My previous Have the Cake challenges

In my new found confidence in the kitchen I apparently didn't feel as though one baked good per week was enough...clearly I am rapidly losing what little of my mind that I have left...so I joined a baking community, suggested to me by a friend, called Have the Cake. This community, every month, picks on recipe for a cake, cookier, cracker, pie, bar, biscuit or brownie. Everyone can make it as or put their own spin on it. We have the whole month to complete it and when we are done we post our baking experience on the blog. Each participant gets to pick a recipe for an assigned month. The pick should be something we've never made before.





My first month challenge was April and it was flan. Flan? I am not even sure I've eaten flan before. I know it's a custard like dessert and since I'm not a custard fan I am not super excited about it. I found a recipe for a Creamy Caramel Flan which stated it was a cross between a cheese cake and custard so that sounded perfect for me. I was honestly scared to attempt the caramel but I read a bunch of reviews for this recipe and picked up a few suggestions which saved me. This came out really good and I am over my custard dislike. I would make a flan again and try some other flavors since this seems like a perfect canvas for other flavors.



For May it was Buttermilk Cake and I wanted to do something different than fresh fruit. I found a recipe which called for dates, which I love, called Caramel Upside Down Cake. It was a lot of fun to make but afterward I wished I made one with fresh fruit. I think the dates could have been fresher and I should have used more brown sugar (packed it rather than unpacked) for the caramel top. But it was well liked at the office so I guess it came out good!