Sweet News: Ice Cream Social at Seattle's Palace Kitchen

Wow, isn't that some cute ice cream artwork?

Well, it gets even better: I created the art for a very special event: the Ice Cream Social Happy Hour, coming up on August 31st at the Palace Ballroom in Seattle!

Here are the details:

Date: Wednesday, August 31^st

Time: 5:30-7:30 pm

Location: The Palace Ballroom, 2100 5^th Ave, Seattle, WA 98121

Join us at the Palace Ballroom to sample some of the best ice cream that Seattle has to offer!  On hand will be delicious cold treats from ice cream superstars like:

·         Bluebird Homemade Ice Cream

·         Parfait

·         Full Tilt

·         D’Ambrosia Gelateria Arigianale

·         Old School Frozen Custard

·         Fainting Goat Gelato

·         Procopio

As well as a treat from the Tom Douglas pastry kitchen!

The cost of admission gets you a sample from every vendor, entertainment and access to a full bar.  We’ll also have a specialty ice cream cocktail available for purchase for those who want a little bit of booze with their chilly treat (for 21 and over folks only of course)!

Tickets are $15 (tax included); learn more and buy tickets online here.

Baker's Dozen: A Batch of Sweet Links

Sweet art: gingerbread man meets Da Vinci with this sweet t-shirt design by Matt Needham.

Le nom nom nom: Blueberry Buttercream tutorial.

Better than any lollipop I've seen: Deep-fried butter on a stick. (thanks, Megan!)

Bee sweet: Beehive Bakery, open now (or soon?) in Seattle.

Cake...batter...martinis? Yes, please. (thanks, Jen!)

All about the cookie: Little Lulu's Confections is a totally sweet cookie blog!

Where are your scruples? Who cares, when there are Strooples around?

Brownies, but not the kind mom made: FDA issues a warning!

Sweet discovery: I'm kind of in love with Bobbie's Baking Blog.

Show and Tell: Chinatown Cake Club makes a secret appearance at this upcoming NYC art event. 

In Good Taste: a sweet blog post about visiting Seattle and CakeSpy Shop, by The Simple Livings!

Pin me: If you're in Chicago, on September 9, there's a sweet Superhero Button Series release party at Busy Beaver Buttons! One of the designs was done by yours truly!

Sweet discovery: Firebird Chocolate (thanks for the tip, FoodbeatNW!)

Sweet n Sour: Lemon-Sour Cherry Coffeecake inspired by Macrina Bakery!

Batter Chatter: Interview with Town Crier Bakery of Pennsylvania

In the Philadelphia suburbs, there is a magical place called Town Crier Bakery. It's open seven days a week, and they specialize in carbohydrates of all sorts: cakes, cookies, pies (some even square! See pictures below), and bread. What's not to love? If you, like me, want more of the story, then you're in luck: I recently caught up with some of the ladies behind the baking magic, Kerry & Roseann Burns. Read on:

So...what's your story? The Town Crier was my husbands dream sine he was 13 years old. He started in local bakeries washing pans. It was not until he was almost 40 did it become a reality. I remember Kerry telling me he was eyeing a location in Peddlers Village, I told him yeah ,yeah go for it, never thinking it would happen, that is until the day he told me he quit his job for this bakery dream. I said oh boy here we go!!! Hard work indeed but it really does give you gratification, not just in the waistline but in the people you meet and the events you help shape.

I have heard of something called Philadelphia Butter Cake. Is this a real thing? How is it different from, say, pound cake? Butter cake is indeed a VERY REAL thing, the only thing it has in common with pounds cake is butter and the word cake! Philadelphia buttercake is a German tradition using sweet dough rolled out into a square foil pan and filled with the butter topping. The dough rises along with the gooey topping which at this point has melted and slightly soaks the dough. Bake at 400 degrees for a golden brown sweet addictive goodness!!!

I see something called a George Washington cake on your menu. What's that? George Washington cake is actually a spice cake, it has been a staple in my shop and in all the bakeries I have worked in for over 30 years, our spice cake uses cakes crumbs as it base and is mixed into a cake batter with spices molasses and topped with a warm fudge icing striped with a with soft fondant icing. INCREDIBLE EATS!

Do you consider yourself "known" for a particular type of baked good? if so, what? Why? We have more than a few--our pound cake is a favorite of many customers as well as my most popular cake, the forementioned buttercakes are a crowd pleaser. We can’t forget our old fashioned Philadelphia Cinnamon Buns with nuts raisins or just plain you can’t loose. The words I hear most often from customers as they enter my store are OMG , this smell alone adds calories, and WOW what variety of items you have.

I have a personal question. When I go into a bakery, sometimes I will specifically ask for a particular baked good in the case--usually "the big one". When I do this, am I being an annoying customer? No you are not, customers like yourself when they say they want the biggest or the most icing is a chance for our staff to engage you and your visit truly a memorable one!

What are the busiest times of the week at your bakery? Friday, Saturday, Sunday between 12 and 5 with Saturday being our most busy day!

What is your most popular icing? Buttercream, fondant, or ganache? Our French Buttercream, soft and not so sweet looks like marshmallow as it smoothes on cakes!

I like to say that there is no bigger bummer than a bad dessert. In your opinion, what makes a "bad" dessert? If it is to have a filling it is the “where the beef ?” when you expect a filling you should never have to search for it, but if it is dry then it is a killer. You never hear the comment my cake was to moist, but man was that a dry dessert ouch that is a death sentence.

Tell me a junk food guilty pleasure (sweet OR savory)...be honest. I have two fresh mozzarella with plum tomatoes (not junk) but I can not pass it up ever! The second one is Chocolate chip cookies, where ever I am at I MUST try the competition's chocolate chip cookies, even if I am away from home. I just love cookies.

What's next for the bakery? We are toying with a Center City location, and work to keep our menu fresh and unique, while still keeping the traditional menu in place. Our newest items the cupcake bar with over 20 different varieties and toppings is a huge hit and our ability to service customers who require gluten free or sugar free products continues to expand our customer base.

Want more? Find Town Crier Bakery online here. Follow them on Twitter here.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cupcakes Recipe

You may spin me "right round baby right round", but I'd rather eat a pound (and a half) of these Pineapple "Upside Down" Cupcakes. Nom!

Pineapple "Upside-Down" Cupcakes Recipe

Adapted fromKatie and the Cupcake Cure (Cupcake Diaries)

For the cakes

• 1 box of yellow cake mix
• 1 cup sour cream (full fat, yo)
• 1/2 cup pineapple juice (can use juice from can of pineapple slices; see topping ingredients)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 can (20 ounces) crushed pineapple, drained (set aside 1/2 cup juice for the batter; see above)
• maraschino cherries

 Procedure

1. Center baking rack in oven; preheat to 350F. Line a muffin tin with baking cups.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the batter ingredients. With an electric mixer on medium speed, mix the ingredients together until no lumps remain. Spoon the batter into the cupcake tins so that each cup is 1/2 full.
3. Make the topping. Mix the melted butter and brown sugar together with a spoon. Sprinkle about a teaspoon of the mixture on top of the cupcake batter in the tins. Now add a layer of about a tablespoon of the pineapple. If you'd like (do it) add a cherry on top, pressing into the pineapple layer so it's level.
4. Bak the cupcakes 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Let the cupcakes cool at least 20 minutes before eating.

Seeking Sweetness: Holiday Card Sneak Peek #2

CakeSpy Note: if you follow me on facebook or Twitter, you probably know I'm partial to observing (and sometimes adding) sweetness in the natural world and urban landscape. Here's where I post a daily feel-good photo or image, for no particular reason other than to showcase these sweet little nothings, in hopes that they'll make you smile.

Here's a sweet sneak peek at one of the upcoming 2011 Holiday Card designs in the CakeSpy line! They will be available online in a week or two; in the meantime, I'll post a different sneak peek every few days.

All you Knead: Sweet Treats from Knead, San Francisco

In San Francisco, there is a place called Knead. And on a recent trip to the area (to visit Humphry Slocombe), SpySis pointed out that while this is an eatery, there is a pastry counter in the back. It looked amazing...so did the specials...but they were between lunch and dinner and there was nothing there!

However, SpySis was kind enough to share a picture of a previous delicious experience and to describe it for me. When I asked "what is it in this picture, SpySis?" her response was:

A huge Cream puff, and a confection that was like a crème brulee, with a caramelized top, but it was like a custard on the inside, but cakey on the outside, very sweet on top. It could be eaten with hands but they were indeed sticky hands afterward. It was all very very good.

Well, I trust that sister of mine and think you should too. Find Knead at 3111 24th Street, San Francisco; on Twitter here.

Sweet Times: Snapshots from Pie Stand with Kate Lebo

Photos: Kate LeboIf you've never been to one of the bake sale events that are held at CakeSpy Shop every month or so, you are missing out. Don't believe me? Well, luckily I have cold, hard, delicious photographic proof from the latest event, Pie Stand featuring a plethora of delicious pies by Kate Lebo.

Check out the slideshow here, and after viewing it, make sure to save the date for the next upcoming bakesale, on August 20th, featuring sweets by Megan of Bake it in a Cake! To stay updated about future events, be sure to "like" CakeSpy on Facebook; that is the best place to stay updated!

Letter From Whoopie Pie: Please Stop Trying to Fix Me Up With Boston Cream Pie

To Whom It May Concern:

Hi, Whoopie Pie here. Now, I know I'm kind of easy to make fun of. I have a stupid name, and even my regional variation in Pennsylvania is called "Gob"--not much better. But today I'm not here to lobby for a cooler name like Sweetburger or Awesome Sandwich. 

No, I'm here to talk about matters of the heart.

Now, before you start to titter about "making whoopie", please know that your comments cannot hurt me, because I have heard them all. ALL OF THEM I TELL YOU.

I am writing to implore you to please, please, please STOP TRYING TO FIX ME UP WITH BOSTON CREAM PIE.

I get it, ok? I totally get it. We're both baked goods that have "pie" in the name that are not actually pies. We're actually both more cakey. In my case, cakey cookie. And in Boston Cream Pie's case...well, just cake, layered with cream and chocolate.

I hear Bostie's name comes as a result of his ancestors being baked in pie tins, so I guess there's some connection, even if it's weak. But in my case, no, I can't tell you why pie is in my name. It's like asking why is birthday cake delicious or who first combined peanut butter and chocolate . Nobody knows for sure, but we know they're Good Things.

So yeah, we do have stuff in common. We're both cakey, we both contain chocolate, and we're both delicious. 

But here's the thing. Just because we're both from the Northeast, just because we're both Official State Foods (I'm the official state snack of Maine; Boston Cream Pie holds the honor of official state dessert in Massachusetts), just because we're both Pie misfits, just because we both contain butter and sugar and eggs...it doesn't mean that we complete each other.

For one thing, Boston Cream Pie is a cool guy, really he is, but he's so uptight, you know, in that reserved Boston blue-blood sort of way. I mean, he's from the Parker House. As much as he says he can just "roll with it" (I don't think he's trying to make a Parker House pun, either), it's just not true. Boston Cream pie is stiff, and kinda stale. It's all about the cream in the middle, but the cake is kinda boring.

He's just not my type. As for me, I like a tall drink o' milk. I've always been attracted to dairy types--milkshakes, flan, or tres leches cake any day. Don't believe it could work? It can. It has. I have a cousin who got married to Frozen Custard and they made a very beautiful baby.

So in closing: let me live my life, and you live yours. It's my body, and I can do what I wanna. And my fate isn't to become a Boston Cream Whoopie Pie (although that does sound tasty).

Sincerely,

Whoopie Pie (but my friends call me Sweetburger)

Seeking Sweetness: Holiday Card Sneak Peek #1

CakeSpy Note: if you follow me on facebook or Twitter, you probably know I'm partial to observing (and sometimes adding) sweetness in the natural world and urban landscape. Here's where I post a daily feel-good photo or image, for no particular reason other than to showcase these sweet little nothings, in hopes that they'll make you smile.

Here's a sweet sneak peek at one of the upcoming 2011 Holiday Card designs in the CakeSpy line! They will be available online in a week or two; in the meantime, I'll post a different sneak peek every few days.

Seeking Sweetness: Daily Snapshot, CakeSpy Illustration in Taste of Home Magazine

CakeSpy Note: if you follow me on facebook or Twitter, you probably know I'm partial to observing (and sometimes adding) sweetness in the natural world and urban landscape. Here's where I post a daily feel-good photo or image, for no particular reason other than to showcase these sweet little nothings, in hopes that they'll make you smile.

Check out this sweet illustration I did of a happy jar of peanut butter for Taste of Home--it's featured in their current print issue! Go buy it.