chocolate – Ryan Bakes It

Barefoot Contessa Recipe 65 – German Chocolate Cupcakes

Published on October 2, 2024March 10, 2026 by RJLeave a comment

Well, it’s been a while since I’ve made an Ina recipe. Actually, it’s been a while since I’ve made any recipe and then wrote a blog post about it. But last weekend for the first time in a while, I actually had a reason to bake! So I took advantage of it and decided that perhaps it might be good to write a blog post, too.

Over the weekend I attended an Oktoberfest party and I was asked to bake something. Sticking with the German theme, I quickly decided on making a German chocolate cake. But then I realized that for a party, cupcakes might be easier to both make and eat. The dessert becomes finger food, perfect for an outdoor gathering during the last few warms days of the year. Luckily for me, Ina Garten had a German chocolate cupcake recipe. It was like the stars aligned.

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A Return to Baking

Published on August 22, 2024March 10, 2026 by RJLeave a comment

As the weather changes, and I’ve settled into my new work schedule, I’m going to make an effort to return to baking and blogging.

A couple weeks ago, I decided to reactivate my baking bug. I made something that I’ve made a few times before and blogged about before. It was Ina Garten’s Banana Chocolate Crumb Cake. You can read more about it here.

Of course my most recent iteration of it didn’t look quite as good as the original. The picture is below. Ignore the sunken spot in the middle. I have yet to buy a proper cake tester for the condo, so I had to use a butter knife.

The Richest Brownies You’ll Ever Eat – Barefoot Contessa 63

Published on November 6, 2023November 5, 2023 by RJLeave a comment

You know, sometimes you just NEED to have a brownie.

This weekend was time-change weekend for most of us in the United States. The fall back one always hits me a little harder than the spring one. I think it has to do with the sun setting before I walk out of work at 5:00 for the next four months. As a way to cope with this, I decided to do one of the healthiest, and therapy-approved methods: bake something sweet!

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Reminding Myself, “It’s Just Cake!”

Published on April 26, 2023 by RJ2 Comments

Every once in a while, things don’t work out the way you planned. Instead of getting to your friend’s party on time, you hit unexpected traffic and arrive too late to be even “fashionably late.” When it comes to baking or cooking, sometimes a well intended idea just doesn’t get off the ground. Or, in my case, bake up the way you thought it would.

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A Bundt Cake with a Wonderful Flavor – Barefoot Contessa 57

Published on January 30, 2023 by RJLeave a comment

As a way to make good on my promise to include more Ina Garten recipes this year, I made a Bundt cake with a classy flavor combination. At least I think it’s a classy one–for me it invokes upper crust and “adult flavors.” What is this flavor you ask? Chocolate and orange. Like all of Ina’s recipes, this cake was very easy to bake and tasted so yummy. I also got to use the new photography backgrounds I purchased a few weeks ago. I think the photos came out great.

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More Disney Food Photos

Published on January 26, 2023March 10, 2026 by RJ1 Comment

I’m back from vacation and so excited that I get to share with you all some of the tasty treats I got to experience while in Walt Disney World. My goal was to post more frequently while I was away but I ended up being at the parks much later than expected. Plus, I was exhausted after doing an average of 20,000 steps each day!

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A More Challenging Cake Attempt

Published on December 29, 2022March 10, 2026 by RJ1 Comment

A few weeks ago I wrote about how I purchased a new cookbook. This cookbook is one that I was excited to finally purchase and it’s surely one to take my baking skills to the next level. That couldn’t be more true than when I attempted one of the most challenging cakes in the book, and of my life: the French Classic Genoise.

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December is Here Already?!?!

Published on December 6, 2022December 6, 2022 by RJLeave a comment

Wow! What a few whirlwind weeks I’ve been in!

I can’t believe that we are already in the first full week of December. The Holidays are in full swing and Christmas is only two and a half weeks away.

I’ll be honest, I haven’t been baking as much as I thought I would be over the last couple of weeks. But this week I am working on developing a recipe for Peppermint Brownies that I hope to share with you all sometime next week, just in time for the holidays.

So far, the brownies have been well received, but I just want to keep tweaking them a little bit. I am planning to debut them at a holiday party this Saturday. That will be the ultimate taste test.

August 2022 Round Up

Published on August 30, 2022March 10, 2026 by RJLeave a comment

As August comes to a close, I find myself sitting at the keyboard trying to form this post. You would think that for a month where I didn’t have a lot to say, it would be easy to compile a recap. That isn’t always the case. Today is one of those days.

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Barefoot Contessa 55 – Chocolate White Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Published on July 7, 2022February 26, 2023 by RJ3 Comments

I can’t believe it’s been over six months since I last made an Ina recipe! Wow, time sure does fly!! This is also a quick post because things have been quite busy for me the last couple of weeks. But I did get a chance to get some baking in. I needed something quick and easy and thanks to streaming services I found the perfect recipe!

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