Happy New Year

2008 is here. And I have a cold. Lovely. But I finally got around to uploading some pictures of my recent baking forays. I might try some more bread later today - we'll see how I feel.

I made goat cheese and chocolate truffles the other day. I liked them. No one else wanted to try them. I just mixed goat cheese, confectioner's sugar, and dark chocolate ganache; chilled the mixture for 30 minutes, then rolled in to balls and coated in cocoa powder.

For the holidays, I made a Scandinavian spice cake with applesauce filling and a brandy & molasses whipped cream frosting. I was surprised how well it came out. Cakes are something I am still learning, but this one didn't fall or spill over. I only cut it in to two layers instead of three because one of my cats wouldn't leave me alone and I just gave up. The end product didn't look amazing but it tasted very good.

I bought a cook book that focuses on chocolate and I am psyched to try it out. I also got a new All Clad saucier on sale up in Burlington VT. I have some loose earl grey tea so I think I am going to make some earl grey chocolate truffles. I also want to try to infuse chocolate with wine and see what I can come up with.

This winter is going to be very busy (3 classes - one of which starts a week from today) but I am determined to cook and bake as much as possible.

Have a good new year!