Remember this pumpkin carriage cake topper? Well, I’ve finally got a how-to for you. See? It only took two years of hounding. Peer pressure works!

I made you an ebook. It has been months in the making. You can download it here. It’s free! It’s my little gift to you. It includes some video tutorials and access to an FAQ page. And good news: everything’s of the exceptionally mediocre quality you’ve come to expect from me!

Not interested in making a pumpkin carriage? You can use the methods in this tutorial to create any dimensional/hollow cake topper you might like. The options are limitless! (That’s not true. I think making a life-sized sculpture of your naked body might be a bit much, don’t you?)

GET THE EBOOK HERE!

I sincerely hope you like it! Mostly because there’s not much I can do to fix things at this point…

This is the gingerbread my mother has been making forever. We eat it every Christmas. Actually, we eat it throughout the fall and winter, because eating it just once a year would be silly. This Christmas, the entire Beaucoup Family will be reunited at Beaucoup Headquarters. It has been years since we’ve all been together to celebrate the season, and you can bet this cake will be just one of many holiday traditions to be revived later this month.

Other Beaucoup Family Christmas traditions include:

• the annual argument my sister, Haddy, and I have over who owns the red stocking and who owns the green
• the annual argument my sister and I have over who owns the purple mouse ornament and who owns the yellow
• the failure of guests to notice that there is something different at Beaucoup Headquarters, such as a new paint colour in the bathroom, a new ornament at the top of the Christmas tree, or the addition of orange rind to the carrot pineapple muffins
• the failure of Beaucoup Children to arrive early enough/stay long enough at planned events

• the Poop Progress Report – guests with “travel belly” are encouraged to track the progress of their digestive issues on a chart posted upon the refrigerator
• the hourly rearrangement of Rosie Beaucoup’s NOEL letter blocks to spell LEON
• the consumption of Burger King Whoppers just prior to mealtimes
• Rosie Beaucoup’s disappointment when she learns that her adult children have consumed Whoppers just prior to mealtime, and are not “hungry enough” for her prepared banquet
• the smuggling of food stuff into the basement – consisting entirely of snacks Bill Beaucoup is not supposed to eat, and facilitated entirely by the Beaucoup Children

• the forced enjoyment of breakfast prior to any gift opening on Christmas morning
• the forced enjoyment of some random fruit/raisin/current laden bread which everyone in Poland/Germany/Sweden will also be eating for breakfast on Christmas morning
• the huge ass mistake of choosing to eat toast and peanut butter for breakfast rather than one of the 814 muffins Rosie Beaucoup has lovingly prepared in the weeks prior to Christmas
• arguing over who’s turn it is to retrieve some of the 814 muffins from the freezer in the basement, and then opting for the toast that’s already on the kitchen counter

• the absence of dish towels in the Beaucoup Headquarters kitchen, and subsequent drying of hands on someone else’s pants/sweater
• the Beaucoup Children’s insufficient interest in PVR’d British mysteries
• What’s In your Mouth? – a game that my brother, Adopamop, and I invented (this game involves chewing something vigorously in your mouth and then showing it to Haddy)
• the cries of protest Haddy emits when getting in trouble for laughing at What’s In Your Mouth? 

and finally:

• someone barfing

Just thinking about this Christmas has me bouncin’ around like an elk on a trampoline.

Back to the gingerbread. This is a cake. Do not try to build a gingerbread house out of it. It is dark and spiced, with a molasses undertone. The spices do not overpower. It will leave your house smelling of ginger and Christmas. We’ve always baked it in a bundt pan, and I’d recommend you do the same. Watch your bake times – I’ve listed guidelines only, as the material/thickness/finish of your bundt pan may affect your bake rate. This old-fashioned cake is best served sprinkled with confectioner’s sugar, then sliced and topped with lashings of whipped cream.

Served with a side of of friends and family? Even better.

. . .

I no longer blog about food. But don’t fret!

You can find the recipe for my favourite gingerbread cake in this ebook:

I no longer blog about food. But don’t fret!

You can find the recipe for Beaucoup Seafood Chowder in this ebook:

I no longer blog about food. But don’t fret!

You can find the recipe for Nova Scotia Hodge Podge in this ebook:

I no longer blog about food. But don’t fret!

You can find the recipe for Slow Cooker Chicken Stew in this ebook: