i'm gonna have to get me one of these

i can't tell you how many times i could have used this.

molten(ish) cupcakes

so i FINALLY made these cupcakes i've been wanting to make. my oldest sister sent me this recipe from a cookbook we gave her for her birthday and after she sent me the recipe she said she's not as much a fan of them as she expected. she didn't really like the cake part. so i figured i'd try them with the birthday bundt cake recipe.

so i mixed that cake recipe with this

Cupcake:
1 pkg Devil's Food cake mix
1 cup water
1/2cup oil
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup powdered sugar for dusting

Prepare ganache (recipe follows), cover with plastic
wrap and place in fridge to chill.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly mist 24 cupcake
cups with spray and dust with flour. Mix together
cake ingredients. Spoon 1/3 cup batter into prepared
tins, filling them 3/4 of the way full. (will make 22
to 24 cupcakes). Drop heaping teaspoon full of
ganache onto the top of the batter in each cup. Bake
until cake bakes up around ganache 12-14 minutes. Let
cool one minutes. Run a knife around edges of cups,
lift the cupcakes up from the bottoms of the cups
using the end of the knife, and pick them out of the
cups carefully with your fingertips. Place them on
dessert plates, sift with powdered sugar and serve.

Ganache:
3/4 cup heaving whipping cream
1 1/3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla

Place cream in saucepan over medium heat and bring to
a boil, stirring. Meanwhile, place chocolate chips in
a large stainless steel mixing bowl. Remove the cream
fro the heat and pour it over the chocolate. Stir with
a wooden spoon until the chocolate has melted Stir in
vanilla. Let sit at room temp for 1 hour or chill
20-30 minutes.

i just did the ganache part, then added it to the other cake recipe, put it in cupcake liners and cooked it for 20 minutes at 350° (325° on my crazy oven.)

pictured is one with powdered sugar all over it. unwrapped from the wrapper and upside down.

next time i'll just make hot fudge sunday cake for really molteny (not a word, i know) cake. but these weren't a bad way to eat a cupcake.

uh-oh

this might cramp my future bakery's style.

cake in a jar

ok, so i saw this post here, and have been wanting to try this for a while now. and i wanted to send my friend cindy some cake she likes for her birthday (the poppyseed cake - the poppyseed + extra glaze) and my friend jessica came over to bake, and we came up with this version of cake in a jar.

these are my notes. i would make them in smaller jars cause it's easier to get out. and these might be better for an "in-person" gift because i ended up having to cut off the top which is the cutest part and these suckers are sorta expensive to mail. and you can give the person a few, rather than just mailing one big heavy one. it's a cute idea, but i don't know if i'd do it again. but you never know, i could get inspired and try it again. just how i haven't mastered éclairs yet but i swear i will one day...

my one true love: straws

my friend julia and i were discussing our affinity for straws and how it's nice they are so cheap and recyclable but were thinking that to cut back on waste maybe we should get re-usable ones like these or these. is that taking our neurotic need for straws to a ridiculous level? maybe. am i ashamed? not in the least.

granola bars

cooking in a new kitchen the first time is always a learning experience. for example, i have to learn where exactly i put all my stuff, i learned that i didn't have raisins like i thought i did, and that both my oven and stove-top cook extra hot/fast (note to self, bake everything at 25° less than called for—ALWAYS). consequently, my granola bars came out crunchy when i was going for the softer kind. still very yummy just more crunchy than i was going for.

this recipe came from my oldest sister and are always a hit on road trips or just for a good healthy-ish treat. and since i'm trying to eat as little processed goods as possible (darn you cheetos and oreos for being so delicious)– these are an easy snack to make.


1/3 c. oil
3/4 c. brown sugar
2 T. honey
1 t. vanilla
1 egg
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1 1/2 c. oats
2 c. rice krispies
1 c. raisins (or chocolate chips if you don't have said raisins or just plain don't like them)

in large bowl, combine oil, brown sugar, honey, vanilla, and egg. add
flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. mix well. stir in oats,
cereal, and raisins. grease 9x13 inch pan. press mixture into pan. for
chewy bars bake 15 minutes at 350 degrees. for crunchier bars, bake 25
minutes. slice into 16 bars.

this is an ode to cheese and fresh tomatoes

that's all.
love,
ck

this time with pictures

and i'm back. i'm all unpacked and pretty much all done getting settled. it feels so good. i christened my kitchen this weekend by baking sugar cookies, granola bars and more homemade bread. finally i get to have homemade bread again. it's been too long. i posted this recipe a while ago but didn't have pictures to go with it. but i made some for my friend hailey's belated birthday present and documented them to share. i was hoping the orange frosting would entice the sun to come out, but no such luck...