Cakewalk in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Pulling into Wisconsin from Illinois, the sign proclaims the state's highlights to include "industry, agriculture, recreation". But what's going on in Milwaukee? Most know it for its relationship to Harley-Davidson and beer, a memorable scene from Wayne's World, and perhaps Laverne & Shirley. Luckily for us, Milwaukee turned out to be a treasure—beautiful, architecturally and culturally diverse, and full of sweetness. Under the watchful eye of the Milwaukee Cupcake Queen and friends, we had the good fortune of trying out some of the city's best. Here were some of the highlights:

Alterra Coffee: You may have heard that Seattleites can be picky about coffee--so it's no small thing to say that the coffee here is excellent. The location we visited, which is very green-friendly and committed to sustainable materials, was very cool too--with an artistic, loft-ish vibe. As for the baked goods? Cake Gumshoe Bob raves about the cookies, especially the espresso variety. Multiple locations; for more information, visit alterracoffeepro.com.

C. Adams: A newcomer on the bakery block, C. Adams is tucked in the Milwaukee public market, which is…well, sort of like what you might expect if the Pike Place Market had a baby. But there's nothing lightweight about these baked goods, which are dense and rich—from the cupcakes (voted the best in Milwaukee!) to the delectable—and heavy as a brick (in a good way) 7th Heaven Bar (compare to the Hello Dolly bar or 7 layer bar). Milwaukee Public Market; for hours and location, visit milwaukeepublicmarket.org  or call (414) 271-1871.

Canfora Bakery: We just dropped in to this location, but the array of goodies—from Italian cookies by the pound to an alluring array of fresh breads to heartier fare like the formidable (and, according to the employee, very popular) Cannoli cake, made us wish our trip was longer. Hours: Tues-Fri, 5.30 a.m-6:00 p.m.; Saturday, 7:00 a.m. – 4 p.m.; Sunday, 7 a.m.-1 p.m; closed Monday. 1100 E. Oklahoma Ave., Milwaukee; 414.486.7747.

Fratello's: Though this is a restaurant, we were treated to some major sweetness here--"Chef Jeff" fixed us up two custom desserts, including a Guiness-infused chocolate mousse with cake and a cherry on top, as well as a devilishly rich chocolate-peanut butter empanada atop a tall glass of apple-spice ice cream (an unusual, but delicious, combination). Various locations; visit supplerestaurantgroup.com for more information.

La Tarte: This sweet little coffee shop had a surprisingly comprehensive array of homemade desserts, including chocolate cupcakes, good-looking lemon bars, and a carb-o-licious bread pudding slice. Hours: Mon-Fri, 7 a.m. – 5 p.m.; Saturday 8 a.m. – 3 p.m; closed Sunday. 6742 Wells St., Wauwatosa; online at latarte.com.

 

Lehmann's Bakery: En route to Milwaukee from Chicago, we saw a sign for Racine and recalled once hearing about a Kringle that came from that fair city. Pulling over at the first bakery (which was not actually in Racine, just along the route to Racine), which was in there it was: the Kringle. Have to admit though--in person it wasn't really a showstopper. The frosted cookies intrigued us far more. Hours: Mon-Fri 5:30 a.m.-6 p.m; Sat. 6 am-6 p.m.; Sun 7 a.m.-2 p.m. 9117 Durand Avenue - Sturtevant, WI 53177, 262.632.4636; or, order online at lehmanns.com.

Cafe Lulu: Ready for pie in Milwaukee? Make sure to stop at Lulu's, according to Cake Gumshoes Sandy and Bob—they carry a mouthwatering array of gorgeous pies, including "the best blueberry pie you've ever tasted". Hours: Mon-Thurs, 11 a.m. - 10 p.m; Fri. & Sat., 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.; Sun., 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. 2261 S. Howell Ave., Milwaukee; online at lulubayview.com.

National Bakery: A pretty generic name for such a delicious spot, which has a gorgeous range of pączki (which seems to be available at a lot of places in Milwaukee), doughnuts, bread, cookies and assorted deliciousness including the cassata, awaited us. Also, proved to be our our introduction to another local specialty which we noticed on the menu--Hard rolls with ham (which sounds not unlike New Jersey's Pork Roll with cheese). Hours: Mon-Fri, 6.30 a.m. – 6 p.m.; Saturday, 6 a.m. – 4 p.m.; Closed Sunday. National Bakery & Deli, two locations; for directions, visit nationalbaking.com.

 

Peter Sciortino's Bakery: Being originally from New Jersey, this spot gave us a sweet reminder of the bakeries back home like Piancone's. We picked up some lovely cookies by the pound for the crew at Taste of Home; more immediately, a "Tutu" cookie (a kind of chocolate and walnut ball of a cookie covered in a frosting glaze) kept us fueled for the day ahead. They also had the fascinating (and delicious) "Skrumptions"--the lovely filled and frosted cookies shown at the top of this guide. Hours: 7 a.m. – 5 p.m. Peter Sciortino's Bakery, 1101 E. Brady St., Milwaukee; (414)272-4623; online at petersciortinosbakery.com.

San Angel Panaderia: When we came across this spot, we thought maybe it was suffering un peu of an identity crisis—not too many places boast "panaderia", "babka" and "pączki" all on the same awning. Nonetheless, this place somehow pulled it off with panache, with cases stocked full of an international array of pastries—from conchas to cream horns to macaroons to scones, they had it all, and it was gorgeous and amazingly (almost alarmingly) cheap—two sweet empanadas and a cookie came to just $1.90 total. Hours: Tues-Sun, 7 a.m.-8 p.m.; closed Monday. 960 W. Oklahoma Ave., Milwaukee; (414)727-9822.


Simma's Bakery: Our only complaint is that they ought to change their name to "Heaven, the bakery". This bakery has won a lot of awards locally--and they're well deserved in our opinion. The caramel-oat bar we got was like sweet manna; the aroma upon walking in made us want to stay for a very, very long time. Hours: Tuesday-Fri., 7.am – 6 p.m.; Saturday, 7 a.m. – 5 p.m.; Sunday, 8 a.m. – 12 p.m.; closed Mondays. 817 N. 68th St., Milwaukee; 414-257-0998; online at simmasbakery.com.

P.S. Wanna know what brought Cakespy to Milwaukee? Hint hint, it has something to do with the magazine Taste of Home...stay tuned in the coming months!

Holey Sweetness: An Unexpected Visit to Shipley Do-Nuts in Houston

Sometimes, when life gives you lemons...well, you know the rest. However, in the recent case of an unexpected 3-hour flight layover in the Houston Airport, it wasn't lemonade, but sweet, sweet donuts that sweetened our day.

We're talking about Shipley Do-Nuts, of course.

Shipley Do-Nuts was founded in 1936 in Texas (when donuts retailed for 5 cents a dozen) – they now boast nearly 200 locations in Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas. While on previous visits to their website we were inclined to rage against the chain as having a contrived sort of nostalgic atmosphere, it must be said—on our visit to the Houston airport, all of the employees were almost alarmingly upbeat, and we were ultimately won over by the old-school packaging—but more importantly, by the donuts. These donuts weren’t extraordinary, but sometimes that’s not such a bad thing--nostalgia is often comfort, is it not? They were certainly solid—our choice, the cherry-frosted (and rainbow sprinkled!) raised donut, was just greasy enough to provide a solid base for the smothering of cherry frosting, which recalled another glorious nostalgic taste memory: the cherry dip coating from Mr. Softee.


While we’re not going to denounce all other donuts in favor of Shipley’s (hey, there’s room for everyone!) we can indeed say that they made our layover sweet, and that we’re very happy to have made their acquaintance.

(Cakespy Note: At the time of our visit, we were not aware of the recent immigration scandal at Shipley’s, so we have chosen to just focus on the donuts in this writeup. Any reader thoughts?)

For locations, visit www.shipleydonuts.com

Parlez Beignet? An Exploration of New Orleans' Famous Treats

Our beignet story began with a brow wax. Now, generally "brow wax" and "delicious pastry" aren't things that go together--but it turns out, the aesthetician was originally from New Orleans, which inevitably led to a discussion about the best sweet stuff in the Crescent City. She waxed poetic about one specialty in particular--the beignet. (Cakespy Note: To avoid potential embarrassment later--it's pronounced "ben-YAY"--in your Frenchiest voice possible, please.)

What's a beignet? The answer may differ depending where you are in the world.

The word beignet itself comes from the early Celtic word bigne meaning "to raise", and according to our French dictionary, the literal translation is "fritter". If this seems simplistic, there's a reason why--according to this site, "In France, beignet is an umbrella term for a large variety of pastries made from deep-fried dough with fruit or vegetable filling". However, though French in origin, the beignet's legend seems to lie in New Orleans, so we like this definition (from What's Cooking America) best:

Beignets, a New Orleans specialty, are fried, raised pieces of yeast dough, usually about 2 inches in diameter or 2 inches square. After being fried, they are sprinkled with sugar or coated with various icings. It is like a sweet doughnut, but the beignet is square shaped and without a hole. Beignets are the forerunners of the raised doughnut. When you hear people in New Orleans say, "Goin' fo' coffee an' doughnuts," they mean coffee and beignets. In 1986, beignets became the Louisiana State Doughnut.

And certainly, even if you've never tried a beignet, you'll recognize it as looking like a cousin to many other treats--at moments close to, but not quite the same as--doughnuts, zeppole, funnel cake, pączki, buñuelos, boules de Berlin...the list goes on.

But back to that pivotal brow wax.

Turns out, the N'awlins-bred aesthetician wasn't pining over the fried treats, for she had found beignets right in Seattle--in the unlikely spot of the Center House in the Seattle Center. The Center House, under the shadow of the Space Needle, isn't much of a destination--it's more of a mall-type food court, not exactly a foodie mecca--but as she had learned, this little spot makes their beignets using the same mix (note: though the thought of a mix might scare off some, the ingredients were decidedly tame--Enriched wheat flour, enriched barley flour, milk, buttermilk, salt, sugar, leavening (baking powder, baking soda, and/or yeast) as Cafe Du Monde, which is probably the most famous of the beignet joints in New Orleans, having garnered mentions in Jimmy Buffet songs and in John T. Edge's donut book, if you're into pastry name dropping (we totally are).

When we went to Cafe Beignet on a Saturday afternoon, there was no line, and we watched the young employee roll out, shape and then fry the beignets to order. Now, we've never been to New Orleans so we don't really have a point of reference--but we can say that our beignets, taken piping hot to go and liberally dusted with a cinnamon-sugar topping, tasted hot, fried, sugary--that is to say, in our estimation, pretty delicious.

In Seattle? See for yourself at Cafe Beignet, Center House, 305 Harrison Street, Seattle, WA; (206) 441-0262.

Not in Seattle? We found this recipe (below) which we're gonna try next time, or you could buy the Cafe du Monde mix at cafedumonde.com.

Beignet Recipe

• 1 cup lukewarm water
  
• 1/4 cup sugar
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  
• 1 egg, room temperature & beaten
  
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
  
• 1/2 cup evaporated milk
  
• 4 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour
  
• 3 teaspoons instant active dry yeast
  
• Vegetable oil*
  
• Powdered sugar for dusting

* Use just enough vegetable oil to completely cover beignets while frying.

Using a mixer with a dough hook, place water, sugar, salt, egg, butter, evaporated milk, flour, and yeast in the bowl. Beat until smooth. If using a bread machine, select dough setting and press Start. When dough cycle has finished, remove dough from pan and turn out onto a lightly oiled surface. form dough into an oval, place in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until well chilled (3 to 4 hours) or overnight.

To prepare dough, remove from refrigerator and roll out on a lightly floured board to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut into approximately 3-inch squares.

In a deep fryer or large pot, heat vegetable oil to 360 degrees F. Fry the beignets (2 or 3 at a time) 2 to 3 minutes or until they are puffed and golden brown on both sides, turning them in the oil with tongs once or twice to get them evenly brown; beignets will rise to the surface of the oil as soon as they begin to puff. NOTE: If the beignets don't rise to the top immediately when dropped into the oil, the oil is not hot enough. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels, then sprinkle heavily with powdered sugar. Serve hot.

NOTE: The dough can be kept for up to a week in the refrigerator - it actually improves with age; just punch down when it rises. Dough can also be frozen; cut and roll, or shape doughnuts before freezing.)

Makes 18 beignets.

addthis_url=''; addthis_title=''; addthis_pub='cakespy';

Cake Byte: Sweet News from Cakespy!

Oh, we're just brimming with sweetness this week! Here are some of the exciting things happening at Cakespy.com:

Sweet Stamps! Our own Head Spy Jessie recently collaborated with Taylored Expressions, a California-based rubber stamp company, to create several sets of rubber stamps! The first three sets, with Halloween and Birthday themes, are making their debut today: Frightful Night, Trick or Sweet, and Sweet Celebration. It was a fantastic experience, and the stamps came out so cute! Now you, too, can create your own cupcake cards and craft projects using these adorable stamps! Each set of unmounted, deeply etched, pink rubber stamps retails for $21.95. To see some of the projects others have made with the stamps, check out tayloredexpressions.blogspot.com; to purchase the stamp sets, visit tayloredexpressions.com!

Going to Chicago and Milwaukee! Next week Cakespy will be headed to Chicago and Milwaukee...deliciousness is bound to follow! Stay tuned for upcoming roundups of all the sweet stuff we discover--and feel free to pass on suggestions!

Totally Sweet! Finally, longtime Cakespy reader and supporter Sue Scara of Piscataway, NJ, is living the sweet life indeed: her recipe for Bubbe's Apple Cake is a finalist for an upcoming "Spreading Smucker's Traditions" contest! Starting September 8, vote for her recipe (below) at smuckers.com!

The recipe:

Bubbe’s Apple Cake (our grandmother’s version of the traditional European-Jewish Apple Cake)

• 1 ¼ cups flour
  
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
  
• ½ teaspoon salt
  
• 4 medium apples, peeled and cut into thin slices
  
• ½ cup Smucker’s Red Plum jam
  
• juice of ½ lemon
  
• 3 large eggs (brought to room temperature)
  
• 1 cup sugar
  
• ½ cup vegetable oil
  
• ½ teaspoon each of vanilla extract and almond extract
  
• A “shake or two” of cinnamon
  

Begin by preheating oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8” square baking pan.

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt together in a mixing bowl. Give dry ingredients a stir and set the bowl aside. In another bowl, combine apple slices, Smucker’s Red Plum jam and lemon juice. Mix up so that apples are coated in jam and lemon juice. Set aside.

Beat the eggs well, either with electric beater on medium, or vigorously by hand. Gradually add sugar and beat (about 2 min.), or mix by hand, till mixture is almost fluffy. Add oil and vanilla and almond extracts, and continue to beat and scrape side of bowl till all is combined. Next, mix in the flour mixture (if using electric beater, reduce speed to low). Mix short time more till batter is blended to uniform color and consistency.

Take just half of the batter and spread evenly in the baking pan. Next, cover the layer of batter with the apple and jam mixture. Then spread the remaining half of the batter over the apples. Give a light shake or two of cinnamon over the surface of the cake. Bake on the center rack till golden (approximately one hour).

After removing from oven, let the cake cool. Cut into squares and serve.

addthis_url=''; addthis_title=''; addthis_pub='cakespy';

Cake Byte: Cookie Poll Winner!

Someone's weekend just got sweeter--and that someone is Allyson A., from Chicago, Illinois! Allyson's name was randomly drawn in our recent Cookie Poll!

Allyson, whose favorite type of cookie is Oatmeal with Chocolate chips and toffee bits and isn't adverse to a little cookie dough eating (but asks that you please use a spoon and not stick your finger in the mixing bowl!), will soon be the proud owner of an original piece of Cakespy artwork!

Congratulations to the lucky winner, and til the next poll...stay sweet!