This birthday cake was a triumph! Sweet, but sour, rich, but balanced; it’s a cake everyone went back for seconds. Here are the recipes for all the components of this cake:

Sour Cream Chocolate Cake

Makes an 9-inch double-layer cake.

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt
1 cup neutral oil, such as canola, soybean or vegetable blend
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line the bottom of 2 9-inch round cakepans with tinfoil so the edges reach over the sides of the pan (the tinfoil will allow you to remove the cake from the pan with minimal damage.) Grease the entire interior of the pan and foil.

2. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Whisk to combine. Add the oil and sour cream and whisk to blend. Gradually beat in the water. Blend in the vinegar and vanilla. Whisk in the eggs and beat until well blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and be sure the batter is well mixed. Divide among the 2 prepared cake pans.

3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean. Let cool in the pans for about 20 minutes. Invert first layer onto your cake plate and place the other on a cooling rack. (Note from Smitten Kitchen: “These cakes are very, very soft. I found them a lot easier to work with after firming them up in the freezer for 30 minutes. They’ll defrost quickly once assembled. You’ll be glad you did this, trust me.”)

Sour Cherry Compote
Adapted from an old Bon Appetit recipe

2/3 cup water
6 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise
2 1/2 cups (1 pound) cherries, pitted

Combine water, sugar and lemon juice in heavy medium saucepan. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean into saucepan; add bean. Bring to boil over high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Boil until thin syrup forms, about 7 minutes. Reduce heat to medium; add cherries. Stir 1 minute. At this point, if you would like to keep your cherries whole and lovely as they are, stop cooking it and you’re done.

Pomegranate-Cherry Cream Cheese Icing:

1-1/2 cups Pomegranate-Cherry Juice
4 oz. soft unsalted butter
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
14 oz. powdered sugar

Reduce the pomegranate juice, over low heat, down to 3 fl. oz., Allow to cool, place butter into electric mixer bowl with paddle attachment and cream on medium-high speed for 1 minute, add the cream cheese and continue to mix for 2 more minutes, turn the speed down to low and slowly add in the powdered sugar and the pomegranate juice reduction, mix until the sugar is fully combined.

Michelle Obama’s cookie recipe has taken Family Circle Magazine’s First-Lady Bake off. This victory carries 0 electoral votes, but boasts a shocking 6/7 times return on positive election results.

But the question remains, just how sexist is this bake-off? This article on Jezebel does a great look at the issue. The bake-off is certainly problematic, especially since it was originated as a challenge to Hilary Clinton’s remarks about preferring a career over “staying home and baking cookies.” Presidential spouse is a hard office to run for. We’re not electing them to office, but we have to evaluate them with some sort of standard criteria… but at this point in history, the only thing they’ve all had in common is that they’re women. I definitely take offense to the idea that you can measure a woman’s accomplishment by baking skill, but at the same time, I think baking is important to family traditions. My family baking traditions are cherished, so I love glimpsing into the candidates’ family food.

To me, the problem is not that we’re having a bake-off, it’s that this is activity done by only women and allegedly relevant only to women. The Jezebel article says,

“To people offended by Hillary Clinton or Michelle Obama’s career choices, a man baking is probably more offensive to rigid gender identities than a woman not baking.”

And I agree! Baking is not the problem; the way we defer to women as the primary bakers is. Spending a little time elbow deep in delicious cookie dough that will make the hungry people around you happy is not a solely female desire; it’s a human desire. I can’t wait to see how the gender politics play out when a women gets the candidacy. Potential First Husbands, prepare your cookies for combat.

SO MEN, try out the recipe for yourself. It yields 5 dozen cookies, so I’d recommend baking what you plan to eat that day and save the rest of the dough in your freezer. Then you can have fresh, home-made cookies in a moment’s notice.

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 stick Crisco butter-flavored solid vegetable shortening
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup each white chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips and mint chocolate chips (or Andes mint pieces)
• 2 cups chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream butter, vegetable shortening, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract.

2. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. On low speed, beat in flour mixture. By hand, stir in white and milk chocolate chips, mint chips and walnuts.

3. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375 degrees F for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Before

So I decided to create a shoe storage system that would allow me to neatly store my most commonly worn pairs en route to the exit. There were a lot of shoe storage systems on the interwebs to look at for inspiration, but none of them quite fit what I was looking for.

I needed something that was:

• less than 6” deep (so I could still open my door all the way)
• could easily store both flats and heels
• less than 2′ tall (so I could access my shoes with a long jacket on my coat hooks.)

I decided to go to Michael’s and see if there were any supplies there that could fit the bill… and luckily I found these two crates! They were 5” x 5”x 15” and made out of light-weight, unfinished wood. And at $4.99 a piece, they fit my budget!

Here’s what you need to do to turn these two crates into shoe storage for your entryway:

After

Supplies:

• Wooden Crates
• 6 drywall Screws
• Drill
• Screw Driver
• Ruler/Leveler
• Marking Pencil
• Optional: Paint or Wood Stain

Instructions:

1. Prepare your crates! I chose to stain mine with Minwax Gel Stain in Aged Oak because I have used this stain in other parts of my apartment. I think it’s a nice medium-dark color and makes these crates look a little more sophisticated. Make sure to wait until everything is dry before continuing with the next steps of the project.
2. Mark where you are going to place the screws on your crates. These crates were 15” long, so I marked points at 2.5”, 7.5”, and 12.5” on the back of each crate. I put each of these marks 1/8” away from the edge of the upper beam. It’s important to mark close to the edge because you will need to access this point with a screwdriver; you won’t be able to do this if you place your screws in the center of the beam. (I learned this lesson the hard way with my first crate…)
3. Drill through your marks on the crates.
4. Decide where you are going to install your first crate. Locate a stud and make sure at least your center screw will go through it. Place the crate where you are going to install. Make sure it’s level and then use your pencil to mark where you drilled your screw holes on the crate.
5. Drill through the marks on the wall.
6. Screw your crate into the wall. Begin by standing your screws proud. Then keep going until your screw heads lay flat against the wood surface.
7. After your first crate is secure, place a typical pair of shoes inside. Determine how far apart you should hang the next crate so you can get shoes in and out easy.
8. Repeat steps 4-6 for the second crate.

Enjoy!

the door that was a bore

My door was a bore.

I’ll quit with the rhyming. But you get it. A plain white door is not fun to look at. I live in a small studio, so I can’t overlook any opportunity to make my space cozier.

All you need for this project is:

• Paint in your favorite color du jour
• Painter’s Tape
• Utility Knife
• Paint Supplies: something to cover the floor, stirs, and a large paint brush/roller and pan

Cover your trim and hardware. Then use the painter’s tape to create a geometric stencil.

Use painter’s tape to create a graphic stencil

I began by creating vertical lines every 3 inches and then just began to build squares. I kept adding tape and cutting some off with a utility knife, until I had created an interesting pattern.

Tip: Repeating patterns will create a little more harmony in your final product. I wasn’t very precise with the dimensions of my pattern, but if you want to be, I suggest measuring your door and planning things out in advance. Ultimately, it’s up to you!

When you’re happy with your design, start painting! I chose a cheery color from Benjamin Moore called “Havana Blue” in semi-gloss with primer. Make sure to wait at least an hour between coats.

When your paint has completely dried (don’t rush this) remove your tape! Enjoy your fancy custom paint job.

My Patterned Havana Blue Door

I had some little plastic dinosaurs, piyo chan ducks, a dream catcher, and some magazine pinwheels lying around, so I decided to use them to bring a little more life to the ceiling above my bed by turning them into a mobile! Mobiles might usually be though of as a child’s toy, but they are visually interesting and can help soothe the troubled sleeper. The slow twirling of these strings can help calm your mind and send you off dreaming sheer whimsy. A residual bonus of this project is that it will amuse household pets, especially the kitties.

Supplies:

• A dozen or so trinkets. (  (They can be paper, plastic, or plushy; as long as you can tie a string through it.) )
•  White String (or dental floss)
• 20-30 Steel Screw Eyes
• Drill (Bit size is relative to the size Screw Eye you use)
• A flat surface you can drill through
• Safety Glasses

There are no “real” instructions for this project since it will be based off the objects you have available at home, but here are some tips and ideas for how I assembled these pieces:

There are no “real” instructions for this project since it will be based off the objects you have available at home, but here is basically how I made this:

1. Selecting your trinkets: This is the fun part! Look around your drawers for an assortment of odds n’ ends. In order to make this project look like a cohesive installation, and not a hodge podge of random shit hanging from your ceiling, select objects of which you have multiples. For example, I had a pack of 12 tiny dinos and bought a pack of 20 wooden hearts for about $2.50 at Michael’s.

2. Prepare your trinkets for stringing: This step will be easy for some objects, but will require a little more ingenuity for others. For paper objects, a simple hole punch will do the trick. For plush objects, use a sewing needle to tie the thread. For solid, 2D objects, like these wooden hearts, drill one whole at the top and another at the bottom.

For solid, 3D objects, like these little dinos, you will need to do some drilling and attach a screw eye. This process isn’t an exact science; just keep in mind how you would like your object oriented as you drill. I wanted my dinos hanging upright, so I drilled the holes in the center of their little plastic backs. Then I screwed in a steel screw eye. Now they were ready for stringing!

3. String Together Your Trinkets: Before you start connecting the trinkets, inventory your collection and decide how they will all group together. Use the objects with multiples as a way of balancing your overall mobile. I put each unique trinket on a string with a painted wooden heart.Make sure to vary the lengths and proportions of string, so you arrange them in an interesting way. 

4. Install your large focal trinket first. Your mobile will appear more balanced and intentional if it’s built around one central object. Like da solar system.

To install the trinkets: Decide where you want to hang. Drill a hole in the center of the space. Insert a Screw Eye. Tie your string to the screw eye. Ta-Da!

5. Hang the rest of your strings. Continue installing the screw-eyes and hanging you strings until everything is up. Make sure to leave enough room between strings, so they don’t tangle.

6.  Enjoy!

I originally tried hanging necklaces on it, but the distance between the racks was too short. Things got tangled. Chaos.

Meanwhile, the storage facilities for the over-sized dangling earrings I am so fond of were woefully inadequate. It was difficult to put together matched pairs and find the best pair for my ensemble, #firstworldproblems, but an unnecessary inconvenience nonetheless.

It was time to get an earring rack. Being of thrifty skills and minimal budget, I decided to convert this slightly useless object into an earring rack.

Supplies:

• Wooden Thrift Store Find
• Dremel Rotary Drill
• 3/32″ Drill Bit
• Safety Goggles
• Ruler (optional)
• Marking Pen (optional)
• Painter’s Tape (optional)

This is a pretty simple project because there’s no need to be precise. I used a Dremel because it’s a small and versatile tool, but feel free to use any kind of drill that will hold a small bit. A 3/32″ bit was large enough to store earrings with ease, but not so large that it aesthetically disruptive.

As an extra step, if you would like to prevent minor chip out or prevent surface damage, place painter’s tape on the surface you are about to drill. Spacing between the holes is really up to you. This rack already had natural divisions, but I recommend leaving 1/4″ between two holes for the same pair and 1/2″ between different pairs. The pattern would look like this:

- – - – o - – o - – - - o – - o – - – -o - – o - – - -

Mark these out with a pen between 3/16″ and 1/4″ from the edge.

Before you start drilling, put on your safety glasses. Sawdust will start flying up and you will not be pleased if some gets in your eyes.

Turn your drill on full speed. Press the bit on each mark until it drills through. Continue until all of your marks have been drilled.

Remove the tape and brush off the sawdust. Install on your wall and hang all of your earrings!

This cheesecake is abooout 80% denser than the cheesecake you’re used to. And the magical ingredient that makes it so dense is (don’t judge us) … mayo. It sounds disgusting, but the ingredients in mayo are just egg whites, oil, and vinegar, which are typical to many different types of baked goods. Even at my most Midwest, I am not normally an advocate of mayo. I was particularly traumatized by an episode of Ren & Stimpy which featured liopsuction and some mayo jars… and I have abstained from its consumption ever since. The one exception being this cheesecake. So TRUST ME, I would not recommend so bold a move unless it produced results; the substitution of mayo for sour cream makes all the difference in texture and delectable-ness.

So without further delay, here is my Grandma’s Chocolate Cheesecake:

Prep: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit. Spray 9″ spring form pan with Pam.

Nut Crust:

• 1 1/3 C. coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
• 1 C. Graham cracker crumbs
• 6 TBSP melted butter
• 1/4 C. sugar

Combine all of the ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Stir until the mixture is even. Transfer mixture to your prepared spring form pan. Using a large spoon, press mixture firmly against the bottom and around the sides of the pan.

Filling:

• 2, 8oz. packages of Cream Cheese at room temperature
• 1 C. Sugar
• 3/4 C. real Mayonnaise (noooo Miracle Whip)
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 12oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted

Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add mayo and eggs, one at a time. Beat in melted chocolate. For more information on how to melt chocolate, visit my previous post on the “Elvis Goes to Ohio” Cake. Add vanilla. Blend until smooth.

Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes. Cheesecake is done if the middle does not jiggle. It will start to crack around the edges as it gets closer to done. In order to cut down on the cracks, add a pan filled with water to the rack below. However, I usually skip this step because I add chocolate drizzle or fruit on top which hides all of the flaws.

I added a chocolate dinosaur to the cheesecake at the beginning of a post for a festive occasion, but I typically do something like this one below. Just melt raspberry jam and chocolate. Drizzle until it looks tasty!

Do your part to reduce your waste by learning how to make a reusable coffee cozy. Just keep it in your bag and remember to use it whenever you’re on the go. Watch the video to learn how to make your own!

It is called “Elvis goes to Ohio” because, in the world of American diner food, an “Elvis” is a combination of banana-peanut butter-and bacon. These were allegedly the ingredients in the King’s favorite sandwich.

The “Ohio” part comes from the candy buckeyes on top. For those of you who are not from Columbus, Ohio… a buckeye is the nut produced by our state tree and mascot of the Ohio State University. At some point in the history of our great state, some hungry genius realized that buckeyes look like chocolate covered peanut butter balls. Brilliant, right? I obviously made these to decorate a cake, but they are usually just served as little candies on a plate. Serve them to the delight of peanut butter fans at your next gathering.

Hokay, here’s the cake.

Sour Cream-Chocolate Cake

Makes an 9-inch double-layer cake.

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup neutral oil, such as canola, soybean or vegetable blend
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line the bottom of 2 9-inch round cakepans with tinfoil so the edges reach over the sides of the pan (the tinfoil will allow you to remove the cake from the pan with minimal damage.) Grease the entire interior of the pan and foil.

2. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Whisk to combine. Add the oil and sour cream and whisk to blend. Gradually beat in the water. Blend in the vinegar and vanilla. Whisk in the eggs and beat until well blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and be sure the batter is well mixed. Divide among the 2 prepared cake pans.

3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean. Let cool in the pans for about 20 minutes. Invert first layer onto your cake plate and place the other on a cooling rack. (Note from Smitten Kitchen: “These cakes are very, very soft. I found them a lot easier to work with after firming them up in the freezer for 30 minutes. They’ll defrost quickly once assembled. You’ll be glad you did this, trust me.”) 

4. Before frosting your cake, level the bottom layer. I usually just take a large bread knife and thinly slice the rounded top until there is a relatively flat surface. Now, place a happy amount of frosting on the top of the bottom layer. You’re probably going to get some crumbs in this layer, which is fine by me, but if you’re like a cleaner look: apply a thin layer of frosting with crumbs, refrigerate the bottom layer, and then apply a thicker layer of frosting on top. You can use this technique for any “crumbly” parts of the cake.

5.Place your second cake layer on top (with the flat side on the bottom.) Now cover that shit in frosting. Refrigerate for about 20 minutes before adding additional toppings.

Peanut-Butter Banana Cream-Cheese Frosting

• 10 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 5 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 2 ripe bananas
• 2/3 cup smooth peanut butter

1. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Add the confectioners’ sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing thoroughly after each cup. This part can get messy. So proceed with caution. Continue to beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.

2. Add the peanut butter and bananas. Beat until thoroughly blended.

Candy Buckeyes

• 1 1/2 cups smooth peanut butter
• 1/4 cup (2 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 10 TBSP butter, at room temperature
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 12 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

1. In a mixer, beat together peanut butter, cream cheese, salt, and butter until completely mixed. Gradually mix in the powdered sugar (once again, caution, this part is messy.)

2. Cover a cookie sheet with tinfoil. Roll your peanut-butter, butter, powdered sugar mixture in to balls. Your average candy buckeye is between 0.5” and 0.75” diameter. I usually make mine on the bigger side (cause… duh,) but feel free to go as big or as small as you deem delicious.

3. Place each peanut butter ball on the cookie sheet with a toothpick sticking out on the top. Place these in the freezer for at least 20 minutes.

4. While your peanut butter balls are freezing, melt your chocolate. I vary my melting method depending on the kind of chocolate. Most milk chocolates or chocolate chips will melt easily in the microwave, but if you want a fool proof method, use a double boiler. You can buy a “double boiler,” but it’s a really dumb purchase because all you really need is a medium sized pot and a slightly larger bowl. Fill the pot with water and bring it to a boil. Place your chocolate in the bowl and place it on top of the pot. Stir the chocolate frequently and make sure the water does not start boiling too ferociously. When the chocolate is melted through, move it to a bowl or coffee cup suitable for dipping.

5. Remove your peanut butter balls from the freezer. Using the toothpick, dip each peanut butter ball into the chocolate. Do not submerge it into the chocolate completely. Leave a round area of peanut butter exposed at the top so it still resembles a buckeye nut. Place the buckeye back on your cookie sheet with the toothpick left in. The chocolate will start to harden around the frozen peanut butter, but when your done dipping, place the entire cookie sheet in the fridge.

6. When the chocolate has completely hardened, remove the tooth picks and smooth the peanut butter over the exposed hole.

7. Use them to adorn your cake or eat them by themselves! The vegetarian or faint of heart can stop here, but if you wish to take this cake to the extreme… move on to the bacon…

Caramelized Bacon

• bacon
• brown sugar
• maple syrup

I didn’t include any ingredient proportions here cause it really doesn’t matter and it also depends on how much bacon you want to use. I used about half a pound to cover this whole cake.

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Heat up your maple syrup in a shallow dish. In another shallow dish, place a heaping portion of brown sugar.

2. Dip or brush each piece of bacon with maple syrup. When it’s sufficiently sweet and sticky, move the bacon into the brown sugar and rubbbbb that sugar in. Make sure you coat both sides.

3. Line a cookie sheet with tin foil. Place a wire rack on the cookie sheet. Place peace piece of bacon on the wire rack. Don’t overlap them unless you want one giant piece of sugar bacon (granted, that would be awesome.)

4. Bake bacon until dark golden brown, turning once, about 8 minutes per side. Using tongs, wrap your bacon around the sides of the cake. You can wait a little while for the bacon to cool, but don’t wait too long because you won’t be able to shape your bacon around the cake. If you have any extra, crumble it up and sprinkle it atop the cake!

Then you may have inadvertently witnessed the burgeoning guerrilla craft movement: YARN BOMBING. Fans of needlecraft from far and wide have been dressing up public attractions and natural wonders with homemade creations, adding color and quirk to our public landscape. These drive-by ninjas of knitwear use their craft to call our attention to overlooked wonders and add moments of unexpected joy to our daily routines.

I encourage you to try your hand at yarn bombing! It’s a fun way to contribute to the color of your neighborhood without causing permanent change to beloved (and often expensive) structures. You can do it for pure aesthetics, or make a political statement. Why not adorn the statue of a misogynistic historical figure with women’s clothing? How about wrapping a telephone pole in red yarn to show your solidarity on World Aids Day? Or why not wrap Rick Santorum’s campaign bus in rainbow yarn….?? It’s a fun way to contribute to the color of your neighborhood  and make a statement without causing permanent change to beloved structures.

Check out these examples of yarn bombing and some others from across the world:

Velbert, Germany:

Toledo, Ohio

Istanbul, Turkey

Melbourne, Australia: