Seattle

Berger Bakes is going on brief hiatus as my mixer will be shipped back to Seattle. In the next few weeks I will be taking care of Louie the French Bulldog. This picture explains everything.

Cake

After a rough couple of days there is nothing like a cake fresh out of the oven to lift your spirits. I decided to go with a spice cake with peanut butter buttercream. With the spring weather switching from warm to cold, it was time to go with something that brings me back to a happy time. I love the fall and the month of October, and this spice cake really brought me back. The recipe was out of Rose's Heavenly Cakes and came out just wonderful. I highly recommend this book to any lover of cakes. I used nuefchatel cheese instead of regular cream cheese, which made the buttercream less creamy but still delicious.

Cookies

A couple nights ago I was in the mood for some cookies, and while chocolate chip oatmeal cookies make a regular appearance in apartment 306, I decided to venture outside the norm. These are chocolate puddle cookies from 101 Cookbooks. They are delicious. I cut the recipe in half because they are so sweet and one can go a long way, but they are crunchy and light on the outside and gooey in the middle.

Spring

This weekend marked the first day of spring and the most beautiful weather of the year. With this came long walks outside, grayhounds on the roof deck, sandal shopping and the incessant drumming and chanting of protesters through my windows starting promptly at 8:00 a.m. On the eve of the Health Care Reform vote, I made my first attempt at baking a cake from the aforementioned Rose's Heavenly Cakes book. This cake had a secret ingredient: tomato soup. A delicious chocolate cake with tomato soup. Sound weird? Rest assured, it was delicious and made the chocolate stand out even more. Sad to see another great weekend come to an end.

Cake

I was pleasantly surprised this weekend with a book strictly on cake (thanks Ian). Most of my baking books have been lacking in the cake section, but this book is filled to the brim with delicious recipes. I thought there was no better way to start this blog than with my new book.

Disclaimer: cakes that look nothing like this are soon to come.