Sweet And Crumby

Baking, a Love Story

Category Archives: Celebration Cakes


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A Parade of Easter Sweets

Whether you have big plans, little plans or no plans, you can whip up one of these spring-y sweets to help celebrate the day. I have rated these recipes based on difficulty and time needed so you can choose the one that fits into your life.

Braided Bread Stuffed with Lemon Curd. This soft, delicate, flaky filled bread is so tangy and sweet. It is really a perfectly beautiful bread to BRING to a brunch, one that you are not hosting and you are only responsible for ONE THING. Because this one is a solid 9/10  in difficulty level (maybe a 10…let’s not mince words) and is totally worth it if you have the time and energy.

Braided Sweet Bread

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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 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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A Parade of Easter Sweets

Whether you have big plans, little plans or no plans, you can whip up one of these spring-y sweets to help celebrate the day. I have rated these recipes based on difficulty and time needed so you can choose the one that fits into your life.

Braided Bread Stuffed with Lemon Curd. This soft, delicate, flaky filled bread is so tangy and sweet. It is really a perfectly beautiful bread to BRING to a brunch, one that you are not hosting and you are only responsible for ONE THING. Because this one is a solid 9/10  in difficulty level (maybe a 10…let’s not mince words) and is totally worth it if you have the time and energy.

Braided Sweet Bread

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Not for Sissies Spiced Molten Chocolate Cakes

Inhale. I am giving you permission unlike Bill Clinton’s little foray. You’re not running for president are you? Let’s hope not. Use some imagination…c’mon…I know you can. Close your eyes, picture standing in my kitchen. Please step over the Golden Retriever. Chances are, she is lying at your feet, or more likely has her nose in your crotch. Try to ignore that…it’s difficult, but please try for this little exercise.

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The Girl Who Cried Wolf {Chocolate Kahlua Cake Drizzled with Kahlua Ganache and Kahlua Icing}

I am she…the one who cried wolf. The one who has said at least ten times or so here on S&C that this is the BEST something or other EVER! But what if it is? Will you believe me this time? Have I whittled away your trust? I sure hope not because the only loser in this equation is YOU if that is so.

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Black Cocoa Perfection and Evil Awesomeness {Chocolate Malted Cupcakes with Whipped Chocolate Malted Frosting}

Few things are perfect but these things come to mind:

Black Cocoa Powder which was used in these dark, dark, moist and chocolatey malted cupcakes.
Calorie FREE chocolate malted cupcakes which these are NOT…one can certainly dream can’t she?
And my daughter’s smile when opening her fifteenth birthday present which was a first edition copy of her favorite book with author’s signature.

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My words are few today because life is going at its usual lightning speed right now. So what’s new? But life is good and birthdays are super good. And watching your daughter open presents and having your husband make her dreams come true are all beautiful things. He was the mastermind behind finding a signed first edition of Night Circus and surprising her with it yesterday morning. Continue reading →


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Sunny Side Up Orange Layer Cake

Are you a glass half full or glass half empty kind of person? I have to admit that I, like Darth Vader, naturally swing to the darker side, BUT knowing my sinister ways, I try very hard to make a conscious decision to look at the bright side.

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A Tunnel of Fudge Cake Happy Birthday Toast to My Dad

I was sixteen and running late for my first date with a boy whom I really liked and I made the cataclysmic mistake of telling my dad to “entertain” him for a few minutes. After I sprayed my last bit of Aqua Net onto my two inch high bangs, glossed over my lips and slipped on my “pumps”, I walked into our family room to find my dad, six foot three inches tall, and my date tap dancing on our wood floors while my dad whistled and sang, “I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy.”

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Fourth of July Round-Up

Cuz I have been in the lazy groove of summer and living life large a little too much lately, I don’t have a new post for the Fourth of July holiday but I do have some tried and true faves and I also have seen some pretty snazzy stuff around the blogosphere. So enjoy…and have a wonderful, tasty and SAFE Fourth. BTW…all the gorgeous photos you see below are stolen from the blogs mentioned and linked to in this post.

How about starting the day with my Red Velvet Pancakes and cream cheese dipping sauce (that’s breakfast code for frosting). These would surely wake up the family and begin the celebration on the right foot.

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The Girl Who Cried Wolf {Chocolate Kahlua Cake Drizzled with Kahlua Ganache and Kahlua Icing}

I am she…the one who cried wolf. The one who has said at least ten times or so here on S&C that this is the BEST something or other EVER! But what if it is? Will you believe me this time? Have I whittled away your trust? I sure hope not because the only loser in this equation is YOU if that is so.

Let’s reconsider that last statement. I am NOT calling all of my readers losers. Well, I don’t think so anyhow. I am actually just saying that if I have blown your trust to smithereens, although it may be my fault entirely, if you don’t believe me this time, you will be so, so sorry because this IS the BEST chocolate cake I have ever made (I am fairly certain). Continue reading →