Carnival Knowledge: Sweet Foods invented at Fair

I'd like to make an important announcement. Me and my friend Rachel of Coconut & Lime have started a podcast. OMG! We are still taking it slow, but it's pretty exciting.

Our first topic was Fair Food. We think about nerdy food stuff a lot, and it was an appropriate subject to totally geek out about, I thought.

You can listen to the podcast here.

But I'd also like to share some interesting factoids I learned while doing internet research for the show. It mainly involves foods invented at state or other fairs. A lot of iconic sweets are included, and I thought you might be interested in hearing about some of the famous sweets that are said to have been invented at fairs. 

Cotton Candy: Apparently, this concoction which amounts to spun sugar and food coloring was originally fair fare. Some brilliant fellows named William Morrison and John C. Wharton are said to have introduced it to the world at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis. It was called "fairy floss". 

Cracker Jacks: A snacking intersection of sweet, salty, and sticky, this stuff was not debuted at the ballpark, but instead at the Chicago World's Fair of 1893. The combination of popcorn, molasses, and peanuts was originally called "Candied Popcorn and Peanuts"--thankfully, they made the name a bit snappier before starting mass production.

Dr. Pepper: This soda, which is older than Coke or Pepsi, was debuted at the 1885 St. Louis World's fair. 

Ice Cream Cones: Neither ice cream nor waffles were invented at a fair, but they were both served at fairs, and the most famous documentation of them coming magically together occurred at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, when an ice cream vendor named Arnold Fornachou ran out of serving containers and formed a quick partnership with nearby vendor Ernest Hamwi, who rolled his zalabia (a waffle-like pastry) into a cornet shape, and the ice cream cone was born. 

CakeSpy Undercover: Bearded Lady Food Co in Olympia, WA

CakeSpy note: this is a guest post from Dawn M. Quinn of veganmoxie.com and Roxanne Cooke of roxannecooke.com.

Bearded Lady Food Co. is a mostly vegan, gluten-free bakery in downtown Olympia that makes and sells cupcakes, cake, cheesecake, brownies, cookies, ice cream, cheese plates, and sundaes. Many items are vegan and/or gluten free, but there are non-vegan versions of many of their goodies, too. You can pop in during the day to buy bakery case goodies, or show up in the evening for a seated dessert. Who could say no to making dessert a sit-down event? Dawn of Vegan Moxie and Roxanne of Roxanne Cooke Photography spent a recent Saturday evening trying a few of Bearded Lady’s plated desserts, as well as a couple beverages. Here are their impressions!

Dawn: After reading/hearing great things about Bearded Lady from friends and other vegan types, I knew that I had to get in to try their in-house baked goods and treats soon. My first trip to the shop happened rather accidentally: a group of friends went to dinner in Olympia, and a friend of a friend suggested we check it out. An amazing suggestion, as everyone (and me being the only vegan) thoroughly enjoyed their treats of choice and I couldn’t get the ice cream sundae I’d enjoyed that night out of my head. Fast forward a few months, and my friend Roxanne asked if I was interested in heading back to Bearded Lady for a most delicious blogging assignment: reviewing the bakery’s sweet wares for Cakespy. Um, yes please!

Roxanne: After that first successful visit to Bearded Lady with Dawn and other friends, I just had to go back to try more. I’m always up for trying new things, especially when it comes to baked goods and ice cream. Dawn: We came to Olympia from Tacoma on a warm summer’s afternoon, perfect for some sweet treats and cold beverages. I ordered an iced coffee, and was impressed by how decadent a normally simple beverage can be. Along with the accompanying soy milk I requested, the drink came with simple syrup that seemed to be dotted with vanilla bean flecks. I’d never seen anything like this before, and it added the perfect smooth and sweet flavor to the coffee that this traditional Americano, soy, no sweetener girl thoroughly enjoyed.

Roxanne: I couldn’t pass up the lemon fizz drink, since it was a warm evening (shorts weather, for sure). It didn’t disappoint; in fact, it was better than lemonade, yet just as simple! It was sweet but not overly so, and super refreshing and flavorful. Like Dawn’s iced coffee, the lemon fizz contained specks of vanilla that intrigued me and added a hint of sweetness that took it to the next level. All in all, it was the perfect choice for a summer night.

Dawn: Roxanne and I decided to order three desserts, again reaffirming the decadence of this outing, and my choices were the customizable “lil’ bit” sundae with vegan espresso-coriander ice cream, vegan chocolate mousse, toasted nuts, and vegan caramel sauce as my toppings, and a habanero sugar brownie. Roxanne had the espresso-coriander ice cream on our first visit, and I loved the flavor so much I knew I needed to try it again. The coriander flavor (something I generally don’t associate with sweets) really pops here, and the espresso isn’t overpowering, which allows the herb’s flavor to shine thorough. The addition of the mousse was a win this time around, as it was velvety smooth, boasted rich flavor and had a great texture. The caramel was great, no different in its appearance or taste from its non-vegan counterparts. Roxanne: My chocolate sundae consisted of vegan chocolate ice cream, vegan and gluten-free vanilla cake, fresh berries, and berry jam. There was a lot going on, but it meshed really well together. The rich chocolate ice cream was complemented by the fresh berries and berry jam. The vanilla cake was a bit dry, but it still went well with everything else. Overall, it was an extremely good combination I’d order again! Dawn: The habanero brownie stuck out to me in the bakery case because it sounded like an intriguingly rare combination: a super spicy twist on a traditional baked good. I took a couple of small bites and said, “This isn’t hot or spicy at all!” with a tinge of disappointment. I handed it over to Roxanne, who said “Whoa!” after taking her bite. After digging in a little deeper, I finally got it, too: pow! A peppery flavor hit like a kick in the mouth, in the very best way possible. The frosting was a bit hard, but that could be attributed to a few factors. The habanero sugar definitely added an element of surprise and bold flavor that made me opt for a brownie, a dessert option that normally doesn’t catch my eye. Well done, Bearded Lady. Well done.

Bearded Lady Food Co. 412 Franklin Street, Olympia, WA 360-943-6235 Serves bakery case goodies Friday-Saturday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Evening sweet kitchen open Thursday-Sunday, 5 to 11 p.m. Online here.

Rock Out With Your Cupcake Out: Confections of a Rockstar, Asbury Park

Recently, me and SpyMom hit up Confections of a Rock$tar, a new bakery in Asbury Park, NJ. A rock n roll bakery is right at home in this town, which is famous for being the place that Bruce Springsteen made a name for himself, at clubs such as the Stone Pony. This town has inspired confections before: there is a bakery a few towns over called the Scone Pony (love it, don't you?). 

At Confections, they have really good cake. Like, we were impressed (we being me, SpyMom, and SpyDad - come on, this is like royalty visiting your bakery!). We got the "Greetings from Asbury Park" cupcake, which as a cinnamon cake with cinnamon infused frosting. Yum Yum Yum. Rich frosting, moist cake - a winner.

But what impressed me equally as much as the cake was some of the names for the baked goods, which were rock themed. Some were just given iconic names (like the aforementioned Asbury Park), some had clever puns such as "S'more than a Feeling", and "Macaroon 5" cookies. After a lengthy discussion, me and SpyMom decided that the Greetings from Asbury Park really ought to have been called Cinnamon Girl, after the Neil Young song.

Of course, this brought on a big conversation, and we'd like to present some ideas we had for future cupcake names and flavors. (And I'm kind of a pro--I once designed a whole baked good menu involving rock music puns. Rolling Scones, anyone?).

BonBon Jovi: Howsabout a cupcake stuffed with a truffle in honor of a NJ rock legend?

Chai Baby: Not "Cry Baby" - Chai Baby!

Cinnamon Girl: cinnamon cupcake, Neil Young would approve.

Bananarama: Make a delicious Hummingbird cake, and name it for the 80s group. 

Crosby, Stills, and Ganache: A chocolate feat of deliciousness inspired by Crosby, Stills and Nash.

Peter, Paul, and Berry: A berry cupcake (could also be used with "cherry").

Bruce Sprinklesteen: A sort of funfetti variation inspired by the Boss.

Love me Two Limes: A lime cake and lime buttercream with a Doors feel.

Purple Glaze: A blueberry or blackberry cupcake with a matching violet-hued glaze would be a delicious homage to the rock song Purple Haze.

Another Peach of My Heart: Janis Joplin wailing "Piece of My Heart"? Enjoy it with a peach cupcake.

Greetings from Asbury Pork: Everyone has a bacon cupcake now; why not call it by a clever name?

Red Velvet Underground: Andy Warhol would love to eat the cake named after his pet project band.

Sympathy for the Devil's Food Cake: Rolling Stones approved cake.

But I digress. The main point of this post was to tell you that A) Confections of a Rockstar is worth a visit, and B) to inform you of how clever me and SpyMom are. Having (I hope) proved both points, I will now leave you with one more picture:

Confections of a Rock$tar, 550 Cookman Avenue, Asbury Park NJ. Online here.

Sweet Idea: Hummingbird Cake Truffles

Cake Pops and truffles are getting a lot of press these days. And with good reason--they're delicious.

But they don't have to be an all-out production--they can also be a clever and quick way to use up cake scraps. For instance, when I recently made a delicious Hummingbird Cake, I found that I had several cake scraps left from when I leveled the cake layers. Rather than discard them, I did the following, and suggest you do so too, the next time you have some cake scraps:

First, I mashed them up by hand, making them into cakey crumbs. Then, I mixed the crumbs with about a half-cup of the remaining cake frosting (I waited til after frosting the cake to make sure I had extra!). This doesn't have to be a scientific thing--you just need enough frosting so that the mashed cake will stick together and form into balls, but not so much that they turn into gooey, shapeless masses. Some more dense cakes actually don't need frosting at all to be able to shape into balls! You can shape them into balls by hand, or use an ice cream scoop for more free-form truffles.

Next, let the balls freeze for a good 2 hours - this will ensure that when you coat them in chocolate or candy coating, they won't melt, and will retain their shape.

At the end of the cooling period, set up a double boiler or just gently melt some chocolate or candy melt wafers (I did 2 squares of Baker's chocolate for about 10 truffles). Then dip your truffles directly from the freezer into the melted mixture, coating on all sides. Using a fork, tap them on the side of the pan to let excess chocolate drip off. Place on parchment paper or waxed paper and top with sprinkles or garnish while still quite wet, to ensure that it sticks (optional, but aren't sprinkles always cute?). 

Let them set for an hour or so before eating to ensure you're not going to get too messy. Then, enjoy! these keep quite well too, for up to a week. 

Sweet of the Day: Wings Made of Rice Krispies

OMG OMG OMG. They're not savory, they're sweet: these "wings" are made of Rice Krispies! Here's the entire blog post.