Baking Crazy!

[margecat]

I love to bake cheesecakes, though I'm not really a cheesecake kind of gal.  IMHO, cheesecake must be baked from scratch, not those Jello boxed things.  I make swirl-type ones, that are reduced fat and lower sugar, that taste like the "real" thing (I even won a staff bake-off in that category once).  I use a chocolate graham cracker crust on the chocolate swirl one, and a gingersnap, pecan one on the pumpkin swirl cake.  People love these when I make them for parties, especially my friend's hubby. I once saw him eat 3/4 of the cheesecake in 3/4 of an hour! I once dropped the pumpkin one on the floor; the cats rushed in, all excited--FOOD!--but they scratched at it and tried to cover it over--like they do in the litter box. Not a hit with cats, I suppose!

They always look so pretty, especially when I put them on a glass cake stand. I put paper Fall leaves (made for this purpose) under the bottom of the pumpkin one--it really looks pretty.

I've also been on a cupcake thing lately. I make my own decorative picks for them.  I recently made margarita cupcakes for a party at work. The retiree loves margaritas.  I used clip-art to make circles that I cut out with a scalloped paper punch, then used cello tape to tape a toothpick on the back of the circles.

 

[realmugglemom]

I enjoy baking as well.  My thing is muffins, since they are fairly easy and I feel like they make healthier snacks than some of the other things my kids (and I) like to snack on.  Even if it's a sweet type muffin I usually throw some wheat germ or something in to try to make it healthier.  Also I am a coffee drinker/lover and muffins usually taste so good with my coffee lol.  The recipe I make the most is a Banana-Oatmeal-Almond Butter one so I can use up my ripe bananas!