where design + flavor intersect
 This cake is so tender and luscious (and secretly healthier!) thanks to olive oil and nonfat yogurt. My taste-testers went wild over it: “Incredible!” “Phenomenal!”
The gorgeous pink icing is achieved naturally from blood orange juice! Things to Note:
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 I perfected this recipe so it'd have all my fave granola characteristics: the granola clusters we all crave, equal parts sweet and savory, crunchy but not tooth-cracking hard...and customizable! I've found that making this granola base, and then customizing with mix-ins later (when you serve) is the perfect solution because:
 There are a ton of variations on baked french toast out there, but I was inspired by Sam's version because of its decorative design, and the addition of fruit. I love fruit with my french toast, and normally just throw some on the plate before serving. So, I was excited to see how the fruit and french toast would bake up together.
I love how this dish can be made the night before. I felt so accomplished when I woke up the next morning. It was like I checked something off my to-do list before i even got out of bed. I made some adjustments...my challah was BIG, so I doubled the eggs to six, and used heavy cream. whenever I make panfried french toast, I normally use half & half or heavy cream, so I figured it should be ok. decadent, but ok. :-) I used a 10" round baking dish with 1.5" sides. You can use whatever shape dish or pan you have on hand, but the key is that the sides are at least 1.5" high to contain the liquid. 2" would be even better. But to be safe, you could place the baking dish on a baking sheet to catch any overflow. i didn't have any overflow, but it's better to be safe than sorry... no fun cleaning the oven... so use the pan. :-) If you use another shape dish/pan, simply adjust the arrangement accordingly. Any extra slices can be baked in a separate dish, or panfried. Maybe you'll come up with an even cooler design! I had so much fun creating and constructing this. I felt like a sculptor, because the challah is very malleable once it’s coated in the egg mixture. People, I couldn't wait to snap the final pic so I could dig in. The fresh-baked aroma was driving me absolutely wild. a drizzle of maple syrup, a dusting of powdered sugar and wowwww. This is like a pillowy heaven of lusciousness. 
Yield: about 3 dozen 2” sandwich cookies
Ingredients: 8 oz. unsalted butter, room temperature 3/4 cup granulated sugar 1 tsp. almond extract 3/4 tsp. salt 1 egg, room temperature 1 cup almond meal (I use Trader Joe’s. If you can’t find this in your store, grind roasted almonds in a food processor until finely ground.) 3 cups flour 1/2 cup powdered sugar 1 cup jam, or filling of choice
Yield: About 3 dozen 2.5" cookies
Dough Ingredients: 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened 2/3 cup sugar 1 egg 1/4 teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon salt 1 tbsp lemon extract zest of one lemon 2 tbsp poppy seeds 2.75-3 cups all-purpose flour Icing Ingredients: 2 cups confectioners' sugar 6-7 tbsp lemon juice (about two lemons) 4 tsp meringue powder (optional—use if you want icing to firm up completely, which is a good idea for presentation purposes if you plan to gift them. i like Wilton) Toppings: 2 tbsp poppy seeds zest of one lemon, air-dried completely |
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