Mini spiced cake with root beer poached pear, cream cheese icing and chopped orange zest

Ok boys and girls, this is the long awaited project I have been meaning to post about for a while. This is a semi-homemade spiced cake with root beer poached pear, cream cheese icing and chopped orange zest. 

I made the spiced mini cakes in a brownie pan the hubs got me for Christmas. They are about the same size as a cupcake, but square, of course. I got red pears, peeled them, cut them in half and poached them for about 15 minutes. (VERY low heat!) I sliced them as thin as I can. I used A&W root beer but I would rather have found an artisanal kind. Unfortunately I cannot get any unless I go into Columbus. For the cream cheese icing, I used a number 22 star tip ( though you can't quite see the detail from this photo). And for the orange zest, I just used a small pairing knife to cut small pieces of zest. It would be better to use a zester, especially for less experienced bakers. I drizzled a little of the poaching root beer just lightly over the cake to add a little moisture. 

As for the taste, it was delicious. I only like the Duncan Hines spiced cake, all others I have tried taste more artificial than anything else. It held moisture well and wasn't too delicate to wilt under the pears. I do suggest waiting for the cake and pears to cool down before assembling and piping on the icing. The icing just slid off in my impatience to try my little experiment. Another idea would be to add a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar, for a little flare.  

New Year

The New Year brings along all sorts of resolutions that, lets face it, last a few weeks at the most. Lose weight, eat better, get a better job, stop smoking....the list drags on and on of things people wish they could do. Its hard sticking to something that you really don't want to do.

So is there a secret to doing what you set out to do? Not really. Forcing yourself to keep up the work, not giving up, and making an active decision to keep going is the only way to muster enough motivation to make your dreams come true.

This year, I would like to get my blog off the ground. Since I have created it, there hasn't really been much traffic. I am on twitter and facebook; telling my friends about it, posting everywhere and forcing family to subscribe, but no one else really takes an interest. Maybe I am going to have to make it more interesting. Draw in a crowd, be controversial, or something.

Improvements are to come. Subscribe, follow my email, and keep checking the blog to see updates. Comments are always welcome.