I do that a lot in the fall. My baking this time of year contains a lot of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. If I take something out of the oven right before I head up to bed, I can actually drift off for the night with all those autumn spices whirling around my senses. I highly recommend you try it.

Even though it’s soaring back up to the 90s this week here in the sunny DC area, I’ve been baking for crunchy leaves and cooler breezes since Labor Day ended. This cake is no exception, and it’s magnificent. The base is pumpkin goodness, filled with all those lovely spices and chocolate chips. Did I mention that the whole cake is smothered in a rich chocolate glaze?

Last week was full of mishaps. As in, just a terrible week. On Wednesday I was at work when I learned that one of my teachers had fallen, so I rushed down the hall to check on her. On my way, I slipped in a stealth water spill and fell down too. Irony? The teacher was fine, but I couldn’t walk so well. I had to get to the urgent care clinic because my doctor wouldn’t see me without some kind of crazy workman’s comp claim number that I could’ve easily given him later (can I rant about healthcare sometime soon?) for an x-ray. Luckily, nothing was broken, but I’m very swollen and bruised.

To compound that (yes, I’m complaining), I had a 22-mile commute the next day to a training class. I don’t like commuting. More complaining.

That evening was Back to School Night, which means I had to be on my A-game to meet with parents. I put a pair of sneakers on over my bandaged foot (not my typical Back to School Night uniform of cute dress and heels) and went to work from my training class. When I opened my mouth, I realized that the fun continued. My voice was going.

See, I’ve had a cold for about a week, but it’s just been hovering. Do you ever have a hovering cold? It’s kind of polite in nature. It doesn’t intrude too much into your life except in the early morning or late at night, but then it really intrudes. No warning, and BAM! Suddenly, you’re going mute in front of parents.

By the next day, I had to face down my students with no voice at all. I spent the day croaking and rasping at them and feeling completely done in. Thank heaven the next day was Saturday. It was time to sit down and shut up. I was never gladder to do both.

One day into the weekend, and things are looking up. My foot is very bruised and still somewhat swollen, but it’s getting better. My voice is a light rasp now as opposed to completely silent, so yay. And I can bake even without a foot or a voice, so that’s the best news of all.

This cake is lovely. I don’t usually pair butter with pumpkin, but special occasions call for a fancier cake. What occasion, you might ask? Feeling better, y’all!

Because pumpkin and chocolate chip is the best combo ever, I had to put them into a decadent bundt with the best chocolate glaze in existence. This is my favorite glaze recipe bar none. It’s super easy, and it’s thicker than most glazes. It’s impossible not to love!

Last week was full of mishaps, but this week will be better and full of cake. It’s not how many times we fall, but how many times we determinedly get back up again. That’s what really matters!

This gingerbread bundt cake is a winter spice wonder. It’s moist, soft, and oh so perfect for Christmas. And since I don’t do Christmas, I’ll just eat it all anyway.

As a perk, this cake is finished off with brown butter icing. It’s pretty much the best cake ever. No bias here, of course!

I’m working on cozy holiday plans, and I’m very excited to curl up with my kids by the fire later this week while we watch movies. It’ll be great.

Just as exciting, the D.C. area is poised for 75-degree temps this Christmas Eve. Heck yeah! If we don’t get a white Christmas, can we get a tropical one instead? I’m down with that. It might be global warming, but let’s not talk about that right now.

This week, I’m still chugging away at work. Most school districts all over the country are on winter break, but my school system is insisting on three days of instruction this week, which means I will work through Wednesday and then run for the hills. It’s not that bad, except that people keep asking me how much I’m enjoying vacation, and I have to tell them that nope, not there yet. Gone are the days when winter break was two weeks long!

Okay, enough kvetching. I’ll talk about cake instead. Glorious, glorious cake.

This cake has all the elements of gingerbread: molasses, cinnamon, ginger, and lots of love. But it’s a cake, and it’s way too easy to eat about three slices at once. I don’t have gingerbread often, but when I do, I take it very seriously.

The brown butter icing takes just a few minutes to make, and it’s the perfect rich accompaniment to a dark, spicy cake. I can’t recommend it enough!

Stay tuned tomorrow for my next foray into food film. Until then, enjoy all the holiday sugar you can!

My first alcoholic drink of choice as a young woman was (this is embarrassing to admit) a Kahlua and cream. It was so delicious, like a spiked coffee drink. I thought it was heaven.

And though my tastes have refined over time, I still love me some Kahlua. And in a rich chocolate cake, who can say no? One of our interns gave me this recipe last year, and I’ve been meaning to share it with you ever since. It’s time! And to make it even better, I made a thick Kahlua glaze for the top.

Yesterday, I lost it. I admit it. We had a sudden ant infestation about a week ago, and our exterminator is unavailable until the 21st of this month. I think we need a new exterminator.

That aside, we did everything you do when ants invade. We sprayed everywhere inside and out, scoured our pantry for open food items, and washed dishes the second they got dirty. The very second.

When I was off doing something else, Kenny threw away the baking soda. And didn’t tell me he’d thrown it away. And he didn’t replace it.

Cue this past weekend. Some people are weekend warriors when it comes to working out. I’m a baking warrior on the weekends, because that’s the only time I have. The work week is taken up with my day job. So I typically stock up on Friday and make sure that the house is ready for the onslaught of flour and melted chocolate.

There I was, mixing away serenely, when I reached up into what even my kids call “the baking cabinet” to get the baking soda. My hand closed on nothing. It took about ten seconds of me staring at the blank space in disbelief to realize what happened.

Mean Mir came right out. I went to my husband and hissed (yes, it was a hiss), “Tell me you didn’t throw away the baking soda without replacing it. Please tell me that’s not what happened.”

That poor man. I could see the realization dawn in his eyes. Wow, she’s really pissed. He apologized. I went off on a rant about how ants don’t even like baking soda. He apologized again. I used some choice language.

Then I calmed down, stuck the bowl of the cookie dough I was mixing up in the fridge until we could rectify the Baking Soda Debacle of 2015, and went to apologize to Kenny. Even though I feel my meltdown was kind of justified.

All’s well now, except that the ants are still sort of among us. My son told me proudly that he shook one off his hand this morning in the bathroom without even crying. I’m so grossed out, but at least the little pests aren’t in the kitchen. Because if they were, this incredible cake would definitely constitute a problem.

Like many great cakes, this starts with a mix. That mix gets quickly tricked out with all sorts of goodies, most importantly Kahlua. And can you taste it in the final product? Absolutely. Especially because the glaze (which is heated, so this cake won’t give you a buzz) also has Kahlua. If that still makes you nervous, sub vanilla in for the Kahlua in the glaze. But if you can, leave it there. It’s so good.

The cake is also loaded to the max with chocolate chips, which make anything better. When your house is taken up with little pests, you need some Kahlua cake in your life to take the edge off, especially so that other people in the house don’t wind up getting hissed at. Remember that next time someone does something you don’t like!

*

I used to think that people who stretched as part of their exercise routine were total babies. At the time, I could push my body to crazy lengths and never feel a thing the next day except mild soreness.

Fast forward several years, and I’m no longer that brazen ignoramus. I’ve always been a hard-core exercise fanatic, but lately, I stretch with equal zeal and fervor. If I don’t, my body punishes me. And no matter what I do, that darned crick in my neck just won’t go away.

In short, I am old and time is passing. Thank heaven there’s cake. Pound cake, to be exact. With lots and lots of pumpkin.

This cake is velvety in texture. There’s just no better way to describe its smoothness. It almost melts the second you shove a giant forkful in your mouth. I don’t know about you, but I like my cake that way.

Most pumpkin recipes are healthier. Not this one. Not by a longshot! But it’s perfect for those occasions when you want to try a bit harder to be decadent. If you really want to go crazy, bake this in round pans and frost it. Now that would be insane.

I’m afraid that another stretch session beckons. Sitting at the computer sure doesn’t help those sore muscles either! But in between a really good hip stretch and a super wonderful quad stretch, make room for cake!