Cupcake Lava and Cake-Related Hilarity

Yellow cake, I've decided, is a rather challenging animal. Spice cake, or white chocolate cake, or carrot cake, or what have you...those can rely on their extra "stuff" for the wow factor. But yellow cake is just so darned basic. If it isn't really good, it...well...isn't really good.

So I decided to try a new recipe for yellow cupcakes. This should not have been incredibly time-consuming or challenging. Unfortunately, I, genius that I am, managed to overfill the cupcake liners (bad, bad habit) and wound up with little cupcake replicas of Mt. Vesuvius--post-explosion. Not that the cupcakes really exploded, per se...they more sort of bubbled up and oozed all over the place and then crusted over--more like one of those Hawaiian dome volcanoes, actually, than the explosive ones.

Aaaanyway...after scraping/peeling/pouring the cupcake lava into the garbage, I attempted Round Two. Much more successful.

Here was the result:

Yellow cake. Chocolate buttercream. Oh, and chocolate sprinkles (which, let's face it, are just fun). Simple, basic, yum.

I don't think I'm done with the Search for the Perfect Yellow Cake Recipe. But these were pretty good, anyway.

Now, on a different note. People, you have GOT to check this website out: CakeWrecks. It. Is. HILARIOUS. You know how you sometimes see those grocery store bakery cakes that just make you go "Eh?" or "Whaa...?" or "You have got to be kidding"? The frightening, the humorous, the very oddly decorated or atrociously colored? Yeah. Well, this site is dedicated to those, and not only are the photos themselves really funny, but the commentary leaves me rolling. (And I have to admit, I feel like my baking looks really darned good compared to some of this stuff. Haha.) So check it out. CakeWrecks.

Wedding Pics (Finally)

Yep, I'm finally posting pics from the rehearsal dinner and wedding! And rather than waste space rambling, I'll just let the pictures do most of the talking. Oh, and I'll give you the menus.

Friday night was the rehearsal dinner, a Southwest burrito buffet. The meats I am NOT posting pictures of (shredded meat, in a basement, under fluorescent lighting...well, it just does not photograph well), but they were a cilantro-lime chicken and adobo chili beef. There were all the fixings, too: tortillas, cheese, sour cream...plus black beans and rice, chips and salsa, etc.

For sides, I made a layered Southwest salad with cilantro lime vinaigrette. It didn't photograph so well either, so use your imagination. Then there were these little cheddar pepper corn muffins, served with chili cream cheese spread. LOVE these; they're so yummy.

Here's a picture of the dessert/coffee/drink table. Dessert was white chocolate fruit tart and cookies. Drinks were the standard (water, tea, coffee, etc.) plus horchata! (That's a sweet Mexican rice milk spiced with cinnamon, if you've never had it.)

Oh, and here are the two "specialty" salsas: cilantro/lime-corn salsa and a mango pepper salsa.

Here's a picture of ME taking pictures of the dessert table. Haha.

Closeup action for the white chocolate fruit tart. Mm.

THEN, moving on to the wedding (Saturday afternoon).

This was an afternoon dessert buffet. Here's the one picture I have of my prep work the night before. I'd like to point out three things: (1) the crazy number of chocolates covering the dining table turned workspace, (2) the fact that the entire table is covered in bubble wrap (long story), and (3) the lovely Starbucks apron I'm wearing. Adam doesn't work at Starbucks anymore but generously donated his old aprons to my kitchen collection--and they're GREAT.

Okay, moving on to the day of. The menu included the following:

• spinach dip and crackers
• fruit and cheese skewers
• sweet breads: banana chocolate chip, frosted pumpkin rum spice, and cherry almond
• cheesecake bites--two kinds: white chocolate almond and chocolate chip cookie dough
• candies: cookies 'n cream truffles, red velvet cake truffles, chocolate-dipped cherries and apricots, and (heart shaped!) peppermint creams
• miniature trifle cups, in two flavors: pumpkin spice and black forest
• mint water, raspberry tea, and virgin autumn sangria

Here are some pictures, in no particular order.

In this one you can see the crackers and dip, plus the pumpkin spice trifles (with gingersnap garnishes!):

Here are the fruit and cheese skewers and sangria:

Here, cherry almond bread chunks:

Here, cookie dough cheesecake bites (bottom left), black forest trifles, and chocolate chip banana bread (on the right).

White chocolate almond cheesecake bites, banana bread (again), and pumpkin rum spice bread...

These are some of the candies (on Marla's adorable lazy Susan):

And some more of them:

Here's my caterer's cameo shot: me getting ready to go re-stock the candy trays.

Oh, and a final shot of the sangria. (Isn't it pretty? I loved the presentation on this.)

I have to say, this was a lot of fun and great experience...but I'm glad it's over! Next time, no back-to-back rehearsal and wedding. Whew!

It's the Little Things

Yes, yes, I know. It's been ridiculously long since I've updated this blog. I blame this on the fact that I have no Internet access at home and usually don't make trips to the public library computer lab just to update my blog. (I know. Excuses, excuses...)

Aaanyway...

I've discovered (more like finally admitted) something about myself: I like cutsey. You know what I'm talking about. Baby animal calendars, rainbows and butterflies, Hello Kitty...stuff like this:

(Um, yeah. Everbody together, now: Awww...)

I know. I've denied it for a long time. But it's true: I'm a girl...and I like cute. I do.

Part of this cutesy-ness affinity is an appreciation for teeny things. Take mini chocolate chips, for instance. I use them all the time, and do you really believe it's just because of how nicely they regulate the chocolate distribution in baked goods? Uh, no. I like 'em because they're CUTE. It's the same reason I'm so attached to my mini heart-shaped springform pans. (Remember those?)

With the above in mind, you can see why I like cupcakes. I mean, they're cake (good) with an impressive frosting-to-cake ratio (even better)...and they're small sized (great!). What could possibly be cuter? And, lest you think that's a rhetorical question, the answer is: mini cupcakes! Cuteness multiplied! (Whatever. Groan if you want. You know I'm right.)

SO...I recently bought two new mini cupcake tins and a bunch of the mini paper liners. Fun stuff, and just in time for a mini cupcake order for a bridal shower. (See? I'm not the only person who likes the things.) Here's a pic:

The cupcakes were white chocolate, with white-chocolate cream cheese frosting. The "S" monogram was for the last name of the soon-to-be newlyweds. (Now honeymooners; the wedding was this past weekend.)

Here they are all boxed up and ready for delivery:

I rest my case: cutesy is good. Mini cupcakes are cute--and therefore good. Embrace it, people. Eat a mini cupcake. (And then, if you absolutely must, go watch Die Hard or something.)

Oh, and I'll be posting pics from the reherasal dinner and wedding in the near future. It was my first wedding reception to cater, and it was tiringcrazyfunoverwhelmingawesome. You get the idea. More to come on that front!

Sweet Summer

Berries, I've determined, have personality. Think about it:

Strawberries. These are the berry-next-door--sweet, friendly, laid back, and familiar. They're not the most expensive or classiest berry, but they go well with just about anything, and just about everyone likes them.

Raspberries. These are the snazzy berries, a little froofier and with more attitude than strawberries, and definitely more expensive. They're more bistro than backyard, definitely not everyday fare.

Blueberries. They're slightly more mysterious and hard to nail down--and, let's face it, sorta seedy. Not everyone gets off to these guys (but that could just be because they're misunderstood).

Skipping all the "what the heck?" berries, like loganberries, huckleberries (the only Huckleberry I know is from Mark Twain), etc., we come to my intended topic: cherries. Cherries have ridiculously subtle pizazz. They're simple, sleek, and breezy. They're juicy and plump. They're America. And they're SUMMER.

In honor of the last leg of summer (which I am NOT ready to say goodbye to), let's give the cherry some stage time. Come on, put the apples back in the produce bin, folks; they can wait a few more weeks. For now, let's just lounge on the back porch together, soaking in the sunshine, chatting, and having iced tea and soft hunks of cherry almond bread.

Summer Cherry Almond Bread

• 2 tablespoons white sugar


• 1 teaspoon cinnamon


• 1/3 cup butter, softened


• 1 cup white sugar


• 2 eggs


• 1 teaspoon almond extract


• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract


• 1 1/2 cups bread flour (or all-purpose is fine; I just like bread flour, if I happen to have it)


• 1 teaspoon baking powder


• 1/2 teaspoon salt


• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon


• 1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt (or light sour cream)


• 1 cup chopped frozen cherries (NOT thawed)

Heat oven to 350. Spray an 8-inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Combine white sugar and cinnamon, and sprinkle into bottom and sides of pan; tap out excess.

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and extracts and mix well. In separate bowl, stir together dry ingredients. Add to butter mixture, mixing well; then stir in sour cream. Fold in cherries.

Pour batter into pan, and bake about 55 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes; then remove to wire rack to cool completely (if you can stay out of it that long).

Crazy Crack Cookie Dough Cheesecake...the Sequel

I'm posting about the cookie dough cheesecake again for two reasons. One, I love it that much. And two, I didn't post the recipe last time! Silly me. So, without further ado/rambling, here it is:

Crazy Crack Cookie Dough Cheesecake

For the dough:

1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1 tablespoon white sugar

1 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon coarse-grained sea salt

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

For the cheesecake:

1 (10 oz.) box graham cookies (I like Teddy Grahams), crushed

1/4 cup butter, melted

2 (8 oz.) blocks cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup heavy cream

2 large eggs, room temperature

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

To make the dough: (1) Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add milk and vanilla. Stir in flour and salt, then chocolate chips. (2) Refrigerate dough at least 1/2 hour; then form into tiny balls and refrigerate another 1/2 hour or so.

To make the cheesecake: (1) Heat oven to 350. (2) Combine cookie crumbs and butter, and press into bottom of mini cheesecake pans (greased) or 8-inch square pan (lined with parchment paper). Bake 10 minutes; then move to wire rack to cool. (3) Reduce oven heat to 300. (4) Beat cream cheese and sugar on medium speed until completely smooth, about 1 minute. Add vanilla and cream, then eggs, one at a time, mixing just until incorporated after each. (Don't overmix!) (5) Gently fold in half of cookie dough balls (return rest to fridge) and 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips. (6) Pour batter into prepared pan(s). Tap gently on counter to remove air bubbles. (7) Bake 20-30 minutes, until edges are set but center still wobbles a little. (8) Turn off oven but leave pan inside for about another hour. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

To assemble/decorate: (1) Remove pan from refrigerator. Remove mini cheesecakes from springforms, or gently lift the parchment/cheesecake from the square pan and cut it into small bars. (When I use the square pan, I like to use a pizza cutter to cut the cheesecake into little squares.) (2) Stack a small mound of the leftover cookie dough balls on top of each cheesecake/bar. (3) Melt 1-2 ounces semisweet chocolate in the microwave. Spoon it into a Ziploc bag, snip the edge, and drizzle the chocolate over the cheesecakes/bars. (4) Refrigerate another 1/2 hour at least before serving.