Desserts You Can Make on the Grill

Desserts on the grill = perfect for Labor Day. And they're all so quick to make that you could make them same-day, which means this post is perfect for procrastinators like you and me. Here's the full post.

Cake Byte: Win CakeSpy Art!

Guess what? You could WIN this original page of black and white line illustrations I did for my second book, The Secret Lives of Baked Goods: Sweet Stories & Recipes for America's Favorite Desserts . Find out how on my Facebook page!

Creative Prompts for Artists

Sometimes we could all use a little help, creatively speaking. When you need a little extra energy to keep on creating, I would like to offer up these sweet creative prompts I've come up with. They'll have you looking at the commonplace in a new way, opening a new world of creativity to you! Check out the full article here.

Baker's Dozen: A Batch of Sweet Links!

Let your garden be your muse: a sweet art tutorial (no cake involved, but still pretty sweet)

Tree nut star tarts. Yum.

Did you miss the awesome roundup of my recent edible adventures?

These cinnamon rolls in Nebraska have an interesting story.

Learn a bit more about Racine Kringles.

10 awesome pug cakes. Seriously.

A love letter to crullers, both the cake doughnut and the eggy French sort.

"Autumn Blaze Bubble Bread". Don't you love the name?

Make your cakes sparkle--literally. How to use edible glitter on cakes!

Tips for adding emotion to your original artwork. Helpful and sweet!

Marvelous marble swirl cake.

Chocolate covered cake on a stick!

Book of the week: Alpha-Bakery Gold Medal Children's Cookbook. Did you have this cookbook growing up? I did, and I just found it again at a used book store. It has cute illustrations and surprisingly easy and good recipes for every letter of the alphabet. Aside from the nostalgia, I'm just happy to own it again. Bring on the "X-Tra Special Celebration Cake"!

Postcards from the Road: August 2014

Where in the world has CakeSpy been?

Well, let me tell you. In the past two weeks I have been in all of these places:

• Rincon, Puerto Rico
• Belmar, NJ
• Lancaster, OH
• St. Louis, MO
• Oklahoma City, OK
• Santa Fe, NM
• Des Moines, IA
• Dubuque, IA
• Brodhead, WI
• New Glarus, WI
• Madison, WI

I know. It's a record, even for ME. So what the heck have I been doing in all these places? Well, let me tell you a bit more. 

As you know, I was in Puerto Rico for a while with my lovely parents. You can read more about my adventures there, via this post and this post. <3

I departed Puerto Rico and spent a few days with my family in Belmar, NJ. There, I baked this cake, which was a definite highlight...of life.

I also visited Kane Brewing Company with my parents. It is so neat to see my home area develop into such an artistic and cool place. Here's me and my mom.

Next, I hit the road en auto and stopped in Lancaster, OH to visit my friends Ben and Misty. Ben, apparently, has been "really into breakfast" lately. I benefitted from this newfound passion (really, I've never been not into breakfast) by receiving this plate of awesome in the morning. Those pancake-y things? Corn-cakes made using Jiffy cornbread mix (here's a recipe for cookies made with apple Jiffy mix!). Brilliant!

I headed back on the road to visit my friend Lisa in St. Louis. She has this adorable tea shop called Smalls. It's only a limited lease, so check it out now, if you live in the area. Cutest ever, right? 

I wasn't in St. Louis for long, but I did find enough time to take a yoga class at Southtown Yoga (such a stylish and cool studio) and enjoy a slice of gooey butter cake at the Mud House. This was a rather nice specimen of one of my favorite cookie bar/cake hybrids. Also: just an observation, gooey butter cake is a short phrase in which no single word is wrong, yet together they are even more right. Don't you think?

OK. Literally, OK. That was the next stop: Oklahoma City, where I did a little yoga pit stop and then continued on my journey. I stayed in Amarillo, TX overnight, which is also home of Belmar Bakery, which I love because in addition to carrying sweet treats, it also bears the name of my hometown in New Jersey.

I kept on going and ended up in Santa Fe the next day, where I spent the next 18 hours and was reuinited with this guy:

Hooray! Twinsies, right?

Then, not too long after, we got back on the road to go to a wedding in Wisconsin. Back through New Mexico, enjoying this sort of beauty:

Back through Oklahoma I went. I stopped for a photo op in front of a store bearing my name (no relation)...

and this time was treated to this beautiful sunset.

There was a stop at one of the Casey's General Stores on the highway for doughnuts--surprisingly good.

Next up was Lawrence, Kansas, where we stopped for some sweetness at Sylas and Maddy's Ice Cream.

I was so impressed by this place. They had fantastic flavors like "ladybug crunch" (strawberry ice cream with oreos) and a chocolate and rainbow sprinkle-laden birthday cake flavor. But what I got, and what I considered a masterpiece of ice creamery, was the item in the forefront: BANANA PUDDING ICE CREAM. Can we all say "best thing ever" in unison, please? 

Continuing on the road, there was a stop in Des Moines for, well, more yoga (I have a goal to do yoga in all 50 states, so this trip provided me a great chance to add more spots to my list), and then jetted off to Dubuque where more doughnuts were consumed. I'll tell you the truth, they were from Hy-Vee groceries, but they were actually pretty good!

Next up was Brodhead, Wisconsin. I got myself a unicorn there.

After that, we jetted to New Glarus, which is where the wedding will be held. We had a lovely picnic dinner, and the hosts had actually made a recipe from my second book, The Secret Lives of Baked Goods: Sweet Stories & Recipes for America's Favorite Desserts , for dessert--jumbles!

Um, I should probably tell you that this happened, too, at the New Glarus Hotel. We only ordered the three that are not on the tray. But yes, there were three desserts. The first cake (going clockwise from the top) was a blueberry cake with cream filling; the second was a German chocolate; the third was a lemon custard. The desserts were all satisfying, with my favorite being the custard--like lemon curd in custard form, even better with sweet Wisconsin dairy whipped cream! The filling from the German chocolate cake was something I wouldn't mind eating my weight in, either.

In the A.M., I went to Madison for (you guessed it) another yoga class, at Inner Fire Yoga. I then stopped at Metcalfe's and picked up more doughnuts at Metcalfe's Market. 

(It's OK to laugh at this cruller. I did).

Whew! It's been a whirlwind so far. And I still have the wedding to go! Now, I think I'll explore New Glarus more, including the bakery everyone keeps telling me is great. I'll keep you updated on my sweet adventures, my sweetest ones.

Happy Summer! Love, CakeSpy

Baker's Dozen: A Batch of Sweet Links!

In case you missed it: brown sugar swirl cake. Brown sugar frosting. #winning

Homemade gluten-free pizza dough: tips and tricks.

Best ice cream I've had in a while: Sylas and Maddy's, in Lawrence, KS.

I'm going to New Glarus, Wisconsin. Naturally I will hit up this bakery.

My birthday is on Tuesday. If I have any leftover cake, I promise to make birthday cake French toast.

Or I suppose I could use the leftover cake in one of these clever and tasty ways.

But with a cake like this, there probably will not be leftovers. 

Dear heavens: oreo banana pudding. Make me a vat!

Just about the best frosting ever, if you ask me.

Homemade ho-hos. Wait, what did you call me?

For fun: reminisce with me about how I killed a bunch of Little Debbie Snack cakes that one time.

A free doughnut e-guide. All things doughnut: recipes, decorating tips, etc! 

How to test cream of tartar for freshness.

Book of the week: My book! The Secret Lives of Baked Goods: Sweet Stories & Recipes for America's Favorite Desserts! Because it's my birthday this week and this book includes the story behind, plus a recipe for, birthday cake. Awesometown!

A Guide to BBQ Pairings and Desserts

Photo via CraftsyFor me, the best part about a BBQ is the sides. From collard greens to cornbread, this is the stuff I like to make a meal of. And for dessert--the pies! Puddings! Cobblers!

Assuming it's possible you love the sides as much as I do, I've put together a guide to barbecue pairings for your delicious reference: check it out here. 

Brown Sugar Swirl Birthday Cake With Brown Sugar Frosting

Last week, even though it was a bit early for my August 26th birthday, I made a cake.

You see, I was in New Jersey for a few days with my parents, and I would be leaving before the big day, so I decided we should all have a little party. Any excuse for more cake, right?

I was writing a post for Craftsy about brown sugar buttercream, and I decided to make a cake to go with it (although, for the record, I have nothing against eating it by the spoonful). I hit up my mom's old cookbook collection and found an old treasure: silver white cake, AKA my birthday cake growing up. I doctored it up a bit, making it richer by including the entire eggs and by adding a swirl of brown sugar. The "swirl" came out more like little lumps of brown sugar here and there...but DELICIOUS lumps. Oh, and I also doubled the salt. Because if I've learned anything in my baking years, it is that brown sugar loves salt.

This cake came out tremendously, if I do say so myself. Everyone took seconds, which is always a good sign. Maybe it can add some joy to your non-birthday day, too!

Brown Sugar Swirl Birthday Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting

For the cake

Makes one 2 layer 8-inch cake

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups granulated (white) sugar
• 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 eggs
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon melted butter

Procedure

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 2 8-inch round cake pans. Set to the side.
2. Beat the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, butter, milk, and vanilla in a stand mixer on low speed, scraping the bowl occasionally, for 2 minutes.
3. Add the eggs, and increase the speed to high, scraping the bowl occasionally, for 2 more minutes, or until the mixture is pretty much smooth and lump free. 
4. In a small bowl combine the brown sugar and melted butter. It should be pretty thick yet smooth. Fold into the cake mixture, trying to incorporate little bits of the mixture throughout the batter.
5. Pour into the prepared pans. Bake 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden on top and a cake tester comes out mostly clean. Remove the cakes from the oven and immediately run a sharp knife around the perimeter of the pans to loosen the cakes. After a few minutes, invert them on to a wire rack to cool completely.
6. While the cakes cool, make the frosting. When ready to assemble, start by generously frosting the top of one of the cakes; layer the second on top of that, and then frost the whole thing all over. I found this cake did not require a crumb coat.

Brown sugar buttercream

Ingredients

• 2 sticks butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 4-6 cups confectioner's (powdered) sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup of half and half, plus more if needed

Note: This recipe yields a perfect amount of buttercream to ice a two-layer 9-inch cake or a 9x13-inch oblong cake. This recipe can be doubled.

1. Cream the butter until fluffy. Add the brown sugar and cinnamon; beat until it has become smooth in texture yet whipped.
2. Add three cups of the confectioners' sugar, and mix on low speed so that you don't have a snowstorm. Stir in the vanilla extract, salt, and cream. Stir until incorporated.
3. Add the remaining confectioners sugar to your taste. If it becomes too stiff, add a bit more cream. Store unused portions of the buttercream in the refrigerator for up to a week.

What kind of cake will you have for your birthday this year?

How to Know When An Illustration is Done

This is a subject I can get pretty philosophical about: when do you know a piece of art is done? 

While ultimately it's a very personal decision, I do have some definite thoughts on some ways to know, and tricks to help figure out where doneness lies in your process. Check out the full post with ideas here.

Baker's Dozen: A Batch of Sweet Links!

Baby elephant ears. Delicious babies.

Why didn't I ever have a class trip like this when I was young? 

OMG, you guys. My mom wrote an amazing post for Craftsy about preparing an illustration for publication. She's a famous illustrator in case you didn't know!

This thing. It's what I wish I was eating right now.

Strawberry cream cake: doesn't it look so summery and just...happy?

Cookie stuffed crescent rolls: I am so, so very down with this.

Barbecues are all about sides and desserts. Here's the tasty guide I made to all these things on the side.

This guide to the food of Lisbon includes a lot of valuable info on sweet specialties. Maybe I should go there next?

Stir-fried desserts? Why not?

101 amazing doughnut shops from around the USA.

When is it time to declare an illustration finished? Here's how to know.

Though it's just a picture, I'm linking because it made me so happy to know it existed: Danger Mouse Cake!

Do we still care about bacon in desserts? If so: Chocolate bacon ice cream. 

Book of the week: Craft-a-Doodle: 75 Creative Exercises from 18 Artists. This is really a wonderful book for anyone who loves to create--the creative prompts get your mind working in a way that is productive for any type of art, from baking to writing to, of course, drawing. I'll admit this is a slightly self-serving suggestion: I'm one of the contributors who came up with prompts for the book!