Tag Archives: cake boss

America, Flowers, Kids, Photography

Ewww….

40 Comments

As my little 11 year old Cake Boss would say when I would light up a cigar, “Ewwww, Papa!  That’s gross!”

Well, you have no idea of “ewww” or “gross” until now.

Unfortunately, I used the last of the soap yesterday…  It was too late when I stepped into the shower that I had forgotten to buy soap.

I was confronted with not washing at all…or…

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…use my little Cake Boss’ soap…  Excuuuuse me.  Shower gel.

I now smell of Cranberry Twinkle.

No, I reek.

It stinks.

Ewww.

Gross.

And the smell won’t go away.

Gotta light up a stogie to mask this wretched girlie odor.

Wait a minute.

I can’t.  It’s 1:30 AM.

Damn.

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Not that anyone should notice but my attention had been diverted away from WordPress the past month or so.  I decided to try and build a small (potential) income stream by (possibly) selling my photographs on websites.  You know.  Like for prints, greeting cards, cell phone cases and the like.  Frankly, I don’t know why anyone would want to buy a photograph versus a painting but what the heck.

So my days outside of dealing with the ex-wife – who thrives on interfering during my supposed time with my kids – has been focused on setting up a (cheap) studio and shooting macros of flowers and the like.  Plus having been an amateur FILM photographer in my youth, all this “photo editing” stuff has been a huge challenge.  I’m up against young(er) pros who all they know is digital photography.  You know.  Fred Flintstone meets Captain Kirk.  Oh well.

I also don’t know why I focused on macro photography for a niche market since I never had attempted it before… and the only thing I know about flowers is how to kill them.  Certainly, other niche markets like patriotism, sports and pets would be broader but macros would be doable and without much expense.  Besides, nothing would have to die.

Anyways, here’s a few of my recent snapshots:

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And for a finale…  Isn’t this a face only a mother could love?  It is an actual flower called a Cuphea, or a “purpurea Firecracker”.  Aren’t you impressed with this old former mechanic?

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One of my websites is here: Fine Art America.

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Time to light up a stogie.

I know.  Ewww.

But it’s better than smelling reeking like Cranberry Twinkle.

Baking, Cooking, Food, Kids

Triple-Chocolate Espresso Brownies

31 Comments

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Decadent Triple-Chocolate Espresso Brownies

Long name, huh, for brownies?  O_o

Well, my little Cake Boss asked for me, her servant, to make her some brownies. And since I had all the ingredients at the house, I decided to do it from scratch…again.

Wasn’t someone supposed to tell me to stop this non-sense?

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Sugar, salt and unbleached flour are not shown. As a side note, I much prefer Hershey’s unsweetened chocolate.  It’s a lousy photo but that’s a foil-lined baking pan in the background.

Per my yes-yes beacon, Cook’s Illustrated, the classic brownie should be moist, not “goopy” or dry.  The chocolate flavor should most of all be decadent – especially for my little Cake Boss.  Gotta raise her right, you know.

Like avoiding the supermarket pre-mixed who-the-heck-knows-what’s-in-it stuff.

Well… it’s really ‘cuz I wanted to avoid the uncomfortable situation experienced after baking the little Cake Boss a classic white double-layer birthday cake.  The little Cake Boss almost fired me because I didn’t do as she told me to.

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Some of the easy steps:

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Melting the chocolates and butter over barely simmering water. Gotta keep stirring!  Just like my homemade chocolate truffles.
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After it all melts, whisk in the cocoa and espresso powder. Set aside.
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Whisk eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, and salt. You then whisk while pouring in the still warm chocolate yumminess. Fold in the flour and pour into a foil-lined baking pan. Smooth over as best possible then bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes.
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Don’t overbake! I’ve learned my oven runs on the hot side and items need to be rotated. It’s perfectly done if it domes slightly and some sticky brownie crumbs stick to a toothpick. Very logical (unlike the illogical “Common Core Mathematics” now being taught in elementary schools).

After cooling for two hours, lift out the brownies with the foil liner and pig out!

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Actually, this first batch of homemade “triple-chocolate espresso brownies” came out REAL good as the little Cake Boss came back for a second piece.

She must’ve been pleased.

I guess I’m still employed at the house.

Baking, Cooking, Family, Food, Kids

Classic Pound Cake From Scratch

24 Comments

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Classic pound cake from scratch. A secret is the temperature of the unsalted butter.

So my little Cake Boss wanted to bake something with me…but what?

The funny thing was she told me the only dessert she really liked from my repertoire was the Strawberry and Almond Frangipane Tart.

Really.

Hmmph.

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Just a smartphone photo…and before the little Cake Boss started to fold in the cake flour.  It looked as if Mt. Vesuvius erupted in our house.

So we decided on Classic Pound Cake…sans the lemon glaze.  She didn’t want it.

…Darn.

Per the Cook’s Illustrated recipe I decided upon, the secret apparently lies in the temperature of the butter and eggs as well as using cake flour.  Do I dare say it sounded easy..?

It did…until I remembered I wasn’t baking it…alone.

I forgot I worked for the household Cake Boss.  Silly me.

Well, she plowed through it… at a eleven year old’s pace, that is.

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Before she added the egg mixture…

The ingredients used were:

  • 16 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks), cold, plus extra for greasing pan
  • 3 large eggs
  • 3 large egg yolks
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 3/4 cups cake flour (7 ounces), plus extra for dusting pan
  • 1/2 teaspoon table salt
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar (8 3/4 ounces)

We followed the Cook’s Illustrated bible as best we could… And you know what? It domed wonderfully!

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It domed wonderfully…! And I had to guess on the doneness as I had no wooden skewers. Afraid to have a soggy under-baked creation, I overbaked it by about five minutes… Boo-boo.

After it cooled and nearing midnight, we got to sample her creation.

Oink oink! It was really good!

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So now, I have another addition to my man-kitchen dessert repertoire… and the little Cake Boss didn’t fire me. She nearly did after I put together her Classic White Double-Layer birthday cake. She had demanded I even off the domed tops…which I did not… and I should have listened to the very experienced little Cake Boss. 😦

But I survived to bake another day.