Thursday, March 20, 2008

Temptation at its Finest

I came to the conclusion over the past year that I cannot bake a dessert unless I have a really good reason. A party, a potluck, a dinner with friends...these are acceptable and valid reasons to bake dessert. "Just because" or "What the hell, let's make brownies" are not acceptable reasons for me to bake a dessert on a whim. Because here's the lo-down of what will happen if I have a gooey and inviting dessert sitting on my kitchen table:

8:30 am - I start off the day with a brownie (or whatever dessert it is) before breakfast

9:30 am - "Oh look. Those brownies are still here. I'll just have a little bite."

10:30 am -"Well, I better finish off that brownie that I took a bite out of."

12:00 pm - I start and finish my lunch with a brownie

2:00 pm -"Well, whadda ya know!! Those brownies are still here. I better have another..."

4:00 pm - My husband returns home, immediately opens the pan of brownies and says, "Dude, what happened to all the brownies?!"

So you get the picture of just what a slippery slope this is for me! A perfect case-in-point is this gorgeous work of baking craftsmanship:


Light and moist layers of white cake with toasted pecans, glued together by a generous heaping of cream cheese frosting...I mean, what's not to like about this Italian Cream Cake?! (And please refrain from licking your computer screen.) But I did good, for the most part. We had our "Suppers For Six" fellowship group dinner a few weeks back and I really wanted to bake something extra-special for dessert. Plus, I accepted the challenge to "up my game" and bake a layer cake--something I hadn't done in a long time. The cake turned out fabulous, aside from the fact that it was leaning slightly, and a good time was had by all. The best part? We came home with only a few pieces of leftover cake, so I wasn't tempted to succumb to that death trap I described above. Well, except for the piece of cake I had for breakfast the next morning...

If you want to wow your friends and family with this amazing cake, or if you have more will-power than I do and need something to do on a rainy day, check out the recipe for yourself.

2 comments:

BKicklighter said...

Another beautiful picture, entertaining post, and intimidating challenge. Thanks, Sarah! Hey, who do you supper with six with?

Sarah said...

Thanks, Kicky...er, I mean, Becky!!

We rotate our Suppers for Six (SFS) groupings each time we do a dinner. Since January, though, we've only had a SFS once every 2 months. Emily Ulmer is in charge of changing to groups each time.