Cake Disaster

So let’s be up front…I don’t own a real cake pan. I own muffin tins, jelly roll pans, loaf pans, a bundt cake pan, casserole dishes, and just about everything else expect the traditional round (or square) cake pan. Well, I was attempting to make a pineapple upside-down cake tonight (my sweet tooth was aching). Apparently, a springform pan is great for cheesecake, but a pineapple upside-down cake it DOES NOT MAKE. Not only was brown sugar laced butter seeping out into the bottom of the oven, but the whole middle of the cake was still raw when I did the big “flip it over, voila, reveal.” I managed to salvage the edges that had the pineapple rings and just scrapped the rest in the bin. I was thinking of the quote, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” But why does invention always have to make me look like an idiot?

Holiday Baking

My friend, Sarah, gave me a gingerbread cookbook last Christmas. I was so excited this year to use one of the recipes to make gingerbread men with Jude. The cookies turned out delicious and Jude was able to help me use the rolling pin and cookie cutters to make the cookies. We took them over to Joe’s aunt house so her boys could help us decorate them for Santa Claus…which basically means covering them in frosting and sprinkles.

Creme Brulee

That’s right, I made creme brulee. Jealous? I used this recipe, but my crockpot wasn’t big enough to hold all 4 ramekins, plus there was extra custard, so I made 3 in the crockpot and two in the oven (the traditional way).

No wonder creme brulee is such a special treat. You have to cook it, cool it for hours up to overnight, then carmelize the sugar, then cool again. It was stretched over two days for me, but so worth it. I actually curdled the ones I made in the crockpot, because I started watching a movie and forgot. But the ones made in the oven came out perfect.

Catching Up

Sometimes it seems like the only time I can accomplish anything around here is when Jude is sleeping. So, here’s my one hour today to get some computer time in.

So, a few weeks back, I made homemade peach-mango ice cream in my Cuisinart ice cream maker. It was really easy and it came out pretty tasty. I really wanted waffle cones to go with my ice cream, but I lacked the necessary equipment (our waffle maker is too deep for waffle cones), so I made the next best thing…homemade ice cream cones and “cone bowls.” They were delicious.

This past Sunday was Joe’s 31st birthday. We had a really nice day to celebrate with him. We went to brunch at Moonshine with some friends. It was really delicious and worth the wait. Joe enjoyed some mimosas on the patio and Jude attempted to enjoy some mimosas.

Later that evening, we met up with Joe’s family for dinner at Cheddar’s. Joe’s aunts gave him such an awesome gift; copies of old photos, including some of Joe’s baby pictures. It was really fun to look at them, since these weren’t the same baby pictures that we already have. Dinner was really nice and calm and they even brought some cupcakes to celebrate. Here is a picture of Jude enjoying his cupcake.

Cinnamon-Nut Buns

Well, I got this recipe from one of my old issues of Everyday Food. My goodness, it took  4+ hours to make these. That is the longest amount of time I have ever invested for a treat. No wonder people detest baking! You have to make the dough from scratch, let it rise 1.5 hours. Then roll it out, fill it with the good stuff, and let it rise another 1.5 hours. Then you have to cook them for 30 minutes and let them cool for 15. Lets just say I skipped the cooling stage. Man, were they worth it! At first, I thought these wouldn’t be as good without the traditional white icing, but they are even better with the glaze, because it tastes like toffee.

On the upside, I quartered the dough. So, I made 6 cinnamon rolls last night. I have six waiting in the freezer next time I want them (I still have to let them rise for 2 hours) and a dozen dinner rolls that we can make, as needed. Not bad, not bad. I guess that’s why bakers rise so early in the morning…

Are You Pregnant?

That’s what Joe said because I have been baking lately. Apparently you can’t put cakes or brownies in the oven unless you have a bun in your own oven. But, here are two delicious desserts we’ve had recently:

Mini yellow cakes with buttercream frosting and strawberry garnish

Pear Tart Tatin (it was so good and worth the hour of cooking)