Piece Montee

            I've been seeing this dessert everywhere lately. I believe it was the most recent Daring Baker's challenge. The first time I saw it, I fell in love with the idea of making it. It looked like an adventure to make and I'd been looking for an excuse to make it for a while. I finally got to make it for a Not-Going-Away party that I attended recently. I was actually very impressed with how it came out, and it received some pretty rave reviews. I found the recipe here and the only change I made was to add a bit of lemon zest to the pastry cream. I think I may have also overcooked the sugar syrup a bit. It tasted good, but my cream puffs stuck together like their little pastry lives depended on it!

Wonderland.

               Early this last week, I was told that there would be an Alice in Wonderland party on Saturday. Naturally, when I hear the word party, I start brainstorming ideas to make cakes/cupcakes/sweets that fit within the theme. This time the cake was based off of my favorite character in the books and classic Disney movie- the Cheshire Cat! While I was making Cheshy, I had an idea to make little Mome Raths to go with him, so that's what those little guys are.

                Looks wise, I wasn't quite happy with the eyes and mouth that I made out of candy melts, other than that, I loved the swirled inside and the piping came out alright. The taste makes this cake one of my new favorite recipes! It's an almond white cake (found here). I wasn't as please with the vanilla buttercream, but everyone else seemed to like it. (Source)
              

                  The swirl effect is something I've done once before, also for an Alice in Wonderland party. 

This upcoming week on Winesday.

      My baking schedule seems to get busier by the day. I have two decent projects I get to work on in the next week or so, and I'm really looking forward to them! The first one is a Cheshire Cat mini-cake that I will start working on probably tomorrow. The second is a surprise!
      Here's a basic idea of what I want to do for the Cheshire Cat- it's a very rough sketch though!

Cherry Limeade Cupcakes.

            This week, I asked Ashley about her favorite flavors. She said banana, strawberry, and cherry. Being burnt out on strawberries and bananas, I decided to spring for cherry. I myself have been in a lime mood lately, though I'm not sure why. I ended up settling on a new idea for cherry and lime cupcakes. Being really nervous about just making up a recipe off the top of my head, I decided to use the Perfect Party Cake as a base (found here). I halved the recipe, used limes instead of lemons, and added about 1/3 cup of lime juice and cherry puree, which ended up not quite being enough. One day I will learn to not be so nervous about adding ingredients!

            Overall, though the cherry flavor was quite subtle, I thought these came out really well. They were really tender and moist.

Coming soon!

Pictures and a recipe for Cherry Limeade cupcakes and a review of Chateau Ste. Michelle vintage 2008 Riesling. Should be set up and posted in a day or two.

To New Beginnings.

         Baking has been a hobby of mine for about a year now. It's something I've always been interested in, but never passionate about, until more recently. With each new project I've been trying to up the ante- whether it be a new type of ingredient, perfecting mixing technique, new types of baked goods altogether, or even sometimes just a bit of practice with my (lack of) decorating skills. 

         For months now, I've been subjecting my friend Ashley to numerous types of desserts, wines, and movies. It's been a kind of girls' night in that I've really come to enjoy. Recently, we've come to call it Winesday, since we always plan it on Wednesdays. I feel that these Winesdays have been the motivation I've needed to really get better at this baking thing. 

         When I was thinking about making this blog, there was one thing I knew I couldn't do on my own. I don't have the skill or the equipment to take even close to professional pictures of the things I bake. Fortunately for me, I have many skilled friends, and Ashley actually happens to be a great photographer. I am really pleased to have her working on this project with me, because I really couldn't do it without her!

          Now, on to the tasty treats!

          These particular cupcakes were made for a Luau party a friend of mine was hosting. My friend is very big into cocktails, so I decided to make these look like little drinks. The recipe itself is a great recipe I'd used once before, but I slightly modified it this time. It can be found here . I substituted in coconut rum instead of coconut extract, cut down on the coconut milk a bit to add tiny bits of pineapple, and halved the recipe to make about 20 cute little cuppies. For the frosting, I made a basic cream cheese frosting, then added a little pineapple juice and more coconut rum. (Basic frosting recipe found here.) I also made a gelatin mix with even MORE coconut rum, and drizzled it into little holes I poked in the cupcakes. All in all, I was pretty happy with how they came out, though I didn't add nearly enough pineapple. They were quite a hit at the Luau!