Cake Talk

I'm not averse to brownies made from a mix. Some can be rubbery and taste fake, but others are fudgy and rich. [My favorite brands are Ghirardelli and newcomer Cissé.]

But most boxed mixes do contain artificial ingredients/preservatives, and none really compare to a brownie made well from scratch. Punchy loves my brownies stirred up from Baker's unsweetened chocolate, sugar, eggs, butter, a pinch of salt, a little flour and some vanilla extract.

Now I'm trying to bake less. My moods swing in an ugly way when I eat too much sugar. I never really noticed until the last year or so. Plus: Figgy, when home, is mostly vegan [no eggs or butter] and H. tries to avoid sweets. And too much sugar isn't good for Punchy, either.

Yet goodies and the fairy godmothers who bake them live on, like Santa Claus and Virginia. Last year, we happened upon Cakeaholic Obsession on Orange Road on the south end of Montclair, down near Punchy's school. I love looking in little bakeries, and am happy to suppport them, too.

The brownies! Punch loves the brownies, says they are just as good as the ones we make from scratch. And the adorable pink shop sells cupcakes in tempting flavors [like Lemon Drop and Obsession] that are wildly popular. They have kids' baking classes and camps, too; I thought I'd skip since I've already taught Punch a lot in the kitchen. But she and Miss Julie were talking yesterday and I think she would really enjoy it.

Julie Johnson, Punchy, a cup of strawberry lemonade and a brownie.
Note the hot pink KitchenAid mixer.

Julie hired an artist to paint the walls,
which display the names of all of the women who influenced her as a baker.

Somewhere on the wall is Mayme, Julie's name for her grandma, who lives in Georgia.

The Fresh Apple Cake I made for H.'s bday last night, using
his mom's favorite recipe and fallen apples from a Cape Cod trail.

Good night to you.

TCOY

1. Mass. A little quiet prayer.
2. We drove into NYC for lunch with Figgy & Florida Orange. It was good to see freckled, blue-haired Figgy and smiling F.O.
3. I was feeling like I needed support; texted a few friends from support group.
4. Took Sug for a walk and the night sky looked pretty.
5. I'm reading an old Nancy Drew mystery that I got when I took Punch to the Montclair Public Library yesterday.
6. When we go to Cakeaholic, we get one or two brownies. I save one in the freezer for Punch and try very, very hard not to chip away at it. Not always successful.