Sweet And Crumby

Baking, a Love Story

Category Archives: Cakes


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It’s Peanut Butter Jelly Time

You are kindly asked to step away from this post if you are not a PBnJ sandwich fan.  Please. Because if you aren’t this cake seriously is NOT for you.  But if you ARE, or at least someone at your house is, well then you are in for quite a treat because this Peanut Butter and Jelly snack cake is the epitome of the perfect PBnJ sandwich IF it were baked to warm and tender goodness and elevated to cakedom.

I am trying to think of a way to get you to imagine what my house smelled like when this was baking.  Close your eyes for a minute and picture your typical PBnJ sitting right in front of you.  Now toss it into a hot oven and inhale the warm and salty, peanut-y aroma as the peanut butter oozes and melts out the sides, and the sweet tanginess of the raspberry jam as it sizzles a bit as it touches the pan and creates a carmelized jam essence. It smelled like peanut butter and jelly heaven. Continue reading →


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The Sordid Tale of My Infamous Cointreau Cake

This totally drunk out of its mind Devil’s Food Cointreau cake has a bit of a sordid past I’m afraid. My parents, although very conservative, seemed to veer from the straight and narrow path in regards to child-rearing on one particular issue; anything done in the name of good food was not only acceptable but revered.

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Nostalgic Angel Food Cake and An Argument for “Made from Scratch”

—In light of the Alabama tornado storm devastation, I ask that as you read this Angel Food cake post, you think about how much it means when someone reaches out to you during a crisis and becomes your “angel”. If you are in a position to make any donation, please click the link to donate to the American Red Cross at redcross.org or by texting REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. I also ask that bloggers who feel inclined copy and paste this at the top of their post.  Thank you! 

Angel Food Cake is one of the those beautiful things that seems to have fallen by the wayside.  It’s a rarity these days to see it in a bakery or on someone’s dining table; at least around here in L.A.

Angel Food cakes are just not hip or of the moment. They are not a fancy French Macaron, nor are they crumbled with bacon, and they most certainly do not require slicing  in thirds for breathtaking fillings. Continue reading →


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Imperfection and a Black and White Cake

I am afraid I have not been totally honest with you, my faithful readers.  I look back on many posts and see things that have literally been sugar coated; made pretty for the camera, better than they truly appear in my kitchen.  This cake slice is a perfect example.

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A Whopper of a Cake

I know, those of you who have been faithful followers since way back in the day (July) have seen it, been there, done that, but it seems I have alot of new followers and since I haven’t been baking this weekend, I will share this crazy delicious Devil’s Food cake with malted frosting.

This creamy, malted, chocolatey cake is as it implies…it is a whopper of a cake.

It’s everything a cake should be. First and foremost,
for it to be ALL THAT, it MUST BE chocolate

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April Fool’s Faux Fries and A Chocolate Chipped, Orange Zested Pound Cake Ticket to Crazy Place

I can’t do anything normal, the obvious way, the “exactly according to the recipe” way.  Sometimes it works for me and sometimes it doesn’t.  Today it worked; really, really worked.

Let’s start at the beginning, shall we?  I am a fool for April Fool’s Day. We celebrate big time over here and we even have had an April Fool’s Day birthday party since my daughter, Zoie,  was born in early April (Sorry Grace, I believe you were the one who had the first piece of the mashed potato frosted meatloaf birthday “cake”). Continue reading →


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Balsamic Dark Cherry Sauce Over Fallen Chocolate Cake

Have you ever…

Fallen crazily in love?

Fallen down, way down, with no glimpse of the sky?

Fallen, literally, into a mud puddle, or down a flight of stairs or simply between the cracks?…

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Thin Mint Obsessed? To. Die. For. Chocolate Mint Cupcakes

If you like Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies, then you have come to the right place. Or if you are simply a fan of the deepest, richest, chocolate cupcake with creamy mint frosting, then you are also in the right place.  On the other hand, if chocolate just does not rock your world, please feel free to move on.  I will contemplate whether you are allowed to return.  Kidding…just kidding.

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Three Girls, Two Mochi Cakes and One World Thinking Day

This modern day Mochi cake is a chewy, coconut flavored Japanese pastry that was introduced to me by my niece, Lindsey, a budding chef and possibly my numero uno commentor on this site.  She is enamored with Japanese culture; She brings a Bento box lunch to school, reads stacks of Manga, bakes Japanese pastries and the list goes on.  She is not Japanese.  Her mother is actually from Vietnam and her father is from the United States.

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Flash Back to the Eighties Inside-Out Ding Dong Cake

Just for the record, I think this dark, devilish and creamy cake is what you might imagine a Ding Dong would be if you were in heaven; if it were actually made for YOU by Dorie Greenspan and if it were made with Chuao Chocolate and served to you within hours of it coming out of the oven.  That is how my family enjoyed this crazy, amazingly soft, chocolaty, cream-filled and frosted cake (minus the Dorie Greenspan part—ah well).

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