W.I.P. Wednesday : Killing you with cute…

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I thought I’d treat you to a little cute today…

Remember when I made the bibs and this doll for my niece? Well, colour me thrilled because her official “doudou” is indeed the little dolly I made her.

You know how you always hope it’ll be the one you made? I’m feeling very special, especially since I haven’t been able to give my little niece a squeeze or a kiss yet…darn Atlantic Ocean separating us!

I sure can’t wait to meet my niece in person! But this little dolly is a great ambassadrice. Ok, enough proud auntie gushing…here’s a little sneak peak at a little something I’m working on :

What have you been up to W.I.P.-wise? Whatever your works-in-progress may be, have a crafty week, and don’t forget to see what the other Wipsters are up to, and to check out our W.I.P. Wednesday Flickr Pool, too.

Vegan Apple Strudel! It’s the May Daring Bakers Challenge!

This was a very fun challenge to make. I must admit I was a hair daunted when I printed out the three pages of instructions, but once I saw that everything was broken down I knew it would be ok, plus I had help :

Guppy kneading the dough.

I was prepared for a real struggle with the dough, but was amazed by how easily the dough rolled out to paper-thinness. It was a real pleasure to work with. There was a little tearing and a few holes did develop, but they were hidden once the strudel was rolled up.

Rolling was the best part!

We had a great time rolling the strudel up – Guppy was a giggle machine and kept trying to sneak apple slices.

Just out of the oven…

Look at those delicious apples!

Here’s the fine print before I forget :

The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.

I must say I was a bit disappointed with the final product. As I was preparing the bread crumbs I found myself thinking that there were an awful lot of them…but not being a terribly experienced pastry chef I didn’t listen to my instincts (which told me to half them) and followed the recipe. The strudel’s crust was light and flaky and just what I’d hoped, but the apple filling was really quite dry. I think that the breadcrumbs soaked up all the goodness…that’s just my theory. It was edible, but not as fantastic as I’d hoped. My big lesson learned this month : follow your intuition and you’ll have nothing to regret!

Thanks so much to our hostesses this month for choosing this recipe! I’d never made anything like it before, and it was fun, educational and delicious! And don’t forget to check out the other Daring Bakers, too!