It’s raining. I need cake.

Yes, it’s raining in San Francisco. I’m from Oregon, so I shouldn’t (and normally don’t) care. But, it’s been a tough week at work, I’m tired, it’s wet outside…and I haven’t baked in ages. So I stayed in tonight, foregoing happy hour, friends and perhaps even dancing. Instead, I made cake. And actually, I’m really [...]

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting

When I think red velvet, I think Rhett Butler and Scarlett O’Hara—sitting in a grand dining hall, dressed in ball gowns AND eating red velvet cake. Well, Rhett wouldn’t have worn a dress, but they could have eaten cupcakes. For my first experience with this cake, I have to admit slight disappointment. At least I can [...]

Mmmm…Banana Bread

Nom nom nom. I made this ‘nana bread yesterday with a good friend of mine. We used to teach together, and just recently she became a mommy to the most gorgeous little boy. (He’s so funny; I’ve never met a baby so concerned about being clean!) So now whenever I go over to her place, [...]

Zucchini Swirl Bread

It’s freezing outside and they say it’s going to S-N-O-W! I’m a city girl and a big scaredy pants in winter weather! So, with bad weather a-threatening outside and the kitchen so warm and inviting inside, I’m in the mood for baaaaking! Zucchini bread—it surprises me every time. How can something so green and bitter [...]

Chocolate Peanut Butter Mocha Muffins

I made these little ones last week—sort of as a last hurrah for my role as housesitter and also because I was mad-craving peanut butter. I think I’d been dreaming about peanut butter for an entire week, but never found a recipe that sounded right. But then I found a good one for Peanut Butter [...]

Mochi Cake

I love mochi–in soup, filled with sweet beans in daifuku form, or toasted, dipped in soy sauce and sugar and wrapped in nori. Growing up, though, I was actually scared of it. Every New Year’s Day, my mom would make ozoni, Japanese mochi soup, and every year she would warn us kids to eat it [...]

Carrot Cake with Dulce de Leche Buttercream

A lot of things got put on hold after I left for Peru, including this blog! But now I am back and so is Little Baker SF I made this cake for someone’s birthday a few months back, but never got around to posting it…probably because the only picture I took I ended up trashing. [...]

Summer Fruit Cake

Ah, summer in San Francisco. Only here on a warm 80 deg. day is it necessary to pack a sweater and scarf in your purse/bag just in case it gets chilly…and believe me, it always does.  The fickle nature of the weather here has made me truly appreciate those rare run-around-in-shorts days. This Saturday was [...]

Yummy, Yummy Sweet Potato Coconut Bread

I avoided zucchini breads for a long time, kind of grossed out by the idea of a sweet vegetarian meatloaf. But I was so, so wrong.  Veggie desserts are actually weirdly wonderful things, especially those with sweet potatoes in them. So I recently signed up for an every-other-week CSA service with my brother. And so [...]

Cotton Soft Japanese Cheesecake

Calling this a cheesecake is a bit misleading. It’s really more like a cream cheese pound cake in flavor and somewhere in between pound cake and angel food cake in texture. It’s light and airy like a souffle and modest in sweetness and cream cheese flavor. Quick to put together too! I’ve noted all my “tips” [...]