Minnesota is finally approaching warmer months, and, to celebrate, we decided to try some fun spring recipes. We wanted to use produce that was not only in season but also matched the light and pastel color schemes we associate with spring.
Carrot Cake Bread ★★★★☆
For our first recipe, we decided on a carrot loaf cake with cream cheese frosting. We used Kroll’s Korner’s recipe, and it was overall very simple to make. The first steps consisted of mixing the dry ingredients, which were a blend of flour, salt, baking soda and powder, and spices like nutmeg and cinnamon. The wet ingredients came together in a separate bowl before mixing the two and folding in shredded carrots. The longest part of the process was its baking time. We topped the loaf cake with a cream cheese frosting and sprinkled carrot shavings for aesthetics. The flavor had a lot of depth to it because of the spices and fresh carrots; definitely worth a try. If you enjoy zucchini bread, you will love this carrot cake because they are very similar. If you are new to baking, loaf cakes are a great start because they can typically come together in one bowl and have straightforward instructions. This cake would be perfect for a brunch or bake sale since it is very easy to serve and can be paired with almost anything.
Easy Key Lime Pie Bars ★★★★★
Spring reminded us of citrus, so we decided to make key lime pie bars as our second dessert. To start, we made a graham cracker crust by crushing the crackers and combining them with melted butter and sugar. This was pressed down in a pan and baked for 10 minutes while the filling was mixed. The filling consisted of cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, fresh lime zest and lime juice. Once the crust came out of the oven, we topped it with the filling and baked for another 10-15 minutes. To avoid overbaking, we made sure the filling was sturdy with a toothpick and not browning. We then made our own whipped cream by whipping heavy whipping cream, sugar and some vanilla until soft to medium peaks formed. We dolloped this on top of the bars and sprinkled fresh lime zest over the top. Tastes Better From Scratch’s recipe worked out perfectly, and it satisfied the craving for something citrus. The bars were light, had a nice crunch to them from the crust and had a good sweet to sour balance. If you adore key lime pie, definitely try these bars!
Lemon Curd Cookies ★★★★★
Finally, we made lemon crinkle cookies topped with homemade lemon curd and powdered sugar. We started the lemon curd by combining egg yolks, fresh-squeezed lemon juice, sugar and lemon zest in a bowl over a double boiler. We whisked this for ten minutes until it thickened up, added room temperature butter and put it in a container topped with plastic wrap. The dough was similar to any cookie recipe, but first we had to thoroughly mix fresh lemon zest and sugar before creaming it with butter. Then we added our egg, vanilla and dry ingredients to the mix. We portioned the dough into individual-sized cookies and rolled the dough balls in powdered sugar. Rolling them in powdered sugar before baking them is what creates the crinkle effect. The cookies baked for 15 minutes, and once they were removed from the oven, we made a dent in the top of the cookie using a cookie scoop to create a spot for the lemon curd to sit. After they had cooled down, we topped the cookies with a lemon curd and a sprinkle of powdered sugar. We used Spatula Baking’s recipe and absolutely recommend it. These cookies were our favorite dessert of the day and the perfect treat for anyone who loves lemon.
