by on August 15, 2019   •   18 Comments Bakeshop

Wild Blueberry Slab Cheesecake

This week, in classic mid-August Aimée style, I embarked on a few procrastibaking projects as a way to avoid my post-camping laundry and clean-up.

To be fair, I couldn’t wait to get back into the Simple Bites kitchen after a few weeks of travel. As is usually my custom when I road trip, I returned home with a stash of the most beautiful produce I encountered along the way.

This time I brought several pints of wild blueberries, for this Nova Scotia fruit grows wild all over the province and is free for the picking. Clara and I busied ourselves in a patch early one morning and produced enough for our buttermilk pancakes as well as a small store for the cooler.

Since then I’ve muddled a handful into a gin & tonic cocktail and topped a summer edition of my do-ahead muesli, but I saved the majority of them for a special baking project: cheesecake.

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by on June 27, 2019   •   12 Comments Bakeshop

Fudgy Chocolate Two-Bite Brownies (GF, DF)

I‘ve discovered the perfect picnic brownie and so naturally I’ve been making them on repeat. As is my custom with a favourite new-to-me recipe, I had to share it with you.

We’ve already had our first wave of summer visitors and we spent many happy hours exploring Nova Scotia beaches while they were here. With 10 hungry folks to feed, I needed a sweet treat the toss in the picnic basket that had a few redeeming qualities (my parents are extreeeeeemly health conscious).

Fortunately, Peace, Love & Fibre had just landed in my kitchen, the latest (and greatest!) cookbook from the Queen of Fibre herself, my friend, Mairlyn Smith.

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by on May 6, 2019   •   8 Comments Bakeshop

Sweet and Savoury Scone Recipe Round-Up

It was almost exactly one year ago when I shared my recipe for Vanilla Cream Scones with you all, as well as details on an elaborate tea party.

A few friends and I had gathered to celebrate the Royal wedding of Harry and Meghan, and we toasted their happiness with many cups of tea – and a few gin & tonics. Today, as I sat down to write this post, the same Royal couple announced the birth of their son. Welcome Baby Sussex!

Now more than ever, it seems fitting to share a sweet and savoury scone recipe round-up with you.  These are my favourites – plain and simple, cheesy and fruity. You’re bound to find a recipe you’ll love forever.

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by on April 3, 2019   •   5 Comments Bakeshop

Glazed Mini Lemon Poppyseed Tea Cakes

These simple and elegant tea cakes are bursting with citrus flavour; serve them at your next spring gathering.

We Canadians have to wait for spring just a little longer than seems fair.

Each April we wait impatiently for the first rhubarb of the season and then we bake it into everything from hearty muffins to delicate galettes. We still have weeks – maybe months – to go until strawberries arrive at the markets, and until then, we’re juicing lemons and squeezing clementines for our kitchen baking projects.

Citrus is definitely the inspiration for these cakes. I wanted to create a delicate tea-time treat that evoked the feeling of spring while still using the winter ingredients we have on hand.

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by on January 29, 2019   •   30 Comments Bakeshop

How to Make the Best Muffins Ever – Revisited

Nine long years ago I posted a customizable basic oatmeal muffin recipe here on Simple Bites and declared it the ‘best muffin ever’.

It was a bold claim, but one that I was prepared to stand behind. You, my readers, preheated your ovens, gathered ingredients and started baking. Now, nearly a decade later, the post has over 300 positive comments, millions of views, and hundreds of believers.

Today’s post answers the question: is my simple one-bowl muffin recipe still the best? I’ll also share a few small tweaks I’ve made to the recipe over the years, plus my favourite flavour combinations.

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