Baking Bucket List – Update #4

Back in February, I created a Baking Bucket List – a list of baked goods to attempt over the next year or so. There are 25 delicacies on the list, so my goal is to cross off a few every 3-4 months. All of a sudden I realized I’m already halfway through! You can check out my first update here,my second update here, and my third here.  

#4 Biscuits: Every time Jay and I travel south, I need to get my hands on a biscuit. Smothered with butter and jam, there’s just nothing better for breakfast. Thus, it was about time I tried making them myself. I turned to the queen of butter, Paula Deen herself. Her recipe is ridiculously easy and takes no time at all to mix together. 

After I cut the first batch and placed them in the oven, I couldn’t take my eyes off them. I willed them to rise! Low and behold, they actually did! Maybe they weren’t quite as fluffy and airy as I’d experienced, but for a first shot they were pretty darn delicious!

#9 Frosted Layer Cake – When my in-laws asked us to host a BBQ/birthday party for Jay’s uncle, I jumped at the opportunity to make a birthday cake. He kept it simple with just chocolate cake and vanilla icing. 

Lessons learned:

• Red is a color that’s virtually impossible to create with icing
• Set up your kitchen as if you’re planning to murder someone, because food coloring gets EVERYWHERE. We were literally wiping down cabinets, counters, my face, etc.
• Figure out which icing tip you want before you put icing in the bag. Sigh. 
• Practice writing and designs on parchment or wax paper before the cake. 
• Make more icing than you think you’ll need. No last minute scramble to make an additional batch. Plus! You can eat the leftover icing with cookies, peanut butter, or straight out of the container (yea, I definitely did all three of those).

#22 Macarons: Macaron day was not a pleasant day in the Kamery household. To be fair, I’ve made macarons once before and they turned out perfectly. PERFECTLY! So, when this batch rose nary a centimeter, I was disheartened. For some unknown reason, the little disks stayed chewy and flat, with none of the characteristic crispy shell or beautiful rise.

I had to literally peel them off my baking mat. Of course, I still tried to salvage them with chocolate icing (and they tasted fine), but they just looked sad. To top it off, the pastel purple color I was shooting for turned out rather ugly. 

Naturally, I bought all the necessary ingredients right away so I can try to redeem myself. Hopefully batch #3 will be the best of them all : )

 

Have you tried baking any of these desserts before? What should I bake next?