Cakewalk: 13 Sweet Moments from CakeSpy's Portland Book Tour

Treats and my book at Saint CupcakePortland totally ruled! Don't believe me? Here's proof: 13 of the sweetest moments from my Tour de Sweet, Portland leg:

TV! How fun was it to be on Fox 12 and demo my cakes made in orange shells? So easy to customize in a Halloween-y way.

Take your Pix: I got to hang out for a few hours at Pix Patisserie, where I gorged on Salted caramel macarons, signed books, and hung out with a bunch of awesome people, including owner of Perch, Willi Galloway.

Delicious Donuts: Finally! After being greeted with the "sold out" sign so many times, I finally hit up this holey spot while they were open (just after 6am on Saturday). The donuts, as promised, were delicious, but the victory of finally trying them was the sweetest part.

Alder Pastry: I learned about this place in one of the Portland weekly papers, and knew I had to visit. I picked up a lovely salty-caramelly kouign amann, and ogled at their other pastries and gelato offerings. Go there!

Tasty N Sons: Le nom nom nom. I ate mostly savories here, but the biscuits were simply amazing, and the "is it sweet or is it salty" apples with pork bits and syrup were divine. Here's their website.

Tinymeat: I got to visit the HQ! How sweet is that! I also picked up a new Unicorn Versus Godzilla wallet, and they told me to visit Salt and Straw ice cream.

Salt and Straw Ice Cream: Several people told me about this new ice cream joint, with its creative flavor offerings, and I was absolutely delighted by the Bourbon Pecan Pie ice cream, which was studded with chunks of rich, delicious pie, crust and all. Also very interesting: flavors such as Pear and Bleu Cheese! Find their website here.

Tonalli's: Sometimes you have to "Just Donut". This place pretty much rules. Find them online here.

Buy Olympia: Guess what? They have my book there. Go there, and buy it.

Two Tarts: Like, OMG. How adorable is this place? With $8 per dozen of their tiny and tasty treats, this is a killer deal and a very sweet spot to visit. Pictured above: a peanut butter cream sandwich cookie. Find them online here.

Papa Haydn: How could one not visit this famous spot when in portland? I tried one of their current specials, the champagne cake, which included layers of buttercream, strawberries, and rich cream cheese. Le nom. Find them online here.

Fizzy Party: At my Saint Cupcake signing, I met the lovely and amazing Tiffany of FizzyParty - check out her totally sweet website posting about our meeting!

Saint Cupcake: This was the best event ever. The treats were delicious, I felt so welcome (there was a cupcake that said "Welcome CakeSpy!" to greet me), and everyone was so amazingly sweet. They had a bunch of cupcakes and bonbonbunbuns (yup, their real name--sort of like doughnut muffins) for me to share. I also got to meet Brigitte Nguyen, who is just as enthusiastic about sweets as me (and more proof that famous people like my book!)! I can't wait to go back. Here's their website.

Bonus: My new favorite person, Becca, came to my Saint Cupcake signing and brought me a sweet treat she'd created just for me: Cuppie Barrettes! OMG!!

Thanks Portland - you're tops in my heart!

Ghoulishly Delicious: Halloween Ghost Truffles Recipe for Serious Eats

This Halloween, let your cake rest in pieces--mixed with frosting and coated in white chocolate, of course--to form Ghost Truffles!

These tricked-out treats are a festive variation on cake truffles, dressed up to look like ghosts for Halloween. Use whatever flavor of cake and frosting you'd like, or even crumbled up brownies--the generous coating of white chocolate with simply decorated ghoulish faces are what give these treats their signature look. Lined up on a plate, they make a perfect party treat for a costume party!

For the full entry and recipe, visit Serious Eats!

Sweet Fancy: Chocolate Paprika Cake Recipe from Kim and Jake's Cakes, Boulder CO

Photo: Kim and Jake's CakesThere is a song called "Daylight" by a band called Matt & Kim. I like this song. And I liked it even more when I learned that the Matt and Kim in question went to the same college as me, Pratt Institute.

But then I learned that they were several years younger than me and were kind of big deals in the music world, and then I kind of stopped liking them so much. In fact, my eyes kind of narrowed every time that song came on the radio. Stupid-younger-than-me-overachievers.

So now I turn to another duo, Kim and Jake, who run Kim & Jake's Cakes. Ahh, that's better. And they've offered up a recipe to share, for this delectable Chocolate Paprika Cake! An unexpected but delicious fall treat. Lucky us. Here's the recipe.

Image: Kim and Jake's CakesChocolate Paprika Cake

Ingredients For the Cake:

• 6 eggs
• 3 cups sugar
• 1.5 cups vegetable oil
• 1 cup dark cocoa
• 3 tsp salt
• 2 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 ½ tsp smoked paprika
• 3 tsp Urfa chilies
• 1 ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 4 cups flour
• 2 ¾  cups strong brewed coffee

Baking Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees
2. Line two 8 inch pans with oil and flour or spray down with Baker’s Joy
3.  Combine all ingredients except for flour and coffee into a six qt. mixer bowl.  Using the whisk attachment put on speed 2 and mix until the batter is shiny and everything is incorporated.  Alternately add flour and coffee a cup at a time starting with the flour. When everything has been added, scrape down sides of bowl and mix on speed 3 for one minute.
4. Pour contents into prepared pans and bake for 55 minutes.  Remove from pan and let cool.

Ingredients For the Icing:

• 2 lbs butter (room temp)
• 4 lbs powdered sugar
• 1 Table spoon milk
• 1 table spoon vanilla
• ½ tsp  each: sweet paprika, salt, black pepper

 To make the icing:  Whip butter on high for 5 minutes.  Scrape sides and repeat.  Add powdered sugar a cup at a time with mixer on speed 1.  Add milk, vanilla, and spices.  Whip on speed 3 to incorporate everything fully. To assemble Cake:  Level the tops of the layers, Apply a thin layer of icing to the top of one layer and set the remaining layer on top of it.  With a spatula use the rest of the icing to evenly cover the cake.   Serves 12.

Ask CakeSpy: Baker's Block

Dear CakeSpy,

First of all i'm only 16, but i'm a big fan of CakeSpy ( I'm asking for the book during Christmas!) But what i wanted was some ideas for pies I make pies a lot, but lately i guess you could say i have...hmm...bakers block. And I know you were the person to ask about this so if you could please help me overcome the terrible bakers block.

Love, 

Uninspired Baker

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Dear Uninspired, 

First off, let me commend you for your fine Christmas present request, but I respectfully request that you ask for about 20 more copies. One is not enough, and it is conveniently available at Urban Outfitters, a very cool store.

But on to the business at hand: this awful Baker's Block. 

Inspiration can be a fleeting thing, and the closest thing I can think of is the crippling disease known as "Writer's block". There is a Sylvia Plath quote on that subject: "everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise.  The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt."

How does this apply? Well, the doubt of wondering "will I ever create anything great again? Will I ever derive joy from it?" can be difficult. But taking a cue from Ms. Plath, I tend to think that "everything in life is bakeable if you have the guts to do it and the imagination to improvise." 

That is to say--while it is a very personal thing, for me personally, I like to try something I have never done before to get myself out of a baking rut. It can be as simple as buying a type of baking mix at the store I've never tried before, or as difficult as trying my hand at an intricate cake like the chocolate frosted princess cake. 

But I also hit up some readers for their suggestions, and here were some of their methods for breaking out of baker's block:

Alithea says "I make either Nanaimo Bars or Compost cookies...or I just browse here."

Pastry Child says, "I usually go with a no-fail recipe...something I've made a million times...chocolate chip cookies, usually."

Michelle says, "Bake your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, but make three subtle changes and you'll have a few fun favorite!"

Jess says, "I make oatmeal cookies with an assortment of add-ins!"

...so as you can see, there are all sorts of methods of regaining your baking inspiration. But the most important aspect is simply getting in the kitchen: personally, I think that the aromas of baking and the smiling faces of friends and family as they begin to anticipate your latest delicious creation will bring the inspiration right on back.

Got a tried-and-true method for breaking the curse of baker's block? Leave a comment here or on the CakeSpy facebook page!

Boo-Meringues: Meringue Skulls Recipe for Serious Eats

What do you get when you combine spooky skulls and sweet meringues?

Boo-meringues, of course!

If you need a moment to groan at that joke, I completely understand. But what's no joke is that these ghoulish meringues are simple to make, but even more fun to serve: personalize your skulls with funny faces to add some sweet charm to your Halloween fete.

For the full entry and recipe, visit Serious Eats!

Sweet Tutorial: How to Make a Fondant Trophy

File under "things you now know how to do": Making a Fondant Trophy. This tutorial, which will help your cake or cupcakes be the winner no matter if there's a contest or not, is reprinted with permission from the book Fondant Modeling for Cake Decorators: 100 Fondant Features to Top Off a Special Cake. Also included in this helpful volume? Tutorials on how to attain different effects using fondant, and how to make other toppers, including a fondant doctor, fondant aliens, and a fondant bible. Because you never know when you might need these kinds of cake toppers.

Edible supplies

• Gum paste
• Corn starch (for dusting)
• Edible glue
• Royal icing
• Dried Spaghetti strands
• gold or silver luster
• Vodka

Tools

• Workboard
• Rolling pin
• Circle cutters in small, extra small, and extra large
• Paintbrush
• Ribbon Cutter 
• Paper Towel

Procedure

1. Roll 1 ounce of paste. Use the circle cutters to cut out one large, one medium and one small circle. Pile up the three circles in size order, with the largest at the bottom. Fix with edible glue.
2. Make a ball from 1/2 ounce of paste and flatten to a hemisphere, but keep as much height as possible. Place this centrally on the top disk and secure with royal icing.
3. For the trophy stem, roll 1/2 ounce of paste very thinly and wrap around a spaghetti strand. Secure to the base of the trophy with edible glue.
4. For the trophy body, shape 2 ounces of paste into a cylinder, then narrow one end. Attach to the base by threading a spaghetti strand through the trophy body and stem and down to the base.
5. To make the trophy lid, cut out another small circle from the white paste and place on top of the trophy body, securing with edible glue. Shape 1/2 ounce of paste into a hemisphere and attach to the circle with edible glue. Add a dot to form a knob on the top.
6. Roll the remaining paste quite thinly, to 1/8 inch, and use the ribbon cutter to cut strips for the trophy handles. Curl one end of the handle one way and the other end the opposite way. Attach to the trophy on either side with edible glue, and support the shape with a paper towel until dry and set.
7. Make a paint by mixing gold or silver luster with vodka, and paint the cup.

Tour de Sweet: CakeSpy Coming to San Francisco for Book Tour, October 29th and 30th

San Francisco, you're in for a treat. And it's not of the Rice-a-Roni variety.

No, it's a far sweeter treat: CakeSpy is coming to the Bay area as part of the best book tour ever--Tour de Sweet, a bakery book tour!

Oh, this is going to be awesome.

First off: CakeSpy on TV! I will be on TV on Friday, October 28. I'll update you with details as they become available.

And then, I will stop at bakeries and make sure to have books to sell you and then sign for you. And I promise to draw either a cupcake, unicorn, or robot, in every sold copy. Where will I be stopping, you ask? 

• On Saturday, October 29, I will be hitting up Teacake Bake Shop, an adorable bakery with a few locations. You'll find me at their Burlingame location from 2pm til approximately 4pm. 
• On Sunday, October 30, I'll be making things sweeter at famed bookstore Omnivore Books. I'll bring rainbow cake, too! It kicks off at 3pm and will go on til 5pm. 

Now, I know we haven't specifically talked about it, but I will wear a Halloween costume if you want me to. I have this adorable ride-a-unicorn costume which I think you might like just as much as I do.

For the full Tour de Sweet schedule, visit this page!

Chocolate Peanut Butter HalfPops Clusters Recipe

When I recently received a sample package of HalfPops ("the crunchy heart of popcorn"), I knew what I had to do.

I had to dessert-ify them by coating them in chocolate and peanut butter, naturally.

I went about this experiment not necessarily knowing if it would work, but happily, it did, and what I ended up with were unattractive but extremely tasty haystacks of sweet-and-salty deliciousness. Want to make this magic happen at home? It's beyond easy. Here's how you do it.Chocolate Peanut Butter HalfPops Clusters

• 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 heaping spoonful peanut butter
• 1 package (7 ounces) HalfPops in the Sea Salt flavor

Procedure

1. Get ready: Line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners.
2. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and chocolate chips over medium heat, stirring frequently to keep from scorching, until the mixture is creamy and melty. Add the peanut butter and stir until incorporated.
3. Remove from heat and stir in the Halfpops, stirring until completely coated. Place a heaping spoonful into your prepared cupcake liners. Makes about 12.

Virtual Tour de Sweet, Stop 11: Magic Cookie Bar Pie by Blondie and Brownie

CakeSpy Note: My book tour has already begun--online, that is! Marking stop 11 for the virtual Tour de Sweet blog tour is one of my favorite blogs, Blondie & Brownie, who are offering up a sweet giveaway and who tested out the wonderful Magic Cookie Bar Pie:

I first encountered Magic Squares in college. Sweet, chewy, and ooey-gooey, they were just the perfect fuel for late night study sessions. I've added crushed potato chips, pretzels, and chopped peanuts to make Kitchen Sink Bars, but it was the Head Spy herself, the fabulous Jessie Oleson, who opened my eyes to the possibilities of a Magic Bar Pie.

As Jessie said in her new book, CakeSpy Presents Sweet Treats for a Sugar-Filled Life, "Magic Cookie Bars are, as their name might imply, no ordinary treat. Starting with layer upon layer of unrelentingly rich, buttery graham cracker crumbs, toasted coconut, chocolate and butterscotch chips, and nuts, they get even better when they’re smothered in rich sweetened condensed milk. With all that awesome, some might argue that a small serving is best. But I disagree, and to prove it, I’ve created those magical bars in pie form, which is naturally best served in thick, fat wedges. You’re welcome."

CakeSpy's recipe includes brilliant addition of peanut butter in place of plain chopped nuts which ups the saltiness factor. As much as I love sweet treats, I tend to knock my magic bars down just a bit. Here I substituted unsweetened coconut for sweetened toasted coconut, upped the amount of chocolate chips and took down the amount of butterscotch chips. The result was ab-so-freaking-lute-ly delicious.

For the full post, visit Blondie & Brownie!

Baker's Dozen: A Batch of Sweet Links

Photo: EtsySweet plate: Mr. Racoon Loves a Macaroon! Thanks Scott for the tip!

Are you ready for this jelly? DIY jelly packs.

Homemade! Candy! Corn!

Spider cake in a jar! Found via Not Martha.

MmmmMolasses Ginger Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches.

Sweet treats, sweet cause: Cookies across America!

Bakery I wanna visit: Alder Pastry in Portland.

It's all about the cookie: a sweet behind the scenes look at Milk and Cookies!
So cute: Cuppie-shaped cookies!

Pie a la mode: French Pumpkin Pie!

Sweet vegan life: an interesting article on the rise of vegan bakeries.

In case you missed it: photos from the CakeSpy book launch party!

Also, don't forget: you still have a chance to win a CakeSpy book!