Sadly, I didn’t have time to do May’s Daring Bakers Challenge. But my kitchen has still been busy. I had an Easter cake to whip up (when I say “whip,” I mean 12 hours of work) and another cake a couple weeks later for my dad’s birthday/mother’s day. Also attended a couple concerts. Busy busy busy.
First was the Easter cake. I’ve had a duck cake pan for quite some time and never used it. So I decided to make the duck cake (chocolate) and decorate it in flowers to look Easter-y. But it couldn’t just stand alone, so I put it on a yellow cake lake with a couple rice crispy ducklings. Turned out quite well, though there were a couple details I would have liked to add but didn’t have time.
The next cake was dual purpose that fairly seamlessly worked together. Half was for my dad’s birthday that featured a modeling chocolate dinosaur, which in no way was a reference to that fact that he just turned 60. The other half was flowery for Mother’s Day. A blue sky with scattered clouds was above both scenes. The idea was good, but I only spent about 4 hours decorating it. It could definitely have been more professional, but I also didn’t want to use fondant. It’s not my favorite medium.
Other than that, I’ve still been churning out cookies. Ari Hest and Matt Wertz each were in town, so I took them some goodies and guitar picks. I flew to Minneapolis to see Bob Schneider and his fantastic band/crew with a few Bob Bars and derby pie bars since it was Kentucky Derby Day. And a couple days ago I went to see the Script in Los Angeles so I made them my renown fortune cookies with personalized fortunes for the band members. One of Danny’s cookies simply had my phone number in it. He hasn’t called yet, by the way. I didn’t have enough time to personalize fortunes for the crew too. Those things take long enough to make as it is. They also got Bob Bars (no fail) and white chocolate chip craisin cookies.
Right now, there are no concerts on the calendar for the next two months. That will probably change, but in the meantime, I’m going to try to come up with some signature recipes. Will probably focus on the standard chocolate chip cookie first. Usually I just make the recipe from the nestle bag. But I’d like to see what I can do with making my own recipes. Will take some time and I’m sure there will be several taste-testers involved, but we’ll see if I can create the most delicious cookie.
All Things Crafty 