Almost every weekend I bake something sweet and since today is Halloween I woke up with pumpkin on the brain! I decided to make a very simple spiced pumpkin loaf which I topped off with cinnamon whipped cream. It turned out delicious! Here’s the recipe:

Spiced Pumpkin Loaf

3/4 cups sugar

3/4 cup golden brown sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 medium sized eggs

1 cup canned solid pack pumpkin

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon …

Photo: Austin Irving for So Haute

Soft, buttery and full of lemon flavor, the classic French madeleine is one of my favorite sweet treats. When I was in college I was a hostess at an restaurant in Chicago called one sixtyblue. After the check was presented to a table there, each guest was served a single madeleine on a tiny white plate compliments of the pastry chef. The madeleines were plentiful so every single night I worked I would sneak off to the kitchen at least once to devour a few. And so began my love affair with this delicious, …

This past weekend it was incredibly hot outside which had me craving a glass of cool, refreshing strawberry lemonade! I made a pitcher on Saturday and it was delicious. The ingredients are simple. All you need are lemons, strawberries, sugar and water. The recipe is super simple too.

Nicole’s Sweet Summer Strawberry Lemonade

5-6 large lemons

1 lb strawberries

5 cups cold water (approx)

A concoction of simple syrup made from 1 1/2 cups sugar dissolved into 1 cup of warm water.

Note: The pitcher I use holds approx 80 oz so you can adjust the recipe based on …