Cats and Cakes

This morning my inner baker and sugar fiend got a burr up her behind to try a cake recipe I saw online recently. It's a Double Layer Cranberry Ginger Upside Down Cake. It looked complicated, but I decided to give it a try anyway. I love upside down cakes. And I love cranberries. And I love it when it's November and December and cranberries are widely available. And I love candied ginger, and so this just seemed to me to be the perfect cake.

So basically, you make two cakes: one is plain, one is a cranberry ginger upside down cake. Also, you make a filling. When the cakes are done, you let them cool for a while, then slather the filling on the plain cake, then top it with the upside down cake and voila! You have something that looks like this:

Looks yummy, no? I haven't actually tried it yet. I'll delay gratification just for today and wait until after dinner. I'll try to remember to take a picture of it once it's been cut so that you can see the inside. But if you can't wait until then to bake your very own, here's a link to the recipe.
And as long as we're talking about recipes, I want to share a fun link with you. It's from the New York Times: Thanksgiving recipes from all 50 states, Washington DC, and Puerto Rico. I love the recipe from Oregon: Cranberry Sauce with Pinot Noir.

Since both cranberries and pinot noir are grown/produced in Oregon, it seems the perfect choice. Check out your state and see if you think the editors chose wisely. And let me know. I saw quite a few of these that looked delicious. I'm curious to know what you think of the recipe they chose for your home.

So the cake was sort of baked in stages. While I was waiting for things to "gel", I finished up the 10th cat. Recall that yesterday, I just needed to finish up the face:

Then I added the sashings to each side.

And here it is with the rest of the blocks.

It's getting pretty close! I've picked out all the fabrics for the next block, and I might get started on it later on today. For now, I'm taking a little break from it. As much as I want to finish it, I'm getting a little tired of looking at it.
As a handy diversion:

That's a little squeak toy I like to throw over his shoulders just to bug him. He looks thrilled, doesn't he?
And just to be extra annoying, I wrapped its tail around his neck and told him that all the fashion-conscious cats are wearing them.

I don't think he believes me. The things this cat puts up with.
In other news, I got my yaktrax yesterday. They fit perfectly on my shoes. Mike tried to convince me I'd be safe walking out to the culinary herb garden last night.

It was dark...and down hill...and I kind of felt like Smitty about this latest fashion. The downhill in the dark had me a little spooked, and so I told him I wanted to wait until daylight...and that I would prefer level ground for my first outing. And since the ice is almost gone, I might get out of this whole thing altogether. It was sweet of him to get me my own pair though. I'll get out there and be bold one of these days.
Some of you must be fairly well snowed in today. Are you staying warm where you live? Pin It