Thanks for all of your “how to get out of a rut” ideas from my last post! I’m slowly but surely getting there.
I have to tell you all about my April Fool’s Joke!!! (Sorry, Mom…)
So, I was at work and it was about halfway through the day on April 1 and I hadn’t pranked anyone or even tried yet. I really wanted to, but like Molly, I’m not good at lying and I get nervous just thinking about how I’m going to follow through with a good joke without laughing. But, Kellen texted me with an idea I could not pass up. He told me to tell my mom that we’re engaged. The only reason I couldn’t pass it up is because it was perfect for 2 reasons: 1) I had just told my mom earlier that morning that Kellen’s mom was coming to town to visit and 2) My boss has connections at the jewelry store down the street. Soo… this is what happened:
First, I called my dad to tell him what I was going to do. (I would’ve played the prank on both of them, but my dad probably would have killed me.
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| Super blurry… but pretty, right? |
Then, my boss called the jewelry store (which is right down the street from Jock’s Nitch) and asked if it would be all right for me to come down and take a picture with one of her rings on. She said yes, so I did. (I picked the biggest one, of course.) Once I took the picture, I sent it to my mom (with OH MY GOSH!!!!!! as the caption).
After an hour of her not responding, I started getting antsy. My boss figured she’d passed out. I didn’t want to have to call her because I knew I would start laughing and not be able to pull it off. That’s when Patrick, a friend I work with, told me that he would call her for me and tell her that I was too ecstatic/crying to tell her myself, but that Kellen had just proposed to me. We got that all figured out only to call my house phone twice and my mom’s cell twice with no answer. I finally called my dad and come to find out, they had gone to church. At this point, I thought that there was no way I was going to be able to pull it off.
Well, I got off work and ended up getting home before my parents did. Once they got home, I asked my dad if mom had checked her phone, so he asked her. She looked at her phone and came into the bathroom (where I was) and this is the conversation that followed:
Mom: That’s a pretty ring, where’d you get it?
Me: You know how I told you that Kellen’s mom was coming to town tonight? That’s why…
Mom: Kellen’s mom got you a ring….?
Me: No….. Kellen did….
Mom: He just came into Jock’s Nitch and handed you a ring??
Me: No….. he got down on one knee…
Mom: {pause} No…where’s the ring??
Me: Well, I don’t have it yet…
Mom: {speechless… she just stood there with her mouth open}
Me: April Fool’s!!!
Mom: Not funny.
Haha!!! She was still in shock for about a half hour after telling her. I can’t believe I got her and it worked so well! After that, I figured I was on a roll so I sent it to two of my friends (Brandon and Jordan), my brother, and my sister. I’ll go ahead and give you their responses, too, because they’re all funny.
Brandon: Texted me back “Excuse me” and then proceeded to call me and say “Noooo….” and I’m pretty sure I had him going for a little bit, but I finally told him it wasn’t true.
Jordan: Called me frantically saying “No, this is an April Fool’s joke!!” I told her it wasn’t and she got super excited, almost in tears telling me how happy she is for me! I felt bad telling her that it wasn’t true haha!
Brother: Texted me back saying April F’n Fools.
Sister: Called me and said “You realize it’s April Fool’s right? And I just received a picture of a diamond ring on your finger…” I was like “Yeah…..” she said “So, yeah… It’s April Fool’s….” Then I just told her it was a joke.
Pretty funny!! My poor mom, though, I swore she was going to seriously pass out.
What’d you guys do for April Fool’s Jokes?!
Wheewww… long post today! I’ve been wanting to make Joy’s Pull-Apart Bread (which is adapted from Cindy’s Lemon Pull-Apart bread… love her! 🙂 ) for a while now, but I wanted to make a cake batter version. Kellen wanted the cinnamon sugar version, so I made both! They both turned out really well. I like them both equally… I like the crunch exterior and sticky insides. I’m mad at myself though because I meant to add sprinkles to the cake batter one!! I also forgot to let my dough rise twice… Geez, what is wrong with me today?! Oh well, it still turned out perfectly! I used Momofuku Milk Bar’s milk crumbs recipe for the filling and added cake mix to the dough.
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| Gooey deliciousness |
Cake Batter/ Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread
**If you want the cinnamon sugar recipe, go here.
Inspired by/Adapted from: Momofuku for 2 and Joy/Cindy
Makes: one 9×5×3-inch loaf
For the Dough:
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cake mix (I used yellow)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons (1 envelope) active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 ounces unsalted butter
1/3 cup whole milk
1/4 cup water
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
*Optional: 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
For the Filling:
1/2 cup plus nonfat milk powder
4 tablespoons cake mix (I used yellow)
2 tablespoon cornstarch
3 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup white chocolate, melted
1. In a large mixing bowl (I used just the bowl of my stand mixer) whisk together 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Set aside.2. Whisk together eggs and set aside.
3. In a small saucepan, melt together milk and butter until butter has just melted. Remove from the heat and add water and vanilla extract. Let mixture stand for a minute or two, or until the mixture registers 115 to 125 degrees F.
4. Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula. Add the eggs and stir the mixture until the eggs are incorporated into the batter. The eggs will feel soupy and it’ll seem like the dough and the eggs are never going to come together. Keep stirring. Add the 3/4 cup of cake mix and stir with the spatula for about 2 minutes, fold in white chocolate chips, if desired. The mixture will be sticky. That’s just right.
5. Place the dough in a large, greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and a clean kitchen towel. Place in a warm space and allow to rest until doubled in size, about 1 hour. *The dough can be risen until doubled in size, then refrigerated overnight for use in the morning. If you’re using this method, just let the dough rest on the counter for 30 minutes before following the roll-out directions below.
6. While the dough rises, make the filling:
7. Preheat oven to 225 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. 8. In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 teaspoons milk powder, flour, cornstarch, sugar, and salt. Stir in melted butter until well combined. Spread mixture on prepared baking sheet and transfer to oven.
9. Bake until dried and crumbly, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove milk crumble from oven and let cool completely. 10. Transfer milk crumble to a large bowl and fold in remaining 2 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 teaspoons milk powder and white chocolate.
11. Deflate the risen dough and knead about 2 tablespoons of flour into the dough. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 5 minutes. (Ooops, didn’t do this)
12. On a lightly floured work surface, use a rolling pin to roll the dough out. The dough should be 12-inches tall and about 20-inches long. If you can’t get the dough to 20-inches long… that’s okay. Just roll it as large as the dough will go. Use a pastry brush to spread melted butter across all of the dough (or your hand.. that’s what I did!).
13. Sprinkle with milk crumb mixture.
14. Slice the dough vertically, into six equal-sized strips. Stack the strips on top of one another and slice the stack into six equal slices once again. You’ll have six stacks of six squares. Layer the dough squares in the loaf pan like a flip-book.
15. Place a kitchen towel over the loaf pan and allow in a warm place for 30 to 45 minutes or until almost doubled in size. (Ooops, didn’t do this either!)
16. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Place loaf in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is very golden brown. The top may be lightly browned, but the center may still be raw. A nice, dark, golden brown will ensure that the center is cooked as well.
17. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 20 to 30 minutes. Run a butter knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the bread and invert onto a clean board. Place a cake stand or cake plate on top of the upside down loaf, and carefully invert so it’s right side up. Serve warm with coffee or tea.
18. Best served warm, but can be stored in an airtight container for up to two days. Luckily, my family devoured this.
What Katie's Baking 
