Just a little.  I do love experimenting in the kitchen, and these are some of my creations.

Ingredients: 

Notes: You can substitute vegetable oil for the walnut oil. The walnut oil gives it more flavor.

For the cake: 

• 2 cups flour
• ½ cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder 
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½  teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon ground cardamom 
• ½ teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ cup walnut oil
• ½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 3 eggs 
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 cup fig preserves
• ½ cup chopped walnuts
• 1.5- 2 cups fresh figs, sliced 
• ½ cup drunken raisins (optional) 

For the glaze:

• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup buttermilk
• ½ cup butter
• ½ teaspoon baking soda 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a tube pan.
2. In a large bowl, sift together flour baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices.
3. In a separate bowl, beat softened butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
4. Add eggs, one at a time, beat well after each egg.
5. Combine buttermilk and vanilla.
6. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to the egg mixture, mix well.
7. Add walnuts, fig preserves and raisins (if using). Mix until just combined.
8. Spoon into a greased and floured tube pan, smooth out the top.
9. Bake at 350 F for about 1 hour and 15 minutes.  
10. Top with powdered sugar or pour buttermilk glaze over cake while still warm.
11. Garnish with fresh figs. 

Glaze Preparation:

1. Place all ingredients except vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat.
2. Whisking constantly, bring to a boil.
3. Boil 5-6 minutes until sauce starts to thicken.
4. Add vanilla.
5. Poke holes in the top of the cake and pour over cake. 

Ingredients:

For the pie: 

• Pastry for a single crust pie (9 inches)
• 1 ¼ cup sugar, divided
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup mashed sweet potatoes
• ¾ cup buttermilk
• ¼ cup butter, melted 
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp maple flavoring
• ¼ tsp ground cloves

For the Maple Praline Sauce:

• ½ cup butter, cubed
• ½ cup chopped pecans
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp maple flavoring
• ¼ cup sour cream

Preparation: 

1. Line a 9 inch deep dish pie plate with pastry; trim and flute edges. 
2. In a small bowl, combine ½ cup sugar, pecans, and cinnamon; sprinkle evenly into pastry shell. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, sweet potatoes, buttermilk, butter, syrup, maple flavoring, cloves, and remaining sugar. Pour over pecan layer. 
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 60-70 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Cover edges with foil during the last 15 minutes to prevent overbrowning if necessary. Cool on wire rack.

Sauce Preparation:

1. In a small heavy skillet, melt butter. Add pecans; cook over medium heat until toasted, about 4 minutes. 
2. Add the sugar, syrup, and maple flavoring; cook and stir for 2-4 minutes or until sugar is dissolved. 
3. Remove from the heat; stir in sour cream. Serve with pie.

Yield: 4 Servings

  Ingredients:

• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ½ can sweetened condensed milk
• ½ cup milk
• 1 egg
• 2 egg yolk
• 1 tsp almond extract or almond liqueur
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp lemon zest

Preparation:

1. In a small saucepan melt sugar over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until sugar is a dark, caramel-colored liquid. Remove from heat and pour into a 2 cup metal ring mold or 4 individual molds. Quickly turn mold to coat bottom and sides with the caramel. Let cool so caramel hardens. 
2. Heat oven to 325 degrees.
3. Put the condensed milk, milk, egg, egg yolks, flavoring, and zest into an electric blender. Cover and blend to mix well. Pour mixture into mold; put mold in a larger pan filled with water to depth of 1/2 inch. Bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven and remove mold from water. Cool and then refrigerate up to 2 days.
4. Dip mold into hot water, cover mold with an inverted serving platter. Hold mold and platter together and turn them over. Lift off mold. Caramel will fall as a liquid sauce over the custard. 

  Yield: 3 dozen 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter (2 sticks)
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 cups cake flour
• Rinds of 3 lemons, finely grated
• Powdered sugar

Recipe:

1. In a large bowl, beat butter well. Add sugar gradually and beat well.
2. Add flour, ½ cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add rind; mix well.
3. Divide dough in half and roll into logs about 1 ½ inches in diameter. Roll each log in powdered sugar. Wrap in waxed paper and chill until firm. If baking later, freeze shaped dough and defrost slightly before baking.
4. Preheat oven to 300 degrees
5. Slice dough ¼ inch thick. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 30 minutes, or until edges are golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to a week, or freeze up to a month. 

 Gluten Free

Ingredients:

For the cake: 

• 4 eggs, separated
• Zest of 2 limes (you can use lemons if you prefer)
• ½ cup Turbinado (Sugar in the Raw) sugar (you can use white sugar)
• 2 Tbsp Turbinado sugar (you can use white sugar)
• 1 ½ cups Almond Flour (not Almond Meal) 
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt 
• 1/8 tsp cream of tartar

For the glaze (optional):

• Juice from two limes ~ ¼ cup
• 1 cup Powdered Sugar 
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract

To make the cake: 

Preheat oven to 350 F, and then prepare an 8 inch spring form pan:

                       · Grease and flour (using almond flour) the pan

                       · Cut a round of parchment paper for the bottom

                       · Grease and flour (using almond flour) the parchment

1. Place Almond flour, salt and baking powder into a large bowl, whisk until well mixed.
2. Place egg yolks and egg whites into separate bowls.
3. Add ½ cup sugar and lime zest to egg yolks and whisk until well blended. Set aside.
4.  Add cream of tartar to egg whites and beat until foamy.  Add remaining 2 TBSP sugar and beat until stiff peaks are formed.
5. Add egg yolk mixture to flour mixture and mix until well blended.
6.  Add 1/3 of egg whites to lighten the dough.
7. Fold in remaining egg whites, careful not to deflate the whites. Scrape into prepared pan and smooth the top.
8.  Bake in 350 degree F oven 25-30 mins, until toothpick comes out clean and edges of cake pull away from sides of the pan
9. Cool 10 minutes in pan and then remove rim.
10. Allow to cool completely, then sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve. It is good with fresh berries. 

To make the glaze: 

I usually make a glaze with the juice from the limes (but this is optional). When cake has cooled, whisk ingredients together until smooth and pour over cake.  

 Ingredients: 

For the cake: 

• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp cloves
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp allspice
• 3 eggs
• ¾ cup vegetable oil
• ¼ cup pecan oil
• 1 Tbsp Pecan Praline Liqueur
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 ½ cups chopped prunes
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• Powdered sugar, for garnish

For the glaze:

• ½ cup brown sugar, packed
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 2 Tbsp butter
• ½ cup buttermilk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp Pecan Praline Liqueur 

1. Preheat oven 350.  Grease and flour Bundt pan. 
2. Combine sugars, flour, baking powder and spices in large bowl.
3. Add eggs, oils, vanilla, praline liqueur, prunes and mix well. Stir in pecans. Pour into cake pan and bake 40 minutes.
4. About 5 mins before cake is done, combine all glaze ingredients in a saucepan and cook and stir  over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Boil 3 minutes - stirring to keep it from bubbling over.
5. When cake is done remove from oven and poke holes in the bottom of the cake using a skewer or toothpick. Pour half the glaze over the cake. Allow to cool 8- 10 minutes, then turn out onto plate. Poke holes in the top of the cake and slowly  pour remaining glaze over the cake. 
6.  When cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar. 

 Ingredients: 

• 7/8 cup flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup sugar
• 7 Tbsp cocoa
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 2/3 cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp dark corn syrup
• 1 cup nuts
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven 350.   
2. Beat butter, sugar and vanilla until creamy.
3. Beat eggs into creamed mixture.
4. Combine with dry ingredients (except nuts and  chocolate chips) until blended.
5. Stir in nuts and chocolate chips. 
6. Pour in square 8x8 pan
7. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes.