I am so glad that you will soon have your new stove, Skeptic!

On Sunday morning, I baked Oatmeal Black Raspberry Muffins with black raspberries that I froze earlier this summer. I used an oatmeal blueberry muffin recipe that I like.

I also baked the King Arthur Fantastic Fudge Birthday Cake. I replaced the King Arthur flour with regular AP and the cornstarch with 2 Tbs. of barley flour. (King Arthur adds 2 Tbs. of cornstarch to tone down the gluten in their flour, so regular AP works well, and the barley flour was just to see how it comes out. I also replaced 2/3 of the oil with olive oil and added 2 Tbs. milk powder. I have changed the mixing instructions. I use my hand mixer to beat together the oil and sugar, then beat in the eggs and vanilla. I use my cake whisk to mix in the dry ingredients, then use it to slowly mix in the water. Finishing with my spatula. I find that makes for a more tender cake. Tomorrow, I will make a white chocolate, cream cheese, and butter frosting and assemble my bonus daughter's birthday cake!

Skeptic--I will have to post my adaptation of the cake recipe, which includes changing how it is mixed. To my surprise, it was not crumbly, so I wonder if changing the mixing technique helped. I used the mixer to combine the oil and sugar, then the eggs and vanilla, but after that, I hand mixed.

I did an initial "crumb coat," which is just a light coating of the frosting--does not have to cover as in a finished cake--then I did the main frosting coat over it.

I made a White Chocolate Cream Cheese Butter frosting from the recipe in Baking at Home, a book from the Culinary Institute of America. The trick with the frosting is not to let the butter get too soft, and to get the white chocolate at just the right temperature after melting it. Today, it all came together, and the frosted cake is in the refrigerator. The frosting is at its best when cold.

I made English muffins today.

Oh, Skeptic, that is horrible! They need to get back to your house and install the oven correctly. Remind them that if they do not install the anti-tip device, they will be liable for accidents.

On Thursday, I baked a double recipe of Big Lake Judy's Best Ever Molasses Cookies.

I have been noticing that when I bake cookies, the second batch is baking faster than the first batch. I cut a bit of time off of the second and third trays of cookies, and since the fourth tray had just five cookies, I cut the time by 2 minutes. Those five burned. Next time I bake cookies, I am going to use the convection setting, as I do for crackers, and reduce the heat by 25 degrees.

I baked Oatmeal Date Muffins for breakfast on Friday.