Busy Baker

In mid-May I bought a new Kitchen Aid mixer. It's beautiful and I love it. I bought a Kitchen Aid about 10 years ago at Target. It was on sale during the holidays. It was much smaller and it didn't have a handle on the bowl. You never think about the convenience of such things until you're holding a mixer bowl to your chest with one arm and trying to scrape cake batter into a pan without getting it all over your shirt. The weekend after my new mixer arrived (purchased from eBay for way less than asking price at Kroger or Target) I made two different kinds of cookies. One was a family recipe and the other was a Pioneer Woman recipe. Neither turned out as good as I hoped. I'm still trying to learn the baking issues with our oven. I've finally figured out exactly how long to roast salmon and most veggies but cakes, cookies, and brownies are another story. Anyway, after the cookie weekend school was in full swing again and I didn't do much cooking or baking for a while. Now I am happily doing both.

I made this two weekends ago: Robert E. Lee Bundt. My mom made it last year around the holidays and it was so freaking delicious.

I tried to make it as well but it just wasn't the same. My sister turned the icing into a glaze and I feel it's the way to go rather than this chunk of icing.

On Sunday I made a Barefoot Contessa cake that I made a few years ago. It was better a few years ago.

The cake is fabulous; I would use that cake recipe as the base for just about anything. The icing is a little too creamy (I know, that seems impossible) and the coffee flavor is too intense. That can be easily fixed so I'll make it again also.

Don't you love the glass bowl?

I was desperate for one after watching episodes of Pioneer Woman and Trisha Yearwood. It even came with a lid so you can whip up something amazing and keep it fresh in the fridge. What about the color of my mixer? It's a deep, almost navy blue and I think it's divine. In my dream kitchen it will be the star and the inspiration for all other design and palette choices.