Chocolate Banana Bread Pudding

After coming home from a quick weekend getaway, I realize that we have almost a full bag of buttermilk bread about to go stale. I wanted to avoid the inevitable waste, so I figured that I should whip up something to make it useful.

I found this recipe for pudding that had good reviews online and just tweaked it up a little bit to make it not too sweet. This is so yummy! My husband and son inhaled it. It's really good for using up old bread and over ripe bananas which is always the case in our house.

Cream Cheese Spirals

I wanted to try baking something different but had no idea what to do. So, I grabbed this Baking book I picked up from Barnes & Noble for $5 and looked for something that's simple and easy to do.

I picked Cream Cheese Spirals. I had all the ingredients and it will allow me to learn something new. It looked like it would be good with coffee for breakfast or dessert.

Decorating Basics: Wilton Method Course

I did a couple of cakes before I finally enrolled myself in a cake decorating class. Last April, I took Wilton Course 1: Discover Cake Decorating at our local Michael's store. The class cost $45 but they had a  50% off promo so I ended up just paying $22.50. We met once a week for 4 weeks.

I know Wilton recently revised the courses effective June 2010. They've removed the course numbering system that confused people into thinking they have to take the courses in sequence. And also removed duplicate topics between courses. But looking at the curriculum they posted online, it looks like the old Course 1 is so much like the new Decorating Basics class.

Here's what you should expect for the new class - DECORATING BASICS and links to the Wilton website of the How-tos.

Gift Box Cake

After the success of my first fondant cake served in a party, I was excited to make some more. So, when my friend asked me to make the cake for her daughter's birthday coming up a week later...I was thrilled! And, after all, her daughter is my god daughter, too.

The cake was planned to be served to just a small get-together and not a real party. Since, I didn't have a theme to work around on, I decided to just use this opportunity to practice!

Heavy Cream Substitute

Heavy Cream is something I almost always don't have on my refrigerator. I found a really cheap and easy recipe to substitute for heavy cream so you don't have to buy any. Note that this recipe doesn't whip, though. So, please don't forget that.

TOOLS

• Bowl
• Microwave Oven

INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 cup Milk
• 1/3 cup Butter, melted and cooled
• 1 tablespoon Flour (if  you're using low-fat Milk)

INSTRUCTIONS

• Stil all ingredients together.

Use this recipe in place of one (1) cup heavy cream. And again, this is not for whipping.

Fondant Ribbon Cutter and Embosser Set Giveaway

UPDATED 08/03/10: I'm having trouble with my comments box. To enter the giveaway, all you need to do is "like" and leave a comment on the Facebook page saying "I ♥ baking" (equal to 2 entries). Also, leave a comment on there if you've done any of the extra entries (see below).

It's August and this is my 3rd month of blogging! Yey! To celebrate I'm giving away two small items to my very special readers (mostly my Facebook friends, right? You know who you are).

So, I'm giving away a Wilton Ribbon Cutter and Embosser set plus Round Cut-outs about $20 value. This are must-have items for us beginners who are just starting out decorating cakes with Fondant.