Baker's Dozen: A Batch of Sweet Links!

Best wedding cake topper ever??

I would very much like to live in Pound Cake Heaven.

Sweet and lovely: neapolitan swirl cupcakes.

How to make Pavlova, a dessert for tiny dancers.

Very cute: "Bee Mine" tutorial on My Cake School. 

Even though Pie Day is over, you still might enjoy these unusual pie recipes.

Speaking of pie, if you missed my profile on Pie Town, it really shouldn't be missed.

Learn about the different types of measuring cups and spoons.

This I love: sparkly magic kitchen wands!

Good question: how are Oreos made?

Get yo'self a sconut.

Cupcake toss: mission failure!

Good for the super bowl: choco-avocado pie! Why should guacamole have all of the avocado fun?

PS: Bonus - there's a giveaway going on today (Friday) on the CakeSpy Facebook page!

Chocoholics Anonymous: 20 Delicious Quotes About Chocolate

"Exercise is a dirty word. Every time I hear it I wash my mouth out with chocolate."

-- Charles M. Schulz

"Don't wreck a sublime chocolate experience by feeling guilty. Chocolate isn't like premarital sex. It will not make you pregnant. And it always feels good."

-- Lora Brody

"Chocolate says "I'm sorry" so much better than words."

--Rachel Vincent

"There are two kinds of people in the world: those who love chocolate, and communists.”

-- Leslie Moak Murray

"Your hand and your mouth agreed many years ago that, as far as chocolate is concerned, there is no need to involve your brain."

-- Dave Barry

"Anything is good if it's made of chocolate."

-- Jo Brand

"What you see before you, my friend, is the result of a lifetime of chocolate."

-- Katharine Hepburn

"There's no metaphysics on earth like chocolates."

 -- Fernando Pessoa

"Blood is really warm, it's like drinking hot chocolate but with more screaming."

-- Ryan Mecum

"Always serve too much hot fudge sauce on hot fudge sundaes. It makes people overjoyed, and puts them in your debt."

-- Judith Olney

"Happiness is German engineering, Italian cooking, and Belgian chocolate."

-- Patricia Briggs

Savory Sleuth: How to Cook Quinoa

It's gluten-free, if you care. It's also delicious (you should care!). Here's how to cook quinoa perfectly.

Cake Decorating Advice from Experts

Learn from the pros: these cake decorators have learned it the hard way, and they're passing on their know-how so you can have it easy. Learn their secrets here.

What's Your Fancy Dessert Name?

Inspired by the memes I've been seeing on Facebook lately, I decided to make a dessert-inspired one! What's YOUR fancy dessert name?

Sweet Scout: 10 Amazing Pieces of Unicorn Apparel

I've been scouting out some things that are sweet--figuratively, not literally!

Listen, fashion is a way to show your personality. Why not show how special you are with magical and sweet unicorn apparel? Here are ten wonderful finds from around the web. I personally own a number of them!

 

Sequined unicorn sweater. A soft baby blue sweater gets a totally magic upgrade with a unicorn rendered in sparkly sequins. This stately unicorn is absolutely wear-to-work appropriate. Available on choies.com.

Spacey unicorn leggings. A sci-fi background makes people notice these tights right away, but what makes them say "ohmigod where did you get those?" is the wondrous unicorn which spans both legs. I wear these to my yoga class and am always the best-dressed. Available on wanelo.com.

Unicorn yoga pants. These unicorn pants are specifically designed for yoga--that is to say, the stitching is a bit more secure than the leggings above. They're also pricer, though--$66. I'm saving my pennies, because they're also made of all recycled materials and I can feel good about that. Available on teeki.com.

Vintage unicorn dress. Those little motifs are tiny unicorns! OMG! I love the sweet quality of this dress, but with a slightly saucy color. You're totally allowed to buy it for me. Available on unique-vintage.com.

Unicorn tank top. Want to have the whole world in your hands? Nah, the whole universe on your top half is more like it! This magical tank top would work well for a day at the beach or strolling in hipster Brooklyn. Available on amazon.com

Unicorn shirt dress. This magical dress is perfect for wearing anywhere. As a beach cover up, or I loved to wear it to book signing events on my last tour! Available on amazon.com.

Unicorn cupcake robot socks. Also known as "trifecta". What else do you need for happy feet? These adorable socks were designed by me and produced by Sock it To Me. Available on sockittome.com.

Unicorn scarf. It is like having a fancy mink stole, but it is actually a MAGICAL UNICORN! That is a very special thing to have around your neck. Rainbow-hued mane included. Yes. Available on devoutdolls.com.

Unicorn hat. I already mentioned I own a lot of this stuff, right? This hat is as warm and cozy as it is adorable. It is hilarious to walk up to people and ask "have you seen my unicorn?". Or at least, it's funny to me...every time. Available on amazon.com.

Unicorn ugly sweater. Did you miss out in the Christmas miracles department? Make up for it with this amazing sweatshirt, decorated to look like an ugly sweater. Available on amazon.com.

Have you seen any unicorn apparel recently that you think I should buy?

Sweet and Light: How to Make Pavlova

Pavlova is a sweet and light dessert that makes a strong case for fairy food. It makes sense that it's named after a particularly graceful ballerina! Learn how to make it--it's surprisingly easy. Recipe here. 

Savory Sleuth: How to Perfectly Bake a Potato

So simple, yet so many different ways to do it. Learn the best ones here.

Baker's Dozen: A Batch of Sweet Links!

The 26th is National Pistachio Day. How should you celebrate? I know, make Watergate Cake! (pictured above)

Or, make these fantastic pistachio cookies--one of my childhood favorites.

Lard: the comeback fat.

So you want a literary agent? Learn how to get one here. (via Jennifer Pooley)

I have been taking this free(!) class in knife skills, and have learned that my method of using a paring knife for EVERYTHING is simply wrong.

Exotic mango cream puff. You have my interest.

In case you missed it: chocolate covered cherry stuffed cupcakes.

Homemade vanilla coffee liqueur. I like it.

How to make crème fraîche at home. Seriously, even your brother could do it.

And for dessert...dark chocolate s'mores truffles.

CHOCOLATE COVERED CHEE-TOS.

OMG: Brandy Alexander Brownies.

The science of always having room for dessert.

Project for Kids: How to Turn Honeycomb into Chocolate

Here's a fun project for kids of all ages: how to turn honeycomb into chocolate. 

That's right: you can take honeycomb like this:

Image via Airah.org.au

and bing! make it into chocolate, like this:

Wow!

So, how do you do it? Well, to do it with the "bing" method featured above, you will need magic powers and probably a wand of some sort. If you don't happen to have these things around, all you need is a double boiler, a rubber spatula for stirring and spreading, some parchment paper, some chocolate to melt, and bubble wrap. Yes, bubble wrap!

Here, I will walk you step by step through the process so that you can do it at home. I got the idea for this fantastic project from a wonderful book: Roald Dahl's Revolting Recipes.

You need:

• parchment paper
• a board or work surface
• a rubber spatula
• chocolate (approximately 8 ounces; more or less is fine)
• a double boiler or a bowl suspended over simmering liquid
• bubble wrap

Now that you have all of your supplies, let's get to work.

Honeycomb-lookalike chocolate

Step 1: First, set your parchment paper above a board or on a countertop. Set it to the side for the moment, you'll come back to it.

Step 2: Wash the bubble wrap thoroughly.

This may be the strangest thing you've found yourself doing in quite some time. Once it's clean, dry it thoroughly. Don't pop the bubbles! Place the dried pieces facing bubbles-up on your parchment paper.

Step 3: Melt the chocolate. I used a mix of white and dark chocolate morsels for a swirly effect. For instructions on how to melt chocolate, visit this post.

Step 4: Once melted, remove from heat.

Now, gently spread the chocolate on top of the bubble wrap.

Spread it fairly thick: you don't want to see the shape of the bubbles beneath.

Step 5: Let it dry. This can take a few hours, or let it chill out overnight.

Step 6: Flip the pieces of chocolate so that the bubble wrap now faces up. Be gentle! Gently peel off the bubble wrap. Marvel at what you've created!

Step 7: I like to break mine up into chunks, put it on a plate, and ask people if they've ever turned honeycomb into chocolate before.

Do you think bees would like this treat?