Cake Byte: Several New CakeSpy Card Designs

Oh, hello, friends.

I thought that just in case you were feeling rich this week, I would share my updated sheet of cards. I have several new styles by popular request, including several of my popular quote illustrations, as well as Teacher, Battle of the Buns (Hot Dogs Vs. Hamburgers!), and "Donut Worry, Be Happy".

You can order them a la carte in the online shop; for a bigger, more beautiful view of the entire sheet, click here.

Order CakeSpy Cards and more at cakespyshop.com. They're available at the CakeSpy retail shop too, 415 E. Pine St, Seattle WA 98122!

Cake Byte: CakeSpy Mania at Seattle Weekly!

Have you ever been curious about the life of a spy?

Shame on you.

But, you know, if you want to stalk the sweetest sleuth around, I have some great new resources for you. Last week I was interviewed by the lovely and amazing Julien Perry, a Seattle food scene queen, who featured me not once, not twice, but thrice (!) in Seattle Weekly this week.

The first feature is an interview in which you can learn some of my stories and secrets, and hear me say amusing things such as " cupcakes will be out of style when happiness is out of style." You can read that interview here.

The second is a simple "death round" q+a in which I admit guilty pleasures, flavor preferences, trash-talk about fussy French macarons, and confess my secret foodie fantasy:

What is your biggest foodie fantasy?

Sometimes I have this dream where I am the forbidden love child of Duncan Hines and Betty Crocker. Too bad Duncan is dead and Betty doesn't really exist.

 You can see the whole dish here.

And for a grand finale, part three featured a recipe from yours truly, which comes from my upcoming book, CakeSpy Presents Sweet Treats for a Sugar-Filled Life (pre-order now!), for a little somethin' called Birthday Cake French Toast.

Thanks again, Seattle Weekly, for featuring CakeSpy!

Peachy Keen: Peach Cobbler Milkshake Recipe by Munchin With Munchkin

Photo: Munchin with MunchkinCakeSpy Note: This is a guest post from Cake Gumshoe Christine, who blogs at Munchin With Munchkin. Let the NOM begin:

I am not a vegan. I’m actually not even a vegetarian but I love a challenge.

So many desserts are off limits for those trying to avoid animal products or even attempting to live a healthy lifestyle. It truly doesn’t have to be this way as making a vegan dessert is just as simple as making one full of fat, sugar and dairy. All you need is a blender and a few simple ingredients such as fruit, coconut milk, and some common spices.

Peach cobbler is one of my favourite desserts and with fresh peaches popping up at my local farmers market I couldn’t resist the challenge of another classic dessert-inspired milkshake. When choosing peaches for this purpose, ensure they are quite ripe as they no longer ripen after they are picked. If you can find a few ripe peaches there is no need to add additional sweetener such as maple syrup as these juicy fruits are full of natural sugars.

You can also opt to make this recipe raw by omitting the peach preserves and substituting almond butter and a few pecans for the graham cracker crumbs and oats. Now go make your sweet tooth happy and enjoy some peach cobbler for breakfast! Happy Friday!

Peach Cobbler Milkshake

Ingredients

• 4 ripe peaches, sliced
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp. Peach preserves, preferably natural, no sugar added
• 1 Tbsp. coconut oil
• 1 cup light coconut milk
• 1 ripe frozen banana
• 1 Tsp. pure vanilla extract
• ½ Tsp. cinnamon
• dash nutmeg
• 2 Tbsp. graham cracker crumbs (check label to ensure it is vegan)
• 1 Tbsp. old fashioned oats
• 2-3 pecans (optional)
• maple syrup, sweeten to taste (optional)
• ice cubes

Procedure

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender and pulse until smooth
2. Top with soy based whip cream, sprinkle with additional graham crackers and cinnamon. Garnish with a peach slice.

Serves 3-4

Muffin Tops: An Ode to US States With Official State Muffins

Now, it's true that CakeSpy has gone on the record as saying that muffins are just ugly cupcakes. But the fact is, when it comes to official state treats, more states (3) have declared an official state muffin than have declared an official state cupcake (0, to the best of my research, although some have official state cookies and/or cakes).

And with that in mind, why don't we take a moment to celebrate this trinity of muffin royalty in the US? Here they are:

Massachusetts: Corn Muffin. Though Rhode Island is famous for its corn cakes (Jonnycakes), it's Massachusetts that has made much ado about the muffin. Per FoodTimeline.org, "The schoolchildren of Massachusetts petitioned for the CORN MUFFIN, a staple of New England cooking, and the Legislature made it official in 1986."

Minnesota: Blueberry Muffin. That two-timing blueberry makes an appearance in official state goodies in both Minnesota and in Maine, where they call Blueberry Pie their official state dessert (although some argue it should be the Whoopie Pie). As I learned here, "Minnesota designated the blueberry muffin as the official state muffin in 1988. Wild blueberries are native to northeastern Minnesota, growing in bogs, on hillsides, and in cut-over forested areas."

New York: Apple Muffin. That's right! One might think the apple muffin would be the official state muffin of Washington, but one would be incorrect. While the apple is the official state fruit of both Washington and New York, it was the latter that claimed the muffin as well, made official in 1987: "The apple muffin was adopted as the official State muffin of New York in 1987 through efforts of students throughout New York State." That is to say, get on the ball, schoolchildren of Washington! But make it apple cake, OK? Ok. Cool.

For more official state foods, visit foodtimeline.org.

Taste The Magic: Rainbow Cookies Stuffed With Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Recipe

Recently, I received this cry for help via email from reader Anne:

Dear CakeSpy,

I have a big problem.  Sunday is my 30th birthday and as is tradition, we will have a Bake-Off! Birthday Bake-Off is pretty much the greatest idea I have ever had: maximum dessert variety and no having to awkwardly stare off into space while people sing happy birthday and all I'm thinking is how we are wasting precious seconds that could be used for eating frosting.  But, the dilemma.  I have no idea what to make this year.  Now that there are internets, there are just TOO MANY awesome recipes and I can't decide on one.  You are the connoisseur of carbs - what would YOU make??

-Clueless in Cleveland

Now, Clueless in Cleveland, I will tell you, I thought about this for a long time. I went outside and took a walk, knowing that the answer would come to me. And then it did:As a majestic unicorn whizzed by, I thought to myself: "It must involve rainbows, and magic."

And from then on, the answer was easy:

1. Take the most colorful recipe I could think of, which is definitely Rainbow Cookies (now, to get the recipe I'm going to have to urge you to buy my book, because that's where the recipe is, but I'll tell you now that it's not so very different from these cookies).

2. Add magic. And how better and more reliably can one add magic than by adding cookie dough to the mix?

And so, with that sweet epiphany in mind, allow me to present the new Best Thing Ever:

Rainbow Cookies Stuffed With Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. 

Here's how you do it.

You'll need:

• 1 batch rainbow cookie dough (similar enough to this recipe that you could make it work by tinting the dough many colors)
• 1/2 batch chocolate chip cookie dough (bake the rest normally, or use it to stuff cupcakes, you follow your bliss)

Note: if you are uneasy about the cookie dough not baking fully and the whole egg thing, use a chocolate chip cookie dough that does not use eggs, or that uses egg replacer.

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. So, you've got your rainbow cookie dough all ready to go. Now, slice it into fairly thin coins--like, 1/8 inch thick. Lay them on your prepared baking sheet with about 1 inch in between rounds (they won't spread too much).
3. On the center of each round, place a small dollop of chocolate chip cookie dough.
4. Place a second coin of rainbow cookie dough on top. If it cracks between color segments, use your fingers to smooth it back into place. Gently press the sides down so your chocolate chip cookie dough doesn't ooze out.
5. Bake for 9-10 minutes, or until rainbow cookies have a dull finish on top. 
6. Let cool for 5 minutes on the sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Berry Delicious: Triple Strawberry Cheesecake Recipe from The Rice Kernel

CakeSpy Note: This is a guest post from The Rice Kernel. Named for a little boy who came along and transformed one family's kitchen experiences, Rice Kernel features wholesome, homemade recipes to help you achieve a "rainbow a day" of colorful and nutritious foods.  For the sweets lover, Rice Kernel's "rainbow" includes plenty of indulgences, often made over with healthful ingredients.  This triple strawberry cheesecake is the perfect collaboration of creamy, decadent cheese and fresh, tart summer berries. The recipe originally appeared as part of this post.

This is a strawberry cheesecake.  Not a plain cheesecake topped with strawberries.  And not a plain cheesecake with a swirl of strawberry puree.  Fresh strawberries are infused throughout this cheesecake – in the base, with an extra swirl of fresh puree, and with sliced fruit perched atop the lovely pink cake.  (For serious strawberry afficionados, consider making extra puree or strawberry coulis to drizzle atop the cheesecake.)  I’m crazy about this cake.  So crazy Rice Kernel and I had to eat some warm from the oven.  (In case you’re curious, it’s warm and mousse-like.)  Tall, light, creamy, and full of freshness, it will make any strawberry lover swoon. 

Strawberry Cheesecake, adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s Tall and Creamy Cheesecake from Baking: From my Home to Yours (via The Way the Cookie Crumbles)

Crust
1½ cups graham crackers
2 tablespoons sugar
pinch of salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter or Earth Balance, melted

Cheesecake
4 (8-ounce) packages reduced fat cream cheese or Neufchatel, at room temperature
1⅓ cups sugar
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup strawberry puree, divided

Directions

1. Place washed and hulled strawberries in a blender (about 1½ cups whole) and puree until smooth.  Place through a fine sieve to remove seeds.
2. For the crust:  Spray the bottom of a springform pan with nonstick spray.  Either grind the graham crackers with a food processor or place them in a ziptop bag and crush with a rolling pin.  Add sugar, salt, and butter to the crumbs and stir until evenly mixed.  Press the crumbs into an even layer covering the bottom of the prepared pan.  Put the pan in the freezer for 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the crust for 7-10 minutes, until fragrant.  Let cool on a wire rack, then wrap the bottom of the pan in foil.  Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.  Bring a pot of water to a boil.
4. For the cheesecake:  With a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or with a hand mixer), beat the cream cheese at medium-low speed until smooth.  Add the sugar and salt; continue mixing for about 2 minutes, until the mixture is light and creamy. Add the vanilla, then the eggs one a time, mixing just until each one is incorporated. Mix in ½ cup of the strawberry puree.
5. Pour the batter onto the cooled crust.  Spoon the remaining strawberry puree over the batter and use a butter knife to gently swirl it.  Place the wrapped springform pan into roasting pan; pour the hot water into the roasting pan.
6. Bake the cheesecake for 1 hour and 30 minutes.  Turn off the oven’s heat and prop the oven door open with a wooden spoon; let the cheesecake set in the water bath for another hour.  Remove the cheesecake from the hot water and let it come to room temperature on a cooling rack.  When the cake is cool, cover the top lightly and chill the cake for at least 4 hours.

Strawberry Coulis

Ingredients

2 cups quartered hulled strawberries (about 12 ounces)
1/4 cup water
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Directions

1. Combine strawberries, water, sugar and lemon juice in blender. Purée until very smooth. 
2. Press through a fine mesh strainer to remove the seeds. 
3. Cover and refrigerate until cold.

Sweet Mystery: Lowry's Fudge Cake Recipe and Story

Recently, I came into contact with a new type of cake: Lowry's Fudge Cake. Or was it Lowery's? I'm not completely sure, because based on anecdotal evidence, I see it both ways.

To the best of my sweet sleuthing, this cake--really more like bar cookies, really--made a name for itself in the kitchen of the Lowry's Motel restaurant in Greenville, IL. I found this small recipe headnote on Recipe Circus:

No Greenville native of a certain age will ever forget the pleasure of biting into a piece of Lowery's Fudge cake. It was sold exclusively at the old Lowery's Motel. We still remember how it was cut into squares and neatly wrapped in wax paper. After the Lowery ladies died and the motel restaurant became but a fond memory, custody of the fudge-cake recipe was passed to another lady of the church. It still arrives for the reception in perfect squares, wrapped in the traditional wax paper, though now the ladies of the Pastoral Care Committee unwarp it and arrange it on a silver tray. It never lasts long.

...and yet when I tried to find "Lowery's Motel" I drew a blank, but I did find evidence of a Lowry's, as noted in the obituary of Mariam T. Lowry (which references a motel in the family), and this vintage postcard:

...so sadly, while I was unable to find out much more about who created this recipe, one thing is not shrouded in mystery: the cake's deliciousness. As previously noted, it really is more like a cross between a cake and a bar cookie, kind of like a chocolate gooey butter cake with a crumb topping. Very decadent, very delicious. Happily, I was able to find a recipe--here it is for you. The one I tried (pictured top, not baked by me) also had a brown sugar crumb topping. Feel free to leave any more lore about the cake in the comments section!

Lowry's (or is it Lowery's?) Fudge Cake

• 2 sticks of butter
• 4 squares semisweet chocolate
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup flour, sifted
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup pecans, chopped

Recipe

1. Preheat oven to 300F.
2. Melt the butter and chocolate together. Add the sugar, Stir until melted. Cool slightly. With a wooden spoon, mix in the eggs, one at a time. Fold in flour and salt. Add vanilla and chopped pecans. Some people like alot of vanilla and a lot of nuts. I suggest 1 tsp vanilla and 1 cup chopped nuts. 
3. Pour the mixture into a buttered 9X11 inch pan. Bake for about 40 minutes. Start testing at 30-35 minutes. To be a purist, your straw for testing should come out clean. Cool on wire rack.

Cake Byte: CakeSpy Featured on CHOW!

Today is a very sweet day, my friends: it marks the first time I've ever been referred to as a "Confectionery Art Ninja". I sincerely hope this is the first of many times I will be referred to in this way.

It was in a beautifully written article on CHOW.com by supercool writer James Norton (check out his work here), who kindly began the article thusly:

That Jessie Oleson is a woman of many talents—baker, writer, illustrator, businesswoman—is impressive. That this Seattle resident manages to make a full-time living by harnessing all those talents under an umbrella enterprise called CakeSpy is damned improbable.

...not only was he a pleasure to talk with during the interview, but he also gave me some great Minneapolis bakery tips, told me about a mural by another anthropomorphic foodie painter, and gave me the lowdown on Norske's Nook. Score!

There's a sweet q+a, and I even gave them a recipe from my upcoming book, CakeSpy Presents Sweet Treats for a Sugar-Filled Life, for cookie dough-filled cinnamon rolls (oh yeah!).

Of course, if you want to read more about sweet-ninja ME, you can read the full interview here.

Do the Mashed Potato: Chocolate Covered Potato Kisses Recipe for Serious Eats

Desperate times called for desperate measures, and in the 1930s, candy was often made using an unlikely ingredient: mashed potatoes. No, really.

Potato fondant, rolled candies filled with peanut butter, and Potato Fudge were among the potato-rich candies referred to as "depression candy."

Of course, even in less depressed modern-day kitchens, these recipes are worth revisiting: turns out, potato is a surprisingly versatile candy filling, working very well with a variety of flavors and textures and making for a texture that is surprisingly creamy. This recipe for Potato Kisses is one of my personal favorites, rich with sweetened coconut. And of course, like so many things, it tastes even better with a rich coating of dark chocolate.

For the full entry, more cute pictures, and the recipe, visit Serious Eats!

Sweet Love: A Bakery Crush on Willamette Valley Confectionery

A couple of weeks ago, at Crafty Wonderland, I met the two men of my dreams.

They were at a booth surrounded by cake pops, homemade pâtes de fruits, chocolates, and toffee. There was a dreamy sign that said "Willamette Valley Confectionery".

Of course, they also appeared to be a couple, but that was ok with me, because I really just wanted their candy. 

And oh, what candy it was.

Let's start with the cake pops. They really, really wanted to upsell the fact that they were gluten-free, and that is fine by me, and it made me happy for people who can't eat gluten, but it really wasn't of great importance to me.

But happily, devoid of gluten as they might have been, they were full of flavor: very moist, rich, and extremely--like, your tooth might fall out but it would fall out so good--sweet.

The pâte de fruit was a bit more subtle, still very sweet but made with local Marionberries. And shaped like a heart! Love.

Willamette Valley also boasts a full line of confections, such as barks, chocolates, and tiny cakes. 

Happily, if you are in Portland or the environs, you can pick up their goods at Whole Foods markets; it is slightly pricier but still delicious to have the goods shipped, which you can do via their website, willamettevalleyconfectionery.com.