HCB: Apple Caramel Charlotte

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Disclaimer: this post is long and there is a bit of a rant.  Just as long as making this cake was and reading about it.

A few months ago, I was emailing with Jenn from Knitty Baker and we were discussing those cakes that were still left to do in our HCB list and this one in particular came about in conversation.  We both were totally dreading it.

With 7 pages of instructions and 7 different steps, we knew it was going to take A LOT of resilience and baking savvy to do this one.  Jenn was hoping that Marie would give us this one on a long weekend so we would have more time to plan for it.  I was hoping that Marie would have a total Opps-y moment and would forget about this one.

We totally jinx ourselves.  Because not even a week after this whole discussion took place - there is was in the baking list, and NOT on a long weekend.

This cake, even from the start was a total Prima Donna, and not in a good way.  Did you know that the word “diva” means evil in some parts of the world?
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ABC: All American Chocolate Cake with Divinity Frosting and Milk Chocolate Paint

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After having crashed and burned on the last chocolate offering on my other baking clubs, this recipe, from the ABC choice of the month had a very high expectations even before I read the whole recipe.  

My reasoning behind it was that after having baked four recipes from Flo Braker book none have disappointed me.  So we were 4 for 4.  Can we make five?

My first tip to you is this.  Bake the cake a day ahead, while is NOT a complicated cake to make, and nowhere in the instructions does it tell you to do this, I’m going to highly recommend you do. The high crumb level on this cake will make frosting a bit of a mess.  So I opted to make the cake a day ahead and place in the refrigerator to chill.  When frosting time came, it was smooth sailing all the way.

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HCB: Gold Ingots {Financiers}

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This past weekend I have been up to my ears in flour, butter, sugar, spatulas, and every single piece of baking equipment in my kitchen.

In order words, I think I have baked myself OUT.

Is that even possible?

I think it may be.  And just like my vast weekend-baking, there is going to be a substantial amount of posting to cover all of it.

So let’s start with the easy one.  This weeks Heavenly Cake Baker’s choice was the Gold Ingots.  Or better knows as Financiers, or at our house: “those little cakey-thingy’s-that are-yummy”

I kid you not, that is what we are calling them.  Nobody can say Financiers and Tom refuses to call them Ingots, because he said that he is not eating a bar of molted gold. (I cannot make these things up – trust me.  My house = Crazy).

But, I’m getting off topic here.  Back to the cakey-thingy’s-that are-yummy.

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