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Birthday (x2)

My mother-in-law had a special birthday this month, and we were invited to the Outerbanks for a family vacation to help her celebrate the big day. I packed some gear and made her birthday cake while we were there. I had tried out a few ideas beforehand and decided to make a white cake with a limoncello lemon curd filling since she really likes lemons. I recalled a time when we went shopping and she had mentioned how I should try baking something with limoncello. Sadly, I'm allergic to alcohol, so I selfishly decided to put the limoncello in the lemon curd so that I could cook the alcohol off while keeping the limoncello's flavor. =p Hopefully, she really enjoyed the cake. I didn't get any pictures of the inside. :(

The hubby also had an intern whose birthday was in August. He asked me if I would bake my mint brownies to help them celebrate. I made some modifications to my recipe to dial back the mint in the frosting to incorporate some Andes mints on top of the chocolate glaze to make them look prettier. Feedback from the hubby's coworkers was very positive. :)

Lemon Cranberry Scones

Sometimes I get very odd and random food cravings (no, I'm not hinting at any baby news =p). A couple of weeks ago, I was craving dried fruit, so I bought some raisins, dried pineapple and dried cranberries. The cranberries didn't taste how I had remembered...maybe it's because I bought a different brand than before. I thought about throwing them out, but I decided to keep them because I figured I could find a way to use them in some type of baking experiment rather than wasting them.

Well a few days ago, the cranberries caught my eye in the pantry. I had a sudden craving for scones, so I decided to make cranberry scones....brilliant! I added a little bit of lemon zest to them to add some extra flavor, and the scones came out surprisingly well for a random experiment. I even got some very nice comments about achieving above average scone texture. :D

Silver Bullet

I had been wanting to get a new stand mixer for quite some time. I bought my first stand mixer when I was in college and didn't have a whole lot of money to spend on it. It served me well for a while when I was first really getting into baking. The only problem is that it just wouldn't die! I hadn't bought a new mixer because I would have felt guilty if my old mixer still worked, even though it may not have been the greatest and my hubby kept trying to convince me to get a new one. Well, the old mixer finally passed away a couple of weeks ago. After 10 years of waiting (yes, I was just starting college THAT many years ago O_O), I was then faced with deciding what kind of mixer to buy. It came down to either a KitchenAid or a Viking. I ended up going with KitchenAid because of all of the attachments you can get - the most notable of which is the ice cream maker attachment. Yes, that's right, I am going to venture into the world of ice cream/gelato. =D

I named it the Silver Bullet, and I love it. :)

The first thing I made with it was a batch of cupcakes for my nieces and nephews. One of my darling nieces had the awesome idea of turning hers into a cupcake sandwich!

Creamy Devils?

I'm not quite sure what to call these little guys. I think they are traditionally called black bottom cakes, but for some reason, I don't quite like that name. These tasty creations are cream cheese topped devil's food cakes.

There is usually some funny side story that goes along with each of my baking adventures. Lately, work has been really hectic since we're wrapping up a major project, and that has lead to a lot of late-night baking sessions. Lack of sleep and exhaustion do not typically make for a good combination in the kitchen. ;)

We had a friend coming to visit, and I really wanted to make something for his stay with us. I had been going on very little sleep and had just finished a 14-hour workday when I got home at 9:30 pm one evening. (Who knew software development was so intense?! =p) Well, I forged ahead with my plan to bake something and got these cakes in the oven, set my timer, and sat down for a bit. I remember checking on the cakes a couple of times, and all seemed to be going well. I checked in on them one more time and then realized my timer had been paused. I panicked because I couldn't remember when I had put them in the oven. I asked the hubby if he touched my timer, and he emphatically denied getting anywhere near it or near the kitchen for that matter. I guess my lack of sleep and the long workday made me a bit out of my mind, and I paused the timer unconsciously. I ended up over-baking the cakes just a bit, but everyone still seemed to enjoy them. Either that, or I have really nice friends. ;)

Giant Cupcake!

My sister came to visit, and we finally celebrated her birthday (3 months late). I decided to go big...literally. So, I made her a giant cupcake. These pictures are not the best, but I made this cake after a very, very long day at work. So once again, the pictures were taken late at night. I am still working on my photography skills...

Front of the cake:

Keeping with last year's theme when I made my sis a Domo cake, I had to sneak Domo in somewhere. Back of the cake:

Simple and Sweet

I wanted to make some goodies for a friend we were visiting last weekend, and with work being so hectic lately, I didn't have much time. So, I chose two relatively simple sweets: blueberry muffins and m&m cookies. Always trying to make the best use of my time, I took this opportunity to do some recipe tweaking/experimenting. The cookies ended up coming out just about perfect, but I want to tweak the muffins just a little bit more.

After wrapping up a 12-hour workday, these were the result of another late-night baking session.

What am I going to do with all this cream?!?

I went to the grocery store to get some things for dinner, and I just couldn't remember if I had any cream at home. I decided to play it safe and bought another carton, only to find out I did have some at home after all! Naturally, I started thinking about what sorts of desserts I could make to use up all the cream crowding up the fridge. Creme brulee crossed my mind, but I make that often enough that I wanted to try something different. We also had a friend coming to visit, so I wanted to make something special for her and ended up deciding to make mini chocolate mousse cakes.

I created my recipe for mini chocolate mousse cakes a few years ago and had only made it a few times since then, tweaking it here and there each time. I'm getting closer to perfecting it...perhaps one more attempt and I'll have it where I want it...

Chocolate cake layered with chocolate mousse and topped with chocolate ganache. Chocolate overload!

Easter Surprises

...in more ways than one.

I decided to surprise some very good friends by making a big batch of Easter goodies...and it sort of turned out to be a disaster. First, as a disclaimer, I want to say that I wish I had the time to make treats for all my friends and family, but since I can only bake at night after work or on the weekends, my time is sooo very limited.

When I make big batches of ConfectChinhs, such as my annual Christmas holiday baking tradition, I always tell myself I'm not going to do it again next year. Somehow, though, I always end up putting myself through it. I was thinking about why that is while I was frantically rushing to finish making everything I had planned to send to my friends the other night. I obviously love to bake, and I think I am somewhat decent at it? Most of all, I think the joy it brings people makes me happy, and that makes it all worth it.

Getting back to my story...on Saturday, I made a batch of cut-out sugar cookies and got them all done and packaged that night. So, all I had left to do was some cake pops and I thought I was on track to finish stress free on Sunday. Well, on Sunday after church I began making the cake pops. Things were going well, and the hubby decided to go on a long run. He asked if I needed anything before he left and I said I'd be fine. Sure enough, two minutes after he left, I heard someone knocking pounding on our front door. It was our neighbor who owns the condo below us coming to yell inform us that our water heater was leaking into his unit. I was home by myself and had no idea what to do. Further, I had just started to melt a batch of chocolate when the neighbor came, and while I was talking to him, my chocolate burned. I threw it all out. :( This made me sad for a number of reasons...I only use high quality chocolate and it was a huge mess to clean.

I ended up calling my dad who instructed me to turn off the main water line, but wasn't able to give me exact directions since he lives hundreds of miles away. Long story short, the hubby finally came home and things are under control now. I am super glad I am renting and am not a homeowner yet.

That whole debacle set me back several hours. Having already made the cookies, I didn't want to delay the cake pops so I could send everything out Monday morning. So, let's just say it was another late and stressful night. =p I have to say these ConfectChinhs were not my best looking ones (that is the perfectionist in me talking), but given the situation and time constraints, I am just happy I got them done. I hope my friends will enjoy them...

Also, I have to thank my hubby. It's amazing we're still married after everything I put him through during these late night baking sessions. I tend to get stressed and he always stays up to encourage me even though there often isn't much he can help me with. This time, since I was mailing these goodies, he helped me fill and tape up all the boxes. :)

Easter egg cut-out sugar cookies: "bling bling" style. =p

All packaged up in little baggies and ready to mail.

Chicky cake pops.

Chocolate amaretto cake pops.

I found these cute chicky eggs and couldn't resist buying them to fill with jelly beans.

All the boxes ready to mail!

Chocolate Surprise

Work has been a little crazy lately so I haven't been able to bake much or post anything recently. However, this past weekend we had some lovely friends visit so I decided to make cupcakes for them. I forgot to take a picture before they were eaten, but here is what was left:

I also took this opportunity to experiment with a new flavor, which I named "Chocolate Surprise": a chocolate cupcake filled with marshmallow cream and topped with chocolate ganache. I even tested out a new fancy design with the ganache. :)

While I'm on the topic of cupcakes (again), I thought I would share a picture of some really cute kitchen towels I found at our local Borders that is going out of business. They were so cute that I couldn't resist buying them. Maybe they will bring me some extra luck in the kitchen.

Che Dau Trang

When we went to Vietnam last fall, I had che dau trang for the first time in quite a while. Che dau trang is a dessert sort of like rice pudding. It's made with sweet rice and beans and is served with coconut milk. My mom used to make it a lot when I was younger.

It was sooo good in Vietnam, and I had a sudden craving for it. I made some for the first time, and while it wasn't nearly as good as what I had in Vietnam, it was good enough to satisfy my craving. Yum.

A Heathy Cupcake?

I often get asked whether I have ever thought of opening a bakery. Of course I have dreamed of opening a bakery one day, there are just so many factors that go into starting and operating a business. There was a time when I was seriously thinking about it, but I'm just not sure if I'm ready to take such a big risk.

I have also always wanted to attend pastry school. Since I'm a self-taught baker, I think formal training would help me take my hobby to the next level of sophistication. When we lived in Michigan, I started attending pastry school part-time, but I had to drop out after only one quarter when the hubby and I decided to move to the DC area. This required me to give up one dream to pursue another as I have always wanted to live in a big city. Plus, a great job opportunity came up for the hubby, and shortly after, for me. Sadly, my pastry school experience was limited to two classes: baking theory and sanitation and health, and this meant that I didn't get to any of the classes where you actually learn how to make anything. Perhaps some day I will make another attempt to fulfill my dream of going to pastry school. For now, I am a mild mannered IT geek by day and an experimental (mad?) baker by night.

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm getting a lot better at creating my own recipes, and I think this is very important if I were ever to open my own bakery. With all of the bakeries and cupcake shops opening, there would have to be something that sets me apart. So, I have been experimenting quite a bit lately. I finally got around to trying my lemon pomegranate cupcake idea, and I'm actually pretty happy with how it turned out. Hopefully I came up with something fairly unique: a vanilla cupcake filled with lemon curd, topped with pomegranate frosting.

I love biting into a cupcake and finding a surprise inside.

By the way, is there such a thing as a healthy cupcake? This one is high in antioxidants and vitamins! =p

I have been making a lot of cupcakes lately, I'm not sure why...I guess I love all things miniature. In reality, I like to bake and cook a lot of different things so I will try to make my next post about something other than cupcakes.

New Creations

I have been getting better at creating my own recipes and modifying "base" recipes I find to make something new out of them. It has taken me quite a while to get to this point, but being a self-taught baker, I guess I'm pretty happy with my progress. Looking back at old photos and thinking of past things I've made, I realized that I have come a long way. All of the practice has helped me discover what flavors go well together.

Even though I am getting better at making things on my own, I do get inspiration for new recipes/flavors from various places. Most recently, I was walking around downtown DC when I started to get the munchies. I stopped at a Starbucks and decided to try the triple berry coffee cake. I liked it so much that I was determined to re-create something similar. Here is attempt #1:

I still have some tweaking to do, but for my first try, I was happy with the result. Next time, I will make some modifications to add more moisture and to make it a bit fluffier. The texture just wasn't quite right for me, and ever the perfectionist, I want the perfect texture and flavor. =p

Next up: strawberry mascarpone cupcakes. Having moved to the DC area, one of the things I miss dearly from Ohio is Jeni's Ice Cream. I found a local gourmet market that actually sells it here, but I've only been willing to cough up the required $19/pint once (in a moment of excitement and weakness, I caved in). One of my favorite flavors of all time was Jeni's strawberry mascarpone. I don't think she ever brought it back after the one year that I had it in college. So, inspired by Jeni, I made strawberry mascarpone cupcakes: strawberry cupcakes with strawberry mascarpone frosting. The hubby ranked this one as his second favorite cupcake of all time (thus far).

Next on my to-do list is lemon pomegranate cupcakes. I once had a sparkling pomegranate lemonade from the cafe at Nordstrom, which sparked my love for the lemon-pomegranate flavor combination. So, I'm thinking...why not try it in a cupcake? Too crazy? I guess I'll find out the next time I have a chance to experiment. Like I said, my inspiration comes from many random places...