cakes Archives - Page 12 of 30 - Willow Bird Baking

9 Extremely Chocolatey Ways to Treat Yoself on Valentine’s Day

Thanks, Foodie, for sponsoring this post.

Mike’s absolute favorite kind of dessert is CHOCOLATE. I’m not a huge chocoholic, though, so we just have it every now and then. I mean, I have to get my 85 bajillion coconut recipes per year in, right? But on Valentine’s Day, I have to cave and create a chocolate masterpiece to show my love. Is your partner the same way? Or are you the chocolate-lover in your family? Either way, I’ve got you covered. Here are 9 Extremely Chocolatey Ways to Treat Yoself on Valentine’s Day! Below each photo, I’ve included the recipe difficulty level. This way you can choose what best fits your time and skill level. I also included 14 chocolatey recipes from some of my favorite bloggers in the slideshow above as an added bonus. Enjoy!

1. SUPER FANCY CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE CAKE.

9 Extremely Chocolatey Ways to Treat Yoself on Valentine's Day: SUPER FANCY CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE CAKE
cooking difficulty: intermediate

(more…)

February 6, 2015 by Julie Ruble | 7 Comments

cakes

Hot Cranberry Orange Cake

Hot Cranberry Orange Cake recipe
Hot Cranberry Orange Cake

On the last day of school before winter break, the entire middle school sits around in jammies, performs holiday skits, and exchanges white elephant gifts. Last year around this time I was still trying to find my place in a new city and a new school. I hadn’t been a new teacher in so long that I’d forgotten how kids don’t immediately love you. They don’t get your jokes. They don’t know with what weight to interpret your reactions. They don’t know if it’s cool to want to be around you. You spend a lot of time strategizing about where to sit, what to do, and what to say to introduce yourself day after day. Even once the kids choose you as their own, you must continue to nestle into the fabric of your colleagues and learn the culture of the school. All this while you’re struggling to manage the simplest things: trying to find the closest gym or the best route to work. It was a hard year.

(more…)

December 24, 2014 by Julie Ruble | 6 Comments

cakes

Super Fancy Chocolate Cheesecake Cake (and Other Perfect Christmas Desserts)

Thanks, Foodie, for sponsoring this post.

If you’re sad because you keep scrolling through photos of homes decorated for Christmas and beautiful cookies and homemade gifts and holiday parties and hot chocolate breaks and meticulous Christmas lights and PERFECT FAMILIES, come here and let me give you a dysfunctional hug. You are so not alone.

Super Fancy Chocolate Cheesecake Cake

Just remember that everyone picks out the bright spots to share. Almost no one posts their struggles, especially not the ugly struggles. And if they do, their friends give them the side-eye and they become That Messy Girl Who Shares Too Much. So no one does. Instead we all sit in our messy houses staring at stacks of unaddressed Christmas cards and and feel like we belong on the island of misfit toys.

I’m going to be That Messy Girl today, because I’m not willing to let you feel that way. Or I’m not willing to let you hang out on the island alone, anyway.

(more…)

December 15, 2014 by Julie Ruble | 39 Comments

cakes

Gingerbread Gooey Butter Cake Ice Cream Sundae

I wrote this post as part of the Plugrá Butter Brigade. Thanks, Plugrá, for sponsoring the development of this Gingerbread Gooey Butter Cake Ice Cream Sundae recipe and for making my favorite butter!

My current working hypothesis is that every family has a stellar-gift-giver and a terrible-gift-giver. My brother- and sister-in-law are my family’s stellar-gift-givers. Plenty of people give great gifts, but their gifts are stellar: the perfect blend of thoughtful, fun, useful, slightly poignant. Mike’s dad was a Marine, and after picking up on a couple of nostalgia stories, they paid his way to the shooting range so he could fire an M4 again. They bought Mike’s grandmother a real tumbleweed. I know that doesn’t sound like a good present (actually, it sounds like it could rival coal for the new naughty-list gift) but she loves the southwest and it fit perfectly with her eclectic home decor. Who thinks of this stuff?

(more…)

November 30, 2014 by Julie Ruble | 29 Comments

cakes, pies and tarts

15 Thanksgiving Pumpkin Desserts

Thanks, Foodie, for sponsoring this post.

Pumpkin and I have a longstanding, passionate relationship. Like many of you, however, I’m not a fan of pumpkin pie. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll eat it — with homemade whipped cream, please — but it feels like a tired way to use my favorite squash. He deserves better, don’t you think?

Below I’ve assembled 15 Thanksgiving pumpkin desserts that would look beautiful on your holiday table, and there’s not a single pumpkin pie among them. Check the caption of each photograph to see the difficulty level of the recipe. As a bonus, click through the slideshow above to see Thanksgiving side dishes from some of my favorite blogs.

Without further ado, the pumpkin!

1. PUMPKIN MAPLE PECAN ROLLS WITH PUMPKIN CREAM CHEESE ICING.

cooking difficulty: intermediate