cake 5-0 Hit Parade

Over the course of a week, I encounter plenty of eye candy through social media, the internet, catching up on my favorite blogs, or even just a trip to the grocery store. Sometimes it finds me, and other times I seek it out, just to get my fix. It isn't always all about cake. I'm a sucker for food porn in all varieties - sweet and savory.  If it makes me salivate, or causes my eyes to widen or makes me want to share it with my friends, or just makes me feel happy, it becomes part of my "hit parade".

In the past week, there were a number of memorable foodie items in my hit parade and I want to share them with you, in case you haven't seen them. The list is in no particular order.

SAVEUR Magazine, March 2013 Issue. I was standing at the checkout line at Whole Foods, when this incredible cover (shown above) leapt out and assaulted me, because it looked so damn good! I immediately grabbed Rick who goes absolutely CRAZY for donuts, and I showed it to him. We flipped right to the donut feature, slowly digesting each page. I could not get the image of the cover out of mind all week. It brought back memories of our trip to NYC last fall and our stop at the Doughnut Plant! 

"That Takes the Cake" show - Austin, Texas. Lots of eye candy here from competitors of all ability levels and ages! Last weekend cake enthusiasts from all over gathered to celebrate cakes and the theme "Flight." "That Takes the Cake" recently posted a slideshow of the photos of all the winners and there were some beautiful entries. Rick was scheduled to be a celebrity judge for the "Showcake" category at the show, and unfortunately was unable to attend. The winner of the Showcake Competition was Kim Simons and her "flight" themed cake is shown above. Wish we could have seen all the cakes in person. We both enjoyed seeing the slideshow and want to congratulate the winners!

The next item in my hit parade is courtesy of Marian at Sweetopia, based in Ontario, Canada. I fell in love with these cute Decorated Car Cookies the minute I saw them!  They are super cute and the workmanship is perfect! I adore the presentation of the cookies on the toy car mat and the interactive component which is beautifully displayed in her Vine video.

I noticed the cover of Richard Blais' new book "Try This at Home" on our our publisher, Clarkson Potter's website, and it instantly made my hit parade, before even looking inside the book! Richard Blais is a chef, restauranteur, television personality, and winner of "Top Chef All-Stars". His new cookbook is being released today!

Will you take a look at this cherry pie! I was mesmorized when I saw our friend Annie Welch post it on facebook. Annie made this BEAUTIFUL cherry pie for her husband's birthday. She got a pattern press for the design on top but it didn't work for her needs and she cut out the pattern with an exacto knife. Now that is dedication. I can only imagine how good it tasted!

 

I came across this photo of a slice of cake made by Duncan Hines on one of my feeds. We're big fans of anything with coconut, epecially coconut cake - we have three coconut cake flavors on our menu. I thought the photo looked good when I saw it. The combination of the coconut and key lime pie frosting sounded yummy and tropical. I showed it to Rick and he agreed. We thought it was a pretty darn good looking cake!

Another "hit" of the week - we got a special package from our publisher this week - our very own copy of "Fifty Shades of Chicken." (Thank you, Carly!) I look forward to making some of the recipes. Ladies, have you seen this book and the trailer?! Hilarious! I actually shared the trailer with a bunch of Rick's students during lunchtime at one of his classes and they went crazy for it! Beautiful, topless buff men having their way with naked chicken. The recipe titles and stories and super hot and will make you blush! Even if you don't cook, it's a fun, naughty piece of literature to read.

Feburary 8th was National Girl Scout Cookie Day and the The Girl Scout Cookie trend seems to have taken the cupcakers by storm. Just in the past week, I've seen a number of bakers posting about Girl Scout cupcakes. Crumbs Bakery has the official Girl Scout Thin Mints' Cupcakes, (shown above) which they are offering through this month. Today on Cupcakes Takes the Cake blog, they feature a bakery in Glendale, CA that makes Thin Mint, Samoa and Tagalong Girl Scout Cookie cupcakes. I don't know about you, but I'm craving a box of girl scout cookies right about now!

That's my hit parade for the week. What items are on your list?