Everything Baker

By now you know I love to bake!  And you also know that my family loves to celebrate.  Some of my belated graduation presents included a set of silicone bakeware and silicone baking sheet!

Two months ago after using a silicone bundt pan--which ironically is one-third the price of a metal bundt pan--I wondered if it were possible that other silicone bakeware could be superior to metal bakeware.

Fast forward to yesterday,  I just couldn't bring myself to make a chocolate cheesecake because the springform pan was completely rusted and even though I line the entire springform pan with parchment paper, I couldn't use it.  Plus, it was a bit bent and I was afraid it would leak.  So I looked online and found out that silicone springform pans exist!  They really do!

So I ordered one that will arrive tomorrow.  I'll let you know how well it works.

Now to this afternoon, I came downstairs to find the beautiful arrangement of silicone bakeware waiting to be discovered by me!  A graduation surprise!

I'm in heaven selecting recipes to try out in the new silicone bakeware!

Seriously, if I could do an infomercial for silicone baking products, I would.  I would also write a catchy jingle...!

For now, here's a treat of a song, "Everything Happens to Me" sung by the jazz trumpeter Chet Baker in honor of the "baking" mood.  Chet Baker is more known as a trumpeter but as a great musician he puts emotion in his vocals, too!

Citrus Streusel Bread: Sunny

Citrus Streusel Bread is so...sunny.  The recipe is very simple, too!

I like to put lots of streusel in the middle of the cake.  Because I baked this cake in my new favorite silicone bundt pan, I didn't put any streusel on top.

To give the glaze more punch, I add lemon juice and lemon extract.  I just test taste until the glaze is as lemony as I want it!

So I was thinking about how "sunny" this bread is and immediately thought of Stevie Wonder singing "Sunny!"

Pistachio Cake: Little Girl Blue

Yesterday I got a new bundt pan: a silicone bundt pan!  I made pistachio cake and it was light and  ... green--just in time for St. Patrick's Day tomorrow!  The almond flavoring punctuates the flavor of the cake and the glaze.  That silicone bundt pan released the cake so that it literally slid right out.  I will never use a metal bundt pan again!

I tried to find an Irish-themed jazz song and struck out.  I couldn't even find a song with the color green in it, so I settled on the next best color: blue.  So here's "Little Girl Blue" sung by Ella Fitzgerald.