Cakes
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.These cupcakes are not only my new favorite because they are quick and easy to make. They’re also my favorite because you’ll likely already have all of the ingredients in your house, and they’re absolutely delicious. Amy Sedaris had definitely created the quintessential vanilla cupcake recipe. Firstly – Sedaris , really? As in Strangers with Candy?
Easy, Perfect Vanilla Cupcakes - Semisweetie, A geeky baking and recipe blog#more-665
King Cake {Happy Mardi Gras!}
So this year has been kind of crazy–Valentine’s Day, Chinese New Year, and Mardi Gras are all happening within just a few days of each other (well, and President’s Day, but let’s face it, President’s Day has never excited people gastronomically in the same way…) We moved to Louisiana exactly two years ago. When we went to the grocery store for the first time, we weren’t just bowled over by the shockingly high price of milk, but also by these pastry rings that were sprinkled with yellow, purple, and green sugar. And I won’t lie, I thought they looked pretty horrible. Turns out they were King Cakes and I can still say that I’ve never seen one that I didn’t think was pretty ugly.
Coffee Cake to test the mixer.
One of my favorite cook books of all time is Commander’s Kitchen by Ti Adelaide Martin and Chef Jamie Shannon. It is filled with some of the fabulous, unique recipes from the famed restaurant Commander’s Palace in New Orleans. It gives you a wonderful peek into the rich history and diverse life of N’awlins as well as an acute feel for the culture. It is so beautifully written that it nearly beacons you to go to Louisiana and immerse your palate in the Cajun and creole spicy dishes.
Adventures with Pineapple:Part Two-Cupcakes
Finally! I am done with the pineapple! Whew, thank goodness.
Have you tried this yet? I'm not sure what took me so long to jump on the cake-in-a-jar bandwagon, but I'm fully on board now. I guess I was a little skeptical that it would work, but it does! I can see how convenient these portable cakes would be to take to parties and get-togethers.
Whiskey Cake in the Jar-O!
Tiramisu + Sushi = Tiramisushi
Sushi and Tiramisu, what a beautiful hybrid. I first saw this recipe in Demolition Desserts , the cookbook by Elizabeth Faulkner. If you are a sushi lover like me, and like to make sweets like this then you'll be as excited as I am about this dessert.
Spring Battenburg Cake
This was my first time making Battenburg cake, and it certainly will not be my last. I'm smitten! I love the bright almond flavor the cake imparts, and I can't help but smile at the colorful two-by-two checked pattern. Traditionally the cuboid cakes are pink and yellow, but I've always thought pink and green conveyed the feeling of spring more perfectly.
Pink Snoball Cakelettes
There's nothing like a pretty pink dessert to lift your spirits, and these little pink cakes definitely make me smile. Their appearance reminds me of Hostess SnoBalls in miniature. I found the recipe online, and after reading it entirely, I realized that a few ingredients and measurements had been left out of the text. ( Believe me, I'm not passing judgment. I've accidentally done this before! ) Instead of tossing the whole idea, I decided to tinker around with the recipe and see if I could puzzle together the missing elements.
Merry and Bright: Pomegranate Christmas Cake
This holiday season I've been baking more than ever, and my appliances are either rebelling or flat out giving up the ghost. My Kitchen Aid mixer started making an unfamiliar noise yesterday, and my poor cheapo food processor died last week. It's untimely demise was from the thick batter of a viking cake I'm making for the upcoming book. Apropos, don't you think?I guess you could say this is a recipe revisited. This past January I discovered and made " Tiramisushi ", the brain-child of Elizabeth Faulkner , pastry chef and author of the unconventional cookbook Demolition Desserts . At the time, everything on my "to bake" list became questionable next to Tiramisushi, which was penned at the top and underlined three times.
Matcha Cake Sushi Rolls
Can you believe March is only a few days away? That means St. Paddy's day is not far behind. I'm all for starting the celebration early, so let the baking of green treats begin!
Lucky Vanilla Cupcakes
I was so positively sure that I could not make these cookies, that I waited an entire year before giving them a try. I had bookmarked the recipe at epicurious.com , but after reading the instructions and almost every review contributed, I became hesitant. Nearly everyone who spoke of these cookies had varying experiences and suggestions. My head was spinning, and I didn't know whose 2 cents would be truly valuable. With the impending cookie exchange, I wanted an impressive contribution and these came to mind once again. It was time, I thought, to waste an afternoon and possibly a can of almond paste.
Italian Layer Cookies
Crown Jewel Cake
Of all the nostalgic desserts to revive, I think this one is most fashionably worthy. This cake is based on a recipe that ran on the back of Jello boxes during the late 1950's. Long gone are the days when Crown Jewel Cake ( a.k.a. Broken Glass Cake) was made with powdered, processed, and if I may say - oldfangled - dream whip . The hydrogenated stuff has since been replaced with real cream, which makes it much tastier. The original 50's style recipe has a graham cracker (sometimes cookie) crust, so it is really more like pie than cake.One sweet and eye-pleasing treat that has been on my baking radar is Blue Velvet cake. I've been seeing beautiful versions online, and I recently spotted Blue Velvet cupcakes at my favorite local bakery. I love the idea of a striking blue cake, but many recipes yield a misleading result. Some cakes are teal, or more turquoise than blue. Upon viewing my first completed batch, I thought " green around the gills " -which is an idiom I use when someone looks ill. I was seeing sickly greenish-blue cupcakes.