Savoury Herb Loaf w/ Homemade Mascarpone

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 eggs

1 3/4 cup flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tbsp. sugar

1 tbsp. salt

3/4 cup potatoes, mashed

2 tbsp. creme friache

1 cup Balderson's cheddar, shredded

1/2 cup fresh dill, chopped

1/4 cup chives, chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

Make mascarpone the night before you make the loaf. See mascarpone for directions.

Peel and chop potatoes into quarters. In a pot bring water to a boil and cook potatoes for roughly 10 minutes or until soft inside. Drain and set aside.

In a largel bowl mix eggs, butter, salt and sugar. Mix well.

In a separate small bowl mix flour and baking soda. Add to wet mixture. Combine until the dry ingredients soaks up the wet ingredients and makes a doughy texture.

Once the potatoes have cooled mash them in a small bowl. Add creme friache and add to the dough mixture. Mix well.

Add garlic, dill, chives and cheddar to the mixture. It might be easier to mix ingredients by hand. It should be doughy and oily enough so that it won't stick to your hands.

Put the mixture in a greased loaf or baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for roughly 50 minutes or until cooked on the inside. When checking with a skewer allow for some moisture.

Strawberry Rhubarb Banana Loaf

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/4 cup milk

1 3/4 cup flour

1 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup banana, ripened

1 cup frozen strawberries, thawed and pureed

1 1/2 cups frozen rhubarb chunks, thawed

Method

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

In medium size bowl mix sugar, butter, milk, vanilla and eggs.

In a separate bowl mix flour, salt, baking soda and powder.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and blend by hand until thoroughly mixed to create a doughy texture.

Puree the banana and strawberries together. Add and mix thoroughly.

Once the rhubarb has thawed chop some of the bigger pieces. Gently fold into the mixture.

Grease the pans before adding the mix. Fill to the brim a give the loaf a larger top.

Bake for 50 minutes, or poke with a skewer, allowing for some moisture.

Decorating the loaf

Let the loaves completely cool down and put the icing in the fridge to stiffen it.

Draw out a snowflake with the icing. I made my own stencil to create a general outline, then added more detail and structure free-hand.

If it looks messy, use a skewer to shape the icing however you want, removing any excess.

I put edible pearls from William Sonoma on the tips of the snowflake, and added the pecans as the centre point.

Let cool before packaging so the icing doesn't smear.

Blueberry Pumpkin Banana Loaf

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup banana, ripened

1/4 cup milk

1 3/4 cup flour

1 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 cup frozen blueberries, thawed

Maple roasted pecans

1 cup pecan halves

1/8 cup pure maple syrup

1/2 tsp. salt

Method

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

Rinse the pecans and pat them dry.

In a small bowl mix all of the ingredients until all pecans are covered.

On a greased pan evenly spread out the mixture.

Bake for 10 minutes, stirring often.

Rinse the bowl and keep it wet. Put the roasted pecans back in the bowl and stir often to prevent sticking. Let cool.

The Loaf

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

In medium size bowl mix sugar, butter, milk, vanilla and eggs.

In a separate bowl mix flour, salt, baking soda and powder.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and blend by hand until thoroughly mixed to create a doughy texture.

Puree the banana and add it to the mixture along with the pumpkin. Mix thoroughly.

Slowly add the blueberries and gently fold them into the mixture.

Grease the pan before adding the mix. Fill to the brim a give the loaf a larger top.

Bake for 50 minutes, or poke with a skewer, allowing for some moisture.

Cream cheese icing

2 pkgs. cream cheese

1/4 cup butter

2 tsp. vanilla

1 lbs. icing sugar

Black food colouring

Method

In a food processor blend cream cheese, butter, vanilla, gradually adding the icing sugar.

Take 1 cup of the icing and place in a small bowl.

Add approximately half of a teaspoon of food colouring and stir until the icing is completely black.

Decorating the loaf

Let the loaves completely cool down and put the icing in the fridge to stiffen it.

Add the icing to icing bags and cut a very small hole at its end. Create a spider web design with the white icing.

To place the pecans, make a large dot of black icing, and create legs with the black icing.