Happy Pi Day

Today is 3.14 so I made a pumpkin pie to celebrate. I haven't been baking much lately. The last 2 pies I baked were a major FAIL! This pumpkin pie was delectable.

Hello March, Baking & Books

I baked New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies. They are delicious. You really can't eat just one! What makes these cookies different is you don't use all purpose flour instead you use bread and cake flour. Give them a whirl because they really are yummy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/09/dining/091crex.html?_r=0

My nails are ready for Spring. This mellow yellow is not my typical color...Not sure how long I'll keep them yellow.

 I am currently reading Lessons from Madame Chic By Jennifer L. Scott. Picked up this little nugget of wisdom from the library. We can all stand to be a little chicer.

We met the San Diego Chicken! Being a San Diego native this was a really big deal. As a kid I would see the Chicken at Padres games and he was always on the local news in the 80's. D was not thrilled about meeting the Chicken but both boys were good sports.

Coffee Cozies

I had a productive sewing week. I got an order for 25 coffee cozies. It was such a nice challenge! This order came at the right time because lately I've felt like I am slipping into the Bell Jar. Sewing these coffee cozies reminded me how much I enjoy sewing.

100 Days of School

Kindergarten is flying by. Today was the 100th day of school for D. His teacher had some great craft projects to celebrate being 100 days smarter. My favorite project is the gum ball machine. She set up 10 different paint colors. The kids used their fingers and dotted each color 10 times on a paper plate.

Mardi Gras Cupcakes

Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler

 I wanted to bake something for Fat Tuesday. Traditional Mardi Gras baking is a King's Cake. I think it is more pastry than "cake". If you haven't had King's Cake the best way to describe it is like a coffee cake croissant. My boys don't like King's Cake so I made cupcakes. I used yellow cake mix and made a cinnamon filling. Above is a picture of how I prepared it to bake. The bottom row is a tablespoon worth of  batter. The middle shows the cinnamon filling. Top row has a tablespoon of batter on top of the filling. I got the idea from this website. http://hoosierhomemade.com/king-cake-cupcakes-and-mardi-gras-food/#

 I love unbleached baking cups. I have found that other cupcake papers can be oily once you bake with them. Unbleached baking cups aren't fancy but they are never smelly or greasy.

King's Cake Cupcakes

Valentine Nails

Valentine Nails

 1st bite of cake.

A mouthful

On Saturday we drove to Orange County for our nephew's 1st birthday party. It was a great weekend filled with lots of family...but no baking.

The birthday boy doesn't want to come home with his crazy Uncle.

After the birthday party the boys' Aunt let them release the birthday balloons. The kids wrote wishes on the balloons before they let them go. F.W and D's unselfish and loving wishes made me so proud.

West Coast Cousins 

Smith Island Cake

Making the frosting 

 Each layer is about the thickness of a pancake.

For the Super Bowl Sunday I made Maryland's state cake. I wish California had a state cake! Maryland's state cake is the Smith Island Cake. It is a 10 layer yellow/vanilla cake with a delicious rich chocolate frosting. Everyone really enjoyed the taste of the cake and it looked beautiful with it's 10 layers. I think a Smith Island cake would be so cool for a child's 10th birthday. I will differently make this cake again.

I looked at a couple different recipes but this is the one I used.  http://www.grouprecipes.com/45284/smith-island-treasure-ten-layer-cake.html