Petite Insanities

Ahhhhhh! Donuts are my weakness ! (and it doesn't help that they are my husband's too!) Another thing that I love more than anything... HOT PINK ! So what's better than Hot Pink Vanilla Bean Cake Donuts!? Um... I don't think anything... !!!!! This recipe has a very close consistency to actual cake so they pretty much melt in your mouth. So light and airy and super yummy! Cake Ingredients 3/4 cup flour 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 vanilla bean (scraped) 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp baking soda 3 egg yolks 3 egg whites 1 tsp vanilla extract 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1/4 cup water Cake Instructions Preheat oven to 325F and grease your donut pan with cooking spray. Combine all dry ingredients and vanilla bean. Mix thoroughly making sure the vanilla bean is evenly distributed. In another bowl, mix egg yolks, vegetable oil, water and vanilla extract. Slowly add the dry ingredient mixture to the egg mixture and beat until smooth. Set aside. Beat the e...

We're staying true to summer over here in LA... (it's not over yet!!! )... so we had to share our super easy Raspberry Preserve Vanilla Ice Cream recipe! When I say easy, I mean easy ! Not to mention so subtly delicious too! I used my airy Vanilla Ice Cream recipe as a base and then added some flair! Ingredients 2 cups heavy whipping cream 2 cups milk 3/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup raspberry preserves 2 cups chocolate chips (optional) 2 teaspoons vanilla flavor pinch of salt Instructions Mix cream, milk, sugar, vanilla and salt together and stir until sugar completely dissolves. Pour into your ice cream maker and mix for about 30 minutes or until you reach your desired consistency. Slowly add in the raspberry preserves so they don't freeze in too large of clumps. Slowly melt the chocolate chips in the microwave. Tip: Small time increments with lots of stirring in-between works best and keeps the chips from burning. D rizzle chocolate into the churning ice cream maker...

What's better than a sugar cone topped with your favorite ice cream? ... A CHOCOLATE-DIPPED sugar cone topped with your favorite ice cream!!! This is the easiest recipe to add a little fun (and some awesome flavor) to your dessert. Even better, the possibilities are endless! Sprinkles, chopped nuts, peppermint chips (for the holidays!) or just straight up chocolate goodness, it's all good! Ingredients 6 sugar cones 2 cups chocolate chips 1 cup chopped pistachios 1 cup chopped almonds rainbow sprinkles Chop all of your nuts ahead of time. I use my trusted Slap Chop (those infomercials are amazing ). Slowly melt the chocolate chips in the microwave. Tip: Small time increments with lots of stirring in-between works best and keeps the chips from burning. Dip cones in chocolate and shake off all excess. Tip: Try to remove the chocolate from the inside of the cone to avoid it ultimately being super hard to bite into. Hold cone over a bowl and sprinkle with nuts...

Yes... you read that right! BIRTHDAY. CAKE. PANCAKES!!! These are crazy delicious and crazy sweet ! Perfect for my hubby who loves all things Birthday cake. I stumbled upon the original recipe awhile back and knew I had to make these for his Birthday. We made them together and changed it up a bit to create what we think is the best Birthday concoction EVER! Cake Ingredients 1 1/2 cups flour 2/3 cup yellow cake mix 1 1/2 cups milk 1/2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp vanilla 2 eggs pinch of salt rainbow bead sprinkles Combine flour, cake mix, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Add milk, egg and vanilla and mix with a fork until smooth. TIP : you might want to start with only half the milk and gradually add the rest as needed to make sure the batter doesn't become too runny. Different cake mixes vary in moisture. Sprinkle in the rainbow sprinkles and swirl them into the batter. Heat a pancake skillet over medium heat on the stove with a touch of butter so the batter doesn...

Ok, this is seriously the yummiest smoothie and the perfect breakfast for anyone on the go. I kind of stole this recipe from my favorite downtown LA juice and smoothie joint: Kashi Deli Cafe . It's their "Morning Boost Smoothie" and it's crazy delicious! The bonus... it's completely dairy free!! Ingredients 2(ish) cups almond milk 1 medium banana 1/2 cup oats 1 tbs agave 2 tsp cinnamon crushed ice Instructions Blend all ingredients in a mixer or bullet until creamy. Note: I usually don't measure my ingredients out, I just kind of throw them all together so if you want more cinnamon or less agave or whatever, the sky is the limit! These smoothies totally remind me of cinnamon toast crunch (my favorite cereal) or cinnamon oatmeal. Creamy, sweet, healthy and delicious! Enjoy! xo Sécia Check out our other recipes here ! F O L L O W   U S   O N   I N S T A G R A M   ::    @seciasophia

What's better than root beer floats?! Root beer float popsicles, of course! We're on a roll over here making popsicles left and right! Since I've posted two healthy popsicle recipes, I think it's time for something a little sweeter and these babies are certainly sweet! They're also the easiest popsicles on the planet to make! Ingredients A bottle of your favorite root beer A pint of your favorite vanilla ice cream (I used my lightest, fluffiest vanilla ice cream ever!) Instructions Place root beer in the freezer for 5-10 minutes so it doesn't melt the ice cream too quickly. Pour root beer into molds about 1/3 full. Layer spoonfuls of ice cream with more root beer until the molds are full. Mix it all up a bit: It's gonna get foamy! Place lid on mold and insert the sticks. Now, they're going to bounce right back up at you so I just tape them down in place with scotch tape. I've also read that if you boil the sticks in water for 30 min ...

Anybody near the west coast can tell you that we had one hell of a heat wave this past weekend so what better way to stay cool than ice cold popsicles! Added bonus... they're super healthy too! All fresh, natural ingredients but still taste like your satisfying that sweet craving. Ingredients 1 1/2 cups strawberries 1 1/2 cups mango Handful of blueberries 2 tsp chia seeds 2 1/2 cups coconut water Instructions Puree the strawberries, half of the coconut water and 1 tsp of the chia seeds in a food processor or blender. In a separate container, puree the mango, the rest of the coconut water and the remaining 1 tsp of the chia seeds (I like leaving the mango a little chunky because it's so yummy frozen). Spoon in layers of each into the molds and sprinkle in the blueberries as you go. Insert sticks and freeze for at least 3 hours. Run or dip molds in warm water to loosen the popsicles. That's it! So easy and sooooo delicious! The base recipe I used recommen...

Ok, these are seriously the prettiest edible things that I have ever created and they’re really yummy too! I found the recipe on the prettiest blog :: Le Zoe Musings (her photos are beautiful). Super easy to make with a standard popsicle mold (it was my first time making popsicles so there was a bit of a learning curve). I used the Norpro Ice Pop Maker from Amazon and I like it.  Ingredients Vanilla yogurt Strawberries Blueberries Kiwi Mango (a must cause it’s so sweet!) Granola Honey Instructions Layer vanilla yogurt with fruit and finish with some granola and honey drizzled on top so it sticks. Freeze overnight if you can (I did 3 hours and that was almost enough). Run under warm water to wiggle them out of the molds. Easy, right?! A couple of fun facts I learned: 1. Put the sticks in after the lid… yeah, I’m dumb. 2. Next time I want to add more granola. So good! 3. Make sure they’re totally frozen. I had a few where the stick came out w...

We're back with another favorite spot in our Brunch Love series :: Lavender & Honey Espresso Bar . This is the cutest, little coffee shop in Pasadena and they have such a yummy twist... a toast bar ! These toasts are incredible! It's so hard to pick a favorite (and honestly, you don't have to... I just get more than one!). If you're looking for a light brunch treat then this is the place. The coffee is delish too (and oh so pretty). I'm dying to try their hot chocolate bar but there are so many yummy flavors, I can never choose! We love a good frozen hot chocolate and guess what... THEY HAVE ONE! Can't wait to go back and keep trying new treats! L&H date anyone?! xo Sécia LOCATION & HOURS Lavender & Honey Espresso Bar 1383 E. Washington Blvd. Pasadena, CA 91104 Monday - Saturday: 7AM - 5PM Sunday: 8AM - 4PM Check out more from our Brunch Love series  here ! F O L L O W   U S   O N   I N S T A G R A M   ::  ...

These gluten free chocolate chip cookies are insane! For years, this has been my trademark recipe but one of my besties is allergic to gluten so I thought I'd mix it up and try this new version so she can enjoy the yummy goodness too. Guess what happened... they are even BETTER! Ingredients 2 1/4 cups oat flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 2 sticks melted unsalted butter 3/4 cup sugar 3/4 cup brown sugar 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 2 large eggs 2 cups chocolate chips Instructions Combine the flour and baking soda in a bowl and mix together. Combine the melted butter with the sugars, vanilla and salt. Mix in the eggs. Stir in the flour mixture just until all of the dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in the chocolate chips.  Let the dough rest in the fridge for 2 hours or even overnight. Preheat ...

Ben and I are constantly on the hunt for the best donuts we can find and it's safe to say that Donut Friend is our very, VERY favorite joint.  Yeah, yeah... I know that donuts are not technically brunch but my response to that is SAYS WHO?!  We think they deserve a spot in our Brunch Love series  because, well, donuts. Good enough for me! DIY donuts. Super fresh donuts. Guten-free, vegan donuts. Need I say more?! We are obsessed with these yummy babies and it is seriously so difficult to pick a favorite so I think we've developed a pretty good system: We get a four-pack (or a six-pack if we're really hungry) between the two of us and that way we can just take bites of everything! So yeah... we think Donut Friend is worth the Brunch Love stamp of approval. In fact, I'm craving them like crazy ever since I started writing this post so... see ya later, I'm off to get my fix! In case you were wondering, our favorites are :::  Husker Blu...

If you follow me on Instagram , you'll know I've been obsessed with pineapples lately. They're just so fun to photograph (AND EAT!!!) and are such strange-looking fruit, right?! If you haven't juiced one yet, you are so missing out. Fun fact: they're also amazing juiced with carrots, apples and ginger. SO GOOD! They go really yummy with watermelon too! What's your favorite juice combination? xo Sécia F O L L O W   U S   O N   I N S T A G R A M   ::    @seciasophia

Three words... Breakfast. All. Day. YES! We've been enjoying breakfast/brunch/lunch at Blu Jam Cafe for years and there's a reason we keep visiting... and revisiting: the atmosphere is chill, the staff is awesome and the food is amazing every single time. They have three locations in the Los Angeles area but we're valley livin' so the Sherman Oaks branch is our spot. Daniel, the sweetest most friendly general manager ever, often stops by the table to say hello and chat and we always leave with a smile.  Mmmm... french press coffee. I almost always get one of the many varieties of the eggs Benedict but this time I wanted to try something new (AND SWEET!) so I went for their signature dish, Crunchy French Toast. The not-so-secret secret - they roll it in corn flakes to give it a unique crunch AND it doesn't come with your average maple syrup... It comes with the yummiest vanilla bean sauce ever! SO GOOD! Ben got the Migas which, as you can see, ar...