The Friday Update

Let them eat cake!

by Emily McKay on May 14, 2010

I’m kind of a cookbook junkie. Since my daughter’s birthday is just around the corner, I’ve pulled out my cookbooks and started searching for cake recipes for the big day. I have two cake cook books I love.

The first is the Cake Doctor cookbook. So many of the recipes are wonderful and so super easy it’s ridiculous. Stacy’s Chocolate Chip Cake is a perenial favorite in my house and my go to recipe for school cupcakes, etc.

However, if you really want to do from scratch, get Cake Love by Warren Brown. In the first chapter he talks you through step by step everything you do and why and what it should look like at different stages. It’s extremely detailed, but not hard once you get the hang of it. I’m a pretty good cook/baker and I learned so much. I can recommend this book enough. And that’s purely from the knowledge standpoint.

When it comes to the actual cakes … oh my god. Seriously. Oh. My. God.

The only problem is, eating the homemade cakes from this book will pretty much ruin all over cakes for you. I never order cake for desert at restaurants anymore, ’cause what’s the point? I do still use the Cake Doctor sometimes for fast cakes, but the Cake Love cakes are so amazing, I dream of reasons to bake. When I die, I want my coffin made of Cake Love cake. (The only caveat I have is that there’s a typo in the Lemon-Ginger Pound Cake recipe — should be 12 oz of flour instead of 2 … the first time I made that cake, it didn’t turn out, but the next time, it was amazing. It’s actually my favorite now.)

So there you have it … two opposite ends of the spectrum. Between those two books, you’re sure to find something perfect and lots of calories while you’re experimenting.

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Fun, fun, fun … at RT

by Emily McKay on May 9, 2010

Last week I was in Columbus, OH, at the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention. It was tons of fun and I got to be a geeky fan-girl too. Here are the highlights:

Here’s Robyn DeHart and I with Jim Butcher!

Robyn (my fabulous critique partner) introduced me to Jim Butcher’s books a couple of years ago. He writers The Dresden Files mysteries, feature wizard/detective Harry Dresden. The Dresden Files are one of my all time favorite series (second only to Elizabeth Peters amazing Amelia Peabody books–it’s a close second, and that’s saying something). I was so excited to meet Mr. Butcher that I was a bit giddy. Mr. Butcher, if I acted like a total goofy ball, I apologize. If I ever meet you again, I’ll try to be more like a human. But I’m not making any promises. I reserve the right to be a silly fangirl.

Me and my critique partner Robyn DeHart

Me with the Elizabeth Vaughan, author of the fantastic Chronicles of the Warlands

With fellow ARWA chapter member and great writer, Sherry Thomas

With the witty Diana Holquist

With Celeste Bradley, whose books I just love

With YA author Shannon Delany, whose werewolf tale, 13 to Life, is out this June and I can't wait to read it!

With half of the writing team that writes Harlequin American as Daly Thompson

It was so great to meet so many authors that I love to read, but even cooler was meeting and seeing the fans. No, not only my fans, but just the fans in general. Here’s a shot of some Rachel Mead fans. She writes the Vampire Academy books. For part of the book signing, she was sitting two seats down from me, so I got to gawk at her fans. Here’s a group of teenage girls who all made matching T-shirts. Too cute! But not as cute as all the twenty-something hot guys who were lugging around their boxed sets of the Vampire Academy books. Very charming!

And here’s my favorite fan, teenage boy Kyle O. who made his own T-shirt. Can read it? It says: “Card Carrying Wizard of the White Council Needs Work” and then lists his skills. Yep, that’s a fellow Jim Butcher fan! Yep, that’s my guy!