Seeking Sweetness: Daily Snapshot, CakeSpy Book Signed for Duncan Hines

CakeSpy Note: if you follow me on facebook or Twitter, you probably know I'm partial to observing (and sometimes adding) sweetness in the natural world and urban landscape. Here's where I post a daily feel-good photo or image, for no particular reason other than to showcase these sweet little nothings, in hopes that they'll make you smile.

Here's a sweet shot of a very special book I signed: for the crew of Duncan Hines! I sent it as a thank you to them for sending me to LA for the Emmy Awards! Oh, and about that book--you can buy it on CakeSpy Shop or on my upcoming Tour De Sweet Book Tour!

Sweet Snapshots: Deep-Fried Kool-Aid and Scones at the Puyallup Fair

The Puyallup Fair is a legendary thing in the Seattle area. There's something for everyone: rides, games, animal shows, and--most interesting to me--plenty of fair food.

Famous foods from this century-old fair include the Fisher Scone, Ice Cream Dip, and of course corn dogs and burgers (you know, to keep the sweets company). 

Today marked my first ever visit to the fair--on the last day of its 2011 run.

I got to taste the famous scones, of course. At $1.25 a pop, these sweet, biscuity, butter-and-jam filled treats are decidedly exquisite among the usual fair fare (which is generally more iconic than it is delicious, if we're going to be honest).

However, that's not to say that fair food isn't fun. And to honor that, I also sampled something from the "Totally Fried" booth. Sadly, they were out of my first two choices, Deep-fried Bubblegum and Deep-Fried Butter--but happily, they DID have Deep-Fried Kool-Aid. It was gummy, it was tangy, it was sweet, it was fried.

It was awful and awesome, all at once. I am not sad I did it, but I don't feel a need to eat it again any time soon. Or ever, really.

Of course, there's more eye candy: here are some sweet snapshots of some of the sweet foodie things that were at the fair this year--be sure to visit next year to get in on the sweetness yourself! Visit thefair.com for more. I have also featured a couple of the fair's prizewinning recipes this week--for Maple Spam Doughnuts and tricked-out Banana Bread!

Sweet Chic: The Patisserie at SLS Beverly Hills

Let's spend a few moments to talk about the desserts I sampled at a place called the SLS Beverly Hills.

This is the hotel I stayed at when I went to the Emmy Awards (oh, did I tell you I did that?) and the best part about this quirky, curio-filled hotel is that they have their very own patisserie. Sweet!

In keeping with the hotel's curio closet-gets-Philippe Starcke-ified vibe, the sweet shop has an apothocary-meets-sleek chic feel, but the goodies are delicious business. Desserts can be ordered at the hotel restaurant/bar, or ordered a la carte at the counter.

This spy sampled the Greek Yogurt parfait with macerated apricots, which was a gorgeous surprise, with vanilla-scented house-made yogurt complemented by lovely apricots and honey. Who knew yogurt could be so good? It didn't taste overly breakfast-y, either--they do have a version that they serve in the morning, too, though, albeit with less sweet bells and whistles.

But if you ask me, the real stars were the a la carte items: homemade marshmallows, small “tablet” chocolate bars, bonbons, lollipops, and mini-cookies including financiers, florentines, lava cookies, and more. It made for a magical presentation, and the sweets were all very well-executed small bites, clearly made with fine ingredients, with care given to flavor contrast and sweet presentation.

The SLS Beverly Hills hotel may be too cool for school for some, but a stop to the patisserie even as a walk-in is well worth the trip.

SLS Beverly Hills Patisserie, Los Angeles.

CakeSpy Undercover: Sweet Lady Jane, Beverly Hills CA

I want to tell you about my recent visit to a magical place called Sweet Lady Jane.

Now, I first made note of Sweet Lady Jane several years ago, when I saw it featured in a glossy celebrity magazine as the maker of a famous person's wedding cake (I forget who; the cake was what made an impression).

And so when I recently found myself in Los Angeles for the Emmys with Duncan Hines, I made sure to check out this delicious spot in Beverly Hills with a buddy.

Sweetly decorated inside, the bakery cases present some serious eye candy: mile-high meringues, decadent cookies, gorgeous pastries, and—most importantly—cakes. Cakes, cakes, cakes. Of all sorts and sizes, from red velvet cupcakes to chocolate decadence cake to Princess Torte and more. Like, whoa.

Our Spy Selections? Chocolate decadence cake, walnut caramel tart, Red Velvet cupcake, and a sea salt brownie.

My main treat was the Red Velvet cupcake. If I could have hooked myself up to an IV to quicker receive the cream cheese frosting from the Red Velvet cupcake I would—it was my ideal type of frosting, sweet but not saccharine, and lightly tangy from the cream cheese. The cake was flavorful. The cake was good. The cake was great. But I am going to tell you the truth in that for me, it was a vehicle for that frosting.

My next favorite was the tart, which had a nice, creamy filling and delightfully thick caramel finish on top of a shortbready crust.

The chocolate decadence was for chocolate die-hards only, unapologetically chocolate, chocolate, chocolate, and weighing roughly the same as a human baby (and not necessarily a newborn).

I didn't taste the brownie, but was assured that it had a nicely balanced flavor, with the salt providing a flavor contrast and rounding out the chocolatiness of the treat.

Basically, what I am saying here is that if you are in Los Angeles and don't go to Sweet Lady Jane, you are making a grave mistake.

Sweet Lady Jane, Beverly Hills, CA. Online here.

Fair and Sweet: Prizewinning Maui Banana Bread Coffee Cake Recipe

I just received the sweetest note from the PR department at the Puyallup Fair.

Apparently, at the baking contest, Coffee cake was taken to the next level by the winning entries of the Dillanos Best Quick Bread Coffee Cake Contest. The creative coffee cake creations left judges wanting more.

Marina Cervantes of Lakewood gave the judges a taste of vacation with her “Maui Banana Bread Coffee Cake” that won her first place and $100 cash.  And guess what? She was willing to share the recipe. Here it is:

Maui Banana Bread Coffee Cake

Marina Cervantes - recipe courtesy Puyallup Fair (running through Sept. 25)

Cake:

• 4 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2½ cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1½ cups sugar
• 3 cups mashed banana (ripe bananas preferred)
• 1 tbsp banana liqueur (maybe rum could work too?)
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• ½ cup coconut flakes

Strudel Filling:

Mix together- 

• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• ½ cup macadamia nuts, chopped
• 2 tbsp butter, soften
• 2 tsp. cinnamon

Directions:

1. Beat eggs and oil.
2. Sift all dry ingredients and add to egg mixture, mixing well.
3. Add sugar, bananas, liqueur, extract, and mix well.
4. Fold in coconut flakes.
5. Pour half of the batter into a bundt pan that has been sprayed with non-stick spray.
6. Sprinkle half the strudel mixture over batter, and then cover with rest of batter and sprinkle top with rest of strudel mixture.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 60-70 minutes.

Cake Byte: Sweet Fair Craft Show at CakeSpy Shop Tomorrow!

What are you doing tomorrow, Capitol Hill, Seattle?

Well, whatever you had planned, cancel it. Well, unless it was visiting CakeSpy Shop. Because that is what I am suggesting.

We're having a little craft fair tomorrow at the store, and it's going to rule so hard!

Here are the details:

From 12-5 on a sleepy Sunday 9/25, come hang with us at our first-ever Sweet Fair! Featuring DIY crafts, zines, soaps, treats, records and wearables from folks in the community, it should be a ton of fun!

• Date: Sunday, 9/25/11
• Time: 12-5 pm
• Location: CakeSpy Shop, 415 East Pine St, Seattle WA 98122

Can't wait to see you there!

Just Doughnut: Prize-winning Maple Spam Doughnuts Recipe

Like, OMG. Deliciousness and creativity were certainly present at the Puyallup Fair's SPAM recipe contest! Per the folks at the Fair:

The first meal of the day is the most important and SPAM challenged chefs of all ages to prepare a recipe that bursts the normal breakfast routine. The Great American SPAM Championship at the Puyallup Fair, which runs through Sept. 25, awarded first, second and third place awarded those chefs for both Adult and Kids Chef categories. In the Adult category, Jason Munson of Auburn took first place and $150 with his scrumptious breakfast treat, “Maple SPAM Doughnuts.”

The best part though? They shared the recipe. Awesome. Here it is:

Maple SPAM Doughnuts

Recipe courtesy The Puyallup Fair

• 1 can of Hickory Smoke SPAM
• 1 ¾ cups All-purpose Flour
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp butter (melted)
• ½ cup & 4 tsp. buttermilk
• 1 ¼ cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1 tsp. maple flavor

Procedure

To make SPAM rings

1. Remove the SPAM from the can and slice into 5 even strips, slicing from lid side to bottom width wise.
2. Place SPAM in frying pan and brown both sides.
3. Let the SPAM cool. Use 1½ inch biscuit cutter and cut the SPAM to fit the doughnut pan (about 20 rings total). Then take a knife and cut out the center of the pieces so it can fit in the doughnut pan over the center dimple of the pan. Set aside. Take the leftover piece of SPAM and chop up and put back in the frying pan and crisp up the pieces and set aside.

To make the dough

1. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat together brown sugar, egg and melted butter until mixture is smooth. Beat in the flour mixture and ½ cup buttermilk. Stir only until all ingredients are combined. Scoop batter into a quart or gallon-sized plastic bag and chill for 1 hour.
3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and remove the bag from the refrigerator after batter has chilled.
4. Spray a mini doughnut pan with non-stick cooking spray.
5. Snip the corner off the plastic bag and pipe batter into mini donut cavities, filling each about 2/3 full. Place the SPAM Ring on top of the dough.
6. Bake for 10 minutes, until doughnut springs back when lightly pressed.
7. Turn doughnuts out to cool on a wire rack.

To make the glaze

1. Whisk the confectioners’ sugar, 1 tsp maple flavor, and 4 tsp buttermilk in a small bowl, adding the buttermilk as necessary to make the glaze thick enough to stick easily to the doughnuts.
2. When doughnuts are completely cooled, dip tops of donuts in glaze. Top with the little pieces of fried SPAM.

Sweet Find: Scanwiches by Jon Chonko

From Scanwiches by Jon Chonko, published by powerHouse Books.I am absolutely obsessed with the new book Scanwiches by Jon Chonko, published by Powerhouse Books. This book features oddly sexy, almost Damien Hirst-style sandwich cross sections, presented in a high design sort of way and then gives a blurb about the sandwich's specs and place in society. While it is not a recipe book per se, it does feature the "construction" of each sandwich, so it invites readers to create their own versions (or seek out the best in their town). 

But don't take my word for it all; here's the official book description.

Scanwiches takes the sandwich and spreads it out for all to see. There's nothing quaint or humble about its presentation. From full-frontal, cross sections of monsters like the Dagwood and club, to minute, geometric tea sandwiches whose construction looks more like minimalist art than culinary creation, Scanwiches presents unabashed food porn that satiates even the most severe sandwich fetish. A supernova of swirling bread, cheese, meat, and lettuce, suspended in a black, vacuous space, and reproduced at actual size, each sandwich lays imposing, exposed, and tantalizing. Complimented by text revealing the origins and development of each sandwich throughout history, you'll learn to love and lust after these lowbrow delicacies in a whole new way.

From Scanwiches by Jon Chonko, published by powerHouse Books.But why should it be written up on a cake and dessert themed website? Because while there aren't many dessert sandwiches, there are enough to make it of interest to the dessert lover. Profiles on the fluffernutter and on sweet tea sandwiches captured my interest in particular, and I think they would interest you, too. In fact, the tea sandwich has spawned the idea for my next entry on Serious Eats (picture preview below!).

Buy the book Scanwiches here.

Affogato Get One: Cupcake Royale Introduces the Stumptown Tiramisu Cupcake

Images: Cupcake RoyaleFile under "things that make me want to die from happiness overload": the brand-new Stumptown Tiramisu Cupcake from Seattle's own Cupcake Royale.

Here's their official announcement:

Cupcake Royale is proud to debut our latest cupcake, the Stumptown Tiramisu Cupcake. We start with our delicious vanilla buttercake and top it with a mascarpone frosting made with Stumptown Coffee then finish by dusting with cocoa powder. 

If you haven't had mascarpone before, it's a creamy and mild Italian cheese that goes perfectly with our Stumptown Coffee reduticon. It's delicious by itself but even better affagato'ized.

Yes, you heard that last part right: you can also order it affogato'ed. Perfect for a grown-up treat, or if you've just had tooth surgery and can only gum rather than chew your cake (trust me, I've been there). Also per Cupcake Royale:

What is affagato? It means "to drown" in Italian. If you've ever had ice cream (or gelatto) with a shot of espresso on top, you've had affagato. If you want your cupcake affagato'ized, we'll pull 2 shots, unwrap your cake and drop it in. Watch it soak up the espresso as your mouth begins to watch. 

Oh my. For availability, call your closest Cupcake Royale location; you can find them online here. By the way, I will also be having two book events at Cupcake Royale locations in October; I'll be announcing those soon!

Baker's Dozen: A Batch of Sweet Links

It's not winter yet, but isn't this image sweet? Photo: Cake Gumshoe AliciaWhat are you doing this Sunday, Seattle? Come to SweetFair at CakeSpy Shop, a mini-craft-fair from 12-5pm!

Sweet on EATER: Eater National gave my book a shout-out in their fall book roundup!

Oh. Em. Gee. Crumb. Cake. Cookies. (thanks Ren!)

Like, whoa: Cantaloupe meringue pie!? (thanks again Ren!)

A fun event: Bake the ultimate cupcake at Butter Lane in NYC! (also a stop on CakeSpy's Book tour, btw)

Curious about the life of a sweet detective? Watch an interview with me here!

Sweet but scary (ok, more cute): "Epic Zombie Cupcakes"!

In case you missed them: stuffed shortbread cookies! NOM!

Sweet Olympia: you can buy my book on BuyOlympia! yes!

Great Gobs o' Yum: Matcha Green tea whoopie pies--I mean, Gobs!

Sweetshop I want to visit: La Gelateria, London.

Too bad I was at the Emmys, because this pie party looks like it was a lot of fun!

New obsession: Fruute.com.

Sweet surprise: I was pleasantly surprised by the made-to-order yogurt parfaits at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf in Los Angeles recently--I have never seen it done salad bar style like that before!

Pin it: I love this Pinterest page dedicated to pumpkin recipes.

Love this: a salt and pepper dessert roundup on Bon Appetit!