Today felt like one of those kitchen adventures where you fall down a rabbit hole just trying to answer a simple question. Started when my niece asked: “What desserts begin with R?” My brain froze after “raspberry tart” and “rice pudding.” So I put on my apron and dug in.
The Grocery Hunt
Hit three stores looking for R ingredients. First stop, the fruit aisle: grabbed raspberries and rhubarb, even though rhubarb looks like pink celery. Produce guy laughed when I asked if he had rambutan – said it’d take a miracle to find it fresh here. Grabbed red currant jam as backup.
Trial & Error Time
Made a sticky mess trying to recreate that rum cake from my honeymoon. Forgot rum soaks into cake like a sponge. Poured half a bottle over layers that instantly turned soggy – had to start over. Second batch: brushed lightly while singing sea shanties for luck. Tasted like victory.
Next disaster: rolled rugelach dough too thick. First batch came out like hockey pucks. Thinned it to credit-card width for the next try. Mixed walnuts, cinnamon, and that jam into crescent rolls. Crispy, flaky heaven.
The Final Five
After burning two rhubarb crisps (note: never multitask while caramelizing), here’s what worked:
- Rum Cake with caramelized pineapple chunks
- Rugelach with red currant surprise inside
- Raspberry Sorbet (blended frozen berries + lemon)
- Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies using leftover beet juice
- Rhubarb Crisp with ginger crumble topping
Lesson learned: Red velvet anything stains shirts forever, and rhubarb makes your teeth tingle weirdly. My niece ranked ’em all 10/10 though – even licked the rum cake plate clean. Might try rosewater macarons next… if I survive the sugar coma.
