The Repressed Pastry Chef

Cinnamon Roll Cake

Em — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 20:30:16 PDT

Quite a few months back I started seeing this cake pop up all over the various blogs I frequent. It looked so absolutely appealing that I found it completely irresistible. After all, it’s cake, cinnamon and drizzly-glazy-icing… a winning combination in my book! If you’re one of the few people left who hasn’t made this cake, you really should. It’s about as easy as can be… and it spends far more time in the oven that you’ll spend getting it there or to the plate!
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Fresh Apple Cake

Em — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 09:13:22 PDT

According to the calendar, Autumn has arrived… and in many parts of the country the temperatures are starting to cool off. That hasn’t completely been the case here in my part of Southern California but yesterday we finally had high’s in the 90’s instead off 100+ so I was definitely ready to bake something fall-like with apples! Of course I’m been saving lots of recipes during the seemingly endless hot hot summer so I had quite a few to choose from. One, in particular caught my eye rather recently and I decided to run with it. I’ve seen many Apple Cake recipes but this one from the King Arthur Flour company is a sure fired winner. As my husband said, “if you like apples, and you like cake, then this is the cake for you!” :)

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Vanilla Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Buttercream Frosting

Em — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:24:30 PDT

I know it’s been a while but I’m finally back :) I upgraded to the latest version of WordPress and it unfortunately didn’t like my blog template. That needed to be fixed… and it took a lot longer than I ever expected. In the interim, I was afraid to try and publish any new content so I (im)patiently waited it out :) But yes, I’m back and happy to bring you these super tasty vanilla cupcakes! Recently I was contacted by Singing Dog Vanilla asking me to try their vanilla extract. My first response was a resounding “sure thing!” and was even more pleased when they agreed to sponsor a giveaway for one of my blog readers! A giveaway in which the winner will have a choice between two different Singing Dog Vanilla products! A giveaway that will tap your creativity! A giveaway that is not limited to “US Residents Only”… this time it’s open to those of you in Canada as well so this giveaway really is a good thing!

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Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies… and a winner!

Em — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 21:19:58 PDT

Sadly, it’s the last 3-day weekend of summer in the US. Vacations are winding down, kids are returning to school and in some parts of the country cooler temps are right around the corner. I had been wanting to make these cookies for a while now but for some reason, tons of other recipes leapfrogged them on the “must make” list. Luckily, with the extra day this weekend I found some time to actually bake… and I finally made them. Oh sure, oatmeal cookies might not scream “yay – summertime” but if you ask me they’re a good cookie any time of year. And when they’re chewy… and have chocolate chips… they’re even better!

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Blueberry Lemon Coffeecake

Em — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 13:58:14 PDT

My little blog is just about 18 months old and in that time I’ve made lots and lots and lots of recipes. Most of them get posted here since I like to share… and most of them get taken to work since, well, I like to share :) What can I say – feeding people and knowing I personally made what they’re enjoying just makes me feel good. There are certain books and a short-list of websites I tend to gravitate toward when I’m looking to make something in particular. But there’s one specific website that stands head and shoulders above the rest when it comes to generating rave reviews of what I’ve made. In fact, the feedback I got when making this Blueberry Lemon Coffee cake was better than I ever imagined… nearly every comment fell along the lines of “this is simply perfect”.

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Roasted Roma Tomatoes

Em — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 12:30:11 PDT

As any foodie knows, you come across far more appealing recipes than you can realistically make. Sure everyone has their own personal “To Do” list but on top of that, cooks/bakers have their “Must Make” list. Put the two together and it can feel like a double-whammy comin’ atcha sometimes! LOL! I found this recipe while perusing my usual round-up of must-read blogs (thank heavens for feed-readers!) and it quickly moved up to the top of the “Must Make” list. I’m glad it did because this is one delicious light-snack / appetizer that’s fun to share… uhm… if you can ;)

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Vanilla Bean Ice Cream… and a giveaway

Em — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 21:12:40 PDT

No matter how much I like something, it’s hard for me to make it twice… especially twice in the span of a single week. The recipe has to be special… very special. And it has to be good… very good. And even so, there are bazilions of recipes for the same thing so why make one of them multiple times? Why not try other recipes for that same thing and perhaps find something {gasp!} even better? One of the exceptions to this, of course, is Dorie’s Perfect Party Cake. I’ve made that countless times… it’s THAT GOOD. Truth be told, right now I’m pretty darn full from dinner but could easily eat a slice of it right now… it’s THAT GOOD. But… I digress ;) I’ve been making quite a few ice cream recipes lately and loving them all. A couple of weeks ago I decided to try out a recipe for Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. I remembered how good things turned out when I used the David Lebovitz recipe for chocolate ice cream and searched his archives for a vanilla one. No lie… David Lebovitz can make ice cream. And I’m not talkin good ice cream… I’m talking fantastic, terrific, amazing, best-you-ever-had, jump-back-and-kiss-yourself, so-fabulous-that-you-make-it-two-weekends-in-a-row ice cream. Ice cream that’s so good it moved me to post an open letter about it on Twitter… something dorky like “Dear David Lebovitz, your vanilla bean ice cream is amazing… Love, Em”. Yeah, I toldja… dorky. But what can I say? This vanilla bean ice cream is so good I had no shame… I was moved to tweet about it! It’s THAT GOOD!

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Chocolate Chip Cookies… with Oreos

Em — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 16:30:08 PDT

A couple of weeks ago I tried a new recipe for chocolate chip cookies. If you’ve read my blog a few times or follow me on Twitter you know I have a big ol’ crush on Alton Brown. What can I say… talent, wit and just enough geek-boy in him to keep me interested in any show he does or book he writes or commercial he stars in. Yup… I got it reeeeeeeeeeeeal bad for Alton… and I’m not at all ashamed to admit it :) Alton’s show “Good Eats” is one of my favorites and I’ll watch the episodes repeatedly never getting bored or restless. In his episode Three Chips For Sister Marsha he provided us with three different chocolate chip cookie recipes… The Thin… The Puffy… and… The Chewy. Out of all the ridiculous number of chocolate chip cookie recipes I’ve tried, sadly most have turned out like “The Thin” so I have absolutely no desire to make that one. Previously I’ve made The Chewy and really liked them so this time I decided to try “The Puffy”. What I liked about that recipe was the cookies retain so much of their height. I know it’s all about personal preference but sorry me no likey flat chocolate chip cookies. When I made “The Puffy” the cookies were sooooo good that by the time I thought about blogging them, they were all gone! So this week when I came across the idea of making chocolate chip cookies… with Oreos… I knew exactly what base recipe I’d use. Once again… thank you Alton Brown!

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Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Em — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 22:35:24 PDT

Earlier this week a coworker showed me a recipe for Chocolate Zucchini Cake. He didn’t ask me to make it, but rather just showed me the recipe saying something along the lines of “isn’t this interesting”. Of course, he figured once he put the bug in my ear I’d make it. Some of my colleagues know me quite well ;) As luck would have it two things came into play… 1) I had two gorgeous zucchini in my fridge just waiting to be used for something special and 2) this coworker is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met – for him I’d make pretty much anything he wanted. Unfortunately I did not bookmark the recipe and when I went back to make it couldn’t find the site it was from. I turned to the internet figuring it would be easy to find… I mean, chocolate zucchini cake? Who ever heard of that? But I was surprised to see just how many Chocolate Zucchini Cake recipes are out there – trust me, a lot! After reading thru a whole bunch I decided on this one from the King Arthur Flour company. Back when I first started baking, I tried many of KAF’s recipes… and called their “baker’s helpline” (as I call it) many times with what I’m sure were extremely elementary questions. Yes, I was a total newbie and not ashamed to admit it… if only anonymously… and over the phone ;) At this point I’ve lost count of just how many recipes I’ve tried from King Arthur Flour. The results are pretty darn consistent and this is just one more that didn’t let me down ! This cake is rich, moist, chocolatey, fudgy, dark and… and… and absolutely delicious.

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Coconut Cake – and a giftcard winner

Em — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 09:05:39 PDT

Prior to 2008, to say I was not a fan of coconut would’ve been a supreme understatement. A more accurate way of phrasing it would be to say that I despised coconut with the intensity of a thousand burning suns… yup… that was pretty accurate alright. Then something happened. I don’t know what or why or how but sometime during the first quarter of 2008 I began to like coconut. Then about a year later I began to LOVE coconut and now I can’t seem to get enough of the stuff. Maybe it’s because I now bake coconut things myself instead of buying them from the store? No clue. The past couple/three weeks I’ve had a hankerin for coconut cake and came across a recipe from Paula Deen. It looked rather promising. You could say it piqued my interest. But as soon as I thought to add pineapple filling… my stomach shouted “hang a tag on that baby and consider it sold!”

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