Yesterday evening, I made the BIG mistake of checking out the latest lovelies available at Thierry, a chocolaterie/patisserie/cafe that I coveted a few times last summer for their delectable macarons. The specific lovelies that I was checking out this time? The latest cakes and mini-cakes that are available right now. The black forest and the chocolate trio cakes just look so very sinfully rich! They made me wish that I got hubby to take a little side trip for me during his lunch break at work. So guess what? I want cake NOW! (I'm waiting for the moment that video gets old for me, but it hasn't! So funny!)
Cake, specifically layer cakes, are very terrifying to me. It's probably one of the reasons that I just default to cupcakes when I get a cake craving. They're small, easy to consume (especially when there's a hubby in the house who will devour anything that I make), and easy to keep fresh. I haven't done some real baking in a while, so I'm going to make some chocolate coconut cupcakes from my Cupcakes Galore book. I can use my little cupcake corer!
Back to the cakes though...I really love the idea of baking a cake. I'd like to be able to do that for my future childrens, maybe even do a fancy one with fondant decorations or something (with me, I never strive for the easy route, I always go for the difficult one!). The idea of getting said freshly baked cake out of a pan in one piece? Or the idea of having to split a cake in half to make a layer cake? Oh good lord! Honestly, I'm sure if I followed all the little tips to help get a cake out easily (lining the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and dusting it with flour for example), I would be successful. Same for splitting the cake in half for layer cakes. The January/February issue of Food Network magazine has a cake feature, where it features a different cake for each month of the year, and most of those cakes are most definitely not for beginners. The one is like a bloody tower of cake for crying out loud! I think it has five layers or something ridiculous like that.
So for now? Cupcakes. They're safe and easy. Yes, there's the risk of eating them all in one sitting, but a whole cake in one sitting would be far more painful methinks.
Here's the meal plan for the week. The penne will be made this week, we had a slight change in the meal plan for the past week. Have a great week and happy cooking all!
February 24-March 1 (how is it already MARCH? GAH!)
Sunday: Schnitzel, potato salad
Monday: Penne with vodka sauce
Tuesday: Fish n' chips
Wednesday: Frozen leftover corned beef and cabbage soup
Thursday: Cornmeal-crumbed chicken, salad
Friday: Ham & potato frittata