Month: April 2025

Alright, let me tell you what I did the other day. I had this bag of store-bought mini cream puffs sitting in the freezer, you know? And they were… okay. But it got me thinking, I could probably make better ones myself and freeze them. So, I decided to give it a shot. Making the Puff Shells First thing, I got out a saucepan. Put ...

So, I got my hands on one of those electronic spoon scales the other day. Been seeing them around and thought, why not give it a try? Seemed potentially useful for small stuff in the kitchen. First thing, getting it out of the box. Pretty straightforward, no complex assembly required, thankfully. It needed a battery, one of those small coin cell types, which I had ...

Getting Started with Those Fancy Molds So, I finally got my hands on some of those shortbread molds. Saw them online, thought they looked pretty neat, maybe make the cookies look a bit more special, you know? Mine are the wooden kind, traditional looking. Seemed simple enough. First thing, mixing up the shortbread dough. I just used my usual recipe, nothing fancy. Maybe slightly chilled ...

Okay, so today was the day to finally tackle glazing that fruit cake. It’s been sitting there, wrapped up, doing its thing for weeks. Pulled it out. Looked alright, smelled good, rich and boozy like it should. First up, the sticky layer Right, before the white stuff, gotta put down the marzipan. Some people skip this, I usually do it. Makes a smoother finish, I ...

Alright folks, gather ’round! Today, I’m spilling the beans on my latest kitchen adventure: resurrecting an old stainless steel flour sifter. You know, the kind your grandma probably used? Yeah, that one. The Backstory: I stumbled upon this sifter at a flea market. It was rusty, dusty, and looked like it had seen better days. But, something about it just screamed “restore me!” So, naturally, ...

Alright folks, gather ’round! Today I’m spilling the beans on my fruitcake glazing adventure. It was… an experience, to say the least! It all started with a craving. A deep, unshakeable need for a gloriously glazed fruitcake. So, I dug out my grandma’s recipe (the one she swore was a family secret) and got to work. The cake itself? Nailed it! Moist, packed with fruit, ...

Alright, let’s talk about my adventures in bread-making land, specifically with a honey wheat bread machine recipe. I’m no expert baker, but I love the smell of fresh bread in the house, and the bread machine makes it ridiculously easy. So, here’s the lowdown on how it went down. First off, I gathered all my ingredients. Based on a recipe I found online (tweaked a ...

Okay, so I decided to try making those carrot cake dessert cups I saw somewhere. Sounded pretty good, and I had some carrots needing to be used up anyway. Getting Started First things first, I grabbed the carrots. Had about three decent-sized ones. Got out the grater – you know, the standard box grater. Started shredding them. It’s always a bit messy, carrot bits flying ...

Alright, let’s talk about this Stafford County flour. I’d been seeing the bag around, you know, the simple paper kind. Heard some folks mention it, saying it was decent, no-nonsense stuff. My usual brand was getting kinda pricey, and honestly, sometimes it felt a bit… processed? So, I figured, why not give this Stafford County All Purpose a try. Found it down at the local ...

So, I picked up one of those madeleine cake molds a while back. You see those little shell-shaped cakes in cafes and think, “Hey, I could make those.” Seemed simple enough, right? Just a different shaped cupcake, basically. That’s what I thought anyway. Got the pan, it was a standard metal one, non-stick they called it. Felt sturdy enough. Washed it, dried it, ready to ...