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I was perusing my recipe index the other day and decided that the cupcake section was too chocolate-heavy. Not that there’s anything wrong with chocolate, but I’m an equal-opportunity cupcake lover. So off I went to find a non-chocolate, non-fruity cupcake flavor.

Dulce de leche has been on my radar for a long time (plus it’s all the rage right now), but I’ve always been hesitant to go through the high-risk process of making it at home. It involves boiling a can of sweetened condensed milk, bad news for accident-prone little me.

So I decided to spend the extra dollar and buy a can at my local Latino grocery store (I later spotted it in the ethnic foods section at Safeway if you’re not lucky enough to live near a Latino grocer). That dollar was completely worth it. Rich, moist brown-sugary cake, topped with a rich dulce de leche buttercream and drizzled with a bit of straight-up melted dulce de leche. These are equally worthy of a special occasion or a work lunch on a random Tuesday. ¡Buen provecho!

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So I know I’m not the only one out there with a lifelong aversion to exercise… right?

I’m often asked how I manage to stay healthy with all of the baking and cooking I do. To be honest, I haven’t managed very well at all. Like many, weight has always been a big source of insecurity for me, and coupled with the fact that I have never been able to find a way to exercise that I enjoyed, I’ve been feeling pretty down about my health. For years now.

Before I go on, to fully appreciate the rest of this post, you should know that I’m secretly a 7-year-old girl and love all things silly, whimsical, and childish. I mean, come on, my personal blog is called Playing House.

So when I heard recently that there are athletic events and running races at Disney World, I got really excited. Maybe I had finally found something that I was so excited about that it could actually get me up and moving?! I went to their website in search of a 5k race (3.1 miles, a seemingly manageable first race distance), and while I was poking around, came across this: the Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon. A half marathon? No way. But it’s the inaugural race on their brand new half marathon course, it’s at night, and the finish line is at the annual Epcot Food & Wine Festival. It’s not until October, so it’s just far enough away that maybe, just maybe, it could be possible.

Next thing I knew, my husband and I were training for a half marathon! A half marathon with Disney entertainment at every mile, and a festival celebrating my favorite things to look forward to at the end.

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Because I’ve never been an athlete, I’m starting with really small baby steps. The Couch to 5k is an interval training program designed for people who have never run before to train for a 5k race, and I’m loving it so far. We have plans to run a 2 mile race in February, a 5k in May, and a 10k in July. I use the iPhone app by Felt Tip Inc., which lets you play your own music and tells you when to walk and when to run.

I can’t believe how much better and more empowered I feel, mentally and physically, in the short time since I started training. If you’d like to read more about my baby steps, I’m writing about my adventures at my new running blog, The Happiest Race on Earth.

What gets you motivated to exercise??

I obviously love to bake. I’m pretty steadily mastering the art of making delicious-tasting desserts, but have been incredibly slow on the uptake with paying proper attention to delicious-looking food as well.

On a whim, I signed up for the Wilton Cake Decorating Class last month. The Wilton curriculum is a series of 4 4-week courses, and I just completed the first, called Discover Cake Decorating. It’s held at my local Michael’s craft store, and I leave there every Monday night covered in frosting, hand aching, and smiling ear-to-ear.

These classes are held throughout the U.S. and internationally, so I thought I’d give a little rundown of my thoughts in case you’re interested in signing up. Overall, I loved the class, and have actually already started Course 2, Flowers and Borders. Our instructor has been fabulous, and she’s especially great at not making me feel lame when I’m doing something ridiculous (couplers and I don’t really get along), which seems to happen quite often.

My only real issue with the class is the frosting they have us practice with. The main ingredient is vegetable shortening, which makes the frosting incredibly messy and greasy, and I strongly prefer not to eat it. There’s a saving grace there, because I don’t like it at all, I don’t snack while I’m practicing, which my body thanks me for. I also find it difficult to work with, though, even at the different consistencies they teach us how to make. I’m a chronic rule-follower, so I continued to make it and bring it to class instead of trying a different recipe, knowing that I’d have freedom outside of class to practice with more delicious frosting.

Other than that, I loved everything about the class, and it’s been making my Mondays a lot more bearable. I still have a lot to learn, but that’s what makes it fun.

Now, on to the fun stuff… pictures!

Week 1, Lecture: No hands-on, just a demonstration and lots of fun shopping! I bought the biggest kit they sell because I know I’ll use it forever, but you’re free to pick and choose which supplies you buy.

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Ed Note: EADL is signing off for the holidays! We will see you on January 4th; until then indulge yourself with Amy I’s Red Velvet White Chocolate Cheesecake! xoxo

Allow me to introduce you to the richest, most decadent, and most delicious thing I have ever baked. This Red Velvet White Chocolate Cheesecake is actually an entire white chocolate cheesecake, sandwiched between 2 fat layers of red velvet cake, all held together with cream cheese frosting. Ridiculous, right?

I made this for my birthday party last week (I’m one of those baking nerds that insists on making her own cake), but it’s perfect for any holiday special occasion.

Sending big, frosting-coated holiday hugs to all of you! See you next year!

Red Velvet White Chocolate Cheesecake
Adapted from Judy In Her Natural Habitat: The Kitchen
Printable Recipe

Make this the night before you plan to serve it, an overnight rest in the refrigerator does a world of good. Also, if you’re new to cake-baking, I recommend reading up on the merits of applying a crumb coat. You’ll definitely want to do that with this bright red baby.

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Have you heard of the “Baked” Brownie? The chocolatey treat that’s taking America by storm? Baked is a bakery in Brooklyn, New York. The owners of the bakery authored of one of my favorite cookbooks, Baked: New Frontiers in Baking, and in this book, share their infamously superior brownie recipe with the world.

I’d made and loved other recipes from the book (Lemon Lemon Lemon Loaf, Root Beer Bundt Cake, Pumpkin Whoopie Pies), but this is the one that they’re truly famous for, so I had to see for myself. These brownies are so good that they’ve been endorsed by America’s Test Kitchen, the Today Show, and are one of Oprah’s Favorite Things.

Brownies typically aren’t my baked good of choice unless there’s something interesting about them, like cream cheese, oreos, or peanut butter (or all of the above? mmmm….) swirled in. When I first tasted one, I knew they were excellent, but the best brownies in America? I’d had better. After they rested overnight, though, my opinion changed. Best brownies EVER. Most definitely.

The best thing about these brownies is that they’ll please a crowd. They’re just the right balance of cakey and gooey to appeal to everyone on the brownie-texture spectrum. I dusted mine with a bit of powdered sugar, since that’s what my mom always does (hi mom!), but feel free to leave them naked.

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Other than my short stint as a resident of New York City, I’ve never lived in a city with a “signature” food. I’m talking about claim-to-fame level: cheese steaks from Philadelphia, coffee from Seattle, Hatch chiles from New Mexico. These Nanaimo Bars are the ultimate signature food, from beautiful Nanaimo, British Columbia on Vancouver Island in Canada.

Nanaimo bars are a rich, decadent, 3-layer, no-bake treat. The bottom crust layer is chocolate, graham cracker crumbs, almonds, and coconut. I’m not sure if this is heresy (Canadian friends? Thoughts?), but I added 1/2 cup of Heath toffee bits to the bottom layer too. Next time I’d add even more, I’m crazy about the stuff. The middle layer is a creamy vanilla custard, and the top is a thin layer of solid chocolate.

These bars are ubiquitous in Canada. It’s unfathomable that anyone might not have heard of them. Here in the U.S., it’s a completely different story. I had to sheepishly ask how to pronounce the name (Nah-Nye-Moh), and of the dozens of people I served these to, almost none had heard of them either. I’m puzzled by this disparity, and it’s now my official mission to let every American I know in on one of Canada’s best-kept secrets!

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Today I’m interrupting your regularly scheduled foodie programming to tell you a story. A story about how a girl who hated dogs with all her might met a dog who hated people with all his might… and now they love each other more than either thought was possible.

All photos in this post are by me unless otherwise noted.

I was born into a family of women who are a bit… shall we say… prissy? about animals. Spanning at least 3 generations. Naturally, I adopted this worldview too at an early age, and as a child was especially terrified of dogs. As I transitioned to adulthood, my serious phobia lessened and became more of a discomfort than a fear. I just couldn’t wrap my head around why anyone would want a shedding, barking, jumping thing in their home.

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Looking for an easy last-minute crowd-pleaser for your Thanksgiving dessert? Your search is officially over. This Cranberry Upside-Down cake is not only visually stunning, but tastes delicious, is perfectly seasonal, and is appropriate for bakers of all skill levels.

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Cranberry Upside-Down Cake
Adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From my Home to Yours
Printable Recipe

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 sticks (14 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup minus 2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
2 cups of cranberries, fresh or frozen (if frozen, do not thaw)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup whole milk
1/3 cup red currant jelly, for glazing the cake

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Allow me to introduce you to my first foray into the wonderful world of Paula Deen. Baked French Toast with Praline Topping. I could probably say this about all of her recipes, but I can’t imagine a richer, more decadent, and more delicious way to start my day than with a hunk of this stuff.

Making this recipe was an interesting exercise in editing. I found it on the Food Network website, where, last time I checked, the recipe had 1,277 comments. While the overall rating of the recipe was 5 stars out of a possible 5, fans had lots to say about how to improve or tweak this dish for the best possible results. I actually really enjoyed the process of whittling through just a few pages of those 1,277 comments and trying to decide which tips and modifications I was going to follow (the recipe below reflects my changes).

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Welcome back to A Well-Stocked Kitchen, my ongoing series about the tools and gadgets that have helped me become a better cook and baker! This week, I’m sharing my cookware (i.e. pots and pans) collection with you.

Pots and pans were the area where I felt the most lost when registering for wedding gifts. How was I supposed to know whether I needed a 9″ or 10″ skillet?  Is Le Creuset all it’s cracked up to be? Did I really need an omelette pan? The answers: doesn’t matter, yes (drooool), and nope!

So here’s where I stand on the debate about non-stick vs. stainless steel: I have a strange aversion to metallic things, I don’t like the way some of them feel or sound. I also really wanted clear glass lids for my pots. So, for me, the nonstick was a clear choice, since it makes my skin crawl the least. But there are lots of pros in the stainless steel column too. Here’s an interesting thread on Chowhound about the differences (Zoolander anyone?).

The only thing missing from my collection at the moment is a stock pot, which I don’t have the space (or need) for at the moment. Someday, when I’m a real grown-up, I’ll be making matzo ball soup for 25 people at family holiday gatherings. In my stock pot that I have plenty of space to store.  A girl can dream, right?!

So, my friends, what’s your pick? Nonstick? Stainless Steel? Cast Iron? Mix and match?

You can find previous editions of A Well-Stocked Kitchen here:

Utensil Crock Edition
Baking Edition
Small Appliance Edition
Drawer Edition

My picks:

10″ Frying Pan

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