HCB: Génoise Tres Café

January 23, 2011 by Monica in Baking, Baking Club, Cake, Cookbooks, Desserts, HCB, Sweets

See that pretty picture above of the pretty cake.

It looks all innocent like.

But, don’t let it fool you.

Because that pretty, innocent cake did not play nice with me.

You would figure that after almost a year of baking with the HCB group, I would have certain steps engrave in my brain. And that list of steps should read like this:

READ THE WHOLE RECIPE, not once, not twice, not three times, but four times
READ IT AGAIN, just in case.
Stop being confident and cocky.
No trash talk back to the cake

Instead it reads like this:

Crème Brulée

January 20, 2011 by Monica in Baking, Desserts, Entertaining

See the beauty up above? (the custard, not the flower)

It takes fifteen minutes to put together – I know, I timed it myself.

And then you have to wait 4 hours to eat it – I know, we looked at the clock a total of (and I’m not kidding) a hundred times.

HCB: White Velvet Cake with Milk Chocolate Ganache

January 09, 2011 by Monica in Baking, Cake, Cookbooks, Decorating, Desserts, HCB

This past Saturday was my best friends birthday.

“M” and I known each other for over 20-plus years - more if I really count, but then that means that I’m old, as in really old and who wants to be reminded of that?

“M” and I meet in junior high school. It was at the bus stop and the new kid in town and she approached me and asked me what my name was, simple as that, straight to the point and fearless. Turned out we had a lot in common. After that we pretty much became inseparable, we lived in the same street, only 10 houses away from each other. Summer were spent by the pool, at first splashing, and then as we got older trying to pick the cool boys up. She has been there thru my first kiss, my first boyfriend, my first heartbreaks, my freaked outs, my many moves around the city and then out of the country. We have lived together, we have traveled together, we have each other’s backs. She has witness all of my failures, my success and everything in between. And she has always been there, a steady beacon to my chaotic life. I cannot image my life without her in it. It just would not make sense.