Kevin Lee Jacobs

Gardening, Recipes & Home DΓ©cor Tips

Happy Anniversary/A Giveaway

BY Kevin Lee Jacobs | 779 Comments

Last updated on March 20th, 2013

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY WEEK EVERYONE! It’s been four years since I started this online gardening, cooking, and decorating magazine.Β To celebrate the occasion,Β  I’ve purchased a sparkling new Mercedes-Benz convertible Cuisinart 7-cup Food Processor. Who’d like to win this indispensable kitchen-gadget in a random drawing?

To enter this giveaway, just answer the following question in the comments field below: What’s the most complicated (or time-consuming ) dessert you’ve ever made? (Me: this one.)

Rules:

One entry per person

No entries after 11:59PM on Wednesday, March 20, 2013

As always, I’ll use the little number device at Random.org to select the winner. The winner’s name will be announced on March 21, 2013, so be sure to check back!

Oh — not required but appreciated: click the Facebook “Like” button below.

Good luck!

Don’t miss anything at A Garden for the House…sign up for Kevin’s weekly newsletter.

Related Posts:
Glazed Apple Tart
A Perfect Strawberry Jelly Roll
Autumn (or anytime!) Spice Cookies

Comments

  4. 4

    Cairn says

    I wouldn’t necessarily call it complicated, but a little time consuming. My husband loves it when I make white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake. I was just looking at some recipes the other day that required a full size food processor and have been debating which one to get. This one would be great! Thanks for the chance to win! πŸ™‚

  5. 5

    Cathi Lamoreux says

    I remember taking all day once making cream puffs from scratch (might have had something to do with also have a 2 year old at the time). I also used to make a Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate cake from a recipe from a restaurant at Sugarbush in Vermont that took forever with about 14 layers of something before you were done!

  6. 6

    Maggie Lavish says

    I have tried to make custard squares with the home-made flaky crustb and dobos torte a 7 layer hungarian cake with a hard melted sugar top.

  8. 8

    Cherylann McGuire says

    I don’t make a lot of desserts because my hubby doesn’t eat them, but I particularly love to make a ricotta cake (the one I used takes 2 pounds of ricotta!) Come to think of it, isn’t there a recipe for homemade ricotta on THIS site??? Thank you for both the site and the opportunity to win this food processor as I don’t already have one.

  10. 10

    Connie N says

    It’s been years and years—–Charlotte Russe …with homemade lady fingers. Thanks for helping me remember I can make those!!!!

  12. 12

    Kate Mahoney says

    most complicated dessert – three layered brownies – bottom layer a dense chocolate brownie – mid layer a creamy cappuchino cream – top layer choc. ganache. so so so satisfying! xo

  13. 13

    Cosette says

    Happy anniversary! So glad you chose to blog.
    I keep it simple since my sweet babies often join me in the kitchen, but I do love a good layered pie. Marbelized pumpkin mascarpone, fresh strawberry with a cream cheese layer, Dutch apple pie with a sour cream/brown sugar layer under the crumble topping, banana cream pie with a layer of chocolate.
    Oops, that was four, but how could I leave out any of my favorites?

  16. 16

    Amanda Wiersma says

    First, happy anniversary! Love your page for all things food and gardening πŸ™‚ I am not that into complicated deserts. They get eaten so very quickly around here! I do like to throw down homemade doughnuts, lots of butter in the dough, and it does have to sit overnight. Although, how long it takes, and how complicated are two different things. I am making angel food cake today! And, I may just have to google Kate Mahoney’s layered brownie cappuccino thing…

  17. 17

    Diane Kratz says

    Coconut cake. It took two days.Always read a recipe through before you commit to it!

  18. 18

    Earen Hummel says

    A bouche noelle. It tasted delicious but it didn’t look like a pretty woodland log with toadstools.

  19. 19

    Kate says

    Hum, I’m not sure it counts as dessert but it’s definitely a treat — homemade eggnog.

  20. 20

    melly howell says

    Caramel cake…spent an entire night scraping the icing up and putting it back on the cake only to watch it run down onto the counter again.

  22. 22

    Laura G says

    The most difficult one I have made is cannoli – and it did not turn out very tasty. Recipe Kevin??

  23. 23

    Louise Brouillette says

    Once, in my French class, my students and I made a Buche de Noel. The complicated part was rolling up the sponge cake to resemble a Yule Log, but we had fun decorating it!

  28. 28

    ruth says

    lemon meringue pie, cause basically, I don’t do complicated…I do eat complicated, though.

  30. 30

    Jo says

    I love making New York style cheesecakes. Once I used a low fat by mistake and needless to say it did not turn out good. Happy Anniversary! πŸ™‚

  32. 32

    Katherine Werner says

    Strawberry cheesecake complete with heart-shaped pastry toppings. While this would hardly be complicated for me to make now, it felt very complicated when I made it at age 19 for my friend Dede’s wedding shower which I hosted. I still have a snapshot of it. I also helped her plan their honeymoon in Bayfield, Wisconsin. SO! If I’m so good at helping others with their weddings, why am I still single?! Ha!

  36. 36

    Rebecca says

    Anytime I’m asked to make anything with puff pastry, it’s difficult. Why can’t I just stop kneading??

  37. 37

    Yvonne Shelley says

    seven layer caramel cake – it looked awful – lopsided and falling – but it was delicious!
    I really enjoy your blog and such helpful hints and beautiful ideas

  40. 40

    Deborah says

    Birthday cakes for my son. My husband and I would go all out with the decorating. Thank you.

  41. 41

    badger gardener says

    For my son’s 1st birthday I tried to decorate a cake to look like a box of Crayolas. Seemed like an easy project, but I couldn’t get the frosting to take on primary colors (even though the expensive food coloring promised it would). If you can picture a crayola box, there are triangles in the 2 bottom corners. My friend pointed out that my creation looked like decolletage w/ a lime green bikini. Nice theme for a kids party!

  42. 42

    Ellen Keenan says

    I would say a gluten free,dairy free, soy free birthday cake for my daughter who is sensitive to all of these ingredients.

  48. 48

    Norma Coates says

    ME< ME< ME< ME……….I would love to win!!!! I'm going to try AGAIN, lol. Turning 60 this year and have NEVER won anything………but I'm going to keep trying. I would love to have one of these……I always make do some how without one, but think I would love to have one. Really enjoy your news letters with all the recipes and garden talk. I live in Florida…..so it's quite different here……but love to LOOK and READ about all your garden happenings!! Happy St.Patrick's day!!!!

  50. 50

    Suzanne says

    Cream puffs…which really are not all that complicated; however, I made the pudding from scratch, and whipped the cream, along with making the cream puffs. This dessert was for a bridal shower years ago and I was a novice cook at the time.

  51. 51

    Peter says

    I made a chocolate wedding cake with three layers and chocolate plastic ribbons . It took three days. It was for my friends wedding, they loved it. They froze the top tier and ate it on their one year anniversary .

  52. 52

    Jen says

    Happy anniversary!

    Maybe my twins’ first birthday cake. Time consuming but a great joy!

  53. 53

    peggy says

    Happy St. Paddy’s Day to you! The most complicated dessert I ever made was profitterroles. I was told they were originally made w/ whipped cream inside and not cut in half. To please my mother-in-law, who has recently come from a trip to Brazil, I did just that. What a trip getting that whipped cream in there!

  55. 55

    Judy says

    I don’t make desserts for home but when I go to a family event I make pecan tassies for the occasion. Love your blog!

  56. 56

    Robin D says

    Happy anniversary. I would have to say the most complicated isn’t really complicated but people think it is. It is a Baked Alaska. Thanks for the chance to win

  57. 57

    Linda P. Strangio says

    Hi Kevin, Well, for me it would be my grandmother’s cream puffs. Thanks for offering a chance to win such an awesome prize. I tried for the last one you gave away. Ah, maybe today I’ll have a little luck of the Irish. I belong to a community garden in Glens Falls, NY, Greening Glens Falls is our Facebook page. Check us out. We share lots of your posts. Peace, Linda

  58. 58

    susan says

    I make this white chocolate banana cream pie with shortbread crust. Everything is homemade(the crust, whipped cream, vanilla custard etc.), It has many step to it. Good luck on the renovations. Understand completely. I own a 1920 house. πŸ™‚

  59. 59

    Carol says

    Not neccessarily diificult, but lots of chopping & shredding….Ginger Carrot Cake!! Yum!!

  60. 60

    Sandra Sather says

    Love your blog. Thanks for the opportunity to win also. I made Bakklava, nummy.

  61. 61

    Robert Meehan says

    Made a selection of cookies, strawberries W chocolate, and a lattice top apple pie. All scratch and 4 kinds of cookies. Dazzled the heck outta the folks throwing the dinner party to see a blue collar guy show up with a nice looking and tasty dessert that I actually made.

  63. 63

    Linda Primley says

    I would love this food processor…I have this very brand name processor and it’s so old I have to use a fork to hold down the “go” button when I shred anything. I need a new one but can’t afford it right now. Thank you for all your wonderful recipes!

  65. 65

    Sarah says

    The most complicated dessert I’ve ever made was a simple yellow sheet cake filled with raspberry buttercream, but it was the decorating on the cake that got complicated. It was for a baby shower, so I decided to make the cake look like a baby quilt. I made vanilla buttercream and colored it various pastel colors (pink, pastel mint green, light yellow, light blue) and frosted color blocks on the surface of the cake to resemble quilt blocks. I did piping around each block to look like stitches. Took me forever but it looked great!

  67. 67

    Tricia says

    Pear torte! Congrats on the anniversary! I am so glad you selected the food processor over the Mercedes – much more functional! ;>. And for the record, I don’t own either! Have a Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

  68. 68

    Tamie says

    My parents 50th wedding anniversary cake. Not challenging but our 9 year old decided she wanted to decorate it for grandma and grandpa. It looked beautifu; in their eyes!

  69. 69

    Kelly says

    Triple chocolate cake with raspberry filling. The mousse layers are tough to get just right so it doesn’t just slip and slide! I love your blog. Been a faithful follower for 2 years now. Your gardening tips are especially helpful! Thank you!

  72. 72

    Joy Bellamy says

    Black Forest cake from scratch when I was a new bride. There were tears. It didn’t look so great but it tasted good.
    New York cheese cake was second.
    Thanks Kevin for the giveaway…my fingers are crossed.

  73. 73

    Susan T. Blake says

    Frango Mint Chocolate Cheesecake. My sister brought Frangos from Seattle when she came for Thanksgiving and we made it instead of pumpkin pie. I didn’t have a mixer at the time, so we used a potato masher and a blender. One of us didn’t put the lid on the blender tightly enough and ended up with chocolate splatters on the ceiling. It was delicious, and we made it for several years in a row after that.

    I think I moved out of that apartment with memorial chocolate still on the ceiling…

  74. 74

    Carla says

    pecan pie cheesecake……. i have a hard time taking desserts out of the oven when they don’t look like they are done, and they are always overlooked…. I have tried to make thus 4 times, it is my arch nemesis. My best and most asked for dessert is Blueberry Pineapple Cobbler….. Yummo. Give me a recipe and I can make most things taste good, but sweets I struggle with, but I keep trying anyway!!

  78. 78

    Ellen says

    A traditional English Christmas cake with rum, marzipan and royal icing (and hidden sixpences). Takes a full 3 months to let all the liquor soak in and make it taste OH! so gooooood. Happy anniversary BTW and my granddaughter’s birthday (20th) ‘Autumn’ was born to herald in spring! – go figure. Great timing as my food processor just broke so time to get another …… wishing and hoping my number comes up roses!

  81. 81

    Mary says

    I tried to make a coconut cake made from fresh coconut. I bought a fresh coconut and wanted to make the cake the way my mother use to make her fresh coconut cakes. Her cakes were beautiful and soooooo good. I spent so much time trying to get the coconut meat out of the coconut that I finally gave up. Is there a simple way to retrieve the coconut???

  82. 82

    Debee B says

    I think it was chocolate eclairs… so long ago! I’m gluten free now and so I don’t make many deserts other than fruity things…

  86. 86

    Christine Reid says

    The one dessert I always struggle with is making pies with homemade pie crusts! I don’t like most commercially-made crusts and want to use my own ingredients but it always ends badly!

  87. 87

    Amber says

    Once tried a Red Velvet cake. Didn’t know the trick of freezing the layers before frosting. Ended up a pink gloppy icing…tasted pretty good though! Happy Anniversary!

  88. 88

    Linda says

    I baked a sky-high chocolate meringue pie. The timing is tricky on both parts, but the scary part was driving across town with it sitting on my lap.

  89. 89

    Annie says

    Several years ago, I was making a cheesecake that had received rave reviews….lots of ingredients and some what time consuming. All was great, things were moving along and then……while the food processor was doing its thing, the bowl cracked in a big way. Needless to say, it was a major mess…LOL! Off to the store I went… to get more ingredients and a new processor. Not complicated but certainly not convenient!

    Happy St. Patricks Day to all! Enjoy!

    Annie

  91. 91

    Lois Flynn says

    the most time consuming. I made chocolate cases and filled with strawberry mousse.
    But they were worth it, they tasted sooooooo good.

  92. 92

    Beth Thomerson says

    I was the most I intimidated by Creme brΓ»lΓ©e until I made it…the only thing difficult is the timing in the oven, so I guess I’d have to say a deep chocolate layer cake with chocolate buttercream frosting, and that’s because it was very time-consuming.

    Happy anniversary!

  94. 94

    Janet Pasinski says

    Cheesecake, but by far is decorated birthday cakes, a new and different one every year.

  95. 95

    Emilie 123 says

    Making a Yule Log with my dearest, now departed best friend, Marilyn.
    Thank you for the memory. πŸ™‚

  96. 96

    Laura Graham says

    A coconut cake that is supposed to take two days to make and another day to sit in the fridge before eating. I make it in one day and it is so pretty, we just never have any left to put away. I do remember sometimes to put the sugar in the sour cream the night before. Either way, it is so tasty. Would love the Cuisinart, thanks for the contest.

  100. 100

    Judy says

    Hi, Kevin Love this site and your recipes. Thanks. Happy Anniversary. Not the most difficult dessert but the MOST time consuming! Little chocolate mice made with cheeries for bodies, Hershey kiss for face and sliced almonds for ears. Cute but definetly not quick!!

  104. 104

    Lisa says

    Cream puffs are something I thought was delicious from Home Ec. class in school. Now, decades later, I’ve tried several times and can’t get the custard to come out. Would love to get some pointers…..and a new food processor.

  105. 105

    Marsha says

    My first ever pie. It was a sweet potato pie made for a good friend as a thank you. The filling was delicious. The crust was as tough a leather. My friend was very appreciative and told me how wonderful it was. πŸ™‚

  106. 106

    Doreen says

    A cheesecake i made from yogurt which required a lot of patience…draining all the whey out but the end result was so worth it!! Thank u for the contest Kevin!! So happy to have this in my inbox…love and look forward to ALL your newsletters. Have a wonderful day!!

  107. 107

    Helen says

    A spring garden cake. I saw it in a Martha Stewart Living magazine years ago. The cake itself was carrot with cream cheese frosting. It took all day to make the vegetables out of marzipan. It was quite an intensive project but it really was spectacular and so much fun. I found it online in case anyone wants to try it. I would never do it again! If you follow the link, you will see it is a cake, with a garden fence and then a vegetable garden with marzipan veggies, chocolate sprinkles as dirt, and pebble colored candies – I used jelly beans. http://www.marthastewart.com/343292/spring-garden-cake

  108. 108

    Lisa b says

    Baklava – turned out pretty yummy. Would love the food processor! Pick me, pick me!!

  109. 109

    Adrianna S says

    The German cake I made for my husbands birthday in January. It had multiple layers and fillings and was frosted. It was so worth it. Congrats on the anniversary!

  110. 110

    THERESA hAMILTON says

    Oh My!…. How could I forget! Crepes Suzette. I found the flambe part trickey!
    I was a nervouse wreck…but they turned out delicious..my guests thought it was very funny!…
    Happy Anniversary!!

  112. 112

    joyce says

    I would have to say it was home made cinnamon buns that my husband wanted me to make for Christmas morning, the recipe was a bit time consuming and many steps. Next time i’ll make them on a less hectic day! But they were sooo good!

  115. 115

    Sue S says

    Apricot Horns were my hardest to make ever dessert cookie but so-o-o good. Happy 4th Anniversary.

  116. 116

    Johanna says

    I’m so glad to have found your blog this year, and know I’ll be spending a lot more time perusing it as we get closer to potted garden time. πŸ˜‰

    The most complicated dessert I’ve made was a German-style fresh fruit tort, and it was really more time-consuming than difficult.

    Happy Anniversary!

  117. 117

    Robin says

    The most complicated: Probably the most complicated would be wedding cakes. With some, it was the decorations that were complicated. For another: cheesecakes for 300 people, and how to decorate them.

    Happy Anniversary! I love your site.

  120. 120

    Darlene says

    Homemade puff pastry turnovers. From now on it is frozen puff pastry for me! Happy Anniversary!

  121. 121

    Deanna says

    The most complicated dessert I ever made was never made because I need a good food processor like that one. I have wanted to try a vegan cheesecake recipe a friend gave me, which includes soaked raw cashews and it does require a food processor. Never the less, I have become pretty good at my own recipe for a simple butter-cream decorator icing. The most complicated desert I have successfully made is my own recipe (first try at it) cake pops. I have to perfect this recipe, since I am trying to duplicate the cake pops from Starbucks. Still working in it πŸ™‚

  123. 123

    foxglove says

    Three Berry Tiramisu–a concotion of fresh berries, homemade berry preserves, chambord, mascarpone and lady fingers. I used to make it for a restaurent I worked for. People went crazy for it. It was so time-consuming, I didn’t make any money on it. But it was good!

  124. 124

    Brigitte says

    For me it was a German Baumkuchen – so many layers and so much time! It was delicious when it was finally done!

    Congratulations on four years of your wonderful online magazine!

  127. 127

    Rosemeri says

    I don’t make many desserts but the ones I do are always from scratch. My favorite is cheesecake.

  129. 129

    Sosh says

    My mother’s cheesecake. It requires a half day just to prepare it, but it’s worth it. Everyone who has tried it agrees that it is the best cheesecake ever.

  130. 130

    Corby Hackney says

    Chocolate Bag with Apricot Bavarian Cream and Raspberry Melba Sauce: Several times I’ve made this lovely edible centerpiece consisting of oiling the surface of a small to medium size brown paper bag, (I can’t remember the size #, the #10 comes to mind, but not sure–the size of your guest list would dictate the size), and covering it with chocolate and putting it in the refrigerator to harden and bringing it out to recoat it, doing this once or twice to obtain the desired thickness of chocolate. Next, I pulled the paper bag out, leaving a replica of the bag with the little folds and cut out crescent at the center front top. Choosing a proper base to set it upon, a large silver platter or flat piece of glass or mirror, I placed the chocolate bag on its side diagonally. Next, I made an apricot bavarian cream that was a delicious type of pudding with the tartness of apricot. I spooned this inside the chocolate bag until it was full and spilling out somewhat. Then I made a raspberry melba sauce that sweetens the tartness of the bavarian cream, nearby the centerpiece in an artful vessel. Finally, I took long stems of fresh cut daisies and laid them horizontally atop the bavarian cream in the bag, spilling out on the table. Guests spoon out the bavarian cream, add melba sauce and break off a piece of chocolate and take of bite of all three together…..most delicious and a truly lovely presentation providing constant oohs and ahhs, (and isn’t that what we were striving for?)

  131. 131

    Nancy Carr says

    Angel food cake in a humid climate — does not work. Divinity will not work either in a humid climate. Sad.

  132. 132

    Barb Landry says

    Many more happy anniversaries! The most complicated dessert I made/make is monkey bread from scratch. My kids used to help when they were small, now my granddaughter helps. This usually ends up being a day of fun.

  133. 133

    Mary Lou in Central NY says

    I used to make wedding cakes. I once made one that was three separated tiers high with two side tiered cakes connected with stairs. Then my son was born and that little side business was the first to go….

  135. 135

    Katharine says

    I made a birthday cake (all from scratch) for my step daughters birthday that looked like a toboggan hill. I made the cake in a bundt pan. Iced it with white icing, raising up areas to look like bumps on the hill. Rolled out spearmint candy leaves for trees, used stick gum and rolled up the one end to look like sleighs. Used Graham Teddy Bear cookies for the kids. I had them ontop of the cake, sliding down the cake on their stick gum sleighs, tumbling over at the bottom of the cake and some standing around with their gum sleighs. She loved it. I also made a basketball court cake for her one year as she was into basketball.
    I would love to win this prize and create all kinds of desserts and other dishes.
    Katharine

  136. 136

    Diane says

    It has been many years since I made that complicated dessert. I no longer remember the name. It contained lady fingers, high grade chocolate, cherries, nuts, whipped cream and a lot more. It took the entire day working on and off. But it won first place. It was pretty and delicious but way too much trouble and I never made it again. I think I must have disposed of the recipe as I have not seen it in years. I have gotten older and older and I like quick, easy, tasty desserts like you make. They are just as good.

    Happy Anniversary…………..keep us up to date on the music room renovations.
    Thanks~

  139. 139

    Gretchen says

    Happy Anniversary! Here’s wishing you many. many more plus the time and good health to enjoy it all.

    My most complicated dessert was a 20 layer German Baumkuchen (Tree cake).

  141. 141

    Karen Witek says

    I must say first…I’m not a dessert maker. But…scratch pineapple upside down cake!

  142. 142

    Lois says

    Reading the ingredients list for the Figgy Pudding, I though, “Oh, how complicated can THAT be?”, and then I read the directions! Ohhhh. Wow!

    Less complicated but time-consuming nonetheless, because of peeling the grapes in order to cook and de-seed the pulp,, AND because I am lousy at rolling out pie dough, is Concord Grape Pie with Crumb Topping (so no one has to see how lousy I am at rollig out pie dough!)
    Mmmmm.

  144. 144

    Janice says

    I love to bake, so I get a rush when I come across a recipe that is a challenge. That recipe was a Halloween 6 layer cake, it was called a “Monster Cake”. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

  151. 151

    juanita says

    My daughter’s strawberry whip cream/ Eagle brand milk pound cake. The cake itself takes 11 eggs whites, whipped firm, buttermilk, lemon juice, etc., baked in a tube pan. When the cake is cooled you cut top off and make a tunnel for filling. The filling is eagle brand milk, whipped cream, strawberries and crumbled pound cake, lemon juice, etc. Your fill the tunnel with this luscious combination of decadence, put the top back on, and frost with left over filling and whipped cream, garnished with strawberries all around. Yummy, yummy.

  152. 152

    Sheila A says

    Key Lime Cupcakes!!! They were a lot more labor intensive then they sound. πŸ™‚ Thank you Kevin once again. I love your drawings… & even more just love your blog. Enjoy these beautiful Spring days. -Sheila πŸ™‚

  153. 153

    Emily Phillips says

    Butter cake with strawberry jello poured down punched holes in cake, then iced with cool whip and topped with sliced strawberries. Also tried fruit cake cookies once and only once. Never have found many desserts too hard to try. Even failures are usually tasty, not pretty, but tasty. Happy Anniversary!!

  154. 154

    Joan says

    I am a fairly decent baker (not much into decorating) but 2 years ago, it took my 5 or 6 tries before I could get a Red Velvet cake to turn out in a presentable fashion. It got to the point that I wasn’t going to stop baking until one turned out right. My daughter had just started dating the man that is now her fiance, and he consumed many pieces of tasty failure. I tried telling her that’s why he was coming around so often, but she insisted it was her charm. The cake is long gone, but he’s joining the family, so I guess she was right!

  155. 155

    Mary L. says

    1. Happy anniversary!
    2. Pick me, pick me! My food processor just died this morning while making fresh
    horseradish sauce.
    3. Lemon meringue pie from scratch, pie crust to pudding to meringue. There is a
    reason that pie crusts are at the store….for me!

  156. 156

    Emily Colburn says

    An almond torte. I was fifteen and made it for world cultures class. The base of the cake was chopped almonds instead of flour. It was delicious, I have to find that recipe online, now that I’m thinking about it.

  157. 157

    Beverly, zone 6 eastern PA says

    Lemon Bars, the real ones, not the boxed imitation (whose makers should be publicly flogged because of the cardboard flavor.)

    We made the nearly fatal mistake of baking the lemon bars when there were no visitors on the horizon. We ate the entire 9X13 tray ourselves, just 2 retired gluttons. We did try to stretch it out over 10 days, though. They were magnificent!

  158. 158

    Garry Repp says

    Chocolate gobs if you came from Johnstown PA or whoopie pies as they are know elsewhere.

  160. 160

    Christie Ogburn says

    It has been awhile since I made a complicated dessert. My grown children seem to enjoy cookies as well as anything. Thanks for your blog, I really enjoy.

  161. 161

    Sally says

    Chocolate mousse for my son. It takes about all your kitchen bowls (color not important !) and has chocolate shaped leaves on top.

  163. 163

    Lyne Barnes says

    HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!! I really enjoy your website. The most complicated dessert I ever made was a triple layer chocolate mousse cheese cake. It was worth every minute and ever calorie.

    Keep up the good work.

  164. 164

    Lori Kensler says

    My last attempt at strawberry cake made from scratch (vs a white cake mix) came out so heavey, a frosted brick would have been gone over better.

  165. 165

    Lourdes says

    A very long time ago I was helping my SIL make divinity and we did something wrong because there was smoke coming out of her mixer. LOL

  167. 167

    Bonnie Shileny says

    Grandma’s apple pie – oh did I mention it’s an alcoholic drink we give away in the fall. Yummy! 1 batch makes 15 bottles. Love your site, photos, recipes and gardening tips.

  169. 169

    Linda Stone says

    Happiest anniversary and many more to come! Once made a seven tiered cake decorated with hundreds of royal icing flowers all made to look very realistic, plus all manner of ribbons and bows also made of royal icing.

  170. 170

    Frani says

    Happy Anniversary!!! What a nice giveaway to celebrate!
    We try to keep desserts simple, The most complicated dessert that I make is Baklava. We enjoy having it during the holidays.

  171. 171

    Diane says

    Chocolate Babka, vegan-style. (yes, it’s just as delicious as the non-vegan version, in fact- you’d never know the difference)

    Congratulations on 4 years of sharing wonderful information! hope the blog makes you as happy as it does your readers!

  172. 172

    Amy (Get Busy Gardening) says

    I really had to think about this one, I’m not a cook (my husband is). πŸ™‚ I think the most complicated desert I’ve even made is a cake from scratch, seriously! How lame is that?

    Amy

  173. 173

    Larry Gilbert says

    I made a chocolate mousse from a Julia Child cookbook once, even to the point of making the lady finger cookies that lined the edge of the pan. It was an ordeal making it. I made it a second time and it wasn’t as complicated as the first. I haven’t made it in years so guess I need to try it again. Congrats on the anniversary, keep up the good work!

  176. 176

    Toni says

    Not the most complicated but the most memorable! Madeira pudding-my husband’s favorite. Make it on his birthday and our anniversary.

    Cheers

  178. 178

    Eloise says

    Buche de Noel (Yule log). Nothing about making it is hard, there are just so many steps!

  179. 179

    Lorrayne says

    The most complicated dessert would have to be Pear carmel tart….not because the basic concept is difficult, but because I wanted to make the puff pastry from scratch as to not have the preservatives that are present in store bought ones. And I invented the recipe as I made several batches over a few days. The end result was to die for; flaky light pastry, wonderful balance between pears and carmel…well worth the work, but I have no processor…all done by hand!

  181. 181

    Deb says

    The most complicated dessert I have ever made is a new york cheesecake. The crust had to be made and baked. Then cooled. Then I mixed the cheesecake and baked that filling. Lastly it was time to mix the sour cream topping, swirled that on and baked the topping. It’s worth it for true NY cheesecake lovers. Mmmmm, maybe it’s time to bake another one!

  183. 183

    Marge Bomford says

    Tiramasu! First I had to choose which recipe then make it in several steps! I felt it turned out a bit too moist.

  185. 185

    Jan Jacklin says

    Probably, Pineapple Millionaire Pie….I was trying to copy one from a restaurant….So searching for a recipe that seemed similar (Betty Crocker, Christmas Pie).I had to construct the recipe….It is my all time favorite…some are on the internet…but not like “The Trufflehunter” makes in Gresham, Oregon….I still work to improve upon it….Certainly anyone who loves pie is truly impressed….

  186. 186

    Kevin says

    Chocolate coffee cake from scratch w a gnosh topping. Happy Anniversary! I enjoy all the great info. You share!

  187. 187

    Dorothy F. says

    Tried baking “Pain de Mie in a Pullman Pan” Bread , Rised after 2nd. Failed on the third rise, baked it anyway. Came out half the height of the Pullman pan and very heavy.

  188. 188

    Julie says

    A dense orange flavored flourless chocolate gateau with chocolate glaze and gold leaf decoration.

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    Karen Chickering says

    hmmm, most recently, and not difficult, just fussy: tiramisu crepe cake. but oh so good, and quite the looker!

    Happy Anniversary! I’m going in to check out the pianos now πŸ™‚

  192. 192

    Lois M. says

    I don’t reckon any recipe has been to difficult to make but the one that is most requested by my children and grandchildren is my Mother’s Red Velvet Cake:)!

  195. 195

    Rebecca Dare says

    A cheesecake a girlfriend and I tried to make in high school. I remember it took a dozen eggs, and came out flat and dense. We enjoyed it anyway.

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    Pat Gilbert says

    OOOOOO, a giveaway! πŸ™‚ I am just inside out at the hope of winning one someday because I would love one, use one, cherish one for making homemade nut butters and slicing things like a madwoman (especially for dehydrating foods).

    My dessert with the biggest “challenge” was making a birthday cake for my daughter’s first birthday that had NO sugar or refined anything. It was a carrot cake from absolute scratch, right down to cooking the carrots and mashing them for the “batter”. I was up half the night making it and it wasn’t cake-like at all. It was rather chewy, only about 1 inch high and looked/tasted nothing like any carrot cake I had ever had…..but once you got over expecting it to look/taste like “cake”, it was really pretty good. Was it complicated? No. Probably the biggest challenge was getting the adults to try it. Kids thought it was great. My mother in law couldn’t understand why I didn’t just bake a chocolate cake with loads of frosting (sugar, sugar, sugar and possibility of chocolate allergy). My daughter is now almost 22 and my mother in law STILL brings up that carrot cake. sheesh. πŸ˜€ πŸ˜€ πŸ˜€

  197. 197

    Betty says

    Many years ago I attempted to make a caramel pie, never tried it again. Happy Anniversary! I enjoy your site.

  198. 198

    Allison K says

    A sort-of blueberry-lavender custard-creme pie, with homemade crust (made with lard, of course!). It was pretty awesome.

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    Nora says

    A Black Forest cake………never again!

    P.S. You can keep the Mercedes Benz….i’ll take the food processor (with gratitude)!

  201. 201

    Jan Evancho says

    The most complicated dessert I ever made was an exploding volcano cake for my son’s 7th birthday. It had many tiers, shaped into a mountain, oreo cookie and graham cracker crumbles, and boulders, red jello lava, steaming pools of koolaid at the bottom and of course, a dry ice concoction streaming from the top. The kids (and even their parents) went CRAZY. The recipe itself was easy, but the design and assembly took a long time.

  202. 202

    Jo Pernice says

    I would have to say a chocolate cheesecake……I think I spent a few hours in the kitchen…not that I minded…..I can say though on a side bar that I have given out your tomato pie recipe to a few of my fav friends and they loved it……I think of summer and get so excited to make one….it has to be my favorite!

  206. 206

    Sandy says

    My first attempt at a cherry pie from scratch…really from scratch, including a trip to a local orchard to pick the cherries!!! Should have read those directions more carefully when it came to baking time….we called it cherry pie soup!!! Have my own trees now and can READ! ha

  207. 207

    Denise says

    Anything. I hail from a family full of diabetics so I’ve been trying different recipes that don’t require any white ingredients. Works for cookies and muffins but haven’t been successful with cake yet.

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    Donna in SC says

    Although I’ve made many……….my daughter’s wedding cake was probably the hardest one to make. So many emotions involved..

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    Deborah Rosen says

    The most complicated dessert I ever made was a totally-from-scratch buche de noel. I had, before then, only made “regular” cakes, never made meringue and my custard-making had been limited to the J-brand box stuff. It was a ton of work and I swore I’d never do it again, but you know…I might, some day.

  210. 210

    Huguette says

    A St HonorΓ© for my grandson’s birthday.

    It was ok but the croquant wasn’t caramelized enough for my taste and the English custard which I usually make with Birds powder instead of eggs (easier) was too thick! But, they were all polite and had only good comments πŸ™‚

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    Melinda S says

    I love to bake, so nothing seems particularly complicated! A white chocolate banana cream pie comes to mind.

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    Elaine says

    Congratulations on your 4th Anniversary! Here’s to many more! The most complicated dessert I’ve made was a Banana cake with Mascarpone frosting out of a Martha Stewart cookbook. It was very time consuming and had ingredients that took some work to find, but well worth the effort! πŸ™‚

  214. 214

    Tamara says

    Anything with egg whites and yolks separated. Have a hard time “folding” in egg whites, just easier to stir. haha

  215. 215

    Wendy says

    A three tier wedding cake for my grandparents’ 50th anniversary. I live in Montana and they lived in Oregon then. We took all my equipment and supplies – along with our two 1/2 year old and three month old daughters. That was twenty four years ago, and I’m pretty sure I don’t have that much energy anymore. Happy anniversary to you!

  216. 216

    Helen Fergusson says

    Most definitely ‘sex in the pan’ when I first heard about it, I said “whaaat?”
    but decided to try it out! it was definitely the most sweetest mindblowing dessert I have ever eaten and probably should’nt have!

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    Robin Bastianelli says

    Bavarian Creme Pie… more time consuming than complicated but a food processor would speed up the crust prep! Congrats on 4 yrs on this blog… Love it!

  219. 219

    Ann Midkiff says

    Gingerbread house with royal icing, all from scratch, with my 12 year old niece. Serious mistake, TOTAL disaster! Took half of the next day just to clean the (very small) kitchen!

  221. 221

    Jo says

    Happy Anniversary! A turtle pie with peanut butter and chocolate morsels and caramel…I remember it tasted scrumptious but what a gooey mess to make.

    I love your site – thank you so much for all you do.

  223. 223

    Carrie says

    I made and decorated my nieces wedding cake. It was the first one I had made, and it was fun, but more than I usually do.

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    Laurie Dimino says

    I dont make many “complicated” things at all…so to answer your question, I would have to say some of the elaborate themed birthday cakes I made for my kids when they were younger. They were always a challenge, but fun just the same!
    Sure would love to have this Cuisinart! Food Processor!
    Thanks for the opportunity!
    Laurie

  226. 226

    Sandra says

    I like simple things, comfort foods. I like to cook and bake and garden, but not lots of time. I make things ahead and freeze. I enjoy your web site so much. Happy St. Paddy’s Day, and Happy Anniversary as well.

  227. 227

    Cherie says

    a chocolate mousse cake where you cut the top off, stuff it with chocolate mousse and put the top back on – quite time consuming but delicious and only for very special occasions. I really really need a new processor – happy anniversary!

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    Lane says

    Many, many years ago I made cream puffs. As a young wife I found this very difficult. Now I go to the bakery for that treat!

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    Sherrie B says

    The most complicated dessert for me (and took three days to prepare) was Emeril Lagasse’s Oreo Cookie and White Chocolate Mousse Pie with Macerated Strawberries. Congratulations on your anniversary and thank you for a winning opportunity!

  232. 232

    Angela says

    I have to say I haven’t done much that’s complicated, but all my desserts are made from scratch. Would love a new food processor to make my pie crust dough (mmmmmm . . . pie).

  233. 233

    Betty says

    I would love to win. The most complicated–attempting to duplicate the variety of Christmas cookies my mother used to bake. It was a killer-had to settle for less variety.

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    Susan in MI says

    Happy anniversary and many more to come!! Once made a Boston Creme Pie for my husband before he was my husband. Not that “complicated” just many different steps.

  238. 238

    Virginia McKay says

    My most difficult recipe to make and the most time consuming was a caramel cake with a delicious frosting of nuts and sweet coconut, rounded with a rim of flavored whip topping. I made this cake three years in a row and won a first place ribbon at the fair.

  239. 239

    Mary D says

    Cake. Cake.Cake.Cake. The successful ones are carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. The ones that my family asks me never to make again are all the others. *sigh*

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    Pat Travis says

    Happy Anniversary, Kevin! I love what you’re doing, and thoroughly enjoy catching up with you every week. Baklava.

  242. 242

    Lisa Clenard-Stocker says

    I made Pavlovas with Steawberry sauce. They were great but hard to make! Worth it though!

  243. 243

    Joy O says

    Chocolate decadence flourless cake with homemade raspberry sauce and ice cream (not homemade).

  245. 245

    Deborah Roberts says

    Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate, chocolate, chocolate, chocolate cake. Yes, 6 different chocolates with fresh strawberries between each layer! OH YUM!!!

  246. 246

    prairiecactus says

    To answer your question…I would like to win the processor…for my son and his wife…newly weds who cook together for fun!

  247. 247

    Mike says

    I dish up ice cream occasionally. Sometimes it is too hard and I have to put it in the microwave. Does this count?

  248. 248

    Lorena Keech says

    My first lemon meringue pie. It wasn’t so complicated really, but I’d never made a pie crust from scratch before. And the meringue gave me fits!

  249. 249

    Ray S. says

    i made Baklava once including my own phyllo! It didn’t sound hard so made it. This was back before they sold in the stores. πŸ™‚ I will say that it was a most interesting challenge.

  251. 251

    Verilee Herpich says

    I made a hazel nut torte! It took all day, as at that time (early 70’s) shelled nuts were not available. had to first find a store with enough ‘filberts’, shell and grind in hand grinder. was a 4 layer torte made with no flour, just the hazelnuts and egg whites and sugar I guess. It had a wonderful dark chocolate glaze and was served with fresh whipped cream. Literally took all day with the shelling and chopping.
    It is a wonderful recipe that i hope to make again before I die!
    I did this for my Mom’s birthday. Delicious and beautiful!
    I still don’t have a large food processor, so would love this!

  255. 255

    Debby says

    Happy Anniversary and congrats on creating such a wonderful place to share your experiences in the home, kitchen and garden! My most difficult dessert so far has been baklava, it tasted wonderful but was pretty much a sticky mess.Good thing I have such a loving suppotive ( and forgiving)family. πŸ™‚

  256. 256

    Joyce says

    Lots are difficult for me because I do NOT have a food processor. So, Random.org select my name so Kevin can send me a food processor!!! ;-))

  258. 258

    EagleSong says

    Cheesecake! Not so much the actual process of making cheesecake, rather creating a lifeway that includes a goat so I can make the cheese. Congratulations on your anniversary and sharing a fun, easy to navigate and informative blog.

  261. 261

    Robin Hamann says

    I’m not much of a dessert maker, but I would have to say Butterscotch pie. Or any pie for that matter. The crust never turns out that great. Happy Anniversary!

  263. 263

    Marilyn Elliott says

    A tiramisu…..(is that spelled correctly?) It’s my daughter in law’s favorite dessert and I wanted to surprise her at Christmas. I even made my own ladyfingers. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out well, and I threw most of it away.

  265. 265

    Phyllis S says

    An Italian Rum Souffle’…it took 2 trys but I did it, made it for a B-day desert for a friend who loves Rum deserts. My old Cuisinart finally gave out, saving for a new one. Thanks for this exciting contest opportunity! Good luck everyone!

  266. 266

    Aunt Granny says

    Baked Alaska lemon merinque cake! It was DELICIOUS, and now I can’t find the recipe. I would do it again, for sure.

  267. 267

    cyndi says

    Happy happy Anniversary!! Its been a few …but baked …time consuming…
    Would love to win. I greatly enjoy your site.

  268. 268

    Joni Davis says

    Well, I think it’s a toss up – Apple Pie Cuts or S’More Dessert Squares – not too complicated but very putsy and I have no patience!!! Both very good though!

  272. 272

    mike says

    Well, Kevin…it appears that an archrival, foodie blogger hacked your website and changed the Mercedes to a food processor! Can’t wait for the keys, if I’m selected.

    Most difficult dessert for me was a carrot-raisin essene bread…more time consuming than difficult…having to wait days for the final product. It makes an excellent, sweet, nutritious dessert bread!

    Don’t drink too much champagne celebrating your fourth anniversary…I hope you are able to maintain your blogging for us…it’s always a pleasure to tune-in to your blog-life. Thanks for sharing you with us!

  277. 277

    Vicki says

    I once made a cake called “President’s Cake” (not sure where the name came from) for someone’s birthday. It was an extremely rich dark chocolate cake in multiple thin layers, layered with raspberry cream and fresh berries. The frosting was a white frosting, which I (to match the picture) had to do in a lattice weave on the sides, then piped a fancy edging around the top edge interspersed with fresh raspberries, then cut shaved dark chocolate curls for the top and added more fresh raspberries in a spoke and wheel design. It took FOREVER to make, but it was gorgeous, and tasted spectacular! But I’ve never made it again… And I am a baker! And Kevin, I sure could use a new Cuisinart!

  279. 279

    Laura says

    My mother’s cut-out, frosted, decorated Christmas cookies. The cookies were frosted with white seven minute frosting and decorated with red and just a touch of green decorator frosting piped just around the edges or other appropriate design for the shape. These were beautiful, not the ghastly, tarted-up things you see today. Delicious, too.

  280. 280

    Rosemarie says

    Love your site! Love your recipes, too!

    Fruitcake! Not the normal run-of-the-mill type that everyone hates. A fruitcake with a pound of butter, a dozen eggs, cherries, pineapple and pecans and lots of whiskey. It takes a month to age properly.

  287. 287

    Mary Anne Cella says

    My grandmother’s steamed suet pudding–like fruit cake at Christmas time. Would love to win.

  288. 288

    Claudia says

    Apple Fritter Bread –
    Ingredients are as follows:

    Dough:
    3 C flour
    1 package yeast
    1/4 tsp. salt
    1/2 C brown sugar
    1/4 C water
    1 egg, beaten
    3/4 C milk
    1/4 C butter

    Filling:
    6 small apples, peeled & diced
    1 Tbsp. lemon juice
    1 C brown sugar
    1 tsp. vanilla
    2 Tbsp. butter
    1 tsp. cinnamon
    1 tbsp. cornstarch

    Glaze:
    1 Tbsp. butter, softened
    1 tsp. vanilla
    3/4 C powdered sugar
    3 tsp. half & half (or milk)

  290. 290

    Teresa says

    I absolutely LOVE coconut! AND I absolutely LOVE cake! So one time I did a ‘from scratch’ coconut raspberry 3 layer white cake…the raspberry was the filling between layers. It was soooo gooooodddd, but it was sooooo hard. Only did it once but it was the best thing I ever made.

  291. 291

    Susan says

    My son’s birthday cake with my own attempt at decorating it for child’s birthday party. I love to bake anything but decorating is not my forte. thanks!

  293. 293

    dona says

    Tiramisu totally from scratch and a bouche noel, gluten free, also totally from scratch, down to the ‘mushrooms’ on top made from macaroons, also gluten free.

  295. 295

    Nancy says

    Happy Anniversary! Potato Rusks. It is a two day process but they are sooo delish!

  296. 296

    Gayle says

    Boiled custard was a Christmas tradition growing up in Kentucky. The first time I made it, I was quite intimidated because despite the name, if you let it boil, you will ruin it.

  297. 297

    Susan Nebrick says

    I love your newsletter with lots of useful tips. My most complicated dessert was an Angel Food Cake from scratch that was used in a Baked Alaska for a special birthday celebration. Everyone liked it, but it was way to much work!

  298. 298

    Lynnie says

    Jasmine-buttermilk Panna cotta with a berry sauce……………………but oh so worth it! Love your news letter!

  301. 301

    Bonnie Dellar says

    Bak Lava with all that buttering of delicate sheets. Did I miss out on the Benz? Bummer

  302. 302

    Casey now in PDX says

    Hard to choose the whether the Oreo cookie cheesecake, the Christmas pudding baked in a bain Marie, the Yulelog decorated rolled cakes, the giant pecan cinnamon (Cinnabon-style) rolls when I had to let the dough rise for hours on the fireplace hearth since that was the warmest place in our cabin, the German stollen, the Easter cake with it heavy decorations on top of a yellow/carrot cake base made from scratch including those vegetable-peeler shredded carrots! — This was when I was young and had a lot more time to experiment and bake before my ‘ boy babies’ got to running around getting underfoot and into mischief.

  306. 306

    Norma Moore says

    Happy Anniversary and I LOVE what you have done with the house!!!
    The most complicated for me was the fruit cake I made with the fruit that
    I ‘candied’ myself. Delicious, but took too much time.
    Thanks for the chance to win the Food Processor. Looks very nice.

  307. 307

    Morgan says

    All of these posts are making me hungry! Well, I guess I’m having desert for breakfast now.

    I’m still just a novice, so the most complicated thing I’ve made is just homemade ice cream, which can be tricky when it comes to getting the texture right. But I would love to try some of the recipes mentioned here!

    Happy St. Party’s day everyone!

  308. 308

    Michelle says

    Two years ago for Christmas Eve, I made a multi-layer white chocolate raspberry cake. I think it turned out well, but I put myself in a time crunch, as the other components of the meal didn’t get as much of my attention!!! Thank you for the generous opportunity, and Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

  310. 310

    diana murphy says

    I love making desserts. Thanks for being here, I enjoy all that you do! I still love your blue rose dishes the best.

  316. 316

    Senlin Long says

    The most complicated dessert I tried to make we’re Petit Fours but I wasn’t successful. One of these days I might try again if I find a good recipe. I do love to bake and finally have perfected cheesecake.

  317. 317

    Terry A Leach says

    Red Velvet Cake for my husbands birthday. Made it with gluten free flour & bought organic red food dye. He couldn’t tell the difference. Very time consuming, but well worth it.

  318. 318

    Cathy says

    Wow…four years? Outstanding Kevin…and congrats! Would love whiz zing up my roasted tomato sauce that I make every summer with my heirlooms. Easier for freezing and making smooth.

  319. 319

    Vera says

    A Venetian Creme Toffee Torte – 6 layers and then frosted & decorated it as a wedding cake. Made everything from scratch and was very surprised it didn’t come tumbling down. Made it for my best friend for her second wedding. She passed away 2 years ago from breast cancer.

  321. 321

    Kendra says

    Lemon Cream Chiffon – don’t know that it’s all that difficult except that it was my 1st experience with a spring form pan & I had a hard time finding lady fingers – I also remember being a bit nervous about transferring it to a pedestal plate but it all came out beautifully πŸ˜‰

  322. 322

    Andrea says

    Its not the hardest to make but one of my least favorite desserts to make, and its one of my families favorite desserts Pumpkin log.

  324. 324

    Stephen D Fritz says

    I learned to cook helping my grandmother. I am now older than she was at the time, which means it was long enough ago that people learned to cook from scratch. Many of those recopies would fit here but I am most proud of the Apple Pie. Simple yet great!

  330. 330

    Bernie says

    Most complicated was this layered chocolate cake. It had vanilla bean, coffee, and lots of choclate. I threw out the recipe once I was done! It was way over my head so I didn’t feel the need to ever make it again.

  331. 331

    Eileen says

    Absolutely the most challenging but also fun was mille-feuille as part of daring bakers challenge late last year. It was a group effort with my grandchildren (ages three to thirteen) helping all the way and my daughter making the filling. Not sure i’d try it again, but it was lots of great chaos in my little kitchen

  333. 333

    Diane Antelline says

    Concord Grape Pie: had to peel EACH grape and seed EACH grape. Seriously THE best tasting pie I have ever made………and will probably never make again!

  336. 336

    debbie says

    Reese Chocolate Cake with 3 different layers. chocolate cake, peanut butter layer and a chocolate fudge layer. Yummy

  337. 337

    Peggy Lupo says

    Tiramisu of course. I would be honored to win the cusinart….. Your site is fantastic, I love the fountain too!.

  339. 339

    Iris R says

    Happy Anniversary!
    I’m better at making pie dough now but remember when I first started, I could never understand “add just enough water to hold the dough together”…I thought it was holding together fine until I tried to roll it out….hadn’t added enough water and it kept coming apart. I still not fond of making pie crusts.

  340. 340

    Mary says

    Homemade red velvet whoopee pies / cream cheese filling. I couldn’t get the little cakes the right size, ended up throwing the whole durn thing in the trash!

  341. 341

    Becky P says

    Pumpkin roll Would love to win this My husband is the cook and he has a birthday coming up soon

  345. 345

    Valerie C. says

    I guess it was a Black Forest cake complete with Kirsch and real whipped cream….what a project! I was about 21 and completely overwhelmed. lol

  346. 346

    Tammie says

    A chocolate chocolate torte with raspberry glaze. Used about every pot and dish and utensil in the kitchen but oh was it soooo worth it.

  347. 347

    Deb says

    Happy Anniversary and may you have a very prosperous year. I was 18 when a French Chef taught me how to make perfect Chocolate Mousse from scratch. Of course, you had to have perfect imported Chocolate. YUMMY. Nothing else has ever been as good.

  354. 354

    BevM says

    I make over 100 christmas cakes for gifts every year. It’s a lot of work & getting very expensive but I love to do it. My recipe is the best in the land.

  355. 355

    Libby Salpietra says

    i once made a cake for our churchs’ anniversary that was a complete replica of the church building.It took me 3 days and 10 cake mixes to complete it and then was the greatest task…getting it to the church ! It made it intact. I never made any
    thing like that before then and never have since ! Whew !

  357. 357

    Kris says

    The most complicated dessert — raspberry rum cheesecake or a replica of a skating rink (complete with skaters) for one of my then very young children… also once made a caterpillar for a child’s birthday, but that one was pretty simple.

  358. 358

    Michelle A. says

    Probably the German Chocolate Cake made from scratch that my husband requests for his birthday every year.

  360. 360

    Marilyn Lisenbee says

    It would probably most likely be Sour Cream Raisin Pie. Well worth the effort I put into it.

  361. 361

    Clarice Lofgran says

    a 7-layer cake that was scrumptious with pecans for my husband’s birthday many years ago. I even kept the magazine for many years-it may still be around. He passed in 1986.

  362. 362

    Laura says

    German Chocolate Cake – the first time I made it, it took forever. Glad I tried it again. It seemed so much simpler and became a fam fave.

  363. 363

    Tina Miller says

    HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! Most complicated dessert was a fruit cake πŸ™‚ Was really good though!!

  366. 366

    Arianna says

    It’s a toss up between two things. I help with a community garden in a food desert in St. Louis and I cook IN the garden on an old Coleman stove so that the kids can see how “easy” it is to eat healthy. Last fall, we did caramel apples from scratch, outside, under the apple tree………LOTS of stirring and folks we’d not seen all summer turned out to the smell. The other time was long ago when I was about 12 and babysitting a burgeoning chef who was 9. He had gotten his first cookbook for his bday and wanted to make the meringue fruit and sherbert basket. Because you had to make each “lattice side” of the basket individually, it involved TWO ovens and a lot of running back and forth across the street! It did turn out, finally. So did he. Became a chef, ran his own restaurant in the end. I could use the food processor as mine died this past holiday season and we can’t afford a new one. Thanks for your wonderful site…….we are using the “milk jug method” for our starts this year.

  370. 370

    Ava says

    Yule Log with mocha buttercream icing all from scratch and topped with ganache. I’ve never beat egg whites in so many different ways… It turned out pretty but was too sweet for me.

  371. 371

    Kay Crichton says

    Not a big dessert family but I do make baklava at Easter. We do a whole Greek celebration of spring. Congrats on maintaining such a great blog for 4 years!

  375. 375

    Lois M. says

    I never really had a super hard one but the most requested by my children and grandchildren is my Mother’s Red Velvet Cake:)!

  376. 376

    Victoria says

    I made carrot halvah once. It was really really good and one of those things that should be made again but somehow never has been.

  377. 377

    Cheryla says

    a most yummy apple cream pie. Pick the apples, prepared them for pie. And then did the pie crust and yummy cream filling. It was hard for me, but was also a great success!!

  378. 378

    Barbara says

    Either my family’s traditional baklava or my mother in laws wonderful but very different fruit and nut cake that takes two days to make and another month to marinate in its brandy soaked wrapping.

  380. 380

    Jocy says

    I’m not a big dessert person but I did make Raspberry Cheese Cake last year for Christmas.

  381. 381

    Heather Schlerf says

    Actually Kevin I am not really good at making any desserts. I’d rather be gardening πŸ™‚

  382. 382

    Roe says

    Kevin,

    I made your perfect strawberry jelly roll and it was perfect. It was my first try at ever making a jelly roll.

  384. 384

    Sonja says

    The most complicated desserts I make are candies that need to be brought to an exact temperature to be good. Love your house pictures!

  385. 385

    Rodney says

    I haven’t run into anything that is too complicated. There are some recipes that are time consuming or tricky but nothing really complicated. When I do run into a new recipe with a lot of little steps and a lot of ingredients the first thing I do is to read the whole recipe several times to understand what is going to happen and what I will need and when.

  387. 387

    Myrna says

    A vegan German carob (alternate for chocolate) cake from scratch for a cooking class held at our church wotj the traditional coconut frosting. The recipes used maple syrup instead of sugar, etc. Was actually quite good.

  388. 388

    Javier J. Echavarri says

    Happy Anniversary – I only found your site a few months ago and I love it. My most complicated dessert would be a Chocolate Fudge Espresso Cake – No too complicated but lots of layers and more involved than I usually make. Seriously decadent though so worth the effort.

  393. 393

    Karen says

    Maybe it was tiramisu or perhaps a proper English trifle. I’m afraid I’m not too adventurous in the kitchen, but would definitely try your Glazed Apple Tart if I were to win the Cuisinart!

  394. 394

    Elena Vo says

    Thanks for the fun giveaway! For me, it was a raspberry Pavlova. Meringue is hard to get right!

  395. 395

    Karen says

    I made a Gingerbread House! With my 7 yr old grand-daughter. It was first fun to do, then beautiful to behold, then yummy to eat ! (to her). I have never owned a food processor and really would love to win this one!

  398. 398

    Leeta says

    A gluten free dairy free Thomas the train engine cake for my 3 year old . Not an easy decorating task when you are limited with ingredients . Love ur website

  402. 402

    Leslie Thistle says

    Chocolate Spice Torte- wafer thin cinnamon flavored, multi-layered with chocolate whipped cream. Not difficult but requires lots of space for cooling the layers and lots of patience! Delicious results!!

  403. 403

    Laurie says

    A chocolate creme’ tart with hazelnut crust, piped whipped cream topping with a chocolate ganache drizzle over all. Absolutely from scratch! Very well received and delicious.

  405. 405

    Lori O'Leary says

    The urban legend $250 “Neiman Marcus” cookie recipe πŸ™‚ Happy anniversary!

  406. 406

    Stefanie Gladden says

    I think the most complicated dessert I ever made was homemade apple pie!!

  410. 410

    Suzanne Bennett says

    Happy Anniversary Kevin! I so enjoy your recipies and visiting your lovely home. The most difficult recipe I ever made was a Hummingbird Cake ala Southern Living. After purchasing all the spices and making the cake from scratch my family informed me the chocolate cake I made from a mix the year before was much better!

  414. 414

    Danina says

    not sure of the spelling but crocken bouche
    happy anniversary by the way
    I will be 50 this month so this would be an excellent prize to win : )

  415. 415

    Julie MacRae says

    Congratulations on your anniversary!
    The most complicated dessert was a Mocha Cake.

  416. 416

    Aimee L. says

    Just starting out, the most difficult thing I have made so far has been pasta salad with tortellini. thanks!

  417. 417

    Katy Dunlay says

    Chocolate cheesecake with chocolate cookie crust served with raspberry sauce

  420. 420

    Katy Dunlay says

    chocolate cheesecake with chocolate cookie crust served with homemade raspberry sauce

  421. 421

    Kelly F says

    These delicious lemon blueberry cupcakes. Heaven on earth! There’s a lot of steps and it takes time to make, but they are so so good.

  422. 422

    Patricia Yerian says

    It sounds crazy,, but my Red Velvet Cake. I make it all from scratch and I make a cooked frosting that I have never seen on any other recipe. Not complicated really, just time consuming.

  424. 424

    Patricia Yerian says

    Can I rescind that entry?

    I just thought about y Valentine chocolate mini brownies filled with chocolate cream cheese filling and topped with cherries and drizzzled with cherry icing. They are incredible.

  426. 426

    Jean says

    One Easter my husband and I tried making white chocolate “nests” which involved melted white chocolate and a 4″ diameter inflated balloon. What a mess. We had chocolate everywhere including the ceiling. We finally gave up.

  429. 429

    joyce fleming says

    cheesecake made with three different kinds of cheeses with port wine and red grape compost

  435. 435

    sarah says

    Chocolate cheesecake. Not awfully difficult, probably, but for a once-in-awhile baker, challenging.

  437. 437

    Susan says

    Gosh, how sweet are you?! Thanks for the chance. Um, I suppose cream puffs/eclairs but honestly, they turned out to be easier than many layer cakes. Still, I was 14 years old (many moons ago) & thought I was a genius. πŸ™‚

    xo

  438. 438

    florrieusa says

    Frozen fruitcake dessert was the most complicated. Not necessarily the best though. Thank for the chance!

  439. 439

    Erin says

    Weee! Maybe this is me lucky day since it is me birthday! Baked Alaska. In Jr. High home-ec.

  442. 442

    Debra Olger says

    The most complicated was a 4th of July, red white and blue cheesecake, and my family ended up having a pie fight with it. It was very good, tho.

  445. 445

    Sally T. says

    Sticky buns, from scratch, which included the sweet bread dough! They turned out scrumptious!

  446. 446

    Mercy says

    I made my brother’s 15th birthday cake. While the cake itself wasn’t difficult, I was learning cake decorating and made the bottom layer 15 inches, the second layer 12 inches, the third layer 8 inches, and the top layer 6 inches. After all that, I decorated in with light blue icing (the sky), then put 15 little green men (aliens) sitting on the edges and on tip of the cake, some complete with their own little spaceships. I used raw spaghetti for their antennae and coated it with icing for color. then I put yellow and white stars all over the cake too. I think we ate cake for about a month!

  447. 447

    Krystal Caudill says

    A dark chocolate fudge layer cake (I’d never made one before) with cream cheese cinnamon frosting that was a little too grown-up for a three year old’s birthday party. It tasted delicious but looked wierd.

  449. 449

    Amy L says

    I make Italian Nut Rolls every Christmas, and they are delicious, but a lot of work. The recipe came from my great-grandmother, and it makes 14 loaves of the sweet “bread”. I start in the morning, making the dough and the nut filling, and the last loaves come out of the oven mid-evening. It’s truly a labor of love.

  450. 450

    Shelly says

    I used to decorate cakes, although I haven’t done one in a very long time. For my nephew’s first birthday, which was near Easter, I made an Easter basket cake. I did the basket weaving around the cake, make a chocolate bunny to put in it, and put on all the bells and whistles. It was a really awesome cake!

  452. 452

    Maggie says

    My friend and I make truffles as gifts at Christmas time. Some of them get pretty complicated, but it’s more time consuming than it is complicated.

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    Devon says

    I’m more of an entree man, but I have done simple desserts. I suppose the most complicated was heart shaped chocolate chip cookies that I made for myself and my fiance for Valentine’s Day a few years ago.

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    Mary Hall says

    The most complicated dessert I’ve ever made is a wonderfully delicious carrot cake. It’s all the grating of the carrots and different ingredients that makes me want to scream sometimes, but wow, it is amazing.

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    Peggy says

    german chocolate layered cake from scratch. We saw something else liked it when we got up the next day since a bite was taken. Caught the culprit on the counter the next night. Heard the mousetrap snap before we got to sleep!

  459. 459

    peg says

    happy anniversary and thanks for all you do!!
    chocolate layer cake for my step-daughter’s 8th birthday. i don’t bake and i don’t eat dessert. but i do cook, and chop and slice and dice, etc. i didn’t enter for the previous cuisinart give-away, but i do want one. step-daughter just turned 18, btw…

  463. 463

    Sara says

    11 layer Smith Island Cake with buttercream icing on the sides and top of chocolate ganache

  464. 464

    Constance Clark says

    Oh dear! I am afraid the most complex desert I have made is cranberry apple pie – crust and all! It keeps coming out watery and I do everything by hand since I do not have a mixer or anything else just my hands…..

  465. 465

    Michele says

    I have made a layered cheesecake (I kind of made up the recipe to be like one my son and I once had at Starbucks). It has a graham cracker crust,, a layer of apples, a layer of cheesecake, and to top it all off, caramel topping swirled about the top. Yum!

  468. 468

    Susan Christy says

    A three layer cheesecake that dirtied every measuring cup, spoon and bowl in my house. It was delicious though! I have made it a few times, and always make sure the dishwasher is empty before I start, because it will be full when I am done.

  470. 470

    Linda Barbaro says

    I love old time chocolate with pecans fudge. I can’t tell you how many batches I have thrown away because it did not turn or turned to brick. No microwave fudge….the kind you cook in a put on top of the stove like Granny made. Love that stuff!

  471. 471

    Jan Naher-Snowden says

    Traditional Sherry Trifle for Christmas dinner. Everyone waits for it after turkey, etc.

  472. 472

    Melodae says

    Mincemeat pies, with my own mincemeat. I made enough to can several quarts. It’s too time-consuming to make just enough for one pie.

  473. 473

    karen says

    my first and last 3 tier wedding cake. I made it for my niece. in late august,it was about 85 degees in the reception hall &it was not air conditioned so the icing was a little softer than normal. after completing it , it looked really nice. so after taking a sigh of relief I turned away for just a moment & heard my brother in law (father of the bride) say oh oh. I turned to see the top of the cake falling & my brother in law caught it just in time it didn’t get ruined but we had to leave it off the cake. SO NEVER AGAIN!

  474. 474

    Laurel says

    homemade candies and carmels for a Christmas party. Don’t wait til you’re making food gifts to try to learn ‘hard ball’ vs. ‘soft ball’ caramel, how to read a candy thermometer and all the candy making tricks. It wasn’t so complicated as much as it was just new to me. And working under pressure of a deadline and doing too many new things at onc is never a great idea. But my family got eat the mistakes! That awesome food processor could’ve handled a whole lot more chopped nuts than my tiny 1 cup chopper. What a fun give-away prize.

  476. 476

    Regina says

    A Mascarpone Cheesecake. The crust was baked and cooled 20 minutes. Then I added the filling, baked it and cooled it another 20 minutes. Last, I added a sour cream topping and baked another it another10 minutes. Delicious!

  478. 478

    Heather says

    A Walnut Torte. My, how a food processor would have helped with the chopping of the nuts. Some ended up larger than I wanted but it still tasted ohhhh so good.

  479. 479

    Dorian says

    The most complicated dessert that I ever made was a pumpkin cheesecake. At the time I was a relatively new baker and I really wanted it to be perfect! I’ve since moved on to more “testy” fare, but I vividly remembering really sweating that cheesecake out!

  480. 480

    Cathy says

    Buche de Noel – the ingredients weren’t hard to put together, but the assembly was pretty much a disaster… I also made a cake that was a series of “presents” stacked one on top of the other decorated with fondant ribbons and bows. A lot of work, a lot of fun and well worth the effort!

  485. 485

    Ebeth says

    A 4 layer maple butter cake with bourbon caramel frosting and bacon toffee…without a recipe, just the desire to make the awesome-est cake ever (sans chocolate and nuts).

  489. 489

    Bonnie says

    Lemon Tart
    I sweeten coconut with honey and dry it in the oven and then grind it up with almonds + 4 other ingredients for the crust. I make the lemon curd from scratch and sweeten it with honey (7 ingredients). Homemade whip cream also sweetened with honey. And top it with blueberries.
    I usually start the day before with as many steps as I can. My husband does not like lemon but thinks this is the best dessert he’s ever had.
    I love you cheese danish!

  490. 490

    Judy says

    Fresh strawberry pie. Doesn’t sound too bad, does it? But this one has toasted almonds slices lining the pastry crust, then a decadent vanilla cream topped with fresh strawberry halves in concentric circles and a strawberry glaze. I once ate a whole one of these pies all by myself. Yum.

  491. 491

    Liz Slater says

    The most complicated dessert I’ve ever mad is one I created that my friends have named “Was It Good For You?” It is basically a three-layer chocolate cake, but with two different cream cheese fillings, covered with chocolate ganache, and topped with homemade caramel, and toasted pecans, served on a cloud of whipped cream in a chilled martini glass.

  493. 493

    Elaine says

    Pie crust! I make terrific bread so I just must play to much with the crust, it always comes out terrible. I’ve seen recipes for crust Using a food processor, so this may be my new hope! Thanks for the chance

  495. 495

    Judy says

    Pie crust is challenging for me, so any kind of pie is hard. But my toughest & most time consuming dessert is recreating a old family recipe for thumbprint cookies with dark chocolate filling.

  496. 496

    Barbara says

    When I was 13, many calendars ago (43) but only a memory away, I was amazed with Baked Alaska so I made it, we jumped in the car and drove to the neighbors house (lived in the country) and shared it with them. I still have the cutting board I baked it on. It wasn’t that difficult but I felt so grown up making and sharing it. Thanks for the chance to win the Cuisinart 7-cup Food Processor, I hope you do by a Mercedes-Benz convertible soon!

  498. 498

    MaryEtta Mullen says

    Tiramisu-I probably wouldn’t have had such a hard time if I hadn’t made my own lady fingers! Truly not worth the extra effort.

  499. 499

    Karyn says

    Sweet potato cake! Only make this at Christmas, it needs to set for a couple of days before eating it as it gets moister. Delicious

  502. 502

    Cheryl Wells says

    Pies with homemade “flaky” crust like my grandmas, getting better, but not quit there yet.
    Really look forward to your email, thank you for all the good ideas.

  503. 503

    Heather Andersen says

    So lately I have been trying my hand at making fruit bouquets like edible arrangements. πŸ™‚

  504. 504

    Linda K. Dodd says

    The most complicated dessert I’ve ever made was a dump cake. I know …… oh well. I love your newsletter any way.

  505. 505

    Nikki says

    I’d have to say a birthday cake for my daughter because I spend hours decorating it.

  506. 506

    Jan says

    Every year during the Chrismas holidays I make Petit Fours. This is a two day process but well worth the time and effort…so my family tells me!

  507. 507

    Ttrockwood says

    I once made homemade mashmellows! Altho the result was more like mashmellow fluff….

  508. 508

    Carol Ann Gregg says

    What a treat it would be to have this Cuisinart food processor. I can see it being a great help in my country kitchen.

  509. 509

    Julie B says

    I could be overlooking something but I believe the most complicated dessert I make is the traditional Russian Easter dessert known as Paschka.

    This, however, is nothing compared to the Baklava my mother once made from scratch, including rolling the paper-thin phyllo dough by hand.

  511. 511

    Julie B says

    PS – Congratulations, Kevin, on the 4th anniversary of your blog! I truly admire your dedication.
    JNB

  512. 512

    Stan says

    Puff Puffs.

    Preparing for a big party several years ago my Russian wifey insisted I bake this Russian dessert. I had never heard of it but with her help and the internet, I found a recipe online that she said sounded like what she wanted. It was a light pastry stuffed with a cream filling with chocolate drizzled over the top. They were absolutely to die for, but a LOT of work (I am very particular and wanted them all to look perfect.). Everyone loved them.

  515. 515

    Jessica Tregre says

    A cocao chocolate cake made with cooked quinoa instead of flour (making it gluten free and healthy). It took a long time but was soooo worth it! Yum!!!!

  518. 518

    Deb Rogers says

    My son was a huge Doctor Who fan, and I decorated his 11th birthday cake as Tom Baker’s Doctor, scarf and all. (No bakery would do it for me – I doubt any of them had heard of the show, much less seen it!) It came out pretty well, I think.

  519. 519

    Sheri Rice says

    Hi Kevin – I’d love that cuisinart! Tim has a wimpy kitchenaid food processor that is the bane of my kitchen existence. Sigh.

    Anyway, the most complicated dessert I’ve ever made is the fruitcake we used to make in our family as gifts. Before you gag, this stuff is really good – thanks to monthly loving baths of brandy. The recipe itself is bizarre, involving regular cake batter, that psychedelic candied fruit and walnuts. And melted grape jam with baking chocolate. Poured into bread pans lined with oiled brown paper (in the 70s nobody used parchment). Once they were baked, we poured a shot of alcohol over the top and then wrapped each tightly in saran wrap and then foil, They were placed on a high shelf to cure and every month we’d open them up and marinate again. It’s a lot of energy but oh boy, by Christmas. I never understood why people didn’t like fruitcake until I tasted the horrific stuff sold in stores!

  520. 520

    Morgan says

    Happy Anniversary, Kevin! Love your blog! You’re delightful to read and a treasure trove of delicious recipes and useful housekeeping tips, thanks for being there.

    Made Anton Brown’s Free Range Fruitcake for a friend’s Xmas present last year. Literally took DAYS to prep between cutting up all fruit and macerating it in rum, then weeks of spraying the cakes down with liquor every day to cure them. Delicious and totally worth the trouble though, because our friend was absolutely THRILLED!

  521. 521

    ArtistryFarm says

    In ArtistryFarm kitchen, all grains are fresh ground on either stones or burrs. I experiment a lot with making desserts from gluten-free grains and it’s ALWAYS tricky because they handle so differently than wheat!

  523. 523

    Linda s says

    crouquembouche-
    everything from scratch – the cream puff, pastry cream, caramel sauce and spun sugar.

  525. 525

    domestic diva says

    I made a wedding cake for my brother. It didn’t take too long to bake, but it took forever to decorate.

  527. 527

    Pepper says

    Happy Fourth Anniversary! I look forward to your message every weekend!

    My most complicated dessert was a many-layered meringue torte with several different types of butter cream filling – mocha, chocolate, and pastry cream. It was decadent and delicious and elicited compliments from all of my guests, but I have never made it again!

  528. 528

    Kate Freeman says

    Hi Kevin!

    You certainly have the most FUN contests around. The most complicated dessert I’ve made was a baked alaska and then I flamed it! It wasn’t really so terribly complicated, but the fact that I was making it for a very lovely man who was very important to me made it complicated at the time. He was very special to me and it was his birthday. So of course, the test was on!! He was quite impressed! πŸ™‚

    Much love and gratitude to you for all the lovely sharing you give!

  530. 530

    Anastasia says

    I’ve never made anything too complicated. I’d say Magic Cookie Bars had the most ingredients πŸ™‚

  532. 532

    Debbie Delcamp says

    Tiramisu and Gluten free cakes and cookies and muffins that taste fantastic. Not so complicated as a finished recipe but, coming up with the great tasting recipe is complicated. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY πŸ™‚ and pick me pick me !!! I need this to make almond flour and nut butters.

  533. 533

    Heather O'Shaughnessy says

    Wow…the most complicated dessert I have ever made has to be mandarin orange cheesecake. It was great but i’m really an apple crisp kind of person…something simple that you can throw together at the last minute that doesnt require a lot of measuring πŸ˜‰

  534. 534

    Kate F. says

    I’ve never made anything too complicated, but I made a bar recipe that was harder than what I usually make.

  536. 536

    Sidney says

    I would have to say the most complicated day of dessert making was when I was room mother for my daughter’s 2nd grade class. I made 24 individual sized heart shaped cakes and decorated them, and made 4 regular sized decorated cakes for friends. The theme was Valentines day. I worked ten hours straight. Whew, that was in the good old days.

  537. 537

    Dawn says

    I don’t make many desserts so the most complicated would probably be the day that I baked 12 different types of cookies, none of which used the same basic dough.

  538. 538

    Carol in Montana says

    Baklavah, I think! I cook a lot, I am not sure what is easy and what is hard anymore.

  539. 539

    Pam E. says

    One dessert that took me hours to make and I will, hopefully, never make again was a Strawberry Shortcake themed decorated birthday cake for my daughter’s birthday. I used so much red dye in the icing that it was bitter πŸ™

  541. 541

    Velvet R. says

    Happy Anniversary.I love your blog.The most complicated dessert Ive made is a Friendship Cake.If anyone has ever made one,its a long process,but well worth the wait.

  545. 545

    L Roberts says

    Congratulations on the 4th Anniversary of your blog…Thank you for sharing your experiences, adventures, and recipes with regard to gardening, house decorating, and cooking…

    In the olde days, I used to bake: SOUR CREAM APPLE WALNUT PIE (a la the Little Pie Shoppe
    in NYC)…Nowadays, I live at an altitude of 7,500′–and baking is so much more complicated that
    I don’t.

  547. 547

    Brenda says

    I am diabetic so no longer into making desserts. Fruits serve as desserts now. I used to make Coconut cakes for my farther and granddad. They loved them.

  548. 548

    Marie H says

    It’s so hard to choose! Perhaps the almond tart topped with a chocolate/cognac layer with fresh from the garden strawberries neatly arranged on top and glazed with homemade apricot jam. But perhaps it was the orange chiffon cake, split in half with homemade peach-orange marmalade and topped with freshly whipped cream and fresh fresh peaches, blueberries and raspberries. But then, it could also be the charlotte made with homemade ladyfingers. Oh, bring on summer!

  549. 549

    susan mack says

    A Christmas wreath made with a yeast dough, stuffed with a marzipan filling and braided into a round wreath. Beautiful and oh, so yummy!

  550. 550

    Solducky says

    My oldest daughter’s third birthday cake. From scratch chocolate cake, ganache, peanut butter filling, buttercream frosting…the works!

  552. 552

    Cindy says

    I once made an Italian Coconut Cream Cake. So rich, but so delicious if you are a coconut lover!
    Hmm, maybe I will make one for Easter dinner.

  553. 553

    LindaMarie says

    LIME-OREO DESSERT

    This LIME-OREO DESSERT is a gelatin dessert. It may sound very simple, but it wasn’t! I had never worked with gelatin before and had no idea what I was in for… Everything had to be chilled longer than expected. I had to make sure that the Oreo’s were chopped consistently and the layers were placed evenly, plus the challenge of the day was getting the gelatin out of the mold in one piece….oh dear. It was Crisco to the rescue! Everyone enjoyed the dessert and it was refreshing after a big Italian meal.

    Kevin, thank you for all that you share, I truly appreciate you!

  559. 559

    Cathy Fruhauf says

    Apple strudel with the pastry from scratch…never did get it nearly as thin as I’ve seen pictures of German cooks stretching and stretching and rolling it out to paper thin.. it was pretty darn good and delicious for a first try that was also a last go at it…..if I ever get the ambition again, I’m just going to buy pastry, and concentrate on the brandy and apples and raisins, and the brandy…..oh, did I remember to say the brandy???

  560. 560

    Kirsten says

    Tiramisu. And I didn’t even like it after all….. πŸ™

    Thanks for having te chance to win this machine, I was just looking for one πŸ™‚

  563. 563

    Susan says

    I think, my first time making Baklava or my daughters 4 tier wedding cake with a fountain. I have no formal training in cake decorating so it was a great challenge just following instructions out of a book and out of my head….LOL. But they both turned out great!

  564. 564

    Bernadette says

    A Christmas “log” with all the trimmings as they sell in pastry shops in Belgium and France…

  565. 565

    sl says

    I just made a white chocolate raspberry cheesecake with chocolate crumb crust. Wonderful but lots of work! But hubby loved it!!!

  566. 566

    Barbara Urey says

    I guess the most complicated dessert that I have ever made would be a pumpkin roll up. My daughter and I combined several recipes and came up with out own. It turned out very well and all the ladies from our BUNCO group wanted the recipe. One person makes them for her family every year now.

  570. 570

    Richard F. Edwards says

    Baked Alaska. Made from scratch crust, homemade ice cream. Time consuming but worth it! Guests loved it!

  572. 572

    Diana says

    I don’t make as many desserts as I would like, but one tricky one I remember was a cake called Heavenly something or other. It required cake flour, not all purpose, and the frosting was complicated, too. It was from a recipe in a novel and the recipe neglected to say it only made one layer…so I had to make it twice….

  573. 573

    Charlene says

    I used to make decorated birthday cakes…barbie, car, etc…lots of work but the kids always loved them!

  577. 577

    freda l bates says

    My most difficult thing to bake is anytime i use puff pastry and sometimes when i frost the cake even when its cool the cake sticks to the frosrting

  580. 580

    Jan says

    I keep it pretty simple, the favorite around here is flourless chocolate cake with chocolate ganache and raspberry topping.

  582. 582

    Debbie says

    A tiered WEDDING CAKE for my partners sister. She was ‘tight’ on money and I figured it couldn’t be ‘that bad’ to do :-/
    SILLY ME!

  583. 583

    Laurie Simmons says

    I am not really an accomplished dessert maker, so I think the most time consuming thing I have made is an apple pie, but it was totally amazing.

  584. 584

    Mary Beth says

    The most time consuming has to be the Christmas log (buche de Noel). Was fun to make and decorate with the kids–tasted great but didn’t look like the picture!

  587. 587

    Tracy Sbresny says

    Crepes, don’t want to count the burnt ones before I get the hang of it :).

  590. 590

    Karen K says

    Spanish Cream. Nothing difficult about it except getting the timing right. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t.

  592. 592

    Kathy Antonovich says

    Decorated Cut out cookies for 150 people!!! That’s plain crazy!!! This Cuisinart could whip up some mean Royal Icing!!! Love your website!!

  594. 594

    Shelley says

    Not so complicated, but lots of stirring and being exact, all for an excellent Almond Roca that I make at Christmas each year (most of it to friends and family before we eat it all ourselves!)
    And as for that lovely new Cuisinart… mine is circa 1983, which may be when they were first invented hahaha!

  595. 595

    BillieR says

    A 7 layer puff pastry torte filled with home-made lemon curd. Took FOREVER, but oh, what a treat. And it froze well, too.

  601. 601

    Kate says

    Oddly, it was attempting to make a unicorn birthday cake for my daughter’s 5th birthday. It ended up looking more like a deformed pink donkey, but she loved it anyway!

  602. 602

    Deborah says

    I am not a dessert person but this sure would come in handy for all the other yummy things I like to make.

  603. 603

    Tiffany says

    Tiramisu completely from scratch. And the kicker…I hate anything coffee flavored, so I didn’t even get to enjoy it!

  604. 604

    Joyce Spindler says

    Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie from scratch including pie crust. But I really need a food processor.
    Enjoy your site much and am watching your WinterSown stuff closely as I have been doing it for a about seven years here in the south.

  605. 605

    Marcia Hicks says

    I just made your glazed apple tart last week for a group of friends! Looks complicated, but it’s not, and it tasted devine! Hoping mine is the lucky number!

  608. 608

    Sharon says

    I find “groups” of food difficult to make, like Thai food, souffle’s, and some of the nicer decorated cookies.

  609. 609

    S. Taylor says

    Grandmomma’s chocolate glazed eclairs! OMG! Those bad boys took all darn day long to make and the family ate them in one felled swoop!

  611. 611

    Phyllis says

    One of the most complicated desserts I made was a torte made with ground almonds, filled with homemade custard and frosted with ganache.

  612. 612

    Marie says

    A stag made out of marchpane (baked almond candy) filled with small candies, many years ago.

  613. 613

    Melissa Horton says

    It took a day to make an old family recipe, Alabama Fruitcake with my Grandmother, “Ma” and Aunt Sarah. It was “Fruitcake weather!”

  614. 614

    Jo-Ann says

    I’ve learned to avoid overly complicated desserts. Right now, my most complicated is bread pudding like my Mom made. I’m still trying to duplicate the taste & yexture of hers.

  616. 616

    Cindy says

    I just moved and am starting from scratch – this would be a perfect compliment to my kitchen.

  617. 617

    Rosalinde says

    Happy anniversary & many thanks for a site that’s a treat to come to. I trust your recipes, have had good luck with all the ones I’ve tried. Summer tomato pie …. incredible ….
    A French buche de noel every Christmas for my family is worth all the trouble it takes me to make but somehow is getting harder every year lol I wonder why that is as I am getting younger every year ….

  618. 618

    Ina says

    I am keeping things simple now so no more complicated desserts for me. Having a food processor sure would help.

  620. 620

    Shannon Ashworth says

    I made a three tier’d chocolate cake with chocolate malt and chocolate buttercreame frosting

  622. 622

    Sally Norris says

    A cream puff tree with chocolate glaze was beautiful and a hit at a party. .A Cusinart food processor is a wonderful prize. Thanks for offering a chance to win. It will be put to good use.

  624. 624

    Kelly Vogt says

    My most time consuming dessert was an angel food cake from scratch. It was time consuming because it took two tries to make it work – but it was SOOOO worth it!

  625. 625

    Roz says

    Love the Blog! Love Love your Home! ! Love Love Love the opportunity to win the Cusinart food processor! ! ! Normally would not be complicated, but my Grandmother never measured ANYthing when she made her Fruit Kolaches and Coffee Cakes. I watched and helped her on many occasions. She’s be gone, now, for almost 23 years….and I’m still trying to replicate those wonderful treats. Thank you, again, for the opportunity.

  628. 628

    Lisa Grandstaff says

    I’ve attempted various complex things, some with success, others not so much. One that I’m proud of is a mincemeat pie, and the fact that I had to prepare and plan well in advance, since I made the mincemeat from scratch and had to let it age… but what a delight! If it’s not me that wins the Cuisinart, some lucky soul will get a great gift… Happy Bloggoversary!

  630. 630

    Cheryl says

    I made a pumpkin roll. My sister told me how to make them and boy what a job!

    Happy 4th anniversary!

  631. 631

    Anne Efron says

    I was looking for a “like” button for some of the posts above!

    for me, Tiramisu – used every mixing bowl I own!

  633. 633

    Dorothy Hubbard says

    A sour cream raisin pie. I tried to make it over 20 yrs ago for a friend and it turned out miserably.

  634. 634

    Glen Dona says

    It was a three way tie between christmas plum pudding w/ hard sauce, petits fours for two hundred people and individual creme brulle for one hundred people.Well not really, I told an untruth…but it sounded good. I’m really not a dessert maker. But don’t disinclude me…Thank you .

  637. 637

    Dana Hutchinson says

    Congrats on your anniversary! I would have to say for me, it would be French Toast Roll-ups. They are time consuming but so well worth the time, and they go very fast at a family gathering…

  638. 638

    Jan says

    Decorating cakes for children. A lot of fun and really simple…but time consuming.
    Thank you for the contest….Happy Anniversary! I so enjoy your website/blog! I love your positive being! Thank you!

  639. 639

    MoLiver4u says

    I made a white chocolate persimmon cake and a white chocolate persimmon bavarois to go with it…talk about challenging!

  640. 640

    Kerri Kelly-McManus says

    I have a wonderful christmas cookie cookbook with some pretty complicated recipes, some needed to be excluded from plates to give out–did not come out very pretty… congrats on 4 yrs, thanks for the chance to win! πŸ™‚

  641. 641

    Jaycee says

    Tiramisu

    Completely from scratch…almost every ingredient…whew…

    I’d love to have a cuisnart! That’s make baking so much easier!

  642. 642

    Sharon Jones says

    Love your site and would love the food processor! I do not own one and would love to speed up my prep time for my Paleo meals! I have made a triffle for a party and made the pudding from scratch, baked the angel food cake, and made real whipped cream. Took totally too much time, but everyone in the family loved it!

  643. 643

    Rita L. says

    Happy Anniversary!
    Burnt Sugar layer cake with Burnt Sugar frosting is a long time favorite, but rarely made complex dessert.

  645. 645

    June says

    Hi Kevin I would love to win the processor for my 21 year old grand daughter.
    Most cpmplicated dessert was RASPBERRY and VANILLA CHARLOTTE .
    It turned out really good but, I’ve never made it again..thank-you very much LOL

  646. 646

    Valerie says

    Baked Alaska…it was time consuming and it was really hard to get the meringue to brown to perfection…It took me three tries before I got right!

  648. 648

    janny says

    don’t laugh!!!! but i cannot get my rice crispy squares to smooth out nicely before they harden. so you see a new food processor may bring me up to snuff with the rest of you!!! its not a convertable, but it’ll be cheaper on gas!!!

  649. 649

    Connie says

    Baked Alaska! I was SURE the ice cream would melt! It was a special dinner. It ended up being very good and NO melted ice cream. I practiced before the special night and that one didn’t turn out as good. I think that you should ALWAYS practice a recipe at least once if you are planning a special dinner. Thanks again for this opportunity. Connie from NM;Sandia mtn area

  650. 650

    Jeanine says

    Flan of course! It was not terribly complicated, however, I somehow dropped the hot mixture and it landed all over the kitchen! Literally took me hours to scrub if off the ceiling, cabinets, walls, inside cabinets, the floor and the dog who jumped in to help!

  651. 651

    Dianne says

    The most time consuming, homemade dessert I have ever made is certainly the birthday cakes I have made for my children. The cake making itself is pretty simple, the decorating is another story. I’ve piped the design on most often, usually trying to match the theme of the party, but I’ve also rolled out fondant (homemade fondant is much more tasty) for a more updated look. Reading what everyone has made has been fun. I’ve found quite a few that I’d like to try myself!

  653. 653

    Betty G says

    Viennese Almond and Plum Tart ~ made it from scratch, the best tart I’ve ever had. Happy Anniversary!

  656. 656

    Larry Doyle says

    Anything with chocolate. No matter how careful I am, it always seems to be everywhere when I am done.

  658. 658

    Kristina says

    Homemade carrot cake is way too time consuming for me – sad but true. πŸ™‚ Thank goodness I don’t have much of a sweet tooth!

  659. 659

    Nell says

    Fig Newtons! I dried some figs from my tree last summer, froze them and found a recipe online, sounded so easy! They were pretty good, but, wow, I think I will buy the store-bought fig newtons from now on!

  661. 661

    pamela lloyd says

    Candy where you have soft, hard or any ball of hardness! lol Just something that I struggle with! lol

  665. 665

    Joy Harvey says

    The Palmer House’s famous carrot cake. Mainly because I grate all those carrots by hand!!
    (I really could use that food processor, lol).
    Well worth the effort though; the best carrot cake I have ever put in my mouth.

  669. 669

    Karole says

    Wow, reading all of these great cooks creations humbles me!
    I love to cook and make things for my family. Since I have 6 to cook for and take care of, including my 88 year old mother, I don’t get to spend much time on desserts that take a lot of time, like I wish I could. I save the recipes that I like – thinking that I will make them in the future. For now – Fruit cake, German Chocolate cake and a special Lemon Cheesecake that I make the cookie crust for (which requires processing the cookies into crumbs) and also making lemon curd and then layering the lemon curd in the center of the cheesecake is about as time consuming and difficult as I can take time for but it is WONDERFUL! My family loves it but I only get to make it for special occasions. One of which is coming up soon. My son’s birthday! He is home from the Army and was in Afganistan for a year. This will be his first birthday back home with us in 4 years!
    Thank you for this wonderful blog! I really enjoy it!

  671. 671

    Loretta says

    I love to make new/different desserts, but the most time consumming one was when I made an elephant shaped cake for one of my boys birthdays!!

  674. 674

    Elaine says

    I cook because I HAVE to…..I bake because I LOVE to !!!!!
    Love your website and the give-a-ways are like frosting on the cake. πŸ™‚

  675. 675

    Misty Morgan says

    Congratulations for 4 wonderful years! I made a lemon jelly roll a long long time ago and haven’t made one since. All I can remember was that we scooped the lemon custard off and threw the rubbery roll away. Thanks for offering the Cuisinart!

  676. 676

    Enid Albat says

    Congratulations on your anniversary. Love everything about your newsletter including the giveaways. I have made about 1/3 of the desserts listed and yes you have to have good directions and time. Hardest for me personally is homemade, from complete scratch ie granular sugar, fudge. Mine NEVER sets. The Almond Roca is easy… my son, active duty 2 tours in Iraq one in Kuwait, makes it since he was 12. (Thank your son, Karole, for his service. I haven’t had my son’s birthday with him in 13 years…) I am more into fresh veggies from the garden than difficult desserts, so I could sure use the food processor, even more than the convertible since I live on a dirt road.

  678. 678

    Lynn says

    I remember the homemade angel food cakes my grandmother made with the eggs from their chickens, so when I was raising my children we had a few chickens and I made angel food cakes using a dozen eggs whites. Not so complicated…but oh soooo good and such wonderful memories. I’m a grandmother of 5 and still bake everything from scratch.

  682. 682

    Jan says

    Definitely decorated birthday cakes for my daughters when they were young. It’s been a while, but I remember staying up half the night to work on. The crazy thing is I did it more than once.

  689. 689

    Diane says

    I don’t really do complicated. So, I guess I say a blueberry cheesecake I do for my father-in-law that’s just kind of time consuming.

  690. 690

    Maureen says

    The most complicated/ time consuming cake I ever made was a “sunflower” themed carrot cake. Yes I shredded carrots by hand for this so a food processor would be just the thing to make this fabulous cake in a shorter amount of time!

  692. 692

    Steve says

    Chrusciki – a traditional Polish pastry a.k.a. “Lover’s Knots”. They are labor intesive so usually only made for special occasions.

    Happy Anniversary!

  694. 694

    Aubrey Rupp says

    3 layer Triple Chocolate cake with chocolate ganache frosting. So delicious and worth the wait!

  695. 695

    constantine says

    Decadent chocolate cake from the Silver Palate cookbook. Not so difficult but I was much younger when I made it and it was a challenge. I love the Silver Palate cookbook!

  697. 697

    pete says

    one that comes to mind that takes time to but is so worth it is, Green tomato Spice Cake with a Brown Butter Frosting. I try to use up all the green tomatoes that get left in the garden after the growing season and this seems to be the best way, at least for my family, because the boys will not eat green tomatoes any other way. So I discovered that by chopping the tomatoes, by hand and hiding them in the cake, nobody even knows they are in there. A food processor would make this job so much faster and easier, there would be cakes in the freezer and no left over tomatoes.
    Sorry for the long post. Happy Anniversary.
    Pete

  698. 698

    ERIN LOVETT says

    I would have to say a homemade carrot cake with crΓ¨me cheese filling…This was a wedding cake for my sister-n-law….served 250 guests…It turned out beautiful….took me around 18 hrs. to assemble..w/ 60 handmade golden roses…and 60 beautifully lite candles around each tier…the cake itself was an old recipe…very heavy and dense….It took two stout men…to carry it in to the church…I even burnt up my hand mixer on this one…and this was way back in the 70’s….I remember I was powder sugar…from head to toe it seemed…and it was a challenge…being I had two small children at the time…but it was all good!!!!…back ache and all!

  699. 699

    Sharon Rea says

    My most time consuming is my delicious Stupendous Strawberries!
    It has crushed pecans, shredded coconut, red jello, Eagle Brand milk…all mixed into a thick dough. The jello should color it red. You mold the dough into strawberry shapes…roll the sides in red sugar, dip the top in green sugar. Use slivered almonds dyed green for the stem. Pop a stem into the top of your strawberries! These are very pretty for a summer gathering. You DO need to keep them refridgerated until ready to serve. Enjoy!

    PS…My last food processor died in 1997…I sure could use a new
    one!

  702. 702

    shirley says

    a low fat turtle cheesecake, but it was worth it – yummy and elegant looking. no one would know it was low(er) fat.

  703. 703

    Beth Fava says

    Baklava! I spend so much time every Easter season making it, then the next several months regretting it. ;-D

  704. 704

    Joani says

    What comes to mind is a chocolate pound cake with lots of eggs & lots of beating. I used to make if for my elderly neighbor who had lost his wife-she was such a dear friend. He loved it so made the effort worthwhile-now I can’t find the recipe-drat!

    Love your blog-many thanks.

  705. 705

    Sandy says

    I made a very complicated eggnog cake once that was very delicious and loaded with calories.

  706. 706

    Tammy Ward says

    An espresso chocolate cake that no matter how many times I’ve made it, it always falls apart. I call it dump cake, but my family and friends insist it’s the best chocolate cake they’ve ever had.

  707. 707

    Paula says

    I really enjoy reading your site. I grew up in the Midwest with tons of old Victorian homes and love how you are bringing life back into this home! Beautiful!

  708. 708

    Rebecca says

    A Christmas bundt cake decorated with a 3-d winter scene consisting of teddy bears with scarves sledding, trees & snow. As if 1 wasn’t enough, I made 3 to give as gifts.

  709. 709

    Holly B says

    I haven’t tackled anything too hard; the most difficult was probably making a pie from scratch.

  710. 710

    Heidi says

    OK this may sound silly but I find sugar cookie cutouts complicated. Getting the right dough consistency, rolling out the dough without sticking or adding to much flour, and making sure the thickness of the cutouts are the same so they don’t burn on edges or thinner areas, then decorating without cracking the cookie. Yet I try making them every Christmas season.

  711. 711

    Sonja Jones says

    Happy Anniversary!

    I usually make pecan pie and make my own crust but one year I picked all the pecans from our tree, shelled them and THEN made the pie. That was very time consuming!

    Sonja

  712. 712

    Linda Shore says

    My most time consuming dessert was called a Grand Canyon Cake. It’s a multi-layer cake, each layer a different colour; so when it’s assembled it looks like the Grand Canyon. It was red, orange, yellow, green & blue. Then between each layer was a fude icingwith fudge icing on the outside. It took hours!

  713. 713

    Joyce says

    Pavlova is a wonderful dessert, but time consuming to get it right,
    Happy 4th anniversary, love, love, love your website,

  714. 714

    Mary says

    Happy 4th anniversary! I just found your site and I am going to start my winter gardening today with my daughter!

    Orange Blossom Tart

  715. 715

    Kimmer says

    My grandmother gave me her recipe for ‘Fattigmann’ cookies, written in her own hand, I am still working out the script and someday I hope to make them so they taste just like hers.
    I know there are lots of variations on the web, but I love reading her beautiful note to me and trying to decifer the exact instructions.

  716. 716

    Marie4SoL says

    Kevin,

    Happy fourth Anniversary! I look forward to your posts and am getting into gardening and actually have some indoor plants now because of you. Thank you for the encouragement.

    The most time consuming dessert I’ve made, but by no means the most difficult, has to be a Barbie Cinderella cake. This is the cake that stands up in the form of the large bell skirt and the doll body coming together to make a dress fully decorated in icing.

    Thank you for the opportunity to participate in this drawing.

    Good luck to everyone!

    Cheers,
    Marie

  719. 719

    Ed Sabina says

    Hi Kevin,

    A five layer chocolate cake with fresh cut strawberry slices on each level bathed in a vanilla champagne creme on every layer, letting some of the creme drip out over the edge. It taste wonderful with champagne. Happy Anniversary.

    See you in the garden,

    Ed

  720. 720

    Shya says

    Marzipan , I hand make and pant them.
    I like to make little peas and veggies!

    Happy 4th!

  727. 727

    Melissa Caprio says

    I must admit, I am not a dessert person. But, the most complicated dessert that I ever attempted was a Polish Pound Cake. My mom used to make it often when I was little. I followed her recipe exactly how it was written, but it just didn’t taste the same. There must have been something else that she added that only she knew. Sadly, she isn’t here to ask anymore.

  731. 731

    Cary says

    I think chocolate mousse, as I recall. It was delicious and decades ago. Also made apple turnovers once before the days of frozen puff pastry. I remember dotting the butter and folding and rolling the pastry over and over and over. Also made hollandaise for that date and in the whipping (by hand) spilled the mixture all over my new beautiful silk blouse. Argh :)! Been gone a few days Kevin and cannot wait to catch up on your new articles. The choc cake looks devine as does the Music Room renovation. You been busy :)!

  732. 732

    Terry Z says

    A dessert I learned from my mom. She called it “Refrigerator Cake”, but it’s nothing like cake. It is a simple blend of pecans, eggs, pineapple, butter, vanilla, and crushed vanilla wafers. The hard part is layering the ingredients so that they are all evenly distributed throughout the dish. I have four siblings and I am the only one who can make it come out like mom did. We have it only on Christmas dinner.

  734. 734

    Lisa Bell says

    Oh someone in my household (Me) decided to try my hand at decorated sugar cookies for Christmas and the word got out and we had orders for 36 dozen to be ready in 2 days….Oh my eldest daughter was so so upset with me as I needed her help too to get them all done. We made round cookie the size of a softball, with white butter creme frosting then decorated with frosting wreaths, trees, and doves. Oh my….we did make it but I am now banned from offering more than I can handle!!! Oh, by the way, my daughter is a full time RN and works 60 hrs a week but still loves me and did help get it all done. Thanks to my sweet girl and this machine will go to her if I happen to win….thanks so much.

  735. 735

    Kristen says

    May the springtime sun shine all around & make you smile. Happy Anniversary to you & yours ~ πŸ™‚

  736. 736

    Melissa says

    I don’t make complicated desserts — but maybe an Italian cream cake qualifies? Lots of layers.

  738. 738

    Charlie Bourgeois says

    Orange Oatmeal Cookies
    I have caused my Kitchen Aid Commercial Mixer
    to go up in smoke when making double batches
    for the holidays. Takes forever to bake and cool.
    I use my 30+ year old Cuisinart to process nuts, raisins
    and orange rind to speed up the process.

  739. 739

    Brenda from Cape Cod says

    First, thanks for this. It’s fun to read (most) of the responses. My most time consuming dessert is definitely a vanilla cake, split the layers and fill with seedless raspberry jam. The time consuming part is covering the cake in fondant, and coloring/making the decorations out the fondant. But everyone loves it and I am always asked to make this for special occasions.

  740. 740

    Jules says

    I’d have to say that cheesecake has been the hardest to make and frankly I’m not great at it so I tend to not make it, maybe I should πŸ˜‰ thanks for this contest too!

  742. 742

    julianna zdunich says

    i”m not the dessert-maker in general. i have made a few pies, but my husband tries for more complicated things. probably the most involved was a layered cake decorated to look like the tardis for our daughter’s birthday.

  744. 744

    Elsa Lee says

    When I was in graduate school and studying for my oral exams, I started baking as my productive procrastination. It started off as simple store mixes but then I started baking from scratch, taking cake decorating classes at Michaels. The hardest thing I found was making my friend’s wedding cake. It was done in stages since I was using a small sunbeam hand mixer and had only two cake pans. The baking took 3 days, red velvet cake with buttercream frosting. But I stayed up maybe 20 hours to assemble and decorate it.

  747. 747

    Brandi says

    A birthday cake in the shape of a #3 and then covered with MnM’s. The worst part – after it was done my husband hid it in the oven from our son and neglected to tell me….. only to find it as my oven was preheating for the birthday dinner and ruined the cake. *tear*

  748. 748

    Susan says

    Carrot cake – shredding the carrots with a dull box grater instead of a nifty food processor

  751. 751

    Erin Brady says

    Happy birthday to my favorite blog!I don’t make a lot ofmdesertsper say, but lemon poppy seed cake… A pain to make but yummmmmm!

  754. 754

    Helen says

    I will try making that delicious sounding chocolate cake. I know any cake that has buttermilk in it is moist and wonderful
    I have not baked a cake in a year. It is about time.

  755. 755

    Christy Bitticks says

    That would be the Barbie doll cake for my niece! The dress turned out awesome!

  756. 756

    Sybil says

    In recent years I’d have to say my 24 year old son’s request for a Reese’s Peanut butter Cup, Chocolate Cake , Cheesecake. Like the Cheesecake Factory’s with peanut butter frosting, chocolate frosting, chocolate ganache and caramel sauce alternating between layers of chocolate cake and cheesecake with chunks of peanut butter cup inside. Didn’t realize how much work I was getting myself into….but it was yummy. πŸ™‚

  758. 758

    Leslie Stewart says

    Layer Peppermint Cheesecake from Southern Living Magazine – December 2010 Recipes.
    It took 2 days, but was wonderful.

  760. 760

    Dee says

    A layer chocolate cake with raspberry frosting from Miette’s Bakery’s cookbook – took two days. Any of the chocolate desserts from ‘Death By Chocolate’ cookbook. I love to make desserts and my husband and sons enjoy eating them!

  762. 762

    c z williams says

    pumpkin pie, while in Germany in 1970 needed 20 pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving dinner, small USA army detachment, invited German guests, had to find local ingredients except for #10 cans of pumpkin. one rack small oven. Lots of fun though

  763. 763

    Mignonne Swilling says

    A Black Forest Cake recipe I got from a woman in Germany…it was four pages long.

  767. 767

    katherine d says

    i made french pastry tarts with homemade butter crusts, pastry cream, and homemade whipped cream and there were soo many steps – the process took 3 days!

    katherinedibello (at) gmail (dot) com

  769. 769

    Nina G says

    Some years back, I made a pumpkin cheesecake that was on the cover of Gourmet magazine. It turned out exactly like it looked on the cover, weighed a ton, and was delicious! It was worth the effort, but I have not made it again…hmmm…maybe next year!

  770. 770

    Riversana says

    I’m not sure, almost everything I make takes longer than I thought it would, with the exception of mince-meat pie and pound cakes! I once tried a flourless cake with a chocolate ganache icing, it turned out pretty dense but decadant! And the time I (only a few short months ago) that I decided to sculpt TowMater on my husband’s 40th birthday cake, having never sculpted cake before. Icing highs at 2am are awesome, btw! Thanks for the chance to win!

  771. 771

    Annette Keen says

    Fudgy Pecan Torte is my most complicated recipe but also my most popular. I love to make this to give to charity auctions and any special occasions. I would put the Quisenart to VERY good use!

  772. 772

    Carol S says

    So hard to decide…pear and riesling tart with pistachios…chocolate gift box cake (2 lbs of chocolate)…salted caramel Gateau St Honore…dessert is my favorite!

  774. 774

    DorisO says

    Pumpkin Chiffon Pie also known as “salmonella pie” in my family. Love the blog. Would love to have a food processor, I’ve been coveting one for ages, but it’s just not in my budget.

    Happy Anniversary!

  775. 775

    Tammy says

    Happy Anniversary Kevin! I have learned so much from you! Thank you!!!!

    Well, I don’t think I have ever made a complicated dessert….we just like the simple things around here like chocolate chip cookies and cupcakes! Maybe when my kids are older I will venture into something complicated!

  776. 776

    Laura says

    When I was first married I made an apple tart. It might not be that hard today, but 20 years ago, I was pulling my hair out. ; )

  777. 777

    Donna says

    The most complicated dessert for me was improvising a “Boston Cream Pie Cake” I had no recipe for it, so used my imagination. It came out close enough and pleased the person it was for…can’t beat that.

  779. 779

    Patricia says

    Most difficult dessert I’ve make: Stollen yeast pastry ring. It was worth the time it takes to rise. I would love a new Cuisenart.
    Thank you.

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