Building Buttercream

My mom's birthday close to Christmas, and last year she had a special request for us - she wanted to celebrate her birthday during the summer with a super awesome family backpacking trip.
First thought through my head: Fun!
Second thought: How do I bring a cake on a backpacking trip?...

What is that in the middle of the bread? It's a dyed Easter egg! This month's Daring Bakers' Challenge was Easter bread. Many of them featured whole eggs worked into the bread. I liked how this Italian version looks like an egg in a cozy bread nest.
The April Daring Baker’s Challenge was hosted by Wolf of Wolf’s Den . She challenged us to Spring into our kitchens and make Easter breads reflecting cultures around the world....

Spring weather in Seattle can be a bit capricious. Several sunny days will raise my hopes that summer is finally on its way - but then two weeks of grey drizzle will drown those hopes as I realize that it's still at least two months before summer is...

I got very excited when I saw January's Daring Bakers' Challenge. So excited, in fact, that I promptly dropped the rest of my plans for the weekend, marched to the grocery store to buy almonds, and began baking. This month's challenge was baumkuchen...