May 12, 2019
My Mom is cooler than yours. I mean, look at those brows. Though mine look pretty good too. I had grand cake intentions for today, but… sometimes I have cake fails. My Mother’s Day cake was a hot mess, though my sweet Mom would never say that. The problem was Read more…
May 11, 2019
Sometimes people expect you to make a batch, and so you do, dutifully but no less lovingly. And sometimes you get a satisfaction by using, finally, some of the applesauce you had to buy when you last made the recipe. I hate to have jars lying about, staring at me Read more…
May 2, 2019
With two days of state exams and an awesome testing schedule, I spent my back-to-back free periods in my favorite place: Green-Wood Cemetery. It is crazy to think I first set foot into its grounds only a year ago. This time, peak flowering for its gorgeous trees would make it Read more…
April 20, 2019
Easter is like Christmas but with pastels! Well, in a secular sense… Easter used to be one of my favorite holidays as a child. For one, my Mom made thee best easter baskets for us, including two of my all-time favorite confections: Cadbury Cream Eggs and Peeps. She also made Read more…
April 15, 2019
Box-free Baking, Cakes & Cupcakes, Cooking Stuff, Dressing Up, Hosting Duty, Pies, Tarts, & Parfaits, Special Events
It was finally time for the Season 8 premiere of Game of Thrones! And it was time to completely nerd out. And have a vegan Game of Thrones feast with all the bells and whistles. My weekend was full of prep and running around… and then festivities. Here it is Read more…
April 1, 2019
With a very special friend relocating to Florida, we sent her off from the Sunshine State within Brooklyn, Royal Palms Shuffleboard Club. The space was a festive backdrop for the bittersweet affair. And though smiles were plentiful, I certainly won’t be the same without my best gal near by. Of Read more…
March 19, 2019
Sansa is all about the Lemon Cakes. Unfortunately Lemon Cakes were the only taste of happiness in a terrible string of horrific life experiences for Sansa. So let’s rejoice in Sansa’s simple pleasures before all hell breaks loose in Season 8. Candy Some Lemons 🍋 1 cup water 1 cup Read more…
March 17, 2019
Usually I wear my “Italians Do It Better” shirt on March 17. But I am Irish, too, so it’s a joke. Actually, my Irish blood is far more festive than my other components. My great grandfather (or possibly great-great? I’ll have to ask my cousin who dug deep on our Read more…
March 10, 2019
For my sweet Mom, sweet cupcakes… and a bouquet of flowers! In this case, same-same. Instead of the usual vanilla recipe, I tried this new one from Nora Cooks. Well, new to me. I love that it has aquafaba, vegan butter and oil in it, for flavor and for moistiness. Read more…
January 26, 2019
With a brunch get-together happening, I decided to break in my new cookbook, a gift from my Secret Santa at work: Modern Vegan Baking, filled with next-level vegan baking challenges. I started with the lemon meringue… but improvised the throw down of some Mi-Del Lemon Snaps on the bottoms of Read more…
January 20, 2019
I didn’t know this but Crumbs Bakeshop, one of the early cupcake-only bakeries, closed all their doors, filing bankruptcy in 2014. I looked into them in the cupcake heyday (2003/2004), but they never had a vegan option. Then, eventually, they offered some vegan options–I’m not sure when this happened. I Read more…
January 14, 2019
What is that, velvet? Why yes, they are Red Velvet. Sprinkles’ fantastic vegan recipe makes for a very impressive addition to a work function. And because it’s for colleagues, I didn’t skimp on the red and the sweet. Because you eat with your eyes… and then you eat with your Read more…
December 13, 2018
I finished off the last of the pumpkin puree from the classroom pumpkins with three more batches of the well-loved pumpkin chocolate chip cupcakes. And the kiddos were excited to decorate their own at our Holiday Party. Though extremely stressful at times, I love that my profession allows me to Read more…
November 20, 2018
This is my 9th year teaching… and my 9th year transforming the classroom pumpkins in Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes. I’m a creature of ritual. And this ritual starts with my enthusiasm for Autumn and… pumpkins. For home, for the classroom, for those worthy enough to give a pumpkin to. I’m Read more…
November 11, 2018
With a very dear friend’s birthday deserving a proper cake, especially after the praise I received for my recent vegan Pom Pom Cake, this cake (below) would just not do. Though it tasted great, it was–hideous looking. There was no way this was going to cut it! So it was Read more…
November 9, 2018
Take one look at the beautiful Pom Pom cake, as originated by adorable teacher-turned-baker Katherine Sabbath, featured in this video, and any confectionary aficionado would fall in love. But I couldn’t get veganizing it out of my mind. It’s a layer cake with lemon and raspberry curds between topped with a cream Read more…
November 3, 2018
The first batch of cupcakes for this year’s kiddos. I start simple with a chocolate cupcake and vanilla buttercream for our Dia de Los Muertos celebration… The classroom spread. I go to Don Paco Panaderia in Sunset Park every year for the pan de muerto. And they never bat an Read more…
October 28, 2018
Though I love to bake, I like to use my birthday to sample cakes by other vegan bakers. This year my folks got me a beautiful cake from Pisces Rising after I found them, or her really, via Instagram. And lucky me, Pisces Rising just started taking custom orders. After Read more…
September 16, 2018
My angel on Earth’s birthday requires a very special vegan cake. A cake I haven’t tried to make for like 10 years… the elusive, the delicate, the delicious… Angel Food Cake. Yes, I’ve only attempted it once and it resulted in: failure. So before the real day of celebration, here Read more…
August 25, 2018
To me, baking is lovely a means of affection. My time, my care, my precision–these things aren’t given away willy nilly. They’re filled in a cupcake liner and delivered to your mouth, because of… love. And in the process and in the output, there’s plenty in it for me. It’s Read more…
June 16, 2018
Nothing gets me motivated to bake than a Bake Sale that benefits animals. Last time is was for The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. This time… for with Mutt-i-grees. So I just had to go all out… First, S’mores cupcakes would mean a couple of batches of marshmallow fluff. I piped Read more…
May 27, 2018
Summer time parfaits started with banana cake (not bread)… using the rest of the bananas. Then the chocolate ganache I had leftover from the Mother’s Day cupcakes. Coconut whip, berries, and we’re ready to assemble. Mint from the backyard and a shaving of chocolate to hint at those thick, rich Read more…
May 25, 2018
I like bananas ripened, speckled, smashed and put into cake. And every week I have a slew of bananas to transform into tokens of my affection. Who will get a loaf of marble banana bread this week? Not sure. But last week, my middle school class. But first, I need Read more…
May 13, 2018
When you’re late for the Mother’s Day soirée you best bring a sack of White Castle! Well, this may be my new go-to move. My family got to feast on the new Impossible Slider, now available in all New York and New Jersey White Castles. Oh, and I got to Read more…
April 1, 2018
I tried dying Dandies for Easter… The color changed but they became so sticky! So I coated them with crystal sugar in assorted colors. Then, taking a bite, they felt just like Peeps! Ah, nostalgia. Hello, Pretty Happy Easter!
March 23, 2018
Why is it that January through March passes so quickly? To follow are tidbits of time in March, starting with the lemon bundt cake I made for my mother’s birthday. You get up and work and go home. This happens most days. Hopefully you do something important and worthy enough Read more…