Matt's Blog

Last night we hosted the (first annual?) 2008 Ultimate Chili Cookoff. There were about seven different chilis entered in the contest yesterday. Paul won best meat chili (with David at a close second) and Sue took first on her delicious vegetarian chili.

As usual, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to bake another cake…

I ran out of time to do a scratch recipe, but added a touch of cayenne pepper to a Devil’s Food box mix, mmm.  To get the rounded bowl shape I simply, well, baked it in a Pyrex bowl!  The “beans” and “cheese” on top are a mix of Boston Baked Beans (candied peanuts), cinnamon hots, Raisinets, and yellow-dyed coconut flakes.

Last weekend we decided to have a waffle party – something I haven’t really done since my first few years in college!  I brought out the trusty old Toastmaster waffle iron to join the ranks… In the end we had about five different irons lined up making a number of different batters and a whole slew of yummy toppings to try out.  I also managed to make a pretty good rendition of my mom’s fruit compote recipe.

In celebration of Sue’s birthday, I had no choice but to try and make a Waffle Cake!  I am not a fan of real maple syrup, so this was definitely not my favorite cake: a spice cake base with maple buttercream frosting.  My favorite part was cutting out the squares of cake… and discarding of them (via my tummy)!

Paul and Celeste are getting married on Saturday!!  Of course, I decided it’s only right to tease Paul one last time before he flies up to Canada to tie the knot:

This icky looking confetti cake was my first attempt at making a sphere cake – and I think it turned out pretty well!  The chain is made of Red Vines.  Unfortunately I had to break my rule about only using edible materials because I couldn’t get the licorice to stay together without a little wire support.

Darshan has a strange fondness for the Hostess treats known as “Sno-Balls“.  So strange, in fact, that it seemed only right to make a giant Sno-Ball cake for his 23rd Birthday!

This cake involved filling a hollowed chocolate cake with a creamy icing then covering the whole thing with a layer of pink marshmallow creme frosting and topping this off with coconut (which, yes, was dyed pink).  Turned out better than I expected it would (and was also easier to make than I was expecting).

One of our testers, Emily, is celebrating her last day on our team before starting the next stage of her career with another group.  We’re all going to miss her, but we couldn’t send her off without a cake!

David helped me make this delicious looking Tiramisu Layer Cake tonight – I cannot wait to taste it!