Homemade Spinach Pasta Lasagna

A casserole dish of Homemade Lasagna with Spinach Pasta on a cooling rack

The very first meal I made for my husband, on our first date in 1987, was a four-cheese manicotti with homemade pasta. It took me days! He told me later that he knew he’d marry me when he took a bite. We’ve made each other many meals since, but nothing as memorable. When I presented this spinach pasta lasagna to my family they all said it was the best thing I’ve ever cooked for them, including my husband (and my son who claimed to hate spinach at the time)!

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Holiday and Celebration Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Holiday and Celebration Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Zoë François

In just about a month my newest book, Holiday and Celebration Bread in Five Minutes a Day, will hit the shelves in stores near you and online book sellers. This is the bread book I have always wanted to write, because I got to bring my pastry chef ways to the pages, with all the sweet and decadent holiday breads from around the world. Below I have shared just a few of the photos from the book that represent so many cultures and their gorgeous breads. I even got to take some of the photos for this book, along with my friend and fellow blogger, Sarah Kieffer. For the first time we have color photos throughout and gorgeous how-to pictures of the process, so even the more intricate breads (like flaky croissants and Danish) are simple to make.

This is the 7th book in our 5-Minute Bread series and Jeff and I could not be more excited or prouder of this one. I hope you enjoy it as much as we loved putting it together.

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Plum Cupcakes with Sweet-Corn Ice Cream!

Plum cupcakes recipe | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François

My husband brought home corn last weekend from the market that was so sweet it just begged to be made into a dessert. But, that was not quite what he had in mind for this batch so we grilled it, peeled it, and added a small squeeze of lime juice and a sprinkle of salt. The lime brings out the sweetness even more. The following day I was back at the market and got more of the sweet corn and some early season plums that I suspected would be a bit tart. I figured the tart plums and the milky, honey like corn would be great companions for a plum cupcake recipe.

Right away I knew that the corn would be turned to ice cream, with just a touch of vanilla and nothing more to distract from the delicate flavor. I baked the plums in a pound cake recipe that includes a touch of cornmeal. Not too much or it would be dense, but enough to give a hint of corn flavor and a nice texture. I left the skins on the plums because they were too gorgeous to remove and once they baked the skins were perfectly soft. We are weeks, if not months away from having these grow locally, but our neighbors to the south are kind enough to ship us their crops until then!

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Strawberries in Red Wine

Today is Earth Day and in an attempt to keep my “cookprint” to a minimum, I decided to make a simple, but crazy delicious dessert. Once again Lynne Rossetto Kasper is my inspiration. You see, my husband and I are planning a trip to Italy this summer with our boys. In an attempt to get ready for the journey we’ve been eating a lot of Italian food. I figure it is more important to understand the food than, let’s say, learn the language! 😉 So I whipped up a batch of Lynne’s lasagna and then followed it with this incredibly easy and yet divine bowl of strawberries in red wine.

I’ve been reading on other food blogs about the perfect spring crop of fresh strawberries. Well, here in Minneapolis we finally have buds on the trees, but we’re a good while off before we are plucking fruits from the vine. In fact today is the day that the Backyard Harvest folks deliver the dirt for my Urban Farm. By June I’ll have my own organic garden, but until then…to the market I go. The strawberries I bought at the store were decent, but not yet at their full potential. To maximize their flavor I macerated them in red wine and a touch of sugar. A little chiffonade of mint and they were bright and summery.

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Springtime Flower Cake

A closeup of the springtime flower cake | Photo by Zoë François

This weekend was my neighbor’s birthday. Her husband asked me to bake her a decadent chocolate cake and decorate it with “Spring Flowers.” Here in MN it isn’t exactly bursting with flora yet. In fact, as I was working on this flower cake it started to snow. But Easter is right around the corner and the tulips and rhubarb are promising to come out of the ground soon. We hold our breath and hope for a greener time, soon. Her cake, like Kathy herself, had to be over the top and fantastic! I wanted it to be bright and full of life to compensate for the snow!

The chocolate layers were made up of Devil’s Food, Chocolate Pastry Cream, Bittersweet Ganache, White Chocolate Buttercream and the flowers were made from gum paste.

Happy Birthday Kathy!

Last week I was in such a rush to get my Daring Baker Challenge done in time that I forgot to give away another Le Creuset Stoneware Heart Ramekin with Cover, Red. This week I will give away 2 to make up for it. Just leave me a note below and tell me what you are making for Passover*, Easter** or whatever you are craving now that it is spring. I will pick 2 random winners next week.

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Happy New Year! Chocolate, Candied Ginger and Grapefruit Biscotti!

Chocolate, Ginger and Grapefruit Biscotti Recipe | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François

What a year it has been. It started with the launch of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. A project that I knew was a great concept, but had no idea that so many people would embrace it. Thank you all for the fabulous support and wonderful emails, pictures and thought provoking questions you’ve sent! Due to those inquiries and suggestions Jeff and I have embarked on our second book. This time we are focusing on breads made with whole grains and really healthy ingredients, that are still fast, easy and tasty! Even some gluten free breads. The book is due at the publisher in TWO days and we are working like crazy to get it in on time. It should be available next fall.

Of course, I need something to nibble on as I work on the book so I made my favorite biscotti. This is the one cookie that I can not keep my hands off of. I force myself to give some of them away so that I don’t eat the entire batch all by myself! 😉 Read More