cake-in-review

I briefly mentioned my foray into Joy the Baker's new cookbook a few posts ago and I wanted to tell you how it was!

I made her Extra Crumble Coffee Cake and it turned out... exactly like it was supposed to.

That being said... I am going to immediately change pretty much everything that goes into it except the cake part of it. hah!

When she says "extra crumble" she really isn't kidding AT ALL. There's like a pound of crumbly bits on the top AND filling in the middle. It's insane. I think there is too much cinnamon in it. Coffee cake and cinnamon go together like peanut butter and jelly but the BAD thing about cinnamon is it can tend to sit on your palette without really adding to the depth of the dish. Between the crumble and the filling there was about 3 tablespoons of cinnamon. It was... really PRESENT in kind of a bad way.

I did test it on Kate and my family and they enjoyed it which made me happy, but I know what I need to change now

While changing a bunch of things I finally realized that cookbooks are more of a guideline rather than the law. No one person has the exact same tastebuds as the other. This recipe just happens to suit Joy the Baker, but it doesn't suit Abby the baker. I actually prefer a crispy, more buttery topping filled with pecans. And! I like the crumble part on the bottom so it caramelizes and gets all gooey and AWESOME.

But that's my prerogative. Thanks Bobby Brown.

I'm so excited to make more of Joy's recipes and know that I can put my own spin on them to make them distinctly Abby.

Did I mention I'm MEETING this woman in the flesh in 13 days? Did I ALSO mention that she told me she's excited to meet me?! CHYEAH. REAL LIFE GUYS. real life.

ch-ch-ch-ch-CHANGEEES.