A NEW CAKE

Something happens to me when RB's on band tour. About halfway through the time he's gone I find myself NEEDING indulgence. But then I have this little inner conflict were one side of me is like 'mmmmm, cake would be good!' and then the other side says 'but elizabeth! you can't eat a whole cake yourself!' So I usually push these thoughts out of my head until about the three week point where I finally break down and have to make 8 batches of cookies or something. Of course, it's timed perfectly cause I can pretend that I only made whatever sweet confection I did in anticipation of RB's arrival. Ha!

Sorry baby, it's really all about me.

So on Sunday I tried out this new ginger cake recipe that you can find here. Let's take a look at the mise en place, shall we?:

This cake contains flour, a bit of sugar, cinnamon, black pepper & cloves, water, vegetable oil, eggs, molasses, baking powder and 4 oz fresh grated ginger.

I don't own a kitchen scale so I really just faked what I thought four ounces might be (I tried to imagine four shot glasses). Anyway, there was a lot of ginger-peeling and ginger-grating going on until I felt like I'd accumulated enough.

Mixing+ melting+ creaming + an hour later:

And the verdict? Well, I think this is a rather nice little cake. I could've upped the ginger content quite a bit without the flavour becoming overpowering, nevertheless the cake was lovely and moist and tasted delicious. It's really not very sweet at all and so would work great as a base for, say, a rich cream cheese icing (which I don't like) or maybe a quick salted caramel sauce and spiced whipped cream (which I do like, very much).

Go forth and make cake.

PERFECTION/CONFECTION

As you may be able to tell with the heart theme throughout, this is a project that I had intended to finish before Valentine's day. Unfortunately V-day just came too quickly and the cupcakes (a white cake) were tossed into the freezer, forced to wait until I had the time to give them the perfect, over-the-top frosting.

The two flavors of inspiration for the icing, lavender and coconut.

Delicious ribbon coconut.

And the far too sweet lavender.

FOR MMH FROM ERH

Speaking of baking... I can't wait to get into my kitchen with my brand new, one-of-a-kind apron. So thank you Elizabeth, it's perfect.

MADE A CHOCOLATE PIE

Why? Well, it's Wednesday, for one. Also, I don't feel like doing laundry and baking is an excellent procrastination tool (no one complains). Third, chocolate is good for what ails you and I know someone who needs a little pampering. Finally, I just happened to have the necessary ingredients on hand.

Bam! Chocolate pie.

p.s. Mary, love the new tart pans.

ZUCCHINI IN JANUARY

Good morning! ..er well almost. I'm sorry for the lazy-day posting, but I was terribly busy this morning sleeping in and exercising and eating these amazing muffins. How about I just give you the recipe and then you can make them too, sound good?
These muffins are great and hearty (but not overly healthy) and are a quick way to use up shredded zucchini you may have in your freezer.

Pistachio Zucchini and Carrot Muffins:
(adapted from my mother's Zucchini Muffin recipe)

3 eggs
3/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup canola/vegetable oil
1/4 cup light or golden honey
3/4 - 1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups shredded zucchini*
1 cup shredded carrot

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cardamom
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup chocolate chips (optional)
1/2 cup finely chopped pistachios, plus extra to sprinkle on tops
1 & 1/2 cups roughly chopped walnuts
1 tsp salt (if using pre-salted pistachios, only add a pinch of salt)

*since my zucchini was frozen and then defrosted I was able to remove much of the excess liquid. If yours is still quite moist, you may want to use up to 1 & 1/2 cups sugar, but add no honey.

Sift together flours, baking soda and powder, spices, and salt. Stir in oats, chocolate chips, and nuts. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, oil, applesauce, sugar, and honey. Add vanilla and stir in zucchini and carrots. Add the dry ingredients to the zucchini mixture and fold together until just mixed. Distribute into pre-greased muffin tins and top with a pinch of chopped pistachios. Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Makes 24 muffins.

NEVER TOO LATE

These were the lovely gingerbread that I made back in December. Just uploaded the photos now, but considering how I still have a half a tin of these boys and girls in my freezer, I don't think it's too late to show them off. Come on over if you'd like to share them with me -- I saw the grocery store still has eggnog too.

ONE DAY, FOUR RECIPES

I watched Home Alone and I baked. -- Gingerbread coming soon.





Neapolitan Cookies.





Lime Meltaways.





Crisp Salted Oatmeal White Chocolate Cookies.





Chocolate Peppermint Cookies.

HERE I GO

Okay, so I'm already over an hour behind schedule. That's alright because I'm listening to A Charlie Brown Christmas.

CROSBY + COOKIES

This year I am spending my first and hopefully only Christmas away from home. Within my family I have always been, above all others, a stickler for tradition. I have not gone so far as to try to bring a tree home (with no car) into my tiny apartment, but I did bring my two four foot tall cedars in from the balcony and there are indeed presents sitting below them. I am, no joke, listening to Bing Crosby's "Merry Christmas" as I type this.

There are a few specific things about Christmas at home that I will miss the most (other than everyone I love) and I figured I better find a way to recreate them for myself. For example I plan on making a huge feast of a brunch on Christmas morning for myself and the bf. But long before that time I hope to have a huge cookie baking day in my little kitchen. Likely I will be the only one toiling away due to my crazy schedule this month, but Christmas cookie baking was always something I had so much fun doing. For the last several years my mother and my aunt have hosted any family members who want to take part in a mad day of endless cookie baking (it always seems to be only women who participate). Everyone gets to include a favorite recipe and there are plenty for everyone to take home and share.

Right now I am trying to decide on which recipes I will be making during my mini bake-off. So far I have bookmarked these Crispy Salted Oatmeal cookies from Smitten Kitchen that would be great with dried cranberries too; decadent Chocolate Crinkles cookies from Cannelle et Vanille; and Pecan Bars and Lemon Pistachio Wreaths, both from Martha Stewart. Oh and of course there will be gingerbread.

Does anyone have any great holiday cookies recipes that I just can't miss out on? Better yet, does anyone want to come over for a day of baking?