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cakes

Brown Butter Gooey Butter Spice Cake with Sparkling Cranberries and Cream

Well. It’s hard to know what to say.

As a teacher, I can tell you that we all have our private plans. Schools have bigger, more systemic plans, but we have private plans. Plans about throwing furniture, plans about overturning tables, plans about barring windows, plans about protecting. “What would I do if–?” has crossed all of our minds. To know that on Friday, some teachers had to put their own plans into action, the strategies they’d woven in the private depths of their imagination —

Well. It’s hard to know what to say. It’s hard to know how to say thank you, I’m sorry, I can’t believe it, what can I do?, and why?, and all of the other things we can’t put language to.

Since I don’t know how to say all of that, I’ll do what I do know how to do. I’ll tell you a story.

* * *

My first experience with teaching was as a student teacher in a summer school in inner-city Atlanta. To say that that was a rough way to start would be an understatement. My students came from home environments in which abuse and poverty were everyday realities. I had a class full of 8th grade girls whose personalities and needs varied considerably.

One girl inexplicably hated me with her entire being and made this clear during most of our interactions.

One girl vacillated between quiet anger and reluctant compliance.

One was realistic, practical, and blunt — qualities she had perhaps honed after having her own baby. She was ready to get on with getting educated and had no time to waste with silliness.

One girl, Marion, was a quiet preacher’s daughter. She barely said a thing throughout the month I taught the class.

Here I was, a middle-class white girl straight out of college. Sure, I could barely afford a suitable teaching outfit at the time, but standing in that classroom, I knew that my students knew hardship in a way that I didn’t understand.

There are many stories I want to tell you about what transpired — about the day the girl touched my hair wistfully, about the day I left my classroom in tears, about the day I bought the girls the wrong kind of cookies, about the day an administrator yelled at me and an entire bevy of those sweet girls unexpectedly stood up for me. But today I want to skip right to the end: the day they took the reading test that would determine whether or not they could continue on to high school.

We had been through a lot together to get to that moment, so I felt very close to the girls. But I saw something in them that day I hadn’t seen before: straight-up fear. It surprised me to see them huddling in the classroom, nervous about the test that they felt was deciding their future. I set to the task of encouraging, supporting, calming. I didn’t know it at the time, but I see now that I was already a teacher in my heart.

I’ll never forget the moment that my co-teachers and I looked over and saw every girl — even the one who hated my guts and, ostensibly, the guts of the world — standing around Marion. She had brought in her father’s absolutely enormous, worn Bible and was holding it in the center of the circle. Every girl had her hand resting on one edge of the well-loved book, her head bowed, and her eyes closed. Some lips moved along with Marion as she prayed aloud over them all. The overarching theme of her plea was, “God, please, please let us pass this test.”

You’re going to hate this, but despite the prayers, the extra #2 pencils, and the most heartfelt teaching I could muster, Marion didn’t pass her test. She came to me upon receiving her scores and asked if I would please write the school system and ask them to promote her, something I gladly did. She had more trouble with tests and test anxiety than she did with reading — a problem many students around the country face each year. But I’m not sure what they ultimately decided.

What Marion and her sweet classmates showed me that day — and really every day they showed up to class and earnestly put their pencils to paper — is faith. Can we have faith after things have gone wrong (tragically, devastatingly wrong)? I know one thing: it won’t be a reasonable faith. It will have to be the unreasoning, innocent faith of a child. One who just believes things can be okay again somehow, some way.

One year ago: Gingersnap Cheesecake Stuffed Snickerdoodles
Two years ago: Magic Bars
Three years ago: Oreo Truffle Snowmen

And another Gooey Butter Cake adaptation you might love: Gooey Butter Strawberry Shortcake

Brown Butter Gooey Butter Spice Cake with Sparkling Cranberries and Cream


Recipe by: Willow Bird Baking with sparkling cranberries adapted from Bakers Royale
Yield: serves 4-6

If you love Gooey Butter Cake, here’s a delicious holiday adaptation (with apologies to St. Louis). This Gooey Butter SPICE cake has the wonderful, warm flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, brown butter, dates, and toasted pecans. It’s adorned with spiked cream and pretty sparkling cranberries. Enjoy it straight out of the skillet by a big fire, please!

Crust Ingredients:
1 cup cake flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/3 cup butter, cold

Filling Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1 egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup minus 2 tablespoons evaporated milk
2 tablespoons brandy
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup chopped dates
1 cup chopped toasted pecans (to toast, bake at 350 degrees F, tossing occasionally, for 4-6 minutes)
powdered sugar

Sparkling Cranberry Topping Ingredients:
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup water
2 cups fresh cranberries, room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (some coarse sugar if you have it, and some regular, for rolling)
2 cups heavy whipping cream (with a glug of brandy mixed in, optional)

Directions:
NOTE: If you don’t have a skillet, I believe you can bake this in a greased 9-inch square baking dish (I’d use a glass one if you have it, and check it early and often. Remove when there’s some jiggle left.) Let us know how it goes if you try it this way for all the other skilletless people!

Prepare the sparkling cranberries: Cook the 1/3 cup granulated sugar and 1/3 cup water together over medium-high heat until simmering (not boiling). Remove from the heat and let cool a couple of minutes so cranberries won’t burst. Pour in cranberries and mix to coat them. Spread the cranberries out on a cooling rack using a slotted spoon and let them dry for an hour, spreading them out as much as possible. Roll the cranberries in small batches in the coarse sugar first, and then in the regular granulated sugar to finish coating. Allow the cranberries to dry in a clean area at least 1 more hour. I prepared these the night before and let them dry, very lightly covered, overnight.

Brown the butter for your gooey butter cake filling: Put the 1 1/2 sticks of butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Melt it and heat until the butter begins to brown. Begin swirling so it will cook evenly. Brown it to a dark amber and then pour it out into a shallow dish. Stick this in the freezer to firm up a bit. When firm, set it out to soften slightly while you make the gooey butter cake crust.

Make the crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together cake flour and sugar in a medium bowl. Cut in the 1/3 cup butter with a pastry cutter or two knives until the mixture resembles fine crumbs and starts to cling together. Press the mixture into the bottom (this step is a lot harder than it sounds, but be patient and use the back of a spoon to help spread/press the mixture down. I also stuck mine in the fridge for a bit to make the butter less sticky) and up the sides of a 10-inch cast iron skillet.

Make the filling: In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. In a separate large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy and pale yellow (about 2-3 minutes). Mix in the egg until just combined. Alternate adding the flour mixture and evaporated milk, mixing after each addition. Mix in the corn syrup, brandy, pecans, dates, and vanilla. Pour the filling into the crust and sprinkle the top with powdered sugar.

Bake and assemble the cake: Bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until cake is nearly set (mine was probably ready around 30). Some jiggle is fine — do not overcook! It’ll finish setting up as it cools. Let it cool in pan for 2 hours. In the meantime, beat heavy cream to stiff peaks (with a glug of brandy if you’d like). Pile heaps of freshly whipped cream into the center of your cooled, set gooey butter cake, garnish with a few sparkling cranberries, and serve.

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cakes

Moist Fluffy Coconut Cake

The first time we saw her years ago, we were sure she was pregnant. She was just so round and lumpy. We laughed at the rhythmic harmonic motion of her belly, which nearly swished across the ground with each step. Despite her interesting mechanics, her movement was relatively agile and quick — perks of being feline, I guess. She was next to us in a flash, headbutting our legs and hoping for a nice ear rub.

Mike was ready to ignore her persistence and hurry into the restaurant — our breath hung in the air, a visible testament to the frigid temperatures — but I was predictably smitten. Her gray fur was thick against winter’s chill and my fingertips, and her wide face reminded me of a chipmunk trying to manage two mouthfuls of food in one mouth. In short, as I cooed over and over while stroking her, she was sooo-oo-ooo cuuuuute.

And so fat! And so sweet! And so fluffy!


speaking of fluffy…

I promised myself that if she were still prowling about after dinner, I’d scoop her up and take her to a vet. With that resolution easing my mind, Mike and I finally sat down to heaping dishfuls of fragrant red curry with hunks of pineapple and duck and — my favorite — a plate of colorful Pad Thai garnished with peanuts, bean sprouts, julienned carrots, and a wedge of lime. As we ate, I glanced out the window periodically for our new friend, but quickly lost sight of her.

Sure enough, when we came back out of the restaurant, she was nowhere to be found. We left the restaurant stuffed but catless and a little disappointed (well, let’s be honest. Mike was probably relieved.)

This past August, years after spotting the Thai Cat, as I’ve taken to calling her, I moved to a little apartment close to that same Thai restaurant. One warm night I tugged on my favorite orange dress and Mike and I strolled the few blocks to the restaurant to grab dinner. As we approached the door, who do you suppose we should meet but the Thai Cat herself! At this point, we learned two things about her:

1. She had not been pregnant (unless cats stay pregnant for three years) but was just exceptionally rotund.

2. She did, in fact, have owners — in a manner of speaking.

This second point became apparent because of the ornate red collar she wore, with green accents and a jingle bell. Another clue was a shelter we found secreted away behind a thicket comprised of potted plants: a little house filled with blankets, a dish of food and water. Our chubby friend had been adopted by the Thai family who owns the restaurant!

And by the looks of it, she’d been feasting on quite the array of roast duck and chicken herself. No wonder she’s a pudge.

The Thai Cat doesn’t have too much to do with a Coconut Cake (though no doubt she’d make short work of a slice) besides reminding me of the importance of a home. Her home and family is a bit unusual for sure — no couch and tons of interesting strangers — but she’s happy as a plump little plum.

My home’s felt unusual for years. Once I wasn’t living with my parents anymore and was instead bouncing around from college dorm to makeshift apartments, hopping between roommates and loneliness, I started to feel a little like dropping my own self off at an animal rescue (“Free to a good home, preferably with a ready-made family, or at least cable.”) Lately, though I love my new apartment, that desire for home and family — of some sort — has been in the back of my mind. I’m willing to wait for God to put the pieces together for me.

In the meantime, I’ll make Coconut Cake, a fluffy, moist symbol of home and family if there ever was one. A friend of Mike’s family recently recalled making one for her son year after year: painstakingly grating the fresh coconut, reserving the water to soak the layers, stacking the cake, slathering on the 7-minute frosting. It’s a labor of love — a gift you present to someone, much like a red collar with green accents and a tiny jingle bell, to say, “You belong here.”

What represents home and family to you?

One year ago: Winter Breakfast Chili Over Eggs in Sourdough Bowls
Two years ago: Magic Bars
Three years ago: Cinnamon Roll Cookies

Moist Fluffy Coconut Cake

Recipe by: adapted slightly from SAVEUR’s associate food editor Ben Mims’s grandmother, Jane Newson
Yield: 10-12 servings

What can I say? It’s like eating clouds. Coconutty, billowy, moist, delectable clouds. Actually, I think after having 8 (give or take a few) slices of this amazing coconut cake, clouds would be sorely disappointing.

Cake Ingredients:
16 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
2 1/2 cups cake flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups sugar
5 eggs

Frosting Ingredients:
4 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 1/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup fresh coconut water
3 cups freshly grated coconut

Directions:
Note: This frosting isn’t supposed to keep too well, so it’s best to frost the cake the day it’s being served. However, to spread out the work, you can make the layers in advance. Really, I should also admit that we ate this cake for days after I made it and it stayed delicious, so while I’m sure it’s best to eat it the day you frost it, I wouldn’t toss the leftovers (if there are any, that is.)

Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 9″ cake pans (I use Wilton’s Cake Release), line with parchment paper rounds, and grease the parchment paper as well. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. In a separate small bowl (or measuring cup), whisk together buttermilk, coconut milk, and vanilla. Finally, in a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until pale, light yellow, and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each egg. Alternate adding the dry ingredients and buttermilk mixture with the mixer on low speed before increasing the speed to high and beating for a few seconds to smooth out the batter.

Pour the batter evenly into the two prepared cake pans, bang on the counter to remove air bubbles, and smooth the tops with a spatula. Bake until a toothpick comes out with just a few moist crumbs, about 30-35 minutes. Let the cakes cool in the pans for about 20 minutes before turning them out onto a rack to cool completely. Wrap the cake layers and freeze until firm to make them easier to manage (at least 30 minutes). Once firm, use a large serrated knife to carefully cut each cake layer in half horizontally to create four layers. Rewrap and refreeze these layers until you’re ready to assemble the cake.

Make the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer, use the whisk attachment to beat the egg whites and cream of tartar together until soft peaks form. Let this sit while you boil the sugar, syrup, salt, and water together in a saucepan over high heat. Stir to dissolve the sugar and cook until a candy thermometer reads 250 degrees F, about 4-5 minutes. With the mixer on medium speed, drizzle in the hot syrup and add vanilla extract. Turn the mixer to high speed and beat until the frosting has stiff peaks and is only slightly warm, about 3 minutes.

Assemble the cake: Place one cake layer onto a platter or cake decorating turntable. Drizzle 3 tablespoons of coconut water over the cake layer and spread it around. Spoon about 1 1/4 cups of the frosting onto this layer and spread it thick, letting it spill a bit over the edges all around. Top with 1/2 cup of grated coconut. Continue layering cake layer, coconut water drizzle, frosting, and coconut. On top of the cake, drizzle the last 3 tablespoons of coconut water before covering the whole top and sides of cake with the remaining frosting. Spread it thick and billowy and use a cupped hand to lightly press grated coconut all over the surface of the cake — it’ll hide any frosting imperfections! Store cake in the fridge. Serve either chilled or after letting it sit out for about 20-30 minutes to take the chill off.

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cookies

Rosemary Thumbprints with Clementine Curd and The Day I Went to Ina Garten’s Cookie Swap (What?!)

Um. I may or may not have gone to a Cookie Swap at Ina Garten’s House.

And photos and recipes from this cookie swap may or may not have just been published in Ladies’ Home Journal.


This totally happened.

It may or may not have been one of the coolest things that’s ever happened to me (it was.)

Enough fangirling, though. I know what you really want to know — the nitty gritty details! For the gorgeous photos and recipes, you need the magazine itself (look for Ina on the cover — it’s on newstands now), but I’ll be your go-to source for those gossipy behind-the-scenes details. Such as:

1. No really, Ina Garten is one of the sweetest, most hospitable people on the planet. She wasn’t a diva in any sense; rather, she made us all feel very welcome and appreciated. When she took a bite of my cookie, I admitted that I was totally starstruck, saying, “This is a life moment.” She laughed and told me about one of her life moments: when Meryl Streep tasted one of her dishes. She’s so down-to-earth, y’all.

2. No, we didn’t see Jeffrey — I so wanted him to come in and give Ina a big smooch like he does on Barefoot Contessa.

3. Ina’s breakfast indulgence? Oatmeal. Seriously! She says people are always disappointed to learn that that’s her biggest vice.

4. I found this out while eating breakfast with her before the cookie swap at her favorite restaurant, The 1770 House, which kind of blows my mind. Is this my life? Did that actually happen?!

5. Her yard is just as beautiful as it is on the show — and her garden is a sight to behold! As we were walking through it, the photographer pinched off a plump strawberry and ate it.

6. Speaking of our fancy schmancy photog, Quentin Bacon, we had a great conversation about celebrity chefs and pavlova (he’s an Aussie) on the bus to the Hamptons. He got a text message from Curtis Stone en route inviting him to a party. No biggie. I offered to attend in his stead, which for some reason was only met with laughter.

7. His last name’s BACON. Of course he gets invited to celebrity parties.

8. Joy the Baker and I caught a pedicab in NYC to a restaurant and couldn’t decide if we were having a load of fun or about to die. It was like a roller coaster that twisted in and out of oncoming traffic. Then we were way overcharged. Call it a bonding experience.

9. I took random photos of people kissing in Central Park. I hope they didn’t notice.

10. Ina Garten’s hair stylist has been doing her hair since before she was the Barefoot Contessa. I asked her if she ever felt starstruck and she shrugged and said, “She’s always been Ina to me.” How must that feel?!

11. The folks of Ladies’ Home Journal are a seriously fun bunch to be around. Our conversations ranged from food blogs to sex to religion and everywhere in between on our ride to the Hamptons.

12. The bus driver became my good buddy and NYC tour guide when I got carsick and moved to sit up front with him. Shout out to Alex!

13. Ina is even more beautiful in person — those freckles! She’s also petite — we took off our shoes for pictures with her.

14. Yes, of course I peeked in her pantry. It’s just what you’d expect: nice local products, a few items from her own product line, and tons of gorgeous dishes, all neatly arranged. We may or may not have also peeked in the freezer. Yes, she really does keep chicken stock in there! We lusted a bit after her beautiful kitchen.

As an aside, perhaps I don’t get invited to more celebrity parties because I peek in people’s pantries. Just a thought.

15. Cookie swaps that include Chandon Rosé and festive boxes spread across a gorgeous table dressed for winter are the best sort of cookie swaps.

16. You should buy Ina’s latest cookbook, Foolproof, which I was fortunate enough to receive a copy of. While it’s full of new recipes (including a mustard flank steak I already promised to make for Mike), it’s typical Barefoot Contessa: classic, elegant, and simple. You’ll love it. I read it like a novel before bed!

17. While I’m spendin’ your money, please pick up a copy of Ladies’ Home Journal — I really want them to feel how much we love reading about blogs and bloggers, and companies feel the love through sales! I’ve already bought several copies myself. LHJ is one of the few magazines really embracing food blogs and pioneering how they can work together with print media. Love that!

18. Want to see more of the article now? Here is the interview with Ina and here are all the fantastic cookie recipes! My cookies are Rosemary Thumbprints with Clementine Curd, and they’re seriously delicious.

19. I had the privilege of attending the cookie swap with some other lovely bloggers including Deb from Smitten Kitchen, Lisa from Homesick Texan, Clara from Channeling Contessa, Joy from Joy the Baker, and Zoë from Zoë Bakes. These ladies are amazing and so much fun.

20. Finally, I want you to get a chance to have the same wonderful experience with Ina that I had. LHJ is currently holding a contest called the World’s Biggest Cookie Swap. You can get details to enter and hopefully win a chance to have lunch with Ina here.

Thank you to Ina for your hospitality, and to Ladies’ Home Journal for the experience!

(Photos by Quentin Bacon. Used with permission.)

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challenges, cupcakes

The Big Reveal: Willow Bird Baking Challenge #4 Filled Cupcakes and the Final Challenge!

Willow Bird Baking Challenge is a 5-week series wherein I introduce a new challenge each week. The challenges require you to get creative and innovative in the kitchen. You create your dish, bake it, and send me a photo before the following weekend, when I show off the masterpieces on Willow Bird Baking!

Challenge #5 was to innovate filled cupcakes to represent the season you were currently in. See if you can guess which season the folks below are enjoying!

Paula

Paula Made: Lemon Curd Cupcakes with Blueberry Cream Cheese Frosting (see more at her blog, Vintage Kitchen Notes)

Comments:“I’m no cupcake baker. I’m all for bundt and layer cakes. So this was a real challenge. Lemon immediately came to mind, but then what? Fresh blueberries, that are popping up plump and dark, with the first sweetness in them. Not a new flavor combination idea, but the fresh berries in the frosting looks so pretty. I mean, cupcakes have to have some sort of prettiness to them. The cake part has some white chocolate, which really makes them moist and deepens tremendously the flavor of vanilla.”


Dianna

Dianna Made: Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Caramel-Pear Butter Filling (see more on her blog, The Kitchen Prep)

Comments: “A tender Vanilla Bean Cupcake, filled with a gooey Caramel-Pear Butter center topped with a seductive swirl of Brown Sugar & Cinnamon Frosting.”


Shanna

Shanna Made: Apple Cider Cupcakes filled with Fuyu Persimmon Curd and frosted with Fuyu Persimmon Swiss Meringue Buttercream (see more at her blog, Pineapple and Coconut)

Comments: “Apple Cider. Persmimmons. Yup just add in pumpkin and thats a trifecta of fall flavors. I love the word trifecta. Yes I am a dork. And these don’t have pumpkin in them. I took a break from pumpkin. For maybe a day.”



Nathan

Nathan Made: Chocolate Mint Cupcakes

Comments: “Halloween cupcakes! Chocolate cupcakes with buttercream frosting and orange sugar topping. And for a surprise, green mint jelly for filling!”



Ala

Ala Made: Cheesecake-Filled Chocolate Cupcakes with Coffee Cinnamon Frosting (see her blog Wallflour Girl)

Comments: “We whipped up a batch of these for one of the guys in our department celebrating his birthday this week. If you like a) the idea of a steaming mug of hot chocolate dipped into your morning wake-up call with a hint of autumnal flair, or b) being awesome, you need to try these cupcakes.”



Heather

Heather Made: Boston Creme Pie Cupcakes (see more at her blog Bake Run Live)

Comments: “I made Boston Creme Pie Cupcakes! Sponge cake cupcakes, filled with vanilla pastry cream, then topped with a semi-sweet chocolate glaze! Each cupcake is the perfect portion for a wonderful dessert!”



Robyn

Robyn Made: Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cranberry Curd and Brown Butter Glaze (see more at her blog, Almacucina)

Comments: “I do love how the flavors play off each other; spicy pumpkin, sweet-tart curd and smoky glaze. Especially love the cranberry curd filling. All in all, I’d say I did a decent job! And got myself one step closer to jumping on the cupcake bandwagon.”


LeAndra

LeAndra Made: Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes (see more at her blog, Love & Flour)

Comments: “Yet another challenged cobbled together from previous recipes. I used one of my great-grandmother’s spice cake recipes and filled the cupcakes with a pumpkin cream cheese mixture I once called dip. I topped them off with a ginger cream cheese icing since ginger was the one spice not actually found in the cake.”



Kelly

Kelly Made: Chocolate cookies stuffed with either: peanut butter and guava jelly, a rum-soaked cherry, strawberry cheesecake, or funfetti cheesecake!

Comments: “While the rest of the country is donning boots and scarves, we are still playing on the beach here in Miami.I tried to combine the two for these cupcakes – lemon cupcakes filled with an apple-ginger curd. I then tried to make them look a little ‘beachy.’ Bear with me, the piping bag is not my friend (yet).”


Shelley C.

Shelley Made: Caramel Apple Cupcakes (see more at her blog, C Mom Cook)

Comments: “Once again, choosing a flavor combination was the hardest part of this challenge. There are so many delicious fall flavors, narrowing it down to something that would make a delicious cupcake was tough. Finally, I chose to make caramel apple cupcakes for the cupcake challenge (and, can I just tell you, I had so many thoughts of cupfakes for this one! Turkey meatloaf cooked in a cupcake pan, cranberry sauce ‘filling’ and mashed potato frosting! Cornbread ‘cupcakes’ with some kind of chili filling/spicy frosting! SO many possibilities!)”


Erin

Erin Made: Maple Cream Cheese stuffed Squash cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting (see her blog, Erin’s Exquisite Edibles and Excursions)

Comments: “I wanted to do something for the season like the challenge suggested. Up in New York pumpkin and apples are usually in abundance this time of year, however not this year… apples are sparce but somehow we had a HUGE pile of squash growing in our compost! So due to that I decided to make my cupcakes out of squash instead of pumpkin. These cupcakes turned out so moist and not too sweet, which is good because the frosting made up the majority of the sweetness!”


Natalie

Natalie Made: Apple Pie Cupcakes (see more at her blog Life Made Simple)

Comments: “Since it’s fall and the husband and I both love pie but baking an entire one is just too much for us, I thought I’d make a cupcake version of an apple pie! Perfect, right?! I started off by using a cinnamon spiced cake, filling it with soft apples and topping it with some vanilla ice cream frosting and a crust crisp. These cupcakes are absolutely to die for!”


Ready for Challenge #5?

Last night, Erin, Trudy, and Kelly jumped on Google Hangout with me to introduce the final challenge, Challenge #5, and here it is!

You can find some cheesecake recipes here to get you started! And here is my video tutorial on cheesecakes. Send a photo and some comments to me at julie ‘at’ willowbirdbaking ‘dot’ com by next weekend. Let’s get baking!

Congratulations to all of the participants of Challenge #4 for their fantastic work!

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news, other

Dessert Smörgåsbord with Ghirardelli Intense Dark Chocolates

Have we talked about how I turned down the most gorgeous faucet known to humanity? No? Let me complain for a moment, then: I received an email offering me a free faucet. I get these sort of emails all the time — they offer free products to review. I usually ignore them or politely decline. And a faucet would’ve sounded decidedly pedestrian to me until I had my own residence to furnish. But it just so happened that when I got this particular email, I was knee-deep in decorating my new apartment with hip art prints and succulents. And this faucet — this gorgeous faucet! — had the supple curves of a swan’s neck, a built-in hidden sprayer, and a broad array of snazzy finishes.

OH, the faucet!

My current faucet has a rusty, bent aerator and makes a squeaky noise every time you turn it on. Just as a frame of reference. Just so you fully understand my desire for this glorious, free, swan’s-necked-snazzy-finished faucet.


my favorite!

But (a few tears shed on my behalf would be welcome here) I turned down the offer. I would’ve had to review it here on Willow Bird Baking, and since I didn’t already use that brand and wouldn’t have had an opportunity to compare it to others (besides my rusty-bent-squeaky one, anyway), I didn’t feel like it would be a very balanced review. And even though it was a beautiful faucet, Willow Bird Baking is about food, community, life lessons, and kitchen confidence. When some of the blogs I’ve loved in the past began to look more like review sites, littered with products and sponsored posts, I lost interest. It seemed less personal, less important, and less authentic.

I say all this so that when I start squealing like a fangirl about Ghirardelli in a moment, you know that it’s coming from me, Julie, who doesn’t do product reviews without a really great reason (and who may or may not have stress-eaten about 3 of these Ghirardelli Intense Dark Chocolate bars before my first Willow Bird Baking Challenge hangout the other week. No comment.)

But seriously, I’m an old-school Ghirardelli lover. After watching America’s Test Kitchen choose their 60% cacao chips in a taste-test years ago, I tried them for myself and was hooked. I now use them in almost every recipe calling for chocolate. That’s pretty normal. Taking touristy photos of their Willy-Wonka-esque factory in San Francisco like I was on a flippin’ pilgrimage probably isn’t.

Regarding that stress-eating, by the way . . . Ghirardelli wants me to tell you about how the Ghirardelli Intense Dark Chocolates can help you to create a perfect moment in your day. The moments I can tell you about are as follows:

-Um, that stress-eating incident.

-When Mike and I stood at the counter and taste-tested every. single. one. of the seven chocolate bars Ghirardelli sent me. And then retested them repeatedly like they were incorrigible schoolchildren.

-That one night when Mike and I piled a truckload of ice cream into a bowl with some Ghirardelli Intense Dark Chocolate squares so that I could prove to him that they were better when not combined with something cold (what, you’ve never proven something by contradiction? I suffer for science.)

-The morning where I didn’t have anything left for breakfast so I ate a metric ton of chocolate, pretzels, dates, and leftover toasted coconut and pecans.

These aren’t exactly your typical “perfect” moments. They’re more your typical frazzled-schoolteacher-with-a-few-minutes-to-eat-as-much-chocolate-as-possible moments.

However imperfect the moments might have been, the chocolate was perfect. Smooth and rich, the taste lingers on your tongue (as long as it’s warm, Mike) and pairs perfectly with so many different treats. I guess that’s why the chocolate itself can serve as an oasis in the midst of a chaotic day. A moment of perfection even within the imperfection, you might say?

I can’t wait to use the rest of my Ghirardelli Intense Dark Chocolates in lots of amazing recipes. In the meantime, here’s a fun way you can enjoy them: paired with salty pretzel rods, juicy dates, toasted coconut, and toasted pecans. Breakfast of champions…?

Dessert Smörgåsbord with Ghirardelli Intense Dark Chocolates


Recipe by: Willow Bird Baking
Yield: as many servings as you’d like!

I call this a dessert smörgåsbord, but if I’m going to be real, I had this for breakfast the other day. The point is, these foods pair beautifully with Ghirardelli Intense Dark Chocolates any time of day.

Ingredients:
Salted pretzel rods
dates
toasted coconut
toasted pecans
a Ghirardelli Intense Dark Chocolate bar (I prefer the 60% cacao Evening Dream, but Hazelnut Heaven, Toffee Interlude, and Sea Salt Soirée are close behind!)

Directions:
Hunt and peck your way through the dessert smörgåsbord, combining and alternating flavors. I always advise to eat Ghirardelli chocolate with a warm drink or none at all — cold foods/drinks drastically change the experience by preventing some of the melt that occurs when you chew. That’s where all the flavor is! So avoid cold milk and ice cream with your dessert buffet.


Illustrating my love for Ghirardelli’s 60% Cacao chocolate: here are all the recipes where I’ve mentioned it on Willow Bird Baking!


1. German Chocolate Cheesecake
2. Fauxstess Cupcakes
3. Chocolate Coconut Cream Pie Bars
4. Chocolate Pumpkin Truffles
5. Coffee Mousse Filled Double Chocolate Chunk Cookie Sandwiches
6. Magic Bars
7. Cannoli
8. Brownie-Bottom Coconut Chocolate Cream Cake
9. Chocolatey Red Velvet Pull-Apart Bread with Cream Cheese Glaze
10. Salted Caramel Mocha Hot Chocolate


This post is brought to you by Ghirardelli Intense Dark™ Chocolate. While I was compensated for my time and groceries and provided with lots of delicious chocolate, I never, ever share products with you that I’m not personally exuberant about, and that’s a promise!

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