Ferraro Rocher cupcakes

I came up with two answers to the question "what do you do with a box of 48 Ferraro Rocher candies that your parents give you?"  Answer number one was to eat every last one of them (I'd share with B, but he isn't a fan of hazelnut), but I decided against that since I'd probably be sick to my stomach and I'm trying to not indulge too much.  Answer number two seemed to make some cupcakes with them (and eat a few along the way).  Option number two is what I went with.

I made my go-to dark chocolate cupcakes, but put a whole Ferraro Rocher candy in the center.  That sounds amazing enough on it's own, right?  But then I topped the baked cupcakes with a fluffy Nutella cloud frosting.  I could've stopped there.  I was planning on topping them with some chopped, toasted hazelnuts, but since I didn't have those on hand, I went with a mixture of toppings: I left some without anything more than the frosting, I topped some with chopped Ferraro Rocher candies, and I topped some with another whole candy!  I debated drizzling some Nutella on top, and think I might even do that before serving them (but for now the pictures are without it).

Here's the thing about these cupcakes.....they're the perfect balance of chocolatey and hazelnutty/nutella-y, without either flavor being too overpowering.  I'd venture to guess that even my non-hazelnut-loving fiancee would like these!

Dark Chocolate Ferraro Rocher Cupcakes with Nutella Cloud Frosting
Cupcakes are adapted by yours truly (based on these cupcakes), icing is from here (originally on the blog here)

I got 12 Ferraro Rocher filled cupcakes plus 5 regular cupcakes with this recipe.

For the cupcakes:

8 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
2 oz bittersweet/semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
2 large eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp table salt
1/2 cup sour cream

12 Ferraro Rocher candies, plus more for topping.  Additionally, you can fill more cupcakes and use additional candies

For the icing:

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened, but cool
1 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup (4 ounces) premium bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled slightly
1/3 cup Nutella
1 Tbsp milk (I used cream, since that's what I had on hand)
pinch of salt

Directions:

Make the cupcakes.

Preheat the oven to 350F (325 if using a nonstick pan).
Line a standard muffin pan with cupcake liners.

Combine butter, chocolate, and cocoa in a medium heat proof bowl.
Set bowl over a saucepan containing barely simmering water, and heat mixture until butter and chocolate are melted.
Whisk until smooth and combined.
(You could do this in the microwave, but this time I actually used a double boiler!)
Set aside to cool until just warm to the touch.

Whisk flour, baking soda, and baking powder in a small bowl to combine.

Whisk eggs in another bowl.
Add sugar, vanilla, and salt until fully incorporated.
Add cooled chocolate mixture.
Whisk until combined.
Sift about 1/3 of the flour mixture over and whisk until batter is thick and fully incorporated.
Add sour cream, and mix until fully incorporatted.
Add remaining flour mixture and mix until combined.
Batter will be thick.

Fill 12 cupcake liners about half way full.
Place 1 unwrapped Ferraro Rocher into the center of each cupcake liner and push down.  
Don't worry if the candies aren't fully submerged, we'll get back to that in a second.
Repeat until each of the 12 cupcake liners have a candy in them.
If there are uncovered candies (all of mine were!), place a small spoonful of batter over each candy.
Don't worry if the candies are poking out, they'll get covered when they bake.

Bake until a skewer inserted into the side (remember, there's a candy in the center!) comes out clean, about 14-16 minutes.

Cool cupcakes in pan on a wire rack until they are cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes.
Place cupcakes on a wire rack.
Cool to room temperature before icing, about 30 minutes.

In the meantime, make the frosting.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the confectioners sugar and butter,
Beat on low for about 1 minute.

Add vanilla.
Beat on low until well combined.
Add the chocolate and beat on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes.
Add the Nutella, milk (or cream), and salt.
Beat on medium-high speed for another minute.

Put into a piping bag with the piping tip of your choice.
Frost cupcakes.

Top with chopped Ferraro Rocher candies, a whole candy, hopped toasted hazelnuts, a drizzle of Nutella, sprinkles, or leave them as they are :-)

Nutella cheesecake cupcakes

I'm a sucker for Nutella.  I think it's absolutely delicious.  I love the silky chocolate and the hazelnut flavor.  I get that it's not for everyone, but I'm a big fan.

So when I saw a recipe for Nutella Cheesecake Cupcakes (or as I've been calling them, individual Nutella Cheesecakes), I knew I had to make them.  Enter the Jewish holiday of Shavuot and the consistent cheesecake recipe conversations at work, and I knew now was as good a time as any to try out the recipe.  Plus, they have an Oreo crust.  And then they're supposed to be topped with fresh whipped cream, so basically it's triple yumminess in one personal little cheesecake!

The original recipe suggested topping them with chopped hazelnuts, chopped chocolate, and/or chocolate sprinkles. I, however, had my own ideas...a drizzle of slightly melted Nutella and some square milk chocolate flakes that I had bought a while ago.  I thought simplicity would work in my favor on this one.

Nutella Cheesecake Cupcakes
From Cooking Classy

Ingredients:

12 Oreos (regular, not double-stuffed), finely crushed
1 1/2 Tbsp salted butter, melted (I used unsalted butter and just a pinch of salt)
6 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
12 oz cream cheese, well softened (use full fat)
2 large eggs
1/4 cup milk (preferable whole or 2%...I used cream since my milk was old)
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup Nutella

For the Topping:
1 cup heavy cream
3 Tbsp powdered sugar

Chopped, toasted hazelnuts
Chopped chocolate
Chocolate sprinkles
Slightly melted Nutella

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325F.
Line a 12-cup muffin tin with papers.

Using a fork, blend together the crushed Oreos and butter.
Divide the mixture evenly between 12 muffin tins, about 1 heaping Tbsp in each.
Press crumbs into an even layer (I use the bottom of a shot glass).
Bake in the oven for 5 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool while preparing the filling.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar and flour.
Add in cream cheese and, using an electric mixer, whip just until smooth.
Add in eggs.
Add in milk, sour cream, and vanilla and mix until just combined.
Add Nutella and mix until just combined.
Tap the bowl forcefully against the countertop about 30 times to release some of the air bubbles (I started doing this but found that it was noisy and that there weren't many air bubbles in my batter, and I stopped after about 10 times.).
Divide the mixture among the muffin cups, pouring it over the crusts and filling each cup nearly full, about 1/4 cup.  I had extra batter.

Bake in the 325 oven for 20-24 minutes until centers only jiggle slightly.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool to roomer temperature for 30 minutes.
Cover loosely with plastic wrap or foil and transfer to the fridge and chill 3 hours.

Make the sweetened whipped cream.

In a mixing bowl, whip the heavy cream on high with an electric hand mixer until soft peaks form.
Add in powdered sugar and whip until stiff peaks form.
Add whipped cream to a piping bag fitted with the tip of your choice.

Serve with sweetened whipped cream, hazelnuts, chopped chocolate or sprinkles, or slightly melted Nutella.  Add the toppinsg within a few hours of serving.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge until serving.

Nutella stuffed bread

Remember when I made that braided, stuffed lemon bread?  Remember how I told you that I saved 1/3 of the dough for an experiment?  Well, this here is that little absolutely awesome experiment....Nutella stuffed bread!

 

 

Instead of filling this bread with the lemon cream cheese filling and homemade lemon curd, I filled it with Nutella.  Nothing else.  No special treatment to the Nutella.  Just spread it onto the dough directly from the container!

Now I know you're going to ask...how much Nutella did I use?  Well, honestly, I didn't really measure it.  I kinda just spread it on about 1/4" thick, and then braided it like I did the lemon bread.

Banana cupcakes with chocolate icing

My mom and aunts recount eating banana cake with chocolate icing during their childhood.  I hear about it pretty often.  Last year, I made banana-chocolate cake pops with flowers and put them in a little flower pot for a cute Mother's Day centerpiece. 

This year, my aunt is hosting mother's day.  I asked her if I could bake anything for dessert, and she said she'd get back to me.  When she did, she asked for a nut-less carrot cake (my cousin is allergic to nuts), and I asked if she'd mind cupcakes instead, since I find cupcakes easier to transport than a whole cake.  She was OK with the idea, and so nut-less carrot cake cupcakes were the dessert choice.

But then I thought about it a little and decided that since she loves banana cake with chocolate icing, I would also make that for dessert -- since dessert is for Mother's Day and it is, afterall, her day.  I found a banana cake recipe and used a Nutella icing recipe - MINUS the nutella because of my cousin's allergy, although I would assume that Nutella icing on banana cupcakes might actually be heavenly - that I had made before and was quite well received.  So I made a little change to the menu and informed my aunt, but shhhh, don't tell.....she doesn't know what the change is!

Banana Cupcakes
recipe states that it makes 12, I got 12 full-sized + 8 mini cupcakes

Ingredients:

6 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon allspice
scant 1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup mashed banana (about 1 1/2 medium bananas - I got that amount from about 1 1/3 large bananas)
1/3 cup sour cream or vanilla yogurt (I used yogurt)
3 tablespoons milk

 

Directions:

Line a muffin pan with paper liners.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Beat together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition.

 

Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, allspice, and salt.

Add gradually to the butter mixture.

Add the mashed banana, sour cream (or yogurt), and milk.

Mix until everything is combined (don't over-mix).

Divide batter amongst 12 lined muffin cups.

Bake for 15-18 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool completely before frosting.

 

 

Chocolate Cloud Icing

(check out the Nutella version here)

 

Ingredients:

 

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened but cool

1-1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

3/4 cup premium bittersweet chocolate, chopped, melted and slightly cooled

1 tablespoon (15 ml) milk

pinch of salt

 

Directions:

 

In a bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, combine the sugar and butter and beat on low speed for about 1 minute.

 

Add vanilla, and beat on low speed until well combined.

Add the melted and slightly cooled chocolate and beat on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes).

 

Add the milk and pinch of salt, and beat on med-high speed for another minute.

Baked Explorations cookbook

Last month I had stumbled into Williams Sonoma and spent some time in the cookbook section.  There were two that I wanted.  I bought one of them then and there, a Bundt Cake cookbook called Cake Simple, and left the other one to pick up on a rainy day.  Well, a few weeks later I went back and bought it (although it wasn't rainy that day).  See, when flipping through the cookbook in the store weeks before, I saw a Nutella scone recipe that, well, I just knew I was going to have to make.

I have to admit that I actually bought this cookbook a few weeks ago and it sat in the bag for a while.  Then I took it out and flipped through it.  There are so many amazing sounding recipes in there!  I can't wait to make them and share them with you!

Chocolate cups

Almost everyone loves a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.  Except maybe my peanut-allergic cousin.  But I digress.  Anyway, Reese's....loved by almost everyone.  And for good reason.  Peanut butter and chocolate are an age old - and delicious - combination.  But, while I enjoy the occasional Reese's Peanut Butter Cup (I much prefer the pieces to the cups), I always wonder about alternative fillings.  Enter Pinterest.  I found recipes for chocolate Nutella cups and chocolate chip cookie dough peanut butter cups.  But that wasn't enough for me. 

Then I remembered the Speculoos Cookie Butter that I had picked up at Trader Joe's a while back.  And the marshmallow fluff that I had picked up for another (yet to be made) recipe.  And I always seem to have some Nutella here.  And thus, some flavor combinations were born...

I made four different flavors of chocolate cups: Speculoos cookie butter, marshmallow fluff, Nutella, and Speculoos cookie butter with fluff.  I decided I'd save the chocolate chip cookie dough peanut butter cups for another occasion.

I'm going to include a recipe for these, but frankly, they don't really need a recipe.  You just need to know one thing....these are good.  Very good!

Chocolate _____ Cups -- you fill in the blank!
Based on this recipe for chocolate Nutella cups

Ingredients:

Chocolate chips (the Nutella recipe says 8 oz) in any flavor - I used semisweet because, well simply, thats what I had in the kitchen.
1/2 cup of the filling of your choice (Nutella, peanut butter, almond butter, fluff, Speculoos cookie butter....the list could go on and on)
Mini cupcake liners -- although I used candy cups (a bit smaller)

Directions:

Melt chocolate chips in the microwave at 30 second intervals, mixing in between.

Take a small spoon and scoop some melted chocolate into the bottom of each cupcake line so that it completely lines the bottom (you want it thick enough to hold in the filling but not too thick so that you don't have room for filling the cups).
Take the back of the spoon and dip into chocolate and line the inner sides of the cupcake liners with chocolate as well (I used a lollipop stick). Repeat with all cupcake liners.
Once the inside of the cupcake liners has been completely coated with chocolate, put in the refrigerator to harden, for about 20 minutes.

Remove liners from fridge after the chocolate has hardened. Take spoonful of the filling and place into each chocolate cup.
Take a spoonful of the remaining melted chocolate and pour on top of the filling until you can no longer see the filling.
Attempt to smooth top with back of spoon.
Repeat with remaining cups. Place cups in fridge for another 20 minutes until chocolate is hardened.

Mini chocolate cupcakes with Nutella frosting

It's hard to believe that my last class of my doctorate is this week!  It didn't seem like it at the time, but it really flew by!  After that, all that will separate me from graduation is a portfolio, a published article, and a residency.

Despite the work I that I have left for this week, I figured I should bake something to celebrate this momentous occasion with my classmates.  After this Wednesday, the next time that I see some of them will be at graduation in May 2013!

I have been wanting to make this recipe frosting for so long.  I have a homemade chocolate cake/cupcake recipe that I use all the time, but when I was looking for this frosting recipe again (on my "Things I want to bake" board on Pinterest), something caught my eye.  One-bowl.  Yes, this recipe is a one bowl cupcake recipe.  The recipe said it made 12 standard sized cupcakes.  I got 24 mini ones (I made them in small paper cups, which are bigger than mini cupcake liners, so if you used those you'd probably get more than 24).  Also, I made a little switch - I thought that I had bittersweet chocolate in the kitchen but in actuality it was semisweet chocolate....good thing they're interchangable!

One-bowl Chocolate Cupcakes with Nutella Cloud Frosting

Cupcake Ingredients:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup dark cocoa powder (I used Hershey's Special Dark....I wonder if Dutch Press would've worked, too)
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup brewed coffee or espresso, hot (Starbucks Via works perfectly - and quickly!)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 egg, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F and line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
In the bowl of electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, sift all dry ingredients.
Add all remaining ingredients to bowl with the dry ingredients and mix for 2 minutes on medium speed and pour into prepared cupcake pan until 2/3 full (or just less).  The batter is liquidy, and it will rise
Bake for 15-17 minutes (my minis took about 12 minutes), or until toothpick or skewer comes out with a few crumbs. Try not to overbake.
Carefully remove cupcakes from the pan immediately (they're hot!), and place them on a wire rack until completely cool

Nutella Cloud Frosting Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened, but cool
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup (4 ounces) premium bittersweet chocolate chocolate, melted and cooled slightly
1/3 cup Nutella
1 tablespoon milk
pinch of salt

Directions:

In a bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, combine the confectioners' sugar and butter and beat on low speed for about 1 minute.
Add vanilla and beat on low speed until well combined. Add the chocolate and beat on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes.
Add the Nutella, milk, and salt, and beat on med-high speed for another minute.
Frost cupcakes immediately.

*Can be kept at room temperature for up to 3 days.  That weirded me out a little, so I put them in the fridge.  If the icing doesn't do well in the fridge, I'll let you know*

Hazelnut thumbprint cookies (kosher for Passover!)

I made these cookies last year for Passover.  That was pre-food processor, in which I attempted to pulse the whole nuts, sugar, matzah cake meal, and salt in several small batches in what I'll call a "mini-prep," a sad mini food processor wannabe.  Needless to say, they had bigger chunks of hazelnuts in them than I think the original recipe calls for.  I also made big cookies.  Big enough that I was able to use a big piece of chocolate as the center.  This time, I opted for mini cookies (by now you should not be surprised).  These are significantly smaller, and all I needed was one (upside-down) chocolate chip in the center.

The nice thing about these cookies is that they have a non-kosher for Passover (aka "regular") version, as well.  You know, for the other 357 days of the year then you don't have to use matzah cake meal.  I also think that those would be great with nutella in the center.  I mean whats better than hazelnuts and chocolate?  Hazelnuts and hazelnut-chocolate spread, I presume!

Hazelnut Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies (Thanks, SmittenKitchen!)
Makes about 24 of the Passover version (I got 45 mini ones, plus some extra dough and a lack of patience to finish making them)

1 almost-full cup (4 ounces) hazelnuts, toasted, skinned and cooled
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup matzo cake meal (you can substitute 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate (I used chocolate discs last year, I stuck with chocolate chips this time around)
Pulse hazelnuts, sugar, matzo cake meal (or flour), and salt in a food processor until finely ground. (Be careful not to grind to a paste.) Transfer to a bowl and stir in butter, egg, and extract until combined well.
Chill dough, covered, until firm, about 30 minutes.
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
Roll into 1 tbsp balls and place 1 inch apart on a parchment lined cookie sheet (you could do it on an ungreased cookie tray as well). 
Chill until slightly firm, about 10 minutes (I skipped this step).
Press one piece of chocolate firmly into the top of each ball of cookie dough and bake, 1 sheet at a time, until tops are pale golden and undersides are golden, 10 to 12 minutes (it took about 7 minutes for my mini ones).  Be careful not to overbake.
Transfer cookies to a rack and cool completely.

Smitten kitchen also has a jam-filled version and directions on how to make almond thumbprint cookies, too.  Check them out through the link above.

Nutella cupcakes for Nutella day!

Today, Monday February 6th, is Nutella Day.  In honor of such a wonderful day (what would the world be like without Nutella?), I'm sharing with you these awesome Nutella cupcakes.  I stumbled on this recipe a while ago, and have made it several times, each time with a resounding round of "oohs" and "ahhs."  And generally followed by a request for me to make them again....very soon.

The recipe says it makes 12 cupcakes, but I always get extras.  This time I made 1 and a half times the recipe, and ended up with 24 cupcakes.  I love to garnish them exactly like the recipe says to: with the ganache and a few pieces of chopped toasted hazelnuts.

Happy Nutella Day!

Nutella Cupcakes

Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1/2 cup self-rising flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/4 cup sugar
8 oz Nutella
2 large eggs
2 Tbsp milk
(The recipe later on says to add vanilla, but there is no amount listed; I usually go with about 1/2 tsp)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

2. Whisk together the flour and salt and set aside.

3. Beat the butter until creamy. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and beat until well-blended. Add the sugar and beat until fluffy and pale. Beat in the Nutella until well-incorporated, stopping to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl while beating (it gets thick, don't be alarmed). Add the eggs and beat until smooth.

4.  Turn to low.  Beat in half the flour mixture just until it beings to disappear into the batter. Beat in the milk. Fold in the remainder of the flour mixture by hand until the batter is smooth (I used the hand mixer for the last part and they came out fine).

4. Pour the batter into the muffin cups, filling them no more than 1/2 full. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs -- if in doubt, pull them from the oven a bit early -- do not over bake. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.

Ganache

Ingredients:

3 oz high-quality bittersweet chocolate chips
1.5 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 tsp light corn syrup
1/8 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
(I add just under 1/8 tsp of hazelnut extract, too)

1/2 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts

Directions:

1. Place the chocolate chips, butter and corn syrup in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 30 second intervals, stopping to stir after each interval, until the mixture is shiny and smooth. Stir in the vanilla.

2. When the cupcakes are completely cool, using a spoon, top each one with about two teaspoons of the ganache, and with the back of the spoon coax it as close to the edges as possible without letting it drip down the sides.  Sprinkle on a bit of the chopped hazelnuts.

3. Let the ganache set before storing in an airtight container at room temperature overnight--these cupcakes truly taste better the next day. If serving immediately, refrigerate them for about five minutes and the ganache will quickly set.

Super bowl

This year's super bowl is exciting not only because the home team is playing, but also because I actually have the day off! In the past six years, I have worked every super bowl Sunday. I chose to celebrate having the day off by hosting a little get together at my apartment for the game.

In traditional Julie fashion, I planned a hugely elaborate menu, sticking mainly to hors d'ourves/snack-y foods and desserts.

I started a few days early by making the sweet and spicy candied nuts, the jalapeño-cheddar scones (which I didn't get to serve), and the roasted and shredded beef. Then, I made some of the chocolate lollipops. My original intent was to make football lollipops as well as helmet lollipops in the colors of the teams playing, but finding/making navy chocolate proved to be harder than I thought it would.

Then I pared down my menu. Pretty substantially. It was way too much food for the dozen or so people who were expected.

The day before I started with the remaining foods on my now-paired-down list. Greek lamb meatballs, buffalo chicken mini meatballs (the original recipe called for mini, it wasn't my doing!), my grandmother's hot dog appetizer (which I also didn't get to serve), spinach dip (which I also didn't get to serve), and macaroni and cheese. I took a short cut with the salsa, hummus, jalapeño poppers (from the freezer aisle), and buffalo wings (from a local bar) and bought them.

Dessert was chocolate lollipops, nutella cupcakes in football wrappers, and cookie-and-brownie "burgers" (idea taken from this blog, but I made everything from scratch). Why nutella cupcakes, you may wonder? Because tomorrow is Nutella Day and I promised a friend I'd make Nutella cupcakes for Nutella day!

Congrats to the Giants on an awesome win!

Some of the spreads

Food holidays

No, I'm not talking about breaks from food; I'm talking about holidays celebrating food!  My friend is opening a bar next month called Woodrow's.  It's here in New York City in Tribeca.  For those of you in the tri-state area, you should definitely check it out when it opens!  If you're on Facebook, you can check it out there, too.  But tonight, Woodrow's brought to my attention all of these wonderful national food holidays.  Check them out on Woodrow's calendar.  But here are a few of my favorites:

Friday 2/3 is "National Carrot Cake Day"
Monday 2/6 is "Nutella Day"
Thursday 2/9 is "National Bagels and Lox Day" (how random?)
Saturday 2/18 is "Drink Wine Day" - this coincides well with my vacation that starts the next day

Hope everyone had a great "National Baked Alaska Day"!