I live for dessert. It’s no secret that I’ll eat cake for breakfast without any prompting. My old job was really close to a coffee shop that had a plethora of baked goods – and always a fresh cake. So with my morning coffee I’d also grab a slice of carrot cake, or chocolate cake with ganache, or occasionally a slice of cheesecake. Maybe a raspberry filled cupcake, if I was trying to be healthy… Nothing tastes better with a bitter, black, dark roast than a slice of frosted cake. Or a cookie. Or a chunk of chocolate. Or pie. Ahem.
Hence why Joy the Baker‘s new cookbook, Homemade Decadence, is a dream come true. It’s filled with every treat I could ever imagine – from the basics of cake making, to an entire section devoted to brunch. It’s the perfect go-to book for desserts – the cake section (obviously) is my favorite. Joy provides basic recipes for yellow cake and chocolate cake, and then recipes for different frostings. I’m looking forward tackling the Lemon-Honey Yellow Cake.
The only section I didn’t really care for was the Ice Cream Social section. Ice cream isn’t very important to me, and I’m not sure I need a whole section devoted to basically making sundaes. Also, I don’t have an ice cream maker (and I feel like a lot of home cooks don’t), so I can’t attempt the recipes anyway. I would’ve rather had more baked goods or maybe baking tips instead.
For Christmas, I baked for the entire day;Â the first recipe I tackled was Vanilla Bean Confetti Cookies (the recipe is also on her site!), since the dough has to chill for a minimum of two hours. I really loved how easy to follow this recipe – and for the first time, I actually created something that looked EXACTLY like the picture in the cookbook! The cookies are delicious – a slightly chewy, vanilla sugar cookie.
I’ve flipped through this book many times since I got it and I was always overwhelmed by the choices of the things to bake! But the look of the confetti cookies got me – I’m such a sucker for sprinkles.
Lucky for me (and because A is the best) I got a Kitchenaid Artisan mixer for Christmas, and after seeing my list of baked goods, A gave it to me early to assist. Join me for my first adventure with my Kitchenaid!
As you’ll see in my chronicles, I’m an incredibly messy baker. I don’t even try to maintain a clean counter space at all. (Which at times I regret, like when I spill a really expensive bottle of vanilla extract ALL OVER my cookbook.)Â
The perfect cookies! I brought these to A’s parents on Christmas Eve and saved a few for my house – they were a big hit and quickly disappeared. I’ve saved the rest of my Christmas baking adventures for another post – and I’ll be including a recipe I adapted!
Did you do any holiday baking?
