Daily Sweet: Good Housekeeping Little Book of Baking

Today, I asked my cupcake (which lives on a pony): "What do you think of this book?" It has a big name for a tiny book: Good Housekeeping The Little Book of Baking: 55 Homemade Cookies, Cakes, Cupcakes & Pies to Make & Share.

And after reviewing it for a few minutes, the cupcake said "you should buy it."

Why is that? Helpfully, the cupcake gave me several reasons.

It has interesting recipes. I'd never seen a recipe for a Grape and Ginger Tart before!

It has helpful tips. You never can be too educated.

It has tasty versions of classic recipes. For example: hazelnut brownies; cherry-pistachio biscotti. Not crazy-different, but they might just challenge you a little bit.  

Why not listen to the cupcake? Find the book online here: Good Housekeeping The Little Book of Baking: 55 Homemade Cookies, Cakes, Cupcakes & Pies to Make & Share.

Daily Sweet: Fouquet Confections, Paris

Source: davidlebovitz.com via Cake on Pinterest

Um, it's a rainbow. Made of CANDY! This shop is made of magic, as you'll see if you take an armchair tour of it via David Lebovitz's website. Here's the link.

Daily Sweet: Waffles by Tara Duggan

Today's obsession: the book Waffles: Fun Recipes for Every Meal.

As the book's synopsis goes, "anyone who has invested in a specialty maker will want plenty of options and inspiration. This book shows just how versatile waffles can be."

In particular, the recipes for sweet waffles, such as Chocolate Waffle Bites with Peanut Butter Cream,  Raspberry Waffles with Lemon Sauce, and  Waffle Banana Splits, caught my attention.

Find out more here; buy it here.

Daily Sweet: Caramel Apple Cupcakes in October at Trophy Cupcakes

Something sweet is happening at Trophy Cupcakes this month. Here's what they have to say about it:

Our October feature is our famous Caramel Apple cupcake!

Nothing says fall like apples and caramel so we've created the perfect treat. Our moist apple spice cake is topped with caramel buttercream, edged in roasted pecans, drizzled with caramel then adorned with a pretzel stick and edible green leaf. Now available in all our shops throughout the month!

For locations and more information, visit www.trophycupcakes.com

Tres Delicious: Tres Leches Cake, The Pantry Restaurant, Santa Fe

Let's get one thing straight. They do not make their Tres Leches cake in-house at The Pantry Restaurant in Santa Fe, NM. Wait, don't stop reading! Because it still is legitimately a "homemade" baked good, made at home by the wife of one of the restaurant's employees. And on the day of my visit, it was extremely fresh--I was informed that this would be the first slice cut from this hallowed round of delicious. 

Yes, I said round. Personally, I'm more accustomed to a square of Tres Leches--what about you? But I digress. In terms of construction, the Tres Leches at The Pantry resembled a round birthday-style cake; it was frosted on the top and sides, with piped decorations in the frosting. But once cut into, the inside of the cake revealed more what you'd expect from the traditional "three milks" cake--a spongelike cake kept moist and tender with mass amounts of dairy. And indeed, this one was so saturated that it just about dripped when you tucked your fork into the slice. Yessssss. 

The flavor of the cake was very good: milky, yes, but with a certain je ne sais quoi (look at me, acting all international!) to the aftertaste that made it compelling, and extremely easy to keep on eating. 

The Pantry Restaurant, 1820 Cerillos Road, Santa Fe, NM; online here.

Baked Good of the Day, September 8: Date Walnut Bread

Source: whatwouldcathyeat.com via Cake on Pinterest

Did you know that today (September 8) is National Date Nut Bread Day? It's true, and to celebrate, may I suggest either the recipe above (click through on the picture) or this recipe from Joy of Baking, for Date Walnut Bread? It may sound healthy, but smother it with some cream cheese and trust me, it's not. But it IS very tasty.

Baked Good of the Day, September 7: Acorn Squash and Honey Pies

Yup: today is National Acorn Squash Day! Celebrate it, sweetly, with this recipe for Acorn Squash and Honey Pies.

Sweet of the Day: Chocolate Peanut Butter "Cheese Ball"

Source: the-girl-who-ate-everything.com via Cake on Pinterest

I love this idea! Find the tutorial on The Girl Who Ate Everything.

Sweet Shots: 10 Happy Images From CakeSpy

Not that you need any MORE sweetness when you come 'round this website, but just to put you on sugar-sweet overload, here are 10 images that made me smile this week, from various places. First, above: cupcakes made by Carmen.

Second: a sweet shot of my zombie-cupcake card holder helping my friend Laurie hold her subway card in Tokyo! Wow, that little cake is well-traveled!

Source: twitpic.com via Cake on Pinterest

Three: a magical unicorn, sent to me by my friend who happens to own Church of Cupcakes.

Source: cakespy.com via Cake on Pinterest

Four: my favorite painting in quite some time.

Source: theendearingdesigner.com via Cake on Pinterest

Five: THIS CAKE, which I found on Pinterest.

Source: cakespy.com via Cake on Pinterest

Six: this cake, which I made! 

Seven: Who WOULDN'T be happy about a cupcake riding a pug?

Source: cakespy.bigcartel.com via Cake on Pinterest

Eight: Two words (or just one that I made up, I guess): UniCow!

Source: cakespy.com via Cake on Pinterest

Nine: I found cupcakes that resembled my character in the Northeast - I decorated them to complete the association, in photoshop!

Source: raspberricupcakes.com via Cake on Pinterest

Ten: since I love it when sweets look like other sweets, I found these macaron ice cream cones freaking adorable!

Sweet of the Day: Lemon Butter Crepe from Creperie Beau Monde

Crêpes are pretty sweet. Well, unless they're savory. Cos, you know, crêpes go both ways.

But on a recent trip to Creperie Beau Monde, I went totally sweet with their build your own dessert crêpe option. This one came with homemade lemon butter, lemon juice, and brown sugar.

I could try to explain the simple but exquisite pleasure of tart-creamy lemon butter paired with caramelly brown sugar and a dusting of confectioners' sugar, paired with the delicious, nutty buckwheat carbohydrate crêpe. 

But really, I'll let you look at the picture and make up your own sweet story--perhaps you'll dream even bigger than I could describe this delicious food thing. 

Creperie Beau Monde, 624 South Sixth Street Philadelphia, PA 19147 Visit them online here.