Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Piece of Cake recap

 
~Memorable Moments~

My favorite frosting: Maple (here)
My favorite cake & frosting set: Gooey Chocolate Cake (here)
My favorite cheesecake: Coffee Cheesecake with Pecan Sauce (here)
My favorite un-frosted cake: Iced Lemon & Ginger Cake (here)

Easiest/most fun cakes? Coffee Cheesecake with Pecan Sauce & Baked Alaska Birthday Cake, Cinnamon Swirl Tea Bread (here, here & here)
Most challenging?  The Roulades & The Genoise cakes =/
Most interesting? Middle Eastern Orange Cake & Brown Butter Frosting (here & here
Most blog views? Applecake Bars (here), with 40 views!


A few things I learned...
~ Not every bad thing is a tragedy.
~ 30 is NOT old.
~I can be calm (or calmer) under pressure. (Bach remedies are great!)
~"Folding" things together is not that hard.  =)
~ I have such good friends & family- they'll choke down rather inedible cake, and tell me I'm doing great! (Yes, there is a time & place for not telling the exact truth!) 


And just because I know that some of you are wondering:

Q: Did you buy any stuff/gadgets along the way?
A: The answer is yes- I made a few new cute aprons.

Q: Did I borrow anything?  
A: Yes- a jelly roll pan from Mrs. Hale. 

Q: Are you planning to buy anything?  
A: YES!  I decided that I NEED an 3" deep 8" round cake pan.   And a new hand mixer-- ours smells like it will shoot flames at any moment! (Can anyone recommend a good brand?  The Cuisinart we paid big bucks for has been disappointing!)


~Many Thanks~
Thank you all for all the comments and encouragement you have given me during this baking project!  The project & all of you have gotten me through a rough time- Grandma Hale's passing & my turning 30.  You all have meant a lot to me, and I pray that the Lord will bless you for your kindness. Thank you.  I don't yet know what I shall do next- besides take a little break....

 What would life be?
Without a song or a dance what are we?
So I say thank you for the music
For giving it to me

I've been so lucky, I am the girl with golden hair
I wanna sing it out to everybody
What a joy, what a life, what a chance!

So I say
Thank you for the music, the songs I'm singing
Thanks for all the joy they're bringing
Who can live without it, I ask in all honesty
What would life be?

2 comments:

Lauren S. said...

Maybe try KitchenAid brand? We haven't had a hand mixer in years (those were fun, though!), but we do have a stand mixer by KitchenAid that we're very pleased with. The whisk attachment didn't last long, but the mixer and kneader attachments have done very well over the years. ~Lauren

Unknown said...

I've been disappointed with Cuisinart products a couple of times. I use a kitchen aide stand mixer now, but my take on hand mixers... Buy a cheap one and see how long it lasts. I've had a cheap one that I spent $10 at least 15 years ago. Yes, it too smells like it's going to catch fire and since I have the stand mixer I don't use it (I either use stand mixer or mix by hand). Sometimes, I would rather buy cheap and replace as needed (reasonably) instead of spending money on something expensive.