52 weeks of baking

This year I decided that I would have a New Year's resolution that I could stick to. I thought about it for a while and eventually landed on baking. So with my trusty mixer and collection of pans, I set off on a 52 week baking adventure. It's been a fun journey and there have been some ups and downs, but we've finally arrived at week 52.

This week I had a bunch of bananas slowly rotting on my counter. Normally, I would turn this sort of thing into a loaf or two of banana bread. However, I wanted to end this series on a more spectacular note, and plain old banana bread just wouldn't cut it. So I brainstormed and came up with Banana Cupcakes with a Dulce de Leche filling and Chocolate Buttercream frosting. They came together quickly, and were a real treat to my sweet tooth. To get the recipe, read more

This year I decided to pick a New Year's resolution that I could stick with, and that's how I ended up on my 52 weeks of baking adventure. We're 51 weeks in, and I've surprised my friends and myself with some interesting baked goods. It's definitely been a challenging experience; I've had some inventions that came out better than anticipated, as well as some downright disasters. Overall it's been a great learning experience — if a messy one, as my kitchen's been filthy for a year! — and I hope I've inspired you to get baking!

There's one more treat on the way, but until then here are my favorite six of the year. Clockwise from the top left, they are:

• Bubbly Pear Cupcakes
• Rich, Fudgy Brownies
• Peach Puzzle
• Goatbread Cookies
• Orange Blossom Pound Cake
• Soft Baked Pretzels

This week, with all of the gingerbread and holiday baking, I thought it would be nice to make a simple cake to pair with coffee. Many folks have friends and family staying at their house this season and a coffee cake is something that whips up quickly and is perfect to have on hand. It works as a simple breakfast, and is delightful with an afternoon cup of tea. This particular recipe is a coffee-chocolate swirl, although I thought the coffee flavor could be heightened. The crumb is nice and moist, but be careful, there's a small window between perfect and overdone. To get the recipe, read more

CasaSugar and I recently got into a debate over who could make the best gingerbread house. I hadn't actually made one from scratch ever, and was about 10 years old when I last put one together. However neither of these things stopped me from talking up how great my house would be. I had the best plans and great ideas; only problem was I didn't have a recipe and didn't know where to begin. So I did some research, rolled up my sleeves, and started mixing. The recipe I found — from Bon Appétit — actually makes way more gingerbread than necessary for one house. With all the leftover dough I decided to make a few gingerbread men. Only problem was, I didn't actually have a gingerbread-man cutter. So I used a knife and freestyled.

The end result was a gingerbread man with one arm larger than the other. I fixed that problem by piping on an icing cast. His neck also received a hairline fracture because I moved it to the cooling rack before it was ready. I covered this up by piping a little tie on him. And since he had a tie, I felt he needed a cellphone, too. No matter what you end up doing, just have a good time. I'm going to share details on my house later this week, and now I'm off to invest in a good gingerbread-man cookie cutter!

To get the gingerbread recipe I used, read more

This week my family has been throwing around a barrage of bad lawyer jokes. Why? My sister passed the bar and was officially sworn in as a lawyer! When I found out the good news, I thought it would be fun to celebrate by baking up something special. At first I tried to find a cake that screamed "Counselor" or "Esquire" to me, but then the obvious choice came to mind. One of her least favorite things in law school was tort reform, so I knew that a chocolate torte would be perfect. I also knew that I'd have to some how make it "reformed." It seemed to fit the spirit of the bad jokes, so I went about finding a recipe.

The one I decided on was pretty standard — although I wish I'd spent a little bit more time researching, this particular recipe is a bit dry — but instead of serving it as a traditional layer cake, I served it layered in a fancy wine glass. I dolloped it with whipped cream and sprinkled it with a bit of cocoa powder. The end result is a simple but elegant dessert; one fit for a new lawyer.

To check out my version of "Torte Reform," read more

There are only a few weeks left in my 52 weeks of baking resolution, so I'm trying to find things on my "I can't believe I haven't made these before" list. Cream puffs were near the top of that list, but after last night, I'm officially able to cross them off.

I found a pastry recipe that looked simple and yielded a large haul of puffs. However, instead of a traditional custard cream — there wasn't enough time to let it set — I went with a whipped cream filling and a chocolate glaze. While mine isn't quite a traditional French Croquembouche — aka stacked cream puffs coated with caramel — it does work as a modern twist. To get the recipe that I put together on a weeknight just read more

I don't know about you guys, but after a week of cooking and prepping for Thanksgiving, I am looking forward to a few days of rest and relaxation. That said, I've decided to cheat a little bit on this week's baking project. I wanted to figure out a way to use all the turkey leftovers, without causing a lot of work. So, instead of making my own pastry crust, I decided to pick up two premade crusts and turn them into two different turkey pot pies.

I only have one pie dish, so I put half of the mixture in it and inverted one of the pie crusts as a top crust. For the other pie, I put in half the mixture and topped with leftover mashed potatoes, creating a shepherd's pie.

Plan now for Friday's leftovers, pick up two extra pie crusts and call it a day. To get the easy recipe, read more

I originally thought I'd make a classic Thanksgiving pie for this week's baking project. However, as you may know, pie crust tends to thwart me. So instead of struggling about, I started thinking about ways to make a pie without making a pie. Eventually, I landed upon the idea of a pecan pie cookie and after a bit of googling, I found a recipe that sounded just right. The result — a thumb-print cookie with a caramelized-pecan filling — was definitely reminiscent of pecan pie, only a lot easier to put together. If you're looking for a treat for an upcoming Thanksgiving potluck, then look no further, get the recipe, just read more

I was searching for a final cookie recipe to round out National Cookie Month when I stumbled across one that looked like caramel apples. They were so cute and seemed like the perfect Halloween treat, so I headed to the store and grabbed a bag of caramels. The cookies themselves are pretty simple to make; they're basically a dyed sugar cookie dipped in caramel and put on a stick! To get the recipe and start bobbing for your own "apples," read more

I was flipping through the lastest issue of Sunset magazine when these cute little pumpkins caught my eye. Not only were they adorably festive, but they were full of custard too! I immediately sent YumJimmy to the store to find pumpkins, while I prepped the kitchen for baking. Unfortunately, the store didn't have baby pumpkins, so I had to make do with mid-sized ones. The custard, which is a savory one, came out wonderfully silky — almost like a silken tofu — and the flavor was subtle — almost too subtle, I actually had to load up on salt and pepper afterwards — and it was so fun to look at too!

While this particular recipe is savory —and, if using the right pumpkins, comes together in 30 minutes — the pumpkin vessel can be used for any flavor custard. I definitely plan on trying it again with a pumpkin custard!

If all of this pumpkin talk has you interested, check out the recipe, just read more