Whole Wheat Waffles

So, I've fallen off the baking wagon. No need to beat around the stove any more. :)

But, I whipped these lovelies up last weekend... and YUM!



I added a little nutella into the last part of the batter. Although I couldn't get the nutella flavor the taste of the waffles was SO ridiculously good.



I don't know what my obsession is with finding good nutella recipes. So far... FAIL.


Thanks to Kelly at Faithful Provisions for posting this great recipe :)

Mixed Emotions

Hark! 'Tis I, your long lost baking blogger.

I have a renewed excitement for kitchen creativity as my sweet husband purchased a very sweet 6 year anniversary gift for me.

KitchenAid Artisan 5 Quart stand mixer!



I've never been one for power tools... but this is totally speaking my love language.

What could be worthy of breaking in this glorious appliance? Something from scratch. Something unique. On a whim, I dreamed up Nutella cookies. Basically, I used a peanut butter cookie recipe and subbed out the pb for Nutella. I couldn't believe how quickly the mixture became silky smooth. There's no way my hand mixer would have been able to deliver such beautiful results. The batter was so tasty.

When all was said and done... I really lost the Nutella flavoring and it ended up tasting more like a sugar cookie. But, it was a noble try for the mixer's maiden voyage.



Here's to many new posts to come.

CHEERS!

A little sheepish at the thought of learning such a legit machine. A lottle excited to reach a new level of creativity! Mixed Emotions.

Sweet Biscuit Strawberry Shortcake

This was an at home weekend for my husband which is always a sweet treat. And what better way to celebrate than with a sweet treat? I had some strawberries left over and pounced on the chance to make a sweet biscuit strawberry shortcake. Call me ghetto fabulous, but I knew that there was probably a recipe on the nearly forsaken bisquick box in my pantry. Yes, in the bottom left hand corner these words appeared:

Ingredients

2 1/3 c. Bisquick mix
1/2 c. milk
3 Tbsp. Sugar
3 Tbsp. Butter (melted)
4 c. sliced Strawberries
Cool Whip



Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix ingredients together. On an ungreased cooking sheet, drop 6 spoonfuls on the cooking sheet.

Bake 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown.

Slice in half while warm, layer with strawberries. Top with Cool Whip and strawberries.

Number of Servings: 6



Two thumbs up from the Crumps! We both agreed that it is seriously one of the best versions of Strawberry Shortcake we've had. Angel Food and Pound Cake, step aside... there's a new kid in the kitchen.... Sweet Biscuit Strawberry Shortcake!

S'more please!

So I'm on cake break but there are still good things coming out of the kitchen. Last week my in laws were visiting from TX. My Mother in law is allergic to dairy products, so we take caution in planning the menu any time we are all together. You'd be surprised at how much dairy lurks in products you wouldn't expect. I take it as a challenge and always get very excited when we can find really yummy recipes that she can eat!

Our favorite concoction from this visit was S'mores made in the oven. Instead of chocolate, we substituted Nutella! YUM.



Honey Maid Graham Crackers
Kraft Jet Puff Marshmallows
Nutella

I spread a thin layer of Nutella onto the cracker and topped with a marshmallow. I placed them on a cookie sheet and put them in the oven at 350 until the Marshmallow began to spread out. Then I set the oven to broil until the tops were golden brown.

My father in law then asked for just a toasted marshmallow. A simple request if we were 'round the campfire... but how to oblige from the oven? Foil? A-ha!



A cupcake liner did the trick!

We also tried with honey peanut butter and enjoyed a different twist. All in all a small non dairy victory to add to the treat list!

S'more please!

Fondant I - Take 2

Sweet Wise offered the Fondant I class again through groupon recently so I went ahead and bought it for my husband's birthday. He loved the taste of the fondant and gumpaste before so I thought it would be a great excuse to recap my learning. It was either take the class again and have someone coach me through it or spend the same amount or more on the supplies to try it myself. I chose the easy way out. Coach me! Hold my little hand and walk me through it!

One problem... the class is centered around learning to make bow loops. I was hesitant that I could make a bow cake look manly. I pondered earthy color schemes... maybe I could just sneak in my own design while the teacher wasn't looking? Think, think, think!

When we arrived I dug through the gel colors and found a brown and ivory color. I thought that combo could do the trick.

I had a different teacher at this class and while most of it was a review from my first class, I picked up a few more tricks which will come in handy should I ever attempt it on my own! :)

The finished product...




Fondant I - Take 2 ... and that's a wrap.

Snap, Krackle, Choc!

By now you know, I don't do plain well. So, when I decided to take rice krispy treats to a little get together, I couldn't help grabbing the mini chocolate chips out of the pantry.

Unfortunately as I was putting the mixture together I realized a little to late that I shouldn't have added the chocolate chips in as early as I did. Not what I had envisioned posting for you all. I imagined a two inch tall square of blond marshmallowy goodness with a few chocolate chips sprinkled in to perfection. Instead... It looked like I made them from Choco Krispies. I was pretty bummed. But I had spared a few chips and sprinkled them in on top.



I wanted straight edges. I had prepared it in a glass pyrex dish with the round edges. So, as I started cutting away the rounded edges I thought, I'll just sample a small piece to make sure it tastes good. And I'll just sample the other corner. And Ill just have a little of this side too. And, I'm sick. :)

Luckily, I pawned them off on my friends and wasn't forced to sample any more. Last I heard one family ate 8! So, even though I considered it an aesthetic flop... the taste was Snap, Krackle, Choc!

Croissant de Chocolate'

We rented the movie "It's Complicated" last night. I had been reluctant to watch it but after several people insisted it was hilarious, I caved. While it was extremely laughable at times, I knew I should've trusted my instincts and skipped it.



One thing I did like was that Jane (played by Meryl Streep) owns an amazing bakery. It's a small part of the story line but it was a highlight for me. *Now that I think of it... kind of funny considering Meryl's recent role in Julie & Julia. I wonder if she is a foodie in real life?... back to my story.*

When she and Adam (played by Steve Martin) are on a date she makes him Chocolate Croissants. I imagined that would mean the dough would be chocolate. To my delight they made quite a fun evening preparing dough with a pasta machine and rolling two small pieces of chocolate inside. GENIUS! They share warm croissants over coffee and conversation as pictured below:



I knew it was my one good take away from the film!

Tonight some friends of ours came over. I thought it was the perfect time to test my own version out! Let me make one thing very clear. I would LOVE to learn how to make pastries like a professional. I simply have no idea how nor do I have the proper equipment to attempt it. Thankfully, Pillsbury cans solutions for inept bakers like me!

I wasn't exactly sure what type of chocolate would work. It seemed to be rolled in the movie... but I just cut chocolate squares in half and placed them long ways end to end. I did 1/2 of the croissants with Lindt dark cacoa and 1/2 with Cadbury milk chocolate.

I placed chocolate along the edge of the dough:



I rolled them and baked as directed. 11 minutes later:



I really wasn't sure how the chocolate would react. Would it be a runny mess or would it caramelize? The first cut revealed the ooey gooey beauty within:



The flaky, buttery layers were an amazing contrast with the rich chocolate ribbon. Brings a smile to my face and makes my tastebuds water just recounting the wondrous anatomy!

I liked both versions... but my favorite was the milk chocolate. It was such a creamy texture:



Je t'aime un petite Croissant de Chocolate'

(That's my imaginatory French phrase meaning: I love you little chocolate croissant! Yes, I know... almost as bad as adding "-o" to a word to make it sound Spanish. Bear with me!)

And on the 8th day... God created Strawberry Pie.

In my highschool years, many a summer day were spent hanging out with friends at Mrs. Tonya's house. Aside from the great company, one of the fringe benefits was good food. fresh tomato sandwiches, incredible marinated steaks, burgers, and my favorite... Strawberry Pie!



I found a similar recipe online-

Ingredients:

* 1 cup sugar
* 2 tablespoons cornstarch
* 1 cup water
* 1 teaspoon lemon juice
* 1/4 cup strawberry gelatin powder
* 2 drops red food coloring, optional
* 1 1/2 quarts strawberries, sliced (reserve a few for garnish)
* 1 pie shell, baked, 9-inch
* whipped cream or topping

Preparation:
Combine sugar, cornstarch, and water in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until thickened and clear, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice, gelatin powder, and food coloring if used. Chill until mixture begins to thicken. Place strawberries in the baked pie shell and spoon slightly thickened gelatin mixture over the top. Chill the pie at least 4 hours, then top with whipped cream or whipped topping and garnish with reserved strawberry halves.



I finally made my first attempt last year and it has become a well loved summertime staple. It's hard to keep a piece around long enough to photograph so I snapped this quickly last week before it was eaten. Although you may not be able to tell from this cosmetically challenged photograph, the taste is ridiculous! The buttery/salty crust contrasted with the sweet filling, tart strawberries and whipped topping.... so simple but so genius.

And on the 8th day... God created Strawberry Pie.

Father's Day Take 2

Well, I had to redeem the Lobster Tail flop. My husband is pretty plain jane when it comes to food in general, so I knew a butter cake with chocolate buttercream frosting would really float his father's day boat. But, every part of my baking heart just screams out..... "BORING!!!!!" How can I crump this thing up?

Well, I posted a picture of bakerella's layer cake a while back... and I thought I could give it a try and satisfy my urge to "improve" a classic cake.

6 Layer Cake. Done.



I used my 6" pans from Cherry's birthday and baked 3 butter cakes and then cut them each in half. (Or so I thought) Chocolate buttercream in between each layer and Voila... an amazing looking Tall Cake!




I was nervous to cut into it. Clearly, my "halving" skills need some work... but it was at least fun to see ribbons of icing throughout each bite... and though I only had a sliver of a slice... it was Sooooooo good. Jody even went back for seconds which rarely happens. Plain Jane Classic... you really can't go wrong.

Lobster Tails for Father's Day.

So, it's not really cake. But, it's not seafood either.

Lobster Tails.

I saw these on Cake Boss the other night and my husband mentioned that he would love to try them. With Father's Day coming up, I decided that I should give them a whirl. To google I go...

And found the instructional video! Yippy... We'll celebrate Father's Day like never before!

Then I realized that it showed the steps, but not a recipe.

To Google I go...

First, The Cream Puff Mix:
http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/cream-puffs-i/Detail.aspx

Then, The Pastry Mix:
http://www.crisco.com/Recipes/Details.aspx?recipeID=3589

Lastly, The Filling:
Now in the video he mentioned that the filling was ice cream like. A combination of custard cream and whipped cream. So, I used the custard recipe from the cream puff mix and we made whipped cream and mixed the two together.... Success! A very tasty cream!

Our homemade version of Lobster Tails. Well they actually turned out more like oysters.



To be honest, I'd rather just take a trip to Carlo's and buy them instead of trying to make them ever again without a real recipe. Alot of work, and a little disappointing that they didn't turn out exactly like I hoped, but it was a VERY fun night of baking/construction with the sweetest Dad I know...




my husband, Jody!

Dear Santa,

Dear Santa,

I know it's early but I hate to procrastinate. And I'm saving you money if you buy it for me this week at Michael's. If not for now, mark a a Cricut Cake down on my wishlist.



I know this is considered the easy way out... but if you don't have real skills in cake decorating, why not fool everyone into thinking you do? May I introduce the latest fondant short cut... the brand new Cricut Cake machine.

Cupcake Wars!!!

I'm so excited!!! Food Network's new show "Cupcake Wars" premiers this Sunday!

In true food face-off fashion...

It’s cupcake vs. cupcake in Food Network’s tastiest competition yet! Each week on Cupcake Wars, four of the country’s top cupcake bakers face off in three elimination challenges until only one decorator remains. The sweet prize: $10,000 and the opportunity to showcase their cupcakes at the winning gig.

Check out more info here.

Can't wait to watch Cupcake Wars!!!

BlogStar!

I was so excited to hear that the Nashville Scene had posted a blurb about the Sweet Relief Bake Sale. Even more flattered to learn that they posted a picture of my cake balls!

Check it out here!

I feel like a BlogStar!

Sweet Relief Bake Sale Results...

The results of the bake sale are in! We raised $893.55 for Second Harvest!

I made Chocolate and Cherry Cake Balls dipped in chocolate and Red Velvet and Cream Cheese Cake Balls dipped in white chocolate. So happy to be a part of helping this great cause.

Sweet Relief Bake Sale

I'm so happy to participate in this bake sale. I'll be doing cake balls again. If you are in the Nashville area please make plans to stop by this Saturday.

Cooked up by the local foodies on Twitter, Nashville’s food bloggers and their food blog fans are having a bake sale Saturday, May 29th to raise money for flood relief efforts in Middle Tennessee. Dubbed Sweet Relief, the bake sale will run from 1:30pm until 4:00 (or until the goodies are gone!) at the Green Wagon in East Nashville (1100 Forest Ave.). All proceeds from the event will benefit Second Harvest of Middle Tennessee (http://www.secondharvestmidtn.org/) and their efforts to provide relief to victims of the recent flooding. Be sure to come by and show your support by enjoying some guilt-free sweets. Your tastebuds will thank you.

If anyone is interesting in baking for this event, info can be found by clicking HERE.

RSVP on facebook or just show up in person. Nashville thanks you!

Open Bar. Cupcake Bar, that is.

For Cherry's 1st Birthday Party on Saturday, we did a cupcake bar. It was so fun and I got lots of compliments on the idea. I thought it suited her little personality so well! We had a great time celebrating.



Here were the cute little invitations:



The Cupcake Tower featured Butter, Strawberry, and Chocolate cupcakes. Cherry's cupcake was the topper. A strawberry cupcake w/ chocolate frosting, flower sprinkles, and her "1" candle.



I decorated each tier with some adhesive ribbon I found at Michael's. We made our own cupcake wrappers from a variety of scrapbooking paper using a template I found online.

Frosting choices were Buttercream, Strawberry, Chocolate, Cream Chese, and of course... Cherry! I actually didn't know that there was Cherry flavored frosting. It was interesting... worked good on the chocolate cake. We also set out chocolate and caramel sauces. YUM!



Toppings were gummy bears, oreo crumbles, flower sprinkles, mini chocolate chips, and of course... cherries!



The Full spread.



Endless Cupcake Combinations!!!


My personal favorite was a chocolate cupcake with buttercream frosting and oreo crumbles on top. You just can't go wrong. And yes, I definitely had a sugar hangover the next day from the open bar.

Where Is Baby's Birthday Cake?

Happy Birthday to my sweet Ella Cherry!

She turned 1 on Thursday. I made her a cake based on the book "Where Is Baby's Birthday Cake?" by Karen Katz. We read this book everynight the month before her big day and she LOVED it. We would pretend to eat the cake at the end and even sing happy birthday.

As I have mentioned before, I AM NO CAKE DECORATOR! But I figured I could make it happen! I gave it a whirl came up with this.



As you can tell I have issues coloring inside the lines. When I woke up the next morning the icing had melted and fallen down the sides. My husband encouraged me to try again. I'm glad he did. I like the second version much better!



We read the book just before serving her the cake and she didn't skip a beat... just dug in and started eating! A happy birthday for a happy girl!



I wrote the author and sent her pictures of our special day. She wrote back and was excited about the cake and said she would forward on to her publisher because they would get a big kick out of it. She said it looked just like the cake in the book. Well, I wouldn't say exactly, but I'm glad she liked my interpretation of her work.

We had the best day celebrating Cherry's Birthday. Time flies.

PlumpyCakes

So, maybe you've quit reading my blog because there have been no posts lately. I would do the same thing. The truth is, I have still been baking- just not as much. And the things I have been baking are repeats of what I've all ready showcased here. Really, how many times can I post cake balls or guinness cake? really.

Well, allow me to offer an explanation and apology (sort of). You see, CrumpyCakes had begun turning me into PlumpyCakes... well not really. I guess having a baby actually did that, but the baking and tasting wasn't helping the scale numbers descend. Knowing full well that I had a VERY special cake to make for a VERY special girl in the near future made me realize I needed to make a change. So I began rendezvousing with the arch nemesis of CrumpyCakes... P90X.

I wasn't sure if I'd be able to stick with it or not... so I didn't tell many people I was starting it... but I've been doing it for more than 7 weeks now and am pretty close to my goal. Basically I traded baking time for exercise time. And just squeezed in the baking on the side here and there for friends.

However, as I mentioned before I've been eagerly anticipating making Cherry's 1st Birthday Cake for quite a while now. A month ago I purchased this adorable book to start prepping her for a birthday party. (Who knows what that even means?) Every night we read "Where is Baby's Birthday Cake?" by Karen Katz.

She loves it. It's a lift flap book that takes you on a little treasure hunt looking behind the chair, in the refrigerator, etc... until you finally find the cake in the living room! Then we pretend to eat the cake. And I sing happy birthday to her.

Her actual birthday is Thursday and I thought I would make her a smash cake that looks like the cake in the book. As you know, I'm no cake decorator... but it should be fun and I'll be sure to post pictures!

Then we are doing a cupcake bar for her party on Saturday... lots of fun ideas there and I'll also provide pictures of that.

I've been debating whether or not I'll eat some cake on her birthday because I've been so vigilant in my healthy eating habits... but then my husband threatened, "You're going to eat cake on her birthday or I will tell her every year until she's old and wrinkly that you wouldn't eat cake on her 1st birthday." I guess that settles it.

Surely just one little bite won't send me back to PlumpyCakes! ;)

Duffinately going to check this out.

I was in Michael's the other day in the baking aisle and was surprised to see a line of products from Duff of Charm City Cakes fame.

Check out the announcement on the CCC blog.

The line includes: fondant, icing, dyes, cutters, tools & accessories... and who knows what else is to come. Haven't heard anything about the quality yet. I'm "Duffinately" going to have to check this out!

May Day

Just realized I hadn't posted in two weeks! So sorry.... although I don't have a lot of newsworthy creations lately... I thought you should at least see this that a friend forwarded me. He mentioned that it would be a good way to handle any left overs... pretty funny!

Words of Wisdom with CrumpyCakes.

I like to think that my life would be best represented by this Bakerella cake. So many layers built over time! It all adds up to a work of art! :)

So this is kind of cheesy, but a good reminder. I was forwarded this story recently:

Sometimes we wonder, "What did I do to deserve this?" or "Why did God have to do this to me?" Here is a wonderful explanation! A daughter is telling her Mother how everything is going wrong, she's failing algebra, her boyfriend broke up with her and her best friend is moving away.

Meanwhile, her Mother is baking a cake and asks her daughter if she would like a snack, and the daughter says, "Absolutely Mom, I love your cake."



"Here, have some cooking oil," her Mother offers.
"Yuck" says her daughter.
"How about a couple raw eggs?" "Gross, Mom!"
"Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?"
"Mom, those are all yucky!"

To which the mother replies: "Yes, all those things seem bad all by themselves. But when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake!"

What cake best represents you?


P.S. I'm DEFINITELY going to have to try the 14 layer cake recipe... it's just way too much eye candy to ignore!!!

You sure look purdy.

It's no secret that I'm no cake decorator. I feel ashamed, but I wasn't sure how people made the swirly whirly cupcake icing toppers. So, I've been getting my research on. I LOVE THIS picture from www.bakeitpretty.com!



Such a quick and cute tutorial. Thanks to YouTube I also found some great tips to perfect the technique.

Check out these instructional videos for frosting cupcakes.

Demo #1

Demo #2

Demo #3

My favorite tip from each video:

Demo #1: set the piping bag in a cup to fill it. Hope for kitchen klutzes!
Demo #2: add white after the colored icing for a variegated look!
Demo #3: piping bag pressure techniques. Preventing pfunky lines!

Oh, I can feel it... I'm going into a sugar induced frosting frenzy! I want to make some good looking cupcakes. The kind that completely captivate your attention and make you say, "You sure look purdy." chomp chomp.

Bakers Block?

Yes, I have significantly slowed down on my baking posts. I have been baking but I have been doing repeats in large part due to the high scoring reviews I've received. And it's so easy to go with what you know. You know?

Maybe I have bakers block. Maybe I need some new ideas. My focus has kind of drifted from my original goal of making all kinds of cake in all sorts of ways. But in reality, I am still taking baby steps in that direction. The truth is before January I had never baked a from scratch cake successfully. So I find that just learning the structure of scratch baking has been a huge adventure.

I made these cupcakes tonight. Well, I wouldn't suggest eating them. But I do have a recipe.

Paper Cakes

1 Martha Stewart cupcake punch (Available at Michael's craft store)
2 sheets of decorative paper
1 pkg of small ornamental doodahs

Mix well and.... VOILA!

Cakewrecks

Lots of hilarity for you to enjoy:

http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/

You might be a baker if...

You might be a baker if....



You use cupcake liners to rig your baby's snack container shut.

Guinness Cake - Take 2

Sorry for the posting delay. Guess who's life has been ridiculous lately? Ooooh me me! You too? Well, let's just put those weeks behind us... good riddance!

I was asked to make a birthday cake for a dear friend and we decided a full scale Guinness cake was in order. So last week, I began my baking journey whilst watching the Biggest Loser. oxymoron.

I was a little worried that the full cake might be a bit too much cake and not enough glaze... but it was huge success. Happy Birthday, Jereme!





This recipe was originally from Nigella Lawson of Food Network fame.

Ingredients for the cake:

1 cup Guinness
1 stick plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups super fine sugar
3/4 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Ingredients for the topping:

8 oz Philadelphia cream cheese
1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream

Nigella's Suggestions:

For a simpler dessert, replace the frosting with a light dusting of powered sugar.

Preheat the over to 350 F, and butter and line a 9 inch springform pan.

Pour the Guinness into a large wide saucepan, add the butter — in spoons or slices — and heat until the butter's melted, at which time you should whisk in the cocoa and sugar. Beat the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla and then pour into the brown, buttery, beery pan and finally whisk in the flour and baking soda.

Pour the cake batter into the greased and lined pan and bake for 45 minutes to an hour. Leave to cool completely in the pan on a cooling rack, as it is quite a damp cake.

When the cake's cold, sit it on a flat platter or cake stand and get on with the frosting. Lightly whip the cream cheese until smooth, sift over the confectioner's sugar and then beat them both together. Or do this in a processor, putting the unsifted confectioners' sugar in first and blitz to remove lumps before adding the cheese.

Add the cream and beat again until it makes a spreadable consistency. Ice the top of the black cake so that it resembles the frothy top of the famous pint.

'O My Guinness

In honor of St. Patrick's Day I tried a recipe I was challenged to make. Sounds weird... but Guinness Cupcakes really are good. My friend suggested they be called pint cakes instead of cupcakes.

Chocolate Cake with a hint of Guinness topped with a Cream Cheese froth. 3 out of 4 agree they are good! (We think he might have been smuggling sips of guinness which impaired his voting abilities.)



The cake itself isn't too sweet. The hint of flavor is really good. I tried half without icing and then half with. I loved the way the cream cheese paired with it. And how fitting that the glaze looks so frothy. All in all a very festive cake. Sooo fun. 'O My Guinness!

Taking Requests

I was asked to make a birthday cake. Once I agreed, I realized I was way out of my league but I'd give it my best shot! My guidelines were: Chocolate and Raspberry. My goal was simply to make a great tasting cake thus creating a surprising distraction from the homely aesthetic that was sure to underwhelm the party guests.

I did a hybrid recipe of the Oh.My.Gosh.Cake (a.k.a. Swan's Down Cake Flour Simple Chocolate Cake) and this recipe that sounded like it fit the bill perfectly!

We were in Texas this weekend visiting family while my husband's band had their CD release party. I figured that the in laws would be willing to taste test for me. Thanks to their feedback (literally) I refined my technique and was happy with my revised recipe!

Pre-bake changes:

Greased the pans and coated with Cocoa Powder instead of white flour. Good tip courtesy of my Sister in Law, Tiffany. I folded chocolate chips in the batter before dividing into pans.

Assembly changes:

Thicker layers of icing, SEEDLESS raspberries for the filling (the first time was a bit crunchy!), chocolate bar shavings for the sides of the cake, and a raspberry garnish on top!


May I present to you:

Triple Chocolate Raspberry Cake



Kiddie Kakes (classic yellow w/ Chocolate frosting for the non-raspberry types)



Karin's Kake - A Happy Birthday Girl



I didn't taste a piece (I figured they wouldn't appreciate a missing sliver!) but, I heard that it was good. Maybe they were being nice, but I think it was probably a success! A personal accomplishment at least! Cheers to Taking Requests!

Baker's Cramp?

I know you think I've been a lazy baker because I haven't blogged recently. But it's simply not true. In fact I've been in the test kitchen trying to perfect a recipe for my first cake request. A friend asked me to make his wife's birthday cake. I'm not sure what got into me, but I said "Yes." I think it was a risk I needed to take.... you know put my money where my mouth is and actually do a cake for someone.

It's been a fun adventure and I'll have pictures to post soon... but for now, I'm resting up... My wrist and right arm are killing me! Baker's Cramp?

Sunday Brownie Sundae

So my sister was in this weekend and it was her birthday. She doesn't like *GASP* cake. So, I had to go the brownie route and hook a sister up. Literally.

I used my pampered chef scratch recipe and whipped up some Bonanza Brownie Bars. *Muah!* (furrowed brow, Italian accent, Lips pursed, and the accompanying hand gesture!)

These are so good. Try them out for yourself when you get a chance.

Bonanza Brownie Bars

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 1/2 cup sugar
5 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 325° F. Spray Bar Pan with oil.

Combine flour and cocoa and set aside.

In separate bowl, mix butter, sugar, vanilla. Add one egg at a time to butter mixture, mixing well after each addition.

Gradually add flour mixture, mixing until well blended.

Spread evenly in Stoneware Bar Pan (10” x 15 ½”)

Bake 28 – 33 minutes DO NOT OVER-BAKE.

You know I had to Crump it up... so here are a couple variations I tried:

#1) I added some peanut M&M's down one column because I couldn't fully commit to the idea in case it sucked!



Turned out pretty good. Although, I am still glad I spared a few plain!

#2) Ice cream sandwich. (I justified this because the brownies were pretty thin because I halved the recipe.)



Yum. Sunday Brownie Sunday.

Johnny Cakes

I laughed when my husband said "Johnny Cakes" in a funny NY accent when he looked at the cornbread I made to go along with our dinner last night.



I was trying a new mexican chicken dish and thought they would make a good compliment. Thank you, Jiffy for being so yummy! I'm so glad that I made them because the main dish was not very good! It's not the typical cake I would blog about... but since it saved the day... all hail, Johnny Cakes!

The Baker's Golden Rule

We've all heard of "The Golden Rule"

Do to others as you would like them to do to you.

~ Luke 6:31, NLT



May I suggest:

"Treat" people the way you want to be "Treated."

- Lani Crump


The Baker's Golden Rule.

Naticakes, Naticakes...

I was finally able to actually eat at Naticakes this weekend with my mom and a friend. The shop is just perfect for downtown Franklin. So Shabby Chic.

Since there were three of us we each picked one we'd like to try and shared. Tuxedo (chocolate/vanilla icing), Dark Mint Chocolate (dark chocolate/mint flavored icing), and the unanimous favorite... Dulce de Leche (Vanilla with caramel filling/ butter cream icing drizzled with caramel) YUMMMMMMMMY.

We really enjoyed the icings. They were so light - almost like mousse or whipped cream. (I'm telling my self that also means that they are light in calories and fat!) A welcomed change to the typical top heavy specialty cupcakes in most bakeries.

If you are local, make sure you stop by and if you are from afar... next time you're in town remind me to take you to "Naticakes, Naticakes..."

Brunch at Crump Cafe

So, I didn't really bake a cake... but I made my first attempt at quiche! My mom has been in for a few days and was leaving today. We are both big breakfast lovers. We scoured the web searching for the perfect Sunday brunch spot and after much debate decided we had everything on hand for a feast of our own.




Biscuits, bacon, eggs, quiche, fruit and homemade hasbrowns. (All fat free of course.... hehehe) Alot of work. But well worth it! Still, not quite ready to open up shop for Sunday Brunch at Crump Cafe.