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…
September 3, 2018
Back to school means back to lunch… back to lunch with the only heat source being my trusty mini-crockpot. So curry… not the most seasonally appropriate choice, but I’m going to need something hearty, flavorful, and a vehicle for my leftovers and pantry contents. And it was certainly the right 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…
August 15, 2018
It’s crazy to bake in this heat, yes. But it’s also crazy to not have a sweet bite on-hand given the frequency of my cravings. And I need to work out some kinks with food photography in my new space… like where is the best light? Definitely not in the Read more…
July 29, 2018
This is the time of year where I make a lot of parfaits. For one, it’s berry season and the farmers market has bright, beautiful berries a-plenty that bring those creepy Driscoll’s berries to shame. (Besides its labor practices, their berries pretty much taste like NOTHING.) For two, both my Read more…
June 23, 2018
Rainbow Cookies are one of my favorite sweet treats to make. And’ve come a long way since my first attempt in 2009. I used this wonderful recipe adaptation to make this 6-layer version in celebration of Gay Pride. On the food coloring front, I tried Chefmaster Liqua-Gel food coloring (confirmed vegan on Read more…
June 17, 2018
VCTOTW vanilla layers, coconut whip and strawberries… with a little lemon zest and one blackberry: This is what Dad wants. An oozy, creamy layer cake is what he gets. Happy Father’s Day!
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…
June 9, 2018
I’m going to tell you a fruit secret. Dragon Fruit, or Pitaya, though exotic looking both on the outside and inside, doesn’t have much flavor. But boy, wouldn’t she be a gorgeous addition to a parfait? Despite its complicated skin, it’s easy to get to the black-speckled flesh within. With 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 25, 2018
I love Floral Frosting‘s macaron recipes. I may have said this before. Here is my version of them in my characteristic over-explanatory fashion. Note that the start of them are the same steps in creating the best marshmallow fluff (previous post). Vegan Matcha Macarons Meringue 3/4 cup aquafaba (liquid drained Read more…
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…
March 14, 2018
As a math teacher, I am obligated to make a big stink about Pi Day (3/14). I made two pies from scratch last night after work while eating a PB&J sammy for dinner. Today, I incorporated them into the day’s activities. (For more, see my work blog here.) Now, I’m Read more…
March 3, 2018
Sometimes I make a double batch of cookies, then I make a batch of cupcakes with vanilla buttercream, then I make a lemon bundt cake (not pictured). Then, I bring them to my Mom for her birthday. Then I run the dishwasher. VCTOTW basic chocolate, of course. I tried to make Read more…
February 24, 2018
I had a craving for a marshmallow meringue-encased cake. Pretty specific, I know. But, a craving is a craving. So a marshmallow meringue-encased cake it will be! I made the s’mores cake from VCTOTW and a big batch of fluff. Then, getting fancy with some brulee action. Craving fulfilled.
January 7, 2018
(It’s a marshmallow world in the winter.) I am the smartest idiot I know. In fact, a lot of my smart parts efficiently glean wisdom from my idiocy. It’s like a regenerating pool of experience and folly, raw material for unlimited life lessons. In the embrace of the idiot side Read more…
December 20, 2017
I made marshmallow chocolate chip cookies for holiday gift-giving. And I’m too tired to say much more about it. But a picture is worth… yadda yadda yadda.
I’m so vanilla. I’ll take it over chocolate any day. But vanilla buttercream can be easy to mess up. And many do. So here are some tips to create perfect fluffy buttercream. 1.) Use Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s buttercream recipe from VCTOTW. It’s tried and true, and there ain’t no need Read more…