Blog Events

PPQ: Tropical Carrot Cake Cupcakes

March 18, 2012
Tropical Carrot Cake with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting

Emily of A Gilt Nutmeg selected this week’s Project Pastry Queen challenge: Tropical Carrot Cake with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting. And like just about every other cake in The Pastry Queen, it’s a gigantic, impressive, and fabulous dessert. I absolutely love this carrot cake – it’s my second favorite recipe. It has the unusual addition [...]

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PPQ: Individual Tiramisu with Homemade Ladyfingers

March 11, 2012
Individual Tiramisu

Tiramisus? I’m playing catchup with last week’s Project Pastry Queen challenge: Tiramisu with Homemade Ladyfingers, chosen by Sarah of 20 Something Cupcakes. Homemade ladyfingers are one of those things that deserve to be on everyone’s Baking Bucket List. They’re softer, more tender, and much more flavorful with a healthy dose of vanilla. They would really [...]

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Old Friends, New Faces, and a KitchenAid Lunch

March 6, 2012
Orange County

Last week, I jetted off to Orange County for a bloggers’ luncheon hosted by White on Rice Couple and KitchenAid. I was on the ground for 23 hours. In that short time, I discussed former-Presidential-candidates/current-Texas-governors with the cashier at Trader Joe’s, hoarded PoundPlus chocolate, chatted with 39 other bloggers, ate way too much of the [...]

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PPQ: Totally Rummy Pound Cake

February 26, 2012

I chose this week’s Project Pastry Queen recipe, Totally Rummy Pound Cake. It was cake + booze. Surely it would be a winner. But if I could do it all over again, I’d go back and choose a different recipe. Because it turns out that I’m not as big a fan of rum as you’d [...]

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PPQ: The Cake That Nearly Killed Me

February 20, 2012
Mexican Chocolate Cake with Cinnamon Vanilla Bean Buttercream

This week’s Project Pastry Queen challenge was selected by Jen of Sweet Morris: Mexican Chocolate Fudge-Pecan Cake. And I’ll be honest. It nearly killed me. Or at least started a day that nearly killed me. If you learn nothing from today, make sure that you always keep your kitchen countertops clean. Especially the area surrounding [...]

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PPQ: Silken Chocolate Raspberry Tart

February 5, 2012
Chocolate Raspberry Tart

Just in time for Valentine’s Day the Super Bowl lunch. This week’s Project Pastry Queen challenge was selected by Amanda of Homekeeping Adventures: Silken Chocolate Walnut Tart. As written, it’s a rich chocolate tart with a layer of walnuts hidden inside. I eliminated the walnuts and replaced the recommended rum and a couple tablespoons of [...]

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