Kricket Cakes

We’re already on to recipe #2! And, as promised, this recipe is much less involved than the last.

I am sometimes crumby and mean in the morning and love to have the company of a muffin that cheers me up with its crumby topping and mean blueberry flavor! We ate these with John’s nephew Jesse who said “um, I didn’t ask for blueberries in mine” and then after the first bite followed with “mmmm, yeah I guess I like it.” Enough said, we gobbled them down!

This is a pretty basic muffin that is a little fluffier than most. The muffin itself is not super sweet but the crumb topping is. If making the muffins without the crumb topping, I would definitely use a little bit more sugar. Makes one dozen muffins (sometimes only 11 if you want them to be giant). If you are sometimes too crumby and mean to bake in the morning, but would be cheered by fresh muffins not long after you wake, you can prepare the recipe the night before and refrigerate them in the muffin tin. Just pop in the oven and add a couple of minutes to the baking time! Read the rest of this entry »

Photo by Alison Manning

Hi Everyone!

Welcome to my very first baking blog post! I am interested in hearing your feedback about this recipe (don’t worry, they won’t all be this ambitious!)

A few weeks ago, as John and Mike rode their bikes from Santa Cruz to Monterey, Alison and I adventured off for a lovely stroll in the Point Lobos State Reserve in Carmel. We spotted an interesting looking church in the distance and attempted to walk there, but were stopped by the chain link park fence. On our drive from Carmel to Monterey, we decided to stop and take a closer look at this old structure nestled amongst the hills and trees overlooking the Monterey Bay.

The Order of the Brothers of Our Lady of Mount Carmel was founded in the 12th century on Mount Carmel, Israel. The Carmelite Monastery in Carmel, California was built in 1931 and is still home to cloistered nuns. It is very simple and elegant, with quaint garden walking paths, abalone shell sculptures and a small chapel. We were excited about the rows of individual sitting and prayer chairs in lieu of pews in the chapel. The colors were very soothing- lots of whites and creams and tans and browns with touches of green and yellow in the simple stained glass windows. As we were leaving, Alison and I brainstormed what kind of dessert would best represent the Carmelite Monastery. At first we thought of something dense and chewy, but settled on something lighter but a little rustic. We new it had to be super carmely, and don’t worry, this is!

Oh, my pet peeve is a blog that never gets to the point. On to the recipe! Read the rest of this entry »