Seattlest will be counting down to 2011 with a series of posts on our highlights of this year and what we're looking forward to in the next. Got a list to suggest? Send it our way. See the entire series here. more ›

The day before the birthday dinner, the idea of making strawberry cupcakes came to us by complete chance. We had rushed into Metropolitan Market to buy a doughnut for a friend, but it was the pink muffins on display that we couldn't take our eyes off of. Rather than wanting to buy one, we more importantly wanted to know what was in them that gave them such a beautiful color--was it strawberries or rhubarb? Then, as if he was reading our mind, a man in street clothes standing next to us opened the pastry case, removed one of the muffins and broke it in half, giving us a piece. "Don't worry, I work here." He said, as we stared at him in complete disbelief. The muffins were undoubtedly strawberry and after that single bite we knew exactly what dessert would have the power to trump the Cherpumple on our friend's special day. more ›

Soda bread falls under the category of baked goods known as quick breads. As their name implies, quick breads require little time to prepare. They are leavened by chemical leaveners and steam, not by yeast, thus requiring no fermentation time. Additionally, they are usually tender products with little gluten development, so mixing them takes just a few minutes. more ›

The weekend after we were first introduced to the Cherpumple we were obsessed with wanting to make it and couldn't get our mind off of it. We just loved the whole idea--three pies baked into three cakes, to then be slathered with as much Duncan Hines cheesecake frosting as you could get your hands on--INCREDIBLE. Honestly, we don't even really like pie and we don't necessarily even care about eating the Cherpumple; We just want to see if it can actually be made. more ›

Are you looking for an inexpensive way to show off your gourmet taste and talents? Consider staying in and making pizza the next time you want to have a romantic evening with someone special. It involves experimentation, lots of hands-on interaction, and then you can eat it without silverware so there's less to worry about the morning after. Drink lots of inexpensive wine with it. Few things break the ice easier than making pizza and drinking wine. more ›

If you are unemployed, underemployed, or just hungry, there is a simple and satisfying way to nourish your soul and your belly. Bake your own bread. It requires nothing you don’t own already. Sure, there are lots of ways to complicate it, to make it more expensive, but they are not necessary. more ›

BAKE THINGS: Did you read Seattlest Rachael's bomb recipe for molassas cookies earlier this week? They include cardamom, which is an inspired stroke of spice. Today could be your day to try a batch of those. On Sunday, we made Orangette's nutmeg doughnut muffins, and we can highly recommend that recipe as well. Make sure you'll have a few people around to help you consume them, though--those balls of goodness are dense and rich. If you have oranges around (it's Christmas... who doesn't have oranges around?), consider adding a teaspoon or two of orange zest to them. more ›

Recently, we’ve been hit with a long string of requests for a molasses cookie recipe. For some of you on-top-of-things types, we may have come too late in the holiday cookie-baking process. We can only hope you’ll consider making more as the city is buried under a blanket of snow, so: we know you’re home, we know you have time, and we know you want cookies. more ›

Kim is off to the Fremont Abbey tonight to catch one of PDX's finest singer-songwriters, Laura Gibson, in action. She will spend the rest of the weekend napping, baking, and watching movies. Sunday night, she'll emerge from her lair for Jenny Owen Youngs at the High Dive. more ›

Until the age of, oh, six months ago, the only pound cake ever to enter our sphere with any regularity was Sara Lee. You know the one: frozen, aluminum tin, red cardboard lid. As a child, we loved this cake. We loved its perfectly uniform spongy crumb, we loved its smooth, suede-like crust--reminiscent of the ice cream sandwiches that we also loved--and even now, we can’t deny that Sara Lee Moist and Delicious All Butter Pound Cake is certainly tasty. It’s just also sort of boring (and difficult to serve to our fellow chef friends with head held high). more ›

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Birthdays, anniversaries, promotions, and celebrations alike have at least one cool thing in common: cake. In this instance, it’s cupcakes. Recently, we celebrated a birthday, and the cupcakes (specifically the frosting) were too good not to share them with you! Our sister-in-law, the pastry chef extraordinaire, was the mastermind behind the dessert. She concocted the frosting and was willing to let everyone in on her secrets. She knows how to play with a recipe to make it just right. Make this frosting at the next social gathering, and you might find yourself on the Martha Stewart Show too! more ›

Winter in Seattle is rough. It’s dark and rainy and getting out of bed in the morning is probably the last thing that you want to do. We know. We wake up at 4:30 so we can start baking by 6 and lately, it’s been tough. But seeing as though our life already revolves around food, we thought we might try and work it into our waking up routine: because really, everything easier when there’s something good to eat. more ›