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A Junk-Foodie’s Perfect Dessert: Compost Cake

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It’s been a while since I’ve shared a recipe on this blog! Mostly because I’ve been sharing my bakes over at Taste of Home. But I thought I’d share a new-to-me recipe here today.

This past December, I got to interview Christina Tosi and I totally fell in love with her new cookbook All About Cake. I whipped up her birthday sheet cake for an assignment. It was fantastic, but a lot of work. Paging through the book, I found a casual recipe that was more my speed for everyday sweets: compost cake.

What really caught my eye was the pretzels and potato chips sticking out the top. I’m big on salty-meets-sweet desserts. This one was for me. It just might be for you, too.

I will say that I altered the recipe a bit to suit my taste. I nixed the butterscotch chips (they’re not my favorite) and added some more pretzels and chips in their place. I also simplified the method a bit. Give my version a go, but also grab All About Cake for the full experience (and lots of great cake recipes!).

OK, let’s start! To make this cake you’ll need:

  • 2 cups cake flour
  • 3/4 cup + 3 tablespoon sugar
  • 1/4 cup old fashioned oats
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon ground coffee
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 7 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/3 cup buttermilk
  • 3 tablespoons grapeseed oil
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
  • 1/3 cup crumbled graham crackers
  • 1/4 cup pretzels, lightly crushed
  • 1/4 cup potato chips, lightly crushed
  • 1 tablespoon flour

For the topping, you’ll need:

  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons grapeseed oil
  • Handful pretzels
  • Handful potato chips

Mixing Up the Batter

I love this cake because it doesn’t require any heavy-duty equipment. Instead of breaking out the stand mixer, you can just use a spatula or a whisk. Major win for lazy me who doesn’t want to lift the ol‘ KitchenAid out of the closet.

OK, start by whisking together the cake flour, oats, brown sugar, sugar, coffee, baking powder and salt together. Then, in another dish, whisk together the melted butter, grapeseed oil, buttermilk, vanilla and eggs.

Take the wet ingredients, add them to the dry and give them a good stir until combined. Easy peasy!

Then toss the chocolate chips, graham cracker crumbles, pretzel bits and potato chips together with a tablespoon or so of flour. You want to give these ingredients a quick coat in flour to prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the cake.

Once they’re coated, just stir them into that batter. It should be pretty darn thick. Don’t worry – it just means it’s full of the good stuff.

Baking the Compost Cake

Grease and line an 8×4″ loaf pan with parchment paper. Then add your batter. Bake this for an hour at 350ºF. It’s a long time, but it’s kind of nice not to have to babysit something for a while.

When it’s done baking, cool it on a rack for about a half hour before removing it from the pan. You’ll want it to be completely cool (or at least nearly cool) before moving onto the last bit.

Topping It All Off

What really made this cake stand out to me was the topping. Pretzels! Chips! Chocolate! And making that topping is really easy.

All you need to do is melt together a half cup of chocolate chips with a teaspoon and a half of grapeseed oil. You can do this in the microwave if you have one – we actually ditched ours more than a year ago (and you can read about it here). Otherwise, melt it with a double boiler on the stove.

All that’s left to do is dip pretzels and chips into the chocolate and stick them to the top of the bread. Use whole pretzels and chips, crunched up ones, whatever you please. When I felt like the top was pretty packed with salty snacks, I drizzled a little bit more of the chocolate on top.

You want this to set up a bit before diving right into it. If you want this cake quick, pop it into the freezer for five minutes to set it. If you’re not in a rush, you can refrigerate for a half hour or so. Just be sure to bring it back to room temp before serving.

The Eating

In the end, this compost cake is exactly the kind of dessert I love: unfussy, slightly messy and almost overstuffed.

I sliced this up and served it during our podcasting practice (March goal!), and it definitely kept us going as we rehearsed. I really like how each bit is a bit different. Plus, as an easily adaptable recipe, I like that I can crunch up whatever snacks I have on hand (or whatever bits of candy) to mix into a future batch.

Give it a go (and get that cookbook, too!).

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A New Look for Kaminski Handicraft

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Here she is! The new logo for Kaminski Handicraft!

I had tabled branding for my shop for a long time in favor of developing new designs. But a few weeks ago, I got the bug to give my shop a little facelift. While it’s not perfect and not too original, it’s a big improvement – and I’m learning more and more that done is better than perfect.

With a new logo under my belt, I decided to freshen up my product photography, too. It’s certainly nothing groundbreaking, but it’s an improvement and the style is manageable to me.

And I’m using my camera instead of my phone which makes an insane amount of difference!

My hope is that this small refresh gives my Etsy shop and business a bit more polish and makes people maybe slow down to take a peek.

You can check it all out my shop here for the full effect!

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Coming Soon // Cream City Creatives

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This one’s coming up fast, folks!

I’ll be at Cream City Creatives Holiday Market this Sunday from 10-3 at Turner Hall. It’s my first Milwaukee show, so I’m pretty darn excited! That was one of my goals for 2018 and I’m almost there!

You’ll find me and 50+ Midwest makers at this show. I’m personally excited to see what Renee Graef has to offer – she was an illustrator for American Girl! But there are lots of other folks, too, so you’ll find something for all those people left on your list!

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Coming Soon // Black Friday Market + Pub Crawl

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Good news, everyone! Madison Makers Market is back with another makers fair and pub crawl event. And you know Kaminski Handicraft had to be there! I had so much fun at the spring show that it was easy to accept the invitation to be in the Black Friday one. I’ll be back at Old Sugar Distillery, too, which is, in my opinion, the best spot on the pub crawl route. They’ve got some really terrific craft cocktails – perfect for sipping while you shop.

I’m so excited that this event is on Black Friday! I’m not a Black Friday shopper myself – I just can’t handle the chaos. But I really love this alternative for shoppers that want to support small businesses and also take the biggest shopping day of the year just a bit slower. And seriously, what a fun thing to do with family and friends who have come in from out of town!Hope to see you there!

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Apple Cider Jell-O Shots // Wisconsin-Style

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One of the greatest parts of working for Taste of Home is getting to try new recipes all the time. Almost every day there’s something new – a casserole, a dessert bar, a cheesecake – ready for the sampling. Once in a while, though, there’s something special.

A few months ago that was an apple cider Jell-O shot. Very unlike Taste of Home but so so good. The second I tried it, I knew I’d be making them come fall. I just needed to break them out for the right occasion. And when my sister-in-law texted me about her annual Halloween party, I knew I found it.

So I pulled up the recipe on the website and I read it through. Seemed simple enough (I mean, it is Jell-O). But as I rummaged through my liquor cabinet, I realized I didn’t have enough vodka to make the batch. But the ingredients had me thinking that another liquor would do just fine, a very Wisconsin choice of liquor: brandy.

I mean apples, cinnamon, ginger, bitters? Those autumnal flavors are a natural match for brandy. So I went ahead and did it. And it turned out scary good.

You’ll need:

  • 4 packets unflavored gelatin
  • 1½ cups apple cider
  • 1½ cups brandy
  • 1 cup sugar
  • ½ teaspoon powdered ginger
  • 2 teaspoons bitters + more for garnishing
  • 2 tablespoons cinnamon-sugar

Making these is a cinch. Start by pouring your apple cider into a small saucepan or pot. Then sprinkle all four packets of gelatin on top. Let this hang out for five minutes.

Then stir in the sugar and turn on the heat – just to low. You’ll heat this until all the sugar has dissolved – about ten minutes. Then you can add in your brandy, bitters and ginger. I used ginger here because the original recipe called for ginger-infused vodka and I didn’t want to lose that little kick.

Then pour this into a 11×7 baking pan that’s spritzed with cooking spray. You can also use a 9×9 pan. Heck, an 8×8 pan would be fine too – just cut the squares a little smaller to compensate for the depth.

Let this sit uncovered in the fridge for at least two hours. Once it’s all set, you can scoop it out of your pan and place on a cutting board. I found it easiest to slice the Jello into four smaller sections and scoop them that way. From there you can cut into individual portions. I went for squares that were about 1½”x1½”. Right before serving, brush with more Angostura bitters and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar (though, the bitters are optional here).

The results are really very fall tasting and a bit adult. I think the bitterness and spice cuts down on that super-sweetness that you normally get from a Jell-O shot, so that’s all good by me! I think these are great for a grown-up Halloween, but I could totally see them working for a Friendsgiving (or really casual family Thanksgiving), too.

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Short Story: A Spooky 5-Minute Spiderweb

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When it comes to most crafts, I take it pretty slow. Stitching, latch hook, sewing – all those projects take hours (and hours and hours). That doesn’t mean I don’t like a quick craft once in a while, especially during a busy season. And if that craft is spooky, well, all the better.

That’s where this little spiderweb hoop comes in. I’m sure you can figure this one out just from the photo, but I’ll walk you through it anyways. Here’s what you’ll need:

  • Embroidery hoop
  • Fabric doily, about two inches larger than your hoop
  • Black craft paint
  • Plastic spider
  • Ribbon

Assembling this all is pretty easy. But before you start putting it together, give your embroidery hoop (the inner and outer hoops) a quick coat of paint. I chose satin black, but orange, pewter or another metallic would be cool, too.

Once that’s dry (I let it dry overnight), fit the doily into the hoop. I like the center to be a bit off kilter. Nature’s not perfect, ya know. Tighten the hoop up and stretch the doily so there are no wrinkles and it’s not all misshapen.

Then flip the hoop over and trim the doily leaving about a half inch around the perimeter. I’ll be honest, this felt unnatural to me cutting up a perfectly good doily, but I know where I can go for some more.

Anyways, once you’ve got that trimmed, just stick the rough edge down with some hot glue. Regular craft glue would would here too, but hot glue is faster. Also, I know my glue gun looks a mess. It gets a lot of use.

Once it’s all fixed together, all you have to do is stick on that spider and tie a ribbon around the top. I had some black lace stuff laying around and I love it, but I think that some black velvet would be very spooky chic.

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Craft Fair + Pub-Crawl // A Recap

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Back in May, I participated in my second ever craft fair – the Madison Makers Market + Pub-Crawl – and it was a blast! I ate, drank, sold some crafties and made a cool trade with a new maker friend. But let’s get into it.

Prepping

Last show, I was stressed to the max stitching up 50 different hoops. Since it was my first one, I had zero idea what to expect. This time around, I was a bit more confident. Plus, I had about 35 hoops left in my inventory for the selling which meant I didn’t have to spend every spare minute stitching. Instead, I stitched up 18 over the course of about four weeks which was a pretty good schedule. I also had friends giving me some A+ hoop recommendations. Oh! And a lovely gal PM-ed me before the show asking about RuPaul’s Drag Race hoops and I was happy to oblige. I’m thinking a not today, Satan, not today hoop will become a new standard.

The Show + Bar

Like last time, I brought my mom to be my helper. She’s very patient and calm, which was good because as an anxious person, I was low key freaking out that morning.

Unlike last time, though, this show wasn’t held in a single location. Instead Madison Makers Market had the most amazing idea of having crafters set up booths in a few bars on Madison’s East Side. Eat, drink, buy crafts – it’s the perfect day. I was lucky enough to get a space in the new-ish Old Sugar Distillery where the light was phenomenal and the other vendors very kind. Prior to opening for the day, I got to meet Sarah from Gypsy Adornment in person (had been following her Instagram for a hot minute), and we had a little swap. She nabbed a Queer Eye hoop and I got a witchy lariat necklace in exchange. My only regret is that I couldn’t steal away to see the other makers in the other bars.

Once the doors opened, though, I was pretty surprised with how steady business was! Lots of folks were browsing around with their Dark & Stormies, picking up grad gifts and last-minute Mother’s Day presents. The energy of the space was definitely right and the bar was hopping all afternoon. I was 100% into it, and I think people were into me too! I sold about 18 hoops by the day’s end, which felt great!

Now that I’ve got two fairs done and dusted, I’m feeling a bit more confident about my pieces. Once I’m done with my pal’s wedding hoop, I’m going to start stocking up again. You never know when the next fair might be!

• • •

P.S. You can find my hoops at my Etsy shop always! PM me for custom orders!

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A Mashup Made in Heaven // Craft Fair + Pub-Crawl

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I’ve got some cool news, folks! Next month I’ll be setting up shop for Madison Makers Spring Market & Pub-Crawl.

As you can tell by the name, this is a craft fair unlike any other. Dozens of makers will be setting up shop in a handful of Madison bars – all located within a few blocks of one another. It’s the perfect event for day-drinkers and craft-lovers (me and also me).

I’ll be stationed at Old Sugar Distillery on East Main Street. I’ve never been to this spot, but it looks incredible! The organizer of the event says this space is filled with lots of natural light (big plus for sellers) and, from what I can tell, it has a ton of amazing cocktails ready for the sipping (big plus for everyone!).

I’m really looking forward to setting up shop, hanging out with my mom and enjoying a good ol’ dark and stormy. I feel so much better about this show now that I’ve got one under my belt and now that I’ve got some inventory already prepped. I’m still planning on making some new pieces, though. You can see what’s coming from @kaminskihandicraft on Instagram.

For more details about the event, be sure to check it out on Facebook!

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Celebrating 1 Year of Kaminski Handicraft

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Today’s a pretty big day for me! First and foremost – it’s my birthday! But April 4 is also the day I announced the opening of my Etsy shop Kaminski Handicraft. So between the two, it’s a pretty good day!

I keep you all pretty updated on the goings-ons of my little side hustle, but it doesn’t hurt to share a few pics of my favorite pieces once in a while! First up, I wanted to share some of my just-for-fun hoops. No one gets a kick out of these more than me, but I really love that other folks get them too. I mean, when a sweet customer bee-lined for my blerg hoops at my last show, my heart was totally warmed – someone else gets it!

Of course I can’t forget all the wonderful custom hoops I’ve gotten to stitch up over the last year. These wedding and anniversary pieces are super dear to me. I hope the couples that order them (or get them as gifts) love them as much as I do. And I have to say, I absolutely can’t get enough of folks’ custom color schemes. They give these patterns a whole new look.

To celebrate a whole year of selling on Etsy, I figured I’d offer a special in my shop – free shipping now until April 10, 2018. Just use the code 1YEAR.

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Get a Hobby, 70s Style

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I am the woman of a million hobbies. Cross stitch? Yeah, I do that. Baking? Duh. Sewing? You wanna see my fabric stash? Paper floristry? I’ve dabbled.

For all those reasons (plus plenty more), I do not need another hobby. But lately have I ever been tempted. Mind you these aren’t just standard crafting temptations, these are some real retro hobbies calling to me. So let’s flashback to the 70s and I’ll tell you all about my crafting dreams.

Latch Hook

Back when I was about nine, my mom bought me a white tiger latch hook kit from our local Ben Franklin. I worked away on that thing what felt like forever and I never ever finished it. But I recently searched for vintage latch hook kits online, and let me tell you, there are so many good ones. Yes, better than a white tiger.

So I ordered this amazingly ’70s mushroom kit off of Ebay and have been working on it tirelessly. I know exactly what wood paneled wall it belongs on when I finish.

Macrame

Looking at my house, it just screams 1960s (also 1970s). The wood paneled walls are just dying for a really kitschy piece of art (I mean, other than the taxidermied fish and Green Lady painting). That’s where I think a really great piece of macrame would come in handy.

I already nabbed an old book from my mother-in-law. All I need is yards and yards of rope!

Weaving

In the same vein as macrame, I decided that I need to take up weaving. Who would have thought that a time consuming craft like this would be up my alley? But I think it is, which is why I was so glad to get this weaving kit for Christmas. As soon as I’m done with this small scale design, I’ve got some major weaving plans (in theory).

Crewel

And to top it all off – one more good fiber art. Growing up, I have such distinct memories of a few crewel pieces my mom had hung up in our home, especially one that had little cows with strands of floss for tails. I swear if I can get my hands on that kit, I’d stitch that up so fast (and hang it in my kitchen where it belongs). Maybe I’ll scope that one out online and add it to my ever-growing craft queue.

• • •

Now with one of these old school crafties underway, I’m hoping to build up a little momentum! If you’ve given any of these a try, let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear how you started out!