Recipe Testing

When I get an idea for a new recipe, I become obsessed, or perhaps a better word would be, possessed. I will spend days baking variations of the same recipe six or seven different times until I get it right.

I enter the pastry zone, only to be jolted back to reality by a group of hungry boys, wondering if they will get to eat cake for dinner.

But it is over, for now, and I am happy to report that I had great success with my natural spin on a classic lunchbox treat:  the Devil Dog.  The layer cake is wickedly good and tastes remarkably like the cupcake from my elementary school days, minus the Cinderella lunchbox.

The cake is slightly dense with an assertive chocolate flavor.  The crumb is tender thanks to my secret ingredient, Daisy Organic Pastry Flour from Lancaster County. And the frosting?  Well, it is positively dreamy.

I wasn't so lucky with my latest attempt at a natural red velvet cake.  It was a messy week of beet tinted cake batter and hands.  

The batter needs to be acidic in order to achieve the right color.

I've learned that beets, though beautiful in color, don't taste so great in cake.

In between, recipe testing, I baked for my clients. I take great pleasure in being part of the celebration.  

I was delighted to meet a few new clients who came to my house for a cake tasting at the end of the week.

It was a lovely evening of cake, chilled Riesling from Buckingham Valley Vineyards, and wedding plans.  

I am grateful that I get to do what I love.  Life is sweet!