Quadruple Chocolate Bundt Cake

Warning this post is only minimally about the delicious bundt cake above...

Sometimes you just have to look up to enjoy pure beauty.

Or look at things from a different perspective.

This post is a little about life and a lot more personal...Last week was Northern California among the Redwoods and with delicious wine, this week it's Alexandria and the last full week of March will be Dallas...for me that is.  For my husband, last weekend was Austin, TX, this "long" weekend Florida, next week New York. We will meet somewhere in the middle though with the 8 nights/days we are in the same city.  I wouldn't normally chat about Charles and our relationship that much here in my little baking space, but this month I thought I would give him a shout out...it's a pretty significant month for us anyways, not than anyone reading this really cares.  As the story goes...10 years ago on February 28th we had our first date while watching the Oscars and a month later (March 28th) the "titles" were official.  Granted we had a break/brief hiatus in there, but we just won't count that alright?  

One special birthday cake...butterscotch chip with butterscotch frosting

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity of making my nephew's, 6th birthday cake.  This cake took one Uber car ride to the airport, one airplane flight, a couple more car rides until it made its way from D.C. to the bowling alley in Charlotte.  The tricky thing, you know besides all of the different modes of transportation, was that the cake weighed at last 15 pounds....no joke.  This was a pretty big cake to take on an airplane.  It was two 9" x 13" inch vanilla cakes with butterscotch chips layered on top of one another, with a thick layer of butterscotch frosting between the layers and coating the outside.  Plus, some fondant so I could have this birthday cake be extra special.  It was definitely a hit, and the best present I could have given my nephew.  My sister-in-law even called it the "Best cake EVER."  So, if you like butterscotch as much as my nephew, Cameron, then give this cake a try and enjoy! (P.S. you can totally make this as cupcakes, or as a simple three layer 9" round cake.)

Apple Cranberry Crostata

Can you ever not figure out what to say because you have so much on your mind that you don't even know where to start? That's where I have been the past week. Trying to figure out what to say. Do I chat about the classes I started taking? How it's weird to be back in a classroom for a couple of classes and having to take quizzes. Or how last weekend we had homework where we actually had to make a PowerPoint and present it the next day. It's just so different since I haven't taken a class in...7 years!  That I am loving it because I am such an uber nerd and love learning.

Do I talk about how nervous I was about the actual execution of making my nephews birthday cake, decorating it with fondant and then having to carry it on the airplane. Crossing my fingers the entire time that first it would make it through security and then be "safe" in the overhead bin after takeoff and landing.

Brown Sugar White Chocolate Bundt Cake with Vanilla Bourbon Glaze & Caramel

This has been a long time coming...well you know a month.  But that is a long time when a LOT of baking has happened between now and then.  This is a dessert that I deconstructed and then reconstructed in a new form at the request of a good friend for his birthday.  James gave me the challenge for his birthday, in December, to take his favorite dessert from a restaurant and make it into a cake.  They called their dessert a bread pudding...I would call it a mini bundt cake...but to each their own.  I mean I just took the flavors and incorporated them into this brown sugar bundt cake.  To say the very least this was a very rich cake with layers of flavor.  The base is a brown sugar cake that has white chocolate pieces throughout that melted while baking.  The cake was then topped with a caramel sauce, then a vanilla bourbon glaze and raspberry sauce just for serving.  Since it was served for breakfast, because well James always wants his birthday dessert for breakfast, I left off the ice cream.  Give it a try and Enjoy!

Soft and Chewy Caramel Chocolate Chunk Cookies with Sea Salt

A day in the life of a meeting planner...

...just kidding I wouldn't do that to you.  Well in my real world, real job, 2015 has been officially kicked off with a week in Phoenix.  I had such high hopes going into this meeting that it would be a nice break from the cold; I was dreaming of mid-70's and sunny.  However, it was more like the mid-60's windy and chill...especially since I had only packed skirts to go with my work cardigans.  It really was actually beautiful, and great to kickoff the new year of meetings.  Overall only 20 more weeks of meetings to go now out of the 22 this year.  Granted I am thankfully only going to be at 9 of them since I have such an awesome team.  It really is fun though, even if we do work crazy hours sometimes.  

It's warm enough in Phoenix...most of the time...for the flowers to bloom and the oranges to grow.

Birthday #3 for January...Buttermilk Spice Cake

Some firsts this month...

...This is the first Emeril Lagasse recipe I have ever made. 

...This is also the first spice cake I have ever made...not sure why I haven't had this cake in my life sooner.

...That almond cake I made earlier this month, was also the first almond cake I had ever made.

...Last night I made my first crostata and it looks a little something like this...it's apple and cranberry and totally what I wanted to make when it was cold and snowy outside.

Hmmm what else should I make this month?

It's January and I figure it is time to start trying new things.  I mean I guess it doesn't really matter that it's January...