Sweet And Crumby

Baking, a Love Story

Monthly Archives: August 2010


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Chocolate Strawberry Truffle Cake and the Speed of Life

Imagine biting into the perfect strawberry chocolate truffle from a ridiculously expensive box of chocolates but in cake form. That is what I was going for when my daughter requested a strawberry chocolate cake for her twelfth birthday celebration.  I looked all over the internet and searched through my cookbooks, but did not quite find what I had in mind.  So I pieced together recipes from three different sources to get exactly what I was imagining…a chocolate strawberry truffle in a lovely slice of cake.

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Lindsey’s Lick the Plate Butter Cake

This rich, moist, golden cake is a butter cake, not a pound cake, but a spongy, soft and fancy bundt version.  This beautiful cake was baked by my own blog super-fan and chef extraordinaire, Lindsey.  She is my twelve-year-old niece, and she can whip up anything flat…just try her!  I dare you.

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A Smokin’ Pink Pizza

It’s funny but most of my outings, even when totally directed at something other than food, leave a food imprint on my memory.

Every year I go to the Pasadena Showcase House of Design to tour a multimillion dollar mansion, gawk at the over-the-top rooms that each designer showcased, hang out with my mom and eat a light dinner at the on-site catering provided by a local restaurant. Continue reading →


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Death by the No Nut Chocolate Cookies

My favorite cookbook hands down is Death By Chocolate by Marcel Desaulniers. I can’t say that I’ve actually made more than 10 of the 30 or so recipes, but every recipe I have tried is my new favorite.  These triple chocolate cookies are one of those favorites.

They are dark, extra chocolatey, soft with just a slightly crisp outer layer, and they are just a tiny bit salty.  Can you think of a more perfect cookie?  You can?  It’s missing something perhaps?  I know, some of you out there are literally jumping up and down shouting…”Where the heck are the nuts?”  What was SHE THINKING? Continue reading →


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Jealousy and a Fully Booked Tomato Tart

My heirloom tomato tart and I have sort of a love hate relationship going on.  It is delicious, ridiculously simple to make and looks like a million bucks…see?

It is a truly dependable and spectacular tasting tart so why the animosity you may wonder.  Well…I am getting very suspicious  that the invitations I am receiving to various dinners and parties are actually an invitation for that little tart of a tart you see there. Continue reading →


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Prim and Proper Black and Whites and the No Apron Kitchen

Black and White cookies are the perfect finale to any deli experience.  If done right, they are soft and tender, rich and smooth.  They are the soul mate to an icy, cold glass of milk.  This particular recipe from the All-American Cookie Book is that kind of nostalgic deli-style black and white.

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An Almost Grasshopper Pie Parfait

Life has its share of epic fails, and so does my kitchen unfortunately.  Cakes can just flat out refuse to come out of their pans, omelets will stage a sit-in and end up as scrambled cheesy eggs, and sometimes, Grasshopper Pies turn into parfaits.

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A Pumped Up Zucchini and a Glorious Cake Mistake

I didn’t know it until this blog, but apparently I am a bundt person.  I hadn’t realized it until just a few posts into this whole blogging thing and low and behold I am already on my second bundt.  This blog is really helping me to get to know myself better and to my surprise I love big bundts.  Pun intended.  Sorry! Continue reading →


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Two Rocky Road Cupcakes and the Bad List

These Rocky Road cupcakes are a perfect example of my tug-of-war with my family over good taste.  My daughter and I had to make two versions of these lovely cupcakes to please both sides of the food spectrum at my house. You know that old song, “You say tomato (to-may-to) and I say tomato (to-maw-to), You say, Po “tay” to and I say Po “taw” to…Let’s Call the whole thing off?”  Well that is sort of the story of my food life at our house.  Here is version two of the Rocky Road cupcake with Coconut and Peanuts. Continue reading →


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Counterfeit Peanut Butter Fudge Cupcakes

Anything counterfeit is by definition a phony, an imposter, not as good as the original.  So this post is not here to tell you that these decadent little cakes can even hold a candle to that Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake perfection on the Smitten Kitchen blog site.  But I can tell you this…it does pack a GOOD one-two punch on the peanut butter and chocolate front and it is easy, peasy for those days when you must have chocolate and peanut butter cake wonderfulness NOW as in AS FAST AS POSSIBLE!

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