.:Baking Arts:.

Friendly Rose Cake

2011-07-20T20:34:00.006-04:00

Yellow roses are suppose to represent friendship and I believe this cake is very friendly.

I mean, who would not want to be friends with a chocolate cake with light yellow buttercream? The chocolate cake was one of my favorites-One Bowl Chocolate Cake. I'm not sure why it's called "one bowl" because you really use 2 but I don't question Martha's methods. I modified my favorite buttercream recipe and it is now my FAVORITE favorite buttercream recipe.

Basically it was this:

4 sticks of unsalted butter, softened

8 cups of confectioner's sugar

6 tablespoons of heavy cream

4 teaspoons vanilla (I used clear for this recipe)

Blend the butter until smooth and add one cup of confectioner's sugar at a time. Add heavy cream and vanilla and blend until smooth.

Of course these "rose" cakes have been all over the baking blogs lately but I hadn't seen one quite like this. Most were one color and I thought it would look lovely to do a variation of the same shade. Yellow and chocolate seemed to be a good combination and I'm glad I chose it instead of something more predictable (ahem, pink). Only having one 1M tip made it a little difficult since I couldn't alternate the colors and had to do one at a time. I went back and filled in what I could with the tip and added a few more roses to hide some holes. This is my new favorite tip and I'm excited to use it next time I make cupcakes. Chocolate cupcakes with yellow roses would be lovely too!

Brownies and Baking Confessions

2011-07-09T21:38:00.003-04:00

I have a secret baking confession. Despite being very OCD about using the best vanilla, whole milk, and good cocoa I always make brownies from a box. Well, always until this week.

I could have possibly gone the rest of my life baking brownies from a box, (preferably Betty Crocker Supreme Brownies with the Hersey's Syrup) if it hadn't been for Jon buying me Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented for Christmas. These guys were slightly on my baking radar but I hadn't tried any of their recipes until we made their Chocolate Whoopie Pies (which I forgot to photo and blog). Now their Swiss Meringue Buttercream is my go to frosting of choice. When I saw their brownie recipe from their first cookbook I knew I had to change my ways. The chocolate to butter to vanilla to dark cocoa ratio was unbelievable so I knew it had to work. And work it did, the chocolate flavor that you will experience is better than any brownie/cake experience I've had. They are perfectly fudgy and have that thinner than paper crust on top. What is it about that little crust that is so great?

The modifications I made on this recipe was this: it called for 11 ounces of dark chocolate. Dark chocolate means 60-85% cacao. For me I thought it would be much easier on me (and my wallet) to buy one 11.5 ounce bag of bittersweet (60%) chocolate chips. I bought Ghirardelli since that is the best brand I can find in Salisbury and they are better than most. And that extra half ounce? An extra half ounce of chocolate never hurt anyone! For the dark cocoa I used Hershey's Special Dark that I already had on hand. Oh, and that little tip about buttering your pan, then lining it with parchment paper? Best trick ever.

I'm completely won over. Goodbye little packets of syrup. And in case you still aren't convinced to make these brownies, they are on Oprah's List of Favorite Things. Isn't that enough?

The Baked Brownie - Adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking

1¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons dark unsweetened cocoa powder

11.5 ounces (1 bag) dark chocolate chips

1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 teaspoon instant espresso powder

1½ cups granulated sugar

½ cup packed light brown sugar

5 eggs, at room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the sides and bottom of a 9×13-inch glass. Line the pan with parchment paper.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt, and cocoa powder together.

3. Put the chocolate, butter and instant espresso powder in a large bowl and set it over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and smooth. Turn off the heat, but keep the bowl over the water and add the sugars. Whisk until completely combined, then remove the bowl from the pan. Cool until room temperature.

4. Add 3 eggs to the chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Add the remaining eggs and whisk until combined. Add the vanilla and stir until combined. Do not overbeat the batter at this stage or your brownies will be cakey.

5. Sprinkle the flour mixture over the chocolate mixture. Using a rubber spatula (not a whisk), fold the flour mixture into the chocolate until just a bit of the flour mixture is visible.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake in the center of the oven for 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out with a few moist crumbs sticking to it. Let the brownies cool completely, then lift them out of the pan using the parchment paper. Cut into squares and serve.

7. Store at room temperature in an airtight container or wrap with plastic wrap for up to 3 days.

Baking Lust: Fresh Florals

2011-07-09T20:52:00.003-04:00

I've been saving these up for a while now on Pinterest. I know edible flowers are impressive but they still don't beat the real thing in my book.

Source: 100layercake.com

This cake is pretty much perfection. And the glass cup holding the flowers?! Great idea.

Source: weddings.theknot.com

Buttercream and Baby's Breath.

Source: lunaandchloeweddings.com via Taylor on Pinterest

Love this one!

Source: stylemepretty.com

Another pretty purple arrangement.

Source: stylemepretty.com

Love this small cake surrounded by flowers on the glass cake plate.

Source: weddingchicks.com

So rustic and pretty!

Source: weddingchicks.com via

Chocolate ganache with peach flowers makes a lovely combination too.

Source: stylemepretty.com

Source: mariahinafrica.blogspot.com

Love the yellow with the bright pink and orange flowers.

Summertime

2011-06-20T12:28:00.000-04:00

Thank goodness for summer because my baking time was really being compromised this school year! I'm trying to come up with a list of all I want to bake/accomplish this summer. For now this is all I've done:

Peach & Blueberry Crumbles for Father's Day- except I made one big crumble instead of individual ones. Still just as delicious. I could eat up that crumble part forever.

I'm attempting at least one big baking idea each week. I have a lot of ideas saved up that I have not had time to attempt for no real reason other than practice. This week my goal is a cake with fresh flowers. I'm a little obsessed.

Oh, and I want to go to Paris.

Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-05-24T17:40:00.003-04:00

Everytime I see a recipe including Nutella I save it. Who knows how many Nutella recipes I have stashed away somewhere on my computer (mostly starred from various blogs). However, after seeing this one yesterday afternoon I knew I had to make this cookie ASAP.

I have to say, this is probably the best cookie recipe find ever. On it's own it would make a great chocolate chip cookie. Then add in the Nutella and it's perfection. Thin and crisp but chewy on the inside- that's how I like my chocolate chip and this fits the description. Super easy to make. I pretty much did the entire recipe during commercial breaks of the Real Housewives of New Jersey. I know, I know, Nutella is from Italy so it's a great connection. I was thinking the same thing!

**The super cute paper doily was purchased at Bake it Pretty in Asheville, NC.

Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies

-adapted from Tracey's Culinary Adventures

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup Nutella (I maybe threw in an extra tablespoon or two...)
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment.

Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together in a small bowl.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Add both sugars and cream on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. With the mixer on low speed, add the egg and vanilla and beat to combine. Mix in the Nutella until the dough is smooth.

With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients to the mixer a little at a time. Beat just until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl then add the chocolate chips. Beat briefly just to distribute the chips. (I refrigerated the dough for about an hour here, but it's not necessary.)

Use a small cookie scoop to portion the dough on the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between them. Bake for 7-8 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are set (the tops may still be soft). Transfer baking sheet to a wire rack and let the cookies cool for about 5 minutes before transferring them to the racks to cool completely.

Makes 24 cookies.

Key Lime Pound Cake

2011-04-26T13:23:00.006-04:00

I was so excited to try it this morning when I woke up that I couldn't even wait til after I went running or to take a photo.

Spring break has finally arrived and I promised myself that with spring break would come more baking. It's not that I haven't baked anything since my last actual baking post (was that the Caramel Cake in January?!) but just not managed to put baking+photos+blog post all together.

When I first saw this cake in Southern Living magazine I knew I had to bake it. Key Lime Pie, well let me rephrase that, Good Key Lime Pie is one of my favorites and you know Southerners love their pound cake so it was a win-win scenario. It's very springtime. The cake has just a hint of lime and the glaze is very tangy. The best part: not dry at all! I hate a dry pound cake.

The cake is easy to make, that is if you like juicing key limes. It's been a while since I've made a Key Lime Pie so I had totally forgotten how annoying that is. After about the 15th lime and maybe 1/8 cup of juice (half of the total) I tried to imagine I was a giant and was juicing regular size limes with my giant hands. That really didn't make it any more fun. Then I was overly anxious to see how much juice I had so I poured it in my 1/4 measuring cup. Halfway there. So I kept on juicing. A few limes later I was overly excited again so I picked up the halfway full measuring cup of lime juice. I hit it on something sitting nearby and juice spilled everywhere. Ahhhh! A few expletives and dozen key limes later I had enough and thus ended my juicing. Well, until I had to make the glaze...

Key Lime Pound Cake

~Southern Living Magazine

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lime zest
1/4 cup fresh Key lime juice

Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons fresh Key lime juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°. Beat butter and shortening at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.
2. Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla, lime zest, and lime juice. Pour batter into a greased and floured 10-inch (12-cup) tube pan.
3. Bake at 325° for 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour and 20 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 to 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack.
4. Prepare Key Lime Glaze, and immediately brush over top and sides of cake. Cool completely (about 1 hour).

Cake and Dress: Hydrangea

2011-03-29T22:18:00.003-04:00

Source: iammommy.typepad.com

Source: anthropologie.com via Taylor on Pinterest

Bake Lust: Perfect Match

2011-03-20T18:12:00.001-04:00

Source: oncewed.com via Taylor on Pinterest

Source: captivatedbyimage.nl via Taylor on Pinterest

DIY Cadbury Eggs

2011-02-25T14:58:00.002-05:00

Yes, please!

spotted at the kitchn

Banana Pudding Cake

2011-01-31T21:11:00.006-05:00

Years ago, probably in high school, I made banana pudding for my dad. It was a baked banana pudding which is apparently the proper way to make it. Well, don't tell that to my dad. He straight up told me he preferred my grandmother's instant vanilla pudding, cool whip, refrigerator version. Not sure if I've ever made baked banana pudding since then! I learned my lesson. When it comes to something my grandmother makes and my dad likes, don't mess with it.

So it makes no sense that when my grandmother called me on Saturday to see if I was going to make my dad a birthday cake I decided to make him a banana pudding...cake.

I've never made a banana cake and even though I love bananas, I've never loved banana bread/baked things. This cake changed my mind though. Very good. Very. Very. The vanilla wafer toffee was made but I didn't like the look of it so much (although it tasted yummy) so I just used vanilla wafer crumbs. Oh, and the vanilla whipped cream? What isn't there to love about that?

Banana Pudding Cake

from Sugar Plum~Makes 10 servings

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup oil
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large bananas, mashed
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large egg yolks
3/4 cup buttermilk

Vanilla Wafer Toffee
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups coarsely chopped chopped vanilla wafer cookies

Vanilla Whipped Cream
1 cup heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour bottom and sides of a 10-inch springform pan.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat together butter, oil, sugar and banana until creamy - about 1-2 minutes. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla until combined - about 1 minute. Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually beat in flour mixture, alternating with buttermilk, until combined.

Place batter in pan; bake 30 minutes or until well risen and golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack.

To make the Vanilla Wafer Toffee, melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat; whisk in brown sugar, cream and salt and bring to a boil, whisking frequently. Keep whisking and cooking for a minute or two, until sugar is dissolved. Remove pan from heat and stir in vanilla wafers until well coated. Scatter wafer pieces over a greased cookie sheet. Bake 8 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly. Cool on waxed paper, breaking toffee into smaller pieces.

To make the Vanilla Whipped Cream, beat cream, sugar and vanilla together in a large mixing bowl, using a mixer on high speed, until stiff peaks form.

To assemble the cake, first remove sides from springform pan. Pipe or spread whipped cream over cake. Sprinkle vanilla wafer toffee on top of cake.

Baking Lust: Bake + Vintage

2011-01-23T19:19:00.003-05:00

My dream come true: Open a bake/vintage shop.

This one is cute. Red Velvet Art. Before and after seen on Design*Sponge.

Black and White Krispie Treats

2011-01-23T18:42:00.004-05:00

I love homemade rice krispie treat. Maybe one day rice krispie treats will be the new hip baked good, like cupcakes, macarons, and whoopie pies have been the last few years. Except that it isn't reallly baked, but you know what I mean.

Earlier this week I saw a recipe for Hot Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats. I was immediately sold but when I got to the grocery store I just couldn't commit to cocoa krispies. It took me back to 3rd grade when my grandmother had 18 types of cereal and we ate a different one each day. Anybody remember Reeses Peanut Butter Cup cereal? I swear it looked like dog food but I still ate it. And Trix? I always felt bad for the rabbit and how they never gave him any cereal so I boycotted it. Really, I just didn't like it, but that was another good reason. I couldn't see me eating a bowl of cocoa krispies and instead just bought the regular kind. Actually the store brand, because I was feeling cheap that day.

So once I got around to making them I had to figure out another way to make them chocolate since I also felt too cheap for hot chocolate mix. If I drink hot chocolate I like the real thing. I hate how hot chocolate mix never dissolves all the way. So basically, I scrapped the whole recipe.

Here is what I did:

Black and White Krispie Treats

1/4 cup of butter (half a stick)

1 bag of marshmallows (plus 1/2 bag for later)

4 oz. good semisweet chocolate (1 bar)

6 cups rice krispies

Spray baking pan with cooking spray. Chop 1/2 of chocolate bar and melt with butter in a large saucepan over low heat. When chocolate and butter are melted add 1 bag of mini marshmallows. Continue to stir until marshmallows are melted and incorporated with chocolate.

Remove from heat and add 6 cups of rice krispies. Now add 2 cups of mini marshmallows. Stir in until slightly melted. Pour into prepared pan and press down. Immediately spread 2 cups of marshmallows on top of krispies and press down. Let cool.

Melt remaining 1/2 bar (2 oz.) of chocolate over a double boiler until melted. With a spatula drizzle over krispies and marshmallows. Let cool and cut into squares.

Caramel Cake: Revisited 1 Year Later

2011-01-10T17:30:00.000-05:00

Friday, on the way home, I had a baking craving. I love baking cravings. I had no idea what I was going to bake but I was going to bake something. Somehow caramel cake popped up into my head. I thought of my first and last caramel cake attempt. It was a good cake but thinking back on it it was a little cakey. I should have split those 3 layers into 6 and upped the caramel to cake ratio.

Here is the sappy, sticky, sweet part:

Last year when I made the cake it was a random baking event and ended up taking it to a small engagement party for two friends who had just recently gotten engaged. I'm thinking about all of this driving home and I remembered a conversation I had that night with newly engaged Heather about how I had a date the next night with an art director in Charlotte. That's what I called him I think. Our first date was January 10th. So, I'm making caramel cake the same weekend as I did last year. The first weekend in January. The weekend of my first date with Jon. That is why I had caramel cake on the brain (or heart).

Here is the recipe I had saved and forgotten about. It was okay. Didn't quite live up to my expectations. The cake was ever so slightly dry and the caramel was good but maybe because I forgot to add the vanilla at the end it wasn't as good as it could have been. Oh, and the presentation...I had to tell Jon it was supposed to look like that! Jon and I took it to poker night and when he told the sad story of how I didn't make him a birthday cake we turned this into a 5 month late celebration. I told him to look sad in the photo.

Baking Lust-Art 101

2010-11-14T22:10:00.007-05:00

Autumn Rhythm Number 30 by Jackson Pollock

Sunflowers by Vincent Van Gogh

Cakes by Wayne Thiebaud

Flowers in a Glass Vase by Rachel Ruysch

Homage to the Square Series by Josef Albers

via Martha Stewart

l'obsession

2010-11-14T10:45:00.003-05:00

Paris vs. NYC

Kitchen Drawers

2010-11-11T09:23:00.004-05:00

Most days off I've had lately have been teacher workdays and even on the weekends I'm somewhere else. So today means I need to do all the things I haven't, starting withk reorganizing my kitchen. Not sure it will be as good as Martha's but I can try.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

2010-10-28T21:46:00.002-04:00

So, let me explain. My camera hates me. At the beginning of August Jon and I went to Nashville. I took lots of photos, most importantly of Jon beside Gram Parson's suit at the Country Music Hall of Fame on his birthday and of a room full of vintage party dresses. Then I got home and my computer and camera refused to get along anymore. It'd really been an on and off relationship for some time. So everything I've baked since then has not been blogged about because I feel like if I don't have a picture it didn't really happen. But some things need to be shared.

I've been on a whoopie pie kick lately. I guess they are like the new cupcake. or macaron. or whatever. I've made a few varieties but this is the best one so far. I took them to school for a halloween dessert fest. There were lots of store bought things and some regular brownies and such. When I went to get my dish, everything else had leftovers and these were gone! Unlike some other whoopie pies I've tried these are very moist (ugh, I hate that word because everyone else hates that word but can't think of another to use) and have the perfect amount of pumpkin and spice. A must have for Halloween and the upcoming month of November.

*And if you really want a picture click on Tracy's link. They looked the same :)

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
from Tracy's Culinary Adventures

Cookies
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup canola oil
3 cups canned pumpkin
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Filling
3 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger and nutmeg. In another bowl, whisk the sugars and oil together. Add the pumpkin puree and whisk to combine thoroughly. Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk until combined. Finally, gradually add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and whisk to combine completely.

Use a small scoop (or a large spoon) to drop rounds of dough (about 1.5-2 tablespoons each) onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 1 inch apart. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cookie comes out clean. Remove from the oven, then let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.

To make the filling, beat the butter on medium speed in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until smooth. Add the cream cheese and beat to combine. Add the confectioners' sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth.

To assemble the whoopie pies: Turn half of the cookies over so the flat side is up. Put the cream cheese filling in a disposable pastry bag and cut a hole from the end. Pipe the filling onto the flat side of the turned cookies. Sandwich with the remaining cookies, pressing down slightly so the filling spreads to the edge. Cover the whoopie pies and transfer them to the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Bake Lust: Children's Lit

2010-10-14T20:33:00.007-04:00

I'm using this to explain my lack of baking lately. Well, it's not my only excuse but it's the easiest to blame. Here are some really lovely cakes inspired by good children's lit. Of course I chose these cakes based on my favorite books:

Let's start with a basic intro into children's lit. Mostly early elementary but very good choices.

And also, the basic intro into children's lit:

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle- I used to check this book out from the library every time my grandmother took me. Love, love, his illustrations. The cake above is maybe perhaps the best cake ever.

When I was in 3rd grade we read Farmer Boy as a class. My mom bought me the Laura Ingalls Wilder box set and I would do nothing but read book after book each weekend. Last year I read several of them to my 3rd graders and I was happy to see that even in these technological times, the kids still loved hearing about Laura and Mary's adventures, Pa's fiddle, and traveling in covered wagons. I also think about Little House on the Prairie everytime I hear the word calico.

And my all time favorite...love, love, love. Love.

The Giving Tree.

Love.

Need This

2010-09-28T20:47:00.001-04:00

I've not decorated cookies in forever. This is good inspiration to do so:Publish Post

found here, via here

Baking Lust: Bunting Cakes

2010-08-16T23:39:00.001-04:00

I've been wanting to make a cake with pretty bunting for a while. Here is some good inspiration. This pretty vintage fabric bunting can be bought on Etsy here: Kiki La Ru.

Farm Birthday Cake

2010-08-05T12:55:00.005-04:00

Baby Maddox is growing up! Last weekend he celebrated his 1st birthday party. Stephanie had the most adorable decorations and party food.

Here is his farm birthday cake. The top tier was vanilla butter cake with buttercream and buttercream fondant. The bottom tier was chocolate cake with buttercream and buttercream fondant. I used a new vanilla cake recipe which I'll have to share very soon because it was delicious! I managed to cover both tiers and make all the "accessories" with one tub of fondant. My favorite addition was the tiny ears of fondant corn! I also worked extra hard on the cow and pig's ears, ha.

I also made Maddox a little cake to tear up. It was just butter cake with vanilla buttercream. The ducks of course are fondant and I used piping gel for the water. Maddox enjoyed chewing on the ducks.

Not the party hat!!!

Cake makes everything better!

Too cute!

Review-Duff Cake Products

2010-07-26T15:47:00.005-04:00

Today I began prepping for to make Maddox's birthday cake with a trip to Michael's for a few supplies.

Before I left I remembered I had a 50% coupon from my last trip to Michaels (a couple of months ago). Michael's always has the best coupons. I learned back in the day when I was taking my cake classes that they'll even if you don't have a special 40% off coupon when you go to checkout they will find you one. So even after I read that my coupon expired June 12 I was still pretty confident they'd let me use it.

Mostly I was wanting to use my 50% off coupon on a tub of fondant. That's right, bought fondant was on my cake supply list. Ever since I started baking I've never used bought fondant and have relied on my marshmallow fondant recipe. Back a few months ago when I made Lilly's 1st birthday cake I decided to try Duff Goldman's new line of buttercream fondant. At $20 for a 2 lb. tub I was really hoping it was a good investment and I was very happy to find that it tasted just as good as the homemade kind. Really, it's good!

The main convienence for me buying fondant instead of making it is that my kitchen is super hot in the summer. I'm super cautious about fondant falling apart before I get it on the cake. For Maddox's cake I'm planning on using a combination of bought and homemade fondant. I'll probably use Duff's to cover the cakes and the homemade for the accents. I'm sooo excited about the accents for this cake.

All of Duff's cake products are 25% off this week. This is a good thing since it turns out I got in the most evil Michael's employee line and she threw away my expired coupon. She even had extra 40% coupons lying around on the register that she didn't even offer to let me use. That's not the Michael's spirit! But in the end I still came out pretty good with the 25% off each item instead of 50% off one item. So there!

I also got a fondant smoother since I lost my original one a long time ago. The Duff version and the Wilton version were the same price. So since Duff's was 25% off (and they were pretty much exactly the same) I got that one.

Also, I bought some fondant "texture tiles" for the farm themed cake. It came in a pack of two-brick and wood grain. I was not fully decided if I was going to put a barn on the cake or not but once I made up my mind.

For my last cake project I thought I was going to need some black fondant. I bought this gel color kit and ended up using the teal and gold as well. The black was amazing and I only needed a few drops to get it correct instead of the usual entire bottle with Wilton gel colors. The teal and gold turned out really vivid as well.

Grandmother Chest Pie

2010-07-13T10:26:00.008-04:00

I'm calling this Grandmother Chess Pie because both my grandmothers have made chest pie at some point. Not too long ago they each made a variety of it within several weeks of each other, one was lemon, the other vanilla (much like this one). Then my mother started making a chocolate chest pie which everyone went crazy over too. It was then that I really started appreciating chest pie. My favorite part is that it has this really thin crust but is gooey on the inside. Sooo good. It's so old fashioned, but in an insanely good way. It's almost like you went back 100 years and are eating pie with your great-great grandmother and that's a good thing.

This recipe came from my Sweet Carolina cookbook that I've neglected lately. This was the recipe I've wanted to try the most since it is from Rowan County and has the best story to go along with it. It's contributor was 104 when this cookbook was written. She was born in rural Rowan county (not sure which part) in 1899! One day in the 1920's she picked up the telephone to get the operator in Salisbury and instead overhead a neighbor's phone call. Oh, how fun party lines must have been! So it just so happens that when she picked up she heard someone asking for directions to bake a chest pie. So like any good southern woman, she eavesdropped to get the recipe as well. The cutest part, she calls the pies "crusties"!

*I'd suggest adding the pecans. I took the pies to my grandmother's today so I could have a pre-birthday celebration with her since I'll be in Las Vegas on Saturday. She, my cousin Allison and I could have taken out this entire pie!

Chest Pie

Nolie Ridenhour Zimmerman, from Sweet Carolina

Makes 2 pies, 6 to 8 servings each

2 unbaked 9-inch piecrusts

3 eggs

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

3 1/2 tablespoons cream or milk

1 teaspooon vanilla

pecans (optional)-I made one of each

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the filling ingredients and blend well. Divide the mixture evenly between the prepared piecrusts. Bake for 10 minutes. Turn oven down to 325 and bake for 20 to 25 minutes more, or until done.

Bake Lust: July 4th

2010-07-04T13:03:00.003-04:00

So here it is July 4th blogging from Jon's computer and I've baked nothing patriotic. I actually made a cake the other day but chose to go swimming instead of decorating it and I'm totally okay with that decision! But hopefully after traveling to Greenville today, fireworks tonight and probably being lazy tomorrow...I'll be back to bake something good up next week.

So here is my favorite America inspired baked good complete with recipe and instructions:

Starry Cherry Pie

And for those of us that are more ambitious:

Whipped Bakeshop

DIY cute cupcake pendants

Amazing USA rainbow cake

Pretty Berry Star Cake

Baking Lust: Cool Off

2010-06-29T22:01:00.000-04:00

Maybe it's the heat or that it's sort of my favorite color, but I've really been loving some cool minty hued cakes lately. I've come up with a new challenge...it's summer and I need things to do. So whatever my baking lust theme is, I need to make something based on this theme. I'm thinking a minty cake will be completed later this week.

And cupcakes!

And macarons!

1. Style Me Pretty 2.WOW Factor Cake s 3. Martha Stewart 4. Cuppacakes 5. Flickr

S'mores Cupcakes

2010-06-23T04:03:00.000-04:00

Maybe it was because it was the first day of summer and s'mores are the unofficial summer treat but the cupcake stars aligned and I got an idea. Yesterday, I saw this post by Jordan for S'mores kits. After saving that idea away, I wanted a s'more. Right then, in the 96 degree middle of the day with no campfire around and in the middle of downtown Salisbury. Not really an option. Then I saw that Martha's Cookie of the Day was S'mores Cookies. Okay idea Martha, but a s'more cookie wasn't enough. I needed a s'more cupcake. I actually went to bed and layed awake thinking of different combinations to make the perfect s'mores cupcake.

Here's what I came up with:

Cupcake:

The cupcake would be chocolate, nothing else was never an option. I used Beatty's Chocolate Cake recipe because it's the best chocolate cupcake. To make it a true s'mores cupcake, I added graham cracker crumbs on top of the cupcake batter once I put them in the cupcake tins. Bake 20 minutes and you get a perfect graham cracker chocolate cupcake.

Chocolate Topping:

I melted a Hershey's Bar and put a huge spoonful on top of each cupcake. I could have used fancier chocolate but I wanted the authentic s'more taste.

Marshmallow Frosting:

I totally made this up.

1 stick of unsalted butter

2 (7 oz) jars of marshmallow cream

3 cups powdered sugar (give or take)

It was really all over the place but that I blame my kitchen being 90 degrees. Tastes just like a melted marshmallow though!

Add some more graham cracker crumbs....

Right after these photos were taken I grabbed up a cupcake and quickly moved to the sink since it was melting everywhere and proceeded to eat a cupcake in 3 bites. I tasted just like a s'more and it wasn't until the last bite I noticed how good the chocolate cake was with the rest of the s'more taste. Messy, yes. But isn't that the way s'mores are supposed to be?

Raspberry and Peach Sorbet

2010-06-17T16:02:00.004-04:00

After finishing up my last teacher workday I decided to treat myself to a pedicure, a very long overdue pedicure. Harris Teeter is right next door so I went in to grab a magazine and raspberry lemonade. I mean I always like Martha's ideas and photos but imagine my excitement when I read in the latest Martha Stewart that you can make raspberry sorbet in a food processor! Raspberry sorbet is my summertime favorite frozen thing ever!

After my pedicure I went back into Harris Teeter and grabbed some frozen raspberries. I couldn't just stop with raspberry and got some frozen peaches as well. Martha also had this huge spread about peaches and since I didn't have any good fresh ones around to bake with, I figured peach sorbet would work for now. And does it ever! Sooo good, both of them. Maybe I'll never have to buy the pricy sorbet in stores anymore!

Raspberry Sorbet

Makes 1 pint

12 oz frozen raspberries

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

Mix sugar and water until sugar is dissolved. Pulse frozen raspberries in food processor until they are a very fine crumble. Add sugar water to the raspberries while the processor is running until it is smooth. Pour into freezable containers and place in freezer until firm, around 2 hours.

Peach Sorbet

Makes 1 1/2 pint

16 oz frozen peaches (or use whatever size you can find)

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

Mix sugar and water until sugar is dissolved. Pulse frozen peaches in food processor until they are a very fine crumble. Add sugar water to the peaches while the processor is running until it is smooth. Pour into freezable containers and place in freezer until firm, around 2 hours.

Lilly's 1st Birthday

2010-06-06T21:16:00.002-04:00

These were for a co-worker's little girl Lilly's 1st birthday. Lilly was having a garden party. Very sophisticated for a one year old! But when you are named Lilly you need to have a garden party! The cupcakes were mostly lemon cake with vanilla buttercream. I did make some vanilla cupcakes too for the little kids. I'd almost forgotten about how great this buttercream recipe is.

Baking Lust: Martha Stewart Cakes

2010-06-06T20:48:00.005-04:00

Today I was waiting at the drugstore and saw these:

Of course my first thought is "I want to make these now!" And I'm pretty sure that I could if I had the time and my kitchen wasn't 100 degrees. Good thing that school is almost out and I'll have time to take on random baking endeavors.

And this butterfly cake is maybe the best cake ever.

And these are pretty great too...

Baking Lust: Kitchen Accessories

2010-05-30T20:31:00.006-04:00

Today we are pretend kitchen shopping at Antropologie (where else?!)

First you need an apron that looks like a dress:

This one works for me:

Measuring cups are important. Currently I can only find 3 of mine, the 1/2, 1/3, and 1/4 cup. It's getting really old using the 1/2 cup to measure 3 cups of flour.

Eggs and butter are essential for every baking recipe:

I always make a mess and have to wash and dry my hands 1,000 times.

Presentation is everything.

Three years ago...

2010-05-28T19:46:00.008-04:00

...I made a batch of peanut butter cookies.

Last night I was putting off going to sleep and after seeing another blog's birthday post I thought "hmm...when is this blog's birthday?" All I could remember was that I started it in the summer, two years ago maybe? So I looked it up and was way excited to find out that it's today! And it's been three years! What good timing!

I forgot that I started it right after graduating college. The main reason for starting it was just to remember all the recipes I tried and liked (or ones I didn't so I wouldn't try them again). And I was just out of college, starting to look for teaching jobs, and had not much else to do besides bake. I can't believe it's been three years! I still remember making that batch of peanut butter cookies and I'm pretty sure I've not made any since then. But I've come a long way since that first batch of cookies!

After reminiscing for a bit I thought, oh no, now I have to bake something. I mean, I couldn't know it was my baking blog's birthday and knowingly pass the day by and not bake. Pretty much instantly I knew what I was going to bake.

Strawberry Shortcakes (how cute is the word shortcakes?)

makes 6 servings

modified slightly from Joy the Baker

For the berries:

1 pint fresh strawberries

3 tablespoons of sugar

For the whipped cream:

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

3 tablespoons powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the shortcakes:

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup cold, unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Slice the strawberries and blackberries and place in a medium sized bowl. Sprinkle with sugar. Stir. Cover and place in the fridge to macerate for at least 2 hours.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, or using simple a bowl and whisk, whip the cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract together until soft peaks form. Cover place in the fridge for later.

Now let’s make the biscuits!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place a rack in the center of the oven.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl whisk together the egg, vanilla extract and heavy cream. Cut the cold butter into small pieces and, using your fingers, incorporate the butter into the flour mixture. Work quickly, the butter and flour mixture will look like coarse crumbs.

Make a well in the center of the butter and flour mixture and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix just until the dough comes together. Dump out onto a clean, floured surface and bring it together with your hands. Knead once or twice then pat the dough out into a rectangle roughly 7-inches long, 4 -inches tall and 1-inch thick. Cut the dough into six equal pieces.

Place the shortcakes onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush the tops of each shortcake with a bit of cream and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake for 15-20 minutes until nicely browned.

Remove from the oven. Cool completely.

To assemble, cut the shortcakes in half, top with a few spoonfuls of berries and juice, whipped cream and the biscuit top. Dang good.

Bake Lust: Pretty Tiered Cakes

2010-05-16T21:42:00.005-04:00

All of a sudden, right now I want to make a tiered cake. I have no reason to do this besides the fact that I haven't in a while. Here's some inspiration in the meantime:

Fabric inspired cake. I always love their fondant work. How cute is that top layer?

Another great graphic sugarcoat it studio cake.

Love, love, love this cake! Of course it is my favorite colors and I love the unique tier combination.

Another cake with unique tiers. Very dreamy. And what a lovely cake stand!

Pretty piping. Which reminds me that my piping skills are probably pretty rusty about now.

Bake Lust: Mother's Day

2010-05-09T21:58:00.001-04:00

How perfectly adorable are these? I'm really in a cupcake making mood after seeing this site. Maybe this weekend...?

Little Preview- Petit Fours

2010-05-04T22:57:00.002-04:00

I was thinking about it and a baby shower (especially a baby girl's baby shower) really needs petit fours. It's a little ambitious for a Tuesday evening baking endeavor but it was nonetheless accomplished...with a few shortcuts. I'll do a proper step by step (mistakes and all) when I'm not about to fall asleep covered in confectioner's sugar.

Bake Lust Saturday (Sunday...)

2010-05-02T20:39:00.004-04:00

How bad is it that all of my latest posts are of things that other people made. And I've actually baked but have been too busy/lazy to get my photos uploaded. Sad.

I can't wait til this school year is over so I can devote more time to baking. I'm so slack when school is in session. I've been asked to make something for a baby shower at work (can't believe I agreed after the first baby shower fiasco this year) and originally I suggested petit fours. Yeah...but then I get an email tonight that it is going to be this Wednesday so I may switch that over to cupcakes. Petit fours take a lot of prep work. At least I know the gender of this baby (baby girl!) so it won't be as hard to think of ideas.

Anyhow, here are a few things I saved for this week:

homemade pop tarts (with nutella!) from smitten kitchen

edible butterflies from the kitchn

pretty and classic French charlottes from the kitchn

Also:

Stephanie makes getting up to make weekend pancakes so much easier.

It is strawberry season.

Bake Lust Saturday

2010-04-24T11:25:00.003-04:00

I've not seen so many lust-worthy cakes this week. Until last night...

I'm not sure if I've ever seen a prettier pink and girly cake. First spotted on Style me Pretty but I was excited to find out that it's baker is in Charlotte no less! It's WOW Factor Cakes and there are many pretty ones on their site.

A much simpler but nonetheless delicious looking chocolate cake. I'm going to have to ice my next chocolate cake like this. And I love the rustic cake stand. This is from Seven Spoons, a new blog discovery. Also, glad to find out I'm not the only one in love with Beatty's Chocolate Cake.

Today I saw the produce stand down the street selling fresh strawberries. That only means that it's almost time to make some homemade strawberry jam. And when that happens I'm going to use these adorable labels from eatdrinkchic.

And, how perfect is this?!?

Bake Lust

2010-04-17T09:34:00.007-04:00

I've been woken up way too early this morning by my neighbor's grandson throwing his baseball up against the bottom of my bedroom wall. The chances of you making it pro, very slim. The chances of me turning into a third grade teacher on a Saturday morning, almost guaranteed.

But because I was forced to get up early I was organizing photos in iPhoto and looking at blogs and dragging more photos to iPhoto and it was at that moment I came to the realization that I have baking lust. Really bad. I see cute cakes, cupcakes, cookies, tarts, etc. and save the photos for future reference.

Why not save them on here for future reference and share their greatness?

So maybe this will be a new Saturday morning tradition. Not that I hope to be woken up by third graders ever again.

1st Bake Lust List:

Wallpaper Inspired Cookies by Miette Cakes

Love this simple bannered wedding cake. No clue where I found it...

Mondrian inspired cake...amazing.

Also,

Joy the Baker wrote this adorable post about How to Impress a Boy with Baking. So true! Remember this?

Rice Krispie Eggs

2010-04-13T20:40:00.006-04:00

Another spring break creation. I wanted to make something cute for Easter lunch but had very little planning/baking time. For the past few months I've been a little obsessed with rice krispie treats. I can't remember making them as a kid (I remember them as being really messy) and don't think I ever made them on my own until college...in my dorm's kitchen no less.

There were a lot of cute baking ideas on my blog reader but when I saw this post and had all the inspiration I needed.

In the end I made a few varieties: white chocolate, semisweet chocolate, chocolate and coconut, and colored sugar. I was most excited by the chocolate and coconut. It was like a gourmet rice krispie treat. Too bad my dad and cousin quickly ate those two up! The white chocolate was pretty amazing though.

Happy 100- Lemon Madeleines

2010-04-13T20:09:00.006-04:00

I've been holding out posting forever. One reason (besides never uploading photos) is because I was at 99 posts and I wanted to do something above and beyond fancy for my 100th. But...that never happened.

However, I've had this madeleine pan for over a year. I found it while walking around the antique store down the street and believe I paid $2 for it. So what has it been doing the last year? It's been hanging on the wall in my kitchen. Several people have commented on it then asked, "Wait, is that some kind of baking thing?" Yes, but I just haven't used it yet.

So finally over spring break, or maybe the week before I can't even remember, I made madeleines.

Lemon Madeleines

~Adapted from Martha Stewart

3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks) melted, plus more for pans

1 1/2 cups cake flour, sifted (not self rising)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

3 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla

2 teaspoons lemon zest

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (2-3 lemons)

Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter madeleine pan; set aside. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl; set aside.

2. Put eggs, egg yolks, sugar, vanilla, lemon zest and juice in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until pale and thickened, about 5 minutes. Mix in butter. Using a spatula, fold flour mixture into egg mixture. Let rest 30 minutes. (I think I forgot that last step!)

3. Pour batter into buttered pans, filling the molds 3/4 full. Bake cookies, rotating pans halfway through until edges are crisp and golden, 7 to 8 minutes. Let cookies cool slightly in pans on wire racks. Invert, and unmold. Dust with confectioners' sugar, if desired. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature for up to 1 day. (Umm...sorry Martha I think they can stick around at least 2 or 3 and be fine)

The cookies were sort of like a lighter pound cake. The lemon was just right. I never got around to the powdered sugar step but I'm sure that would be a nice touch.

Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Dulce de Leche Buttercream

2010-03-09T21:59:00.008-05:00

As you will soon see, these cupcakes had a Valentine's theme. Too bad they are just now getting proper blog recognition! Anyhow, for my first carrot cake attempt I really liked this recipe. And the dulce de leche buttercream...amazing.

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Adapted from Martha Stewart via Joy the Baker

Makes about 28 cupcakes (a lot!)

4 cups peeled and finely grated carrots
3 large eggs, room temperature
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped, pod reserved for another use (or 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract)
1/2 cup crushed pineapple, well drained
1 cup walnuts or pecans, toasted and finely chopped
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 standard muffin tins with paper liners. In a bowl, whisk together carrots, eggs, sugar, oil, buttermilk, vanilla seeds, and coconut, pineapple and nuts if desired. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Stir flour mixture into carrot mixture until well combined.
Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each 3/4 full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until testers inserted into centers come out clean, 23 to 28 minutes. Let cool in tins on wire racks, 10 minutes. Turn out cupcakes onto wire racks, and let cool completely. Unfrosted cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen for up to 2 months in airtight containers.
Frost cupcakes with dulce de leche or cream cheese frosting.

Dulce de Leche Buttercream

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
3 Tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar
pinch of salt
3/4 cup prepared dulce de leche

Cream together softened butter and powdered sugar on low using an electric mixer. Add cream and vanilla and beat on medium speed until smooth and no lumps appear. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the prepared dulce de leche and beat to incorporate. Frost cooled cupcakes using a knife or a pastry bag and tip.

Rainbow Birthday Cake

2010-03-09T21:59:00.007-05:00

My cousins Allison and Amy have birthdays 2 days apart. They asked me to make their cake. Amy wanted chocolate cake, Allison wanted vanilla. They did agree on light blue frosting.

So I kept it simple.

but only on the outside!

I used Magnolia's Birthday Cake recipe with Cream Cheese Icing.

And it was reallllly good.

I'm way behind on my baking posts.

2010-02-20T09:48:00.002-05:00

In the mean time, here is a lovely cake topper!

@ togetherforever on Etsy

Hurry!

2010-02-05T20:19:00.003-05:00

Find some Nutella fast...it's World Nutlella Day!

Nutella is more than just a “chocolaty hazelnut spread,” it is a way of life.

ha!

Here are some quick ideas:

Nutella Croissants

Nutella Brownies

Nutella Banana Crepes

Gender Neutral Baby Shower Cake: For Sale!

2010-02-03T22:03:00.008-05:00

Update! The cake has been resold to it's original buyer and will be enjoyed by many teachers on the first day back to school in nearly a week.

For Sale:

Listen to this:

Two weeks ago I was asked to make a cake for a co-worker's baby shower. She doesn't know what she is having so I was slightly perplexed at how to go about making a gender neutral baby shower cake. I probably looked through 1,000 photos on Cake Central before finally deciding on an idea: a slightly boyish pattern on the bottom tier and a more girly pattern on the top tier. It's been since the summer since I took on such a cake and had the entire weekend (+ 3 snow days) to work on it. The shower was originally supposed to be on Monday but was postponed to Thursday (tomorrow) since we were out because of the snow/ice. Since I hate dried out cake I waited as long as I could to make it and have been working on it off and on yesterday and today.

Tonight I finished it up and was happy to be done before 10:00. I was thinking of getting ready for bed and worry about how I was going to get it to work in the morning. Then...I decided to check my work e-mail. As of 9:00 p.m., the baby shower has been postponed again...UNTIL THE BABY IS BORN!!!!!!!

This cake isn't going to wait around for that!!!!

Now, what to do for my gender neutral baby shower cake that I was going to get $30 for? Will I still get that $30?!?!?

I'm planning on finding out that soon, but in the meantime, if you are in need of a cake (and a lot of it!) feel free to take it off my hands! Well, not "free" but maybe at a reduced price.

Easy to assemble!

Beatty's Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Buttercream!

Homemade Marshmallow Fondant!

Since it's "gender neutral" it'll work for any occasion!

This makes my life

2010-01-28T21:55:00.005-05:00

The last time I had a Nutella and banana crepe was at some music thing in downtown Raleigh early last summer. I'm pretty sure my friends thought Rachel and I were crazy as we joyfully shared a crepe together with our diet cokes.

Tonight I went to the newest Salisbury eatery, Palm's Cafe, for my dad's birthday. They had a humongous menu but what immediately caught my eye on the chalkboard menu was Nutella and Banana crepes. It's a Salisbury first I'm pretty sure. And also they have Nutella and Banana waffles. I'm not usually a breakfast out kinda girl but I'm going to have to have this in the very near future.

pic via five months in Paris

Brownie Pudding

2010-01-16T21:22:00.008-05:00

Brownie Pudding. Brownies and pudding. All in one. Brownie Pudding.

It tasted as amazing as it sounds. I'm sure if you don't have vanilla beans you can substitute vanilla extract. And make sure you have a really large glass of milk nearby.

Brownie Pudding

~Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus extra for buttering the dish

4 extra large eggs, at room temperature

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup good cocoa powder

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean

1 tablespoon framboise liqueur, optional

vanilla ice cream, for serving

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly butter a 2-quart (9 by 12 by 2-inch) oval baking dish. Melt the 1/2 pound of butter and set aside to cool.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs and sugar on medium-high speed for 5 to 10 minutes, until very thick and light yellow. Meanwhile, sift the cocoa powder and flour together and set aside. When the egg and sugar mixture is ready, reduce the speed to low and add the vanilla seeds, framboise, if using, and the cocoa powder and flour mixture. Mix only until combined. With mixer still on low, slowly pour in the cooled butter and mix again just until combined.

Pour the brownie mixture into the prepared dish and place it in a larger baking pan. Add enough of the hottest tap water to the pan to come halfway up the side of the dish and bake for exactly 1 hour. A cake tester inserted 2 inches from the side will come out 3/4 clean. The center will appear very under-baked; this dessert is between a brownie and a pudding.

Allow to cool and serve with vanilla ice cream.

Caramel Cake

2010-01-09T00:07:00.007-05:00

For the new year I've decided that I need to try out a new recipe each week. At least one. Last week I actually tried out 2 new recipes but being busy with so many other things (and because I didn't put that much into the recipes themselves) I never got around to blogging about them. I'll do better though.

So despite getting 5 new cookbooks for Christmas with hundreds of baking recipes, I went to my old Paula Deen Just Desserts for this one. I've always wanted to make it and think about making it all the time. I'm pretty sure that that makes me weird but that's okay. Surely other people walk around and constantly think about things to bake. I know they do.

Week One- Caramel Cake (technically "Bobby's Caramel Cake")

I can't remember ever having Caramel Cake before but that being said, this cake is pretty delicious. The filling was so good (I made a slight mistake of adding too much milk to mine so it wasn't as thick as it should be, but still very tasty) and there is more than enough for the cake. I just kept pouring it on so it ran all over the place. I put my cake in the fridge overnight and made the frosting the next day. The only problem with this was the frosting was warm and the cake was cold so when I was frosting it so it sort of hardened immediately and was difficult to make pretty. But prettiness aside, I took it to Heather and Ashley's joint engagement celebration and it got good reviews from everyone!

Ingredients:

For the cake:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups granulated sugar

4 eggs

3 cups sifted self-rising flour

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the filling:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

2 cups packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the frosting:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/3 cup heavy cream, or more if needed

1 (16 ounce) box confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup chopped nuts, optional

Directions:

For the cake:

Preheat the oven to 35o degrees. Grease and flour 3 (nine inch) round cake pans.

Using an electric mixer, cream butter until fluffy. Add sugar and continue to cream well for 6 to 8 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour and milk, adding alternately to creamed mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Add vanilla and continue to beat until just mixed. Divide batter equally among prepared pans. Level batter in each pan by holding pan 3 or 4-inches above counter and dropping it flat onto the counter. Do this several times to release the air bubbles and assure you more of a level cake. Bake 25 minutes or until golden brown.

For the filling:

While cake is baking, in a saucepan, combine butter, brown sugar, and milk. Cook and stir over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Remove cake layers from oven and allow cake to remain in pans as you prepare to stack and fill. Remove first layer and invert onto cake plate. Pierce cake layer with a toothpick over entire surface. Spread 1/3 of filling mixture on cake layer. Top with second layer, repeat process. Top with last layer and repeat process again.

For the frosting:

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat and stir in brown sugar and cream. Bring to a boil, and transfer to a mixing bowl. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla. Beat with a handheld electric mixer until it reaches a spreading consistency. At this time it may be necessary to add a tablespoon of heavy cream, or more, if frosting gets too thick. Just be sure to add cream is small amounts because you can always "add to", but you can't take away. Frost cake and sprinkle top with chopped nuts, if desired.

Perfect Meringue

2009-12-30T15:23:00.005-05:00

I love meringue. I've probably made at least 4 chocolate meringue pies in the past 2 weeks and have turned several non-meringue pie eaters into meringue lovers.

Perfect Meringue

4 egg whites (at least, more if extra high meringue is wanted), room temperature

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup of sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Add cream of tartar and vanilla to egg whites. With an electric mixer, beat on high until soft peaks form. Slowly add sugar and continue to beat on high until stiff peaks form. Spread over pie making sure that meringue is spread evenly and touches pie crust all the way around. Using a spoon or small spatula make high peaks. Bake until golden, usually around 12 minutes.

On my Christmas List: Bakebooks

2009-12-19T18:44:00.002-05:00

I forgot to put these on my wish lists. Maybe it isn't too late! And if you are shopping for a baker, here are some lovely picks:

Japanese pastry-maker Hisako Ogita shares her experience of the art of baking macarons with fully illustrated step-by-step instructions. And who doesn't love macarons?

How lovely are these cakes? Sarah does incredible things with cake and good ingredients. I also love how she gets kids involved in baking. I'd use this as a coffee table book because it is so pretty to look at!

Another coffee table selection!

The only Barefoot Contessa cookbook I have yet to add to my collection.

A collection of dessert recipes from ordinary North Carolinians, this book includes a recipes from each of the 100 counties. And I may be a little biased, but North Carolina has some amazing desserts!

I want to make this:

2009-12-19T15:26:00.002-05:00

Croquembouche translates to "Crunch in the mouth" and is one the loveliest of French pastries. Although there are many variations (even macaron ones!) but normally is served with creme patisserie and then dipped in spun caramel to give it the "crunch".

Photos:Sweetest Thing Bakery, le petit patissier, design*sponge, Paris Breakfasts

Goooo Appalachian

2009-12-18T21:16:00.003-05:00

So of course I got really happy when I got my holiday e-greeting card from Chancellor Peacock. Appalachian themed holiday cookies! I like the snowman wearing the black and gold scarf and the Appalachian Santa hat, and the little gold mitten.

Who cares about the national championships in football- I'm most impressed by nicely decorated cookies.

Christmas Favorites: Best Cookie

2009-12-15T22:00:00.002-05:00

It's not the holiday season until I start baking. The past 2 weekends I've been out of town and have not baked a crumb. I'm deprived from baking to put it lightly. Last night, after a crazy day of school my first thought was-go home, grocery store, bake jam thumbprint cookies. They are my favorite Christmas cookie I believe, besides the classic sugar cookie. And it's not like I have to bake them only at Christmas, but that seems to be the only time I bake them.

I can never decide if I like the raspberry or apricot the best...

I've posted them before but here is a good reminder:

Jam Thumbprints Recipe

Gobbler Cookies

2009-11-26T09:22:00.002-05:00

I had full intentions of getting this up just in time for Thanksgiving but my camera was not being cooperative.

I found these to make with my 3rd graders. They loved them and I heard one girl saying to herself "This is the best day of school EVER."

They are quite simple:

Fudge strip cookie for the background feathers
Nutter Butter for the turkey body
Icing to hold it together (I used some pre-made Betty Crocker cookie decorator icing in the handy little dispenser)
Chocolate chip eyes
Candy corn beak
Gummy worm cut into smaller pieces for the wattle
Chocolate covered pretzel for the feet

Cranberry Fruit Conserve

2009-11-25T12:49:00.005-05:00

Break out your fancy bowls for this one.

Ina changed my views on cranberry sauce. Really, I still love it from a can but this is soooo much fancier. This is one of my Thanksgiving staples (I think I've made it for three years now) and it has already been requested for tomorrow. Don't skip out on the orange and lemon zest since it gives it so much flavor and freshness. I do however skip the pecans since I don't see it as a necessity. So easy to make! It gels up wonderfully and your entire house (or little apartment in my case) will smell like Thanksgiving.

Cranberry Fruit Conserve

~Ina Garten from Barefoot Contessa Parties

Ingredients

1 (12-ounce) bag of fresh cranberries, cleaned

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and chopped

1 orange, zest grated and juiced

1 lemon, zest grated and juiced

3/4 cup raisins

3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Directions

Cook the cranberries, sugar, and 1 cup of water in a saucepan over low heat for about 5 minutes, or until the skins pop open. Add the apple, zests, and juices and cook for 15 more minutes.

Remove from the heat and add the raisins and nuts. Let cool, and serve chilled.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

2009-11-11T13:53:00.006-05:00

So my cheesecake cracked. I choose to think of it as having a T for Taylor. I've tried out a few pumpkin pie recipes over the last few Novembers and one was never completely right so I just combined a few together. This one is very creamy and has the right amount of spice. The cinnamon in the crust also brings out the pumpkin. I'm sure I'll make this for Thanksgiving later this month.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Slightly modified from a few recipes

Ingredients:

For the Crust:

1 1/4 cups graham-cracker crumbs (from 10 whole crackers)

1/4 cup sugar

4 teaspoons unsalted butter, melted

1 teaspoon cinnamon

For the Filling:

4 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, very soft

1 1/4 cups sugar

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

2 tablespoons pumpkin-pie spice

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 large eggs, room temperature

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, with rack in the center. Assemble a 9-inch nonstick, springform pan.

Make the crust: In a medium bowl, mix cracker crumbs, sugar, cinnamon and melted butter until moistened; press firmly into bottom of pan. Bake until golden around edges, 10 to 12 minutes.

Make the filling: With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar on low speed until smooth; mix in flour (do not overbeat). Add in pumpkin puree, pie spice, vanilla, and salt; mix just until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until each is incorporated before adding the next.

Place springform pan on a rimmed baking sheet. Pour filling into springform and gently smooth top. Transfer to oven and reduce oven heat to 300 degrees. Bake 45 minutes. Turn off oven; let cheesecake stay in oven 2 hours more (without opening).

Remove from oven; cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 4 hours.

Mini-Pumpkin Pies

2009-11-03T21:18:00.005-05:00

Earlier in the school year I signed up to bring snacks to a Beginner Teachers meeting in November in hopes of making pumpkin pie. Tomorrow is the meeting but instead of doing an entire pie (or two) I decided to do mini pies. I've seen mini-pies everywhere lately and have been wanting to try some out. I saw some really cute mini-pumpkin pies on Bakerella and modified them by using pumpkin cookie cutters to cut out the pie crusts. I don't have a mini-muffin pan, surprising since I have nearly every other baking pan known to man, so I used a regular muffin tin. They turned out adorable and more perfect than I thought I could pull off being slightly rushed and worn out from staying at work til dark working on report cards. The tiny leaves add a cute touch as well.

I used the same pumpkin pie recipe as before with the refrigerated pie crusts. One package of pie crusts (2) made at least 18 mini-pies. I did use my rolling pin to re-roll out the scraps. The pumpkin made 36 mini pies!

Caramel Apples

2009-10-26T22:16:00.003-04:00

As a teacher I sometimes think to myself, are the kids going to remember this 15 years from now? Here is a case of just that: In 3rd grade my class went and picked apples at Carrigan Farms and then we used the apples for all sorts of apple baking projects. One of these was caramel apples. I remember thinking it was the most fun I had ever had at school (maybe because it involved cooking?) and is one of the first things I remember when I think of third grade. So with this Thursday being our Halloween party (we're out on Friday) I'm pretty sure we're going to have to make some of these. I'm sure I can tie it into the Standard Course of Study somehow right???

ultimate rainbow

2009-10-16T20:29:00.003-04:00

I've been seeing a lot of rainbow cakes all over the blogs lately. Most are 6 layers. This one however, for lack of a better term, takes the cake. via colourlovers

Easy Pumpkin Pie

2009-10-15T21:18:00.003-04:00

We are working on poetry in third grade. Today we touched on sensory language. I took a big pumpkin around and they brainstormed words and ideas for sight, touch, and hearing. They were actually pretty creative with the hearing part and they said it was "nature's bongo". That line was pretty good I thought.

Tomorrow we're going to finish up the senses with smell and taste. Originally I had some canned pumpkin left over from the last holiday season that I thought we could use. Then after having so many students mention pumpkin pie, and most especially their grandmother's pumpkin pie I knew what had to be done.

I had to venture out to two grocery stores to find pumpkin. The first had a sign up that said they would not have any pumpkin until November 1 due to a manufacturing defect. Hmmm... So I went to another store with a well stocked canned pumpkin shelf. I was nearly going to follow the recipe on the back of the pumpkin can until I spotted some pumpkin pie spice and decided to go with it's recipe. So easy, and although I usually prefer a complicated recipe (don't ask why) this one was wonderful for the moment at hand.

Easy Pumpkin Pie

1 can of pumpkin

1 can sweetened condensed milk

2 eggs

1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice

1 frozen pie crust

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix pumpkin, milk, eggs, and spice. Pour into unbaked crust and bake 15 minutes at 425 degrees. Turn oven down to 350 and continue to bake for 40 minutes.

I doubled the recipe and it made 3 perfect pies (note I was using a regular pie crust and not deep dish). I was kinda glad since I was afraid that I would only have enough for the kids and couldn't share with anyone else, or I'll admit, myself.

pics coming up shortly :)

Nutella Croissants

2009-10-06T18:35:00.003-04:00

I made these last night for a quick snack:

Crescent Rolls+Nutella+sprinkle of powdered sugar=easy happiness

Cinnamon Rolls

2009-10-03T18:55:00.009-04:00

When I was little my mom and I would go shopping at Hanes Mall and the trip was never complete without a Cinnabon. While we sat there eating, I'd watch through the glass trying to memorize the steps that the worker would take to make the cinnamon rolls. It looked simple enough that I thought I could do it myself. So this cinnamon roll recipe let's me live out my 7 year old dream. And they are also the most delicious things ever.

INGREDIENTS

DOUGH

1 cup whole milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 1/2 cups (or more) unbleached all purpose flour, divided
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 1/4 teaspoons rapid-rise yeast (from 2 envelopes yeast)
1 teaspoon salt
Nonstick vegetable oil spray

FILLING

3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

GLAZE

4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

PREPARATION

CRUST

Combine milk and butter in glass measuring cup. Microwave on high until butter melts and mixture is just warmed to 120°F to 130°F, 30 to 45 seconds. Pour into bowl of stand mixerfitted with paddle attachment. Add 1 cup flour, sugar, egg, yeast, and salt. Beat on low speed 3 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl. Add 2 1/2 cups flour. Beat on low until flour is absorbed and dough is sticky, scraping down sides of bowl. If dough is very sticky, add more flour by tablespoonfuls until dough begins to form ball and pulls away from sides of bowl. Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if sticky, about 8 minutes. Form into ball.
- Lightly oil large bowl with nonstick spray. Transfer dough to bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.
FILLING
- Mix brown sugar and cinnamon in medium bowl.
- Punch down dough. Transfer to floured work surface. Roll out to 15x11-inch rectangle.
  Spread butter over dough, leaving 1/2-inch border.
  Sprinkle cinnamon sugar evenly over butter.
  Starting at 1 long side, roll dough into log, pinching gently to keep it rolled up.
  With seam side down, cut dough crosswise with thin sharp knife into 18 equal slices (each about 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide).
- Spray two 9-inch square glass baking dishes with nonstick spray. Divide rolls between baking dishes, arranging cut side up (there will be almost no space between rolls). Cover baking dishes with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled in volume, 40 to 45 minutes.
- Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Bake rolls until tops are golden, about 20 minutes.
  Remove from oven and invert immediately onto rack. Cool 10 minutes. Turn rolls right side up.
GLAZE
- Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat until smooth. Spread glaze on rolls.
  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Cookies

2009-10-03T15:09:00.001-04:00

there is just too much loveliness in the world for one blog

2009-09-27T20:02:00.001-04:00

Sometimes I have too many non-baking thoughts I have to get out of my system. And for that I had to create this.

Autumn baking ideas:

2009-09-22T19:42:00.003-04:00

We've now entered into my favorite season. I probably say that when each new season begins because I'm tired of the last one but really I think fall is my all time favorite. I think it's the colors mostly. That and the crispness in the air.

So with that being said I've been thinking about autumn inspired recipes and decided to make a list of recipes I want to make try out in the next few months.

1. Mini Pumpkin Whoppie Pies- love, love, love pumpkin anything

2. Sweet Potato Pie- I nearly made this many times last year but never got around to it. I also love sweet potato anything.

3. Pumpkin Cheesecake- I make this every year but I need to make it more than once this year! Sooooo good. I'll always love my grandmother's pumpkin pie (which I had on Sunday btw) but cheesecake knocks it up to a whole other level.

4. Poached Pears with Cranberry Sauce- Ina's cranberry compote is my new family Thanksgiving tradition but I like this pear option too. I don't try pears too often but these look so elegant.

5. Apple Crisp- Granny Smiths+cinnamon+brown sugar+butter+oatmeal=my all time favorite fall dessert.

That's what I'm loving from Martha. I'm sure I'll come up with lots more later on.

Dulce de Leche

2009-09-19T10:47:00.000-04:00

I have a new food obsession-Dulce de Leche.

It started from having some Häagen-Dazs caramel cone ice cream. The caramel in it was amazing, so that led me to try their Dulce de Leche flavor which is caramel ice cream with Dulce de Leche swirled in.

So now I have to try to explain what Dulce de Leche is. In short, it's slowly heated (caramelized) sweetened milk. It's not to be confused with caramel which is slowly heated sugar. I like caramel. I love Dulce de Leche. So much that I capitalize it obviously. It's not as sticky as caramel which is maybe why I love it more. I hate when caramel sticks in your teeth. And the taste is too amazing.

Up until recently I was very limited to Dulce de Leche with my Häagen-Daz being the only ice cream I ever buy anymore besides my other standby- raspberry sorbet (try Ciao Bello!!!). This is exactly why I love blogging and looking at other food blogs-on Spike Bakes (also where I found my snickerdoodles and a fellow Mad Men fan which equals a wonderful person) I saw Dulce de Leche brownies. Intrigued, I began reading and was thinking "I'd love to try this but where am I going to find Dulce de Leche in a store around here?" (I've already looked). The recipe had come from pastry chef extraordinaire and foodie-David Lebovitz. I'm so jealous of food bloggers (or any bloggers, person, animal or plant) that gets to live in Paris. One day I'm sure that someone will pay me enough to go on assignment there for a few years or so.

But back to the great thing about blogging-on David's site I found out that making Dulce de Leche is easy. So easy, I couldn't believe I hadn't looked it up before. Here is how it happens. You take a can of sweetened condensed milk, add a fleck or two of salt, put it in a shallow dish, put the dish in a pan, pour hot water in the pan, bake for 1 hour.

That's it! I don't know why I thought it would be complicated. Well actually it can be more complicated since the traditional way to make it is to boil the can. Yes, you boil the entire can in a pressure cooker. I have no pot large enough for this task or I would probably be crazy enough to take it on. However, for my own life and that of my cat who could get hit if standing nearby by an exploding can, I'll stick to David's recipe for now.

So last night I tried it out. I nearly poured scalding water all over myself getting the pan in the 425 degree oven (*tip-pour water in after you sit the pan in the oven!!!). When I got it out, it looked very lumpy so I was wondering if I had left it in long enough but after putting it in another container and leaving it in the fridge overnight it came out perfectly. I've tried not to eat all of it so I can save it for some Dulce de Leche brownies also on David's blog.

Just in case, I have another can of sweetened condensed milk for backup. (By the time I posted this I have already used it up too...)

I'm jealous of French school lunches.

2009-09-18T21:44:00.002-04:00

Imagine sitting down in a school cafeteria to a lunch menu of roasted duck, apricots, and chocolate mousse. No wonder the French are so much more Foodie than Americans. They start eating great food early and don't give out opportunities for bad food choices. Creme Brulee for dessert at school? Some people my age have never even had creme brulee. Le sigh...

Today my school's menu was: Salisbury dippers (like cheesy breadsticks) or fish sticks, green beans, corn, and peaches. Blah. For one thing, why are the two entrees shaped like sticks? They did have some leftover baked ziti that they were serving as well that didn't look too terrible. But for the three years I have been teaching now I have never eaten school lunch. Not that what I bring from home is terribly fancy or completely healthy all the time (diet coke every day) but there has never been anything in the cafeteria that I saw and instantly wanted which is sad because food is made to be sort of desirable and wanted right?

However, I'm totally a fan of our school's new grant to give each student (and teacher!) healthy snack each day. A fresh peach, banana, granny smith apple, or orange is really beneficial at 1 o'clock each afternoon to get me through the rest of the day. Supposedly they are going to start getting more adventurous with their choices as time goes on. I'm anxiously awaiting some mangos, raspberries, and just maybe some apricots.

A Scrumdiliumptious Day

2009-09-14T22:00:00.007-04:00

As promised, my 3rd graders had their chocolate themed party to celebrate Roald Dahl's birthday and finishing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. They are kinda obsessed with the book now. They come up with new plans for it everyday. One day after reading a few chapters they decided we should make it into our class play so that we could perform it for PTA night. One little boy would make the perfect Charlie. He's really little and has the Charlie spirit we all decided. Most everyone else wanted to be an Oompa Loompa. Except for me who the children decided would have to play Willie Wonka himself. I was the tallest one was their reasoning.

Friday was sort of a crazy day. We had a practice test that took up most of the morning and then they went with the AIG teacher in the afternoon for a math lesson. So we basically did Charlie and the Chocolate Factory themed lessons the rest of the time. We finished up the book right in time for Fun Friday. It all fell into place better than I ever could have planned since when I started the book I had no idea that Roald's birthday was coming up on September 13th.

The menu consisted of:

Chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting and sprinkles and Everlasting Gobstoppers
Orange Slices (nothing to do with the book but our school gets healthy snacks each day)
Snozberry Juice (actually mixed berry, but keeping up with the theme I told them it had snozberries in it. They believed me.)

The kids enjoyed themselves but were a little disappointed when they found out that their Everlasting Gobstoppers didn't last forever and didn't change flavors once a week like Willie Wonka had promised.

I promised... and 3rd graders never forget a promise.

2009-09-02T19:50:00.005-04:00

We are studying adventure stories in 3rd grade this week and for our read aloud time (yes, I've actually kept up with this and have had it everyday so far) we've been reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I couldn't have planned it any better because as it turns out Roald Dahl's birthday is September 13th. And in the world of children's literature, celebrating famed author's birthdays is a big deal.

Today the kids designed their own golden tickets that were really funny and cute. Then during reading time I told them that I had just found out that the author's birthday was coming up soon. They were way excited and then I casually mentioned that we should throw him an all chocolate birthday party. Well, that was it. They planned out the entire menu- chocolate cake with chocolate icing, chocolate candy everything, and hot chocolate. I'm never one to turn down a party or chocolate so I think I'll go along with it. I'm coming up with a lot of ideas so we might just go all out and invite the school librarian. Although, it will be cleverly and very smartly planned for next Friday at 2:30 which will be just enough time for all of the chocolate festivities so they can then get on the bus to go home to their parents at 3:15. If you've never seen 19 eight year olds loaded on school party sweets then it is something you should witness at least once in your life.

And also, I still really prefer Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka as opposed to Johnny Depp.

A little creepy...

Very much creepy...