Cakes & Cupcakes

It’s fun to cheat sometimes, isn’t it?  (Except in marriages, I suppose.  Or as a med student taking an exam in a really important course that might matter one day- like, say, the one called “How To Not Kill People”.) But when it comes to baking, cheating has low stakes. …

Don’t tell me you’re unaware of the pleasures of cardamom.  Surely you’ve familiarized yourself with the uniquely spicy-sweet spice? Don’t think that just because you’ve had it in a curry dish or a spiced lamb hand pie (mmmm, yes, please) that it won’t get along with sugar in a Bundt …

I flashed back in time and pulled out the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook (you know the one- the one with the red and white gingham-checked cover), and realized that I have been spending way too much time online and not in the 1950s where I think things were probably …

Take a deep breath, and get ready. Fry up some oil, baker-friend, ’cause these fritters ain’t gonna fry themselves up into the sinful oblivion known as your New Favorite Dessert. I made these for The Husband’s birthday because a) I had already made almost every kind of lemon recipe in …

I’m starting to lose my mind. (If The Husband weren’t away for work in London right now, he’d question my decision to use the word ‘starting’.  I’d laugh, pretend to be wounded, and then absolutely agree with him.  I have conversations with people all the time when they’re not in the …

Every now and then I get my act in gear when it comes to baking with the season.  Usually my timing is off by a month- so it’s highly unusual and impressive that I’m getting this St. Patrick’s Day dessert to you in time for you to bake it, eat …

Marilyn sent me this recipe, and it got bumped around the queue I keep of Recipes I’ll Probably Maybe Make One Day.  The ingredients didn’t… speak to me.  Like a homeless lady with a diagnosable mental illness, I wait for recipe ingredients to speak to me, and usually out loud. …

I never got into the whole pretzel-stuffed-into-or-sprinkled-onto-sweets craze, but because I am an approval-seeker, I’ll put out sometimes to win your love and affection.  (I did make the Pretzel Brownie a few years ago, and actual Pretzels that one time- so I’m hoping you’ll hang out with me until 2018 …

In the spirit of honesty, this cake actually ended up being a train wreck, but I didn’t have the moral fortitude to write about it and post it in the Disasters section. I know, it’s weird, because usually I’m all about moral fortitude on this blog.  I usually have no shame, and even …

Imagine how mysterious and exciting it will be to stab the most boring looking cake ever with a fork, only to feel slight resistance near the bottom of the piece, in that layer between the cake and the plate. “What could that be?” (asks you, the fork, or whomever you …