Vanilla cake with vanilla fondant. (Photo credit: Brandi Cowen)

After sitting in on so many cake decorating demos and workshops (not to mention watching all those hours of Cake Boss), I decided to try my hand at working with fondant. The end result? A pretty snazzy birthday cake for mom. It’s no Cake Boss creation, but it’s pretty good for a first try, if I do say so myself. (And I do!)

The most important lesson learned from this little experiment is that just when you think you’ve got the fondant as thin as it can go, you’ll discover that you’re wrong. Roll it out to as consistent a thickness as possible – the more consistent it is, the better it will look when you apply it to the cake.

The other trick to having fun with fondant? Patience!

These muffins are the perfect snack for an autumn day. (Photo credit: Brandi Cowen)

These moist muffins are packed with carroty goodness. They deliver a mild maple taste and just a hint of spice. If you’re searching for the perfect snack for the fall days ahead, look no further than these delicious delights.

The Recipe

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1 egg

3/4 cup maple syrup

1 cup milk

1 cup grated carrots

1 cup rolled oats

1 1/4 cup flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp allspice

1. In a medium bowl, beat together butter, egg and syrup. Add milk, carrots and oats. Blend well.

2. In another bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt and allspice. Add this to the butter mixture.

3. Line a muffin tin with medium-sized paper cups. Fill each cups approximately three-quarters full. Bake in a 400F oven for 20-30 minutes, or until muffin tops are golden brown.

Mix It Up! 

- Frost these muffins with cream cheese icing and transform them into mouthwatering carrot maple cupcakes.

This lemon cake is a fantastic summertime treat. (Photo credit: Brandi Cowen)

This white cake is light and fluffy with just a hint of lemon. It’s extremely moist and, if stored properly, keeps well for several days without drying out.  Try serving this delicious dessert at a late summer barbeque or anytime.

Note: For best results, store the cake in a container that seals well after it’s been sliced.

The Recipe

3/4 cup butter, softened

3 eggs

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/4 cups milk

2 teaspoons lemon peel, finely shredded

1.) In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

2.) In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add the sugar a little at a time, beating on medium speed until well combined. Beat for two more minutes.

3.) Add the eggs one at a time, beating after the addition of each egg. Alternate adding the flour mixture and the milk to the butter mixture, beating on low speed after each addition until combined.

4.) Spread the batter into two greased 9-inch pans. Bake in a 375F oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool both cakes completely and frost with vanilla frosting.

Mix It Up!

- Replace the lemon peel with finely shredded orange peel for a creamsicle-like treat.

The white and semisweet chocolate chips sweeten this crisp biscotti. (Photo credit: Brandi Cowen)

This sweet biscotti is light and crispy. The creamy white and semisweet chocolates compliment the dry biscuit nicely. This biscotti is a bit sweet to pair with coffee, but it makes an excellent dessert. (Hint: Serve with vanilla ice cream!)

The Recipe

1/2 cup butter, softened

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 eggs

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1.) In a medium mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on low-speed for 30 seconds. Add the sugar, cocoa powder and baking powder. Beat just until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Beat in the eggs just until combined.

2.) Add the flour a bit at a time, beating in as much as you can with the mixer on low-speed. Stir in any remaining flour by hand. Fold in the white and semisweet chocolate chips.

3.) Split the dough in half and shape into two 9-inch-long rolls. Place the rolls on a lightly greased cookie sheet and flatten slightly until each roll is approximately 2 inches wide.

4.) Bake in a 375F oven for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of each roll comes out clean. Cool on the cookie sheet for one hour.

5.) Using a serrated knife, make diagonal cuts, cutting 1/2-inch slices off each roll. Place the slices cut side down on a clean, greased cookie sheet. Bake at 325F for 8 minutes. Turn slices and bake for 8 more minutes or until the slices are dry and crisp. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

Mix It Up!

- Try substituting the semisweet chocolate chips with macadamia nuts, or the white chocolate chips with walnuts.

These crepes are a great breakfast treat. (Photo credit: Brandi Cowen)

These easy to prepare crepes are sturdy enough to hold up under the weight of fresh berries, while still being light enough that they won’t fill you up (unless you want them to!).

Note: This recipe yields between 10 and 18 crepes, depending on how thick you make them.

The Recipe

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon cooking oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

1.) In a medium mixing bowl, combine the eggs, milk,  flour, cooking oil and salt. Beat well until all the ingredients are combined. Set aside.

2.) Heat a lightly greased skillet or a medium frying pan until water droplets dripped on the surface sizzle. Remove from heat.

3.) Spoon approximately two tablespoons of batter onto the hot surface. Lift and tilt the pan or skillet to spread the batter and then return it to the heat.

4.) Heat until the crepe is golden brown, then flip and brown the other side as well. Remove from heat and repeat with the remaining batter, greasing the skillet as required.

5.) Serve with fresh or frozen berries, such as strawberries, raspberries or blueberries.

Mix It Up!

- Try garnishing the crepes with whipped cream, icing sugar or raspberry sauce.

David Johnston isn't a bad choice for GG, but he is a disappointing one. (Photo credit: University of Waterloo)

It’s a done deal. When Michaelle Jean leaves office in September, University of Waterloo President David Johnston will take over as Canada’s Governor General.

As an undergrad at UW, I had the opportunity to hear Johnston speak a number of times and even chatted with him one-on-one. In my experience, he’s smart, articulate and well-informed on a wide variety of issues.

The catch? He’s not particularly engaging while waxing poetic about the benefits of a healthy lifestyle to a roomful of varsity athletes, or clarifying the terms of reference for an inquiry into a major political scandal like the Mulroney-Schrieber affair. Most of the addresses I’ve heard Johnston give are more like lectures than speeches: there are facts to be disseminated, arguments to be made and life will pop a quiz on each and every audience member when they least expect it. All in all, Johnston’s approach is rather academic.

That’s not to say that David Johnston is boring. Quite the opposite, in fact. Johnston has accumulated a wealth of life experiences and he is willing to share them with humour and humility, so long as these anecdotes don’t detract from the material being covered on a given day. In short, Johnston is a lot of things, but boring isn’t one of them.

The trouble is, of all the things Johnston is, there are very few that make him distinct from other smart, articulate and well-informed men of his generation. In my opinion, Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s pick for GG is a throwback to a time when most of our government officials were academics drawn from legal backgrounds.

Personally, I think Johnston is a bit of a disappointment after GGs like Michaelle Jean and Adrienne Clarkson. Both women immigrated to Canada as children, sharing a common bond with the upwards of 240,000 new arrivals estimated to enter the country every year. Jean and Clarkson are both highly educated and highly accomplished, and both are excellent role models for young girls from all walks of life. Their pasts bear similarities to many Canadians’ presents and give them all something positive to aspire to in their futures.

I’m sure David Johnston will do a fine job fulfilling both the constitutional and ceremonial duties of the Governor General. But every time I see him speak from the throne  or greet a visiting head of state, a little part of me will cringe at seeing the stereotypical statesmen filling Jean and Clarkson’s stylish, high-heeled shoes.

This rich chocolate marble cheesecake is easy to prepare. (Photo credit: Brandi Cowen)

This rich, creamy cheesecake is easy to prepare, but be warned: like any cheesecake, it’s a time-consuming undertaking.

The taste of the graham cracker crust contrasts nicely with the sweet chocolate swirls, and the raspberry sauce brings out the flavour of the plain cheesecake. In short, this great make-ahead dessert will satisfy sweet tooths and fruit lovers alike.

The Recipe

Chocolate Marble Cheesecake

1 1/2 cups finely crushed graham crackers

1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts (optional)

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)

1/2 cup butter, melted

3 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup milk

3 slightly beaten eggs

4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

1.) In a medium mixing bowl, combine the graham crackers, the 1 tablespoon of sugar and, if desired, the walnuts and cinnamon. Stir in the melted butter. Press the crumb mixture into the bottom of an 8- or 9-inch springform pan. Set aside.

2.) In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, the 1 cup of sugar, the flour and the vanilla with an electric mixer just until combined. Stir in the milk and the eggs until the filling mixture is smooth. Divide the filling equally between two mixing bowls.

3.) Melt the semi-sweet chocolate and stir into one of the bowls containing the filling mixture.

4.) Pour the plain filling into the crust, and then add the chocolate filling. Use a butter knife or a metal spatula to gently swirl the fillings, creating a marble pattern.

5.) Bake in a 375F oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a 2 1/2-inch area around the outside edge appears set when gently shaken.

6.) Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Use a small knife to loosen the crust from the sides of the pan and cool for an additional 30 minutes. Remove the sides of the pan and allow the cheesecake to cool completely on a wire rack. Cover and chill for at least four hours before serving.

Raspberry Sauce

3 cups raspberries, fresh or frozen

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp cornstarch

This tart raspberry sauce contrasts nicely with the sweet cheesecake. (Photo credit: Brandi Cowen)

1.) For the raspberry sauce, place half of the berries in a blender or food processor. Blend until berries are smooth. Press berries through a fine sieve and discard the seeds. Repeat this process with the remainder of the berries.

2.) In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and the cornstarch, then add the sieved berries. Cook and stir over medium heat until the sauce thickens and becomes bubbly. Cook for 2 minutes more, stirring continuously. Transfer to a bowl, then cover and chill for at least one hour.

Mix It Up!

- Switch the raspberry sauce for strawberry sauce. To prepare the strawberry sauce, substitute 3 cups of fresh or frozen strawberries for the raspberries and reduce the sugar to just 1/4 cup. Do not sieve the strawberry sauce.

Any one of the Barenaked Ladies would make a good choice for the next Governor General. (Photo credit: David Bergman)

The list of possible candidates is long. It includes names like Preston Manning, the founder of the Reform Party, Mary Simon, a former diplomat from Northern Canada, and Peter Milliken, currently serving as Speaker of the House in Parliament.

Then you have the candidates that average Canadians are lobbying for. Thousands have joined Facebook groups pushing for big names like Leonard Cohen and William Shatner to get the job. And of course, it wouldn’t be Canada if hockey greats like Wayne Gretzky weren’t mentioned, at least in passing.

With Prime Minister Harper set to name the new GG this week, I’ve decided to add my two-cents to this summer’s most fun national debate. Please bear with me while I explain why I think our next GG should be, well, Barenaked.

There’s no denying the Barenaked Ladies, though tending towards a more casual look than past Governor Generals, usually dress quite well. Their style (for the sake of argument, let’s call it “Canadian Chic”) is practical for jetting across Canada in fulfillment of the GG’s ceremonial role, and easily adaptable to the country’s wildly different climes. Best of all, Canadian Chic is  based on the wash and wear principle, so dry cleaning costs can be slashed to virtually nil.

In this economy, a Barenaked GG makes good financial sense.

A Barenaked GG would also be good for foreign heads of state and other dignitaries. Stuffy state dinners and stiff, formal photo ops must get old after a while. Surely it would be a refreshing break from the mundane existence of a foreign leader if our GG could serenade visiting big wigs with catchy tunes like “If I Had A Million Dollars,” or harmonize with foreign dignitaries on their national anthems.

A Barenaked GG would make Canada a top travel destination for foreign dignitaries suffering from the diplomatic doldrums.

Last but certainly not least, our next GG should be Barenaked because Canadians need more music that reflects our culture. I just know songs with titles like “Rogue Parliamentary Prorogation” and “I’ll Drop the Writ in a Little Bit” would become smash hits, if only someone would write them. If anyone can make music about the Canadian political process both catchy and educational, it’s the Barenaked Ladies.

There are currently four members in the band and only one can be named Governor General, but I’m not picky. Just as long as our next GG is Barenaked, I’ll be happy.

This light cake is a great summer dessert. (Photo credit: Brandi Cowen)

This moist cake has a full coconut flavour that nicely compliments a light vanilla or cream cheese frosting. It’s a great summer treat, whether you’re hosting a backyard barbeque or a formal dinner party.

The cake is light and fluffy, but thanks to the coconut, it’s a bit heavier than a standard white cake.

The post-bake clean up was quick and easy, however the post-eat clean up was a different story. This is a very crumbly cake that has a tendency to fall apart when you cut it. Personally, I wouldn’t serve it unless it could be eaten at a table (i.e. not a good choice for a kid’s birthday party!)

A quick word of advice: don’t over cook the cake. If it’s too dry, the coconut throughout the cake might be a bit hard to swallow.

Recipe for Coconut Cake

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup shortening

1 1/4 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 3/4 cups sifted cake flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 1/4 cups milk

2 cups unsweetened coconut

1.) Grease and lightly flour two 9-inch round baking pans. Set aside.

2.) In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

3.) In a large bowl, cream the butter and shortening for approximately two minutes, or until smooth. Add the sugar a little at a time until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Stir in the eggs and vanilla.

4.) Alternately add the flour mixture and the milk to the butter mixture. Mix after each addition just until combined.

5.) Stir in the coconut, mixing it throughout the batter.

6.) Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pans and bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes. Cool and frost with vanilla or cream cheese frosting.

Mix It Up!

- Try adding a few tablespoons of cocoa powder to the batter, or icing the cake with chocolate  frosting for a chocolatey coconut treat.