I Made Dessert

He made dinner, but I made dessert. Beautiful, scrumptious, vanilla cupcakes with lemon cream and raspberries. I love taking the time to bake something from scratch. I saw these in another cheap cookbook find from half price- the 2005 Food and Wine Magazine collection of recipes. That magazine is hit and miss with me (they often have recipes with ingredients that are far too unusual, or procedures that are too complicated.) But these cupcakes were not too hard to make and they turned out great. The red in the center is seedless raspberry jam which I piped into the baked cupcakes with an icing tip. The recipe called for slicing off the tops, spreading the jam, then replacing the top. It seemed better to me to pipe the jam into the center.

I'm starting to get geared up for fall when baking and cooking really take off for me. I am especially itching to make some pastries and stews. I want to feel the oven heating up the kitchen, and smell something delectable simmering on the stove. I want to make Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon (Beef Stew in Red Wine, with Bacon, Onions, and Mushrooms) again which I swear took me 12 hours to make last time but was the best thing I've ever tasted in my life. I can't wait to make a huge pot of spicy chili. I might even tackle my sister-in-law's recipe for Black Tie Mousse Cake (they have it at Olive Garden) which has 4 layers and takes forever and a day to make. In fact, when I made it years ago I believe it drove me to drinking. But, it was so delicious and so worth the effort!

What are you looking forward to cooking/baking this Fall?