Attack of Kugelholpf!!

I'm having a bad go of the TWD recipe's lately. The rugalesch looked oookay, but I wasn't that thrilled about them and I can't see spending money on ingredients and spending time in the kitchen on something I don't really really want to eat. So I let that one slide, but then when I saw Kugelhopf listed for this week, I knew that wasn't going to happen either....

I have memories of many many dry and tasteless experiences with this bread-cake that I don't want to return to. The mother of kids I used to tutor would stock up on this stuff around Christmas time and it seemed to hang out long past the new year. I had to pretend to like it on a constant basis. It irritates me that something that dares to look like cake can go and taste so awful. How dare it! I will not allow this wolf in sheep's clothing into my kitchen! Sorry....

Baked Alaska: A Sarah Palin Tribute

So I had read several suggestions for election night baking and cooking. My favorite suggestion was baked alaska. I have never eaten this, frankly, I've never even seen one in person. I've always wanted to have one of these and what better opportunity. This was my first attempt at making Merange. It was one of those things you have to have faith in. The moment you're about to call it quits, decide those white peaks are never going to appear, all of a sudden this white liquid undergoes a total physical change. And it's delicious. I wish I could say that my baked alaska's were great, but really, they were very difficult to put together and then in the frenzy of election night, I forgot them in the oven. We ended up eating ice cream soaked cookie and burnt marshmallow. But after all, what better tribute to Sarah Palin than a pretty looking disaster?

Cupcakes with Dorie

I am terrible at posting my Dorie experiments on time. I actually baked these on Tuesday but am only now posting. These stuck around the house for awhile. I think committing to eating a cupcake is a lot more difficult than grabbing an errant cookie or two. They were quite sophisticated. As Dorie says, not for kids!