ABCDessert

I had originally planned to make fudge for F. Then Spencer informed me that he doesn't like chocolate. I don't understand. I love him, but I don't understand. I've never made flan before. We consulted Heather and America's Test Kitchen and decided to give it a try. I think we made a perfectly respectable first attempt. This recipe started off as an exercise in sibling rivalry. Julie kept saying "macaroni pan" and Spencer loudly and forcefully continued to remind her that it was actually a sauce pan. After a few minutes of shouting at each other about the pan there was a brief wrestling match to determine who would get to stand on the step stool and who would stand on a chair. Around the time they started throwing sugar at each other I decided that perhaps I had started this project a little bit to closely to lunch time. We took a break for a snack. Things were much more congenial after everyone had a full stomach. Spencer got frust...

When it's a dessert day, Spencer will unload the dishwasher without whining. We cleaned up the kitchen, cleared off the countertops, got out the step stools, and put on our aprons. After measuring the flour, salt, and water, we realized that I haven't been shopping since before spring break and my butter supply was gone. So we put on our shoes and went to go buy some. Since we were out anyway, we went ahead and did all the errands.  By the time we were home, Julie was hungry and tired. We fed her lunch and let her take a nap. I'm a little sad that she didn't do this project with us, but she was not disappointed to wake up to fresh eclairs. Spencer felt really strongly about cutting the butter into three pieces before adding it to the water. I'm not sure where he came up with this idea, but he was adamant that it was necessary. The eclairs turned out pretty good, so maybe he knows something I don't. I tried to take a shortcut for the filing and use ...

Making a cake is always a multi step process. Making a cake with Julie involves two baths and a load of laundry. We had to start this project twice because Julie was a little overzealous with the baking soda the first time around.  Spencer made his devil's food cake in a tuna fish can so that he could have his very own cake. Then we used the rest of the batter to make cupcakes. Honestly, I sent the kids to go play while I made (and sampled) the frosting unassisted. -L ---------------------- Isaac's favorite part of making cake is greasing and flouring the pans, followed by measuring the flour.  He was impatient waiting for the cake layers to cool and snitched bites out of each layer.   We froze the cake layers for a couple hours, which made them easier to stack and frost.  Devil's Food Cake is a staple at our house.  We have tested many recipes over the years and this one is our favorite.  (Althou...