Potluck Cupcakes (Tailgate Theme)

I started a new job last October and about a week after I started, we had a potluck lunch. Wanting to impress my new coworkers, I went with an old favorite: Perfectly Chocolate Cupcakes with Perfectly Chocolate Frosting. (ProTip: despite what the recipe says, my cupcakes are almost always done after 17 minutes.) I dusted the cupcakes with orange sugar so that they would be the colors of the Cleveland Browns.

I'm happy that my much vaunted baking skills were confirmed and appreciated. We have potlucks every few months so I'm adding a new label to the blog!

Apple Oat Crisp

I made this classic fall dessert with this recipe's filling and this recipe's topping and followed the baking directions of the second. The best advice on adding sugar to the fruit part of the dish is to do so "according to taste" (you can use either white or brown sugar) and also to taste test the fruit that is the base of the dish. I've also added pecans or walnuts to the topping (about 1/4 cup.)

I have served this crisp with vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream (slightly sweetened with powdered sugar.) Either way is delicious.

Hall of Heroes

If you find yourself traveling through or near (or in) Elkhart, Indiana, check out this small but awesome shrine to superhero memorabilia. My pictures won't do it justice so I recommend checking out their website for a sneak peak of what you can find there. But see it in person! It's insanely cool.

hallofheroesmuseum.com

Books and Books and Books...

More audiobooks! A few of these audiobooks are ones where I attempted to read the hard or softcover version but never got the whole way through. You guess which ones! I'm a much better listener than reader.

1: Good Omens
  Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

2: Ender's Game
  Orson Scott Card

3: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America (The Book) (The Audiobook)
  Jon Stewart

4:  The Hobbit
  J.R.R. Tolkien

5: Rosewater
  Maziar Bahari

6: Little Princes
  Conor Grennan

7: Coraline
  Neil Gaiman

8: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
  Sherman Alexie

9: The Beekeeper's Apprentice
  Laurie R. King

10: The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace
  Jeff Hobbs

Darth Vader Cake

I got a chance to implement my newly minted skills with this challenging cake! The cake pan came with directions of what decorating tip to use with each section in order to achieve the various textures and look. My cake was more challenging because I used chocolate frosting (which I darkened with some black dye) which is harder to control than buttercream. If I did it again, I might use chocolate buttercream or regular buttercream dyed black.

I was very proud of how it turned out. I forgot to take a picture before I delivered the cake so I had the party organizer take a picture for me. It's a little fuzzy, but it still looks awesome!

The Wilton Method Course Two: Flowers and Cake Design

I took the second Wilton Course to build on what I learned in the first one. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures from the first three classes because they didn't end with anything worth shooting. Mostly, we practiced making flowers from royal icing and tracing patterns with buttercream icing.

For the final project (class four) we had to decorate a cake with the techniques of our choosing. I made some royal icing flowers the night before but didn't really have a plan for the entire cake. Here's what I ended up doing:

I really like the basket weave white-on-white look, but I'm not sure the cake works as a whole.

I'm glad I took both classes. I would recommend the in-person classes to anyone who likes to bake but isn't innately good at frosting and decorating. It helped to have an instructor guide me through each flower and border. Plus, each class ends with a snack!

Maybe 11

Here is another batch of audiobooks! This is a very important post since it's being posted from my phone! Hello future! I'm here!

1: The Secret History of Wonder Woman
  Jill Lepore

2: I Must Say 
My Life as Humble Comedy Legend
  Martin Short

3: The Work
My Search for a Life That Matters
  Wes Moore

4: The Good Lord Bird: A Novel
  James McBride  

5: The Professor and the Madman
  Simon Winchester

6: Loving Someone...
  Julie Fast

7: Yes Please
  Amy Poehler

8: American Lion
  Jon Meacham

9: Shotgun Lovesongs
  Nicholas Butler

10: Everything I Never Told You
  Celeste Ng