Batter Chatter: Interview with Christy Beaver, Co-Author of Mini Pies

Curious about the life of a pie-maker and cookbook writer? Here's an interview with Christy Beaver, co-author of Mini Pies: Adorable and Delicious Recipes for Your Favorite Treats (you can find a recipe from the book here!):

So. Your book is out. How does it feel? It's surreal. I can't imagine how new parents feel, because I was totally overwhlemed with joy holding a cookbook.

What was the hardest part about developing recipes for a book? once you get past the standard flavors, developing creative flavors that push the boundries (just enough but not too much) was a fun challenge.

I have a friend (really, I do) who doesn't like Pumpkin Pie. I know, I know. What other pies might you suggest for Thanksgiving? I agree with Morgan (read her interview here). And the savory sweet potato might work for them.

What is your personal favorite recipe in the book? Aunt Jimma's chocolate pie. Its SO freakin' good and totally worth the effort. My second favorite is Verry Berry.

If your partner, Morgan, is expanding Mini Empire to the east coast, and you have a book now, does that mean it's a Maxi-Empire now? It will always be mini and adorbale. That way no one will see it coming when we take over the world.

Any advice for people who want to pitch / write a cookbook, now that you've had the experience? It's a lot of work, and totally worth it. You have to find a balance between being emotionally invested in your project and not bursting into tears once the editor gets ahold of it and changes everything.

What's next? More cookbooks, hopefully. :) We want to write one for mini cupcakes and one for scookies.

Buy the book: Mini Pies: Adorable and Delicious Recipes for Your Favorite Treats.

Batter Chatter: Interview with Morgan Greeseth, Co-Author of Mini Pies

Curious about the life of a pie-maker and cookbook writer? Here's an interview with Morgan Greenseth, co-author of Mini Pies: Adorable and Delicious Recipes for Your Favorite Treats (you can find a recipe from the book here!):

So. Your book is out. How does it feel? It feels amazing and surreal to finally hold the book in my own hands.

What was the hardest part about developing recipes for a book? Not gaining 10 lbs from testing all the pies! Luckily we had many volunteers to sample our batches and give feedback.

I have a friend (really, I do) who doesn't like Pumpkin Pie. I know, I know. What other pies might you suggest for Thanksgiving? Bourbon pecan works wonders, and many have stated that they haven't liked Bourbon Pecan until they tried ours. Sweet potato is a good alternate as well. Otherwise, chocolate pie because chocolate is delicious at any occasion.

What is your personal favorite recipe in the book? Very berry, hands down. The first time I tried it, I exclaimed "Holy crap this is good!" Well, more like "hum mum mmm mm uh mmd " because my mouth was full, but I had to let it out.

How did Susanne become such an expert on lemon meringue? I'm intrigued by the recipe intro. Susanne is my mother, and as they say, mothers know best. I grew up with this pie and it was the only pie I liked for years.

If Morgan is expanding Mini Empire to the east coast, and you have a book now, does that mean it's a Maxi-Empire? Although our empire has reached a vast audience, our operation is still as bite-sized as our treats ;)

Any advice for people who want to pitch / write a cookbook, now that you've had the experience? We were fortunate enough to have been asked to write the cookbook, so we don't have experience with pitching. But for those who want to write, I'd say three tips: 1. Make sure you have friends who'll test your treats. 2. Failed recipes are good things. They're help you create an even better recipe. 3. Mothers and grandmothers give some of the best baking advice.

What's next? We have a few secret things in the works and possibly a mini pie kit. 

Buy the book: Mini Pies: Adorable and Delicious Recipes for Your Favorite Treats.

Baker's Dozen: A Batch of Sweet Links

Image: Handcrafts and CookeryThe happiest birthday: look at this post about someone who baked the rainbow cake from my book!

Whoopie! Or...maybe don't be so jubilant about it, because according to this article, they're not the next big thing.

Still, The Miss Cupcake's whoopie pie bar idea is fantastic...bar none!

A funny article about baking holiday gifts in theory versus in practice.

Baking concept I love: Stolen Goods Bake Shop.

Sports star rejects cake, baker gets angry. Thanks for sharing, Lovely Confections!

LOVE this: Sponge Cake Samaritan.

Are you a Western Washington food blogger? OMG, enter this Girl Scout Cookie contest!

Mmm...Almond Biscotti. A Smitten Kitchen favorite, brought to my attention by Minty Fresh Design.

Are you a creative baker? Enter this cupcake contest for great prizes!

Who knew that there was an Arizona walnut? Who knew that they make for an awesome sticky bun?

Crafty cupcakes and artists: you might be interested in this upcoming craft conference, Craftcation!

Chocolate I wanna try: John & Kira's chocolate.

Sushi Cake Truffles Recipe from Crazy for Cake Pops

Photo courtesy of Ulysses Press; recipe reprinted with permission from Crazy for Cake Pops: 50 All-New Delicious and Adorable Creations

Totally sweet! I'm not so big on health food, but I am quite keen on eating cake that LOOKS like health food, so these cake pops got me super-excited! As the book entry says, "These sushi-inspired cake balls look so realistic you could serve them as canapés at your next party and astonish all your guests."

Sushi Cake Truffles

Makes 20 pieces of sushi

Ingredients

• 20 medium cake balls, chilled
• 1 (14-ounce) bag white candy melts
• ¼ (14-ounce) bag each orange and red candy melts
• White sugar strands or sprinkles
• 50 grams (¼ cup) black fondant, kneaded

Equipment

• Rolling pin
• Small palette knife

Procedure

1. Split each cake ball in half. Keeping them in pairs, shape each half into a rectangular block—they can be irregular sizes.
2. Melt the white candy. Stick each pair of blocks together, using the candy as glue, and insert a toothpick into each sushi piece. Leave to set. Place a sheet of parchment paper under a wire rack. Holding it by the toothpick, dip each piece fully into the white candy and shake off the excess. Run the toothpick through the wire rack and leave to set.
3. Melt the orange and red candy separately. Dip the top half of 10 sushi pieces into the red candy and the other 10 into the orange candy. While the orange candy is still wet, use a toothpick to draw chevrons on it with the white candy. Give it a gentle shake to smooth it out. Return to the wire rack to dry. 
4. Dab the remaining white candy around the bottom of each piece, sprinkling the white sugar strands as you go. Remove the toothpicks and leave to set.
5. Roll out the black fondant and cut out 20 strips about ⅝ inch wide and 4 inches long. Working quickly before the fondant dries, wrap them around the side of each piece. Place on a tray lined with parchment paper to set.

Want more sweet recipes? Find the book: Crazy for Cake Pops: 50 All-New Delicious and Adorable Creations.

CakeSpy's Twinkie Killing Spree Featured on CNN!

You guys. My Twinkie Killing Spree is apparently big news--not only has it been called "mostly stupid" by Eater SF, but it was also featured on CNN! (Am I the only one who sees the humor in that sentence?

Watch the video on CNN by clicking the clip above, or find the link here. I'm also mentioned on their Eatocracy blog! And congratulate me on my entry into Twinkie Pop Culture history!

Sweet Addendum: 51 Ways to Kill a Twinkie

CakeSpy Note: Given the recent news that Hostess, maker of Twinkies, is filing for Chapter 11, I would like to re-post this ode to the Twinkie (one of my post popular posts ever!), with an addendum: an honorary #51, "file bankruptcy". 

Thanks again to our buddy at Suspect and Fugitive for her help on this adventure!

It's been said that Twinkies could survive a Nuclear Holocaust--and we wouldn't dare challenge the wisdom of The Family Guy. But what about far more mundane, everyday perils? Certainly Twinkies aren't completely indestructable. There's always a means to an end, isn't there? As Paul Simon once said, there must be fifty ways to leave your lover--and so, in what may be considered a perverse twist on this logic, we figured there must also be fifty ways to kill a Twinkie. Ranging from somewhat useful to creative to downright cruel, here they are:

1. Step on it. If so desired, do it slowly.

2. Death by Razr: crush it in a cell phone.

3. Put it in a handbag for a week. That sucker doesn't have a chance.

4. Put it in the mail. (Note: The first picture is before we sent it --for the recipient's privacy we photographed it before adhering the label-- and the second is after it arrived.)

5. Shank it. 

6. Leave it out in the Seattle rain.

7. Make it listen to Randy Newman on an endless loop.

8. Take it to a fat camp and see how long it lasts.

9. Teddy Graham attack!

10. Pour boiling water on it. Either marvel at, or be repulsed by, the results.

11. Stuff it in a sewer grate.

12. Hurl it at the Space Needle. (Note: We wanted to throw it FROM the Space Needle, but fearing arrest and / or heavy fines, we decided to throw it AT the Space Needle.)

13. Make it into roadkill.

14. Give it to someone less fortunate (to use it as a punching bag when they see they got a ticket).

15. Impale it.

16. Chop it into tiny bits--you know, like mobsters do.

17. Fry cubed Twinkie and make Twinkie Croutons.

18. Make your friends eat a real salad with Twinkie croutons--hilarity will ensue! (for you).

19. Add salt. It kills slugs, so why not Twinkies, right?

20. Put it in the microwave. Wonder why the microwave makes the cream filling turn to translucent goo.

21. Go all Damien Hirst on it!

22. Make it into something delicious, like Twinkie tiramisu.

23. Feed it to a snake.

24. Sit on it for an extended period of time.

25. Put bleach in its coffee.

26. Slice it in half and try to see hidden Rorschach-style pictures.

27. Make Twinkie hot dogs!

28. Use it to balance a wobbly chair.

29. Give it a Monster Thickburger--a heart attack will surely follow.

30. Go all mad science, like these people did.

31. Make it into an instant breakfast. Screw you, Carnation Instant!

32. Give it alcohol poisoning.

33. Use it as a bookend.

34. Leave it to Godzilla's wrath.

35. Dehydrate it.

36. Give it to a guinea pig.

37. Skewer it. Twin-kebab, anyone?

38. Make Twinkie Sushi (Note: This was not originally our idea. Check it out here.)

39. Give it to Mariah Carey. That Twinkie's a goner for sure.

40. Submit it to cryogenesis, as these people did.

41. Zombie attack!

42. Freeze it

43. Put it in the kitchen fan.

44. Use it as a doorstop.

45. Mauled by Unicorn!

46. Drop it off a building. We didn't, but they did.

47. Mentos, Diet Coke, Explode!

48. Hang it.

49. Give it to an artist. We gave it to our good friend at Suspect and Fugitive, who made a "Twin-Keith Richards" portrait out of the creme filling. Why? Well, as an homage to their shared infinite shelf life.

Finally, for #50? Oh, you know...eat it. If you dare.

Sweet Discovery: Pasteis de Belem from Portugal

The best kind of mail? The kind that comes with an introduction to a new baked good. And recently, I became friends with a new baked good with a fascinating history, via reader Sofia from Portugal, who is "married, have 2 girls, baked my first cake when I was 12 and never stopped since, work in the shipping business and am part-time cake designer since 2007 and I am totally and absolutely mad about chocolate." A true friend! Here goes Sofia:

I Live in Lisbon, Portugal and would like to tell you about some sweet pastries called Pastéis de Belém (baked since 1837).

Well, how shall I begin to describe these marvelous, wonderful and crunchy pastries? Let's start with a little historical context.

It all began early in the 19th century.

Next to the Jerónimos Monastery, there was a sugar cane refinery, but liberal revolution resulted in the extinction of the religious orders and convents, and monasteries were closed and the workers and the clergy were expelled.

In an attempt to prevent eviction, a monk had the idea of selling some sweet pastries, which quickly gained success and began to be called Pastéis de Belém!

At that time Belém was still far from the city of Lisbon. However, the grandiosity of the monastery and the Tower of Belém attracted visitors who soon grew used to savoring the delicious pastries baked in the monastery.

Nowadays it is said that the recipe is still the original, some ingredients remain a secret, and the pastries are baked in the “secret room”.

Now the pastries…

The outside is made of light, crunchy pastry with a slight pinch of salt. The inside is creamy and sweet. They are better when still warm and are served with powdered sugar and cinnamon.

If you’d like to come over and have a taste, prepare yourself for a long line.

In the Summer or in sunny Winter days one good thing to do is to buy the pastries and cross the street to eat them in the park sitting on a bench, if available, or on the grass (beware of sparrows that will approach to eat crumbs)!

How I like to eat them: take little bites around until the filling is surrounded by a thin coat of pastry and then put it all in my mouth.

Note: In the same street, but one block away there’s a Starbucks and I can assure you, it all goes very well together.

What a Mug: Microwave Cake in a Mug Recipe for Serious Eats

There's a certain sector of the sweet world that I think of as "Desperation Desserts." Generally dreamed up when the cookie jar is empty and there's no ice cream in the freezer, these typically single-serving concoctions are made up of whatever happens to be on hand in the kitchen.

But happily, here's a quick-fix dessert that doesn't taste like desperation: chocolate cake prepared in a mug, in the microwave. With a consistency something like a steamed pudding, this chocolate cake might not rival a French chocolate cake in sophistication, but nonetheless holds its own as an easy convenience dessert. And should you find some ice cream or whipped cream to top it with, well, all the better.

For the full entry and recipe, visit Serious Eats!

Cover Up: a CakeSpy Book Cover Outtake

Now, because you own, treasure, and probably cuddle with my book every night, you are well aware of what the cover looks like. If you have forgotten, go ahead and refer to the pretty picture at the top of this post.

But you know, the cover didn't just make itself. I did the illustrations, but then I worked with an amazingly talented art director/designer to make it into the masterpiece it ultimately became.

But here's just a quick peek at one of the images we played with along the way - a fun peek at the process and some of the ideas we worked through and tweaked along the way!

...fun, but I am sure glad we kept tweaking it to make the cover that graces the book! Don't forget, you can buy my book here, and don't forget to enter this totally sweet contest inspired by the book! You could win an all expenses paid trip to Seattle to eat cake with me!

Sweet Love: A Special Custom Artwork Order by CakeSpy

So, sometimes I do custom artwork. Not very frequently anymore, because quite frankly, after considering the time and energy I put into each piece, I don't make much money at all. Now, I personally know that this is not what it's all about, but sadly, my landlord doesn't seem to share this viewpoint.

But recently, a very sweet fellow convinced me to make an exception for his girlfriend, who he said would (I am paraphrasing) make his girlfriend's Christmas a zillion times more magical.

His girlfriend, it turns out, is the baker and writer behind The Miss Cupcake. The piece I created reflected all of the sweets that she bakes, combined with my style and characters. I didn't exactly have proper time to work on it--I was sketching while waiting for a plane to LA, I was painting in a hotel room, I was finishing the piece and shipping it after taking a red-eye flight. Whew!

But ultimately, the time and energy was worth it, because shortly after Christmas I received this note from the Cupcake Miss behind The Miss Cupcake herself:

Dearest Jessie Oleson/Cake Spy,

I am utterly speechless. After months and months of ohhing and ahhing over your custom portraits, I have in my hands my own personal cakespy.

My lovely boyfriend, who is officially the sweetest boy ever invented, went behind my back, to a fully-booked cakespy, and commissioned you to do a custom Miss Cupcake watercolor.

Jessie. BEST PRESENT EVER. I shook, then I slapped him, then I cried! It's me..it's beautiful. It is the most thoughtful and most amazing gift that I have ever received in my life. Thank you for defying rules, for extending yourself through an utterly stressful time (aka an ultra famous book tour!), and for making me an absolutely joyous receiver of one of your beautiful portrait babies.

... Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you I think you get the point.

Well, I must say - this note made it all worthwhile. A sweet moment to share with you, dear readers! To buy artwork by me, visit cakespyshop.com.