Archive for Cakes – Page 2

Kathy Casey’s Dish D’Lish Fruit Cake with Maker’s Mark

By Dessert Darling · Comments (3)
Tuesday, December 6th, 2011

Fruit Cake has long since been the laughing stock of Christmas jokes. Perhaps for this reason, we hardly see it during the holidays now. I recently got an e-mail advertising “Over 21″ Fruit Cakes made with Maker’s Mark. This sounded intriguing so I ordered the Dish D’Lish Fruitcake online.

It just arrived today and I have to say… it’s still fruitcake.  While the cake is clearly made with fine butter and hints of that lovely Maker’s Mark, its totally invaded by mountains of nuts and gelatinous, zingy fruit blobs. Like no ice cream can really be bad ice cream, no fruit cake can really be good fruit cake. I am a purist who rarely likes fruit near my desserts as it is.

Perhaps I wouldn’t begrudge the treat so much if it were labled “Holiday Trailnut Bread,” but calling it cake?! That’s just an assault on the English language.

 

For mor information on Dish D’Lish’s fruitcake by Kathy Casey, click here.

XOXO

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Wedding Dessert Table Recap

By Dessert Darling · Comments (1)
Saturday, October 22nd, 2011

In case you missed the Wedding Dessert Table breakdown, here’s a quick recap on all the goodies that we had and why! :-)

  1. Cheesecake Pops dipped in white and dark chocolate by Sweet Lauren Cakes for a slightly sour and savory dimension. (more here)
  2. Bears on a Stick by the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. Pretzel rods dipped in caramel, rolled in peanuts, and drizzled in chocolate for a salty-sweet, crunchy option.  I know people like salty items when they’re drinking- these were a Huge hit. (more here)
  3.  Swizzle Cakes, cocktail inspired mini-cupcakes with a slight alcoholic kick. To die for. (more here)
  4. Christopher Elbow Chocolates because who doesn’t like gorgeous, artisan, gourmet chocolates!? (more here)
  5. Circus Animal Cookies for nostalgic’s sake.. and the pink and white colors!  (more here)
In addition to these goodies we had a good-humor ice cream cart and a 3 tiered Lakers cake that I surprised my man with by Cake and Art. Overall, I’ve never seen desserts fly faster at a wedding than they did ours (and I’ve been to over 30 weddings!). Wow- I’m so glad that people enjoyed all the treats that I selected for them!

 

XOXO
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Macrobiotic Strawberry Shortcake & Tiramisu at M Cafe- Not Bad!

By Dessert Darling · Comments (0)
Thursday, October 20th, 2011

The other day I had a lunch with my favorite girls at M Café in Beverly Hills. M Café is an organic, macrobiotic restaurant, which means dessert-wise, everything is prepared without eggs, dairy, or refined sugars. When I told the girls that our upcoming desserts were sweetened with brown rice syrup instead, my friend dryly responded, “I didnt’ know brown rice was sweet.” Ha! We were surprised. :)

The Strawberry Shortcake was nothing short of delightful (even though we had an ugly strawberry on top). The rice syrup worked brilliantly as a substitute for refined sugars and the fresh strawberries gave a perfect balance of natural flavors.

The Tiramisu was not nearly as exciting in my book. It was fine for a plain, sweet cake, but that’s all it was… sweet.  Where was the flavor? The kick of coffee?? The spike of alcohol? The dash of salt? Boo- while pleasantly sweet, I found this rendition of a Tiramisu to be bland and flavorless.

Overall, we were impressed by the healthy, macrobiotic feet that M Cafe had pulled off with their cakes. Furthermore, we didn’t feel “gross” after eating desserts that were made from wholesome ingredients. A nice win win all around.

For more information on M Cafe, click here.

XOXO

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Pumpkin Spice Cake from Trader Joe’s

By Dessert Darling · Comments (2)
Tuesday, October 18th, 2011

The other day I participated in an awesome Breast Cancer Awareness video that Taryn Southern is producing. I was delighted to bump into one of my fave food bloggers there, Lynn of the The Actor’s Diet! She snapped this funny, candid shot of Taryn and me (as well as all of the photos in this post-Thanks Lynn!).

As the DD, I knew I had to eat dessert in my little bit, so I volunteered to do the kitchen scene and scoured for any readily available desserts.  Ah ha- Pumpkin Spice Cake from Trader Joes on the craft service table for the volunteers. Sorry girls, I need that prop!

I found some whipped cream to pretty it up for camera.

Voila! It worked perfectly for the shot and wow- who knew?! It even tasted super delicious.  I was doubly surprised because not only do store-bought items bum me out, but also because I’ve had terrible pumpkin pie at Trader Joe’s in the past (review here). That said, this was a moist and flavorful cake. Thankfully, there was still plenty to go around after my shot!

I can’t wait to see how the video turns out! Taryn is an incredibly talented web-producer (writer, actress, etc), so the song was very catchy!

Thanks again Lynn for the photos!

XOXO

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Carrot Cake from Canters’ Deli and Bakery

By Dessert Darling · Comments (2)
Wednesday, September 14th, 2011

Half cherry
No you’re eyes don’t deceive you, that really is a half-cherry rating.  If there were such a thing as negative cherries, this abominable carrot cake from the LA landmark, Canters’ Deli on Fairfax, would surely earn the odious award.

Carrot Cake… right?! How do you go wrong with Carrot Cake?!  My dear friend and actress, Autumn Reeser, and I set out to find a a slice of heaven as we both love carrot cake. However, we could not have gone more wrong than we did with Canter’s.  ”Repulsive” was all Autumn could mutter as she grimaced, gingerly trying small bites.

Autumn thought that the carrot cake resembled a large honkin’ protein bar with waxy glaze and all.  Her sentiments were not far off.  The “icing” left a terrible taste in our mouths as it was the worst combination of chalky and waxy, and the dried out bread.. oops, I mean “cake,” had barely any seasoning or flavor. Is this place for real!?  Canter’s looked gross from the outside, continue to look gross from the inside, and ended up just tasting gross all around.  Repulsive, Gross.. what have you.. this cake? Definitely not worth the weight!

Canter's Carrot cake

For more info on Canters’ Deli on Fairfax, click here. (Ha, like you want it now ;)

XOXO

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Cupcakes and Cake at Sweet Lady Jane

By Dessert Darling · Comments (6)
Monday, August 15th, 2011

1.5cherries

Don’t judge a cupcake by it’s cover. Boy did I learn this lesson from Sweet Lady Jane, the bakery made famous by stars like Jennifer Lopez and Bruce Springsteen for having their wedding cakes made by this chi chi cakery in WeHo and Santa Monica. Once you know one, you can spot a SLJ cupcake from 3 tables away. They’re the most darling creations you ever did see, a harmony of pastel colors blossoming into beautiful floral creations. They look like the perfect addition to any tea-party, young and old.

Just don’t bite into one.  I did so at a birthday dinner and wanted to spit it out immediately. The “frosting” was so dense it was like biting into a cold stick of butter, but even Butter has more flavor than the bland, sculpted brick topping these cakes. I’d been to SLJ a few years ago to order a friend’s cake.  I sampled everything and was extraordinarily disappointed by the lackluster cakes, steep prices, and rude service (It’s a cake shop! Where does “mean” factor into the equation? Should be the happiest place on earth to work!) The one cake that passed my palette was the Dulce De Leche. This was the only sample that had any flavor (like brown sugar) and some semblance of texture in the frosting (versus a smooth, hard stick of cold lard).

I know that some people enjoy the fact that SLJ cakes aren’t overly sweet. Well, if you don’t want something sweet, how ’bout not having dessert? There’s always butter in the fridge. Just a thought~

 

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Click here for more info on Sweet Lady Jane

XOXO

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Great 4th of July Dessert Ideas

By Dessert Darling · Comments (1)
Friday, July 1st, 2011

Happy Holiday Weekend!!! I’ve been collecting the greatest dessert ideas on Pinterest and thought I’d share my Top 3 favorites with you. But really, there’re so many other darling desserts there, you  should definitely check them out on my “Patriotic Board” by clicking here. :)  Enjoy!

Cake Balls in a Flag by MyJuiceCup.com

Fire Cracker Pound Cake by Betty Crocker

Chocolate Dipped Marshmallows by Melaniescrafts.blogspot.com
Yum Yum Fun! Have the Best weekend guys!!!
XOXO
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Chocolate Roulade and Apricot Charlotte from Joans on 3rd

By Dessert Darling · Comments (0)
Tuesday, June 14th, 2011

In addition to the UH-mazing Swizzle Cakes that we had at my bridal shower, we also enjoyed two surprisingly delicious cake items from Joans on Third. I say “surprisingly” delicious, because while the savory food has always been top-notch at this trendy cafe-market, the desserts have often disappointed me. However, my maid-of-honored did a brilliant job at getting the tastiest cakes that they have! First was this simple but yummy Chocolate Roulade.

But yummier yet was their rendition of an Apricot Charlotte. This treat had a light, fluffy meringue-shell that encapsulated airy whipped, bavarian cream with little bits of spritely apricots. Mmmmmmm. The most appealing aspect of this cake is that a whopping, visually satisfying slice of cake, does not stuff or fill your tummy so much thanks to it’s heavenly light consistency.

Here I am getting some practice at cutting the cake with my beautiful Maid of Honor!

For more information on Joans on Third in Los Angeles, click here.

XOXO

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Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

By Dessert Darling · Comments (3)
Friday, May 27th, 2011

THANK YOU from the bottom of my toes to every single man and woman who has ever served this great nation of ours. I can’t believe how lucky and privileged I am for being born in the United States of America. Many people have died for our rights to be free, creative, pursue happiness, and even blog our free speech about desserts. I found this pretty pretty Red White & Blue cake on RecipeGirl.com.

Light a yellow candle in honor of all the brave souls who died or have been injured in the name of our amazing Country.

I hope you all have fabulous BBQs in store this weekend! I am off to yet another wedding! Crossing my fingers for tasty desserts before I tear up the dance-floor. :) I shall dutifully report back next week.~

XOXO

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Vanilla Vanilla Cake from Ralph’s Grocery Store

By Dessert Darling · Comments (3)
Wednesday, May 11th, 2011

It was a dear friend’s birthday and another friend decided to take point on the cake. She called me from Ralph’s in a panic though- she didn’t know which cake to get! I could totally attest to the Red Velvet Cake being amazeballs, but the Vanilla-Vanilla on Easter sale?? Hmmm- let’s Try it!

OK,  maybe it being on Sale should have been a sign.  Something was very off with the frosting.  The cake itself was perfection- light, fluffy, bouncy, yummy.. but the frosting had a weird, slightly metallic, cherry hint to it.  I kept eating it anyway because it was joyfully sugary… but err, I think we got a bad batch. Not a disaster, but not sheer brilliance~.

In the bathroom to light the candles- might have sampled the frosting first!

For more info on Ralph’s, click here.

XOXO

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