Black Bottom Pie for National Pi Day!

National Pi Day! 3.1415926535 8979323846 2643383279 … Oh who am I kidding. I had to look that up on Wikipedia. It’s been YEARS since I’ve done any higher level math, and I barely remembered up to 3.1415. But today, March 14th (3/14), is the day when math nerds celebrate the circle. For those of us not so mathematically inclined, luckily there’s a different kind of circle to enjoy today as well. The baking enthusiasts have deemed today National Pi(e) Day! So let’s celebrate with a slice.

The only kind of pies I’ve ever made involve graham cracker crust and pudding. But when Kiesha challenged me to bake a pie today, I couldn’t just back down. It was time to overcome my irrational pie fears and start baking. I put it off as long as possible, so I woke up early this morning ready to suck it up and bake. First stop—actual pie crust.

Flour, sugar, butter, a pinch of salt, and some cold water. Totally easy. Easy as pie even. Yeah.. It’s easy to mix. But I messed up the first time I rolled it out. And the baking? Well.. This is what happened.

Needless to say, I went straight to Plan B—throwing on my coat over the shirt I wore to sleep in and my flour covered jeans and heading straight for the frozen foods section of the grocery store to pick up one of those premade crusts. I’m not ashamed. I don’t feel the least bit guilty. That little Dough Boy makes them so much better than I do.

Next up—the filling. Chocolate custard on the bottom, a rum spiked airy custard on the top. Easy peasy. Except my rum custard tasted distinctly like eggs. I forgot to strain the mixture after I cooked it… Luckily once everything was layered up, it disappeared, and left a light, silky, delicious chocolaty-vanilla cream in its place. I had no need to be worried. This pie is definitely high on the YUM scale. And it looks gorgeous with the chocolate shavings sprinkled over the top. Once you cut into it… Well…

Not the easiest pie to plate, but it tastes darn good all mixed up like that. Hope you enjoy Pi(e) Day with a little slice of something!

Happy National Chocolate Cake Day!

I love food holidays. Especially when it involves dessert! Today, January 27th, is National Chocolate Cake Day! Of course I have to celebrate! I fully intended on making an actual cake for Chocolate Cake Day, but between laziness and not enough time before work, I opted for cupcakes instead. They're just chocolate cake in portable form, right?

I topped my go-to chocolate cake recipe with a Mocha Swiss Meringue Buttercream. It was my 2nd attempt at a swiss meringue buttercream--the first going wonderfully well in my macarons. Unfortunately, this time it took me 2 tries to get it right. The first time around, I added melted chocolate like every recipe said, but as soon as it hit the buttercream it solidified and I ended up with chunky chocolate buttercream. Not cool. The 2nd time around, I added cocoa powder instead and ended up with a delicious, silky espresso chocolate flavor! The perfect way to celebrate Chocolate Cake Day!

How are you celebrating?

Cupcake Pops

Cupcake Pops
For complete list of ingredients and step-by-step instructions, check out Bakerella's site! She even has a video demonstration from when she was on Martha!

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While scouring the internet for recipes for my St. Patrick's Day treats (or trash, because that's where they ended up), I came across a website dedicated to American Food Holidays. Now we've established that I love holidays--numerous times--so food holidays are right up my alley! These are celebrations I can really get behind! Scanning the list, I noticed that my birthday happens to fall on National Prime Rib Day. Nice. There are some bizarre holidays included on the list too, such as "Shape Up with Pickles Time," to be celebrated the first week of February. Sadly, I missed this one. Although I'm really not sure what shaping up with pickles entails.. However, there was one holiday I noticed I hadn't missed yet that was worth celebrating. Today, March 28th, is National Something-On-A-Stick Day. Alright! Now how am I going to celebrate? Corndogs for dinner is a must. Sides are going to be a bit harder to come up with. And dessert? I could go with popsicles or lollipops. But that's too easy. How bout cupcakes. On a stick. It's time to try out what I've been lusting after for awhile now. Cupcake Pops--Bakerella style.

I've been without internet at my house for almost a week now. So yesterday, I snuck over to my boyfriend's (not really. He knew I was coming over.) and hijacked his internet, along with his kitchen, and started the task of making Cupcake Pops. (I also stole my favorite pair of his pajama pants, the ones with pirate-looking skulls wearing Santa hats, and later, his bed for a quick nap.. Shh. Don't tell.) Looking at Bakerella's site, the cupcake pops seemed pretty easy, but quite time consuming. Oh well. I had the whole day ahead of me! I started with the cake mix from a box that I've had hanging out in my pantry for who knows how long. It almost felt like blashphemy. I've taken pride in making things from scratch rather than a box, but I have to say, I'm glad I used the cake mix. It made it so much easier. Plus I would have felt bad ripping apart my beautiful cake as soon as it cooled. Although, that was actually kinda fun! It got quite a bit messy though after you mixed it with the cream cheese and rolled it into balls. My hands looked like they were covered in blood. Maybe red velvet cake wasn't the best idea. After the cake balls chilled in the freezer for a bit, it was time to make them look like cupcakes! Too bad I didn't have the kind of cutter Bakerella showed on her site. I'd have to make do with my 1.5 inch biscuit cutter.. Which didn't do well at all. The cutter was way too wide, and way too tall to make it look anything like a cupcake. Looks like I was in for another Michaels run.

$2.50 and a half an hour later, I was back on track with cake balls that were looking more like cupcakes than blobs now. Time to chill again and start melting chocolate for dipping! I had trouble dipping the bottoms into the milk chocolate. I couldn't seem to hold on without squishing the tops or dripping all over everything. My boyfriend seemed to have better luck. (I actually let him help for the first time ever! I figured since I was making a mess in his kitchen, I may as well let him in on it. He did a really good job too!) He dipped the milk chocolate while I dipped the pink and topped with sprinkles and a red M&M to look like a cherry on top. Only a few looked absolutely disasterous.. The dripping pink chocolate on some reminds me of a melted ice cream cone.. But all in all they came out looking alright. Not as beautiful as Bakerella's, but not terrible either! The cake inside the pops seems a tad too moist, bordering on squishy, but they're still incredibly tasty! It just took a bit longer to put them all together because we had to keep refreezing them so they didn't fall apart. Maybe next time I won't add all the frosting right away. I'm not sure that was the problem, but it could help. I'll definitely make these again! Who knows, I may even attempt the absolutely adorable Hello Kitty Pops someday! (The first time I saw these on her site, I squealed at a pitch I'm sure only dogs could hear.. They're just so cute!)

Alright. I've got the main course (corndogs) and of course the dessert (Cupcake Pops) of our celebratory Something-On-A-Stick dinner.. Now what are we going to have as a side?? Anyone know how to get mashed potatoes on a stick?