Chocolate Skellies

I know. I know I know I know. I haven't posted in over a month. But I finally have the time and the baked goods to share! I made these adorable chocolate skeletons for a Halloween celebration at my school on Friday. They were a big hit, as they really are very cute and taste fabulous. Plus, they went with my costume...

Baked & Glazed Donuts

*Yawn*

Good morning.

*Holds out a tray of delicious glazed donuts and a pot of coffee*

Life is good, isn't it?

"Bizcocho Borracho": Fresh Plum Cake with Orange-Brandy Syrup

Things have been pretty hectic around this household lately. The first semester of senior year is, I'm learning, a killer: I'm swimming in college applications right now, and even though I got started decently early, I'm still afraid I'm barely keeping my head above water. This week has seen a lot of apps, a lot of homework, and a lot of very long schooldays. Last night I decided to ignore my phone, my friends, and Facebook, and come straight home. Sometimes a girl just needs some baking therapy.

The Best Chocolate Ice Cream You've Ever Tasted

...According to my mum and dad.

Peaches 'n Cream Cupcakes

Last night, my friend had a bunch of people over for wings. Taking any excuse to bake, I decided that what the party really needed was cupcakes, and lots of them. Having a bunch of peaches lying around the fruit drawer of our refrigerator, I thought it would be a good idea to incorporate those into the cupcakes in some way. And so I came up with these nummy little guys: cream cheese cake, peach mousse filling, peach glaze, and peach cream cheese frosting. Peaches (and more peaches) 'n cream. Delicious.

Pokémon Cupcakes

My friend had a birthday party yesterday, and rather than a gift, he asked for cupcakes (seeing as a. everyone knows I'll take any excuse to bake and b. he thinks "Kitchen" is a hilarious nickname for me). We'd been at another friend's house the night before, where the boys were playing Pokémon video games, which, you may be interested to know, I suck at. I thought it would be cute if the cupcakes I made for his birthday were Pokémon themed, so I baked a batch of devil's food cake cupcakes, iced them with cream cheese chocolate frosting, and set to work making teensy fondant Pokeballs for each one.

Quadruple Chocolate Cookies

Some boys are very, very spoiled.

I've been working at a food pantry/soup kitchen/men's shelter all this summer with a group of other teens. It's been one of the best experiences of my life, and I've had a wonderful time working in the kitchen, bagging produce, and getting to know everyone there. I'm definitely going back next summer (before leaving for college...*gulp*) because I feel like I've done some genuinely good work, and I've met a lot of great people, both from the shelter itself and from the volunteer program. Now, some of those fellow volunteers demanded cookies this year after figuring out that I'm a little bit nuts about baking. Because I'm a horrible pushover, I agreed to make them some. And because I'm an even more horrible pushover, I agreed to make what they requested: quadruple chocolate cookies.