Hey CrazyCatLady. Do you mind if I ask what you're using to make whipped cream? Usually it's just heavy whipping cream and perhaps sugar or flavoring.

Do you mean how do you keep whipped cream from getting gloppy? This sounds to me like you might be overbeating it, it can get kind of lumpy and weird if you overwhip whipped cream, in my experience.

I received this book, Essentials of Baking, from Williams-Sonoma, as a wedding present and found it very helpful: http://www.amazon.com/Williams-Sonoma-Essentials-Baking-Cathy-Burgett/dp/0848727797

Also, though they are not necessarily baking 101 guides, I have found that publications by Taste of Home (also a magazine) are very user-friendly and often offer easy baking variations--for instance, in the baking section of their big huge Taste of Home cookbook, all of the recipes have a "Classic" version, a "lighter" version, and a "just for 2" portion variation. I find it nice to view the different variations.

Choose your own adventure with French Toast, in my opinion. It's easy to make any amount, and you can use whatever carbohydrates you happen to have around: day-old bread, cinnamon rolls, or even doughnuts (just do it!). Just slice the bread or doughnuts or whatever and dip into an egg mixture (For 2 people, I'd mix 2-3 eggs, a bit of milk or cream, a spoonful or two of sugar and a pinch of other spices if desired), then fry in butter over medium heat until crispy and golden and delicious.

Don't know if you got this part, but I do strongly believe you should use doughnuts for your French toast. Or birthday cake, like this: http://www.cakespy.com/blog/2010/8/30/joyeux-anniversaire-birthday-cake-french-toast-recipe-for-se.html

Somebody's getting marrrrrried!

Well, hopefully my wedding cakes weren't some of the ones that you thought were really, really bad. I had five, in case you were wondering. Here are the ones that we had:

-a three tier vanilla/vanilla with vanilla custard/cream (original!) filling from Morfey's. Not fancy, but old school and satisfying. Plus, walking into their lower Queen Anne space makes you feel like you are walking into a puff of sugar and butter, the aroma permeates the air so heavily in the space. I would happily spend many hours just standing in the entryway. I did have another friend who got married more recently and had a delicious--but slightly askew (delivery issue?)--cake from them though.

-the "Tuxedo" from Macrina. I will confess I didn't get to try this one, but it disappeared quickly.

-the "Whisper" from Macrina. I loved this cake so hard. But it wasn't for everyone (people get funny about white chocolate.)

-one that my mom made. Sorry, but she's probably not going to fly out from NJ to make you a cake.

-I'm almost embarrassed to admit it, but one of them was also a cake (Carrot, I believe) from Costco and people raved about it, so there you go.

Want more thoughts? Of course you did.

-Since making the big marital leap, I have sampled and been VERY impressed by the cakes by Starry Nights Catering in Kirkland (they are worth the bus, or drive, or whatever). I would give them a big thumbs up.

-I haven't sampled the wedding cakes by them, but I have had the cupcakes from Look Cupcake and they are very, very good.

-I have also heard of several extremely enthusiastic thumbs-upses from happy customers of The People's Cake (near where the P-I used to be).

It may be just me, but in addition to the mantra of "keep the butter cold!", I have also found that scone recipes that employ cream too (some have sour cream or milk) seem to be a bit more forgiving. Like this one: http://www.joyofbaking.com/scones.html

And, to stress the important stuff once again: don't overmix. Don't overbake. Don't underestimate the power of a big slather of butter and jam on the finished product.

And finally, if your scones still suck, you're in luck, because a lot of places in Seattle make scones that don't suck: http://questionland.com/questions/12752-where-in-seattle-can-i-get-a-scone-that-doesnt-suck

If you've been using a typical American buttercream (confectioners' sugar, butter, and maybe a little milk / vanilla), I have a few suggestions.

First (maybe duh?), cream cheese frosting. It's basically like buttercream but with cream cheese too, and has a delightful little tang that works beautifully, in my opinion especially with slightly contrasting flavors, for instance the mellow sweetness of banana cake or the subtle cocoa flavor of Red Velvet.

And if you want to go one better, try CHOCOLATE CREAM CHEESE BUTTERCREAM. Did that need to be in caps lock? YES. http://www.cupcakeproject.com/2008/04/my-favorite-chocolate-cream-cheese.html

Along the lines of "same method, different flavor", why not try browned butter frosting? It doesn't require much more work but oh, the flavor benefits are incredible when you work the butter a bit first to bring out its full, rich flavor: http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,196,152179-245202,00.html

If you want to try a different METHOD, I recently tried this cooked buttercream and honestly could not stop eating it: http://www.cakespy.com/blog/2010/6/23/america-the-sweet-united-cakes-of-america-and-hartford-elect.html

Feeling very adventurous? This one is not for everyone, but avocado buttercream has a certain something that I love. I like to use butter WITH the avocado for extra flavor and decadence. http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2009/07/vegan-chocolate-avocado-cake/

I echo Rhienn's tip to use salted butter. I love salt, though, so keep that in mind. I actually have become hooked with topping my shortbread with a sprinkle of the fancy flavored salts by Secret Stash Sea Salts. As the French would say, Le Yum.

I think that for me, the key has always been to keep it simple with shortbread. I say use good ingredients, since there are so few of them in shortbread! And I am a cheapskate, so hopefully this means something.

Follow the recipe and don't overmix, especially after you've added the flour. I like to turn off the oven when the top of the cookies have turned matte, and let them continue to heat for a few minutes in the residual oven heat so they get lightly golden on the bottom but remain soft on top.

Another tip that always seems to wow people is that I like to bake my shortbread in a circular pan and then cut it into wedges, which I perceive as being Scottish-style. For some reason, when people are served shortbread in a triangle form, their pinkies can't help but pop out. But you're adding chocolate and/or espresso, so you probably already have the pinkies-out aspect covered.

I echo Robin's tip of not letting them brown, just letting them get matte (not shiny on top), as they will lightly harden and become even better with slight age.

The most recent recipe I tried with great success was the one from my favorite cookie cookbook, Betty Crocker's Cooky Book - I made mine "gingerbread Mad Men" but of course no need to go all Don Draper on them for a delicious product. I added less flour than the original recipe called for--my KitchenAid was really groaning with every addition and finally thought I'd better stop.

Here's the recipe:

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2009/12/cakespy-gingerbread-mad-men-cookies-recipe.html

I second Earth Balance. While it isn't butter (nothing is, alas) it does have a nice consistency and tastes pretty good.

As for sugar, you may have to alter what you use depending on the recipe. For instance, using maple syrup might taste good in wintry quick bread, but not so great in a delicate white cake. Here's a nice table of some alternatives: http://www.vegetarianorganiclife.com/sugartable.htm