Baker's Dozen: A Batch of Sweet Links

Sweet: unicorn by Vintage by Crystal; macarons by Mesdames des Macarons.

Cookies get political.

Buy sweet socks with cupcakes, unicorns, and robots!

Whoopie! Delicious chocolate whoopie pies!

Make me this: raspberry poke cake.

Sweetly refreshing: amaretti cookie parfait.

ALWAYS refreshing: red velvet cake shake.

Yummy: grilled poundcake!

I love this: Rainbow Krispy Cake!

I'm absolutely Bolu Kuku for cake!

What's the dairy difference? Milk, half n half, cream of various types.

Bakery I wanna visit: Bang Bang Pies, Chicago.

Tasty: cardamom milk pudding.

Raspberry Sorbet Recipe from Grace's Sweet Life

When I go through a new cookbook, I have a highly technical method of deciding which recipe to try first. It goes something like this.

1. Leaf through the pages of the cookbook.

2. Seek out the cutest photo.

3. Read the accompanying recipe to make sure I have all the ingredients or that I could easily obtain them.

And that's pretty much how I settled on the Raspberry Sorbet from the new cookbook by Grace's Sweet Life, entitled...well, Grace's Sweet Life.

Although sorbetto (a water-based fancy fruit slushie-type slurry) is vaguely healthy and definitely low in fat, it's still highly delicious, and after viewing the photo above, how could I resist that pretty pink color? It's a tasty recipe, and easy to boot. You're welcome. Here you go. 

Want more? Buy the book: Grace's Sweet Life.

Raspberry sorbet

Makes 1 quart

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup superfine sugar
• 4 cups raspberries
• 1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 ounces vodka
• 1 large egg white

Procedure

1. To make the sugar syrup, in a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the water and sugar to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Set aside to cool
2. In a blender or food processor, process the raspberries and lemon juice to a smooth puree. Strain the puree through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the seeds (discard the solids).
3. Stir the puree into the cooled sugar syrup, and then stir in the vodka.
4. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl, cover, and refrigerate until cold, 2 hours or preferably overnight.
5. Immediately before churning the sorbet, use a handlheld mixer to beat the egg white at high speed to stiff peaks. Fold the whipped egg white into the cooled raspberry mixture.
6. To ensure a seed-free sorbet, strain the mixture again through a fine-mesh sieve into a pourable container.
7. Pour the raspberry mixture into an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer's instructions. The sorbet will be fairly soft but will become more firm as it freezes.
8. Transder the sorbet to an airtight container. Cover and freeze until firm, at least 2 hours. 
9. To serve the sorbet in its optimal form, remove from the freezer and transfer to the fridge 15 minutes before serving. It should be slightly soft, with a creamy consistency not unlike that of soft serve ice cream.

Sweet Times: Crumble and Flake, Seattle

Well, I already told you about the fact that Crumble & Flake exists in Seattle. But I haven't been able to fully tell you how wonderful it is in person. But recently, my friend Nicole (who blogs at So Suzette and avec whom I went to Paris with) visited and reported on the sweet findings.

Nicole, who (and I say this lovingly) is a bit of a pastry snob was absolutely floored, saying "it was awesome. Some of the best pastry ever. We waited 45 min on a Sunday Morning- it was like a Portlandia episode!"

Among the highlights? The Hand filled cream puffs, which are made to order. But moreover, reports Nicole, "Everything was buttery and flaky. They sold out of smoked paprika cheese croissants right before us..."

well, that just means there's a reason to return! Here's one more of Nicole's delicious photos.

Crumble and Flake, 1500 E Olive Way, Seattle, online here; also, more of Nicole's work can be found here.

Sneak Peek: CakeSpy Book 2 Photo Shoot!

I am so excited to show you some behind the scenes shots of the photo shoot for my second book!

The book, like my first book, entitled, is being published by Sasquatch Books. The photos are being taken by Clare Barboza (who also did my book and my friend Megan's upcoming book); for the shoot, pastry chef Laurie Pfalzer styled the desserts. Now, these aren't final shots--they are sneak peeks at the process.

Can you guess what each of the desserts are?

Look out for the book in 2013. In the meantime, buy my first book!

Cupcake Royale to Open its 6th Location in Seattle

Dudes. Dudettes. There's some really exciting news on the Seattle cupcake front: Cupcake Royale is opening a new location! Here's the scoop from a recent press release.

 On Saturday, June 30, 2012, Cupcake Royale will open it's sixth cafe which is also an ice creamery and cupcake bakery located at 108 Pine Street in the heart of downtown Seattle just outside of Pike Place Market and will simultaneously launch Cupcake Royale Brand Ice Cream in all 6 cafes.

Cupcake Royale Brand Ice Cream, featuring a signature line of the original Cupcakes ‘n’ Cream ice cream as well as other amazing ice cream flavor combinations that will have unique and delicious inclusions, all baked in-house.  

“We’ve always wanted to offer ice cream for our customers.  It's just such a natural pairing with cake—add delicious artisan espresso to the mix and it’s an amazing trifecta.” Said Cupcake Royale Owner/Founder, Jody Hall.

Bakeshop-inspired flavors include:

• Whiskey Maple Bacon Crack (bacon brittle) made with locally produced Woodinville Whiskey and Zoe’s Meats bacon
• Bananza, made with roasted banana, homemade gooey brownie and caramel
• Burnt Caramel with Sea Salt 
• Blueberry Lavender
• Washington Hazelnut Brittle with Salted Ganache

The Cupcakes ‘n’ Cream line will include five of their most beloved cupcake flavors, Red Velvet, Dance Party, Salted Caramel, Peppermint Party, and Triple Threat, each lovingly mixed into their delicious ice cream base. Cupcake Royale will carry 14 flavors of ice cream, 2 flavors of homemade ice cream sandwiches, Cakeshakes and Babyshakes which will include either a cupcake or a babycake size cupcake.  Ice Cream flavors will rotate based on seasonality.

Cupcake Royale, known for rigorously sourcing local ingredients, is naturally extending this practice to their new line of ice cream. “We’re already sourcing such great local, seasonal and natural ingredients from local farmers and producers — it just makes sense to add these amazing ingredients to ice cream!” says Nicki Kerbs—head of operations for Cupcake Royale. The locally produced ice cream base has a custom recipe that’s not too sweet, and cream that does not contain any added growth hormones.  “We’re adding a whole lot of delicious baked goods into the ice cream, so we wanted to make sure it was just sweet enough.”

Cupcake Royale will open their new location on June 30, 2012, at 108 Pine Street. Until then, they will be operating their ice cream cart in front of the new cafe daily from noon to 8pm. In addition, the Ballard, Capitol Hill and Bellevue locations will add scoops, cones, shakes and sundaes to their offerings. All six cafes will carry grab-n-go pints of the full assortment of ice cream flavors, and will have ice cream sandwiches.

The new café will feature Cupcake Royale’s usual assortment of amazing fresh-baked cupcakes, a full line of artisan Stumptown espresso drinks and of course, shakes, and sundaes all featuring Cupcake Royale Brand Ice Cream! Regular customers who join their loyalty program (affectionately dubbed Friend of Cupcake Royale – or F.O.C.R.) and pre-load a gift card will be eligible for a free cupcake or scoop on the first of each month (along with other perks like free drip refills, free espresso drinks for every 10 purchased on the card and every time $40 is loaded on the card, and a free scoop or cupcake for their birthday.

More information may be found at www.cupcakeroyale.com 

Grill It: Grilled Pound Cake Recipe for Serious Eats

Riddle me this: why should burgers and hot dogs have all the fun on your grill this summer?

They shouldn't, and here's the dessert to prove it: Grilled Pound Cake.

Simply butter slices of pound cake before putting them on either an outdoor or indoor stovetop grill, and let them get a little char. The nice part about this dessert is that it uses already-baked pound cake, so you can't under-bake it. The grilled toastiness of the cake makes it the perfect canvas for any number of toppings: I really enjoy ice cream and a seasonal fruit compote. Just be sure to prepare this before grilling meats, because you don't want to impart a burger flavor to your dessert!

For the full entry and recipe, visit Serious Eats!

Sweet Art: Whoopie Pie Bake-Off, Part

So, I just wanted to share some totally sweet artwork I did for the upcoming Third Annual Whoopie Pie Bake-Off at Oddfellows Cafe in Seattle! The event details are still TBA; I'll keep you updated, promise.

I have been involved with this wonderful event each year, and while I am no longer in Seattle, I am happy to say I still did the artwork for the poster!

You can read about the past events here and here; you can view some whoopie pie recipes in these places:

Chocolate Chip Mint Whoopie Pies

Reverse Whoopie Pies

Elvis Whoopie Pies

Coconut Cream Whoopie Pies

Classic Whoopie Pies

Whoopie Pie Cupcakes

There are also a few whoopie pie riffs in my wonderful book, which you should totally buy.

Baker's Dozen: A Batch of Sweet Links

Source: cakespyshop.bigcartel.com via Cake on Pinterest

How cool is this print? (above)

Mention on a site I love: Baking Style Diary!

Everyone should make a "yay me" cake!

I love how you love me.

Buy it: CakeSpy Presents Sweet Treats for a Sugar-Filled Life

Invisible cookie dough ice pops: so stealth!

Take five--and eat ten pounds of this "Take Five" cake!

Chocolate praline fudge cake. YES!

Toaster pastry iPhone case.

Get marshMELLOW: drink this.

Bakery I wanna visit: Sweetly Unexpected.

Sneak peek at some of the sweet stuff photographer Clare Barboza found to use at my cookbook photo shoot!

CakeSpy at the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn this Weekend!

What's awesomer than hanging out in über-hip Williamsburg in Brooklyn on the weekend?

How 'bout hanging out in uber-awesome Brooklyn neighborhood with a professional Cake Gumshoe?

I'll be kicking it at the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn this weekend, so please, come see me! I'll have mugs, t-shirts, onesies, magnets, bookmarks, CARDS, and of course a ton of copies of my amazing book, which I'd love to sign for you.

If you’re feeling crafty, check out the workshops lead by Gowanus Print Lab (we love their screenprinting projects!), Textile Arts Center(try your hand at hand-dying a silk scarf!), For the Makers (embellish friendship bracelets and sign up for their DIY subscription kits!),Pébéo (you can paint your own ceramic tile!), and Smallknot (make a sailor’s knot bracelet and learn about creative fundraising!). And don’t forget to stop by the always free-to-use photobooth, courtesy of Magnolia Photobooth Co., while listening to the crafting + shopping soundtrack provided by DJs from Sugartown Industries.

For more info on the fair, visit the official site!

So You Wanna Be a Gallerist? Shop For Sale!

Well, my friends, my retail partners and I have some very big news. I'll just come out and say it: it's time for CakeSpy Shop's brick and mortar location on Capitol Hill, Seattle to pass the torch to the next fantastic retail business. DO NOT BE SAD. CakeSpy as a business and product line is not disappearing, but we've decided to go down different paths than the gallery. While it might be a surprise to some, really, it's ultimately a good thing - and possibly a great opportunity!

It has truly been an amazing experience to share CakeSpy with so many amazing people in this format. It's been humbling to have visitors from far and wide come to share wonderful art, food stories, and of course to buy CakeSpy (and other) art! But ultimately, as the business has grown, the retail gallery has been less and less aligned with the company's mission, especially with my cookbooks--as you might expect, many would come to the store and expect a bakery! So, it's not so much a sad thing as a "time to shift gears" sort of thing.

We do not have a definite shift date yet, but in the meantime, fans of the shop or friends who haven't yet had a chance to visit: make it happen now! Guaranteed that the amazing products and generally feel-good business will make you smile. Or shop online!

Read on to learn more via the letter written by Danny:

Hello Customers and Friends of CakeSpy Shop!

As some of you may know, Jessie Oleson, founder of CakeSpy, moved to Philadelphia a number of months ago to take advantage of an artist grant that would help her advance and grow the CakeSpy name.  During that time, Danny Oleson and store manager Natalie Samford have been taking care of the store. As the CakeSpy brand has evolved during this time and Jessie has pursued writing cookbooks, the retail store fits less and less with the overall mission--understandably, after reading the blog and her books, many customers expect the store to be a bakery! As a result, we've lovingly decided to sell the retail storefront business, and we wanted let you, our wonderfully supportive community, know what was up.

As those of you who were customers of Bluebottle Art Gallery before us know, when Jessie and I took over the store, we changed the name, but we continued the tradition of featuring innovative, exciting and local and national artists making unique products that you can't find elsewhere, and we want to sell to someone who will continue that tradition.  The store is perfect for someone who wants a working studio where retail hours can be kept, and if the new owner has their own wholesale business, it is perfect for storing product and fulfilling orders.  Please note that while the name "CakeSpy Shop" will not be included in the sale, all of the store fixtures (including newly installed lighting and flooring!) will be included, and the buyer will be entitled to maintain all of the consignment products in the store and is permitted to use the name "Bluebottle Art Gallery" if desired. This is to say--everything is available except for the name "CakeSpy Shop". 

So, interested in taking over a wonderful gallery? Oh, goody.

• We are asking $10,000. The store's rent will be in addition to this cost. You will get:
• The Bluebottle name and related online properties
• A killer Capitol Hill location (note, the buyer will be taking over the lease)
• A built out and stocked store - purchase will include existing wholesale stock, furnishings and equipment save a couple of exceptions, and existing consignment relationships so that the current consignment stock will carry over for those artists who choose to continue their relationship with the store.
• A software system that serves for point of sale, inventory management, expense tracking, consignment payments and more.
• An existing base of loyal customers

Talk to us to find out more! Please email cakespyshop@gmail.com. Unfortunately, emails sent to any other address will not be able to be answered. 

Love,

Danny Oleson/

CakeSpy Shop