Archive for Desserts
How to Make Pumpkin-Swirl Cheesecake
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As a kid I really disliked pumpkin flavored desserts. My gag reflex would automatically kick in as I mushed the pumpkin around in my mouth. Thinking back, it must have been the texture that really turned me off–most likely a mental thing. Thank goodness though that my tastes have changed over the years, or I would be missing out on some excellent foods (Asian dishes in particular) and desserts. Although I’m still not a raving fan of pumpkin desserts, I’m getting more used to, and even enjoying a number of them. Today’s post and recipe (pumpkin-swirl cheesecake) is one of those pumpkin delights that my anti-pumpkin taste buds have taken a liking to, joining the small list of pumpkin dishes I enjoy. At the top of that list is Great Harvest’s pumpkin chocolate chip bread, which I crave this time of year.
And now that I’m in the middle of writing this post, I realize I don’t have much else to say about it. Give this recipe a try, it really is good (that’s supposed to be convincing, by the way). On another note, after taking a picture of this delicious pumpkin dessert I decided that I needed to buy some different dishes for taking pictures in the fall. I think sunflowers are a little out of season, ha ha.
How to Make Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies
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I’m not sure how they’ve done it, but somehow the Girl Scout organization has developed a bunch of extraordinarily delicious cookies–I’m a huge fan of the Thin Mints and Somoas®–and maybe it’s just me, but it seems that you can only buy them once a year. If you miss the opportunity, you’re hosed. I have a really hard time saying no to their cookies and about anybody else who comes around selling brownies, cookies, and treats. When I hear a knock at the door, I’m always afraid it’s going to be an elementary kid with those big puppy dog eyes looking up at me saying, “Hey mister, would you like to buy some cookies?” Ahhh! I’ve resisted the temptation to buy cookies and brownies from kids knocking at my door only once before… or at least I thought about it once. Yeah, that’s it. I’m sure there’s got to be some sort of self-help classes for adults like me who can’t say no to strangers.
Well for those of you who are Girl Scout Cookie addicts like myself, your once-a-year wait is over. The other day while reading an article at BakingBites.com, I stumbled across a recipe to make homemade Girl Scout Cookie Thin Mints. A few days later around 9:00 p.m. I decided to make the thin mints. I should have read the entire recipe first because they take a while to make and I was up pretty late, but it was worth it. The cookies are a pretty darn good replication of the original Girl Scout Thin Mints.
Ninja Birthday Cake with Fondant
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Alright! I’m finally posting my ninja birthday cake. For my birthday this year (August 22nd, happy birthday to me) I was feeling a bit adventurous, wanting to deviate from the normal simple birthday cake and try something new and creative. I started searching the web for creative birthday cakes and came across a number of ‘mad hatter’ cakes (the kind that look lopsided as the cake ascends), but decided I didn’t have enough time to do that between my full-time job and only three days left before my birthday. Amidst this searching, the idea struck me to create a ninja cake. I drew out some ideas on a paper and finally decided on a simple double-layered chocolate cake with buttercream icing and marshmallow fondant. This was my first time working with fondant, and I found it rather enjoyable. I’ll share some lessons I learned when working with it a bit later.
Making the Marshmallow Fondant
I found an excellent Marshmallow Fondant recipe posted on Peggy Weaver’s Baking Corner. One of the reasons I chose this recipe is that it had detailed instructions and tips of how she makes the fondant work for her. So, here I am doing that fondant thang:
