If you get the baking powder wet, it'll do its thing (or half if you have double action). The eggs can turn weird too. Can you assemble kits? Stir together all the dry ingredients and seal them in a ziploc, or just a covered mixing bowl since you'll be baking tomorrow. Measure out the wet ingredients individually in jars, and put the jars for a single recipe in an open container to keep them together, along with the whole eggs. Or maybe just use a food marker, or a piece of tape, to label each egg as to which batter it goes in so they're easy to grab. You could color code each recipe so you don't have to read the labels. Freezing is different than chilling. If you refrigerate the cakes, they could get tough. Cold causes the starches to tighten, which is what "stale" means. Better to make cakes that can be frozen a couple of days ahead and freeze them (freezing should suspend the starches rather than tightening them, plus cakes can be softer and fluffier after freezing), than closer to the day and refrigerate them. Good luck! That's an ambitious load, but it sounds delicious!

LindaC, you know how fudge gets when it "goes to sugar"? That's kind of how this turned out, and the topping is actually cooked, I thought that would dissolve it sufficiently, but I was mistaken. I'm afraid a longer cooking might just make it worse, and the directions specifically said boil for a minute without stirring, although I thought the small amount might scorch. It didn't, but it didn't dissolve either. Sally, this one is very good, nice and moist, Elery says it's more like quick bread in texture. It didn't really need glaze, although I am seriously considering a maple glaze next time. Wintercat, the texture is very nice, I'd make it again. Islay, break out the apples, this is a good recipe! CC, I mis-stated the name of the magazine, it's actually "Taste of the South". I can't find it on line either, so I'll just type it out, that way I can keep it too! Candied Apple-Pear Bundt Cake 3 cups sugar, divided 1/2 cup cane syrup 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tbls butter, softened and divided 2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced 2 Bosc pears, peeled and sliced 5 large eggs 3 cups all purpose flour 2 tsp ground cinnamon 1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg 1 tsp kosher salt 1/2 tsp baking soda 1 cup sour cream 2 tsps. vanilla extract Preheat oven to 325F. Spray a 15 cup bundt pan with baking spray with flour. Set aside. In a large skillet, bring 1 cup sugar and cane syrup to a boil over medium high heat, stirring constantly until sugar dissolves, approximately 2 minutes. Stir in 2 tbls butter until melted. Add apple and pear, stirring to combine. Reduce heat to medium, cook, stirring occasionally, until fruit softens, approximately 12 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool completely. In a large bowl, beat remaining 1 1/2 cups butter with remaining 2 cups sugar at medium speed with a mixer until fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, stopping to scrape sides of the bowl. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and baking soda. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture to butter mixture in thirds, alternating with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat in vanilla until combined. Reserve 2/3 cup syrup from fruit mixture for Cane Syrup Glaze; set aside. Gently fold remaining syrup and fruit mixture into batter and spoon into prepared pan. Bake until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes. Let cool in pan 10 minutes, remove from pan and let cool completely on a wire rack. Drizzle with Cane Syrup Glaze. Cane Syrup Glaze In a small bowl, stir together 2/3 cup reserved syrup, 2 cups confectioners sugar and 2 tbls whole buttermilk until smooth. Spoon over cake. Cindy, thanks for that very kind offer, but I'm going to Grand Rapids tomorrow and Wednesday, Bud is getting his tonsils taken out and a deviated septum fixed. He's got a neurologist appointment tomorrow. So, I'm kind of assuming they'll have some at Cost Plus/World Market, or one of the specialty groceries they have down there. If not, I'll try the internet. If it's legal, I think Amazon will have it, LOL. I'm definitely making this cake at some time, though, so I'm going to have to get my hands on some before apple season is over.... Annie

I do this once a year at Christmas time. Everyone pays for their own main craft, but I pay for the ornament. The two times we have done food crafts I have bought all the supplies and then they pay me. We did use molds for the chocolates and I bought two of the chocolate melting pots which work wonderful. You put wax or oil in the chocolate to give it a shine, paint the inside of the mold with chocolate and then fill it. Stick it in the freezer for 5 minutes or so and then pop them out. About 3 years ago a gf and I took a chocolate class and this is where I got the idea. Here is my ornament.

I'm with Judi! I need a pre-hug because I am SOOO dreading the whole thing. Hubs is going out east to spend the holiday with his kid and grandkids. I am totally FINE with that, there's not really room for me in the house, and I don't want to take the risk of covid exposure for me and my 90 year old Dad. I don't usually enjoy long visits there anyway, it's a chaotic household so really best if we keep visits short and sweet. Hubs wants to spend a lot of time there, so he'll be happy and I'll be happy. I really can't be away from my Dad for a long, long time anyway, particularly far away. So I would really love and enjoy a quiet holiday ALONE. But on the downside, I will have to be around my Dad, who takes every opportunity to be miserable and remind everyone why they should be miserable, and make issues about things that aren't issues. He'll spend the whole time lamenting that we are "alone" on the holiday, because I guess I am just chopped liver. He'll revisit every death and estrangement and person who ever spent the holidays with us and isn't there. He'll claim he has no appetite and doesn't feel like eating whatever I make, complain that I made too much, and the only thing worse would be if I didn't do anything. He's clinically depressed and refuses any treatment for it. Which is fine, but he needs to make everyone around him miserable too. Oh, and he has a lovely invitation to spend Christmas with his godson, but insists that I have to come too. I don't want to go due to covid exposure and besides I don't even want to go, it's a long drive. They are lovely people but I would prefer seeing them at a time that is less pandemic complicated. But if my Dad wanted the whole Hallmark Christmas scene he could have it there. But he insists on me going, even though I really really don't want to. Frankly having him gone would give me some much needed rest, but he refuses to take that easy route. So now he's off in search of some public party and gathering at Christmas, Lord knows why he feels like he has to do that. I guess a little covid or flu risk is the way to go. We live in a very high transmission area. So I'm just dreading the whole affair because no matter what I do, it will be wrong/bad,/problematic. Hubs and I are having vegetarian lasagna for our Christmas dinner before he leaves. Not sure what else I will make. Probably just a salad and maybe some cranberry pistachio biscotti and tea if I can get the darn things made in time . . . Dad and I will be having cornish hens, sweet potatoes and wild rice pilaf, with an apple bundt cake for dessert. If I don't feel like fussing I might just make a small apple coffee cake in a square pan instead. I love my apple bundt cake but it takes five thinly sliced apples in layers so it's a lot of work. Or I might make cranberry cherry cobbler, that's always easy peasy but also impressive.