Oreo Cake

This month was a blur! There was a lot going on outside of the kitchen, plus two very special cake orders! Here’s what I was up to:

  • Working outside of the Financial District is really cramping my ‘after-work drinks’ style, but I did get down there to try one new spot this month with Krishna and Weedy: Walrus. We had some drinks and a few snacks to share: shoestring fries, crisp cauliflower, and a funghi pizza with roasted garlic, chive and truffle. It’s definitely a buttoned up, Bay Street crowd, so not my first choice, but I would maybe go back again.
  • Weedy asked me to make a cake for her girlfriend Heini’s birthday again this year, so with only the guidance of “chocolate and something”, I went with a chocolate mint theme: three 6″ layers of chocolate cake, stacked up with mint buttercream and chopped chocolate mint Girl Guide cookies that I bought from my co-worker’s daughter. The funniest part is I gave the rest of the cookies to Weedy so her son could decorate the top of the cake, and when she sent me a picture, there was just one cookie, artfully placed in the centre. She said he was more interested in eating them!
  • My second cake project of the month was an epic birthday cake for my friend Jen’s dad’s 65th Birthday. I can’t even express how much I love this family, so I really went all out. This cake (pictured above) was three 8″ layers of chocolate cake, with a cookies and cream filling (basically cream cheese frosting with crushed Oreos), chocolate frosting, a dark chocolate drip (my best one yet!) and more Oreos on top. I was so proud of it, and it was a huge hit at the surprise birthday party (that Jen flew back from Switzerland for to surprise her dad!).
  • I actually cooked a couple of winners from the archives this month! Red Bean Chili & Jalapeno Pepper Jack Scones + Spanakopita! I also made this Garlic Shrimp Pasta from Pinch of Yum, and I would definitely make it again.
  • This month I tried online grocery shopping for the first time and it is a GAME CHANGER! I had a bunch of baking supplies to stock up on for December, so I tried both the Walmart and PC sites to see which one I liked better. I found the user experience on Walmart.ca to be way better, but the prices were comparable on both. The Walmart closest to me doesn’t deliver, so I had to do the pick-up option but it was incredible. You pre-select a time-slot for pick-up, and then during that window you go to the store, pull into one of the reserved parking spots right out front, then call the number on the sign, and a lovely person will BRING YOUR GROCERIES TO YOUR CAR AND LOAD THEM INTO YOUR TRUNK. Seriously, you don’t even have to exit your vehicle! I don’t think this will replace my usual food shopping (because I still like selecting my own produce), but I love that this is an option.

Other non-foodie things I was obsessed with this month:

  • Well, all my personal and professional passions collided this month when I volunteered at Kevin Wendt’s charity social in support of the non-profit I work for! Kevin was on The Bachelorette Canada, Bachelor Winter Games and Bachelor in Paradise, and brought a bunch of his friends from the shows to party and raise money for an excellent cause. It was so fun to meet them all, and Kevin especially is so down-to-earth and really passionate about using his platform to do some good in the world.
  • Three fun outings from this month: I went to a brush lettering class with Via Calligraphy! Kristine and I went to a Raptors game to see Kawhi in person for the first time! Krishna and I went to see Aziz Ansari’s new stand-up tour!
  • I read what might be my favourite book of the entire year: Ayesha At Last! This book is written by a Canadian author and takes place in Scarborough! I loved that! It’s a modern spin on Pride & Prejudice (which of course I love) with a strong female protaganist. I learned so much and cried my face off by the end of it. Couldn’t recommend it more!
  • I went to see Fantastic Beasts II, and left very puzzled, but the best movie of the month was Creed II, which literally ended with Kristine and I gasping and practically jumping out of our seats for a surprise appearance by an actor we LOVE! As if two hours of staring at Michael B. Jordan’s abs wasn’t enough to make us already obsessed with this movie.

Flashback!