I moved into a new apartment this weekend, which is my excuse for the dearth of postings lately. Love it! I'm a little worried about the half-sized oven, but I'm sure I'll manage, somehow. Eve and Sully bought me the double boiler and the angled measuring cup from my Wishlist. Thanks, guys! I will definitely be using them soon on the next experiment, which will be deciding between different [non-flourless] chocolate cake recipes, to be filled with delicious blackberry-raspberry curd (that was a happy accident!!) and coated with ganache. Tasting party on the 4th of July.

Oh, I almost forgot... I got the chance to talk to Dede Wilson, author of the cookbook I'm using for this project. She was looking for stories of people who have used the book and I was happy to provide one. She was super-nice and I was so excited to confer with an accomplished industry professional. Not a lot of pastry chefs killing time at the local pubs down here, you know? Thanks again, Dede Wilson! You're awesome!

Awww, the happy couple. And their cakes. :)

All three cakes for the engagement party are ready to go. I'll be leaving for The OC shortly.

Made fresh lemon and blackberry curds tonight for the engagement party this Saturday. I made the lemon curd with a little less sugar this time, to bring out some extra tartness, and the blackberry is actually half blackberry, half raspberry. I underestimated how many blackberries I had left. This time I blended the berry curd with a hand blender instead of a food processor to try to get a smoother texture.