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I made these over the weekend and they came out great. Everyone loved them. I did use vanilla bean paste instead of vanilla so it had a richer taste, but other than that, they were very tasty. I need to do some work on making them hold together better, but I only had about 1/4 lose their tips. I did discover if I lightly misted the rolls with cold water before pressing with the rolling pins, it helped stick together better.

Whoa, be very careful with this recipe! I was following these instructions, was boiling the corn syrup, butter and sugar. I turned off the heat and added the vanilla, and BOOM, the candy EXPLODED! I was lucky enough to be out of the way.

Follow the instructions on the Washington Post article. They tell you to put the vanilla in to boil, rather than putting it in later.

Otherwise, it's very good so far! That was just a scary moment.

I cooked mine to the temps listed in the Washington Post link, and they turned out super soft, like when I made tall narrow pumpkins out of it within 15 minutes they were short and flat. They didn't hold their shape at all. Next time I'll cook it longer.
pictures here: http://sarahjbakes.blogspot.com/2009/10/home-made-candy-corn.html

I'm so over the heavy, in extremis cakes of my youth. You know, Death By Chocolate, or stuffed with everything you can get the batter to hold--like Hummingbird Cake.

For the past couple years, I've been making white and yellow cakes, with whipped cream or mousse filling and the splendid perfection of impeccably ripe fruit. light, light, light. Citrus curds are yummy, too, as fillings. I usually flavor the batter to complement the filling.

When only chocolate will do, Sachertorte. I've been making it since college, but apricot isn't very popular amongst my kith & kin, so I use raspberry or cherry. Once, as a special birthday request, I filled & iced the cake with Swiss meringue, then dripped a fudgy ganache down the sides. It was an imitation of Max's Cafe "Niagara Falls Cake". It was gone very quickly and well appreciated.

Currently, I'm trying to perfect crumb cake versions: vanilla ("plain"), spice and with fruit. First, mini muffins, then muffin tops.

If you're going to sell by the slice, I would buy pieces of fruit-filled quick breads like pumpkin, persimmon, apple-walnut.

I strongly suggest you develop a killer buttercream. A good cake becomes a repeat, must-have with a well balanced, rich but not overwhelming, frosting. And, of course, you can doctor the flavoring extracts to suit the final product.
My reason for this suggestion is that while I don't make buttecream except as a special request for a special occasion,--because I feel bad about its unhealthfulness--it doesn't stop me from buying a high-end cuppie for myself!

Good luck! a homey bakery is a great idea.

Anything with caramel frosting is amazing. It's good on jam cakes, but I think it would be yummy on a plain yellow cake too.

My friend Wendy's carrot cake with ginger cream cheese frosting. Lots of pecans, carrots and fresh pineapple. They are never pretty but always tasty.

My favorite cake is really a frosting made by Van de Kamps bakery in L.A. I believe the bakery closed about 15 years ago. My mom would buy their birthday cake at Ralph's market for my first 14 birthdays. I love their frosting. Does anyone have the recipe? I would love to make some. Please, if you are part of the Van de Kamp family, send the recipe so I can make it for my kids.I live in Oregon and Alaska now and cannot find a frosting like that!
Thanks

The kind you can eat!

Southern Living's Mile-High Hummingbird Cake is one of my most requested recipes. A true show-stopper.
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1727431

I just LOVE cakes! Nothing too fancy, a good German chocolate cake or my current favorite is lemon cake with lemon curd filling and lemon buttercream icing. Fresh coconut cake that my mom used to make is a sentimental fave as well.

I love the Hawaiian cake with fresh cream topping

@dhorst - thanks for your direction! here i am! and with some nice ideas.... i have to see what i have time for, maybe start something on top of the regular stove and have it simmering on top of the woodstove.... i'm leaning towards a pork stew with tomatillo's .... the cornbread idea is great. i have an old cast iron frying pan that would work really well.... i guess it's not supposed to be that great weather-wise.... even more cozy in my book....

thanks all..... i knew you would inspire me! I used to keep saki in a double boiler on top of the woodstove years ago! sushi?????? and no cooking at all!!!!

Forgive me for a stupid question, but what is it like using a wood stove--I've smelled one, but it was for ambiance, not real cooking. Maybe I've seen one used at an old refurbished home at a museum exhibition, never in someone's house!