JujyCakes

Sheep Generation 2?

2012-01-05T09:02:00.002-05:00

Kind of scary- eyeball staring with no bodies, yet...

So the classic, G1 sheep is on the left. G2 is on the right.

Waiting for a new home

Every flock has one black sheep!

It's been a while since I took an order for sheep cupcakes.

They are so cute and fun to make! AND very labor intensive.

Each little head is sculpted by hand, ears placed and eyes set.

Depending on how the pupils are colored in AND how steady

my hand is feeling, well some of them stare at you, look

quizzical or kind of look angry. Angry Sheep?

It's funny to see all their faces

all together, since it appears that each one has a personality

of their own. I KNOW this sounds crazy...

G2 sheep is a bit easier and takes out the labor of cutting mini

marshmallows in half, since each sheep takes at least 50 halves.

The marshmallows on G2 are just finger-squished till the centers

are flat and they look like a Cheerios with a solid hole.
Call me crazy but they work, and have more texture to them.

What do you think, G1 or G2?
They taste the same and just look more FUN?
You can let me know...

Well, I finally did IT!

2011-12-31T00:25:00.004-05:00

Well, it's the end of 2011 winding down, and I finally decided to put up a Facebook page for JujyCakes
If anything it can help me confirm that my talent is worth fighting for and going after my passion.

Together but separate...

2011-12-28T08:50:00.000-05:00

These are mine...

and these are Erika's!

Erika and I still do things together although we are 3000 miles apart. This Christmas, we both were making Pretzel chocolate caramel pecan delights within days of each other. See mine are up top, and Erika's are the ones with the dark chocolate enrobed caramels...yummy, all the same.

One day, one Holiday soon, hopefully we will be in the same place, same kitchen making tons of these "candies", cookies and treats for Santa and friends.

Happy Holidays, and here's to a bright New Year 2012!

Food gifts this year for Christmas-

2011-12-23T23:52:00.001-05:00

Every time I make these, they remind me of my friend Liz, who made them and brought them to one of our Holiday prep meetings. I was thrilled with something so simple and easy to make...who knew that Rolos
( which I WISH would come in DARK chocolate!!!), pretzels and pecans would be so great!
I just have to have my dark chocolate and drizzle away...before placing them in their little gift bags ready to give away to some happy foodie like me!
Plus they're just so darn cute, don't you think?

Hub's 56th Birthday goodies!

2011-12-23T16:54:00.000-05:00

YES, I am still baking! It's a challenge to do it in the kitchen I use, but as long as I get into the "groove"
-it's a joyful and happy thing for me. Hub turns 56 on Christmas Eve, and as long as we have been together, there is a conscious effort to separate birthday from Christmas. He wanted Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cherry cookies, and I said NO...I can make cookies and scones for him any day. He is a chocolate monster...he LOVES chocolate...and I thought I was baaad. Nope, a day without chocolate is a day without sunshine for him. We have bowls of dark MM's, dark Dove, and there is a Lindt dark chocolate reindeer sitting on his nightstand next to a Weck jar filled with dark covered almonds, cherries and blueberries...
do YOU THINK he LOVES chocolate?

Anyhow, since we are traveling tonight to family, it was important that these got made. I just got a new batch of Pernigotti Cocoa, and tweaked my one recipe...subbed sour cream for the buttermilk and added a tsp of espresso powder to make the cocoa sing! I had to taste test a misfit cupcake, and I must say the cake is AWESOME!!!

I filled them with a truffle recipe made with Guittard bittersweet chocolate pastilles, heavy cream and unsalted butter, then they were topped off with caramel meringue buttercream and vanilla meringue buttercream with Valrhona dark chocolate crunch pearls...the house wafts of dark chocolate, sugar and butter. If we weren't ready for a birthday before , we are now!

Happy travels wherever you may be going, be safe and enjoy your families and GOOD food :-)

Truffle filled Dark chocolate cupcakes with meringue buttercream

It's not a mound of mashed potatoes...really...

2011-11-20T20:48:00.001-05:00

Well, this was a last minute order. I was out having a catch up / net working lunch with a friend and my brother calls needing a carrot cake for a dinner party in 30 hours. More details, and I find out that the guests, who this cake is for, have had my carrot cake. Last year, I sent my brother with my filled carrot cake cupcakes as a house gift. The husband apparently LOVES carrot cake and thus, a request for the carrot cake again.

No extras like last year. No nuts, no pecan creme filling, no orange zest in the cream cheese frosting...oh, my creative heart. No, no...this simple, beauty has 3 layers of moist carrot cake filled with layers of caramel cream, (luscious, buttery sugary, heavy cream vanilla goodness) topped with vanilla bean cream cheese frosting and a gentle sprinkling of cinnamon.

I had a taste of the trimmings, just the cake with a lovely mug of hot tea...and it's great when it's naked. I'm confident that it was decadent in all it's glory.

Yup, still baking and having fun when I can get it. More stories to come...

Sunset...

2011-11-15T22:30:00.001-05:00

Well, this was last night around the neighborhood. It caught the corner of my eye. It was so beautiful and so powerful. It made me stop and think: I had a gratitude moment. What are you grateful for today?

Baking takes away spinning thoughts...

2011-11-13T22:01:00.001-05:00

This afternoon was a get away from all the thoughts that keep spinning in my head. After getting all the ingredients together, (just how many times can one go to the store in one day?), I decided to make some pumpkin muffins with streusel. Finally had all the software mise en place, hardware...well, let's put it this way, I can do with the minimum, AND off we go.

This is a simple one bowl process that does not require a mixer...well, I used the food processor for the streusel. Cinnamon all the way around since I'm not a big fan of pumpkin pie spice...they made the house smell good and made those thoughts disappear for a brief moment or so.

Streusel Pumpkin Muffins

1 ½ cups AP flour
1 ½ cups AP whole wheat flour
¼ cup sugar
¾ cup brown sugar
1 T ground cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp kosher salt
1 can of canned pumpkin
3 eggs
½ cup plain yogurt
½ cup canola oil

streusel:
¾ cup AP flour
¾ cup brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 stick unsalted butter

Pulse flour, sugar, cinnamon and butter for streusel in food processor till it resembles coarse sand.

Set aside in bowl till ready.

Prepare 2-12 muffin tins lined with cupcake liners for 20 muffins.

Preheat oven 350° F. In a large mixing bowl, whisk dry ingredients together- flours, sugars, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another medium bowl, whisk 3 eggs with pumpkin, oil and yogurt. Add wet ingredients to dry, mix gently till combined. Using a #20 disher (3T), place 1 scoop of batter into each liner. Sprinkle streusel mixture on top of batter. Bake in 350°F oven for 18-25 minutes till toothpick inserted comes out clean. Do not overbake. Cool in tins for 15 minutes before taking muffins out and placing on cooling racks.

Enjoy!

PS> These are a dense, moist muffin due to the whole wheat flour...stay tuned pumpkin cupcakes are coming soon, with butter pecan filling with cream cheese frosting...soon...

JujyCakes' photostream

2011-11-02T20:55:00.001-04:00

JujyCakes' photostream on Flickr.

I love CHOCOLATE!

2011-11-02T12:06:00.000-04:00

It's November 2nd, there are only 3 pumpkin scones left in the house. It means it's time to bake more goodies so Hub has something to eat for breakfast or snack with his big mug of tea. There are so many biscotti recipes out there, that I made a hybrid of the one from David Leibovitz, former pastry chef from Chez Panisse and another one I found on the net.

Chocolate Biscotti

1/2 stick unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp Godiva chocolate liqueur
2 cups AP flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa * use the best you can find, I happen to LOVE Pernigotti cocoa!*
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup chocolate chips * white, semi, bittersweet,...whatever you love*
1 cup nuts * almonds, walnuts, pecans,...whatever you love*

In a large bowl, sift flour, cocoa, soda, powder and salt, set aside.
Cream butter with sugars, mixed in eggs and add extracts. Add 1/2 flour mixture to wet ingredients, till mixed in. Add remainder with chips and nuts, mix till well blended. Gather into a ball, split into 2. Roll into
2- 9"x2.5" logs. Place on parchment lined sheet pan. Leave 4" between each log. Bake at 350°F oven for 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven. Cool at least 1 hour.

Take cooled cookie log and gently saw ( use a bread knife for this, please) on the diagonal, 1/2" slices of biscotti. Place these on another parchment lined sheet pan, and bake at 325°F for 8-9 minutes. DO NOT OVERBAKE. Let these completely cool before putting in a storage container.
OR...dip them into dark chocolate for even more decadence! ENJOY!

Fall is for pumpkins...

2011-11-01T22:31:00.000-04:00

Considering that we had snow this past Saturday, it was only fitting to bake something warm and wonderful that would be great with a BIG mug of tea or coffee. This is one of the easiest scone recipes I have, and so easy to mix it up. These yummy goodies are pumpkin scones with Ghiradelli semi sweet chocolate chips, chopped pecans, and Demerara sugar, ( and there's a stick of butter + some 2% Cabot vanilla yogurt).

These are one of Eric's favorites with a piping hot mug of Brioche black tea to get him started in the mornings, especially the chilly ones we've been having lately.

Hmm, they're almost gone...I'm thinking about making some chocolate biscotti next time. Stay tuned.

Pumpkin Scones

2 cups AP flour ( I love King Arthur flour!)

3 Ts sugar ( you can use white or brown, I used brown for these)

1 stick unsalted butter cold

1 T baking powder

1/2 t baking soda

1/2 t kosher salt

1 cup chocolate chips ( you can use what you like, semi sweet, bittersweet...I prefer Ghiradelli or Guittard)

1 cup nuts, rough chopped ( again, use what you prefer, personally I LOVE pecans!)

1/2 cup canned pumpkin ( just the pumpkin sans spices, NOT the pie filling stuff)

1/2 cup 2% Cabot greek vanilla yogurt

Preheat oven to 375°F, and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

If you have a food processor, add the flour, sugar, powder, soda and salt to your workbowl. Cut up the stick of butter into 1/2 slices and scatter those in the workbowl. Pulse all these ingredients till the mixture resembles coarse sand. ( you can do this in a large mixing bowl with a pastry cutter or 2 knives if you don't have the hardware.) Dump this into a large mixing bowl. Add chips and nuts, mix lightly with a fork.

Add pumpkin and yogurt. Mix with fork till all the ingredients come together. Gently form into a ball, and pour out onto the counter, lightly floured. Gently knead 1-2 turns...DO NOT OVERKNEAD! (they'll be tough, and they need to be flaky, tender crumbly goodness!) Form into a circle about 8" diameter and 1½" tall. Cut into 8 wedges. (* note: you can brush milk or egg wash on top of these and sprinkle with Demerara sugar for added texture and crunch )

Place onto lined sheet 2" apart, bake at 375°F for 18-20 minutes or till golden brown.

Remove from cookie sheet and place on cooling rack...eat them warm in about 15 mins...

when the chocolate is warm and gooey.

Save in an airtight container for about 3-4 days, IF they last that long.

Extra tasty when rewarmed in a microwave for about 10 seconds to go along with that mug of tea or coffee. ENJOY!

Goodbye old friend, ...

2011-11-01T22:14:00.000-04:00

Well, the day has finally come to say goodbye to my Cuisinart DLC-7E. We’ve been friends ever since we met on Christmas Day, 1981. Santa left you under my tree along with Erika’s first Christmas presents that year. It’s hard to believe all the wonderful things we’ve done over these past 30 years!

You helped me struggle with making pie crusts. You held up beautifully with all the watermelon granita I kept making, and all those frozen pieces of melon banging against your lexan workbowl #1. After a while after all the “ice”, I had to buy a new workbowl#2 for the powerful motor, that would allow me to cut up tons of veggies, chop chocolate, pecans, and my favorite making scones, scones, and more scones. Nothing blends cold butter into flour like you, my friend.

Alas, your workbowl has broken in places that will not allow it stay attached to the base, and the electrical connection isn’t as tight as it used to be when you were younger. I tried to find a replacement workbowl #3, feed tube, sleeve and new metal blade, but alas, for $154, it’s time for us to part ways.

You have served me well, and I have a feeling the new friend is not going to last me another 30 years like you did. We made one last batch of scones together. Your parts although broken and worn are washed and ready to go; it’s time to take a rest. You will be missed.

Erika's 30th Birthday Cake!

2011-10-21T22:38:00.000-04:00

It's amazing that I was able to complete this cake! I miscalculated the amount of buttercream I needed and had to make 2 batches. I wasn't working with a turntable so the cake had a bit of a tumble and needed to be righted. All in all, it finally was completed in the wee hours of the morning and settled into the fridge.

It was a 6 layer dark chocolate cake...with Grand Marnier syrup to keep the layers moist, with Maman framboise preserves and TONs of fresh raspberries with vanilla orange meringue buttercream...just as the birthday girl requested.

Hope to be baking soon...stay tuned for more goodies, soon!

I sound like skipping CD...yes, I am still baking!

2011-10-02T19:27:00.000-04:00

Yes, I am still here and still baking. I don't get to bake very often any more, since circumstances have changed AND it's a HUGE challenge to bake where I am for now...This wonderful FALL weather has me cooking comfort foods, like the PERFECT roast chicken...a 7-pounder that is easily enough for 2 meals.

So what to do? Make pot pies! Make a velouté, which is just chicken stock thickened with a roux (butter and flour) with some seasonings- a little salt, a little pepper, some thyme and parsley. Toss with braised leeks and sauteéd mushroom, and the diced chicken. Top off with REAL puff pastry, you know the kind, it's only made with butter, flour, salt and a bit of water.
Bake at 400° F for 30-35 minutes or till golden brown. YUM...
You can add any type of veggies you like...but since Hub is allergic to Vit C, we avoid potatoes since they are like 45% C, thanks to Mother Nature.

Fall baking also includes pecans...apples...cranberries. Well, at least this day it was pecans. The pecan tart is like having a small piece of pecan pie, just a bit less complicated. Oooey, gooey, butter pecan caramel goodness poured into a buttery crispy crunchy shortbread crust. Trust me, a little goes a LONG way!

Baking this week made me happy and creative. I have missed that, and will need to figure out what to bake this coming week. Hmm, what should I make next?

Dream a little dream of me...

2011-07-27T22:11:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since I've been baking again. ( seems like an un-ending saga, huh?)

I miss it. I miss the creativity and the getting lost in a recipe, similar to readers that get absorbed into a good book that takes them on an adventure and somewhere else from where they are. I miss that feeling since I have not been able to really "bake" in my current situation. The kitchen where I am now, is full of hot morning sun, and I am lucky if there is 12 square feet of working surface space. Actually I should say, there is a 3' x 2' space and another one. Two small spaces make it very challenging to bake anything.

A request came my way last night giving me a day to get it all together. Find all my tools, clear off some space and find the coolest part of the day to bake the cupcakes. Check. Assemble, box and wrap to go.
Everything is stabilized this go round, since there is no extra fridge space to keep these cold...
Yet, cool is fine, so the buttercream will stay soft and fluffy...
and when this thank you gift is received, the recipients can dig in whole heartedly to dark chocolate cake laced with espresso and mocha liqueur, filled with a whole raspberry filled with raspberry mousse with the super soft vanilla meringue buttercream pillow topped with another raspberry and sparkling sugar.

Thank you for letting me have a creative day today- for you to share tomorrow.

Yes... I am still making cakes, and other things...

2011-06-09T16:10:00.001-04:00

Well, it's been a while and I am always forgeting to snap a picture. This one was already in the box, waiting for pickup. This goodness was needed for a retirement afternoon tea. I thought a golden butter cake would be the ticket, and soaked the layers in orange blossom syrup, layered with handmade zesty lemon curd and more fresh raspberries. The delicious goodness looked beautiful a la Miette- style, but thought it needed the vanilla-lemon meringue buttercream to hug the layers then topped them with more raspberries, sugar pearls and sparkling sugar.

I don't know how many more cake orders I will be taking for a while, since I am working in a very small kitchen, and my workflow is not what it was or should be. Baking is causing more stress than it should since I love to do it and enjoy all the creativity- just not in this kitchen.
Stay tuned...I still see scones, tarts and cupcakes in my current situation. Yum Yum!

RIPE strawberries don't travel...

2011-06-06T15:20:00.001-04:00

Hi, yes, I have been missing in action for about 5 weeks. I was helping family in California.

They are so LUCKY; there are farmer's markets almost everyday where you can buy the fruits and veggies at the peak of freshness! Such is the case of STRAWBERRIES...there are no white shoulders on these babies...and they bruise so easily just from walking home with them to the house. Basically all you need to do is wash and towel them dry, take the stems off and ENJOY! That being said, I made a couple of things with strawberries. This is one- a pâte briseé lined with semisweet chocolate layered with vanilla pastry cream topped with fresh strawberries glazed with red currant jelly. This beauty was dessert, then breakfast!

A few weeks later, another strawberry tart with rhubarb, and then strawberries with some orange zest, Grand Marnier and of course, homemade whipped cream laced with vanilla & orange blossom extract over delicious bakery made sponge cake!!!

So the lesson learned in all of this eating, eat those fruits and veggies from the farmers at the peak of freshness and seasonality! Don't eat those white shoulders since these berries are definitely worth the wait! Now that I'm back on the East Coast, I'm on search of those ripe berries again, and no longer will settle for anything less.

What's your favorite strawberry recipe???

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T20:57:00.000-04:00

This was my Mother's Day dessert this year. I made pate brisee in a lovely Matfer tart pan, but since I am not in my own kitchen, the crust shrank with out pie weights. Still buttery and crisp, but short on the sides. Still architecturally sound, I melted semi sweet chocolate to line the inside of the shell, and layered that with vanilla pastry creme, and piled up the red-ripe juicy berries.

It was a first Mother's Day for my daughter and my first as a grandmama...though i am called Jujy, just like my baking, JujyCakes.

THANK you, Martha Stewart

2011-05-07T20:31:00.000-04:00

My flock of Sheep!

I know I have not been writing as much as I can. I've been busy moving and settling in. In this day and age of multiple email addresses- I hardly look at my Yahoo acct...and imagine my surprise today! I am a winner in the Martha Stewart Cutest Cupcakes 2010. There are 20 other winners as well, and I am slide #4!!! The little black sheep is missing on the picture BUT I know that he is sitting there on the sheet tray with all his other friends.
I have a brand new CUPCAKES cookbook, which is a good thing since my copy has a broken binding, stains and lots of love notes with tweaks! Hope you enjoy looking at the gallery AND for those of my friends and family, who have had my flock of sheep to eat, THANK you for enjoying them and supporting my JujyCakes business!

my Flock of Sheep

My Dog is trying to kill me...

2011-02-26T09:11:00.001-05:00

We just landed home after being away for a week taking care of a family member. Kirby (aka Albert- his name at the rescue) is a quirky little guy who has anxiety and separation issues, AND loves his people. All very cute, yes? Well, sometimes.

Kirby didn't adjust well to being "somewhere" else for a week. The first day/ night- bathroom issues- seriously how many times can you go around the block, up hills and down to get those little doggie systems going? Meanwhile, neighbors must think I'm crazy telling the dog to find "a spot". A spot of what? We went around the blocks at least 7 times that day. Nothing happened as far as I could see. Kirby on the other hand was smelling every place some other dogs had been and marking those spots- seriously how much can his bladder hold to do that? A little here, a little there... I didn't want to get into the bathroom functions, sorry.

Maybe he would be happy if I baked him some doggie treats, hmmm there's a thought....
Stay tuned.

Birthday baking

2011-02-15T20:55:00.001-05:00

Yes, I am still baking! These are dark chocolate cake filled with dark chocolate truffle & dulce de leche, topped with vanilla bean meringue buttercream and an Éclat mendiant. I made these for my brother who turned 49! on Valentine's Eve. I can't believe he's that old already. I just don't remember him getting older. It's like I remember him at 42 and that's it. Wonder how that happens? How old are you? and how old do you FEEL?

More baking..

2010-11-29T00:23:00.000-05:00


Yummy!

This gem is for a birthday girl. It's golden buttermilk cake filled with 60% dark chocolate ganache, topped with vanilla whipped cream, with Eclat reserve mendiants- http://www.eclatchocolate.com/ and Valrhona dark chocolate crunch pearls.

Thank goodness for pointy chopsticks so I could place those pearls on and around the cake, one by one by one....

Promise to be back soon!

2010-11-23T09:22:00.000-05:00

Tis the season, and I'm back to baking this week for Thanksgiving. I have a few orders for the Cranberry Frangipane tarts and for a layer cake. Perhaps more cupcakes and a few other goodies. Just got back from LA, and spent some wonderful time with family and one on the way. Stay tuned, I'll be posting more goodies this week...

Oh, dear- time to catch up

2010-10-13T07:39:00.001-04:00

It's been a while since I last posted and you can see the reason why. Let me introduce you to our newest addition to our family; this is Kirby Albert. We adopted him in June after meeting him at All 4 Paws Rescue in Chester Springs PA. He was found in a high kill shelter in Kentucky, where he had been for over a month.

He's a funny little guy. We think he's part wire haired doxie with some terrier in there. He has the cutest little overbite and keeps us laughing for sure. Needless to say, there has not been the flurry of
baking like in the past, since it's been interesting juggling doggie day
camp with a full time job and baking when I can.

I am looking for another new chapter as of Friday, when I was told of restructuring, etc. My former employers are spinning it as a "mutual decision" and "resignation", when all truth be told- I was let go because of the owners personal decisions and preferences unrelated to my job performance and contributions to their company.

Looking forward to baking and creating, and for a brighter future yet again.

Mother's Day weekend!

2010-05-08T07:43:00.000-04:00

Yes, I am still baking!

2010-04-23T06:42:00.000-04:00

I just looked at the date of the last time I was here! I have been remiss in keeping you posted as to my baking. Well, I am not baking as often since I am working again full time at a great studio near by, more on that in a minute.

This lovely is a deep, dark red velvet cake layered with semisweet chocolate ganache and more of the vanilla meringue buttercream. I really like this cake recipe since it uses full fat sour cream, rather than buttermilk or vinegar. It still uses a good amount of red coloring and I like using the gel coloring rather than the liquid. AND I tend to use more cocoa powder and cut back just a bit on the flour so have a stronger chocolate note in the cake that marries well with chocolate ganache. The cake is really moist and tender. I will need to make these into cupcakes soon, too.

SO I am not baking everyday anymore, more like once or twice a week. It's hard to juggle baking a layer cake during the work week, since everything is started and made from scratch. I find myself starting at 6 pm at the earliest -waiting for eggs, butter and liquids slowly coming to room temperature so I can begin to bake the cake. As the cake is baking, I can make the fillings what ever they maybe, citrus curd or chocolate ganache, and patiently wait for them to cool or chill. AND when the cake is cooling, working on the buttercream! Once all the components are cool and ready to go, I find myself layering about 10pm or so...waiting for 25 minutes for the "skim" coat to harden, now it's creeping up on 11pm and by the time I am wrapped up, it's midnight. AND time for bed.

I still really enjoy making my one of kind creations...and hope to find more time and balance in keeping this important time in my crazy schedule! It's 6:41 am and time to start my day...
Happy, sunny day!

Our new morning alarm...

2010-03-28T11:56:00.000-04:00

It's finally Sunday, and it's been a long week for Eric and me! We were looking forward to a quiet Sunday morning, lingering in our jammies, sipping tea and coffee...but oh, no...we have a little, rather BIG fellow creating his own beat of a drum. Take a look....

See him? He looked like he was about 18" long with that red hat on top. He was just banging away at the tree, looking back and forth for creatures that would pop out with all the vibration he was generating. There have been several family members in the trees lately...
Now if only they could get together and play percussion...with a beat.

Birthday baking!

2010-03-25T23:23:00.000-04:00

It was my mother's in law birthday on St Pat's day! Now we don't eat green food but we do LOVE chocolate! I'm so glad that both of our families LOVE chocolate!

These yummy goodies are made of dark chocolate cake. The crazy recipe with tons of cocoa and buttermilk. I filled them with 60% dark chocolate ganache and topped them with chocolate meringue buttercream. You can also see some sparkling sugar and Dutch dark chocolate sprinkles for additional texture in the mouth. They were loved by all and devoured in minutes...next time I need my sister in law to take a picture when we slice it in half and you get to see the lovely pocket of filling inside wrapped around with cake on the bottom and buttercream on the top...delish!

oh, it's been a while...

2010-03-18T01:00:00.001-04:00

Wow! It's been a while since I have been here. Things have changed. I am working again full time for a lovely jewelry design and production studio, AND I am trying to keep my little baking business going as well. Baking on the weekends seems to be working out. I am finding that it's a bit harder to be baking on a "school/ work" night. Sunday baking into a Monday seemed okay...the Thursday baking into Friday nearly killed me. Nothing was working. The carrot cake was sliding, the frosting was too loose, oh the calamity of it all- so much so that I had to make another batch of frosting ( or "spackle") in order to hold the cake in place and in shape! Let me tell you the fun I was having at 2 in the morning. I finally got to bed at 3am for that gem.

Which leads me to my last cake, which is why I am still up and letting you see and updating you on what has been going on with JujyCakes.

More to come about the juggling of JujyCakes with my new full time job, I am getting too old to be burning the candle at both ends---time for bed for now...

I guess you really shouldn't put 52 candles on a cupcake?

2010-02-21T20:49:00.000-05:00

Look at these delicious goodies!
These are dark chocolate cake with chocolate mousse, topped with vanilla meringue buttercream, sparkling sugar and chocolate filagree hearts.

My sisters in law celebrated their birthday a week late since the snow storm tossed a wrench into everyone's plans. AND my in laws also were uprooted from their home since their heating system went as well. We were finally able to celebrate in a toasty warm house with a roaring fire, a delicious lunch and good times spent with our family.

Still baking...

2010-02-19T06:59:00.000-05:00

Friends and family have been asking IF I am still baking and working on JujyCakes...the answer is YES! This has been an interesting couple of weeks with the snow, and getting re-adjusted to being back in a full time job, especially since this "forever" home is Monday through Friday. I can't remember what it felt like since it was a long time ago when I was a buyer. Even that was not Monday thru Friday, since there were trade shows to go to and traveling across the country and across continents.

BUT here we go, more chocolate...

These goodies are dark chocolate cake brushed with mocha Kahlua, filled with dark chocolate mousse, topped with whipped cream, shaved orange dark chocolate and Valrhona crunch pearls...

A birthday gift for Elaine at the design studio. Do you think she likes or loves dark chocolate, like me???

Grateful...

2010-02-13T20:20:00.003-05:00

It's been 2 weeks since I last posted. I have a new "forever" ( I hope! ) home with a wonderful jewelry studio close to home. I joined the team and my newest family on Monday, 8 feb 2010; and have been enjoying the fun, new friends and creativity everyday. It is a wonderful change from retail.

I am still baking, not to worry...but on a more limited production schedule. I guess I should update my profile soon.

The blizzard has tossed a wrench in everything, but more yummy pictures are coming real soon. Till then, try and find our Weber grill, fondly called "mr. Minty"...he's looking more like a s'more these days and so much for our winter grill fests.

MANY thanks!

2010-01-25T20:58:00.000-05:00

I am so lucky to have Rachel at the Cupcakes Take the Cake as a fan of my baking FUN-employment!
Please take a look since the Valentine's Day cuppies made the spotlight again!

http://cupcakestakethecake.blogspot.com/2010/01/valentines-day-cookies-on-cupcakes.html

Valentine's Day ideas

2010-01-24T20:16:00.004-05:00

I have been so busy juggling baking and working at the Jewelry studio, that I completely forgot to update for the Holidays...specifically Valentine's Day. It's already a busy weekend- my brother and niece share the 13th as their birthday, and it's New Year's on the 14th- Year of the TIger. So here's what I came up with in the last few hours...

These are red velvet cakes filled with dark chocolate custard, topped with vanilla meringue buttercream, accented with sables
with royal icing,

red sanding sugar and sugar pearls...for those who want the red and white theme.

I also was inspired by Martha Stewart Living Feb 2010 issue, and love the sophistication of the dark chocolate filagree hearts. It is suggested that you trace a heart shaped cookie cutter on parchment and trace...BUT I love the free handed "drawing" I can do with the chocolate and have some asymmetric hearts.

It's 21 days to Valentine's Day...enjoy the view!

Thinking spring and summertime...

2010-01-12T22:50:00.002-05:00

I was thinking it's time to think about Spring even though it's like 18 degrees outside with a wind chill of something cold and crazy!

These are "pina colada" cupcakes- coconut cake filled with pineapple/rum (just a tad) filling topped with vanilla coconut meringue buttercream with toasted coconut. I still didn't recreate the photo set that my brother was kind to do for me. With all the Holiday stuff, I had to take it down- so the photos are needing some tweaking.

Finally, I can show the finished one, the "peel" and what the insides look like. Of course I had to taste it! It's nice not too sweet, slightly chunky with the pineapple and pleasantly chewy and crunchy with the toasted coconut, and creamy buttercream and nice crumbs in the coconut cake. The only ingredient I forgot to add in, was some lime zest...oh well, maybe next time, but where? in the filling or with the frosting? Do you have any thoughts?

A time it was, and what a time it was, a time of...

2010-01-06T13:49:00.000-05:00

You wondering what kind of title is that?...Actually it's the first few lines of the Bookends lyrics by Simon and Garfunkel. This delightful gift box of goodies went to the Bookend Cafe as a "test". Test to see if the clientele would like a dessert like this and a test to see what they would pay for such goodness.

These gems are dark chocolate cakes made with sour cream and cocoa, filled with dark chocolate mousse and raspberry puree, topped with vanilla meringue buttercream, sparkling sanding sugar with a Valrhona crunch pearl. The Valrhona pearls are "crunch" covered in Valrhona dark chocolate that my daughter, Erika sent to me from LA, la land!

She is able to shop this WONDERFUL store that used to be Surfas aka Culinary District, which is a chef, gourmet cook and baker's delight. I really wish there was something out here that was like it. Everything out here wants your license number, tax number, etc, etc, etc...but for those of us just getting started- we have lots of desire, appreciate all the wonderful ingredients, have some monies, but can't get pass the gatekeepers. What a poor business mistake!

Anyhow, keep warm- rumor has it there is more snow on its way!

Cbocolate, chocolate, chocolate!

2009-12-31T16:42:00.005-05:00

Imagine my eagerness to meet a client's challenge!

Tired of "Death by Chocolate" cakes- I was asked to make a chocolate cake that I would love to eat. Hmmm, moist dark chocolate cake with sour cream, melted chocolate and cocoa. Dark chocolate ganache with a blend of 60% cocoa bittersweet chocolate and semi sweet with a touch of espresso, vanilla extract and Godiva liqueur. Dark chocolate mousse ( because who does not love whipped cream!?) with the same blend of chocolates. Yet this was not the "classic" chocolate mousse...whipped cream folded with dark chocolate custard.

Egg yolks cooked with light cream and whole milk, poured over the chocolate blend, then gently folded into the whipped cream, YUM!!!

Layers of cake with raspberry puree, ganache, mousse...that's my idea of the perfect chocolate cake! AND with the leftover ganache? Truffles, of course, rolled into Ghiradelli cocoa, till I can order more Perignotti cocoa...

Delightful, tasty, heavenly. I would like to make individual cakes the next time around, though I do love to see the tall slice filled with all those scrumptious layers!

Still baking...

2009-12-26T21:41:00.002-05:00

My husband's birthday is on Christmas Eve. We try very hard to keep it separate from the Holidays, and this year it just seemed to merge into all the activities. My in laws asked if JujyCakes would bake his cake this year!

The birthday cake is usually a spice cake, and in keeping with the theme made this!
It's a 8 inch by 6 layer cocoa spice cake with pecan creme filling and brown sugar meringue buttercream with DeRuyter dark chocolate sprinkles and Eclat Reserve blend mendiants.
I tweaked a recipe and added Ghiradelli cocoa, cinnamon, ginger and a smidgen of nutmeg. The cake is moist and has a good crumb texture, and since I love spiced hot chocolate, thought the chocolate would be a great addition to all the cake flavors.

Oh, those mendiants! Eclat Chocolates in one of my favorite chocolatiers, that is close to home. It is artisanal chocolate at its best.

"I love the story behind mendiants: the word means "beggar" in French, and is related to mendicants - religious orders that relied on charity, or begging, for income. Mendicant orders originated in Europe in the Middle Ages; it is from there that the classic image grew of the poor friar who has given away all his earthly possessions and lives off the charity of the faithful. The original chocolate mendiants had as their toppings four fruits and nuts meant to symbolize the colors of the robes of the four major mendicant orders of the Roman Catholic Church: almonds (Carmelites), hazelnuts (Augustins), dried figs (Franciscans), and raisins (Dominicans).
Further fascinating information: those four fruits and nuts are part of the 13 Desserts of Christmas, part of the Christmas tradition in Provence. At the end of the big Christmas dinner, thirteen sweets representing Christ and his 12 apostles, are served to finish off the meal. Honestly, 13 Desserts sounds a lot more appealing than the 12 Days of Christmas! The thirteen sweets can vary but usually include the four aforementioned fruits and nuts, dates, nougat, and more recently, a Yule log. (It's delightful the delicious information you dig up while doing research for a book on candy!)"

( thank you, Anita Chu @ http://dessertfirst.typepad.com )

Holiday Bake a palooza time!

2009-12-24T16:10:00.003-05:00

WOW! I woke up on Wednesday morning at 5am and went to bed on Thursday at 3am. I was elbows deep in flour, all kinds of flour, chocolate and lemons...I had baking elves who assisted in cutting marshmallows, zesting and juicing lemons and keeping up with all the dishes- so I could keep going with all the production. Thank you to the elves!

I "upgraded" the 2 layer cake orders from 4 layers to 6 layers with a moist lemon cream cheese pound cake with Meyer lemon curd and lemon meringue buttercream. Since they were "blank" canvas, I colored the butter cookie dough and made holly leaves, and used raspberries. I love lemons and raspberries together.

Also made dozens of cupcakes, carrot, chocolate, golden, coconut, brownies and several fillings, pecan, coconut rum, lemon curd! It takes longer to make all the components then the final assembly AND there is a limited amount of what you can do in advance. There are several cupcake bakeries that are making the "blanks" in advance, putting them in the freezer and pulling them out to frost right before the delivery date! AARGH, that is not baking to order! and I question the "freshness" and texture of the cakes.

Everything was picked up by 11am today, and now it's time for napping and relaxing,
then it's time to do some last minute gift wrapping of stocking stuffers and waiting for Santa!
Hope that everyone's Holiday is filled with magic, joy, hugs and something sweet.
Happy Christmas!

SNOW, I want to wash my face and hands in SNOW!

2009-12-20T11:45:00.001-05:00

Well, well, well...

Take a look at what happened here yesterday! It just kept on snowing and who knows when it ended but WOWIE, we now have a white Christmas this year!

Just wanted to share the scenery, and I'm off and back to baking- the oven is beeping at me, so TTFN.

I've been busy...

2009-12-12T20:35:00.001-05:00

What a week this has been!

I had an unplanned trip to the ER, after 8 hours of testing- was asked what plans I had for the weekend, and was wisked upstairs to the OR for an emergency appendectomy.
Getting back into the swing of things has been challenging. Had an interview this week, and baking up a storm for the 3 cakes that you see, those were due on Wednesday. More baking for Thursday, since Thursday was a full day with a funeral and then Friday- working all day in a nearby studio and having FUN!

My spirit is willing, my body, well, that's another story. Here's to more rapid healing! Hard to believe that Christmas is 13 days from now. So much to do and limited time!

I promise to be better about writing, sorry for the stretch of time.
More baking adventures coming soon!!!

Generation 2 for Holiday Tree Cupcakes, yes, please.

2009-12-02T23:53:00.000-05:00

Okay, welcome to G2 of the Holiday Tree cupcakes. I was not really happy with G1, it was too plain, not enough whimsy and design. The cake got a bit more Grand Marnier and orange extract. The cake is now filled with Grand Marnier custard with a bit of orange zest + the meringue buttercream has Godiva liqueur. I used a larger tip for piping so the mound looks cleaner and more controlled but overly so. The biggest change was in the cookie, added swags with royal icing + a yellow star as the topper. I think they look better and taste great, DELISH, as my husband said as he scarfed his up as a late night snack.

What do you think?

Thanks again to Cupcakes Take the Cake!

2009-12-02T17:50:00.000-05:00

Many thanks again to the folks at Cupcakes Take the Cake for spotlighting my baking again. Imagine my surprise to see all the uploaded photos of all my "projects" that I was working on yesterday! It's crunch time for me to get a "tweaked" Holiday menu out to all my friends and followers, since Holiday entertaining is in the air for all of us in less than 3 weeks for Christmas (let alone any Open House parties with good cheer and good food!)

Take a look, I promise you won't gain any pounds from looking, though a friend of mine would love to have some "smell-a- vision" with every posted goodie...can you imagine???!?!

http://cupcakestakethecake.blogspot.com/2009/12/tis-season-for-holiday-cupcakes.html

Turkey at School

2009-12-01T09:53:00.000-05:00

The 24 turkeys made it safely to school and had no casualties. ( Their necks were breaking as I was trying to gently coax them in to their boxes AND had to do emergency surgery!)

Good reports that the kids loved them and there are pictures of them trying to "scare" their turkeys and devouring them. For the security and privacy of the children, those photos can not be published.

It does my heart good to help with the kids. No child should be hungry at school and while these treats are a meager offering- their tummies won't growl for one afternoon so they can concentrate on getting excited about learning new things and new ways to look at things. It's amazing to hear stories about their PoV- remember when you were 7 years old and how you viewed the your world?

My next baking day for them is right before Christmas; I wonder what fun things I can come up with for them!

Cakes, too!

2009-11-30T16:54:00.000-05:00

So here's the beauty I was working on last night for this morning's delivery. There are some who think I am only doing cupcakes BUT yes, I enjoy making cakes as well!
Provided they don't involve fondant ( just not my favorite), since I think the whole thing needs to be deliciously edible. Provided it doesn't need to look like a cookie cutter of an earlier generation. As long as all the ingredients are there, and the whole things tastes great...I like that it can be a creative outlet for me...on how and what I pipe and how I decorate the whole thing- since I like to think that each cake is a gift to you.

What did your family have for Thanksgiving?

2009-11-27T23:16:00.000-05:00

Happy after Thanksgiving to all and to all- I hope you had good desserts! Several of you have asked what did your family have for dessert after the fabulous turkey dinner? After baking on Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday...I have to admit that I don't have recipes that only bake a dozen at a time...my recipes are usually 18-24 per batch. My family reaped the benefits of the extra "blanks", seen here.

From the left you see, dark chocolate cake filled with raspberry puree, topped with chocolate silk frosting. Pumpkin cake with pecan creme filling, topped with vanilla cream cheese frosting- some with chopped pecans, some with a leaf shaped sables cookies. There are a few coconut cake with rum custard with a coco vanilla meringue buttercream, as well as brown sugar pound cake filled with chocolate custard with Godiva liqueur, topped with vanilla meringue buttercream and Dutch chocolate sprinkles. There are carrot cupcakes with pecan creme filling, topped with vanilla cream cheese frosting AND pumpkin cakes fllled with chocolate custard, topped with coconut meringue buttercream with toasted coconut.

They were loved by all and quickly devoured, and some made it in care packages on to go paper plates.

I have a week to breathe and then it's time to think about December! Stay tuned for those Holiday ideas for the JujyCakes Holiday menu!

How much do I love these...sables!

2009-11-19T20:47:00.000-05:00

I REALLY, REALLY LOVE a wonderful butter cookie! There is nothing more delicious than butter, sugar, flour and a bit of salt. I have tried nearly everyone's recipe for butter cookies or sable. I tried the recipe in Paris Sweets and countless others. BUT I recently acquired PASTRY by Michel Roux over the summer and was intrigued by his recipe and technique. The technique is as if you were making pasta. Your fingers literally learn about the texture and feel as the fingertips gently, yet firmly massage the butter into the flour/ sugar mixture.

I have always done the "sanding" in my food processor, but I think from now on I will do the sabler by hand. It's a wonderful tactile experience.

It's time to snack on a few extras that aren't needed for a recipe...yum.

A reason to be Thankful

2009-11-18T20:30:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine has been searching for a lost greyhound that was rescued by a lovely 70 w/o woman. With the temperatures in the mid 30's the last few evenings, Greyhound friends have been setting "live" traps in an effort to find the 13 y/o dog. The group of rescuers are worried that they may find the dog too late since the area includes a huge 6 lane highway. I hope that the rescue goes well and that the dog will be found soon- it's been a week so far.

On another note, another friend who recently had major surgery is healing and getting stronger everyday! She is now completely cancer free! THAT Is something to be very thankful for!

YUMMY, warm Apple Cranberry Tart goodness

2009-11-13T10:08:00.000-05:00

Wow, it's 13 days till Thanksgiving! Here's close up of an Apple Cranberry frangipane tart...it's still warm, and I'm not sure if I want to brulee the apples or leave the beautiful contrast of the Gala apple skins and flesh with the cranberries. It's cloudy here today, so I'm still getting the hang of the tungsten lighting and metered flash that my brother was so kind enough to leave with me to practice.

I am so grateful for all the orders I have coming up for the holiday. I have 5 orders due on Tues and 5 orders due on Weds before the holiday so far. All JujyCakes friends have menus and know that the deadline for goodies is Thursday , the 19th- since my production schedule is limited. There is only one of me! Though I was thinking that I could prep weighing all the ingredients per recipe at least in the dry parts.

Anyhow, one day of rest till 3 orders for Sunday, that need to be delivered to Jersey City, NJ. It's a special favor to a friend and business acquaintance who spent 3 weeks with me in Morocco so many years ago. I'm really looking forward to seeing her and catching up.

Keep dry in this Nor'easter...can you imagine if it was all SNOW???

Here turkey, turkey, turkey...

2009-11-05T09:19:00.004-05:00

Thanks again to Rachel, Nichelle, Stacie et al at Cupcakes Take the Cake for the spot light of my turkey cupcakes!!! It is so exciting to see my work shared with others who share the creative passion in baking.

Please take a look at what everyone else is doing in the cupcake world. http://cupcakestakethecake.blogspot.com/2009/11/5-turkey-cupcakes-for-thanksgiving.html

Happy Fall!!!

PS. Please send good karma, thoughts and prayers to my close friend who had major surgery and is now cancer FREE! She loves cupcakes and all things chocolate, too!

what do you call a "group" of turkeys?

2009-10-30T22:42:00.000-04:00

You call them a "rafter"! These are dark chocolate cake topped with a vanilla/ brown sugar meringue buttercream, toasted coconut and handpainted pate sablee cookies. I used gel food coloring with vodka ( not the Grey Goose!) to paint feathers on the tail cookies and used royal icing for the eyes and the wattles. The wattles dripped appropriately, so each and every turkey has their own personality!

I thought the vodka was a great, unusual paint mixer. The vodka evaporates quickly so the cookie surface doesn't get soggy. Some turkeys have a nice fan of feathers- I'll need to work with the proportions so I can have the consistency of tempura or gouache.

Now, I'm thinking what else can I do...sheep, turkeys, what's next?

Thinking of the hOlidays

2009-10-28T20:17:00.000-04:00

I was thinking about what to do for the Holidays...

More carrots and more cakes

2009-10-24T21:56:00.001-04:00

I wonder why I keep ~~making~~ being requested to make carrot cakes. There are so many variations out there, that one could find a good one in a bakery, a "gourmet" supermarket...at this point I think I've made 2 layers, 3 layers, 4 layers and 6 layer cakes.
Is it the homemade pecan creme filling? I could eat it out of the bowl with a spoon and it's good warmed up on ice cream :-)
Is it the cream cheese frosting? Mine is butter, sugar, cream cheese with your choice of vanilla, cinnamon, orange, lemon, maple- maybe that's it!
In stores and bakeries, you don't get to ask if special requests can be considered.

On my way to better pictures!

2009-10-23T19:17:00.002-04:00

OK! My brother kindly and gently told me that I could be taking better pictures for everything that I am trying to publish. I am the first to admit that photography is not something I'm good at. I am good at visuals, but I'm the kind of person that is touchy, feel-y...so staging and propping to take a picture? Not so much...

One would have thought since our Dad was a professional photographer and graphic artist, that some of this talent would have come thru our genes. I may have gotten some of the graphics genes; my brother Matt has the graphic and photography genes.

We (he) spent hours setting up the lights and set, and took over 70+ pics on my Canon A2000IS and on his Nikon D90. His Nikon is a gem, and maybe one day,( IF I get better at this) I could consider something more. BUT since I am a novice at best, we found all the right settings for me to recreate better pictures like the ones you see- that were taken with my Canon. They're not retouched yet, but they are a world better than everything I have going so far. HEY, I'm new at this!!!

I took copious notes, and have to be on the search for better props that will highlight the baking. I am looking more closely at the work of great food blogger sites like, Food Gawker, Matt Bites, Smitten Kitchen...

so...stay tuned and thanks for your patience- I promise that there will be better pictures real soon!!!

YUMMY!

2009-10-20T10:33:00.000-04:00

This was a dreamy cake to put together for a friend. Golden coconut cake with 1.5 cups of coconut milk, homemade coconut pastry cream, raspberry puree with a touch of lime. The coconut was light, so I topped it with vanilla meringue butter cream with toasted coconut and fresh berries. I think I'll switch this up a bit more and do a key lime curd- like raspberry lime rickeys. OR more coconut rum- I don't think I'll go for the pineapple-not particularly fond of pina colada.

More baking thoughts- making this into cupcakes, yet raspberries are really expensive to decorate with and puree. Re-doing lemon squares into pomegranate squares?
and more sculpting...

I'm tired today after helping my "friends"

2009-10-17T11:33:00.005-04:00

I donated some goodies to help some friends with the annual Fall fundraiser at West Chester Friends School. I got carried away and in typical "over- achiever" fashion, made a lot and made some mistakes along the way since I was "getting" tired. I made chiffon cakes but I must have overbeaten the batter since those "exploded" in the pan and texture was borderline "sponge". I made a batch of dulce de leche brownies and completed them frosting and all BUT when I tasted them...I forgot the sugar!!! ARRGH, wasted 2 pounds of butter and nearly a pound of chocolate. FINALLY got into the groove and made pumpkin chiffon cupcakes (24), re did the brownies (24), brown sugar pound cupcakes (24), carrot cake, 36 butter cookies (cutouts, no less), 13 sheep heads and 25 pairs of eyeballs from gum paste and royal icing. AND to top it all off, since there was a "cakewalk" today, made a 3 layer carrot cake with all the trimmings!!!

YEAH, I don't know what I was thinking! Stayed up till 2:30 am, working on my brochure and line list, only to have left that at home when I was making the delivery.

YEAH- that's what I get from drinking decaf on Friday, what was I thinking!!!

Anyhow...maybe it's a good thing the weather is so "wintry", so I will hunker down and stay put!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=162357&id=807147500&l=5a00f07de6

Thank you, Cupcakes Take the Cake!

2009-10-13T22:57:00.000-04:00

Take a look:
http://cupcakestakethecake.blogspot.com/2009/10/spotlight-on-jujycakes.html

I am so thrilled that Rachel et al at Cupcakes take the Cake wanted to spotlight what I have been doing! It's a huge compliment to be included in their blog along with all the other fabulous cupcake bakers out there! One day soon, I will have my own bakery.
If Duff can start his business out of his apartment...then there's always hope for my JujyCakes! Right?!

It's Fall, but the hibiscus are still blooming...

2009-10-12T21:42:00.000-04:00

Isn't this bloom wonderful? Hard to believe that this beauty was soaking up the sun at the Bethany Beach!

It was a great weekend Oct 3/4 at the beach. Great weather for bike riding, exploring and naps on the beach. We were there for the Harvest Moon and it was the biggest, full moon we ever saw. It sat on the horizon and rose above the ocean. The moonlight was amazing.

per Wikipedia In times past this feature of these autumn moons was said to help farmers working to bring in their crops (or, in the case of the Hunter's Moon, hunters tracking their prey)UGH. They could continue being productive by moonlight even after the sun had set. Hence the name Harvest Moon.

Sheepish, aren't they?

2009-10-06T22:04:00.000-04:00

Hi, back from a mini break in Bethany Beach, DE. Much needed for my husband and me, since this year has been such a roller coaster ride. It was the first time in years that I did not feel the need to communicate...well, it makes a difference since I still am searching for that next "job" or should I say passion?!

The day we left, I had 2 orders to fill. A carrot cake and a 1/4 sheet cake for a baby shower. They are expecting a boy and thank you, Martha Stewart- came up with this for the cake. I didn't have the patience to pipe a lambs head so I played with some marzipan and made little faces. I think that they look a bit more like puppies, but I think I'll work on my sculpting skills and play some more. I don't think I'll ever put some of those crazy things on cakes like I've seen, and much prefer the "cute" factor.

Sheep, lambs, who knows what else can be placed on a cake...

It's leftover night

2009-09-28T08:16:00.018-04:00

After the Gaga birthday cake, I had all this left over frosting and I hate to waste it all, especially when there is premium butter, cocoa and Ghiradelli chocolate involved. There I am rifling thru all my cookbooks and oh, a cupcake I have never baked...Peanut butter cupcake! Mind you the PB is hard as a rock in the fridge, since it's natural and so is the butter, and the eggs are really cold. I read that you are able to bring the eggs to room temp pretty fast by putting them in a bowl of really warm water for about 10 minutes. The recipe said I would get 30 cupcakes, not sure how...is that like loaves and fishes?...
I only came up with 23. *sigh*

I went thru the "black and white" butter cream (it's vanilla meringue butter cream with chocolate syrup), then the vanilla butter cream and then the dark chocolate butter cream. I didn't want to do another complete bag set up so just filled the nearly empty bag up. I loved the effect of the one you see pictured here, and won't be able to recreate it for, say a batch of 24, but you can see the progression of what was happening in the pastry bag.

My lucky "guinea pig" friends at Scott Honda had these for breakfast this morning. Hope they enjoyed chocolate and peanut butter with their cups of coffee. Not too bad of a start on a Monday morning, don't you think?

Birthday Cakes, anyone?

2009-09-27T04:35:00.002-04:00

Who knew that when I took the latest order that I would be writing with icing? This is a 6 layer dark chocolate cake filled with vanilla pastry cream and raspberry jam, covered with vanilla meringue buttercream and B&W meringue buttercream. Or that's what I call it since it was a light handed addition of dark chocolate syrup (thank you, Ina Garten) for color. I LOVE an all white cake, but thought that the outside should somehow reveal the surprise inside?

Anyhow, then there's the writing. I have been a calligrapher for years and love pen and ink. This was something new and completely different. I made a dark chocolate buttercream and loved the contrast in colors. I even practiced my lettering on 2 large sheets of parchment paper after tracing a circle on it. I thought, omg, if my writing was too big and did not fit the top of the cake. There are no erasers or starting all over- it was a one shot and that's it.

My husband reminded me that I had to move me or the cake to a better spot to have the best angle to write. I chose to leave the cake where it was AND perched myself on my kitchen stool "above" the cake. As it was, one of the "p" closed up and had to wait an hour for the thing to harden up in the fridge, so I could surgically removed it with a paring knife and icing palette knife. (Oh, said husband said I should always have toothpicks around to help with the extraction process or unclogging the round tips since they get clogged IF the icing is too thick...seriously with a pound+ butter , that buttercream should flow like thick olive oil!) so there it is...letters are still a bit wobbly, but all in all not too bad for the 1st time out.
And I think I will do more practising, since I love to write in Chancery cursive, instead of modifying roundhand...I'll try to remember to post these adventures later on....

Remember I have the hardest time trying to remember to take pictures :-)

PS. I don't know who "Gaga" is...it's not Lady Gaga, for sure.

In a hole

2009-09-21T16:06:00.001-04:00

I have been in a "hole" in the last 9 days. The house we are living in needed some tender loving care for a water leak, a surprise repair, a new appliance. Things needed some attention and all is good again.

Baking is still at the forefront for me. Helping friends with baking and baking for friends. I had an order on Saturday morning that was started at 9pm on Friday night that kept me going till 2am on Saturday morning. BUT don't they look pretty...the order was for 36 and I made 40 yummy, delicious treats.

I made "healthy" muffins for a friend who teaches 2nd grade. There are kids who are still coming to school hungry due to family circumstances. Share Our Strength is currently running their campaign that no child should be hungry! I agree, no kid should ever be hungry. It's hard enough being a kid, and how can you study at school when your tummy is growling that it is empty.

Thank goodness, it's Saturday!

2009-09-12T08:01:00.003-04:00

It's been a busy week. I had my car serviced for it's 15K scheduled maintenance, only to be asked if I have a price for the "kaab el ghzal"- the gazelle horn dessert cookies that I made for a friend who is celebrating/observing Ramadan. Of course, I stumbled over my words, not knowing what that would be.

On the day that I first tried the recipe, the kitchen was hot as hell, the dough was so tender, that I could barely assemble 3 cookies and had to return the dough to the fridge to with every try. I think I got 32 cookies that day over hours of working with the dough, and the paste. They were delicious, tho- light, buttery, sweet with a taste of orange flower water. It reminded me of my times in Morocco with Moustapha Sebbeh and Barbara Eigen, so many years ago.

Anyhow, feeling up to a challenge. I went home to find that I did not have enough orange flower water to complete the recipe. Panicked, I started searching on line and racking my brain- on where did I find the stuff in the first place. I called around all the usual places, and finally found a plethora at The Fresh Market in Glen Mills. I bought 6 of A.Monteux brand and Nielsen-Massey. BTW- they are very different. The A.Monteux is flowery, perfumery and light. The NM is full of alcohol, then the notes of the bitter orange. Hmm, extracts/ flavorings is very much like perfumery...

The kitchen gods must have been with me on Thursday! I zipped thru the recipe, the dough worked like a charm ( with some tweeking) and produced 36 beautiful cookies. All the same shape, size, great consistency in design and presentation (if I say so, myself) AND of course, I forgot to take a picture! I had 2 anxious buyers for them as soon as I called my husband, and they were delivered right at the cusp of sundown.

Cereal as a topping?

2009-09-08T23:43:00.000-04:00

here they are! an homage to the recipe in MSCupcakes...vanilla chiffon cake filled with dark chocolate custard, topped with vanilla meringue buttercream with multi nonpareils, Fruity Pebbles and a cutout butter cookie! Happy Sweet 16!

Here are some of them...

2009-09-06T22:46:00.062-04:00

Rich chocolate brownie filled with dulce de leche, topped with brown sugar meringue buttercream dusted with cocoa

Dark chocolate cake filled with pecan coconut creme, topped with dark chocolate silk frosting

Dark chocolate cake filled with dark chocolate peanut butter mousse, topped with chocolate meringue buttercream with Dutch chocolate sprinkles

Dark chocolate cake filled with raspberry spoon fruit, topped with vanilla buttercream and raspberry

Carrot Cake # ?

2009-09-06T22:34:00.000-04:00

*sigh* wow, Friday really kicked my butt. I baked and assembled 7 different kinds of cupcakes and baked this 4 layer 8" carrot cake that was headed to West Chester University for the President and VPs. Heard that they loved it all, which did my heart good.

Every carrot cake looks different and I should take pictures of every one that leaves me. Right now, I'm having fun playing with the tips and pastry bags IF the frosting cooperates. I find that I have to frost, fridge, frost, fridge, till the whole thing gets done. I have the AC cranked up SO my poor husband is sitting on the sofa wrapped in on of our wool throws wondering when I'll be done. Soon? He just shoots me one of "those" looks. I just can't get the kitchen cool enough or maybe because I'm just not working fast enough with the crumb coats, the final frost and decos. I'm hoping that in time ( and if the frosting would be the "perfect" consistency) that my proficiency will be much better.

More tools and living in the forest

2009-09-01T19:58:00.000-04:00

Today, we found out that the garage has had small snakes in it. Not sure what kind, thank goodness they were dead and dried up BUT the thought of them being in the garage makes me unhappy. Of course, my husband chimes in with the pest control tech to remind me that there are Eastern Diamondback Rattlers probably in our backyard! I will be screaming with no sound coming out of my mouth if I ever cross paths with those things. I also found out that the deer will eat grapes and green beans today. They pick up their heads to listen to you, but don't really care if you are 8' away tossing food at them. They need those cartoon bubbles above their heads..."oh, look, it's that crazy lady trying to sneak up on us", " oh, now what is she throwing at us?" "you give us grapes, and now you're tossing us veggies, what's up with that?" The joys of living on a mountain.

I picked up "Rose's Heavenly Cakes" today at B&N. It's a wonderful book and I love how Rose talks to you in the book giving you all her helpful hints. So today, I took the plunge and ordered a food scale in an effort and "leap of faith" of weighing all the baking ingredients instead of scoop and leveling. According to Rose, once I try it- I will never go back again. I hope so- the scale weighs as little as 1 gram to 6,000 grams and is coming from OK by the end of the week. Oh, good- one more thing to have on the counters, AND one more thing as a "business" expense.

I hope all my efforts are not in vain. I would really love for my little bakery business to take off and fly. It would be so wonderful, and I would be so happy.

2009-08-30T22:56:00.003-04:00

I wanted to work with a buttercream, or a frosting just with butter, milk and powdered sugar. I baked up a batch of Devils Food cakes from the Magnolia Bakery cookbook, and tweaked a "buttercream" frosting recipe. A good friend of mine, who knows that I LOVE chocolate gave me a bar of Belgian dark chocolate with cassis (black currant). The flavor and aroma is chocolatey and very berry, in a good way.

I filled these with the "SuperFruit" from Trader Joes, that has Morello cherry, blueberry and pomegranate in it plus some chocolate sprinkles for good measure.

Then I made just "plain" ones, no filling and I thought I would frost them by hand. The buttercream was soft though not melting and did not give me the swirly definition I was looking for.

2009-08-30T10:20:00.000-04:00

Please bear with me as I get used to blogging and how this formatting works. I have a composition in my head as I try to put this together. I hope I will learn more about this as this will be a journey in something new. Thank you in advance for your patience as I work this all out...it could be really funny as stumble through or really pathetic! C'est la vie, n'est-ce pas?

2009-08-30T10:16:00.000-04:00

I don't always remember to take pictures along the way or when the finished items leave the house for the orders. This hit or miss is not helping me compile the menu/brochure that people are asking for.

Here are some of my production pictures of lemon buttermilk cake. This recipe made a alot of cakes, standard, jumbos, minis...

and trying to get used to my point and shoot digital camera has been an interesting journey. My husband keeps reminding me that I should "really" read the manual so my pics won't be blurry...so sorry for that :-)

How to keep busy? Keep on baking-

2009-08-29T22:17:00.004-04:00

I keep on baking to fill up my days while looking on line and
sending out resumes and cover letters to find yet another "retail" job. The more I bake and create, the more I come to the realization that I don't think I want to do that anymore.

There were dark chocolate cakes with Godiva chocolate mousse topped with creme fraiche dusted with cocoa.

AND then I started to work in frangipane tarts, with bleuberries, apples and nectarines

AND brulee'd the tops.

More baking

2009-08-29T14:22:00.014-04:00

More baking and the chance to see a professional pastry kitchen. The facilities have not been used for over 4 years and all the materials are long gone. In its day, all the breads and pastries were made on site. It has large proofing oven, convection stacks, standing Hobart, mid size Hobart and marble working benches. It is all a bit over my head right now, but perhaps one day, I can be working in an environment like it and call it my own.

Since this was a meet and greet, I decided to follow up with a tasting portfolio of the pastries that I make to let them know that I am more than just a hobbyist.

Something NEW

2009-08-29T13:25:00.000-04:00

This was the beginning of my summer vacation and one of many "grail quests" as my husband calls them for me. I was determined to master Kouign Amann, a wonderfully, delicious, pastry from Breton. It's this lovely, buttery layer bread with caramelized sugar. These are salty- sweet and great right out of the oven, and are so good! David Leibovitz, even commented on my FB page that "Those look great! Kudos!"