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Sweet Life: June 2025 🍓
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🍰 Hello Baking Buddy! 🍰 As we welcome the summer vibes of June, this edition of “Sweet Life” includes my favorite fruits and flavors to kick off summer in all the best ways. Summertime feels like a “new beginning” because in many ways it gives us a fresh start, especially if you’re a student, new graduate, teacher or faculty finishing up the school year. Summer gives us more time to spend with our kids (or grandkids), and longer daylight hours to spend time outdoors. I wanted to take a moment to remind you how beneficial it is to carve out time to teach your kids how to bake. Baking is a sensory experience for children and helps teach valuable lessons in math, science, and patience! Plus, who doesn’t love projects where the reward for finishing it successfully is a delicious treat? Here are a few of my favorite things to bake with littles: Thanks for reading! I hope you have a lovely summer filled with friends, family, good times, and great food. Cheers, Stephanie Gonzalez What's Inside:
🍓 Berry Perfect SummerLiving in Minnesota, June brings us the peak of locally grown strawberries. Our family tradition is heading out to a local strawberry field in early June and picking 30-50 pounds of fresh strawberries by hand. I freeze most of them for smoothies throughout the year and make a few jars of strawberry jam too. I’ve handpicked a few of my favorite easy recipes to make with fresh strawberries. 🍓 Strawberry Shortcakes are like a strawberry and whipped cream sandwich. YES PLEASE! 🍓 Strawberry Sorbet is a quick and easy dessert. Blend all ingredients and freeze. Make them with frozen strawberries for the perfect texture. 🍓 Strawberry White Chocolate Blondies are the perfect dessert treat for my chocolate covered strawberry fans. They are beautiful, fudgy, and delicious. 🍓 Quick & Easy Strawberry Mousse is light, creamy, perfectly pink, and makes an incredible fancy dessert even though it takes just 10 minutes to make. It’s also fantastic for parties! 🍓 Strawberry Gin Refresher is an adults only cocktail made with fresh strawberry juice. If you have a juicer, this recipe should be on your list of summer cocktails. If you don't have a juicer, pureed fresh strawberries in a blender works well too. Easily make it a mocktail by omitting gin and using twice the club soda or sparkling water instead. 🍓 Need more inspiration? Here are all of my favorite strawberry recipes to choose from! 🌱 Rhubarb SeasonIn the midwest, Rhubarb is kind of a big deal. It grows in backyards everywhere and appears in all kinds of sweet and savory dishes. Most people think it's a fruit, but it is in fact a very tart vegetable. Here are a few of my favorite ways to enjoy rhubarb: Strawberry Rhubarb Curd Tart made with a blend of strawberries and rhubarb for the perfect creamy, fruity curd filling. Quick Pickled Rhubarb pairs perfectly with my Avocado Farro Salad. It's something I make every year because my husband is obsessed with it. Rhubarb Upside Down Cake is made with mascarpone cheese and cardamom. It's simple, elegant, and delicious with a caramelized rhubarb topping that gets created during the baking process. Frozen Rhubarb Slush (recipe from Platter Talk) only has a few ingredients and makes the most delicious drink for rhubarb season! It can be spiked easily too if that's your thing. 🌈 Pride MonthIf you celebrate Pride Month, try these treats as colorful as the rainbow. Whether you’re hosting a party or just bringing a smile to someone’s day, these recipes are perfect for showing your support and love. ❤️ Rainbow Fruit Pizza 🍩 Sweet National Days in June
👔 Celebrate Dad! 💙Sunday, June 15th is Father’s Day in the U.S. and I’ve compiled a few dad-approved treats that are sure to impress. There’s no better way to show love than with a homemade sweet (or cocktail) made from the heart. Hopefully these recipes inspire you! 🍫 Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie is less sweet than classic pecan pie due to the reduced sugar and use of bittersweet chocolate. 🥃 Whiskey Sour Cocktail or an Old Fashioned. These are my husband's favorites and I've perfected them through the years. 🥛 Cookies and Cream Cupcakes filled with bits oreo cookies and a black cocoa frosting. 🍪 Rye Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies are made with rye flour. It has a slightly nutty, earthy flavor that is unique and flavorful. They’re crunchy on the outside yet still incredibly moist and chewy on the inside. 🍞 Tres Leches Bread Pudding is my dad’s favorite dessert, so of course I had to include it! I use a hint of orange and cinnamon to make this dessert over-the-top yummy in a subtle way. 👩🍳 Must-have Recipes from other Blogs I LoveAs always, I’m so thrilled to share my favorite recipes with you. Most often they are recipes I've created or tweaked in my own kitchen. But here are a few recipes you'll definitely want to try from other blogs that I love, too. 🥗 Simple Veggie Salad with Bowtie Pasta & Balsamic Vinaigrette from Plate in 28 is perfect for kids and customizable for picky eaters too! 🎨 BONUS: They also have a section of crafts and creative activities for you to do with your kids or grandkids this summer. 🐟 Greek Salmon Quinoa Bowl from Happy Honey Kitchen is always a fun way to use up fresh hummus we have in the fridge. It would work well with chicken or shrimp too! 🍋 Air Fryer Green Beans with Lemon & Parmesan from Killing Thyme are garlicky and delicious. Pair with almost anything all summer long. |
Sweet Life.
Monthly newsletter for anyone passionate about baking science! Join 4,200+ subscribers and expect dessert recipes, seasonal inspirations, and baking courses.
Meet your new favorite no-bake dessert in 3 different delicious base flavors! If you’ve never made panna cotta before, you’re in for a treat. This classic Italian dessert is silky-smooth, incredibly easy, and always impresses. I’ve got three no-fail panna cotta recipes for you to try: ✨ Vanilla Bean – the classic recipe with specks of real vanilla bean if you choose 🍫 Chocolate – rich, creamy, lightly chocolatey and oh-so-satisfying ☕ Coffee – the perfect pick-me-up with dessert-level...
Ever wonder what yogurt actually does in your baked goods? The short answer: moisture, tang, and tenderness. 🥣 Why Bake with Yogurt? Yogurt pulls double (okay—triple) duty in your bakes: Fat for richness and softness Moisture to keep things tender Acidity to activate baking soda and create a better rise and lighter crumb It’s perfect for muffins, cakes, quick breads, and even pancakes! 🔁 Need to substitute? No problem. Here’s a quick list for yogurt swaps. Instead of Yogurt, Use: Sour Cream:...
Hey Reader! Say hello to our new favorite summer salad! 🌞💚 This Shaved Asparagus Salad is light, lemony, and full of flavor—no cooking required. After foraging for wild asparagus in our local area this past month, we've come home with almost 20 pounds (9 kg) of fresh asparagus. So naturally I started searching for recipes online that would help me use up my harvest. While we ended up blanching and freezing most of our asparagus for use later in the year, we added it to quiche and pickled some...