use real butter

Recipe: caramel cake with caramelized butter frosting

“…and try not to chew caramel.”

That is what the dental assistant told me after she cemented my temporary crown onto my molar. I smiled while my eyes darted about the room nervously – how did she know that caramel was front and center in this month’s Daring Baker’s challenge?

daring bakers: we knead to bake!

After all of the cooking and baking for this holiday, here we are slapped into sugar coma with the latest Daring Baker cake: Caramel Cake with Caramelized Butter Frosting by Shuna Fish Lydon, as published on Bay Area Bites. A huge thanks to our wonderful hosts this month: Dolores of Chronicles in Culinary Curiosity, ably assisted by Alex of Blondie and Brownie, Jenny of Foray into Food, and the always amazing Natalie of Gluten-a-Go-Go for the alternative bakers. I also want to thank our lovable Daring Baker founders: Lis and Ivonne, who continue to inspire and keep us in line!

adding water to the caramelized sugar

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: basic pizza dough

Whoa, it’s been a while! But I’m finally back to my Daring Bakers Challenge, this time with pizza thanks to our awesome hostess, Rosa of Rosa’s Yummy Yums. I was thrilled that she picked a nominally savory (you could make it sweet, and I’m sure Tartelette did!) recipe.

the daring bakers: we knead to bake!

The only pizza dough I’ve made is the recipe out of the KitchenAid recipe book. You know the one I’m talking about – the book that comes with the KitchenAid stand mixer. It’s a good recipe and we have taken to making thin crust pizzas with it. This month’s challenge was a little different. For one thing, it required cold water instead of warm water.

cold water

**Jump for more butter**

To my darling Daring Bakers: I had planned to make the challenge this weekend, but was thwarted by a traitor within our own ranks: my appendix! I am typing from my hospital room right now – they said they’d have to keep me here for a few days. My apologies to our wonderful hosts Meeta and Tony because they are not only two of my favorite bloggers, but Meeta picked a recipe I really wanted to make. Please see what the rest of the lovely (and handsome) Daring Bakers made by visiting their blogroll. And as always, pay homage to the great ones, our founders: Lis and Ivonne. Besos, Bisous, xxoo.