Baking

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  Blog

• Stunning cured salmon Christmas dish

  Sarah

  14 Nov 2009 | 3:34 am

  I tried this dish last Christmas when my future Father - in - law made it and I loved it so much that I resolved to make it too. The recipe has sat open beside my bed for the best part of a year now and when we decided that I was going to do a birthday meal for my Dad, it was the first thing I thought of.  My first problem was how was I going to get a hold of a really fresh side of salmon living in the midlands, but surprisingly the local large supermarket came up with the goods.  The recipe is surprisingly easy, requiring you to throw the marinade ingredients together and rub on…

• Cakes, cakes, cakes

  Sarah

  14 Nov 2009 | 3:25 am

  I've been doing a few cakes recently so here is a photo of the one of the car cakes I did which was a little more successful than the first attempt. I've got one or two more coming up plus I'm going to have a practice at making my wedding cupcakes. Any tips welcome!    

• Better late than never!

  Sarah

  29 Oct 2009 | 4:08 pm

  Ok so I haven't got my daring baker post done on time but I've been a busy little bee recently. I've been making cakes, damson gin, working and doing wedding preparation etc! I was quite keen to do this recipe though as anything with almonds in it is basically food of the gods and we were having a leaving lunch in work for a colleague going on maternity leave and I thought this was appropriate.  As I have been rather busy organising presents for the departing colleague and doing a cake for the same day I needed to have made the macaroons for the lunch, it was a bit of a rushed affair.

• Daring Baker Squid Pho

  Sarah

  14 Oct 2009 | 12:43 pm

  Last minute as usual for the daring Kitchen challenge! I completely forgot to take it into consideration when I sat down to write my weeks menu so I had to shoe horn it in somewhere. I was already having chicken in the week but I remembered I had some frozen squid in the fridge and thought it would be a good addition to an aromatic broth. I have tried to make similar recipes before but usually go for the make something up without a recipe route and it hasn't always been that successful. This time I was glad to have some guidance as the resulting stock was delicious and will be one I will make…

• Daring Cook Indian Dosas

  Sarah

  14 Sep 2009 | 10:53 am

  As I'm a bit light on the pocket money situation I thought this nice recipe wouldn't break the bank too much. I like Indian food and do make it from scratch reasonably often, one of my favourite books is Anjum Anand's book "Anjum's new indian". It's also quite healthy, which is what I need after a week on holiday indulging myself. I haven't made dosas before but I'll try anything once, with regards to food that is ;-). The recipe was a little labour intensive, especially the coconut wrestling, and the pancakes took quite a few goes to get them right but they turned out very tasty in the end.

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  Baker's Hours

• A Weekend Unplugged

  NctrnlBst

  10 Nov 2009 | 6:03 am

  It’s been a particularly busy couple of weeks for me. After coming back from Blog World, I went straight into getting ready for the [re]Think Hawaii and Tedx Honolulu Conferences. Although I enjoyed the sessions and networking, I approached the end of the week slightly brain fried. Thankfully, I had just the thing lined up for the weekend. Prior to [re]Think I was fortunate enough to be invited to an “Unplugged” weekend at the newly renovated Hotel Molokai by Aqua Hotel’s Director of Internet Strategy, Amber Watt (@Tiabla on twitter). Apparently Aqua had just arranged…

• Metromix: Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Local Style

  NctrnlBst

  4 Nov 2009 | 5:49 am

  Despite being at Blog World, I was still able to put together another gallery for Metromix.com. The idea for this gallery came about when Melissa, another free-lance food writer, told me that Guy Fieri was going to Murphy’s Bar and Grill. This drew an immediate reaction from me. As I say in this most recent gallery, nothing against Murphy’s, but it is not a diner, a drive-in, or a dive. I quickly pitched the idea to my editor, and now, here it is. Enjoy the fatty goodness! Song stuck in my head at the time of this post: Youth of the Nation by P.O.D.

• Review: Cirque du Soleil Beatles Love

  NctrnlBst

  21 Oct 2009 | 3:52 am

  When I was in Las Vegas for Blog World, I was fortunate enough to get a ticket to see Beatles Love by Cirque du Soleil. I had wanted to see this show on previous trips, but $93.50 was a little steep, and those are for cheep seats! Best in the house seats will run you $150 each. However, I was fortunate enough to find out about a special Blog World deal in which Cirque du Soleil offered free tickets to bloggers in exchange for an “honest review on your blog, podcast“. At risk of sounding toady, I think that this was a brilliant idea! What better advertising could you get than…

• Pictures from Blog World

  NctrnlBst

  16 Oct 2009 | 11:15 am

  Song stuck in my head at the time of this post: Road Runner by Chaka Demus & Pliers

• I’m Going To Blog World Expo!

  NctrnlBst

  14 Oct 2009 | 6:22 am

  That’s right, Vegas bound baby! I’m going to Blog World. A group of friends and I have been talking about going to one of the biggest blogging conferences in the world for months, but it was always sort of a pie in the sky aspiration. We all worked, so the chance that we wouldn’t be able to get the time off was always a factor. Then there was the money factor. At the time of this post, a Full Access Pass costs a wallet busting $1,195.00. Also throw in the fact that since April, my primary source of income has been a worker’s compensation check which is a meager…

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  Bakers' Banter

• One for the road: one-pan Cranberry Cake.

  PJ Hamel

  20 Nov 2009 | 4:15 am

  Psst! Here’s a quick-and-easy dessert for the Thanksgiving groaning board. And, since it’s served right from the pan it’s baked in, it’s incredibly easy to wrap and take to wherever your moveable feast is being held this year. We posted a blog on a berry-topped cake back in September. Now that Thanksgiving is upon us, it’s time to take that same recipe and substitute fresh cranberries for the raspberries. Take a look at our recipe for Late Summer Berry Torte. Make the following changes, and Bob’s your uncle: Thanksgiving Cranberry Cake. Spoon the batter…

• Sweet-tangy, chewy, delicious… and whole wheat. WHITE whole wheat.

  PJ Hamel

  18 Nov 2009 | 5:45 am

  Whoa! It’s not even Thanksgiving, and the parade of holiday goodies has begun. The eggnog French toast. The chocolate-dipped vanilla cookies. And that butter-pecan kringle… It may be time to add something a bit less disastrous to your dessert diet. (more…)

• Holiday cakes for the decorating-challenged baker: it’s all in the pan.

  PJ Hamel

  17 Nov 2009 | 8:43 am

  “Help!” That was the cry coming from my colleagues on King Arthur’s merchandising team yesterday. “We love these little bakers, but they’re only online, not in the catalogue; and no one is SEEING them! Could you…?” “Do a blog?” I finished the sentence for them. “Well, you KNOW I’m not one of those fussy bakers. Ummm…” (more…)

• Those three little words we love to hear… Fast. Easy. Chocolate.

  PJ Hamel

  16 Nov 2009 | 5:46 am

  Chocolate lovers rejoice – this one is SO for you. Feast your eyes on these cookies. See the chunks underneath that thin skin of satiny chocolate cookie? Break one of these babies open, and you’re met with pure chocolate bliss. Chocolate chips. Or chocolate chunks. Or our new chocolate-coffee chunks, semisweet chocolate mixed with finely ground coffee, which gives this confection a compelling, super-light crunchiness. Coffee chunks are my new best friend in the kitchen. And a perfect excuse to make these cookies. (more…)

• Tell us what you’re baking for Thanksgiving–

  PJ Hamel

  14 Nov 2009 | 8:45 am

  What’s the ONE thing you simply have to bake for Thanksgiving every year? You know, your signature dish; the pumpkin pie, or cranberry bread, or even the stuffing that everyone demands of you. You might get tired of making it - but show up at your brother-in-law’s without it, and I tell you, Mr. Man, you’re in deep… trouble. (more…)

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  Inkwatu

• 2009 St. Petersburg International Folk Fair photos

  Hilton Kean Jones

  14 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH FUNNEL CAKE SPIFFS (the St. Petersburg International Folk Fair Society — www.spiffs.org/) “is the only independent multiethnic organization of its kind in the United States. It was founded in 1975 as an umbrella organization of ethnic groups who joined together to present a festival during the US Bicentennial Celebration.” In addition to their annual Folk Fair–this years just concluded this past weekend–they provide a number of educational, entertainment, cultural pride, and translation services for the community through the following…

• Thai Orchids at St. Petersburg International Folk Fair 2009

  Hilton Kean Jones

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:30 am

  Click on any picture in this post for larger image. SPIFFS (www.spiffs.org/), the St. Petersburg International Folk Fair Society, is one of the beloved institutions of St. Pete. I’m honored to be their official photographer this year while their regular photographer is in the hospital. This year, the fair has been moved from the spring to the fall. It is open to the general public Saturday November 7, 2009, 10am-10pm and Sunday November 8, 2009, 11am-7pm. Admission $8.00 children under 12 free w/paid adult. I’m posting this article a day earlier than usual in hopes that those who…

• Pumpkins & Palm Trees

  Hilton Kean Jones

  31 Oct 2009 | 2:08 am

  Celebrating autumn and winter holidays down here in the semi-tropics is always a little unconvincing because the temperatures are still in the upper 80s to mid-90s. But, many here are transplants–temporary or permanent–from climates that have actual seasons so we bring our traditions with us. We even relish the dissonance of seeing a carved pumpkin next to a palm tree as in the photo above (be sure to click it for a better view). And, yes, we can grow pumpkins here. There are huge fields where you can go pick your own. But…you’re more likely to find a field of…

• LocalShops1.com

  Hilton Kean Jones

  24 Oct 2009 | 1:00 am

  ESTER VENOUZIOU, FOUNDER OF LOCALSHOPS1.COM The tagline of Inkwatu is “Delights, Near and Far.” Many of these delights are independently owned food establishments (restaurants or markets) with tasty food, pleasing ambiance, friendly staff, ethnic authenticity, inventive dishes, and reasonable prices. Some of these delights are activities, events, locations, artists, buildings, aspects of nature, books, and non-food businesses that grab me, that contribute to a sense of well-being, that make living fun. One of those delights is seeing local entrepreneurs with great ideas become…

• Jazzy’s BBQ

  Hilton Kean Jones

  17 Oct 2009 | 4:30 am

  OPEN HEARTH BBQ AT JAZZY’S There is a gold standard for barbecues: Leatha’s, in Hattiesburg, Mississippi (6374 U S Hwy 98; 601-271-6003). I had the privilege of tasting that standard when my Mississippi Cuzn Don treated me and part of his family to supper there. I got to experience, first hand, the prodigious memory of Miss Leatha’s daughter’s memory. She can take an order for a table of a dozen or more and repeat it back, properly assigned to each customer, in complete detail without writing it down, after only hearing it once. JAZZY’S BARBECUED RIBS But, the…

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  Andrea Meyers

• The Springpad Thanksgiving Menu Contest

  Andrea

  17 Nov 2009 | 4:03 pm

  Have you planned your Thanksgiving menu yet? I confess it’s just over a week away and and we are still finalizing the menu. Right now we know we are having turkey—we already have the turkey in hand—and some kind of rolls, the rest is still to be decided. We always have a hard time narrowing [...] Come visit www.andreasrecipes.com to read the full post.

• Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Pie with Whole Wheat Crust

  Andrea

  16 Nov 2009 | 9:11 am

  We did it. I can’t believe it’s true, but we planted two pecan trees in our yard. We spotted them at Lowe’s in late September and selected a Sumner Pecan and a Stuart Pecan. We are slightly north of the growing zone for the Sumner, but our area has mild winters so it should do [...] Come visit www.andreasrecipes.com to read the full post.

• Weekend Gardening: Transition from Summer to Winter

  Andrea

  15 Nov 2009 | 12:17 pm

  Summer to winter sounds like a big jump, and that’s how it felt around here for a couple weeks. We hit a cold snap in mid October that caught the garden and us by surprise. Daytime temperatures dropped into the 40s, and though we didn’t have a frost the tomato and pepper plants stopped production. [...] Come visit www.andreasrecipes.com to read the full post.

• Whole Wheat Pie Dough

  Andrea

  12 Nov 2009 | 3:33 pm

  Though we’ve had a few detours along the way, we remain committed to our resolution to use more whole grains in our baking, and pie dough was next on the list to change. I’ve tried a number of whole wheat pie dough recipes, and this is one of my favorites. The good folks at King [...] Come visit www.andreasrecipes.com to read the full post.

• Drop In & Decorate

  Andrea

  9 Nov 2009 | 7:00 am

  In December 2008 our family hosted our first Drop In & Decorate event in our home. We opened our house up to friends and neighbors, anyone who wanted to drop by and make one cookie or several cookies to donate to families in need during the holiday season. Our local moms group helped 17 families [...] Come visit www.andreasrecipes.com to read the full post.

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  Bake or Break

• Max Brenner’s Fudge Brownies

  jennifer

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:46 am

  View a printable recipe or more photos Recently, I was lucky enough to receive a copy of Max Brenner’s new book, Chocolate: A Love Story. Having enjoyed visiting one of his shops in New York, I was anxious to try out some recipes. Actually titled "A philosophical highly concentrated fudge brownie," this chocolate extravagance cried out from the book’s pages to be made as soon as possible. Who am I to argue?

• German Chocolate Cheesecake

  jennifer

  15 Oct 2009 | 10:15 am

  View and printable recipe or more photos I'm a little late with this, but I had to brag on my birthday cake. I think many bakers are left to make their own birthday cakes. I, however, have Quinn, who always comes through at the end of August.

• Chocolate Salted-Caramel Mini Cupcakes

  jennifer

  18 Sep 2009 | 2:50 pm

  View a printable recipe or more photos I could begin this post by apologizing for my blogging absence and giving you all the reasons that I've been on an unplanned hiatus, but after getting a good look at these cupcakes I'm sure you'd rather I get right to the business at hand. Chocolate cupcakes + salted caramel = incredibly good!

• Blueberry Crumb Cake

  jennifer

  31 Jul 2009 | 7:21 am

  View a printable recipe or more photos I found this recipe while flipping through Nick Malgieri's Perfect Cakes. He prefaces it by saying that he makes this cake about half a dozen times every summer. Knowing how much I have liked his recipes in the past, I did not hesitate to turn on the oven and get to baking.

• Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes

  jennifer

  25 Jun 2009 | 8:21 am

  View a printable recipe or more photos I’m not a huge fan of Oreos or, really, any kind of store-bought cookie. I have spoiled myself with the homemade variety. That being said, I am not the least bit hesitant to use store-bought cookies as an ingredient, like with these cheesecakes. The crust of these little treats is actually a whole Oreo, not crumbs. Leaving the cookie intact makes for a thick crust that gets nice and soft after they’ve baked and chilled. Topping off those Oreos is one of my favorite things – cheesecake. Of course, it wouldn’t meet the legal definition of a cookies…

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  The Fresh Loaf

• 66% Sourdough Rye

  ericb

  20 Nov 2009 | 6:54 pm

  Last night, I baked the 66% Sourdough rye in Hamelman's book. This is the highest percentage of rye I have ever worked with, so it was quite an experience. My favorite part about it is that it's a very fast bread to make. From the time I mixed all the ingredients together to the time I pulled the loaf from the oven, I think it was about 2 hours. The high percentage of rye requires very little proofing time, so this fits in nicely into a busy schedule. I found that shaping the loaves was a little tricky. I really wouldn't say that I "shaped" them in the traditional sense. It was more like…

• Poolish rolls

  KenK

  20 Nov 2009 | 6:50 pm

  I feel like I had a breakthrough with this evening's baking.  I've been reading Reinhart and Hammelman's books and studying all the things that have gone wrong over the past month and it kind of came together.  This was pretty standard baguette dough.  I made the Poolish with five ounces of flour and water and a pinch of yeast and let go for nine hours.  When I got home from work I added 15 ounces of flour and 8 1/2 ounces of water and a teaspoon of yeast and the salt. After rising and folding and rising; I formed them into eight, 4 1/4 ounce rolls My cutting needs…

• Today's sourdough bake

  OldWoodenSpoon

  20 Nov 2009 | 6:14 pm

  Flour, water, salt and 100% hydration sourdough starter... The loaves   The crumb   These taste great and the crumb is soft and tender.  The dough is 10% BRM Organic dark rye, and the rest is KAF All Purpose. I'll have to bake more though because I gave one to a neighbor, and we'll probably demolish the rest of the other tonight at dinner. OldWoodenSpoon

• Sour Flour Party

  SourFlour

  20 Nov 2009 | 4:41 pm

  Thanks to everyone on this site for providing such valuable ideas, thinking, photos, and advice on bread.  Much of what I have learned has come from these forums. I've recently quit my job, and am have formed Sour Flour, which gives away free bread and trains people to make bread.  We are having a party on November 29th in San Francisco, so I wanted to invite anyone who lives in area or wants to come.  The evite for the event is here http://bit.ly/2TVLdC. Thanks again for all the bread talk, and I look forward to joining in more conversations. Take care,Danny Paz…

• Hobart Mixer for Sale--10qt

  brownie

  20 Nov 2009 | 2:39 pm

  Hi All: I have a barely used 10-qt Hobart mixer, circa 1992.  I bought it originally for cookie baking, back when I was 10 and had my own small business and used it about 80 times a year for 4 years.  Since then, it's been used, literally, once a year.  $600 OBO You can contact me at claireb94@hotmail.com Thanks! Dan

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  Sugarlaws

• belgian waffles with nutella sauce

  katy

  16 Nov 2009 | 5:42 am

  The lovely thing about being married is that you suddenly have a kitchen full of every amazing tool and appliance you’ve ever dreamed of.  Among those, and one we were particularly excited about, is a belgian waffle-maker.  But what’s better than freshly made waffles first thing in the morning?  Freshly made waffles drizzled in nutella sauce, full of chocolate, hazlenut, sugary flavor.  You won’t think about maple syrup the same way ever again. And these are really easy, too.  One nice thing about waffle batter — it’s essentially the same as pancake batter,…

• style: little red dress

  katy

  12 Nov 2009 | 6:41 am

  We took these photos before winter hit New York, obviously.   But even if you’re throwing a leather jacket on over your little red dress, there is still something so empowering about wearing it.  I love my black cocktail dresses as much as the next girl, but when I want to stand out, there’s no comparison. Red it is. And there are a lot of great options this season.  Mine is from last spring, but my new favorites  are a mega-splurge, from Marchesa, available here, a within-the-clothing-budget choice from BCBG, available here (bonus: mine is BCBG as well!), and a total steal…

• roasted garlic and white bean dip

  katy

  8 Nov 2009 | 5:57 am

  There are nights when I could happily eat crackers and dip for dinner.  In fact, I am ridiculously partial to a certain eggplant recipe that I haven’t posted to this website because I’ve never managed to take a good photograph of it.  This, on the other hand, I think I did fairly well with. And I know it’s a little 80’s retro, but I loved these as little hors d’oeuvres at the beginning of a party.  Easy to make for a crowd, and hearty enough to take the edge off without spoiling anyone’s appetites.  They’re easy, can be made in advance and left…

• style: grunge, revisited

  katy

  4 Nov 2009 | 5:33 am

  Maybe it’s because my formative years were during the age of Nirvana and Reality Bites, but there is something about a flannel shirt that makes you want to live in it.  So I am thrilled — seriously, thrilled — that these are back in style.  Does it get any easier than throwing on some leggings and a flannel shirt?  And somehow that comes out trendy?  Amazing. From top left, clockwise:  Joie Gemini Belted Shirtdress, $162 from Nordstrom, available here;  Abercrombie & Fitch Ashley Shirt, $58 available here; Vince Plaid Shirt, $195 from Bergdorf Goodman, available…

• Chocolate: A Love Story

  katy

  31 Oct 2009 | 11:28 am

  No, it’s not my love story (although I think every one of us has a love story with chocolate buried somewhere in our past). It’s Max Brenner’s.  For those of you who don’t know, Max Brenner is the most amazing restaurant in New York for dessert-o-philes.  Their dessert menu is, I am fairly sure, at least 30 pages long, and consists of amazing creations like chocolate pizza, chocolate waffles, fondue, s’mores, and a zillion different versions of hot chocolate.  Help — I think I am actually gaining weight just by typing this out. So, when the company…

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  My Sweet and Saucy

• Spanish Flamenco Style Wedding

  admin

  19 Nov 2009 | 11:52 pm

  I have been wanting to post about this wedding for such a long time now, but had to wait until the fabulous spread came out in Utterly Engaged which is an amazing wedding resource for any bride or vendor.  I was so happy to be featured in the online magazine and am glad I can share it with you now!  This wedding had such an fabulous team behind it because Aaron & Barbara hand picked their wedding industry favorites and since Aaron is a fabulous wedding photographer they knew exactly who they wanted working on their wedding!  This was the first time I had the pleasure of working with…

• O Magazine Cookies…all the DETAILS!!!

  admin

  16 Nov 2009 | 10:56 pm

  This last week was a whirlwind experience!  I had just completed the previous week’s order, which included wedding cakes, lots of cupcakes, and of course a last minute 800 cake lollipop order (not to mention that my mother was out of town in Hawaii that whole week) and as I sat on my couch at home trying to take a breather I got a call from none other than the Oprah Show!!!  To say I was shocked was an understatement, but of course when they asked me if I could get 500 sugar cookies out for the Ellen Show by Thursday I said yes! My family knows that I will almost always say yes to…

• Oprah Gives Ellen a Gift…OUR COOKIES!!!

  admin

  13 Nov 2009 | 9:36 am

  If you haven’t already heard we have been quite busy over at the shop making 500 cookies for Oprah!  To celebrate the new cover of the O Magazine they wanted to send Ellen something very special, SO they decided to send her 500 specialty sugar cookies with the O Magazine cover on them from Sweet & Saucy Shop.  We had 2 1/2 days to make all of the cookies and one giant cookie for Ellen!  Take a look at the video today to see our cookies on THE ELLEN SHOW!!!

• Halloween Photos: Part II

  admin

  1 Nov 2009 | 10:07 pm

  I hope all of you had a Happy Halloween!  I had way too many cute photos of my family that I thought I had to share them with you!  Plus I got the chance to make a fun 3D Pumpkin cake for a client of mine.  Her daughter was turning 4 years old and she wanted a fun cake that pulled in both occasions!   The cake was quite yummy inside!  The bottom tier was chocolate cake with whipped cream, strawberries & chocolate ganache. The middle tier was pumpkin cake with cinnamon cream cheese frosting & salted caramel. And lastly the top tier was banana cake with chocolate ganache and peanut…

• Costumes Galore!

  admin

  30 Oct 2009 | 11:40 pm

  Well as promised here are some of the great photos from The Very Vintage Halloween Party! I had to do a whole post on just these photos since they are fabulous!  So glad that the wedding industry likes to have a little fun! Thanks so much to Meg Perotti for these fun photos!

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  Jenny Bakes

• Snickers Surprise Cookies

  30 Oct 2009 | 9:22 pm

  Snickers Surprise Cookies Originally uploaded by watchjennybake. Happy Halloween! Here is my cookie suggestion for what to do with leftover fun-size candy bars. I wish I knew where this recipe comes from, but I've had it in my recipe box for too long, copied from somewhere. It is delicious - peanut butter cookies filled with mini candy bars, which melt and then become the soft chewy centers of the cookies.Snickers Surprises2 sticks butter, room temp (1 cup)1 cup peanut butter1 cup brown sugar1 cup granulated sugar2 eggs1 tsp vanilla3 1/2 cups flour1 tsp baking soda1/2 tsp salt1 pkg (13 oz)…

• Vegan Pumpkin Couscous Cake

  18 Oct 2009 | 4:12 pm

  Pumpkin Couscous Cake Originally uploaded by watchjennybake. I have a bunch of vegan and vegetarian cookbooks in my kitchen, and time and time again I find myself returning to Vegan Planet by Robin Robertson. No matter what I try from this book, it has always been delicious, and pleasing even to palates that are not vegetarian-oriented. (If you have done much cooking using recipes from people who have been vegan a long time, sometimes this is a difficulty!).I have wanted to make this couscous cake for a long while, thinking it might be a nice alternative to cereal for breakfast. The recipe…

• Bakery Review - Cafe du Monde, New Orleans

  11 Oct 2009 | 12:14 pm

  Beignets at Cafe du Monde Originally uploaded by watchjennybake. I just got back from a very quick trip to New Orleans, where I was at a meeting of the southeast and Texas chapters of the Music Library Association. I didn't manage to do many touristy things, a shame since this was my first time there, but I did wake up really early Saturday morning to fit in a trip to Cafe du Monde.At Cafe du Monde, you can buy beignets or beignets to eat, plus a delicious cup of Cafe au Lait. The coffee is coffee with chicory, but that isn't exactly unfamiliar to me since I tend to make my iced coffee from…

• Bakery Review - Greenfield's Bagels and Deli - Greenville, SC

  3 Oct 2009 | 2:47 pm

  Bagels Originally uploaded by watchjennybake. Greenfield's Bagels and Deli has become a staple in Greenville, SC, and has just celebrated their 10th year in town. On my first visit, I bought a half dozen of assorted bagels, and a few cookies to try (rainbow, my favorite, and a black and white). There looked to be delicious Kosher sandwich options for lunch, but we went with some cream cheese with our bagels, more of a breakfast option.These are REAL bagels. None of the soft bready nonsense you get at the store. These are toothsome but not dry, chewy, and light. I'll be going back, and if you…

• Kugelhopf and Hedgehogs

  29 Sep 2009 | 8:09 pm

  Kugelhopf Originally uploaded by watchjennybake. In one of the book clubs I am in (the only one that meets in person), we met to discuss The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery, translated from the French. It takes place in Paris, where a concierge named Renee tries to keep her intelligence hidden from the people living in her building. Along the way her friend Manuela is always bringing her baked goods, and while this is a minor plot point, I decided to dig one up to try making for tonight.The baked good getting the most attention in the book is a gloutof, which is described as "a…

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  Real Baking with Rose Levy Beranbaum

• Everything's Coming up Roses for Heavenly Cakes!

  20 Nov 2009 | 2:06 pm

  Rose's Heavenly Cakes has been nominated as one of six best covers on Amazon in the cooking category! The first round of voting goes through December 7 and then you'll be able to vote for one of the 10 finalists as the Best Book Cover of 2009. Please vote today! please click on this link or paste it into your browser: http://www.amazon.com/b/ref=amb_link_86106491_2?ie=UTF8&node=2233760011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0XYHQ1ERNE5H4059ANKS&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=500810671&pf_rd_i=283155

• The New Blog Design is Here!!!

  19 Nov 2009 | 4:51 pm

  Do give us your feedback.

• Appearances and Book Signings

  18 Nov 2009 | 8:10 am

  I will add to this posting as I find out about more events so if you are interested in following this, please click on "post/read comments" and then on the little box at the bottom: "let me know if someone adds a comment" Thursday, November 19, 12:15 to 12:45 Signing Books at Kitchen Arts and Letters (If you can't make it in person, you can call 212-876-5550 and ask to have your book personalized. They ship!) Tuesday, December 1, 12:00 East Coast: Lynne Rossetto Kasper, The Splendid Table

• Out-Cakes from Rose's Heavenly Cakes: Deep Chocolate Passion

  18 Nov 2009 | 6:30 am

  The Deep Chocolate Passion Cake is one of the most exciting, revolutionary, and versatile cakes in this book. It serves as the base for: The German Chocolate Cake The Ice Cream Sandwich Cake The Designer Cupcakes The Deep Chocolate Passion Wedding Cake Preparing the Cake Pan for the Batter The exceptionally liquid batter fills the pan only 1/4 to 1/3 full. But, the batter rises to the top of the pan when baked. Coating the sides of the pan with Baker's Joy (oil and flour) gives the smoothest sides but shrinks in slightly at the top. Not coating the sides of the pan results in a rougher crumb…

• BIG NEWS!!!

  17 Nov 2009 | 11:47 am

  In honor of the Blog's 4th birthday, and my dear editor Pam Chirls's birthday, this Thursday November 19th the blog will be down for several hours in the afternoon. When it reappears it will be with an exciting brand new design--more functional as well as beautiful!

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  Nosh With Me

• Oatmeal Mini Pieces Cookies

  Hilary

  10 Nov 2009 | 8:58 pm

  I discovered these mini Reese’s Pieces at the market last week and immediately decided I had to buy them. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with them though, so when I noticed the recipe on the bag I figured I’d give it a try. I’m glad I did–these are cookies E.T. would devour [...]

• My Favorite Kitchen Things, Part 1

  Hilary

  8 Nov 2009 | 1:22 pm

  I’ve been wanting to write a series of posts about my favorite kitchen items for some time now but never got around to it. Then the other day I was approached by the nice people at Challenge Butter (the butter with the elk on the box) asking if I’d like a package of their products. [...]

• Sticky Buns

  Hilary

  25 Oct 2009 | 4:45 pm

  My first ever job was working at a Mrs. Fields bakery called La Petite Boulangerie while I was in high school. During the summer and on weekends, I would arrive at the bakery at 6:30 in the morning (can you believe they trusted a 16-year-old with keys to the place?) and along with the [...]

• Halloween and Autumn Recipes

  Hilary

  24 Oct 2009 | 3:29 pm

  Looking for fun Halloween and autumn recipes? Here’s a few: Candy Corn Finger Cookies Tarantula Cookies Apple Pie Brown Sugar Pound Cake with Caramel Glaze Brown Sugar Cookies Brown Sugar Shortbread Cinnamon-Sugar Cookies (lowfat) Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits Vegan Pumpkin Muffins Enjoy!

• Salted Chocolate Caramels

  Hilary

  16 Oct 2009 | 3:23 pm

  I was slightly terrified when I first started this recipe, for two reasons: 1. Hot sugar and I have gotten into fights many times in the past, and I usually end up burned (literally); and 2. The reviews were all over the place. Yet I still made them; I guess I was feeling brave. And fortunately [...]

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  Baking and Books

• Feast-Worthy Buttermilk Biscuits (Plus, 30 Thanksgiving Recipe Ideas)

  Ari

  19 Nov 2009 | 11:17 am

  Quick announcement: My Apple Cobbler recipe (the one the won my husband's heart even though I set his kitchen on fire) is among the many delicious entries in Bon Appetit's Holiday Bake Off contest. Would you vote for it in the Miscellaneous Dessert category? In order to submit your vote simply log into Bon Appetit (or create a free account if you don't have one) then click here to be taken to the voting page. Thank you! :) Thanksgiving is right around the corner and for me that means two things: lots of baking/cooking and watching holiday movies on infinite loop. Holiday films are something…

• Outrageous Chocolate Cookies

  Ari

  7 Nov 2009 | 10:04 am

  Do you dunk your cookies in milk? I don't, but my husband does, and though I've never given much thought to this tiny difference in tastes it was all I could think about last night while we were enjoying the outrageous chocolate cookies shown here. With only 81 days left until our due date I couldn't help wondering whether our baby, once he's old enough, will prefer to dunk cookies like his daddy or eat them separately like me. Then this morning, as I was eating cereal, I thought about how I eat my cereal right after cold milk is added to the bowl, lest I lose an ounce of crunch. My husband,…

• Pumpkin-Apple Muffins (Plus Book Giveaway)

  Ari

  2 Nov 2009 | 12:25 pm

  I know this doesn't hold true for everyone, but I really can't get enough of pumpkin flavored goodies - especially in the Fall. In fact, I'm so enamored with pumpkin that I made the Pumpkin-Apple Muffins shown above not once, not twice, but three times before the recipe was just right. When it comes to pumpkin my determination knows no bounds and I just had to have a morning like this one, where I could munch on a moist, tender, autumn-spiced pumpkin muffin while sipping on a decaf honey-vanilla latte.

• Pumpkin Scones with Autumn Spiced Glaze

  Ari

  19 Oct 2009 | 5:34 pm

  I've been a little obsessed with pumpkin lately, making things like pumpkin muffins, pumpkin spice lattes (decaf, of course) and pumpkin spiced pancakes whenever I have a free moment. My husband jokes it's like I did a search in the Baking and Books archive for the keyword "pumpkin" and then just made everything that came up in the results... and he'd be right if I'd made the vegan pumpkin currant cookies I posted back in 2007. But I didn't. So he's not. :)

• 
  Baking Bites

• Apple Butter Pie

  Nicole

  20 Nov 2009 | 2:30 pm

  There are many reasons to like pumpkin pie, from the flavor of the pumpkin itself to the spices to the consistency. The consistency is probably the most unique thing about pumpkin pie. It is a custard - made with eggs and milk - but one that is made thick with the addition of pumpkin puree. Sweet potato pie is just about the only other pie that shares this texture. Should these two orange vegetable-based pies the only pair of pies to have this smooth, yet satisfying consistency? I think not. I used a jar of Smuckers Cider Apple Butter to make Apple Butter Pie. Apple butter, and all fruit…

• How to make your own frozen waffles

  Nicole

  20 Nov 2009 | 7:01 am

  Sometimes you don’t know what you’re missing until it’s gone, and I have to say that the recent coverage of an impending shortage of Kellogg’s Eggo waffles due to manufacturing plant closures is enough to make me want to run out and buy a box. But instead I’m going to do what I usually do with waffles: make my own and freeze them. All you need to have is a waffle iron in order to make waffles and the batter is really no more difficult to whip up than the batter for pancakes. Most, if not all, waffle recipes can be frozen easily and will reheat in not much more…

• Roasted Garlic Stuffing

  Nicole

  19 Nov 2009 | 2:33 pm

  Stuffing is one of the many foods that just never looks as good as it tastes. Actually, I should say that it starts to look very good but only after you know how it tastes. When I was a kid I always shied away from the stuffing. It looked “wet” or “icky” or there was “stuff” in it. Now, the exact same stuffing recipe makes my mouth water when I see a batch, because I know how good the flavorful bread and veggie mixture really is. This particular stuffing is a Roasted Garlic Stuffing, and one of my Thanksgiving side dishes for this year. It looks plain, as…

• Holiday Hotlines offer baking help

  Nicole

  19 Nov 2009 | 7:11 am

  When the holidays come around, many people start to do more entertaining than usual. When problems arise in the kitchen, it is easy to pick up the phone and call your mom, mother in law, grandmother, father, or any other member of your family who can cook to give you some last minute advice. But it’s good to have a backup plan in place if family can’t help you out - or if you’re simply too embarrassed to ask! One solution is to browse through your favorite food blog for holiday tips. A better solution if you don’t have a specific question in mind is to call a holiday…

• Homemade Crescent Rolls

  Nicole

  18 Nov 2009 | 2:01 pm

  There is no doubt that the cans of refrigerated crescent roll dough that you can buy in the market are tasty, but it’s always nice to be able to take the option of a homemade version. Happily, I can say that it is not difficult to bake up a batch of homemade crescent rolls from scratch, even on a busy weeknight. They’re not quite as quick as the premade biscuits, but they are certainly very quick for a yeast bread dinner roll recipe. The packaged crescent rolls are quite like little croissants, light in texture and buttery. This version, a variation of a Red Star Yeast recipe, has…

• 
  Cream Puffs In Venice

• A Debt Settled

  admin

  19 Nov 2009 | 6:23 pm

  I owe someone. Quite awhile ago, Mr. Nazca sent me a certain little book in the mail and by doing so, threw down the figurative gauntlet. My challenge, assuming that I would choose to accept it, was to read said book and at the very least attempt a recipe. The book in question: Nanny Ogg’s Cookbook: A useful and improving Almanack of Information including Astonishing Recipes from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld. I’m serious. Apparently Nanny Ogg is the one that everyone goes to for advice. Having never heard of Nanny Ogg before this book, I was quite surprised to learn that I…

• Cooking Italy: Amatriciana

  admin

  18 Nov 2009 | 5:42 am

  Last month I posted about a cooking group called Cooking Italy, started by Angela of Spinach Tiger. The idea behind the group is that each month, you prepare a set of pre-chosen recipes from Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. I loved the idea of the group as soon as I heard about it because I am a huge fan of Hazan’s and don’t use her book nearly as often as I should. One of the things I told Angela, right off the bat, is that it would be very unlikely that I’d be able to make all of the recipes each month. These days, I’m having enough…

• Magazine Mondays: Potatoes!

  admin

  16 Nov 2009 | 7:59 pm

  From about September to March, I could pretty much each potatoes every day. In fact, I could probably eat them two or three times and day and be perfectly happy. Spud, I adore you! It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost a year since I first made this recipe, but that is in fact the case. On New Year’s Eve 2008, I made Pan-Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Pancetta from the December 2008 issue of Food & Wine. While I didn’t photograph the dish that evening, they were clearly a hit from the beginning and have become one of our favourite ways to prepare potatoes.

• And the winner is …

  admin

  14 Nov 2009 | 2:30 pm

  We have a winner for the trip to NYC to attend the New York Cake Convention from January 2 to January 5, 2010. Check it out! Congratulations to our winner! Ciao!

• DK, Take a Bow!

  admin

  12 Nov 2009 | 7:39 am

  If you haven’t already heard, it was announced that The Daring Kitchen won a Foodbuzz Blog Award for Best Group Effort. I don’t think there is a better name for an award that could perfectly capture how and why The Daring Kitchen is what it is. In every sense, it is truly the culmination of a group effort. And that group is made up of all of you Daring Bakers and Daring Cooks out there. Congratulations! Take a bow! Be proud of yourselves! Bring on those DK challenges! Ciao! Thank you to everyone that voted for The Daring Kitchen. To celebrate the victory, here’s an easy…

• 
  Cupcake Project

• Malva Pudding Cupcakes

  19 Nov 2009 | 11:13 am

  Literally translated as mallow pudding, this [malva pudding] is a well-loved traditional South-African pudding. It is seriously sweet and seriously rich but oh-so-mouth-meltingly-delicious. I think every South-African has fond memories of malva pudding, either lovingly made by their ouma (grandmother), or on the poedingtafel (pudding table) alongside jelly and custard at the annual kerkbasaar (church fete). I can't remember my own granny ever making this but I do have fond memories of eating it at church fetes, visiting my aunts and yes even at the university residences.The description of…

• Name the Dessert

  18 Nov 2009 | 9:59 am

  THIRD UPDATE: We have a winner! Thanks to everyone for playing! You guys had some great guesses!SECOND UPDATE: We still do not have a winner. Now, I'm going to give you a huge hint and the first person to correctly guess the dessert will win. Once someone gets it correct, I will close the comments and post about the cupcake. Ready??Here we go: The dessert recipe is found somewhere on Marisa's blog, The Creative Pot. (Sorry Marisa, you are not eligible to win.) UPDATE: I still have not received a correct guess. Here's a hint: The cupcake contains a small amount of jam. If I don't receive a…

• Turkey Dinner Cupcake on Paula Deen

  16 Nov 2009 | 1:31 pm

  Remember my honey baked ham cupcakes? This week on Paula Deen, you'll find my recipe for the Thanksgiving version. It's a cranberry cupcake with maple frosting baked in turkey! The flavors that work so well during the main course will also impress (or shock) your guests at dessert time. While I've got your attention (hopefully you're not in a blog induced turkey coma), I'd like to humbly ask you to vote for my PAMA Mojito Cupcakes in PAMA's contest to help me win a trip to The Food and Wine Classic in Aspen. You can vote once per day for the entire month. I'm sure many of you are Facebook…

• Thanksgiving Sweet Potato Cupcake Video Review

  14 Nov 2009 | 10:41 am

  Check out Bride and Groom 3.0 (and everyone's favorite co-star, Roommate Davin) as they review this week's Thanksgiving Sweet Potato Cupcake!Note 1: The taste that they identify as oatmeal is actually crumb topping that was baked into the cupcake.Note 2: Cousin Nancy who got the shout out is referred to around these parts by her new name, Grandma Nancy! Without her watching baby Myles, I wouldn't have had time to bake these cupcakes! Thanks!

• Thanksgiving Cupcakes - Sweet Potato Casserole in Cupcake Form

  12 Nov 2009 | 6:00 pm

  Thanksgiving cupcakes can feature little turkeys or Thanksgiving cupcakes can feature pilgrims. But, what I like my Thanksgiving cupcakes to feature is TASTE! These sweet potato casserole cupcakes will be the star of any Thanksgiving meal. If you are a doubter, come back tomorrow to see the video review of these cupcakes."Wait," says the astute long term Cupcake Project reader, "I've seen Thanksgiving sweet potato casserole cupcakes featured here before!"You are correct! I made the Thanksgiving sweet potato casserole cupcakes above in 2007 and while they were good (they had an awesome maple…

• 
  David Lebovitz

• Community Supported Agriculture, in Paris

  David

  18 Nov 2009 | 2:10 pm

  About a year ago, I was having supper in a friend's apartment and everything we ate was simple, and tasted really good. He'd lived on a farm near Toulouse for many years, where he worked for one of France's agricultural organizations. Now he lives in Paris and I was surprised when he told me that the onions we were eating on the tart he'd made were from a panier, or a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) box. He gets a weekly panier from Les Paniers du Val de Loire. I kept hemming and hawing, thinking how nice it was to shop at my local market and pick out everything myself. But I finally…

• Israeli Couscous with Butternut Squash & Preserved Lemons

  David

  15 Nov 2009 | 12:42 pm

  When I started this site, I had forums, where people could chat and post messages. Before we took it down (because my brain was about to implode), one of the burning questions on there was this: Is couscous pasta? My contention was that it wasn't, since it wasn't a 'paste' (or as the French would say, un pâte), which is what I believe—in my limited intelligence—that pasta is. On the other hand, perhaps it is pasta, because couscous is flour mixed with water, then rolled until little granules form. Theoretically, then, it is a paste before it's broken down into little bits. Which…

• Saint Marcellin

  David

  14 Nov 2009 | 4:13 am

  If you go to Lyon, you'll find Saint Marcellin pretty much everywhere. It's the best-known cheese from that region, and the user friendly-sized disks are inevitably piled high at each and every cheese shop you step in to. Locals bake them at home and slide the warm disks onto salads, and I've not been to a restaurant in that city that didn't have Saint Marcellin on the menu doing double-duty as the cheese or the dessert course. Or both. At the outdoor market stands, you can see how popular they are with les Lyonnais. And if you don't believe me, their presence is so pervasive that I once…

• Pumpkin Ice Cream Recipe

  David

  11 Nov 2009 | 6:19 am

  Every year I get a slew of requests from people looking for a recipe for Pumpkin Ice Cream. While in The Perfect Scoop I have a recipe for Sweet Potato Ice Cream studded with maple-glazed pecans, there's something about the fall that makes people think of all-things pumpkin. I'm a big fan of sweet potatoes, personally, but old traditions die hard I suppose. And Pumpkin Ice Cream got put on my to-churn list. As luck would have it, I was leafing through a copy of The Craft of Baking by Karen DeMasco, former pastry chef at Craft in New York City, and landed on a picture of Pumpkin Ice Cream.

• French Pear & Almond Tart Recipe

  David

  7 Nov 2009 | 10:28 am

  I've been living in France for almost eight years and in all that time, I've yet to make even one of these classic French pear tarts. I don't think I've ever been in a bakery that didn't have wedges of this tart in little paper footings, ready to take out and be consumed right away. So I guess because I could always buy one, why make it? But since I had a kilo of almond paste that I bought for another project, a batch of poached pears on hand, and an unbaked tart shell waiting it's turn in my freezer, I decided to give one a go. This is a wonderful tart: pears fanned out in a golden-brown,…

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  CakeSpy

• CakeSpy Undercover: The Upper Crust at Pryde's Old Westport, Kansas City MO

  20 Nov 2009 | 11:39 am

  Pop Quiz: you're in Kansas City, MO and hankering for a sweet treat. Where to go?Pryde's Old Westport, of course. This was Cake Gumshoe MJ's latest discovery on a recent trip to Kansas City (which has the unusual tagline of "Make It a Good Place to Live In"). The bakery had looked intriguing during online research before the trip, and happily it was just as good in person. Based in the Westport section of town, this is not merely a bake shop: it is a three-story emporium of kitchen and garden goods, with an in-house bakery called The Upper Crust, which is open Friday and Saturday 10am-6pm.So…

• Gobble Gobble: A Turkey Cupcake Tutorial From Meringue Bake Shop

  18 Nov 2009 | 5:30 pm

  Thanksgiving. The holiday of food, er giving thanks for life’s bounty. A few days to indulge in excess of food, family, travel and shopping--that is to say, a great holiday. No worrying about giving and getting presents: just a day to enjoy stuffing ourselves, making more room and saying thanks for that delicious turkey.Back when I first started exploring baking creatively, I came across this idea for making Thanksgiving turkey cupcakes. At first I was a little skeptical because it looked like a lot of work and up to the point my decorating skills consisted of a butter knife and a slab of…

• Pastry Road Trip: Sweet Treats at Laura Little's Candies, Prairie Village, Kansas

  18 Nov 2009 | 4:24 pm

  It's hard to avoid a "you're not in Kansas anymore" pun here--but according to Cake Gumshoe MJ, Laura Little's, a chocolate and confection shop in Prairie Village, Kansas, will have you wishing you were in the state immortalized by The Wizard of Oz.The shop, which is homey and sweet, offers a great variety of confections, including chocolates, fudge, brittles, pretzels, and toffees. But it's the fudge, says MJ, that is completely unbelievable. Just one look at their site reveals a tantalizing array of fudge, sold in thick slabs in flavors varying from vanilla and chocolate to more elaborate…

• Cake Byte: Holiday Art Show Schedule!

  18 Nov 2009 | 3:18 pm

  Brace yourselves, sweeties: it's gonna be one sugar-filled holiday season. Here's a schedule of where you can find me selling artwork this winter!November 21+22: EtsyRAIN Holiday Show! Come on down to the first ever EtsyRAIN Holiday show at the Intiman Theater at Seattle Center! I will be selling my artwork along with a great variety of other Seattle artists. The show will take place in the lobby of Intiman Theatre (201 Mercer Street) from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, November 21-22. For more details, visit the official site.November 28: Artist Reception at Trophy Cupcakes! The…

• Peace of Pie: Pumpkin Apple Pecan Thanksgiving Pie for Serious Eats

  18 Nov 2009 | 11:38 am

  Pumpkin? Apple? Pecan? Why choose just one pie when you can have all three...at once? For this week's pie entry on Serious Eats, I bravely took on the task of testing out different ways of combining these classic pie recipes: in one pie, I layered the fillings one on top of the other; in another, I mixed all of the fillings together into one sweet slurry; and in the final (and--spoiler--best tasting) one I baked them in individual compartments. As it turns out, the peace-sign pie tasted the best. So why bother going to the trouble of baking them together? While baking in the same pie crust,…

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  Jim's Chocolate Mission

• November 20th: Lion Bar (Poland)

  Jim

  19 Nov 2009 | 11:00 pm

  Kcal 209 Fat 9.8g Fat(sats) 6.4g Carbs 27.9gThey don't come more manly than the Lion Bar now do they? ... ok maybe the Yorkie! If you have read my review of the UK's Lion Bar that I wrote way back in March 2008 you will be more than aware that it is one of my all time favourite Nestle bars. Combining both its great taste and masculine brand positioning the Lion Bar is a product that I feel suits me down to the ground so it was with great excitement that I received this Polish version from ChocolateMission reader Alan. If you are unaware of the constituents of a Lion Bar it is a product formed…

• November 19th: Green & Black's Mint

  Jim

  18 Nov 2009 | 11:00 pm

  Kcal 478 Fat 27.3g Carbs 50.5g (per 100.0g)It has taken me a while but I am a slowly making my through Green & Black's extensive range and this week I have been trying out their 'Mint' variant. Described as 'dark chocolate with a mint fondant centre' this bar didn't exactly sound like a new proposition - especially since it was only a week or so ago I was trying a very similar product from Bendicks. Taking a look back at the scores of some similar sounding products, with only a few aside this combination is one that can generally be quite unremarkable e.g. Nestle After Eight. In fact a…

• November 18th: Montezuma's Acid Zest

  Jim

  17 Nov 2009 | 11:00 pm

  Kcal ??? Fat ??? Fat(sats) ??? Carbs ???With scores ranging from 6.6 to 8.6 you wouldn't be far off the mark describing Montezuma's chocolate as variable at the best of times. Whereas some of their offerings like their 'Surf Nut' and 'Culture Shock' bars have been fantastic they have almost always followed these up with a chocolate that has been no better than average or worse (e.g. 'Space Hopper' etc). With really no idea what to expect the day came for me to try yet another from their 'Speciality Range' - the 'Acid Zest' bar. The 'Acid Zest' was described on pack as 'white chocolate with…

• November 17th: Oh Henry! Peanut Butter

  Jim

  16 Nov 2009 | 11:00 pm

  Kcal 310 Fat 20.0g Fat(sats) 6.0g Carbs 29.0gI don't know what I have done to deserve it but readers far and wide have been kindly sending me products recently with todays review coming courtesy of Hal who lives in Canada. The Oh Henry! Peanut Butter is a bar remember Cybele reviewing on Candy Blog a while ago (review HERE!). When I saw it on Cybele's site I thought it looked and sounded like a Reese's Nutsrageous bar and the on pack description of 'peanuts, Reese's peanut butter and caramel, covered in a chocolaty coating' did little to persuade me otherwise. The aforementioned Reese's…

• November 16th: Hotel Chocolat Orange Nice Spice

  Jim

  15 Nov 2009 | 11:00 pm

  Kcal ??? Fat ??? Fat(sats) ??? Carbs ???I am pleased to announce that from now until Christmas you will get no fewer than one Hotel Chocolat review a week thanks largely to the fact they sent me a big box full of festive samples to get stuck into. It has been a fair while since I last reviewed a Hotel Chocolat slab product so it was nice to see that the chaps in the HC innovation department come up with no less than four new flavours for Christmas this year. Starting off in no particular order I first decided to try out this Orange Nice Spice flavour which consisted of '70% dark chocolate…

• 
  Cookie baker lynn

• I Puffy Heart Puffy Pancakes

  15 Nov 2009 | 7:53 am

  As the temperatures drop lower and lower, and the house gets chillier and chillier, a warm breakfast is something my family appreciates. Most morning that would be oatmeal, but on the weekends, I sometimes splurge and make something special. Recently a good friend gifted me with something delightful that I'd had on my wish list for a long time - an ebelskiver pan. If you are uninitiated in the joys of ebelskivers, let me fill you in. They're a Danish treat - pancakes cooked in a unique pan that allows them to be turned over to form little puffy pillows that can be filled with whatever tickles…

• Food Blogger Heaven

  12 Nov 2009 | 1:26 pm

  What would you say if one of your very favorite bloggers wrote to you saying, "I'm in town. Want to go to lunch?"Umm.....let me think......YES!That was my enthusiastic answer when the fabulous Jaden of Steamy Kitchen fame said that she was in town on her book tour. I've had a blog crush on Jaden ever since I first stumbled on her blog. Her posts had me laughing out loud - her infectious personality just sprang out of the written words, beautiful pictures, and smooth, professional videos. So, naturally it was an automatic YES to the chance to hang out with her.We met at the scenic Pike Place…

• Apple Polishing

  9 Nov 2009 | 7:28 am

  Every year as fall approaches my husband gets excited about two things - football and apple pie. This year being no exception he started with the subtle hints ("Ooh, apples are in season!"), moved up to not-so-subtle hints ("You know, I really, really like apple pie."), and when no signs of apple pie making appeared in the kitchen, he went for the throat ("If you love me, you'll make me an apple pie," said with enormous Bambi eyes and the trembling lower lip). Well, for crying out loud, I'll make the pie!And not just any pie. I had plans for making the ultimate apple pie. The deepest of deep…

• Leaning Tower of Deliciousness

  4 Nov 2009 | 8:54 am

  When I was 8 years old my family visited Pisa, Italy. We saw the Leaning Tower and my sister and father actually went all the way up (I don't know if they even allow people on it anymore). I was terrified of slipping, sliding, and falling off the edge, so my feet stayed firmly on the level ground, but the sight was impressive enough from terra firma. How could something so tall lean so precariously without toppling over?I was reminded of that sight when I made my daughter's birthday cake. She'd selected the Maple Walnut cake from Sky High - Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes, my new go-to cake…

• The End...and A Beginning

  2 Nov 2009 | 7:28 am

  Yesterday evening I got my very last pre-teen daughter hug. Today my daughter is 13. It is indeed a milestone. The child is in the rear view mirror and the teenager is hurtling at the windshield. Having been through it twice before, I'm fairly certain I'll be able to endure it again. Fairly certain. And just in case, I've stocked the liquor cabinet.The birthday cake I've pictured here is not my daughter's. I've got to bake that today; I'm sure it will show up on the blog eventually. This one is her brother's cake that I made this summer. Since I've got to get her cake baked, I'll leave you…

• 
  CakeJournal

• Cakes for Romantic Occasions book review

  Louise

  20 Nov 2009 | 2:43 am

  I have been lucky to receive a free copy of a new cake decorating book Cakes for Romantic Occasions by May Clee-Cadman, from the publishers: David & Charles. May is the owner of Maisie Fantaisie in the UK and it is her second cake decorating book. Her first book: Sweet and Simple Party Cakes have [...]

• Chocolate cake bites

  Louise

  13 Nov 2009 | 7:44 am

  Dear All, I’m really sorry for my absence the last two weeks, but I’ve had problems with my asthma. On top of that have I caught a cold and my daughter has been home from school aswell. But I (we) are starting to feel alot better and hopefully I (we) will be back on track [...]

• Confection Connection’s Cake Convention

  Louise

  7 Nov 2009 | 8:35 am

  Attention CakeJournal readers – get excited! Spend the first weekend of 2010 surrounded by cake and frosting. The US Confection Connection is hosting the first ever NY Cake Convention January 2-5 at the Hotel Pennsylvania in New York City. Cake decorators from around the world are coming together for a four-day convention filled with demos, classes, competition [...]

• Cake Boss Season 2

  Louise

  2 Nov 2009 | 8:10 am

  We had such a huge response regarding our Cake on TV post – even TLC’s Cake Boss got excited! They wanted us to make sure every CakeJournal reader knew about the new season of Cake Boss, which began Monday night. The new season is filled with more cake fun and family antics. If you’d like to read [...]

• How to make a quick mini rose

  Louise

  30 Oct 2009 | 12:17 am

  I got a few request on how to make a quick mini rose like the ones on the photo. They are super easy to do and even kids can make them. The equipment is only: Colored rolled fondant or gum paste Small knife Small leaf cutter You make the quick mini roses in the palm of your hand, so remember [...]

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  Ice Cream Ireland

• A Flood of Emotions

  Kieran

  19 Nov 2009 | 7:01 am

  The rain continues to pour down, and the flooded streets and angry waters seem to reflect the mood of the country after last night’s soccer defeat to France. I enjoy watching soccer, but I am not a mad soccer fan. And yet, I could help being swept away in the excitement last night as Ireland’s Robbie Keane scored to make the dream of going to the World Cup seem suddenly very real. Perhaps it was the symbolism of it as well – if the Irish team could win against all odds, against one of the giants of world football, then couldn’t Ireland, stuck in gloomy economic times,…

• Dingle Just Might Exist Again in Future!

  Kieran

  16 Nov 2009 | 8:15 am

  It’s been a long, long road road, but the end might be in sight. Yes, five years after Minister Ó Cuiv announced that Dingle didn’t exist, and almost four years after a plebiscite where the town overwhelmingly voted for Dingle/Daingean uí Chúis, it looks like there is some forward motion on the name, seemingly mostly due to Jackie Healey Rae, who insisted on it as part of joining the government. Mind you, supporters of the Dingle/Daingean uí Chúis name have been hopeful on this before and wont really believe it until it is in law. Still, the Kerryman has a story that Minister…

• Tarting It Up with Lemon

  Kieran

  10 Nov 2009 | 11:09 am

  I promised a customer, who loved this tart, that I would post the recipe. It’s closely based on a recipe from Simply Sensational Desserts by Francois Payard, with the only difference a slight modification in the sugar. I have found that Payard’s book has given me the greatest baking success of any cookbook, so I highly recommend it. With any tart or pie baking, the hardest part is usually the dough, and so if you want to make this the quick and easy way, buy a pie shell or some tart shells from your local supermarket. Some of them are quite tasty, and you’ll save yourself a…

• Food Heroes and Other Goodies

  Kieran

  7 Nov 2009 | 10:44 am

  Murphys Ice Cream was given a “Kerry Food Hero” award at the Listowel Food Fair last night. It’s the first award of it’s kind in Kerry, and it’s humbling, since we have so many food heroes of our own, both within the country and around Ireland. There were a lot of awards, and sadly I can’t remember everybody. However, here’s a short list: The Charthouse won best Kerry restaurant (and we were delighted to see a Dingle restaurant scoop that prize!) Coolea won best farmhouse cheese. Georgina Campbell won best cookery book for her excellent From Tide to…

• Listowel Food Fair

  Kieran

  4 Nov 2009 | 9:55 am

   I am ashamed to admit that I’ve never been to the Listowel Food Fair, since something has always seemed to come up with the business during it, but I am going this year (it’s on from the 5th  – 8th of November), no matter what. I have heard so much great feedback over the years, and I’ve just been looking through the website. The lineup is most impressive. From the farmhouse cheese awards to Organics with Attitude to a children’s food art workshop, I’d say there would be something for everyone. There’s even a seminar for artisan producers! Check it…

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  dolce!

• Going offling till 1 Dec 09!

  Eunice

  9 Nov 2009 | 7:22 am

  Real quick news! I’ll be going offline till 1 Dec 2009, so text me for any orders! Orders confirmed still stand by the way :o) Email “shebakes.shebakes@gmail.com” for the contact number :) Thanks guys! You rock!

• A Wedding Proposal: “Up” Cupcakes!

  Eunice

  2 Nov 2009 | 10:01 pm

  …she said YES!!!

• Black Quilted Chanel Bag

  Eunice

  23 Oct 2009 | 10:38 pm

  A Quick Release of the Latest & Greatest :)

• Cutie Alert! Kyllie Smiling O’er Her Cupcakes

  Eunice

  25 Sep 2009 | 12:20 am

  Awww what a darling! Even her baju matches my site! Hi Eunice, Just thought of sharing a photo of my gal when she got your cakes. She was so happy she hugged mommy before going back to admire your cupcakes. :-) Thanks, Kenny What better time to insert this quote I read! “The only wealth in this world is children; more than all the money, power on earth…” I agree! And one day I shall have some of my own! *sheepish smiles* Heyyyy. Stop smirking! So anyway! It makes my heart siiing when these cupcakes make brighten up someone’s day or make a little girl decidedly and…

• Food for muh soul

  Eunice

  19 Sep 2009 | 8:18 am

  Just going through a scratchy patch right now. Opened up the Word in quite desperate spirits to find Jeremiah, who speaks a lot on a people without a God. “I know, O Lord, that a man’s life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps. Correct me, Lord, but only with justice, not in your anger, lest you reduce me to nothing.” “The shepherds are senseless and do not inquire of the Lord; so they do not prosper, and all their flock is scattered.” “You are always on their lips but far from their hearts.” “Yet you know me, O Lord, you see me…

• 
  Simply Sweets Blog

• 5th Birthday Princess Tiara Cake

  18 Nov 2009 | 9:39 am

  This is a repeat design of the Princess Brooke Tiara Birthday Cake - so popular with young girls!

• Simply Sweets' Sassy Circles Baby Shower Cake with Booties

  18 Nov 2009 | 9:35 am

  Our Sassy Circles design is very popular for baby shower cakes and most of customers select a pair of baby booties for the topper - or in this case 2 pairs for twins. The first cake was for a set of baby girl twins and the cake is done in several shades of pink and white. The second cake was for a baby girl and done in pink, brown and green.

• 2nd Birthday Glitter Cupcakes with Gerber Daisies

  17 Nov 2009 | 10:58 am

  This cupcake tower was a created for a 2nd birthday. The cupcakes are topped with crystal sugar to make them glittery! One cupcakes is topped with a 2 and the rest of the cupcakes are topped with Gerber daisies. The cupcakes were displayed on a cupcake stand that holds 18 cupcakes - we have several smaller towers available for rent in addition to the larger towers.These cupcakes were inspired by the CupKate 1st Birthday Cupcake Tower

• Join Us for Merry Market 2009 and Support AZ Coalition Against Domestic Violence

  16 Nov 2009 | 11:03 am

• The Pioneer Woman Comes to Tempe, Arizona

  8 Nov 2009 | 7:25 pm

  Ree Drummond, the Pioneer Woman, came to Tempe, Arizona last Thursday evening for a book signing at Changing Hands bookstore. As a blogger and cookbook collecter (I have several 100) I was excited to attend her book signing. And it turns out, she has many other local fans too - there were hundreds of people there. Some were huge fans who have every detail about her family memorized from reading her blog. If for some reason you've never heard of her you must check out her blog - but how could you not have heard of her? Time Magazine named her blog as one of the best 25 blogs for 2009 and she…

• 
  Cupcakes Take The Cake

• Chocolate mint cupcake perfection

  20 Nov 2009 | 3:58 pm

  These mint chocolate cupcakes by Sugar Siren Cakes in Queensland, Australia look so good I don't even know what to say. I want them. All of them!photos via Sugar Siren on FlickrThe cake was my Midnight Delight (a moist dark chocolate mud cake) which I paired with a pale green peppermint Swiss meringue buttercream that was generously studded with chunks of top quality Lindt dark mint chocolate.For the crowning glory each cupcake was then topped with a perfect whole square of Lindt dark mint chocolate & the final indulgent touch was a lavish drizzle of rich home made chocolate sauce.You can…

• My face on a cupcake = delicious!

  20 Nov 2009 | 3:11 pm

  After seeing the work of new New York custom dessert company Treat, I had a feeling that they'd be able to make my image in cupcake form, and they did! Based on a drawing of me by our cupcake-loving friend Molly Crabapple, Treat made these cupcakes:How incredibly cool is that? And they were glittery. This is me about to eat it - I must admit that biting my own head off was a little odd. I was given a choice of these flavors for the cake: chocolate, vanilla, chocolate hazelnut, chocolate mint, mayan chocolate (has a bit of heat), dulce de leche, pink champagne, chocolate merlot, red velvet. I…

• CakeWalk: Cutting back the weight gain during the holiday season with less sugar

  20 Nov 2009 | 2:06 pm

  CakeWalk is a weekly column by Mary Ann Porch dedicated to every baker who has ever struggled to achieve the right consistency with their icing, unsuccessfully searched for the perfect cupcake topper or just wants to learn something new. Because with a few helpful tips, cupcakes are a cakewalk.I have something I need to admit. This is really hard to say, but here it goes: I’m a food pusher. I come from a family of food pushers. You know the type – every time you’re in one’s presence and food is involved, they keep offering you seconds and thirds. “Just one more bite” turns into…

• Cupcake invite at Bent Objects

  20 Nov 2009 | 8:04 am

  Terry at Bent Objects posted this party image invite he made for OXO International. The cupcakes are "getting ready to party." Very cool. I love to see cupcakes making mischief.

• The Simpsons cupcakes

  20 Nov 2009 | 7:14 am

  Strawberry cupcakes with a slice of strawberry baked into the center and whipped strawberry cream cheese icing. Hand painted fondant toppers by death by cupcake on Flickr.

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  KUIDAORE

• Art of the Tart

  31 Oct 2009 | 9:59 am

  Because a deeply decadent dark chocolate tart will feature in Holiday Desserts 2009, with a baked Valrhona Manjari 64% custard filling that can only be described as baveuse, I wanted to include within the bonus section of the recipe pack a few of my other favourite chocolate tarts.The crunchy shortbread pastry used for all the tart shells here is an unconventional recipe based on melted butter. It is extremely easy to handle, can either be rolled with a pin or pressed into the tart pan, is used for one grand tart case or a flurry of tartlet cases, and can boast of a buttery deliciousness all…

• Pumpkin Seed Toffee

  13 Oct 2009 | 8:59 pm

  Dearest Sticky Chewy Salty Sweet, you had me at Hello.Celestial caramelly goodness? Check.Very buttery awesomeness? Check.Sly salty savour? Check.Fabulous crunch of toasted nuts. Can't stop at one. Worth contributing to my enthodondist's kid's ivy league college fund for. Check, check, check.Nut toffee/brittle type candy, in the immortal words of the inimitable Elizabeth Barrett Browning, How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. For sure, Pumpkin Seed Toffee, you were originally created as the perfect finishing touch for the already-dishy Pumpkin Cheesecake seen here.But the peerlessly…

• Holiday Desserts 2009 - Classes

  3 Oct 2009 | 6:27 pm

  As I won't be teaching in December, the four November sessions of Holiday Desserts 2009, a demo class, are my final ones for this year at Shermay's Cooking School. The dates are 7 November 2009 (Saturday), 8 November 2009 (Sunday), 21 November 2009 (Saturday) and 22 November 2009 (Sunday) - the November schedule has all the necessary details. For all inquiries, please call the school at +65 6479 8442 or email shermaycs@yahoo.com.sgBetween the Holiday Cookie Class and this, I sincerely hope there're ideas aplenty to inspire a happy bout of holiday entertaining and/or a hamperful of homebaked…

• Sticky Pockets & Jammy Bars

  24 Sep 2009 | 10:23 am

  How time whizzes by! Holiday Cookies 2009 is just round the corner - 4 sessions only, on 10 October, 11 October, 24 October and 25 October 2009 ; for all inquiries, please call the schoolat +65 6479 8442 or email shermaycs@yahoo.com.sg - and I am very much looking forward to the preparations for it.Much as I love them, who needs a Diptyque scented candle? If the holiday class preparatory periods seasons past are anything to go by, the toasty scent of Christmas spices, rounded out by a touch of sugar plums and a topnote of chocolate, will permeate my kitchen (and rest of the apartment really)…

• Holiday Cookies 2009 - Classes

  6 Sep 2009 | 6:29 pm

  I'll be teaching Holiday Cookies 2009, a demo class, at Shermay's Cooking School on 10 October 2009 (Saturday), 11 October 2009 (Sunday), 24 October 2009 (Saturday) and 25 October 2009 (Sunday) - the October schedule has all the necessary details. For all inquiries, please call the school at +65 6479 8442 or email shermaycs@yahoo.com.sgPractice makes perfect, they say, and this applies as much to baking a cookie as it does to everything else one may wish to develop some semblance of proficiency at, be it playing Mozart's piano Concerto No. 15 in B-flat Major or pulling off some Nitro…

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  CakeItaly

• Hello kitty for Mikayla

  Giulio

  19 Nov 2009 | 12:41 pm

  Hello Kitty cake for Mikayla with flowers and funny pet

• From Railstation in Milan some Sicilian sweets

  Giulio

  18 Nov 2009 | 10:14 am

  From Milan, inside the railstation, this shop with sicilian desserts: cannoli, cassate, pastiere and more Umm I love sicilian cakes

• A tree for next christmas

  Giulio

  17 Nov 2009 | 10:28 am

  A christams tree very sweet:  more video about christmas sweets.

• Berlin Wall party cake

  Giulio

  16 Nov 2009 | 10:53 am

  A Cake to celebrations marking 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall with Angela Merkel

• The Pandoro fron Verona

  Giulio

  15 Nov 2009 | 2:03 pm

  The pandoro cake: a delicious christmas sweet from Verona in Italy

• 
  Discovering Sourdough

• Natural Directions AP Flour Test

  northwestsourdough

  18 Nov 2009 | 1:12 pm

  First, I want to let those of you who have been waiting for the dry starters to be available, know that there are three varieties available now and the rest will follow soon. My son in Texas is drying them and sending them to me, as it is too humid where I am to dry starters. They are available at: http://www.northwestsourdough.com/store.html  The fresh starters are still available, although I have not found any rye flour yet to bring back the fresh dough rye starters. They will be available as dry starters soon as well. Now on to flour testing: I found another new flour in the store. It is…

• A Winner!

  northwestsourdough

  16 Nov 2009 | 5:32 pm

  Chocolate Cinnamon Babka   We have a winner! The winner for Peter Reinhart’s new book, Artisan Breads Every Day, is Lisa from Dahlhousedesigns. Please email me Lisa with your contact information so you can get started as quickly as possible baking some Chocolate Cinnamon Babka!  When I received Peter’s new book, I knew right away I had to try the Chocolate Cinnamon Babka and I will tell you it is worth the price of the book all by itself!  This bread is so good that my husband, after eating the last piece, went out to buy more chocolate so I could make some more! There was…

• A Great Day! And…Pi Li Li’s

  northwestsourdough

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:12 pm

  If you want to read about my great day, you will have to read to the bottom of this post. If you want to read about what the heck Pi Li Li’s are start here: Pi Li Li’s or Pee Lee Lee’s, whichever way to want to spell it,( it sounds like the second version) are little fried pillows of dough. These are a sourdough version of a fried doughnut that grandma made. Quickly made, rolled in sugar, or cinnamon/sugar, powdered sugar or dunked in a honey glaze, they are great for a Sunday breakfast. The dough is soft and is handled like a biscuit dough where there is minimum handling…

• Peter Reinhart’s new book…Artisan Breads Every Day

  northwestsourdough

  30 Oct 2009 | 4:28 pm

  Peter Reinhart’s new book is out! I have two signed copies, one for myself…and one…for one of you…  The copies are on their way in the mail and I expect to receive them this weekend.   However, I couldn’t wait and I previewed some of the content online at Amazon and at some other places like… http://tenspeed.crownpublishing.com/2009/10/01/free-recipes-from-peter-reinharts-artisan-breads-every-day/  which has links to a couple of free recipes from the book.  It looks terrific and has really nice photos! The videos above are of Peter teaching…

• Sourdough Breads from the Store

  northwestsourdough

  17 Oct 2009 | 9:35 pm

  La Brea's French Baguette I couln’t believe it but I found some La Brea Bakery bread in a Hilo store! Not only that , but I found some San Francisco Sourdough bread as well from Raymond’s Bakery. So I bought them and brought them home to see how they compared ( In the last post there was a a contest for a free sourdough. The fourth responder, Patty, is the winner of the Hawaiian Sourdough Starter, please email me with your contact info Patty). When I got home, I popped the La Brea French Baguette into the oven to crisp. I served it with a salad and pasta dish. The baguette…

• 
  Cookie Madness

• Thanksgiving Cherry-Berry Pie

  Anna

  20 Nov 2009 | 9:58 am

  November isn’t cherry season, but you can still serve cherry pie in the fall. The trick is finding a recipe that makes good use of the alternatives – canned and frozen. Mixing cherries with raspberries is one way of making a canned cherry pie more exciting. While you won’t get the firm [...]

• Pie Crust Recipe

  Anna

  20 Nov 2009 | 6:27 am

  This week I’ve been practicing my pie crust making technique. Even though I know the basic rules of tender crust – use cold ingredients and don’t over work the dough, I still run into problems. My dough usually sticks because I don’t use enough flour for dusting surfaces, I’m not good at crimping, [...]

• Double Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

  Anna

  19 Nov 2009 | 11:40 am

  I’m in the midst of more pie baking and hope to have a good one for you tomorrow. For today, here’s a cookie adapted from the current issue of Every Day Food. This recipe was excellent and the bittersweet chocolate and tangy cranberry combo hit the spot. Double Chocolate Cranberry Cookies 16 [...]

• Sweet Potato Pie from CMW Apples

  Anna

  18 Nov 2009 | 12:09 pm

  Yesterday I made two pies for a school event — one was pecan and the other was sweet potato. The pies were to be turned in today, but I had a meeting with a flooring guy and couldn’t drop them off myself. Todd had to do it for me, which means I don’t [...]

• Browned Butter Pecan Pie

  Anna

  17 Nov 2009 | 3:07 pm

  I’ve been busy today making pies for a school function. I’d planned on making just one pecan pie, but I found this sweet potato pie that looked so good, I decided to make one of each. The sweet potato pie is cooling and may or may not be worth posting, so for now [...]

• 
  How To Eat A Cupcake

• Italian Bread

  13 Nov 2009 | 3:04 pm

  Originally I wasn't planning on blogging about this recipe. My dad asked me to make some bread last minute for spaghetti dinner. Since we were rained in all day... oh yeah, I live in the Hampton Roads area of VA. If you haven't heard, WE'RE FREAKIN UNDER WATER thanks to the "November Nor'easter"! Google it to see if you can find the video of the guy rowing himself with a broom in a pool float to get to a 7-11! Anyway, back to the bread. It was very last minute, but it came out gorgeous so I twittered about it (tweeted about it? hmm...) Lots of you asked for the recipe, so here it is! It's…

• Fresh Apple Cake

  12 Nov 2009 | 9:59 am

  I think my dad is playing me like a fiddle! He knows that any time he brings fruit home, I'm gonna turn it into something good. Lately, apples have been popping up frequently on our kitchen table. So what do I do? Apple pie, apple turnovers, apple crisp... but this time I wanted to make something different. I've never made apple cake before, and when I googled it, Smitten Kitchen's recipe was one of the top results. Cha-ching! The recipe is her mother's, and I can tell you it will become a staple recipe in our house. It was absolutely delicious! I read some of the reviews on her blog from…

• Video: Making a Pumpkin Pie with a Fresh Pumpkin

  7 Nov 2009 | 2:30 am

  Yay! Another video! I love making videos, and it sucks that I barely ever have time to make them. But here's a good one! As you know, I love pies. Me and pies are pretty much BFFs now. And you may also know that I have an infinity-long list of things I want to bake in my lifetime. One of those things is a pumpkin pie with a fresh pumpkin. I figured it would be a pretty fun video topic since I'd never done it before. We can learn together!Whew! Well after all that work, was it worth it? Sadly, no. Don't get me wrong. It was extremely delicious. But it's a totally different flavor than what…

• It's a Grape Pie, Charlie Brown!

  3 Nov 2009 | 8:20 am

  Wow! Halloween seemed to go by like a blur! My mom and I spent days upon days decorating our house and preparing food for our annual "Super Awesome Halloween Party Deluxe." This was our third year throwing a big "h-ween" party, and I'm positive that it's been the best so far. We had a great turn out, and everyone had a great time! They loved the food and said our decorations were awesome. Thank you, thank you very much! After all our hard work and anticipation, I was asleep by 10:30! Haha, yeah that's how I roll. I'm a pretty fierce party animal! Anyway, here are a few pictures from the…

• Halloween Recipe Round-Up!

  26 Oct 2009 | 2:30 am

  Only 5 days until Halloween! What are everyone's plans and what are you dressing up to be? We get to wear our costumes to work, and Wendi and I are gonna be 1980's prom queens! Then I'm coming home to help out with the annual Halloween party at our house. I haven't even decided what our menu is going to be this year, but I know I want to make my own version of the chocolate pistachio cake on the cover of Phyllis Hoffman's Celebrate Halloween.Here are some of the Halloween goodies I've made in the past. I put them into this handy little guide complete with pictures and links to the recipes. It…

• 
  Pink Cake Box Wedding Cakes & more

• 5 Tier Dogwood Cake

  Anne

  19 Nov 2009 | 4:45 am

  We decorated this nut-free 5 tier dog wood cake with pale butter yellow fondant and white dogwood sugar blossoms. The cake flavors include marble cake with caramel buttercream and chocolate mousse with valrhona crunchy pearls. We delivered the cake to Blue Bell, PA.

• Cat Groom’s Cake

  Anne

  17 Nov 2009 | 4:25 am

  This sculpted cake was fashioned after the groom’s cat.  The cake is complete with it’s own “I Love Dad” t-shirt and bright blue eyes.  Sitting at the base of the cake is the cat’s favorite toy -- a golf ball. The cake flavors included red velvet cake with vanilla buttercream. Here’s a video I shot at the shop:

• Bat Mitzvah 5 Tier Topsy Turvy Cake

  Anne

  15 Nov 2009 | 3:06 am

  This very large 5 tier  cake was created with a “Sam am I,  I am Sam”  theme relating to Dr. Seuss and …the fact that the girls name was Sam.  Her interests are decorated around each tier including, ballet slippers, skates for figure skating, pottery, a passport, and a scuba diver.   Colored fondant curly q’s and large flowers and leaves fill out the separators. A multitude of flavors made up this cake including chocolate cake with hazelnut, oreo and raspberry buttercream,  pink velvet cake with vanilla buttercream, lemon cream cheese and raspberry buttercream…

• Thanksgiving Cornucopia Cake

  Anne

  14 Nov 2009 | 6:24 am

  This three tier cake is a perfect centerpiece for a thanksgiving dinner.  It’s topped with a cornucopia that is filled with pumpkins, apples, pears,  and squash.  The cake is covered in a deep gold fondant with brown fondant ribbons.   The flavors included spice cake with caramel mousse filling.

• Rubber Ducky Tub Cake

  Anne

  10 Nov 2009 | 4:27 am

  These yellow rubber ducks are having a blast atop this galvanized tub cake.  The flavors included vanilla cake with oreo buttecream and red velvet with vanilla buttercream.

• 
  BEANTOWN BAKER

• Cranberry Apple Pumpkin Muffins

  Jen

  20 Nov 2009 | 4:44 am

  After making these pumpkin cranberry muffins a couple weeks ago, Hubby said I didn't need to ever try another muffin recipe again. He said they were the best I had ever made and he could eat them forever. Now, I've made quite a few different muffin recipes. And for anyone who knows me in real life, they know that I don't just stop trying new recipes. It's just not my thing. It annoys my family sometimes when they ask me to make something I've already made and I get all hesitant because I've already tried the recipe. Don't get me wrong, some recipes I do repeat, but not so much for baked…

• Cranberry Almond Caramel Tart

  Jen

  19 Nov 2009 | 5:24 am

  Have you heard of Smitten Kitchen? If you haven't, you should check it out. It's definitely one of my favorite food blogs (I've made a fewof herrecipes over the past couple of years). I love the photography and I want to try almost all of her recipes... I've had my eye on this recipe for quite some time now. Again, I think it's the pictures on SK that really draw me in. When I showed it to Hubby, he was intrigued by the homemade caramel in the tart. See he's a caramel man. Put caramel on anything and he'd eat it. I'm convinced of that... I'm definitely more of a chocolate girl myself.We had…

• Cous Cous Salad with Butternut Squash and Cranberries

  Jen

  18 Nov 2009 | 4:44 am

  Today's Week of Cranberries recipe features dried cranberries again. I know I say this a lot, but when I saw this recipe pop up in my Google Reader, I knew I needed to make this recipe. It has some of my favorite flavors all in one bowl. Hubby and I absolutely love butternut squash. We can't get enough of it. I've made risotto, bisque, pie, soup, chili, and even quesadillas with butternut squash! And we couldn't get enough of this salad! I enjoyed it cold better than room temperature, but Hubby prefered it at room temp. Either way it's delicious.The combination of these flavors is great. When…

• Crockpot Cranberry Pork Roast

  Jen

  17 Nov 2009 | 5:14 am

  Today's cranberry recipes features BOTH dried cranberries and fresh cranberries! Bonus points for that. Did you know that you can freeze fresh cranberries? I didn't know that until this year. In fact, on the bag of cranberries that I picked up the other day, it said "Buy two bags, freeze one" It says on the bag to just throw the bag into the freezer as it is. I've been doing this because we both love the flavor of cranberries and I'd love to have them in the house even when they're out of season.I wanted to feature at least one savory cranberry dish this week. This recipe couldn't have been…

• Apple Cranberry Cake-Pie

  Jen

  16 Nov 2009 | 3:50 am

  I had so much fun doing my Week of Cupcakes back in August and my Week of Pumpkin in October, that I'm back for another Week of... This time I'm featuring cranberries! Until last year, I had never eaten a cranberry. Fresh or dried. Now I eat them all the time.I remember seeing this recipe show up when TWD did it. I looked amazing so I had it bookmarked. Then we decided to have friends over to check out the new kitchen (yes, I realize I promised updated pictures a long time ago, I'll get on that...)Since we were hosting friends for dinner, I wanted to make a special dessert. I love the flavor…

• 
  Tartelette

• Asian Pear Frozen Yogurt

  19 Nov 2009 | 6:55 am

  Before I tell you about this Asian Pear Frozen Yogurt, I want to thank everyone who stopped by to enter Ree's cookbook giveaway. The woman is well loved, that's for sure! My random number generator this time was my friend Tami with whom I went to the National Gingerbread House Competition™ and to be fair, I didn't take into account the entries coming in past the deadline. Congratulations to Patricia in Texas, a., and Jelli Bean. Email me your snail mail addresses at mytartelette[at]gmail[dot]com and I'll pass the info on to Ree.I have been back from Asheville for a couple of days yet and I…

• Potato Leek Pizza and A Giveaway

  14 Nov 2009 | 8:56 am

  When I ask my father what vegetables he wants with dinner, his response is often "potatoes" to which I reply "Dad! We already have a starch. What vegetable would you like?" He then looks me with an obvious smirk and repeats "potatoes". I am very much my father's daughter in that regard. Love them. And noodles. I hope I never have to chose between the two. As much as I am a potato gal, I never thought of putting them on pizza, until last week that is. This Potato-Leek Pizza from The Pioneer Woman has surely changed my mind. "More!" I say!I remember very distincly the first post I read on Ree's…

• Pomegranate and Caramelized Pear Panna Cottas

  11 Nov 2009 | 6:57 am

  I appreciate this time of year when night falls so much earlier. It makes me want to rush home and cozy up with loved ones, a book or a good project. Unlike summer when things are so bright up in my face, I love that Fall and Winter are seasons of shadows and angles with night and day playing cat and mouse so well. So many holidays around the corner. So many friends dropping by, parties hosted and kitchens in full roar. Time to connect and reconnect with people and things. Time to lose half your brain too if you don't pay attention!When things get plenty busy, it's always good to have a few…

• Chocolate Wontons And Tonka Bean Ice Cream

  6 Nov 2009 | 10:27 pm

  If I were to wait for the proper weather to bake certain desserts, I'd never get to turn the oven on or fry some donuts and the ice cream machine would be churning year round. Take Halloween day, it was near 90F pretty much all day long and yet I wanted to bake some fun goodies for the neighbors. We spent the day in short sleeves, going about the neighborhood with the kids steaming in their costumes. More than one of them thought ill of their parents for dressing them up as a furry teddy bear or a heavy padded alligator. I know these feelings disappeared when I brought down these hot…

• Mom's "Tupp" Apple Cardamom Cake

  3 Nov 2009 | 10:21 pm

  Let's talk winning tickets, shall we? First, my dear human random number generator, B., picked Brandy from Nutmeg Nanny to receive Nicole's The Baking Bites Cookbook. Congrats! Send me a quick email and I'll pass the info along. Now on to this cake...I know I am going to jinx it. I just know it. Maybe if I whisper it very softly: It finally feels like Fall around here. Mostly in the wee hours of the morning when I can finally feel a chill in the air and a dry breeze through the marsh. Actually, not having a free day on the schedule until April means that the season has indeed changed. Drastic…

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  Baking Obsession

• Pumpkin Brandy Mousse Cake with Maple Whipped Cream Topping

  Vera

  16 Nov 2009 | 8:47 pm

  I’ve already told you (I’m afraid more than once) about my relationship with pumpkin-based desserts. I like it, but only when the pumpkin is seriously diluted and lightened. This cake belongs to the same category “for pumpkin pie haters”. And this is my family’s favorite autumn cake. Makes one 9-inch cake, about 16 servings For the pumpkin [...]

• Mickey Mouse and Birthday Fireworks Cake

  Vera

  13 Nov 2009 | 3:52 pm

  I promise the next post will contain a new recipe, something seasonal, perhaps. But now I’ve got only time for a photo series of another decorated birthday cake. I hope you don’t mind. And thank you, all of you, who left such lovely comments on my previous post. I’m very much obliged to each and [...]

• Frog in a Pond Cake

  Vera

  9 Nov 2009 | 9:54 pm

  It’s been awhile since I posted any decorated cakes that I make. So, I decided to share some cake photos with you. This is one of my recent creations. The baby’s favorite toy is a frog and it determined the theme. All decorative elements are made either from gum paste or fondant. Everything is edible except [...]

• Sun-dried Tomato and Red Onion Bread with Tamari-roasted Sunflower Seeds and Book Review

  Vera

  3 Nov 2009 | 10:41 pm

  Recently, a publisher sent me a copy of Andrew Whitley “Bread Matters” book and asked for a review if I find the book interesting enough. Now, let me jump right to the conclusion (I know, it would be more logical to do this in the end, but I’m too excited and therefore impatient). The book [...]

• Buckwheat Oat Prune Scones

  Vera

  30 Oct 2009 | 10:40 pm

  First, I didn’t have an intention to post these; they were made as a quick and informal eat-at-home snack. The scones were not attractive enough to be given away, but tasted pretty good. My son pointed that nothing should be judged by its look. So, at my son’s insistence, here’s the recipe below. Makes 8 to [...]

• 
  Crazy Baking Girl

• Time for a change....

  12 Nov 2009 | 6:17 pm

  I decided it was time for a change of blog design. Cupcakes are an appropriate theme, but not sure if I'm convinced regarding the two column side bar thing. Feedback, anyone?

• Apple-pie cookies

  7 Nov 2009 | 12:54 am

  When I saw these cookies over at Bakingbites.com, I knew I had to make them immediately! Straight out of the oven, these cookies were pleasantly crisp on the outside, and wonderfully warm and moist on the inside. They keep well for two to three days in an air-tight container, but the outside of the cookies will lose the crispness. They are still delicious the next day, but I believe they are best consumed on the day you bake them. I am surprised there were even any left for the next day, I wanted to eat them all as soon as I'd made them, they were that good! Take note that as these cookies…

• Sweet Potato and Ginger Cake

  6 Oct 2009 | 10:15 pm

  Wait, before you click away due to the hideously ugly photos below, hear me out.... Wow, those photos actually make this delicious cake look rather bad. You might be surprised to hear that this cake is actually really good. Despite the sweet potato (or kumara as it is known in some parts) and ginger... it kind of doesn't sound very appetising does it? I'm not sure what possessed me to make it, but I'm glad I did, because it was one of the best cakes I've ever eaten (aside from Nigella's Chocolate and Guinness Cake which I made not too long ago, and was recommended to me by the…

• Cinnamon Scrolls

  27 Sep 2009 | 4:53 pm

  Obviously I have been absent form here for a while. Life stuff has been getting in the way, as has lack of motivation. I've been making things but never getting around to blogging about them. I'm on leave at the moment, and while I'm on leave I thought I'd like to do all those things that have been put aside for "later". So, here I am. Let's get on with the show.Cinnamon Scrolls; one of those things that I've been wanting to make an never really got around to making. I wanted an inspiring recipe that used yeast and not just self raising flour, so when my husband emailed me this recipe, I knew…

• Hummus

  23 Aug 2009 | 12:48 am

  I've been having a bit of a blogging break (obviously). I have been making things but not having the time to put blog posts together (especially when a lot of what I've been making has been from food magazines), and I've been forgetting to take photos a lot of the time. Like this time, in fact. I decided I would just post this anyway, as although photos are pretty, if you know what hummus is like, you will know how this is supposed to look.I decided I wanted to make hummus. My sister was having a birthday celebration at my parents' house, so that was the perfect opportunity. I could have…

• 
  recipegirl.com

• Maple- Tangerine Fresh Cranberry Sauce

  Lori Lange

  19 Nov 2009 | 1:00 am

  You’ve probably had it before, and more than likely it’s typical Thanksgiving fare in your house. You know… the cranberry sauce that you pry open with a can opener and then attempt to nudge it out carefully so it slithers into the serving bowl in one large, cylindrical, gelatinous blob. I grew up with the stuff, and [...]

• Shiitake Mushroom Stuffing (from Martha Stewart Living)

  Lori Lange

  16 Nov 2009 | 1:00 am

  I don’t have the privilege of hosting Thanksgiving this year (yippee!  Hallelulah! and Phew!, right?).  Actually, I don’t really feel that way at all.  I enjoy hosting.  Being in control of the menu means I get to include all of my Thanksgiving favorites, and it’s an opportunity to rescue my ginormous dining room table from collecting dust.  [...]

• Turkey- Cranberry Strudel with Maple Roasted Butternut Squash

  Lori Lange

  12 Nov 2009 | 1:00 am

  You may have noticed that I’ve created a couple of recipes lately using Puff Pastry. There were those Caramelized Apple Waffle Pastries, and then there were the Peanut Butter S’Mores Turnovers. Puff Pastry is so easy to work with, and it’s been a lot of fun coming up with new recipe ideas for using it. [...]

• Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

  Lori Lange

  9 Nov 2009 | 1:00 am

  Ever since I began writing about food, I’ve had some strange sleeping habits. I have a tough time sleeping anyways but if I wake in the middle of the night, I start thinking…and thinking…and thinking. My mind is awash with ideas for blog posts or recipe creations, and I get so excited about what I’m creating [...]

• Beans and Cornbread (from The Pioneer Woman Cooks)

  Lori Lange

  5 Nov 2009 | 1:00 am

  Admittedly, I’m not a regular reader of The Pioneer Woman’s food blog. I’ve read it more than a handful of times, and I’ve been impressed with what I’ve seen, but I don’t read it daily. Clearly, Ree Drummond is witty and fun and her personality easily shines through in her writing. She is adored by thousands (maybe millions) [...]

• 
  alpineberry

• Rum Raisin Apple Cake

  15 Nov 2009 | 11:50 pm

  For the past couple months I've been buying tons of apples from the farmers' market every weekend. I can get varieties that are not available in the supermarket. Arkansas Black, Philo Gold, Wickson, Connell Red, Northern Spy and Spitzenberg just to name a few. Sadly the local apple season is coming to end and I'll have to go back to eating supermarket apples that have been in cold storage for who knows how long before showing up at supermarket for sale. I recently brought home some red Rome apples from the farmers' market. They were so crisp and juicy. They were labeled as "dry farmed" and…

• I Heart Zucchini

  5 Nov 2009 | 12:47 am

  I love zucchini. I eat it year round. It's my absolutely favorite weeknight vegetable since it's so easy to prepare. Just slice them up and put them in some boiling water with a pinch of salt. I could eat it every night. And I actually make zucchini bread because I really like it not just because someone had a bumper crop of zucchini. Zucchini bread was one of the first things I ever baked on my own. When I was 15 my best friend Nora gave me a recipe for zucchini bread and she said it was easy and delicious. I thought it was strange to have zucchini in a dessert, but I tried it and she was…

• Pumpkin Thing

  31 Oct 2009 | 12:44 am

  The premise behind the You Want Pies With That? event is to make a pie based on the chosen theme. Then everyone who made a pie that month can vote for their favorite pie and the baker with the most votes gets choose the theme the following month. Jeanette and I had the honor of choosing a theme for October. We decided on "Masquerade Pie" - make a pie that has a secret.We suggested that "You can conceal your pie's secret identity (with a robe of dark chocolate, maybe?) or disguise your pie as one thing when it's really something else (like a mock apple pie deceptively made with Ritz crackers…

• Macarons with Salted Almond Butter Filling

  26 Oct 2009 | 11:04 pm

  I am writing this post as I munch on a Miette chocolate macaron that my husband bought me. That should tell you how well my macaron making experience went during this month's Daring Bakers' challenge. Ami S. asked us to make macarons using a recipe from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern. We could use any filling our hearts desired. [Note: Macarons, which originated in France, are meringue sandwich cookies typically made with almonds. They should not be confused with macaroons (you know, those coconut ones).]I have always wanted to make my own macarons, but…

• The Scent of Cardamom

  20 Oct 2009 | 6:42 pm

  The taste and scent of cardamom is hard to describe. It's very distinct and unique. If you're familiar with it, there is no mistaking it. If you're not familiar, then you might say it's floral with a hint a ginger. I would never describe it as spicy. Cinnamon is spicy. Ginger is spicy. Cardamom is not. I am at a loss for how else to describe the mysterious and exotic cardamom.The yogurt along with the half pound of butter makes this coffee cake moist and definitely not low in calories. But the cardamom permeates each bite and gives the illusion of something bright and fresh that belies any…

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  Half Baked

• Pear Muffins

  Half Baked

  10 Nov 2009 | 12:32 pm

  I gone and done it again. Every time I swear to myself that this will be THE LAST TIME! But then in the heat of the moment, when my defenses are down, with such rational reasons running through my... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• Salted Caramel Pots de Creme

  Half Baked

  3 Nov 2009 | 5:20 am

  These salted caramel pots de creme were the sweet ending to Hubs birthday dinner last week. He's always a sucker for any creme brulee desserts when we go out to dinner. Caramel is his other favorite... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• Unexpected packages...

  Half Baked

  22 Oct 2009 | 8:06 am

  Look what arrived on my doorstep a few days ago. The great folks at POM Wonderful sent me a sample of the two new flavors that they've developed.  Kiwi and Nectarine pomegranate juice will be... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• Pumpkin Latte

  Half Baked

  19 Oct 2009 | 6:31 am

  I will be the first to admit that I've got a slight ummm make that a major addiction. My drug of choice?? Coffee. The idea of starting the day without a mug of steaming hot coffee makes me shudder.... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• Carrot Soup with Rosemary Apple Bread

  Half Baked

  7 Oct 2009 | 10:39 am

  Yet another reason to love Autumn...the return of soup! Unless it's served cold, not much soup gets eaten around here during the summer month's. So I always look forward to cooler temps because I... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• 
  Free Online Recipes | Free Recipes

• Carne Asada Marinade Recipe

  Bobby

  20 Nov 2009 | 8:05 am

  One of my favorite Mexican marinades is Carne Asada. Chances are you may have had these at a restaurant or made them before at home. Carne Asada steak makes a delicious meat for tacos or burritos. You can either marinade, then slice the steak into strips and cook. Or, you can leave the steak whole, grill it and then cut it into strips, which is what I did. I would recommend marinating for 8 hours to overnight for maximum flavor. The marinade uses simple ingredients such as soy sauce, vinegar, lime juice, garlic, and chili powder. If you are making tacos or burritos some condiments would be…

• Green Bean Casserole Recipe

  Bobby

  16 Nov 2009 | 8:55 am

  Here is another fantastic recipe for the Holidays, green bean casserole. This is nothing but a classic right here. Chances are many of you already have your own recipe for this but this one is a little different. This recipe has whole mushrooms in the casserole and uses fresh green beans. I always prefer fresh green beans over the canned or frozen kind but if you cannot find fresh, frozen will work as well. The process of making this dish is fairly simple. The green beans are boiled in chicken broth until tender and then mixed into a cream of mushroom soup mixture, placed into a casserole…

• Pumpkin Brownies Recipe

  Bobby

  13 Nov 2009 | 9:39 am

  These Pumpkin brownies make a great treat for the Holidays. These brownies are like an actual brownie and not a pumpkin pie bar. They are basically a combination of pumpkin pie and chocolate brownies. They are made by creating two separate batters, layering the batters in a baking dish and then swirling with a knife. These brownies are extremely moist and will leave you coming back for more. If you feel the seasonings might be a little strong, you may want to cut back on them just a little. For the pumpkin puree, you can either use canned or homemade. Lining the baking dish the aluminum foil…

• Fajita Pizza Recipe

  Bobby

  9 Nov 2009 | 8:45 am

  If you have never had a fajita pizza you are missing out. My first time making a fajita pizza was just a few days ago, and it turned out so good I just had to post this recipe. This is basically chicken fajitas on a pizza. Pizza crust topped with salsa, chicken, sliced bell peppers, cheese and onions. This will make a 12” pizza and for the crust, you can make your own, use a box mix, or a premade crust. I use the Pillsbury refrigerated pizza dough. All you need to do is unroll it and press onto your pizza pan. For the chicken, I actually rubbed the chicken with the spice mixture, grilled it…

• Chili Recipe

  Bobby

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:17 am

  This is by far the best chili I have ever had. This recipe for chili is great for football season and almost everyone is sure to enjoy it. As you can see from the ingredients, this chili can be a little expensive and time consuming but I can assure you, it’s worth it! I have tried a lot of different chili recipes that seemed a lot easier but none of them were as good as this. The ingredients blend perfectly for a spicy and delicious chili.  This chili is also great re-heated if you want to make it ahead of time and serve it the next day. It makes quite a bit and will serve about 12 people.

• 
  Bake My Day!

• Gadgets that work! Is it a clock? Is it a frisbee?

  18 Nov 2009 | 1:36 pm

  Nooooo, but what is it? I know, do you?You both are right and what David said in the comments is what had me grinning all the way from the back of the store to the register... Ah great minds...This plate will help you divide a round whatever into odd parts. Or rather even parts. Odd numbers. Hmm. Picture a pizza on the plate and in this example 5 hungry family members. Your first cut will be starting at the "0" on the bottom of the picture and then slice starting at every "5" you see on the plate. Ofcourse we tried it immediately and it really works.Not sure what the crèpe recipe is doing…

• Bread Baking Babes: Bake Brioche Mousseline

  16 Nov 2009 | 10:04 am

  ~~start classical music~~ Mellow Voice over: As you all know we are foodies. We're all about quality, fine dining, perfect patisserie. We're torturing each other about methods, ingredients, fresh herbs, the best butter, heirloom everything and free roaming all. The Bread Baking Babes are no different.~~end classical music~~Let me pull you back to reality. That's not how things go all the time always. This month our hostess Monique in her Kitchen of the Month had us scrambling for the cheapest canned food! We shared our finds: apple sauce! tomato puree! White beans, brown beans! Coffee isn't…

• Real Dutch? Liquorice ice cream / Echt Hollands: Drop ijs!

  29 Oct 2009 | 5:48 am

  Dit is echt de hit: drop ijs! Hoe Hollands kun je het maken? Ik heb allemaal hele blije jongetjes in huis nu. Niet zelf verzonnen, was het maar waar, maar gelezen en schaamteloos rechtstreeks gekopieerd van Mangerie. Zij noemde het een succesrecept, ooit hier geproefd en ik kan het alleen maar beamen; gewoon maken dit ijs!150 gr zachte drop (favoriete smaak, geen suikervrije) of van Melle droptoffees

• Bread Baking Babes they're multiplying: Tanta Wawa's or baking babies!

  27 Oct 2009 | 4:35 am

  I wonder how many creepy onlookers we'll get with these kind of headlines! Of course we're not making babies, nor are we baking babies... We joined Gretchen in her kitchen this month, she drafted from her sweet memories of Peru and provided us with a recipe and a beautiful story behind the Tanta Wawa's we're baking this month.Referring you to her post for the story and the recipe, I'm a bit pressed for time at the moment (really should have posted yesterday, oops). I just wanted to show you the arts and crafts that made my dough into eeh... well... what can I say? The one baby I thought I had…

• Peeling

  22 Oct 2009 | 1:43 pm

  pumpkin peel, originally uploaded by BakingSoda. For the color, the lines and note to self: remember the recipe that convinced the family to eat pumpkin soup and finish the post!This feed contains copyrighted photos and text from Bake My Day!. If you are not reading this material in a feeds aggregator or by e-mail subscription, the site you are viewing may be guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact bakemyday (at) gmail (dot) com

• 
  Bread Recipes

• Pesto Bread

  chuck

  8 Nov 2009 | 12:14 pm

  I had some leftover Pesto sitting in the fridge calling out my name to be used up. I decided to use it in a bread. Well, it turned out beautiful with a savory flavor of the basil, roasted pine nuts, olive oil and Parmesan cheese. The color is stunning and the bread is filled with [...]

• Coconut Bread

  chuck

  23 Oct 2009 | 9:38 pm

  Here’s a beautiful loaf of bread, that’s not only stunning to look at, but delicious to eat. Coconut milk is a great substitute for cow’s milk in bread. The milk doesn’t have a strong flavor, but the hint of coconut is there. You can find a lot of quick bread recipes for coconut in them, [...]

• Sauerkraut Rye Sandwich Bread

  chuck

  16 Oct 2009 | 10:06 pm

  It’s amazing what you can put into a bread. If you think about it, what ever you put in a sandwich you can put into a loaf of bread. Well … Ok, maybe not meatloaf. That would not make a good bread. But, Sauerkraut is perfect. It gives the bread a sourdough flavor, without a strong [...]

• Onion and Cheese French Bread

  chuck

  2 Oct 2009 | 6:07 am

  I was in Whole Foods a while back and had a chance to taste several different kinds of cheese for this recipe. I think that’s one of the things I love about Whole Foods. Cheese’s are not something I’m very informed about. So, to get the chance to taste before buying is a real treat. As [...]

• Harvest Squash Bread

  chuck

  26 Sep 2009 | 9:10 am

  Well, it’s that time of the year again when we head to the produce section and find all these strange looking squashes, just sitting there and we all wonder what to do with them. I became a big fan of squash several years ago. As a kid you couldn’t get me to eat one for [...]

• 
  Sweet Tooth

• Simplicity at it's best!

  14 Nov 2009 | 9:26 pm

  In the office cafeteria that we frequently go to, there's a new establishment that sells this kind of dessert that my friends are crazy over. I mean, they are really obsessed with it, everyday someone have to have that. I actually understand the fascination with it, mangoes with generous cream filling interlaced with chewy graham crackers, what's not to love? It got me interested in recreating this at home, seems easy enough and with few ingredients, I get to enjoy this at the comforts of my home. Did some research and found that this marvelous dessert gets it's sweetness from the help of…

• Hello! Oreos

  4 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pm

  I love love LOVE Oreos!I cannot get enough of it! To be honest I can eat a WHOLE roll of Oreos (please don't judge!) while watching the telly, specially when CSI is on. That's what I like doing best having a CSI marathon, yup! you got it I'm a CSI fanatic, I watch all THREE versions ^_^CSI or no CSI, Oreo cheesecake is another way of enjoying more Oreos. Each slice of this cheesecake is tangy and creamy at the same time. For the riches cream cheese sensation, be sure that everything is at room temperature to ensure that everything will incorporated smoothly when it's time to mix them all.

• Tropical Mango Cheesecake

  2 Nov 2009 | 5:52 pm

  Our fridge is always full of cream cheese so that anytime my craving for cheesecake hits, I'd have all the basic ingredients handy. Its a good thing that I have a leftover graham cracker crumbs from the banoffee pie that I did last week because I suddenly got a craving for cheesecake. Couldn't decide with one to make I made both Oreo Cheesecake and a Mango Cheesecake. Both are only six inches so it's not that excessive. Luckily, I've got enough crust for one of each.^_^I used the same recipe for this as I did in the cherry cheesecake months ago. Once I had the cheesecake chilling in the…

• Banoffee Pie

  28 Oct 2009 | 8:00 am

  One of the perks of living in a tropical country are the abundance of tropical fruits like bananas, papayas, mangoes, coconuts and etc. In our house, our favorites are mangoes and bananas. Every week we always have tons of bananas available, and most often than not we always have leftover bananas over ripping on the counter. Before that happens, I managed to whipped it into a Banoffee Pie. Banoffee pies are such an ease to make and it takes just a few minutes to assemble it once you finish preparing the dulce de leche. This version of banoffee pie has a much thicker crust than what I did…

• Dulce de Leche

  24 Oct 2009 | 10:56 pm

  After the storm my parents house was in full chaos, after weeks and weeks of cleaning, the ground floor part of the house is almost back to normal. However, with my oven still not working, I think I'm suffering from withdrawal after almost a month of not being able to bake anything, it's driving my insane! Today is different. I spent all my Sunday afternoon in the kitchen. I grated the tons of cheese we got last Christmas and by doing so I found out that my B&D food processor is not heavy duty. The motor smelled burned and smoke started coming out! Oh course, I panicked and quickly…

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  Cheese Underground

• The Snowman Pin

  cheese underground lady

  17 Nov 2009 | 6:15 am

  Warning: today's post is not about cheese. Please humor me while I share what happened to me this morning.Tell me this hasn't happened to you: one day, you're the cool, hip mom with highlights in her hair, listening to the same radio station as your teenager, saying OMG on your Facebook account, and ordering a tall, no fat, two pump caramel latte with whip at Starbucks.And then, the next morning, you wake up with gray hair, an extra chin and a stupid little perky snowman pinned to the lapel of your wool coat that you don't notice makes you look completely ancient until you're sitting in the…

• New Book: WI Master Cheesemakers

  cheese underground lady

  15 Nov 2009 | 1:09 pm

  By now, you've probably heard about a new book that's out called The Master Cheesemakers of Wisconsin by James Norton and Becca Dilley. Although I pre-ordered a copy and it arrived a couple weeks ago, today was the first chance I've really had to sit down and take a look.All I can say is that anyone who is curious at all to learn more about the people who make your favorite cheeses should buy this book, read it cover to cover, and soak in its captivating photography. I sat down this afternoon with the intention to skim it for notes and get ideas on future blog entries, and 90 minutes later,…

• Wisconsin Cheese: State Snack?

  cheese underground lady

  12 Nov 2009 | 4:15 am

  The Journal Times first reported on Oct. 8, that while Wisconsin does not currently have a state snack, it soon could thanks to a group of students from Wauwatosa who took their lessons from state government class seriously and brought their idea to their legislator.In a bipartisan effort, lawmakers, including Rep. Samantha Kerkman, R-Randall, have signed on to a bill introduced by Sen. Jim Sullivan, D-Wauwatosa, that would designate cheese as the state snack. Reporter Paul Sloth quips: "Should Sullivan's bill make it to Gov. Jim Doyle's desk, the designation would grant to cheese a place in…

• First Annual Cheese Festival

  cheese underground lady

  8 Nov 2009 | 3:36 pm

  This past weekend was the First Annual Wisconsin Original Cheese Festival at the Monona Terrace in Madison. I have to say that while most of it was a blur because I was organizing instead of attending, there were a few truly memorable moments, including:1. Exhuberant cheesemakers = big hugs = accidental bloody noses. We were setting up for Friday night's Meet the Cheesemaker event, and as cheesemakers arrived to set up, many were giving me hugs. One cheesemaker, who will remain unidentified, ran toward me, gave me a big hug, and without meaning to, punched my daughter square in the nose (she…

• Obama Cheesehead Hat

  cheese underground lady

  5 Nov 2009 | 4:01 am

  Coming soon to Ebay: a giant foam Wisconsin cheesehead hat signed by President Obama himself. Yes, you heard it here first. Or you probably read it yesterday in the news - I'm a little behind in my reading. Here's the scoop, courtesy of Channel 3 news in Madison (photo above is courtesy of Jessica Arp):Liberian immigrant Mansfield Neblett, 46, told the Secret Service if he couldn't wear his cheesehead hat to see President Barack Obama's speech, he wasn't going to come. He ended up made it to Obama's speech, hat and all.President Obama was in Madison yesterday, speaking at a middle school…

• 
  Have Your Cake and Eat It Too

• Chef Tam At Selayang For "Yim Kai"

  9 Nov 2009 | 11:35 pm

  Apparently there was a time, when a fellow on a bicycle used to go around offering castration services for chickens. With a deft snip and thread, the deed is done, and this strapping young rooster HERE, ......would not have been able to sire this little chicken here.Now, the chinese are not the only ones who have no qualms about snipping off lineage (the roe and sperm of hairy crabs, for example) to satisfy the palate, apparently castrated chickens are called CAPONS in English. I just call them Eunucks.... a cross between eunuchs and cluck.... EUNUCK...Apparently, the loss of male genitalia…

• ZLS, Sentul

  4 Nov 2009 | 9:23 pm

  It is the dawn of the festival of lights.... I eagerly grab my phone to see if there are any invitations to any open house, but nah leh.... how oh how was I going to spend this lonely public holiday. Oh, wait, it's a Saturday, and every Saturday IS a public holiday. For most of us anyway. The ever efficient Agent Cikay has managed to muster the troops. YAY. And guest starring Hairy Berry, all the way from Singapore. Whenst once upon a time, his trips back here used to be a weekly affair, they are now reduced to rare appearances, because (official version) he is doing his masters and has…

• Mow Hai Hai Mow? Hairy Crabs at Dragon i.

  2 Nov 2009 | 9:50 pm

  Paranoid Android, who is the next Walking Wikipedia after Nigel Skelchy, (Nigel has the age advantage), asked on Twitter, are hairy crabs "Mow Hai" in Cantonese. Ciki replies, "Mow Hai, Hai Mow?". All my friends are comedians. My twitter page can be the script for a sitcom, as could my MSN, especially exchanges with the Venerable Thamby, aka Queen of the DSLR.Those doomed to a life of humdrumness, and twiddling thumbs and swatting flies, like me, sit around all day waiting for friends to call. So, when I saw a Yahoo msg or was it an sms, from CIKI, obviously I scramble to open it quicker than…

• Bruno's at Jaya 33

  2 Nov 2009 | 7:47 am

  There's been this rumblings in the flogging scene ("flogging" is food blogging, to the uninitiated, and not some sado masochistic ritual, although the way we stuff our bodies sometimes does border on s&m), about the integrity of food reviews when it is gratis, whether or not we should declare and be transparent if we were paid in kind or in other services, (ahem), etc etc. Aiya, why so complicated? My motto, if someone wants to invite you to eat, and talk about them, oooh, why not. And if I have to declare that this was so, so be it. In fact, lately, due to the fact that I am hobnobbing…

• Electrolux Launch of the New RM10K Inspiro Oven

  26 Oct 2009 | 11:02 pm

  Of course, when fame eludes someone the way weight loss eludes Oprah, any opportunity for even 20 seconds of exposure is not to be sneered at. I was delighted when dear Adly of Fried Chillies asked me if I would be interested in doing a demo for the launch of the new electrolux oven. Considering that I myself have been an avid electrolux fan (as in a human fan, not a stand fan) for years, I thought why not. Although initially the job specs included DECORATING CUPCAKES!!!! SHUDDDDEEERRRR! You know how decoration and me go together like BN and Pakatan.Anyway, upon further exploration, to my…

• 
  thechocolatereview.net

• Chocri White Chocolate with Fruit

  Terry

  5 Nov 2009 | 9:11 am

  It’s been awhile since I did one of these! A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by a lady called Carmen from a company called Chocri, who, according to her, “is a German startup that allows the customization of chocolate bars”. So basically, it’s a build your own chocolate bar, what a great idea! I’ve [...]

• Suchard Turron Dark

  Terry

  23 May 2009 | 9:10 am

  300g of chocolate for 99p? Something can’t be right, or at least that’s what I thought when I saw this titan in my local 99p store. The bar appears to be Spanish, and it seems Suchard are owned by Kraft Foods. Everything on the wrapper is in Spanish except for a little sticker about the UK [...]

• Hotel Chocolat Summer Deckchair Giant Slab

  Terry

  20 May 2009 | 11:57 am

  500g of chocolate. Five. Hundred. Grams of chocolate. That’s what this is, and it is bloody huge. Never before have I seen a bar this big, and boy am I impressed and somewhat daunted by this beast. I’ve had a few of the Hotel Chocolat slabs before but in more manageable portions, let’s see if [...]

• Hotel Chocolat Salted Caramel Puddles

  Terry

  19 May 2009 | 9:01 am

  Last week I received a package from Hotel Chocolat with two samples within from their Summer range. I’m not sure how these are part of a Summer range but I won’t argue, as they look great. Now the backstory behind this (there’s a story behind every Hotel Chocolat creation) is that these were first made when [...]

• Zotter Bacon Bits Bar

  Terry

  18 May 2009 | 10:55 am

  Alright, I saved this one until last for a reason, because it’s bloody bacon with chocolate! It’s like they combined the two most delicious things in the world and tried to create a super delicious hybrid, but geez…bacon and chocolate? Can they really go together? Now I know Vosges in America have done a bar like [...]

• 
  Not Without Salt

• Gingerbread Cookies

  Ashley Rodriguez

  19 Nov 2009 | 9:57 pm

  As a little girl I wanted to be Martha Stewart. My best friend and I took it upon ourselves to create a publication for young girls, such as ourselves, who dreamed of being the crafter, cook and exceptional decorator that Martha is. Our magazine was called, Mini Martha Living. It ran for one issue. Oh but what an issue it was. We included recipes and how-to’s. There were sewing, beading and origami projects with hand-drawn illustrations to aid in the learning. We studied the grownup version of the magazine with precision and mimicked the layout right down to the fonts that vary in size…

• Meringue Mushrooms

  Ashley Rodriguez

  18 Nov 2009 | 11:19 pm

  I’ll be honest – I really have no idea what possessed me to make meringue mushrooms. Maybe it was my new found love of foraging? Nah. I think it’s because they are so fun to look at and much sweeter than their real life counterpart. I’ve made these in years past as an adornment to my Buche de Noel. But this year I skipped the cake and went straight to the mushrooms. Since we’ve been on the topic of homemade holiday gifts I thought these faux mushrooms would make a unique treat that would please any hostess – they sure put a smile on our neighbors face. I…

• waiting

  Ashley Rodriguez

  18 Nov 2009 | 12:12 am

  I’m waiting. The recipe that I have to offer you tonight is still in the oven.  I thought maybe we could wait together. Sooooo…. what’s new? How have you been since the last time we talked? Was it really just yesterday? Have you seen these dishes? And what about this corn? I know, right?!  FROZEN corn with mint of all things? This time of year? Seems odd but so alluring. Luisa’s insistence has convinced me that I need to make this. So I will be, on Thursday, for a very special someone’s birthday feast. Oh my goodness. This tart. Nearly everyday I ask Tara if we…

• candy gifts – caramels and sticks

  Ashley Rodriguez

  16 Nov 2009 | 11:53 pm

  In the corner of our living room there are stacks and stacks of December issues of Martha Stewart Living. There is the December ‘05 issue with a wreath studded with red glittering birds that hangs on a door painted the color of mint ice cream. December ‘01- the cover is marked with an interior shot with everything inside brilliantly gold. Oh and a personal favorite of mine – December ‘97  – a parade of Gingerbread animals covered in colored sugars walking through a fresh patch of white sugar snow. I’m pretty sure they are all on their way to a Holiday…

• tripping

  Ashley Rodriguez

  15 Nov 2009 | 11:06 pm

  I am so happy I married someone who knows his way around a computer. Currently he is sitting to my right designing, programming and all-around creating a new website for me. Don’t worry – I’m not doing a complete overhaul of the blog – again. This time we’re working on a photography site – a happy home for all my favorite photos. I am sitting, to his left, sorting, selecting and critiquing the hundreds of photos I’ve taken over the past year, or so. So tonight I thought we’d trip down memory lane and look at some of the dishes we’ve made…

• 
  Sweet Napa

• A BonBonBar Thanksgiving

  Nina

  19 Nov 2009 | 1:02 am

  I’m sending this message to my email list.  Thought I’d share on here, too… Hello, First of all, I would like to thank everyone for such an enthusiastic welcome back!  It’s been exciting to cook and enrobe in the kitchen again for BonBonBar, and the days are flying by once again. This is just a quick reminder that orders for Thanksgiving should be placed as soon as possible.  I will be shipping out the last Thanksgiving orders Saturday & Monday to ensure that they arrive in time. Our seasonal Pumpkin Pie Candy Bars and Pumpkin Pie Caramallow are perfect for the…

• Kitchen Space

  Nina

  9 Nov 2009 | 12:18 am

  With the re-launch of BonBonBar, I am now working out of my fifth shared commercial kitchen since I started the company in December 2007.  Moving into a new kitchen is almost like moving into a new home, with all of the hopes and plans for organizing the soon-to-be-gone empty spaces, but a kitchen is also something like an instrument, whose nuances and tricks you have to learn to play along with.  From the beginning, everyone I rent from is very aware that I essentially have a pretty simple two track mind that revolves around considerations of temperature (68-72F, please) and odor…

• BonBonBar is Back for Halloween!

  Nina

  23 Oct 2009 | 12:26 am

  Here’s a copy of what will be going out to my mailing list… Hello, BonBonBar is up and running again!  We are now accepting orders to start shipping on Wednesday, Oct 28 — just in time to treat yourself and others for Halloween!  To commemorate the occasion and to thank you for your loyalty, we’re offering 10% off orders placed by this Sunday at Midnight PT. Coupon Code: sfbay I’ve spent last the two months settling into Northern California… which has meant seeking out delicious food and thinking about how my confections could fit in. The fantastic array…

• Coming Soon: NorCal BonBonBar!

  Nina

  20 Oct 2009 | 10:50 pm

  I’ll post more soon, but thought I’d let you all know that, if all goes well, BonBonBar will be up and running in time for Halloween treats!  The Pumpkin Pie Bar will be back, along with new Coffee Candy Bar and Ginger Candy Bar… Pumpkin Pie Bar: Pumpkin Caramel & Graham Cracker enrobed in Dark Chocolate

• Camp San Francisco

  Nina

  20 Sep 2009 | 7:10 pm

  A trailhead across from the front door was too much for me to resist when I was looking at the Presidio apartment that I now live in.  Where does it go, I wondered?   Where doesn’t it go? Every time I go for a walk in the Presidio, I discover something new and surprising in this unique corner of San Francisco.  For the first week, it felt like camp, or a college campus without the college.  It’s a place that I would normally think about driving to, so it feels a little peculiar to step right into it from my home.  Even my backyard is bordered by forest, but then, the city is…

• 
  Technicolor Kitchen - English version

• Ovaltine thins with cinnamon sugar

  20 Nov 2009 | 3:49 am

  After a visit to Lizzie’s beautiful blog – if you still don’t know it, stop reading me and go check her amazing cookies – I started feeling a little nostalgic: she posted a Calvin & Hobbes strip, and I absolutely love Calvin & Hobbes. It reminded me of when I worked as a teacher and one of my lovely students gave me two Calvin & Hobbes books as a gift - Ana Paula, if you’re reading this: xoxo. :)Back then I did not bake as much as I do now – with two jobs and working Saturdays, it was a bit difficult – but my students were such special people I would gladly bring…

• 3 years of blogging call for chocolate-mayonnaise cupcakes with raspberry cream

  18 Nov 2009 | 9:41 am

  There was a birthday celebration at home yesterday, but not mine nor Joao’s – this very blog turned 3!I cannot believe it’s been that long – so many posts, recipes and photos... Not to mention the wonderful people I’ve met, virtually or personally, because of the blog. The comments and emails I get from you make me really happy and willing to improve my skills and learn more. Thank you for keeping me company all this time! You're the best!I’d been meaning to bake these cupcakes for months – was intrigued by the addition of mayo to the batter, instead of butter – but thought…

• Choc chip salted butter caramel ice cream

  16 Nov 2009 | 7:38 am

  Today’s post is a short one: I almost sliced off the tip of my middle finger, so it’s pretty difficult to type. :(All I’ll write is: make this ice cream. Right now, if possible.Choc chip salted butter caramel ice creamfrom the ice cream Wiz2 cups (480ml) whole milk1½ cups (300g) caster sugar4 tablespoons (58g) salted butterscant ½ teaspoon sea salt (I used Maldon)1 cups (240ml) heavy cream5 large egg yolks¾ teaspoon vanilla extract140g dark chocolate, finely choppedStart by making an ice bath by filling a large bowl about a third full with ice cubes and adding a cup or so of water so…

• Rum and raisin pillows

  12 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm

  There are movies I want to watch again right after they end – they’re so good I feel like staying in the movie theater, waiting for the next session, and the other after that.It doesn’t happen much, but I felt that way last Saturday and would’ve probably bought another ticket for “500 Days of Summer” hadn’t my sister been with me. :)I’m gonna be honest with you: I don’t like raisins. But these cookies were so cute I had to make them anyway – they’re pillows, after all. :)After trying them I felt like making other recipes with raisins – immediately. And that doesn’t…

• Carrot muffins

  11 Nov 2009 | 9:05 am

  Wanna hear something sad? I baked a cake last week and while removing it from the oven the pan slipped from my hands – the cake immediately popped out of the pan, into the floor. There was nothing but crumbs that ended up in the garbage can. :(I was absolutely devastated, but something cheered me up: my thoughts on “Julie & Julia” got published on a Brazilian magazine - I immediately felt like baking again. :DCarrot muffinsfrom DH mag #232 cups (280g) all purpose flour2 teaspoons baking powder¾ cup + 1 tablespoon (162g) caster sugarpinch of salt1 cup (260g) plain yogurt2 eggs½ cup…

• 
  Bitter Sweet Cake Shop

• Small wedding cake.

  7 Nov 2009 | 6:00 pm

  My husband's aunt called last night asking if there was anyway I could throw together a cake for a last min wedding.  The only thing she has been told it that it was for about 30 people.  So since there was no wedding colors or requests.  I went with something I'd been wanting to try for awhile.  Using stencils and royal icing on top of the fondant.  It didn't turn out as perfectly as I'd like, but I learned a TON from it and can't WAIT to try it again.  I might make a just for fun cake this week to try it again!  Getting the royal icing black was the…

• 13th birthday

  30 Oct 2009 | 8:43 pm

  This weekend was the birthday party for last week's birthday girl. It was fun to do. I got to try out a few new techniques! It was great! Although I'm still having troubles with some of my recipes here in the high altitude of UT. My white cake fell, both of them. So I used the bottom half of both cakes to get the right height. I was able to use parchment paper to get more height out of my pan, and I think the layers look better carved out of a 4 inch tall cake instead of a 3 inch tall cake. Also after the cake was done I used my steamer to make the fondant get all shiny! What do you think? It…

• Vampire Cupcakes

  24 Oct 2009 | 12:54 pm

  My niece turned 13 yesterday.  The nice thing about moving here is that almost all of my husbands family live here.  I love making cakes for family and friends, so I hope that by living here I get to make more for family events!  Back to my niece...  one of her favorite books series is The Vampires Assistant.  So when she found out that the movie was coming out ON her birthday she decided to go to the Saturday matinee with her friends.  My contribution were these Vampire inspired cupcakes!  I haven't read the books myself so I wasn't sure what other…

• Cupcake class

  13 Oct 2009 | 9:16 pm

  For a Church activity this week for the women I was asked to demonstrate and teach different way's to frost cupcakes. I pre-made 40 cupcakes and decorated each of them a bit differently showing different options you could have.The only one I ran out of time for (and wouldn't have had time to teach anyway) was dipping the cupcake in poured fondant. But overall I was pleased. Then during the class I showed them how to used 4 different tips, 2 ways each, to create different looks, like this closed star tip:Versus this one made with the same tip! I was trying to teach easy things to recreate, so…

• Mario birthday Cakes and cupcakes

  10 Oct 2009 | 8:53 pm

  My son got invited to a classmate's birthday party, and I was asked to make a cake and cupcakes for the party! After looking at some inspiration online I found a few cute patterns to base my cake on and I was ready to bake. I have a few great recipes that I've collected and perfected over the last few years. But the birthday boy wanted a yellow cake! I've never been asked for yellow cake so I soured the Internet and my favorite sites looking for some well rated and reviewed recipes. I tried 4 different recipes and they all fell flat! It was terrible! I'm not sure if it's the altitude, or what…

• 
  The Bumbling Baker

• Ugly Food For An Ugly Dude

  11 Nov 2009 | 8:30 am

  Ugly DudeIf you've ever ventured to look at some of the links I've provided to baking sites I enjoy, you've probably noticed that they they're all very pretty, and their baked stuff looks incredible. Oh, and with the exception of Sweet Boy, all of said bakers are LADIES.I still don't know how I happened to find this blog, but I'm glad I did. Ugly Food For An Ugly Dude is Ugly Dude's contribution to the world of baking blogs, and some of his stuff sure is ugly. What I love about his blog is the humour and honesty about putting a bunch of time and energy into a project that doesn't always look,…

• Chocolate-Banana Bread Pudding

  27 Oct 2009 | 6:00 pm

  I'm supposed to be studying for a job interview I have this week, so I'm going to be brief in today's write-up and just give you the facts about this dessert:1. If you need to use up leftover bananas, this is a great way to do it.2. Chocolate and bananas are a match made in heaven.3. I used to think that bread pudding was the same thing as blood pudding. I'm really glad I figured out the difference.4. Like all of the recipes I love, this is easy to make.5. This is really good warm, cold, with whipped cream or without. So basically, it's really good.Enjoy... and wish me luck! :)The…

• Peach-Blueberry Crisp

  18 Oct 2009 | 1:30 pm

  After a long hiatus following my wedding and honeymoon, I'm back and baking up a storm! This delicious crisp was made way back in August, when peaches and blueberries were bountiful (and cheap!) in Ontario, and just begging to be combined in a recipe. Luckily, I took the time to photograph this one, because it really turned out well.I adapted this recipe from Andri Tscharner's Peach-Blackberry Crisp, and replaced the blackberries with blueberries, but you could use the original ingredients and I'm sure it would taste and look just as great.I love how the flavours of the blueberries and…

• Ice Cream Pie

  25 Aug 2009 | 4:37 pm

  It's been way too long since I last posted, and I do not have any good excuses, so I'm doing the only thing I can think of to win your favour - I'm offering you this simple but spectacularly delicious Ice Cream Pie recipe. Feel free to use the ice cream flavour of your choice, and go nuts with the toppings if you want. This recipe is all about freedom and creativity!I will admit that there is absolutely nothing homemade about this dessert, but trust me - everyone who tries it will rave. It's great for a hot day, or a big cookout, or when you're feeling a little - ahem - hormonal. :)Enjoy! The…

• Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

  7 Aug 2009 | 3:38 pm

  When I was a kid, I remember attending a beach party at school where all the students dressed up in shorts, sandals and sunglasses, laid on beach towels in the gym, and ate popsicles while listening to the Beach Boys. Of course we were only pretending that it was summer, as the party took place in the dead of winter, with several feet of hard-packed snow on the other side of the wall, and the radiators seemingly hissing along to "California Girls" as they kept the room a toasty 25 degrees.I'm sad to report that this is what our Toronto summer has felt like this year - imaginary. With…

• 
  ZOMG, Candy!

• Milka Joghurt

  Rosa

  19 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am

  Today’s review comes courtesy of my roommate, Celeste, who was kind enough to bring me a German chocolate bar that she bought in Boston. I’ve seen the Milka brand in stores, but I’d never tried them before, and I’d definitely never tried their Joghurt flavor. As best I can tell, the Joghurt bar is not manufactured for U.S. markets (this bar was an import. Note the German on the wrapper), and that’s a huge shame, as it’s ridiculously good. It’s “I’m almost glad it’s hard to find because otherwise I’d eat it all the time, but…

• Two unusual truffle recipes

  Rosa

  19 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am

  The first: rethinking a PB&J, or rethinking what constitutes a truffle? Here’s a so-ridiculously-simple-it’s-a-must-try recipe for PB&J “truffles”. Basically, food process a PB&J sandwich until it turns to dough, shape it into a truffle, coat it in something else that is tasty, and enjoy. It would totally be on my to-try recipe list, except I don’t own a food processor. The second: a truffle recipe that calls for white chocolate, lemon zest, and pistachios.  Less unusual than a truffle made from sandwich, but still not an all that common recipe.

• Derry Church Artisan Chocolates - Part II

  Rosa

  18 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am

  Here’s part two of my review of my free sample of Derry Church Artisan Chocolates (continued from Monday). Today, we’ll review the Plymouth, Savannah, Tangier, and Veracruz. [Note: All text in quotes is taken from the website descriptions] The Plymouth “is a smooth, creamy pumpkin caramel with just a hint of pumpkin pie spice, then piped into an excellent, intense European bittersweet chocolate mould.” The mould itself is a gorgeous swirly square with two-tones of chocolate. It smells like pumpkin pie spice. The soft, creamy ganache inside tastes just like pumpkin pie…

• Chocolate/hazelnut spread for breakfast?

  Rosa

  17 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am

  From the Bitten blog, light outrage about Nutella trying to position itself as a healthy breakfast option. I see the problem with that promotion, but it’s not that far from sugary cereals claiming to be part of a complete breakfast, or the General Mills Goodness Corner claiming that cereals are a good source of energy (aka calories) or calcium (from the milk you pour on it).

• Derry Church Artisan Chocolates - Part I

  Rosa

  16 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am

  Chef Eric Clayton, the executive pastry chef and chocolatier for Derry Church Artisan Chocolates, emailed me about sending me some free samples of his chocolates. After checking out the gorgeous photos and sumptuous descriptions on their website, how could I resist? [Note: All text in quotes is taken from the website descriptions] Their chocolates are named after different cities. I got an all dark assortment: the Cairo, London, New Orleans, Paris, Plymouth, Savannah, Tangier, and Veracruz. I’ll do the first four today, and the next four will be reviewed tomorrow. The Cairo contains…

• 
  The Cake Blog

• ~50~

  17 Nov 2009 | 12:28 pm

• Dino!

  12 Nov 2009 | 1:40 pm

• Sushi!

  3 Nov 2009 | 12:29 pm

• Rabbits!

  24 Oct 2009 | 9:10 am

  and

• It's been a Hard Days Night

  20 Oct 2009 | 2:14 pm

  And I've been working like a dog.Sweet jumping Jesus on a jackhammer. The last month was the end of the wedding season, and it really did go out with a bang. Every weekend I was working until 3-5 in the morning and then back at work the next day around 9. It's been crazy. The last two weeks though, they've been relatively easy, I've just been lazy and recouping. But I've also had a few people light some fires under my ass about getting back to work on this blog. I mean, it's really you guys who suffer. The lack of cakes every week, Im very sorry for being so neglectful :pwell, let's start…

• 
  Abby Sweets

• Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

  19 Nov 2009 | 9:01 pm

  This week, I asked the hubby what kind of cookie he wanted and he wanted something with peanut butter and chocolate. Honestly, I wanted him to tell me something that was sort of a challenge for me to find a recipe for this week, but I guess you really can't do that with cookie. I guess this really was a little challenge for me, because I haven't found that perfect peanut butter cookie recipe yet. This one is close, and will do, but I am always looking for new ones. :) I found this recipe in one of my cookie magazines and was curious about it because there is no butter, I am guessing that the…

• Cinnamon Bun Scones

  16 Nov 2009 | 12:15 pm

  I am a firm believer in homemade scones. The ones that you buy out at the store or coffee shops, that are dry and crumbly and make you choke, are just not for me. Now, the hubby on the other hand, isn't really a fan at all of scones. He calls them fu-fu food. Let me rephrase that..until now, he was not a fan. I think that he ate half of them, and my boys ate them for breakfast this morning. I am positive that they will be requested again and again. :) I found this recipe from the book A Passion for Baking by Marcy Goldman. I have made a few things from this book and so far so good. If you…

• Vanilla Bean Angel Pillows

  12 Nov 2009 | 9:02 pm

  I chose this cookie recipe from last years Better Homes and Garden Christmas Cookie magazine. I'm glad that I keep these year from year just for this reason..even if it is 8 years from now, I now that I will find something that I haven't made yet or maybe I will have made the same recipe 10 times. The bottom line here, I guess, is that I really have an addiction. I just had this conversation this week with a friend, and I am glad to know that I am not the only one with this problem. :)I love the look of the vanilla bean speckles! :)These cookies are just what the title describes, vanilla bean…

• Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls

  9 Nov 2009 | 1:20 pm

  I probably think that these are the best cinnamon rolls that I have ever had! I made these with my friend, that I do the dinner club thing with, and we froze them. We made up the dough, let it rise, rolled it out and put the butter, sugar and cinnamon, rolled them back up, gave them a quick slice. We then put them in our pan and stuck them in the freezer. I had no idea if they would turn out or not. I pulled them out of the freezer about an hour before I was going to bake them. They thawed out in this hour and had just started to rise some more when I put them in the oven for their 15 minute…

• 5 Nov 2009 | 9:02 pm

  5 Nov 2009 | 9:02 pm

  This week I chose to go simple. The classic chocolate chip cookie. I made this recipe from Emeril Lagasse's book, There's a chef in my Soup. This is the only recipe that I have made from this book, and probably won't make them again. The taste is fine, but it is just now what I want in a CC cookie. I want a slightly crisp outside and a chewy middle. These just were all crunchy.I also did a little experiment. Normally, I only will bake on my baking stones. I love them, the bottoms don't burn. I baked half on the baking stone and the other half I baked on parchment paper on a regular aluminum…

• 
  Chocablog

• Pikelets with Chocolate Honey

  Ben

  20 Nov 2009 | 3:40 am

  Chocolate Honey is something I feel in love with whilst Honeymooning in the great Australian State of Tasmania… You could buy it in ready to go form there but it’s more fun to make your own. This is my favorite way to enjoy it. Ingredients To make a mountain (roughly 25 pikelets) of these you will need… 1 cup (150g) self-raising flour 1 tbs caster sugar 3/4 cup (185ml) milk 1 egg Melted butter 80g dark chocolate (chopped finely) 150g honey Method Really easy to make pikelets – simply sift the flour and the sugar together into a large mixing bowl, then whisk the milk and egg…

• Heritage Chocolate Medals

  Dom

  19 Nov 2009 | 2:39 am

  According to their web site, Heritage Chocolate is the sister company of Tower Mint – London’s only working mint, which produces all kinds of commemorative coins and medals – including the currency used on Gibraltar. Hertiage Chocolate coins however, are foil wrapped and made from Belgian milk chocolate. As far as I’m aware, they’re not legal tender in Gibraltar. Rather than coins, the samples they sent me were medals, including some Christmassy designs and a huge 125g specimen with “You are the greatest” proudly embossed on the front and a ribbon to…

• Rogers Chocolates Victoria Creams

  Guest Chocablogger

  18 Nov 2009 | 1:53 am

  Guest Chocablogger Michael Edwards is back with more Canadian goodies… Rogers Chocolates have been a mainstay in Western Canada since 1885. Based in Victoria, British Columbia, they make a more time-honoured range of chocolates including their signature Victoria Creams, a box of which I was hooked up with by their marketing coordinator Natasha. Everything about the Victoria Creams screams tradition. From the classic red box to the individually wrapped chocolates nestled in the shredded paper inside, it is easy to believe that nothing has changed about them in more than 100 years. And…

• Nestlé Butterfinger vs Reese’s Crispy Crunchy

  Deanna

  17 Nov 2009 | 1:51 am

  And I’m back with yet another Reese’s offering, this time it’s “milk chocolate, peanut butter, crispy peanut butter candy and peanuts.” It sounded something like a Butterfinger, so I decided to do a side-by-side comparison. Butterfingers usually aren’t my favorite choice – I don’t notice them much before they’re in my hands. Once there, though, I’ve always found them curious. A mess of crumbly, crunchy orange sugar (oh, it’s supposed to be “peanut-buttery?”) in milk chocolate. It does have a vague peanut taste, if…

• Gü Naughties Rocky Road

  Simon

  16 Nov 2009 | 3:22 am

  I’ve been eating Gü products of one sort or another for a while, but for some reason it hasn’t occurred to me to write anything about them until now. Dom wasn’t too pleased with his Gü chocolate experience, but I’ve only ever eaten their mousses and desserts, until now. These new ‘Naughties’ come in a variety of flavours, but I picked out the Rocky Road tub as my first. The ‘Naughties’ branding had me thinking about the Filthy Food Company and their fresh cream bites (currently languishing in the ‘where are they now?’ archive,…

• 
  Oiyi's Crafts

• The determination to make something work.

  17 Nov 2009 | 12:43 pm

  I bought the pattern, Cozy Bolero, to use with my ArtFibers yarn, Zoftig. It just did not look right. This pattern calls for size US 19 needles so it made the knitted fabric look very holey. Not the look I was going for. I tried another yarn in my stash and it still didn't work. Finally, I broke down and just bought the yarn called for in the pattern. Luckily, it was on sale when I went to Michaels. The Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick is very soft and creates a very warm sweater.I had lots of doubts while knitting this pattern. First of all, the raglan increases are not mirrored on the…

• May the force be with you!

  31 Oct 2009 | 9:39 am

  My little Yoda wishes everyone a Happy Halloween!

• Another Baby Gift Set

  27 Oct 2009 | 10:00 pm

  I love making Baby Gift Sets. It's so much fun picking out patterns, yarn colors and then the making of it. I wish I could make a living out of it. But then again, maybe it would take the fun out of it.Remember, the Mirabilis Baby Blanket that I made as a test knit? I knew I would find a home for the blanket. No sooner had I finished it, my friend announced her pregnancy. So, I waited until I got the baby shower invite and then used the leftover yarn to make a Owl Baby Vest and a Bear Rattle to make a complete baby gift set. I work better with a deadline.This is my 3rd Owl Baby Vest and I…

• Red Hot Lavalette

  7 Oct 2009 | 2:02 am

  Yes, my love affair with shawls continues. I loved this pattern at first sight when Kirstin showed preview photos on her blog. She has graciously offered the pattern for free, but suggests that you make a voluntary donation to Alzheimer's and dementia research. Fair trade, right? Plus, it's a worthy cause. My grandfather in Hong Kong is suffering from Alzeimer's and Parkinson's Disease and we just got word last month that it is getting worse. Currently, my mother and my aunt are in Hong Kong visiting my grandfather.The pattern calls for a Lace Weight Yarn, but I was inspired to use a Worsted…

• ArtFibers Yarn Tasting

  2 Oct 2009 | 1:30 pm

  Last Sunday, my local knitting group hosted the ArtFibers Yarn Tasting at Moe's, a bar in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. Sarah and Zawadi were the ones that arranged the whole thing with ArtFibers, so a huge thanks goes out to them for their hard work.The limit was 25 people, so the spots were first opened to our knitting group, and then to the rest of NYC. Zawadi posted all over Ravelry in the Brooklyn Groups and NYC Groups to let people know about this event. It was a free and a great opportunity to try out the yarns from ArtFibers.So, for 4 hours, we got to knit or crochet swatches with the…

• 
  52 Cupcakes

• Calling Out Larry's Cupcakes!!

  19 Nov 2009 | 7:43 am

  Today is Larry's Elletson's birthday so if you see Larry, give him a big hug and tell him Happy Birthday!Larry asked me to make him some birthday cupcakes to take to his office. I came up with two kinds: Lemon Curd Cupcakes with Limoncello Frosting and Chocolate Cream Cheese Cupcakes with Starbucks Cream LiqueurLayla was very curious about these cupcakes...and definitely disappointed when they were put in the car!CQ and Layla

• Martha Stewart's Almond-Hazelnut Cupcakes with Faux-Bois Toppers

  10 Nov 2009 | 8:09 am

  Martha says: "You might want to throw a woodland-themed celebration just to have an excuse to make cupcakes topped with chocolate faux-bois rounds. Faux bois, or imitation woodgrain, is a favorite Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia motif; it can be applied to chocolate using a wood-graining rocker, found at paint-supply stores. Made with ground almonds and hazelnuts and covered with dark chocolate frosting, the cupcakes are also worth serving on their own, without any other embellishments."I made these cupcakes for a pretty special weekend dinner that included Eric's (Catherine's fiance)…

• Day of the Dead White Russian Cupcakes with Chocolate Kahlua Frosting

  30 Oct 2009 | 7:06 pm

  Maggie Van Ostrand of Mexconnect explains Day of the Dead this way: In some countries, this time of year is referred to as Halloween and in others, such as Mexico, it's The Day of the Dead, even though, technically, it lasts four days. (In Oaxaca, the Day of the Dead begins eight days prior to November 2nd and is sometimes called The Week of the Dead.)This is the time of year in which families remember and honor the dead, welcoming their souls home on their annual visit.She goes on to say that influences from Halloween can also be felt in Mexico during this period, such as little kids ringing…

• Devil's Food Halloween Cupcakes with Vanilla Butter Cream Frosting....and Skeletons!

  25 Oct 2009 | 3:46 pm

  I whipped up these cupcakes this morning using the CakeDoctor's Cupcakes From the CakeDoctor book...she had a recipe for Halloween Spider Cupcakes...I, however, did not have any of the candy pieces around the house...and the decorations seemed too mild for me for Halloween....so I pulled out the skeletons in my closet! ;)The recipe is super easy...cake mix, eggs, oil and vanilla...all in one bowl and mixed all together...so easy.Then I had to dig out my Halloween stuff...I have a special XXL box which is overflowing with fun, scary stuff! I did try a new frosting that I found at the Safeway…

• Martha Stewart's Pumpkin Patch Cupcakes (#16)

  18 Oct 2009 | 5:55 pm

  Martha says: "Pumpkin spice cupcakes with tiny marzipan pumpkins are an unexpected alternative (or addition) to pie for Thanksgiving, but these treats would also be welcome at a Halloween party or any other fall occasion." Have you bought Martha's book yet?? It's awesome...go here right now. You'll be so happy you did! This cupcake was the Oct. 15 (I'm a few days late) for the Martha Stewart Cupcakes Club "MSC".This cupcake was pretty fun to make...it has three parts: cupcakes, frosting, and the little pumpkins. I actually made the cupcakes first and then worked on the pumpkins. They were…

• 
  Sara Bakes Cakes

• Lots of baking!!

  Sara Schneider

  26 Oct 2009 | 7:30 pm

  I've been doing lots of baking in the last couple weeks and haven't been doing the best job of cataloging all of it! Here's a quick run down:Emma and Clara's 2nd birthday cakeBoth girls are big fans of Sesame Street (can you tell?)(pre countertop clean up)and a movie! Red velvet cupcakes for my friend Shannon's bridal shower. Gumpaste flowers, cream cheese frosting.Artsy flowers, thanks to Doug.my favorite of the bunchTrigg's elephant cupcakesObviously, Doug wasn't around to take these photos - had to do it myself.Jeana's Sweet 16 cakeHuge, heavy cake for a big birthday bash! Jeana's all…

• Soccer Girl's Favorite Things Cake

  Sara Schneider

  21 Jul 2009 | 10:05 am

  Do you know what a moving up celebration is? I didn't, but maybe that's because my kids are still too young to leave elementary school and "move up" to middle school, but now I know! "Soccer Girl" loves the color green, and also loves monkeys, music, camping and, you guessed it by her nickname, soccer. This cake fit the bill. The cake was vanilla bean with green vanilla buttercream frosting and all the decorations are made from gumpaste and royal icing. Her mom (and my online marketing idol) Ellen, wrote about the cake today on her blog, Confessions of an IT Girl. It's a great read, even when…

• Cupcakes with kids

  Sara Schneider

  17 Jul 2009 | 9:39 am

  I bake cupcakes for kids, but am not really good at baking cupcakes with kids, including my own. I get pretty ocd when I'm baking - things have to be done just the right way, in the just right order, etc., etc., and even thinking of adding lots of little hands into the mix makes me nervous!Self-analysis over. My friend Debbie Koenig, the talented chef, teacher, blogger and food writer, may have shown me the light. She emailed me yesterday looking for inspiration about how to make Flicker cupcakes for her son. Since Flicker is a Disney character and we're a 100% Noggin household, I had no idea…

• Jesse's Curious George Cake

  Sara Schneider

  14 Jul 2009 | 9:31 am

  Jesse turned 2 last month and had a Curious George themed party. The cake was vanilla bean with vanilla buttercream frosting. Decorations made from gumpaste and royal icing.I realized again that noses are really hard to draw! Fortunately the rest of it looked enough like George that the nose didn't matter.

• Talia's Swimming Pool Cake

  Sara Schneider

  14 Jul 2009 | 8:57 am

  Talia turned 5 last week and had a pool party, so naturally she wanted a swimming pool cake, and she specifically asked for one with a slide. I sent her some ideas from flickr and the favorite was this one made by the wonderfully talented Kelly O'Brien of Glass Slipper Gourmet. 411: vanilla bean cake with vanilla buttercream and raspberry buttercream filling (my new favorite flavor!) decorations made with gumpaste and fondant9" and 8" cakes joined together, then I sliced a bit off the top of each top layer and cut out a smaller circle out of it to make the sides of the pool. Buttercream makes…

• 
  Cakes and More Blog

• Sydney Royal Easter Show 2010

  Nicole

  16 Nov 2009 | 3:30 am

  2010 Sydney Royal Easter Show: 1-14 April 2010 Entries Open – Monday 26 October 2009 Postal Entries Close – Wednesday 9 December 2009 Online Entries Close – Wednesday 3 February 2010 Exhibitor Delivery Days – Friday 19 & Saturday 20 March 2010 Exhibitor Collection Days – Friday 16 & Saturday 17 April 2010 Sydney Royal Arts Preview – Tuesday 30 March 2010 from 6 – 9pm Perishable Cooking Judging – Thursday 1 April 2010 at 1pm http://www.sydneyroyalshows.com.au/sydneyroyalcomps/arts/index.html

• Win a Class at Planet Cake!

  Nicole

  1 Nov 2009 | 7:54 pm

  WIN A CLASS AT PLANET CAKE!!! Have you always wanted to give a Planet Cake course a go?  Well now is your chance!  Planet Cake have generously donated a $500 voucher to the Cakes and More blog, and now it’s up to one lucky Cake Friend to win it! Make sure you read the prize & entry information! So what do you need to do? Simple a $500 voucher warrants 5 things that you need to do. You’ll need to be registered with the blog to be able to comment,  you need to comment on this post! Make sure your email address is real so I can contact you and to if necessary update where you…

• My Weekend at Planet Cake

  Nicole

  1 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am

  Everyone who embarks on cake decorating, from those mums or dads simply wanting to make their kids cakes to those that want to earn a fully fledged living, each have their heroes, idols and other inspiring decorators they love to name as favourites.  In Australia, Planet Cake has unashamedly risen in the ranks and become popular in commerical circles and in the lives of the famous also!  One of the things I love most about them is that they are open and sharing in their content, methods and techniques but also in their ‘why they do what they do’.  Some people call them a sell…

• Your say…

  Nicole

  31 Aug 2009 | 7:26 pm

  So now that we seem to have things back and up and running with several new registrations coming through I’d like to hear from you gals & guys, the readers.  I have some posts in the pipeline, but want to hear from you the reader what you also want to see, more tutorials, recipes, more tool explanations, etc, what is that you want more of, that you find helpful?  I may not be able to make you all happy but I can certainly try to skew things towards what the majority of you find most helpful. In addition if you have something that you would like to share, please email me.  A link…

• Full Steam Ahead…

  Nicole

  6 Aug 2009 | 10:22 pm

  Updated Aug 30: OK, folks issues with registering should now be resolved, updates have been applied and we’ve had successful registering.  But please do contact me if there continue to be any problems. There continued to be issues with the contact form which has now simply been replaced with an email that I can contacted on, cakesandmoreforum@hotmail.com. New posts soon to be on their way!  Thanks again for your patience. Hi Folks, thanks so much for being patient with me a mixture of being outstandingly busy with cakes and some computer issues mean I haven’t been able to post…

• 
  Cupcake Culture

• The revived Cupcake Culture

  25 Oct 2009 | 7:00 am

  I know I know... the blog's been dead for a good 3 months! It's been a pretty tough 3 months for the chief baker. Why? Because during the past months:1. she got promoted2. she conducted baking classes for a group of out-of-school youths3. she went through some ups and downs in her personal life4. she took on some new additional roles that takes away some more of precious personal time1. Yes, I got promoted at work. And that means more work, and more work, and more work. They say promotion is based on past performance, but more so on future potential for additional tasks. 'Nuff said.2. Ahem!

• For a colleague's birthday

  2 Jul 2009 | 6:14 am

  This cake was made for a colleague's birthday on 24th June. She was the supervisor of a once wide-eyed girl who stepped into the real world 8 years ago. This wide-eyed girl is none other than the chief baker. I am ever grateful to this colleague who taught me with patience. I must say it must have been really daunting, and I finally have a taste of what she went through now that it's my turn to nurture new colleagues.To YL, cheers to more birthdays to come!Oreo cheesecake with chocolate swirls

• Season of cheesecakes

  21 Jun 2009 | 3:23 am

  The chief baker has been on a quest to find the best tasting cheesecake, whether chilled or baked.This is a blackcurrent no-bake cheesecake that was made for a small girly get-together. Not the perfect tasting cheesecake I must say, but definitely one of the best looking! Aptly suitable for a girls' gathering, don't you agree?

• Cheesy Cheesecake, anyone?

  15 Jun 2009 | 7:44 am

  The youths came for an afternoon of fun and fellowship today, but work beckons me and I wasn't able to take the day off to join them. Nonetheless, a little dessert would make up for my absence! I made a chilled oreo cheesecake, and a futile attempt at some artistic squiggles of chocolate. Shots courtesy of our dear mister, who can be quite good at photography, considering that he's just an amateur.All was gone, save for 1 slice that mister kept for the missus as dessert after dinner. In my opinion, this cheesecake is way too rich! A small slice is heaven, but too much of it would definitely…

• For mummy's birthday!

  10 Jun 2009 | 7:28 am

  Mum's birthday was on 3rd of June, and though I'm all passionate about baking, it has never struck me to bake a decent birthday cake for any family member's birthday. So this year, sis and I conspired to give mum a surprise that will shock the pants off her! *giggles*I made a chocolate banana mousse cake, as mum never really liked cakes since her heydays but has a certain attraction/fascination for mousse cakes. So off we went from a primary school gathering to her home, and secretly smuggled the cake into the already crammed fridge of hers.After dinner, we brought the cake out and sang her…

• 
  Bake N Cook

• No Baked Brownie Cheesecake

  2 Nov 2009 | 9:26 pm

  After eating something from Canele, I thought chocolate base cake with cheesecake goes really well. I baked this last weekend after deciding which chocolate base and cheesecake formula to use. After some thoughts I decided to use a no bake cheesecake formula.This brownie had an additional step of whipping the eggs and sugar till fluffy instead of just mixing it into the chocolate mixture. The brownie turned out to be light and spongy but it could have been baked a bit too dry. Overall, the cake was delicious though the base could be a bit thinner and the brownie a bit more fudgier.Recipe for…

• Longan Peach Cake for CH

  29 Sep 2009 | 1:33 am

  Happy Birthday CH!Another year had pass... and CH is one year older ... Children look forward to every new age, but we adults dread every upcoming birthday. :)After doing stock taking of my baking ingredients last week, I am quite glad that my stocks of all sorts were almost used up. Not baking for about 3 months had rendered 2 new bags of floor useless due to bugs infesting in it.I used up the last bag of sponge cake mix and also some canned fruits to make this cake up. Got to get rid of the carton of whipping cream in the freezer as well. Quite please with the outcome of the cake. The…

• Banana Chiffon Cake (High banana content and low sugar)

  31 Aug 2009 | 11:43 pm

  It hasn't been good past 2 months. Basically wasn't feeling too well and not up to bake anything at all. I only felt better 1-2weeks back and was more or less back to my usual self. I had been looking at making a Banana Chiffon Cake few weeks back and last weekend, the opportunity came when there was a bunch of overripped bananas setting on the dining table screaming 'Use me! Use me!'I have modified the recipe to make this low sugar and banana filled chiffon cake. The original recipe called for 1 cup of bananas but I threw in all 6 large bananas I had which was about 2.5cups to 3 cups of…

• Sugee Cake

  28 Jun 2009 | 8:30 pm

  Make a batch of biscottis over the weekends and had many egg yolks left over. I decided to make the Sugee Cake which I read in a magazine. However, I have modified the recipe slightly to accomodate to the ingredients I had at home.The cake has a grainy texture due to the semolia flour and almond powder. I guess this is a cake that you will either love or hate. I personally do not really like the cake. I would prefer blueberry cupcakes or butter cakes to this.Here is the recipe (reduced sugar version):Ingredients:250g butter200g sugar9 egg yolks3 egg whites225g semolia flour170g almond…

• Father's Day Cheesecake

  23 Jun 2009 | 1:15 am

  HAPPY FATHER'S DAY! Dad asked for cheesecake for Father's Day. I used the same recipe as the cake chessecake I baked for my son's Birthday excluding the Oreo Biscuits inside the cheesecake.Pardon me for the messy handwriting. Doing writings on cakes is something that I need to definitely improve on. I bought a new recipe book - Bit Size Desserts by Carole Bloom over the weekends at Kinokuniya since there was 20% storewide for members. Initially, I thought I would wait till this book was available at the library to see what the book was like before buying. But after waiting for 2 months, still…

• 
  cakelava

• Noah's Ark Birthday Cake

  cakelava

  20 Nov 2009 | 11:23 am

  After a week full of artistically challenging designs which included several wedding cakes and sculpted cakes, Rick ended his cake week with this super cute Noah's Ark cake for a Isaiah's first birthday. Unlike Noah, who supposedly had one hundred plus years to build his ark, Rick worked on his over the course of three days. The ark was made entirely out of cake and everything on the cake was edible. Rick spent hours sculpting the ark and handcrafting dozens of animals to fill his ark, so it could be viewed from all sides. It was absolutely adorable and the family of the birthday boy couldn't…

• Kapow, Thwack, Christina and Jason's Superheroes Wedding Cake

  cakelava

  18 Nov 2009 | 12:46 pm

  Christina first contacted us to make her wedding cake back in January when she and her fiance Jason were stationed in Iraq. She told us that Jason was a big fan of Captain America and this was something she wanted incorporated into their cake, possibly as a groom's cake. When they returned to Hawaii from Iraq in the summer, we met with the couple and it was decided at the meeting Rick would design a Superheroes themed wedding cake, with a custom figure of Christina as Wonder Woman and Jason as his favorite Superhero, Captain America. We were all excited about the idea and the couple…

• "Cakes for a Cure" - American Cancer Society Relay for Life

  cakelava

  16 Nov 2009 | 11:32 am

  As Thanksgiving approaches, we have so much to be thankful for. Aside from the love and support of our friends, family and each other, Rick and I have been counting our blessings recently, as many new and exciting opportunities have come our way. One in particular that we are very excited to be a part of is the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life "Cakes for a Cure" which is taking place on April 24, 2010 in Greenwood, S.C. The theme of this year's American Cancer Society is "More Birthdays: Creating a world with more birthdays" and what pairs up perfectly with birthdays? Cake!! Cake is…

• Girl Fest Hawaii Cake

  cakelava

  12 Nov 2009 | 10:54 am

  We knew as soon as we received the "Save the Date" poster for Girl Fest Hawaii 2009, that Rick was going to use the scene in the poster in some way on the cake he was making for the soft opening of Girl Fest, last Friday night. It was a powerful depiction of women of all cultures united for a single cause, beautifully painted by artist Kristen Napier. As we discussed possibilities for the cake, we both agreed that we didn't want to deconstruct the poster onto a stacked or sculpted cake because the piece on its own made such an impact. It represented everything we wanted on the cake and it was…

• Happy 234th Birthday! The Few The Proud The U.S. Marines

  cakelava

  11 Nov 2009 | 10:52 am

  For the past 3 years on November 10th, we've had a date with the United States Marine Corps, to make them a spectacular cake in honor of their birthday. Last night in the Sheraton Waikiki's "Hawaii Ballroom" we helped them celebrate their 234th Birthday party in style with a gigantic cake with the USMC globe and anchor emblem. The eagle is holding in his mouth a small "Semper Fidelis" banner, latin for "Always Faithful" and the motto of the U.S. Marine Corps. This cake was huge, serving at least 200 people and took up a substantial amount of space. Part of the cake ceremony for the military…

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  Dessert buzz

• The best chocolate chip cookie in New York City - The most comprehensive list on the web for at least another few days!

  nikonice

  19 Nov 2009 | 11:44 am

  The top NYC food web site, Serious Eats New York, is putting together their own “Best chocolate chip cookie in New York” feature.  They are going neighborhood by neighborhood and then will compare each regional winner against one another to determine an overall winner. I have mixed feeling about this feature.  One the one hand, they do a great job, with superb photos objective reviews -heck they even use good grammar!  On the other hand, I feel this is one area, perhaps the only area, where Dessertbuzz has really put some time in and amassed a decent list.  I know I am still…

• Chain of Love: Le Pain Quotidien has great baked goods

  nikonice

  18 Nov 2009 | 8:33 pm

  . The small Belgian brownie from Le Pain Quotidien is about the size of a golf ball but probably much tastier. It’s the perfect snack for those days when you just want a small of blast of chocolate or dessert.  It’s also perfect for when you are going to eat a half-dozen desserts with dinner and need something sweet for lunch as a warm-up.  Okay, let’s face it, it’s perfect for any day you happen to be walking by Le Pain Quotidien and happen to have $1.50 in your pocket. . Le Pain also has a large (it’s quite huge actually) Belgian brownie but I ate it before I…

• Mid-week update: New openings in NYC

  nikonice

  17 Nov 2009 | 6:54 pm

  The The Wandering Eater was the first to cover the new outpost of Francois Payard in the Maboussin jewelery store on Madison Ave.  Judging from the pictures it looks like it might be just as serious an undertaking as his original place on Lexington Ave.  Thank god - that stuff was the real deal.  Look for a review soon on DessertBuzz. I also saw that The Strong Buzz (no relation) is reporting that Pichet Ong from Batch fame (a DessertBuzz favorite now closed) is a partner in a new East Villiage dessert spot called  Spot Dessert Bar located at 13 St. Mark’s Place.  More on that…

• Made to order: Custom bark at Pure Dark in the villiage

  nikonice

  13 Nov 2009 | 5:27 pm

  Many of the regulars seemed to skip this year’s (mini) New York Chocolate Show.  However, a few newcomers picked up the slack.  One of the new vendors was Pure Dark.  Disclosure: These are the guys who threw a small party last November for DessertBuzz and some of our friends at their West Village store. At the show they were giving away quite a bit of their signature mixes such as chocolate with ginger or dried cranberries.  Think of Pure Dark as the Pinkberry or Red Mango of dark chocolate sellers - that is, all their toppings are strictly high end.  Anyway, they had a number of…

• Holy Sh*t! It’s Vegan: OMG cupcakes

  nikonice

  9 Nov 2009 | 8:03 pm

  OMG Cupcakes, a new, organic cupcake delivery outfit offers traditional, gluten free and vegan recipes to New York City and Rockland County. In the vegan category, the “mounds” cupcake was by far the most delicious.  In fact, I liked it best out of all the cupcakes I tried including the non-vegan.  The “ounds” features very moist coconut cake, gooey coconut topping that’s not too sweet and a chocolate ganache filling.  I should note that both the coconut topping and the chocolate ganache were very smooth and creamy.  I have had vegan cupcakes where the…

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  Everyone's Blog Posts - Dessert Professional

• Some More Chocolate Words!

  Sandra Mallut

  POD The oblong fruit of the cacao tree. Pods measure six to 12 inches and ripen in five to six months. Inside are 30 to 40 half-inch-long, almond-shaped seeds, or beans, from which chocolate is made. Pods are harvested and cut open with a type of machete and are left as is to ferment. The beans are then scooped out and spread out in the sun to dry. Dried beans are graded and sold to chocolate producers. PREMIER CRU CHOCOLATE The term Chocolat Michel Cluizel and some other chocolatiers use for their estate-grown chocolate. Abbreviated as 1er cru. PUGGING The first rudimentary form of…

• Shaved Ice

  Howard Strang

  Granted shaved ice is not much of a dessert, it can be a great money maker to keep businesses in operation. I'm needing to make some decisions now that will impact our establishment for next summer. Debating between a Scotsman Ice Machine and a Manitowoc Ice Machine, basically needing to go with whatever kicks out the highest quantity of ice but also the most consistent thickness to feed into our "ice shaver." I just thought I'd check around to see if anybody out there had an ice machine in their kitchen that they loved enough to recommend. Thanks!

• Pastry Courses in Portland

  Kristen D. Murray

  3-day Pastry workshop November 10 - 12, 2009 The Robert Reynolds Chef Studio has created a three-day pastry workshop with master pastry chef Kristen D. Murray. The collaboration between Kristen and Robert represents the continuing expansion at the Studio, where master chefs share their expertise with those who wish to work side-by-side with the best in their field. Kristen has 12 years of experience with fine pastry at renowned restaurants in the US and France, including Les Meres Nouvelles Cuisinieres in Courchevel with Christine Ferber of Strasbourg; in New York at Aquavit, Grammercy…

• Women Are Hot For Gourmet Chocolate

  Ed Engoron

  Does dark chocolate have a more positive impact on women than on men? We’ve know for a long time that women have in some way compared sex to chocolate, or vice a versa. Finally doctors have discovered the missing link between the two. According to Italian researchers (you’ve got to love the Italians when it come to amore or chocolate), women who eat chocolate have a better sex life than those who don’t. Women who enjoy chocolate have higher levels of desire, arousal and satisfaction from sex. Learning from the clinical side, a group of urologists from San Raffaele hospital in Milan…

• Polycarbonate Chocolate Mold 4 Sale

  Pierrick Dubreil

  Have used (once) mold for sale. Cornucopia, duck 15cm, 100gr bar, pyramid turrons, tasting bars 5gr, mini bars 5gr, cocoa pod, ruby, diamonds, southern star. Anyone looking for used mold.$15/plate

• 
  Dessert First

• Vanilla, Mocha, Walnuts: Memories of Bundt Cake

  pastrygirl

  13 Nov 2009 | 2:04 pm

  Some of my earliest memories of baking at home involved my mom, a box of cake mix, and a bundt pan. Now, to be completely fair to my mom and cake mixes, she came over to America at the age...

• A Clafouti For Chilly Days: Apples, Cranberries, and Vanilla Bean

  pastrygirl

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:20 pm

  A dear friend of mine just returned from Africa and brought me a wonderful gift: a literal bag of whole vanilla beans! Apparently vanilla beans are much less expensive in Africa (no doubt due to the vanilla bean powerhouse Madagascar)...

• A Little Candy Corn for Your Halloween Bowl

  pastrygirl

  30 Oct 2009 | 11:41 am

  Hi all! In honor of Halloween, I thought I'd share this candy corn recipe from my cookbook. I also got to speak with the Saucy Sisters from Nashville about this Halloween staple; here's the podcast if you want to take...

• Pomegranates, Fall, and Cookbooks

  pastrygirl

  26 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am

  Thanks to all of you who made it out to my book party last weekend! We had a brisk fall afternoon, a lovely crowd, and chocolates for all! I was flattered that so many guests commented on the Vanilla Bean...

• 
  At the Baker's Bench

• Pear-Ginger Galette with Pecan Streusel

  18 Nov 2009 | 5:52 pm

  Welcome to the countdown-to-Thanksgiving pie clinic! We're a week away, so we have plenty of time to get comfortable with pie pastry and think about some options for our holiday pies.I've covered basic pie pastry in an earlier post, so what I'd like to address here is a little different. If you're planning to make a number of pies but have only a few pie plates, this is the post for you. Here, I'll go over the basics of the galette (or crostata), a terrific way to simplify the pie-making process.The galette is basically a free-form pie or tart, made on a baking sheet instead of in a pie…

• Peach Pepita Paleo Cookies

  13 Nov 2009 | 7:34 am

  If you are a regular at The Baker's Bench, you'll know that this recipe is a little different from my usual fare. I can explain. I have a couple of friends who are very disciplined and health-minded and who subscribe to a "paleo" diet, which apparently consists mainly of meat and vegetables. They eat few or no processed foods ~ and that includes flour (even healthy, whole grain flour! ~ crazy, right? But I digress).Because they insist on depriving themselves of butter-and-sugar deliciousness most days of the week but still enjoy oven love, I came up with this recipe. If you voluntarily choose…

• 'Tis the Season for Holiday Baking!

  2 Nov 2009 | 9:36 am

  Thanksgiving is coming ~ are you ready? Maybe you've got your pantry shelves stocked with molasses and pecans, brown sugar and cans of pumpkin puree, and you're knee-deep in magazine clippings featuring recipes you can't wait to try.Or . . . maybe the thought of producing pastry for the most high-profile pies of the year makes you break out into the cold sweat of dread, and the pressure to produce feather-light biscuits just like Grandma's is starting to give you indigestion already. Relax, I'm here to help.What's your biggest baking headache? Is it leather-tough pastry crusts? No problem, we…

• BYOB Roundup ~ November 1, 2009

  1 Nov 2009 | 5:46 pm

  Beth of Kitchen Courage makes me hungry. She does. Even when I'm not hungry, she still has the power to entice me. But the best part? Her offerings are virtuous, folks ~ incredibly delicious-looking and -sounding breads and spreads that I could eat (even right NOW when I'm not even hungry) without the slightest bit of guilt. Don't believe me? Go and see for yourself. This month? Wheat-Beer Bread with (bonus!) Roasted Butternut Hummus!Shirley of Plum Bush Cottage takes that daunting step every serious baker must eventually undertake . . . the Sourdough Starter! And wow, if you haven't done…

• Peach Frangipane Tart

  6 Oct 2009 | 6:16 am

  "Frangipane." The word itself intimidated me for the longest time. I knew what the actual substance was ~ it was delicious. To be more specific, Sharon Tyler Herbst's New Food Lover's Companion defines it as, "a rich [pastry cream] flavored with ground almonds and used as a filling or topping for pastries and cakes." And I knew it was simple ~ and better yet, inexpensive ~ to make, so that wasn't the problem, either.No . . . it was the pronunciation. I couldn't bring myself to say that word out loud. I wouldn't disgrace myself by attempting the drawling French, "FRAWN-zhee-pan," and I felt…

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  The Financial Brand

• Pop Quiz: How strong is the heart of your brand?

  Editor

  18 Nov 2009 | 3:21 am

  At the heart of every brand rests a promise, a certain experience — good or bad — that people can count on. Some branding experts call it a “brand promise.” Others call it a “brand essence.” Or a “brand position.” You could even use the throwback term “Unique Selling Proposition.” Call it what you want. Your brand has one, whether you’ve defined one formally it or not. If you think you have an idea about what your brand stands for, here’s a short quiz you can take to see how compelling it is. 1. Is your brand differentiated? Is your brand position something…

• Guerilla good deeds promote new branch

  Editor

  17 Nov 2009 | 3:21 am

  In the weeks leading up to the grand opening of AltaOne Federal Credit Union latest branch, the credit union sent out a street team to conduct random acts of kindness. The hitch? No one knew AltaOne was behind the good deeds. AltaOne waited to uncloak themselves until the night of the grand opening. For four weeks, the credit union’s street team traveled a 3-mile radius around the new branch location, anonymously conducting “good deeds,” such as paying a family’s dinner bill, or surprising a local fire department with a free lunch. The only information the street team provided was a…

• ANZ Bank connects with students on their own terms

  Editor

  11 Nov 2009 | 3:21 am

  Reviewed and written by Jeff Stephens, CEO of Creative Brand Communications “The campaign doesn’t presume students want to engage with their bank.” – Rapp for ANZ ANZ Bank New Zealand recently launched a successful youth campaign, GettingUThru, which should serve as a model for other financial institutions pondering how to effectively target students and young adults. The campaign includes social media components and centers around a comprehensive microsite, GettingUThru.com. The site has five feature sections, including: Student Package – No-fee transaction…

• ‘The Arrival Guide’ for Gen-Y (The Good, Bad & Ugly)

  Editor

  10 Nov 2009 | 3:21 am

  Reviewed and written by Tony Mannor, CEO of Andermahr & Company I always get excited when financial institutions venture out and try something new — to shrug off the hot and itchy grey flannel suit and put on some shorts, flops and sunglasses, and relax a little. This is the environment that marketers can really make their mark and prove their differentiation. That’s why I was so excited to review EDS Credit Union’s project, “The Arrival Guide.” I have never heard of EDS Credit Union before, so my breakdown and analysis will be entirely based on my 12 years of experience in…

• Virgin should shock just about everyone

  Editor

  9 Nov 2009 | 3:21 am

  Some may question Sir Richard Branson’s timing. Why would he launch a bank now? Well, for starters, Branson is exceptionally good with money. Who better to run a bank than a guy who makes money almost faster than it can be printed? But there’s a more serious and strategic reason Branson is launching a new financial brand right now: Every financial institution established prior to the credit crisis has, in the consumer’s eyes, a somewhat tarnished brand. People are apt to lump most pre-2009 financial brands into the same category, at least to some degree, making them share equal bits…

• 
  Joe Pastry

• Why is crème brûlée baked in a bain marie?

  joe

  19 Nov 2009 | 12:49 pm

  Which is a water bath to all of us regular people. A water bath is the classic way to prevent custards from curdling (or "breaking") because it keeps the temperature of the cooking custard at a constant low. How so? For one because liquid water —unless it's at a rollicking boil — doesn't get above 212 degrees Fahrenheit. Beyond that it becomes steam. Thus everything below the water line will remain below boiling, usually below the curdling point (which is around 190 for most still custards) even though the temperature of the oven is 325. But then if the oven is that hot, what…

• Cold (in)Fusion

  joe

  19 Nov 2009 | 12:36 pm

  I break from the early makers of crème brûlée in that I prefer a very smooth, silky texture without any "bits" in it. I also like a simple, clean appearance that's free of any flecks of this or that. The trouble is, it's those bits and flecks that add flavor to this chilly custard dessert. So what to so? The answer for me is: infusion. If you're wondering what exactly an "infusion" is, it's simply a process by which flavor is extracted from one substance and delivered to another. The extractee is usually something fairly strong like a spice or an herb. The receiving substance…

• On a Different Note: Freezing Yeast Dough

  joe

  19 Nov 2009 | 7:00 am

  Reader Maria writes in with this: I have a question about freezing yeasted bread dough. Is it ok to do, and if so, at what stage in the process should I put it in the freezer? I've been told a variety of things and it seems to me like it would make the most sense to do it after the 2nd rise (if there is one) and rounding process. It would be really handy if I could freeze things, since I have a pretty full schedule. I'm particularly interested in freezing sweet doughs, like for cinnamon rolls. Is there is a difference in freezing a sweet dough vs. a whole wheat bread because of the fat and…

• What good is a kitchen blowtorch?

  joe

  18 Nov 2009 | 3:02 pm

  What are you kidding me? Other than making crème brûlée you mean? If you dig pastry, lots of things. You can makes s'mores without a campfire, for one. A blowtorch can turn a humble split banana and a sprinkling of brown sugar into a gourmet platform for homemade ice cream. It's also handy for toasting meringue toppings. On the savory side, it's great when you need to roast the skin off a chile pepper or a tomato and don't feel like heating the broiler up. Then there's melting or browning cheese, say, on the top of a bowl of onion soup. And then of course there are tarts. This…

• Less is more?

  joe

  18 Nov 2009 | 1:02 pm

  We live in an age of culinary overkill. Our waffles come stacked to the moon with toppings. Our tacos are stuffed with burritos stuffed with nachos. As exhausted as we get by our own over-abundance, it's easy to get lulled into the assumption that every food that came before our time was by definition a study in simplicity. Not so. Take crème brûlée. Many of us recoil — and many of you folks out there did — at the notion of putting ingredients like whole fruits or peanut butter into the mix. Since I love an ultra-simple crème brûlée, I'm in broad…

• 
  Cake Talk

• Organic Pumpkin Pie

  Mary Cesar

  17 Nov 2009 | 6:09 pm

  My favorite pie of all time is pumpkin.  Plain, simple baked pumpkin custard, with cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg, maybe a few ground cloves (sorry mom, I know you prefer pumpkin chiffon...).  Sweet potato and pecan pies are are also nice, and so is apple. But I'll take pumpkin pie any day over just about any other dessert. These lovely organic pumpkins are from Snow's Bend Farm.  We roasted them today, and pureed them.Thursday we'll have savory pumpkin soup.  Then the rest will be made into pies for Thanksgiving.And, just in case you do not have the same holiday pie…

• Another Good Cake Week

  Mary Cesar

  14 Nov 2009 | 2:51 pm

  What a great week for cakes.  A Daphne Blue Fender guitar for Debbie Bond (of the Alabama Blues Project), a Star Trek cake (invitation said "Costumes Encouraged"), and a pretty black and white stacked cake.  These were just the tip of the iceberg.In case you cannot tell from my photo of the Star Trek cake, the top tier looks like the uniform, with a black collar, blue torso, and logo.  The bottom two tiers are covered in black ganache and decorated with galaxies. We also  had four weddings -- two on Friday and two on Saturday (Alabama plays Mississippi State in Starkville…

• How to Pick-up a Cake

  Mary Cesar

  14 Nov 2009 | 2:06 pm

  You have ordered a cake and now you are coming to pick it up.  Without overstating the obvious, here are some basic DO''S and DON'TS: DO tell us if you like your cake when you see it for the first time.  We love our cakes, and you will really make our day if you are as excited about your cake as we are.  We encourage "oohs" and "ahs." "Wow" and "awesome" are also perfectly acceptable. DON'T wait until you get home (or later) to tell us if your cake is not what you expected.  The best time for us to add, remove, or change…

• Customers Behaving Badly

  Mary Cesar

  9 Nov 2009 | 12:45 pm

  We've all been there.  You've had a bad day.  Maybe the stress of party planning has taken a toll.  Maybe you're getting a cold or you have a toothache.  Maybe you are just plain tired. We understand.  Everyone has a bad day from time to time.  We work very had to be sure every one of our customers gets the cake they were expecting. Sometimes things go wrong, and when they do, we make every attempt to make it right, even if that means working late, delivering a cake that has to be re-decorated.  Or whatever it takes.The overwhelming majority of our customers are…

• Zebra Prints

  Mary Cesar

  9 Nov 2009 | 10:47 am

  We go through design phases at the bakery. Right now, zebra prints are IN!  Here are just two examples, but we've done this design so much lately that I am considering buying black fondant, already mixed.The design works for "boy" cakes as well as "girl" cakes.  For kids and adults.  And it goes well with just about any bright color, but especially hot pink, lime green, yellow and red.We've even done brown stripes on white, and teal on chocolate, although those were not my favorite color combinations.The cookies-as-decoration also work well, even though the…

• 
  Get off your butt and bake

• GOBBLE GOBBLE...

  Jonna

  16 Nov 2009 | 3:43 pm

  Have you see this cute little gobbler on Taste of Home? I couldn't help but point it out to all you Moms, who might be in charge of a Thanksgiving Treat for a school party, ect.  It's simple...sugar cookies, Nabisco Pinwheels and frosting.  I also think they would be quite yummy to eat! It's a good thing that so many of you out there are so darn creative, and are willing to share it with the rest of us. Our family favorite Thanksgiving recipes are coming tomorrow, so make sure you check back. Thanksgiving wouldn't be Thanksgiving, without Pomegranate Crunch Salad…

• WHITE CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE

  Jonna

  14 Nov 2009 | 5:05 pm

  Those of us who live around Idaho, are familiar with a great business called Prepared Pantry.  A lot of what they sale, comes in wonderful...easy to prepare mixes that make life really easy.  They also share a lot of great recipes with us as well. Prepared Pantry has Proclaimed this cheesecake to be the "Best on the Planet!"  I thought it only fair, to share it with those of you who don't live by a Prepared Pantry. This cheesecake encorporates melted White Chocolate with the rest of the ingredients to make it very rich indeed. Use a good quality white…

• CHOCOLATE CHIP OATMEAL CHEWIES

  Jonna

  12 Nov 2009 | 5:36 pm

  Yesterday, I picked up my purse and grabbed for my checkbook.  The bills needed paid promptly.  I couldn't help but notice the weight of that overloaded "catch-all."  After the weight of the bills were off my shoulders, I flung my purse over one of those same shoulders, and literally gasped!  It was time for....a clean out.  As I dug down to the bottom, I pulled out a crumpled piece of paper.  The edges were ripped and I could tell it had been there for quite some time. Sitting in the waiting room of a Dentist Office, I fumbled through magazines that…

• PIZZA AND BREADSTICKS

  Jonna

  9 Nov 2009 | 5:13 pm

  If you know me, then you already know that I Love pizza! I like it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I like it hot and I like it cold....in the pot nine days old.  Well, maybe not nine days old....but you get the picture.  Last week I tried Pioneer Woman's Chicken Fried Steak, from her new cookbook and it was delish.  Over the weekend, I decided to put her pizza crust recipe to the test. Her recipe is very similar to my own, except that it has quite a bit more Olive Oil added to the dough.  Since there's two of us in this house right now, we…

• CHICKEN FRIED STEAK with MASHED POTATOES and Gravy

  Jonna

  4 Nov 2009 | 11:31 am

  I admit it, I am a Cookbook Addict!  Twice....yes twice - I made a trip to Barnes & Noble, to purchase...  The Pioneer Woman Cooks - You know, her new wonderful lip smaking Cookbook. Both times I was turned away, along with several other anxious, irritated woman who had stopped by (on the proper date) for the same darn reason. Oh yeah, they had the books, but neglected to remove them from the boxes that were boastfully storing them.  I believe it was a strategic plot!  Why?  Well, they aren't dumb, they know that weak,…

• 
  'Nilla Rose Desserts

• Mid-November Single Serve Desserts

  14 Nov 2009 | 11:16 am

  Lots of little things to bake this month...Last weekend was my mom 's quilting retreat and she wanted an easy, packable, low fat dessert and found a pretty easy and pretty delicious recipe for cherry brownie muffins. They started from a fat free brownie mix, and included cherry pie filling and a bit of FiberOne cereal for an added crunch. It might not sound too great, but take my word for it - the batter was just as good as any.Next I had a little "job" for Melissa from high school. She is throwing her boyfriend a surprise party today and needed some musical desserts: music note sugar…

• Bridgie's Bday Big Cookie a.k.a. Sale Halloween Candy at its finest :)

  14 Nov 2009 | 10:52 am

  What do you get when you have loads of extra Halloween candy? A giant, brightly colored cookie cake!Ok, I'll be honest, I actually went out and bought on-sale candy, we didn't have any leftovers - but you could use whatever candy or mix-ins you have on hand. This was actually an amazingly easy recipe - no mixer needed.I found the recipe here --> http://snagwiremedia.com/candy-bar-blondies/ and probably used too much candy (which led to it needing to be cooked an extra 15 minutes or so) but it still turned delicious and was thoroughly enjoyed by Bridget & company as a birthday…

• H A double L O W double E N spells Halloween!

  1 Nov 2009 | 12:11 pm

  Halloween! One of my favorite times of the year - full of candy & desserts, of course! I had quite a field day this year, lots and lots of baking went down this week, and almost all on the same day.Started off with a spider cheesecake for my mom's quilting friends. A weight watchers recipe, I wasn't expecting amazement, but I received rave reviews from everyone, including Dad and Michael so it must've been good. I don't really like cheesecake, but I didn't even get a chance to refuse a piece because I was at work all day and missed it.Next I tackled Cakespy's Candy Corn Nanaimo Bars I'd…

• Weekend Treats

  1 Nov 2009 | 11:44 am

  What would a weekend be without some baking?These two treats were definite impromptus, first some spooky ghost and pumpkin chocolate chip cookie shapesAnd last weekend, another 1am cupcake excursion at Elizabeth's. This time following her brother's lovely wedding. The cakes were from a box, but the frosting homemade and delicious. I decided to decorate them with add-ons I found in her cabinets - chocolate chips, pretzels, marshmallows, rice krispies, oatmeal cookies and some maple pecan cereal - yum!

• Marilee Desserts

  1 Nov 2009 | 11:29 am

  For the past four years, my sister's birthday has fallen on my Fall Break from school, so I always make it home to celebrate, but sometimes this means she gets a quick cake that is not up to par for my usual desserts. This year, I wanted to make sure she got something she'd enjoy, so I make her a caramel cheesecake and pumpkin dip, followed by pumpkin bread muffins later in the week. Even though I don't like cheesecake or pumpkin, I tried everything and was surprised that I actually enjoyed the few bites I had. I'm either dealing with changing taste buds, or extreme hunger these days.The…

• 
  Bank Nerd

• BMO Decreases Residential Mortgage Rates

  Sensei

  20 Nov 2009 | 7:12 am

  BMO Bank of Montreal has announced that it will be decreasing its residential mortgage rates. The decreased rates have been in effect since November 19th, 2009. The new rates are as follows: Fixed Rates To Change 6 month fixed convertible 4.65% 0.00% 6 month fixed open 6.45% 0.00% 1 year fixed open 6.55% -0.25% 1 year fixed closed 3.50% -0.20% 2 year fixed closed 3.75% -0.20% 3 year fixed closed 4.25% -0.20% 4 year fixed closed 5.19% -0.10% 5 year fixed closed 5.59% -0.19% 6 year fixed closed 5.59% -0.19% 7 year fixed closed 6.60% -0.20% 10 year fixed closed 6.70% -0.25% 18 year fixed open…

• Flaherty Unveils Credit Card and Debit Card Code of Conduct

  Sensei

  20 Nov 2009 | 6:45 am

  Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has finally unveiled his long awaited proposed voluntary code of conduct for Canada’s multibillion-dollar credit and debit card industries. Within the proposed voluntary code of conduct, you will find a number of measures that will address the complaints brought forward by merchants. Flaherty noted that the proposed code is intended to promote fair business practices and ensure that merchants and consumers both understand the costs and benefits of credit and debit cards. It was also noted that the government supports efforts that encourage a competitive…

• OFSI Keeping Banks under Surveillance

  Sensei

  20 Nov 2009 | 6:01 am

  Canada’s top banking regulator has noted that it is inadequate to have global regulators simply create new rules for the financial sector, because preventing another crisis also requires an equivalent focus on day to day supervision of the industry. Julie Dickson, superintendent of the Office of the Superintended of Financial Institutions (OFSI) made remarks on this topic during an address at the Women in Capital Markets luncheon in Toronto. OFSI is currently updating its supervisory framework and increasing its oversight of risk management, Dickson does not want to cross the line by…

• RBC Royal Bank Decreases its Residential Mortgage Rates

  Sensei

  19 Nov 2009 | 6:45 am

  RBC Royal Bank has announced that it will be decreasing its residential mortgage rates effectively on November 19th, 2009.  The changes to RBC Royal Bank’s residential mortgage rates are as follows:  Fixed Rate Mortgages One year closed 3.60% Decrease by 0.20% Two year closed 3.75% Decrease by 0.20% Three year closed 4.25% Decrease by 0.20% Four year closed 5.19% Decrease by 0.10% Five year closed 5.59% Decrease by 0.15% Seven year closed 6.65% Decrease by 0.15% Ten year closed 6.80% Decrease by 0.15% Special Fixed Rate Offers Four year closed 4.14% Decrease by 0.10% Five year closed…

• TD Canada Trust Adjusts its Residential Mortgage Rates

  Sensei

  19 Nov 2009 | 6:34 am

  Toronto Dominion (TD) Canada Trust has changed its residential mortgage rates, and the new rates will take effect as of November 19th, 2009. The changes in the residential mortgage rates are as follows      Fixed Rates                                                  To:                                 Change:     6-month convertible                                   4.60%                            N/C     1-year…