Cake Byte: Come to the CakeSpy Shop Opening!

Hello Sweeties! Well, in case you hadn't heard, I have purchased and taken over Seattle's Bluebottle Art Gallery and am merging it into CakeSpy Shop!

The gallery will feature plenty of my sweet artwork, but will also feature a lot of great art, craft, and cool merchandise from great indie artists. There are plenty of great gifts and art to buy! 

Though I am open for business already, I'm still making some changes to the space - and am ready to celebrate big time on May 8! Please come and check out several new paintings of sweets in Capitol Hill by yours truly, eat some delicious cupcakes from Trophy Cupcakes, hear some sweet music by Mr. Spy's band Exohxo, and have super fun times!
Hope to see you there, friends!

Here are the details:

CakeSpy Shop + Bluebottle Art Gallery Gala Opening Event

Saturday, 5/8 - 5-8 PM

415 E Pine Street (near Summit), Seattle WA 98122

Take Your Pix: The Pixie from Pix Patisserie, Portland

Say Bonjour to the Pixie.

Quest-ce que c'est, this Pixie?

It's a sweet little treat from Pix Pâtisserie, the Frenchiest little spot in Portland, OR.

Now, settling on the Pixie wasn't easy--after reviewing a small but well curated collection of European-style pastries available, including an Opera Cake, Queen of Sheba Truffle Cake, a particularly fetching triangular Dobos Torte, and macarons a-plenty.

But the unassuming and small-ish Pixie was humming to me, and so it was what I chose. Per the website,

Pistachios, almond paste, and raspberry jam are the main ingredients making up this layered concoction people can’t seem to get enough of. One woman replied after her first taste, “Oh! This makes me wanna dance!” Enough said.

And while I'd like to say for the record that aforementioned customer was not me, it might as well have been. This little pastry may be small but it's mightily magical, buttery pastry layers spread with an incredibly rich pistachio and almond paste mixture which is given a bright dimention from the sweet jam. All of this awesome, of course, is sealed with a kiss of confectioners' sugar on top.

As Mr. Spy commented upon tasting, "It tastes like a Christmas cookie...only better."

You heard it here first--better than Christmas!

Of course, it would be remiss to not mention the pâte de fruit (we tried the blackberry). This gel-y candy is one of those confections, like marshmallows, which is really at its finest when homemade, and Pix's is the real deal, with a texture which is yielding but not too sticky or gelatinous, and full of natural fruit sweetness. A subtle and sweet little bite, and quite the steal at less than a dollar each!

Pix Patisserie has two locations in Portland; visit here for more information. They also ship a variety of their baked goods; visit here to learn more.

Cake Byte: CakeSpy Interview on Java Cupcake

Photo c/o Java CupcakeCurious about the life of a Spy?

Well, you can get your sweet fix on the inner workings of a professional Cake Gumshoe's mind over at Java Cupcake, where there's a super sweet interview up today. Not only will you be treated to some sweet photos but you'll also be amused by musings such as how maybe, just maybe, the internet was invented for discovering cool new cupcakes.

Check it out here!

Dish It Up: Dessert Plate Services by The Green Cockatoo

The Green Cockatoo is--there's no way to put it gently--an escort service.

But their product is something that might fascinate you like it does me: they deal in vintage china and porcelain.

They found me through a search on how to make fake cupcakes--and drew me in with the reason why they were seeking the tutorial:

We are in Scotland and rent out vintage china for afternoon tea, weddings and functions. Now we can have fake cakes to show it off when we exhibit at wedding fairs - thank you!

Well, now--if that isn't a sweet and unusual business! I rather like the idea of a Cinderella-esque appearance by the fancy plates, which are then whisked away at the end of the evening, leaving only sweet memories and no dirty dishes!

For more, visit thegreencockatoo.com.

Crumb With a Side of Cake: Behemoth Crumb Cake for Serious Eats

When it comes to crumb, I have a theory: if some is good, more is better.

This theory was proven when I discovered something called the Colossal Crumb Cake at New Jersey's Ocean Grove Bake Shoppe. Their version had a ratio of roughly 9 parts crumb to 1 part cake, and it was just as amazing as it sounds (theirs is the one pictured above).

Could it be possible to recreate this magic at home? Well, I certainly wanted to try. Starting with a recipe from Arthur Schwartz, a.k.a. The Food Maven, I tried to make it even better by halving the cake part and tripling the crumb part. The result? A hulking behemoth of crumb, anchored by a little sliver of cake.

For more, plus a recipe, visit Serious Eats!