Pitta ‘Mpigliata

I may have just outdone myself! These "pitta ‘mpigliata" (or "pitta 'nchiusa") are a traditional Christmas dessert from Calabria (the toe of Italy). The dough is made with red wine and olive oil, and the rosette-shaped cakes are filled with walnuts and raisins sweetened with honey. I learned about these from the family that owns Casa Mia in Marblehead.

Chocolate Crinkles

Chocolate crinkles for our Christmas party!

Tres Leches Cake

So many leches in this cake. One of my faves! For practice Thanksgiving with my work fam. 

Vanilla Birthday Cake with Spaceship Fondant

Offset spatula and vanilla bean birthday cake with vanilla buttercream frosting for Brandon's birthday...

...which turned into an adventure with fondant! His love of all things space inspired this fun design. 

Pretzels

Big fat fluffy bagel boiled pretzels, recipe courtesy of Alton Brown.

Gingerbread Cake

Fall-tastic gingerbread cake with fluffy whipped cream and candied ginger (for my coworker Mike's birthday)

Lemon Meringue Thumbprint Cookies

Lemon meringue thumbprint cookies (easier than pie* to bike to work with). For my coworker Ben's birthday.

*I just learned that "easy as pie" refers to consuming pie, not making it :)

Banana Bread Waffles

Breakfast for my coworker Colby (who loves to waffle iron his sandwiches)'s birthday!

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

My favorite summer dessert!

Stout Cake

This chocolate cake with an added boost of flavor thanks to a cup of stout beer in the batter was made for my coworker Meg who is not only Irish, but has a birthday that falls shortly after St. Patty's Day!

Brownies

The magical, unearthly terrain that is a tray of brownies.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Taste Test

Mass Audubon was looking for volunteers to bake cookies for their maple sugaring weekend, so I took it as an opportunity to taste test 6 different chocolate chip cookie recipes I had in my cookbooks (plus Nestlé Toll House Refrigerated Cookie Dough). My coworkers and Brandon's work family judged the appearance, taste, and texture of the 7 cookies. While some enjoyed the traditional crisp, flat result from the Joy of Cooking recipe, Todd English's and Thomas Keller's cookies were the winners for most, with a nice ratio of dough to chips and a balanced soft but crispy texture.

Surprise Birthday Funfetti

We surprised our coworker Marc a month after his birthday (which fell during the holidays) with this cheery Funfetti cake.

Baked Alaska

Inspired by a project at work on coffee machines, I was in search of a coffee ice cream recipe when I stumbled across the Cook's Illustrated Baked Alaska recipe. Having recently seen this beautiful dessert made by the contestants on The Great British Baking Show, I couldn't help but give it a shot. The Cook's Illustrated version results in a half cylinder shape - I opted for a dome. Using a metal bowl to shape the ice cream and a round cake pan for the supporting layer of cake, I then created and applied the meringue, and then was shocked to see that you really can put this ice cream creation in a 500 degree oven to crisp the tips of the meringue while leaving the interior in tact. Delicious!

Bagels

Using the Cooks Illustrated New York Bagels recipe, I made, proofed, shaped, and boiled a yeast dough to create these deliciously soft fresh bagels.