Makala's Bakes

I didn't think about how by running a baking blog would mean that I have sweets around the house all of the time. So this week I decided to make us a tomato pie!  This pie is a savory mix of cheese and tomatoes. The biggest challenge for me with this recipe was the crust. I'm all about making everything homemade yourself, so of course I had to go with my own crust.  Now for the recipe: 2-3 Tomatoes 1 Egg 1 cup of Ricotta Cheese 1 cup of Chive Cream Cheese 1/2 cup of Shredded Parmesan Cheese Salt & Pepper Chives In a bowl whisk the egg and then add the ricotta cheese, cream cheese, half of the parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper. Set that aside and get ready to make the crust. 1 1/4 cup of Flour 1 Tbsp. of Suger 1/4 Tsp. of Salt 1 Stick of Butter cut into 1/4 inch cubes 3 Tbsp. of Cold Water Stir together the flour, sugar, and salt and then cut in the cold butter. Lots of blogs I read recommended using a food processor, but I don't have one of those. To compensate, I ...

I've been baking with my Mom since forever and she is my favorite person to bake with. She's my sous chef and my teacher. She has so many cookbooks and recipes written on scraps of paper, but she won't follow any of them. I'm all about measuring everything so it is perfect, my mom on the other hand enjoys "eye-balling" it. And somehow it always turns out delicious.  The recipe for this Zucchini bread came from a very old cookbook and we've been making it for as long as I can remember. It tastes like home and is one of my all time comfort foods.  It's different because the recipe calls for crushed pineapple. When I moved to college and finally had a place with my own kitchen, I was ready to make some zucchini bread, but I didn't have the recipe. So I looked up zucchini bread recipes on Pinterest and gave it a shot. To be fair, the bread was good, but not as good as my mom's. I really think the pineapple does something special to it.  With that ...

I decided I wanted to start off this blog with a classic chocolate cake. I've surprisingly not made many cakes in my lifetime, but I had a really good time putting this one together.  I decided to go with a two layer cake because I was feeling ambitious and I've been watching too many baking shows on Netflix. It was a fun challenge and I think that anyone can handle a cake like this. My biggest concern was my cakes sticking to the pan. I made the decision to only grease them with butter, but next time I would recommend using a baking spray  to ensure that they won't stick. I've seen other people recommend parchment paper. I've never tried it, but maybe I will for my next cake and report back.  I only had one area crumble, so I'm pretty proud of my work! And I fixed it up with some buttercream so no one would ever have noticed!  My 8 inch cake pans are from T.J. Maxx, but you can get them anywhere and all of the ingredients should be available...

With quarantine keeping us in every night, we have gotten around to watching a lot of shows on Netflix. I've always been a sucker for baking and cooking shows. My friend recommended that I watch Nailed It on Netflix. At first I was unsure because they aren't professional bakers who are beautiful creations, but at home bakers who are trying their best. After just one episode I was sold and it is now one of my favorite shows on Netflix. What I love about the show is that they also give the contestants actual help and advice on how to improve their skills. The judges also explain to the audience how the desert should  be made, so that you could try at home. Some of the contestants really seem hopeless! They struggle with making buttercream, baking their cakes all the way through and rolling fondant. It is hilarious to watch, but it also makes me wonder if I could be on the show. So I looked into it and they are currently casting for season five! There are about 51 questio...

My family and I moved from Maryland to Colorado when I was 11. Baking has always been a fun activity for my mom and I to do together, but we were warned when we moved here that we would have to change all of our recipes. This can be kind of difficult, so a family friend recommend the cookbook Pie in the Sk y. The author, Susan G. Purdy, worked out her recipes all over the country with different altitudes so that you can use this book no matter where you are. She does all of the classics and some fun new recipes that will turn out perfectly even at a mile high. I will definitely be using some of her recipes in the upcoming weeks. If you want to modify your own recipes there are some easy rules to follow: Oven Temperature: Increase the temperature 15-25 degrees Baking Time: Decrease your time by 5-7 minutes per 30 minutes of baking Flour: If you live above 3,500 ft. you should add 1 tablespoon of flour to your recipe Sugar: Decrease 1 tablespoon per cup Liquids: If you live abov...

The point of this blog is to learn how to have a blog and write in a journalistic style. I am not a journalist, so this will be an exciting challenge for me. I think of myself as a strong writer for things like research papers, so this will be a change of pace. Being a psychology major, not much of my writing is about me, it is usually more research based. I'm looking forward to starting this blog. I have had a blog before for my Girl Scout Gold Award, but I haven't posted on there since my project was active. The beat I've gone with is baking and I was drawn to this idea because of the huge influx of people spending their time baking. For me, baking has always been a relaxing activity, but now more than ever it has become a productive activity to fill your day. I know that I am struggling without my fix of yummy breads and scones from coffee shops and baguettes and pastries from local bakeries. We are all missing these, so we have taken to the kitchen! My goal is to cr...