Having written two cookbooks on wedding cakes, people often assume I would rather be making something lengthy and challenging. There are times for that, but I always make sure I have a couple of easy celebration cakes up my sleeve. Birthdays, office parties and other events seem to pop up all the time – often […]
(Image courtesy of Melissa Punch; from The Birthday Cake Book) This is a big, important cake, perfect for significant milestone birthdays. Many of the components—the cake, the buttercream, and the ganache – can be made ahead. This cake elicits “ooohhhs and aahhhs” and once guests taste it they will be clamoring for the recipe. My good friend […]
Am I being a bit dramatic? Perhaps, but it was my cousin who told me that I had justified my existence with the invention of the cake pictured above. He said if I never created another dessert in my entire life, I would still have reached my zenith of creativity and deliciousness. People ask me […]
We all need a few cakes in our repertoire to rely on for special occasions and this one fits the bill. This cake was created for my cousin Rachel Jackson’s high school graduation, but it would work well for important birthdays, anniversaries and other significant times of life. It is elegant, sophisticated and actually improves […]
It all started with a conversation about which candy coated chocolate mini eggs are the best. This was happening during a gym workout with my small class of ladies – you would like my gym. We work out hard and talk about food A Lot. Mary was extolling the virtues of Cadbury Easter Candy Coated […]
The image above is of the recipe as described, but with some candy-coated mini chocolate eggs pressed into each cookie before baking. The cracking was not expected and I deemed them a failure, but several friends loved the effect, so here you go! Simple buy a couple of bags of Cadbury Easter Candy Coated Mini […]
And more importantly, bacon IN the cookies. As promised (I know I have been teasing you via Twitter and Facebook), here are the Bacon Oatmeal Raisin Cookies I have been raving about. They are featured in the March 2012 issue of Bon Appetit and the recipe comes from Autumn Martin from Hot Cakes Confections. Make […]
Dede Wilson demonstrated an alternate method of separating eggs with your HANDS!
Dede Wilson displays a simple and effective way to separate eggs.
As a follow up to my Oscar night cookies (shaped to re-create the key for the automaton in Hugo), I wanted to talk to you about rolled sugar cookies. Many recipes are out there and they are all pretty similar. They fall into 3 basic categories – 1. cookies with fabulous taste and texture; 2. […]
This recipe is essentially the same as the “Master Recipe for Butter Cookies” from Chris Kimball’s The Dessert Bible (Little Brown, 2000). While he recommends cake flour, I used the same amount of all-purpose flour and a combo of vanilla, almond extract and nutmeg. I also refrigerate the cookies after cutting them out, as well […]
Tropical Paradise During a New England Winter…… The winter of 2011/2012 will not go down as a very serious winter, weather wise. True, we did lose power for 5 days in that freak October storm, but hey, that was officially Fall. The winter has been mild. Still, it was a fun break to be invited […]
Layers of soft, moist chocolate cake brushed with Kahlua (optional), interspersed with crisp Brazil nut dacquoise rounds and espresso buttercream, topped with dark chocolate ganache. This cake has several components, but they can all be made ahead somewhat, so take advantage of any do-ahead tips. The gilded Brazil nuts on top are also optional, but […]
I was stopped dead in my tracks on page 16 of the March 2012 Bon Appetit. A recipe was calling my name…We have named them Raspberry Linzer Bars in the magazine but who are we kidding – these are homemade “Pop-Tarts”! OK they are a very upscale version: almond flour in the dough puts these over […]
I knew I had a meeting coming up with a potluck lunch, which is always great for me because it means I can bake something fab and present it to a crowd. This might not seem like it would be an issue, but since I work at home, its not like I have an office […]
This is a great basic coconut cake – when you want a pretty, feed-a-crowd, moist, impressive coconut cake.
My dear friend Joan is vegan. She invited me to a potluck. I was determined to make a vegan dessert that was also gluten-free so as to please as many people at this party as possible. I was pretty stumped. I knew I could do a sorbet or something like that, but I wanted a […]
This was an experiment of mine when I needed to come up with a vegan and gluten-free dessert – and it turned out quite well! You might have to go to an Asian store to find the palm sugar. Look for the lighter colored palm sugar that can often be found in packages of small […]