest. I thought about skipping this weeks recipe. I just wasn't in the mood for baking bread. Don't get we wrong I love baking bread, and I especially love raisin bread. It's just that the weather here in Kentucky has been more like the middle of August instead of June. Steamy is the best way to describe it. 90 plus degrees every day and thunderstorms most every afternoon. Heating up the kitchen with a hot oven was not exactly on my to do list.

I'm glad that I decided to go ahead and make this bread. It really was easy and it tasted great. Another plus to making bread is that it makes your kitchen smell wonderful. I enjoyed this bread toasted for breakfast this morning. Yummy. Thanks to Susan for picking this great recipe.

TWD Tender Shortcakes

Strawberries, freshly whipped cream, and wonderful slightly sweet shortcakes. Life is good. Thanks to Cathy of The Tortefeasor for picking this recipe.

TWD White Chocolate Brownies

At long last (drum roll please) this weeks selection for Tuesdays with Dorie is White Chocolate Brownies. It was chosen by Marthe of Culinary Delights. Brownies with white chocolate, ground almonds, orange zest, raspberries, and a thin layer of meringue. I thought that I would love these but I was disappointed with my results. They were almost impossible to get done. I baked them in a hotter oven (350) for at least an extra 10 minutes but the center was still runny. They were also very fragile and difficult remove from the pan after they were cooled. Oh well, they tasted great even if they were under baked.

Banana Coconut Ice Cream Pie

Spike of spike.bakes picked Banana Coconut Ice Cream Pie for this weeks Tuesdays with Dorie. I love ice cream pies and this is a good one. The coconut shortbread crust is awesome. The crust would be good with just about any flavor of ice cream.

The recipe calls for chocolate ice cream but I'm not a big fan of bananas and chocolate together so, I decided to use plain vanilla ice cream. Dorie warned that using vanilla ice cream would produce a slightly off color filling. The banana, ice cream, and rum mixture did turn a sort of pinkish color but it tasted divine.

I served it with whipped cream, a little chocolate syrup, and some crumbled cookie crumbs. The banana that I had reserved for topping the finished pie somehow disappeared. My hubby later owned up to having it for an afternoon snack. Oh well, The pie still tasted great.

TWD Apple- Apple Bread Pudding

This weeks recipe for the Tuesdays with Dorie group is Apple-Apple Bread Pudding and it was chosen by Elizabeth of Cake or Death?. This recipe is a traditional bread pudding with a twist, you add caramelized apples and apple butter to the mix. This results in a fresh new way to enjoy bread pudding. It's really good served warm with some maple syrup.

I liked this pudding best when it was warm. I love bread pudding served cold the next day with a warm sauce poured over it. I was disappointed when I tried the apple-apple bread pudding cold. The cold apples just took away from the taste. Overall I thought this was a great recipe.