Last Cake, Next Cake

The slowest week for HCB, with 2 participation. This made writing LC NC depressing. I know some of you have other plans/things going on, ECL made an awesome 3-tiered wedding cake for her friend, Melissa is probably knee-deep in kitchen remodeling, Hanaa has other baking commitments. But I wonder where everyone else is. And whether we will last until November.

Lois made the Ingots in mini 3.75 inches pan. The bigger pan made it possible for her to layer more plum slices on top of the cake, making them look like an open-faced flower. The little cakes were so good that Lois and her husband momentarily abandon their recent vow to watch calories and devoured one cake each. "The plums were so fruity, the crust so nutty, we couldn't help ourselves. I didn't even use a fork - just picked the little thing up and ate it like a cookie."

Kristina, made the same mistake as me and not realizing that the batter needs to be refrigerated for 6 hours (this makes me feel better). She used apricots for these ingots and baked them in muffin tins. I love Kristina's honestly in admitting that she was most excited about the fact that she didn't have to share many of the ingots with her husband, "because this is a dessert with cooked fruit in it! Score! He’s very much a texture eater, and cooked fruit just isn’t something he enjoys." This makes her the FEATURED BAKER for this week. As for the flavor of the ingots with apricots, "the apricots are the most prominent flavour in these, making it absolutely delicious to my tastes. It’s not overly sweet, the ground almonds hide in the background, texture-wise."

Next week we have FREE CHOICE, which means it's an opportunity to catch up. I have a post ready to go, (it's a cake I haven't blogged about) and will take this weekend as an opportunity to bake ahead.