My Top 10 List!
As some of you may know, Dave Letterman holds a special place in my heart. Don’t worry I’m not one of those girls who digs really older men, there’s a good reason for it. Back when I was in college, I was a guest on Letterman. Yep, you read that right, a guest. And not just a stupid human tricks guest or something similar, an actual guest (Hubby was in the audience, and for those of you who we know in real life, I know you’ve seen him in his Letterman t-shirt!). Even before that day, I was always a fan. I had a great roommate who was OBSESSED and we would watch together. My favorite part was always the Top 10 list.
When I saw Cait’s Top 10 blogging event (check out her blog Food*Nerd), I knew it was something I wanted to participate in. This month the topic is Blog Envy: Top Ten Recipes You’ve Been Meaning to Make.
Basically you make a list of the top 10 recipes you’ve been saving and then you make one and blog about it! This is very time appropriate since our kitchen renovation just about finished up and I’ve been trying to figure out what to bake when I could get back in the kitchen. I had a really hard time coming up with a Top Ten List since there are so many great recipes out there I want to try. But here it is (in no particular order):
10. Rainier Cherry and Goats Cheese Pie from Peabody – I love goat cheese and this combo sounds awesome
9. Chocolate Bacon Cupcakes with Caramel Buttercream from Scrumptious Photography – I’ve been dying to try the chocolate/bacon combo – update: I made these cupcakes for a friend’s pirate party!!!
8. Fresh Strawberry Cake from A Good Appetite – Strawberries are in season and this cake looks awesome – update: I made this cake into cupcakes!!
7. Dorie’s Chipster-Topped Brownies from Engineer Baker – I’ll probably leave out the nuts and add ganache to the top like Bakerella did – update: I made these!!
6. Chocolate Goat Cheese Truffles from Divine Domesticity – I’m intrigued by this recipe…
5. Bagels from Smitten Kitchen – I’ve been wanting to make bagels for a while, but they kind of definitely intimidate me… – update: I used a different recipe, but I did make these Mini Whole Wheat Bagels
4. Choc-alot Cake from Confections of a Foodie Bride – You knew I was going to have a super chocolatey cake on here – update – I made this cake and it’s AMAZING!
3. Billy’s Vanilla Cupcakes from How to Eat a Cupcake – I’m still searching for the perfect vanilla cupcake… – update: I’ve found a go-to vanilla cupcake recipe, so I’m not going to be trying this one!!
2. White Cake with Fresh Strawberry Buttercream from Peabody – again, strawberries are in season and how awesome does this cake look?!?
1. Brownie Mosaic Cheesecake from Smitten Kitchen – Um, hello?!? Cheese cake, ganache, and brownies in one dessert – heaven! update – I made this cake with a winter twist – peppermint!! It was everything I hoped and dreamed it would be.
I had HIGH hopes of actually being able to make something off my top ten list by the end of the month. However, we had a mishap with the granite (um, they lost our order for over a week!?!) which set us back about a week. The good news is that on Thursday, I’ll be able to use the kitchen again!! It won’t be completely done, but very close. I’ve decided that the first thing I’m going to bake is going to be from this list… now which one should I make… I’ll post as soon as I make it!
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
I love it! Where did you get the jars? Now I totally wanna do this for xmas gifts!
/Clara
I looked everywhere and just couldn’t find them. I ended up ordering them from Amazon. They weren’t very cheap so that was a bummer…
Ah bummer. What size are the jars? I wonder if Ikea would have them? Whats the amazon link?
/Clara
I ordered them from here. You want the wide mouth jars so the cupcakes fit and the 1/2 pint size is perfect.
The yellow cupcakes didn’t rise much so I added more frosting to fill the jar and the chocolate ones rose quite a bit so they had less frosting. My sister said that the chocolate one had the perfect amount of frosting or could use a smidge more, so you want a cupcake that has at least a small dome.
haha, i’ve never seen that before 🙂 love it!
OH FUN! I’ve seriously always thought about doing this and never did. I’m starring this post to remind myself at Christmas. Too cute!!
I have been dying to try this ever since I saw it last year on someone else’s blog. They actually baked the cake in the jar and then iced it like a cupcake. I am going to have to order some of those iddy jars! Too cute!
Hmmm…might have to do this for Christmas instead of those “ingredients in a jar” thing we were thinking of.
I really want to try this, but I keep reading online that you shouldn’t put frosting in the jar because it will get moldy by the time it reaches its destination. I’m sure you would have heard if it was moldy when it got to your friend right? I would just be so embarrassed if that happened. Any help?
Renee – I’ve done this twice and both times haven’t heard of any mold. I froze the cupcakes/frosting in the jars prior to shipping them. I also shipped in the winter. My one sister even didn’t go get her package from the office until a week after it arrived and it was still good. I would guess she ate her cupcakes about 10 days after I sent them. I’m not sure if shipping in warm weather will have an impact on potential mold…
Alright I’ll definitely give it a try then. It will make for a very good Easter present for my faraway friends =)
Oh that’s a good idea!! I might have to order some more jars and do the same myself…
What a clever idea! I would love to get a cupcake in the mail! 🙂 Maybe I’ll send out Valentine’s Day Cupcakesnext year!
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Love these!! We have featured you on our blog. http://cutecupcakesallthetime.blogspot.com
Did you freeze them before shipping? The jars looked frosted…
beantownbaker — February 24th, 2013 @ 10:21 am
I did freeze them. They defrosted as they were shipped. I’ve done it with and without the freezing depending on the weather and whatnot.
What shipping method did you use? Overnight or Express???