Category: Cakes

German Coffeecakes and Remembering Gee Gee

Cinnamon Crumb Coffeecake Recipe and Cheese Kuchen Recipe

Oh, the magical powers of flour, sugar, yeast and butter.  With my wooden spoon as a wand, and a touch of alchemy, could I conjure up a cake just like Gee Gee’s? He was articulate in his description.  Holding up … Continue reading




Spice Cake with Caramel Swiss Buttercream

Once upon a time I was intimidated by the prospect of making caramel from scratch.  A pot of boiling hot sugar can induce fear in even the most accomplished of cooks and bakers.  I can’t recall my first successful caramel … Continue reading




Spiced and Spiked Chocolate Pumpkin Cake

Chocolate Pumpkin Cake with Spiced and Spiked Whipped Cream Recipe

I’m pretending it feels like Autumn around here even though the temperatures are rising instead of falling. I’ve lost patience waiting for cooler weather so I’ve been making lots of big hearty meals and tummy warming soups in spite of … Continue reading




Fig Jam, Pear and Pistachio Coffeecake and Baking in a Toaster Oven

Do you know how frustrating it can be when baking is your passion and you don’t have an oven?  VERY!!!  Two weeks ago, just as I was rolling out the pastry for Howie’s birthday pie, my oven ‘short circuited’.  Literally. … Continue reading




Italian Cream Cake…and a Milestone Birthday

Italian Cream Cake with Mascarpone Buttercream Recipe

This birthday is not a milestone birthday for the reason you might think. It isn’t the beginning of a new decade for me.  No, it’s much more significant than that.  Ten years ago, just a day or two before my … Continue reading