Martha's Quilted Cakes

Yesterday, I told you a little bit about this emerging ice cream trend. On The Sweet Life (my column for City Pages') I discussed this other more controversial ice cream trend that has people buzzing. I'd love to hear your thoughts, so pop on over there and weigh in on the issue.

Ok, now on today's post. The new issue of Martha Stewart Weddings recently landed in my mailbox, and one feature in particular caught my attention. The MSW crew focused on quilted cakes of all kinds.

Wendy Kromer designed this mini cakes, which are only 4 inches each.

The diamond pattern on this pink and orange confection are a modern interpretation of traditional diamond quilted pattern. I absolutely love this cake.

While there are several other cakes in the spread, this multi-cake display is my favorite. The royal icing "stitches" are made to mimic Japanese "sashiko" patterns.  The pink, yellow, and green palette make me wish Summer was here already.

If you haven't already seen the new MSW, swing by the site then come back here and let me know which cake or pattern you like best.

Sweet Technology: Martha Stewart Cookie App

When my mom asked me for gift suggestions for my toddler's upcoming birthday, I said, "I'm pretty sure she wants an iPad." My mom's reply? "Well, you better ask her what's second on her wish list."

I knew the chance of Mom falling for that poorly-constructed ploy was pretty thin, but I figured it was worth a try if it meant getting my hands on an iPad. Just when I'd gotten over that rejection, Martha Stewart launched an iPad cookies app. The crew at The Kitchn recently featured these screen shots of the app in action.

 

Martha's app organizes cookies in categories that make it easy to find the right one. You can view recipes for cookies that ship well, cookies for an adult palate, or chewy varieties.

You can also create a shopping list for the necessary ingredients, watch Martha's video tutorials, and use the app's cook timer.

Martha Stewart Living blogger, Jennifer Aaronson even let her son get in on the action. It's so simple that even a kid can have fun narrowing down the selection and following the instructions.

While I probably won't be pitching my printed versions of Martha's cookie recipes any time soon, this app makes me covet an iPad even more than I did before. I wonder if Granny will fall for the "Baby Wants an iPad" ploy. It's worth a try.

So tell me, would you use the cookies app or do you prefer good ole fashioned recipe books?

Meringue Love

I love the current Living cover image. The heart-shaped chocolate delight is topped by heart-shaped meringue hearts. I wouldn't want the task of making and coloring the hearts, but I would be first in line to crunch through their sugary goodness in each bite of cake.