Thursday
Mar062008
Cake Byte: Sweet News from Cakespy
Thursday, March 6, 2008
They say that when it rains it pours, and certainly there's a lot of sweetness in our world these days at Cakespy. Here's an update on some sweet things that we just had to share:
First, the BIG HUGE NEWS: our Head Spy Jessie has a grand new illustration gig! Starting in the April 2008 issue, you'll be seeing Cakespy illustrations in...Taste of Home! Taste of Home is a pretty awesome publication--they just joined the ranks of nationally audited magazines, entering at #9 – one step AHEAD of OPRAH and one step behind SPORTS ILLUSTRATED--this ranking officially makes them the #1 Cooking Magazine in the World, with over 3.2 million (no, we did not stutter) subscribers, and 250K copies of it on the newsstand each issue. Holy sweetness! But don't buy it solely for the Cakespy artwork--they also have some pretty awesome recipes, which come from a pool of over 90,000 reader submissions each year, and which are all tested in their in-house kitchen. And, did we mention they also have the coolest art director ever, who just so happens to be a cupcake lover in her own right, and author of the awesome Milkwaukee Cupcake Queen blog?
Chocolate Orange Macaroons
Makes 2 dozen cookies
1. Using a serrated bread knife, finely chop the chocolate. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine the coconut and zest, and rub together with your hands. (This will break up the coconut and release the orange oils.)
3. Stir in the sugar and chocolate to the coconut and mix to combine. Add the egg whites. Use your hands to mix until everything is coated and the egg whites are distributed evenly.
4. Using a 1-oz cookie scoop, firmly pack the dough into the scoop and unmold about 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown. Remove to a wire rack to cool.
The foregoing is excerpted from The Sweet Melissa Baking Book by Melissa Murphy. All rights reserved. Copyright © Melissa Murphy, 2008.
- Press/Praise: What sweet times! Cakespy was recently featured on some great sites: Bakerella, a wonderful blog by an incredibly talented and artistic baker, featured Cakespy artwork; the Seattle Times mentioned the "groovy" Cakespy artwork shown in Sugar Bakery+Cafe; Chicago-based Hungrymag.com featured our interview with Claudia Saraniecki of Babushka Bakery; Seattlest, a cool media and pop culture blog, featured our writeup on the Pink Frosted Cookie; Culinate called out our Sweet Sandwiches Project; and don't forget to check out the interview with Head Spy Jessie on Cherry Runway. Like Whoa!
- New Bakeries! We've recently been tipped off to the opening of a few new bakeries; let us know if you've tried 'em! First, Cake Gumshoe Matt informs us that Georgetown Cupcakes in Washington, DC has just opened its doors; Sprinkles Cupcakes continues to spread sweetness with two new locations: a new store in Scottsdale, AZ is scheduled to open later this month, and a new Palo Alto location is slated to open up later this spring or early in the summer (for more information or precise locations, visit sprinklescupcakes.com). Out of Chicago, Whole Bakers is taking their gluten-free goodies nationwide with a newly-launched website full of shippable treats; the lemon shorties caught our eye. In Los Angeles, while Cake Monkey still hasn't found quite the right retail space yet, they are currently available for custom orders of darling little cakes (and homemade pop-tarts!!) from their commercial kitchen space. Or perhaps you're in Dubai, you jetsetter, you? Well, they're not brand-new, but they were new to us: Cake Gumshoe Kristin spied Scrumptious, a cupcake bakery whose wares are available by special order and at the Dubai Marina Market every Friday. So you don't have to go cupcake-free in Dubai! Whew! Cakespy Note: While some are opening, some are closing: New York Cupcakes in the Westlake Center in Seattle appears to have closed its doors, at least at this location. Judging by our last experience there, we say good riddance.
- Perhaps you're looking to buy Cakespy artwork? Happily, there are now several spots to buy: if you're in Seattle, Venue now carries Cakespy original artwork and buttons, and original paintings are for sale at Sugar Bakery+Cafe. In the Midwest? Happily, a new shipment will be heading out soon to the Renegade Handmade Store in Chicago! If you're in NYC, don't explode with pleasure, but rumor is that we'll be showing at the Renegade Craft Fair this coming June. Of course, artwork and custom work is always available through jessieoleson.etsy.com. Cakespy Note: Additionally, if you were one of the many disappointed parties who wanted to buy the original Valley of the Cupcakes painting, cry no more: a limited edition of prints is available!
- Finally, if you've ever visited one of the Sweet Melissa Pâtisseries in Brooklyn, you'll know why we're so excited about their brand-new cookbook! If you haven't had the chance to visit one of their three adorable Brooklyn locations, make sure to put it on your agenda for your next trip to the city; in the meantime, the nice people at the Penguin Group were nice enough to share a recipe to whet our appetites for what promises to be a delicious book (available at amazon.com):
Makes 2 dozen cookies
- 6 ounces best-quality solid semisweet (58%) chocolate
- One 14-oz. bag sweetened coconut
- Zest of 1 orange
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 large egg whites
1. Using a serrated bread knife, finely chop the chocolate. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine the coconut and zest, and rub together with your hands. (This will break up the coconut and release the orange oils.)
3. Stir in the sugar and chocolate to the coconut and mix to combine. Add the egg whites. Use your hands to mix until everything is coated and the egg whites are distributed evenly.
4. Using a 1-oz cookie scoop, firmly pack the dough into the scoop and unmold about 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown. Remove to a wire rack to cool.
The foregoing is excerpted from The Sweet Melissa Baking Book by Melissa Murphy. All rights reserved. Copyright © Melissa Murphy, 2008.
tagged breaking cake news
breaking cake news
Reader Comments (60)
Congratulations Cakespy! Where is the celebratory cake?! =)
I am so proud of you J! So so happy for you and so well deserved. Guess I am going to have to Taste of Home!
world wide cuppy!!!
Congratulations!!! You are so talented, and you deserve ALL these great opportunities!
Congrats, buddy! I'm so proud of you. Will raise a toast to you tonight.
I'm so glad you like the video.
And congratulations on your new gig. That's so cool. I think it's just the beginning of many new adventures coming your way.
Dang, Cakespy! You rock! I'm so happy for you and wish you much success.
Thats HUGE! Congrats to you on all your success. Love the video!
I subscribe to Taste of Home. They feature some great recipes. Congratulations! I look forward to seeing your work in the mag!
Jessie,
Karma, baby, karma.
The Bakerella video is fabulous!
Wow, Congrats! That's amazing! As a fellow artist, I can only imagine how elated you must be!
Thats a great news and achievement,.....congrats :)
WHat great news!!! how exciting....there's always room for sweetnesssssssssss!
Cheers,
Diana
Great news!! Best!
Congratulations!!! That is a wonderful news and we are so happy for you :)
congratulations! yay for you:)
Wow! that's a great gig, good for Jessie!
Krysta: Yay, I hope you're enjoying it!!
Stickygooey: Thank you!! I was thinking about you and your Girl Scout cookie confection--check out this funny drawing I did: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cakespy/2317915202/thought you'd get a smile out of that
Veron: Oh wonderful! We went to the Park Slope bakery for the first time this December and it was lovely.
Melisser: Maybe it could give you good ideas for things to veganize! Although I am not sure if it's quite that easy :-) Probably not :-)
Mango Power girl: Yes! I am going to make a comic and dedicate it to you!!
Natalie: Thanks! I would love to read your articles for these awful trade publications by the way. At the company I work at we get stationery ones. They're almost so bad they're good.
Veron: Thank you again!!
Anticiplate: Ditto--everyone else should check out that article about you in the Seattle PI ! Wow, famous girl.
Oiyi: Thank you so much!!
Alicia: Thanks, the illustrations keep life sweet (though not as sweet as chocolate easter treats!)
Julie: No way! It seems like they run a pretty tight ship there--I am very impressed by them.
Slush: Thanks!! It sounds like you've gotten some praise (well deserved!) too lately!
Vegan Noodle: Thanks!! I think taking over the world with sweetness is noble, right?
Gigi: Thank you!!
Obsessive Foodie: You know that we're still just Gumshoes from the block.
Marq: Thanks!!
Gattina: Thank you so much, you are too kind!
Tizzalicious: Thanks! Maybe now we can earn some money and buy some of that cute monster stuff you featured!!
Dogfaceboy: thank you! Did you ask about the buzz balls?
Cakelaw: thanks! And let us know if you test the recipe. Sweet Melissa is cute-as-pie and their baking is quite good. Maybe some cake tourism when you're in NYC next??
Amy: thank you!!
Asha: Great! Yes, it's a great mag, isn't it?
Ann: Thank you so so much!! New Yorker next? :-)
Cupcakelady: Thank you so much! Here's to spreading the love of cake.
Happy Cook: Thank you, you are too sweet!
Rural Vegan: We got celebratory packages: double chocolate vegan cookies from Celine of Have Cake Will Travel (she's an angel!) and beautiful goodies from the Sweet Tooth Fairy. We have a fascination with pastries that can be shipped!
Bethany: Thank you!! Your kind words always mean a lot to all of us.
Bonnie: Yea! Isn't that video just incredible?
Kari: Thank you!! So happy to see you're doing well too!
Hunter: You rule. Thanks!
Bakerella: Thank you so much! Thank you a million times over for the video. Made my day. Month. Year! I shared it with EVERYONE--my mom nearly peed her pants with excitement. (sorry, I suppose that was TMI).
Susan: Thanks!
Megan: Isn't the video awesome? Thanks for your kind words!
Jerri: Awesome, so you already know how great they are! I hope you enjoy their newest addition (cakespy art!) :-)
Rockerjewlz: Thanks so much!! It's so exciting...and that VIDEO...
Kristina: Thanks! Yes, as an artist it is very nice!!
Mishmash: Thanks So much!
Diana: Yes!! So correct. More sweetness in the world! Thanks again.
Cupcakery: Thanks!!
Icook4fun: thanks so much, it means a lot to all of us!
Joanna: Thank you very much--it means a lot coming from such a cool chick like yourself!
Gtangerine: Thanks so very much!
Congrats on the new gig. That's awesome - imagine, getting paid to do what you love best. Isn't life sweet?
Congratulations on all the sweet news! I just listened to an interview on NPR with someone from "Tast of Home" magazine. It sounds like a pretty cool place to work for. Oh and I love the youtube video that Bakerella did. So cute!
BRILLIANT...am glad you're enjoying what you do...WAY TO GO!!CONGRATULATIONS!!
How exciting, congratulations on all the good news! I'll definitely keep an eye out for this magazine now!
Anali - Taste of Home is a great place to work; and we are SO PLEASED with the addition of Cakespy to our pages.
Jessie - it is SOOO awesome to see how much love and support your friends and fans are offering.
Isn't it crazy how 'meeting' someone via etsy and flickr can end up being this? Love it! Keep Rocking the Sweet World!
Congrats on Taste of Home! how exciting!!
You guys are on the ball! Congrats.