Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Latest--Full Plate

Been super busy lately, but just wanted to dash off a post to anyone who might still be lurking out there, wondering if I fell off a cyber-cliff into an abyss of...(fill in the blank.) Well, no.

My plate has been (is) filled to the brim with activities and houseguests and birthdays and school-wide camping trips and volunteer work and preschool culmination and last minute end-of-the-school-year craziness and, oh, let's see, volunteering and doing outreach at the budding local elementary school hosting parent gatherings when we're not yet out of preschool, in addition to taking on the on-site event coordinating (w/ another mom and an administrator) of a rather sizeable (380-person) national Reggio Educator's Conference our preschool's hosting at the end of the month.

As if that weren't enough, I decided to raise money for the school by throwing a lavish, decadent desert buffet party called "Let Them Eat Cake" for $40 per head and baked all week for the party which was at our house last Saturday. Am I crazy?! Well....perhaps, but it's too late now.

In lieu of lengthy "postage," please accept a glimpse into my recent sugary world. Though I am exhausted from staying up nights baking, on top of everything else going on, it was a lot of fun. Thought you might like to see some of the photos. Grab a plate and take a virtual tour... And I promise, I'm coming back when this month's over! Got to. I'm facing my one-year Bloggery Anniversary on Independence Day!

Cheers!




My signature cake, one I've been making for at least 15 years, the Strawberry Amaretto Cream Cake....moist layers of genoise cake soaked with amaretto-marinated strawberries and enveloped in amaretto chantilly cream with a hidden thin layer of dark-chocolate ganache in the middle.











...and again, after the ladies had successfully hacked into the insides. (This was also the recipe used for our wedding cake 6 years ago. No, I did not make my own wedding cake. I'm not that crazy!)














The intrepid Dark Chocolate Raspberry Torte
chillin' with its friends...



The tart and sweet Coconut Meyer-Lemon Cloud Cake (lemons from my little tree)














Vanilla-bean Cheesecake Bites




The awesome little Papaya-Lime Brulée Tartlet (one of my favorite creations)















Double Chocolate and Cointreau Orange-Hazelnut Madeleines


...and more. What a bounty. Enjoy!

3 comments:

Jerri said...

These are GORGEOUS. So glad to see you here again. Love the photos.

riversgrace said...

Wow, Tanya. You blow my socks off with your vast set of skills. All your artistic expression....everywhere. You are so alive. And what a great gift that you are offering by showing up for education in the way that you are! It doesn't matter what form our service takes (don't judge it!), what matters is that you are allowing yourself to be present....with so much sensuousness and generosity. I just wish I was closer so that it would rub off on me. Like that amazing cake! Could you come up to Portland and show me how to make that?

Rest well. Blessings.

Writer said...

WOW...did you make all of that stuff! Rachel Ray moooove over! You are amazing!
Lee