Cakes and Crafts

Thursday night I did something that I don't have much time to do anymore - I baked! Friday was my friend Christyn's birthday, and I had volunteered to bring a cake in to work. So, I whipped this little puppy up for her (side note - I do not condone the whipping of puppies). It's a taffy apple cake, with a bit of caramel sauce drizzled over the top. I actually got the recipe online (follow link above) about 6 years ago, when I made it for a potluck at my last job. I remembered it being a nice dense sweet cake.

It got a lot of compliments on Friday when gathered to publicly embarass Christyn in the company cafe. (Christyn - the singing was NOT my idea!!!) And apparently, people were impressed by the bundt pan shape. Someone in the hall whispered that it looked like a temple as we passed by, according to one of my coworkers.

Anyway, I actually thought it was a bit too sweet. I don't remember it being that sweet, so I wonder if this means that I've been watching my diet for so long that my tastes are changing. (Though I have by no means stopped eating sweets!) I do think it could use a few more apples in it - it called for 1 1/2 C chopped apple, and it makes enough batter to fill a 10" Bundt pan to the top edge (and yes, it raises way over the top of the pan as it bakes), so I don't know how you could add apples without having to use additional pans...

Because I wasn't too impressed with the cake this time, I wondered it everyone was just saying they liked it to be nice. Why do I always doubt myself?

I also made a scarf for Christyn using a simple mesh pattern in a bulky yarn. I can't remember the yarn type now (threw the labels out when I finished), but I think it was a Patons yarn. I know that it was an acrylic/alpaca/polyester blend. And very silky to the touch. I really like how this one turned out. (Yes, I'm patting myself on the back, just a little. Someone's got to do it!)