When our friend Traci commissioned a surprise birthday cake for her significant other, Dan, she requested something chocolate. So I started flipping through my cookbook collection looking for inspiration for chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate. This was no time for restraint. Special occasions call for special cakes. And this would be a special cake. I …
Cakes
In the summer, I love rustic fruit-filled baked goods. I’ve eaten my share of crisps and crumbles and cobblers, but until recently, I was unfamiliar with the buckle. Buckles are crisps’ and crumbles’ cakier cousin. A buckle is similar to a torte or a coffee cake that’s been loaded up with fresh seasonal fruit. The …
This cake is a beauty. It’s an oversized s’more in cake form. Four layers of honey graham cracker cake get filled with vanilla marshmallow cream and bittersweet chocolate ganache and topped with a gooey marshmallow meringue frosting which gets toasted with a kitchen blow torch to bring in a whiff of campfire. This cake was …
It was 70° on Saturday. Then on Sunday it turned cold and misty. And today it was colder still with a forecast for snow. It’s springtime in Chicago. A season that always seems intent on doubling back on itself a few times before it settles in for good. It’s a good day for simple comforting …
Who wants cake? This triple chocolate mousse cake isn’t just any old cake. It’s a special occasion cake. It’s a takes-three-days-to-make cake. It’s a hunt-down-three-or-four-kinds-of-chocolate cake. It’s a reorganize-the-freezer-to-make-this-thing-sit-level-overnight cake. It’s, let me just say, a totally-worth-it cake. I made this for my sister Erin’s birthday. She was having a low key party at her …
Today was a good day for Wellington boots. It was warm here. And sunny. I went outside without my coat for the first time this year. The spring thaw seems to have begun. The snow piles lining the sidewalks have dwindled, and the melt has turned long stretches of the sidewalks themselves into ankle-deep reservoirs. …