The mother of a neighbor child asked me to make her daughter’s birthday cake again this year. She wanted a three-layer cake with two white layers, top and bottom, a chocolate layer in the middle and with vanilla buttercream filling, top and sides, to provide cake for 18-20 people. I said that a 9″ cake … More Feliz Cumpleanos, otherwise Happy Birthday without the tilde
Having seen a friend’s post on Facebook yesterday concerning the requirements for items children bring to school to share on Valentine’s Day, I had sighed a little sigh. No gluten. No dairy. No peanuts or tree nuts. No candy. No sugar. Shortly thereafter, I agreed by text to an order of baked goodies for Valentine’s … More Valentine Goodies for children to take to school, now with gluten, dairy
“There’s a lot going on in there,” said a neighbor looking at a huge chunk of cake on its way to his family for dessert. Indeed. The cake has sourdough starter in it for one thing, so there’s a flavor that only an experienced palate will detect as well as adding moisture and density. The … More Juliyya’s Cherry Chocolate Coconut Sourdough Cake, Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing
Coincidences between events and the freezer began last week when I found out that I’d missed the birthday of one of the master gardeners whom I admire. I knew that he is quite fond of my blackberry ice cream and that, between his pie crust and my filling and ice cream, he, his wife and … More Blackberry Pie & Blackberry Ice Cream for a belated birthday
There was much fun and mixing in my kitchen this week in preparation for the birthday party of a young girl who will be six. She wanted a snowman cake, the description of which changed several times over the course of several days and, indeed, right up to the last moment when she decided that … More In the kitchen with juliyya: Adorable Snowman Cake for a birthday
I spent some summers during university years as a live-in cook/keeper for a family with a “cabin” in a country club on Bainbridge Island where they spent that part of the year. As with any family, they had a rotating menu of favorites for which the recipes were available for whatever cook was in the … More Mrs. W’s Tamale Casserole. Now with Sriracha. Also leaves, a Seattle crane.
A lovely neighbor gifted me with two bars of Seattle’s own Theo Chocolate, a pure and dark variety, which, in this house, means “Bake something with it.” Some people have suggested a deficit in the planned cookie menu for MsChef in Seattle upcoming shops, namely, a chocolate chip cookie. I’ve resisted because that cookie is … More Whoop-tee-doo Chocolate Shard Cookie, V.1, Seattle’s Theo Chocolate
Several years ago during a wander by the bakery aisle at one of the big West Coast grocery chains, I saw a slice of tuxedo cake that looked so different from the other cake slices in the case, was so attractive to someone who was hungry, had/has a sweet tooth and screamed “chocolate!” that I … More Tuxedo Cake from the Cakerie for my birthday
Having missed an opportunity to provide a friend with birthday goody, I asked what he’d like. Cake? Nah. Pie? Yes, please, real Southern Pecan Pie, dark and gooey, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. As much as I don’t like to make the crust, I did it anyway, making a single butter crust. There … More Southern Pecan Pie for a friend on my birthday, Crispy for me
You look up a recipe online. Another recipe on the side catches your eye, which it would because those sneaky corporate algorithms have enough of your search data to choose and place more appealing items on the periphery of whatever you’re reading. Yesterday such a recipe idea was making naan or pita or flatbread with … More Making Skillet Bread, serving it with marinated cold salmon and avocado
Ms Chef in Seattle 