The original plan was to make mini cakes.  Mini Black Forest cakes, that is.  I looked for recipes on the Web and there are a lot.  Some range from doable to 'oh dear maybe next time' complicated.  Some use store-bought cherry pie filling while some cook up their own.  Some use liquors while others leave it out.  Some use only this kind of cherries while some use that kind of cherries...and so on!

It seems everyone has their own way of making Black Forest cake and whatever works for them, great!  Right?

Coffee and White Chocolate Chip Cookies

I could have gone the usual route and baked a regular chocolate chip cookie.  But why would I do that, right?  Most especially when there's a huge ass bottle of instant dark roast coffee in the pantry!

So I looked for a recipe where it is used and found one!

Whipped Chocolate Buttercream and Chocolate Cupcakes for two!

I have a scenario for you:  Your best friend of more than a decade (and counting) subtly hinted that she'd like for you to make her birthday cake on her birthday (of course).  And you, being the wonderful friend that you are, may have said yes or pretended not to hear but really, you're already planning what flavor and design you'll be doing with the upcoming birthday girl's request.

Let's skip to a couple of weeks and into the day.  The birthday.  The day you'll be 'surprising' your best pal with cake.

Funfetti Chocolate Chip Cookies

Do you also have those days when you want to bake something?  Like you don't know what yet aside from it has to be fuss-free.  Ridiculously delicious but easy because it could be too hot in your kitchen or it's already quite late in the evening.

But you just have to bake something!

Cassava Cake

I never ever thought I'd be able to make cassava cake in my life.  Ever.  But here we are and we're about to talk about it.

How would I describe cassava cake to someone who has never tried it?

Double Chocolate Doughnut Muffin

V-day is fast approaching and I'm bringing you a wonderful idea and an incident that will make any baker weep.  Let's start with the sad bit first, shall we? :)

I went to the mall, headed to the baking section just looking around with no intention of buying anything and then...there I saw a neat stack of this special kind of pan.

'What pan?' A doughnut pan.  

Pistachio Chocolate Chunk Coffee Blondies

2 days into the month of all things sappy, I bring you something sweet yet packs a different kind of punch.

Oh, coffee!