1.5.09: Baked Good of the Day: Vegan Almond Cookie from PCC, Seattle

Lately, I've been obsessed with eating cookies for breakfast. I tend to gravitate toward "healthier" ones containing nuts, oats or thumbprints with preserves--perhaps this is a misguided effort to convince my body that it's eating a granola bar instead of a cookie?

I love these vegan almond cookies from PCC. They're dense, chewy little rocks of cookie that would probably taste too healthy later on in the day, but their almondy, whole wheat-y taste seems perfect in the morning. Not sure if they're made in-house or come from a local bakery like Flying Apron, but I've been pretty into them lately.

Vegan almond cookies, found at PCC in Fremont.

The Walls Come Crumbling Down: Crumb Cake by Hahn's

Something interesting happened the other day while I was attending a birthday brunch: I found myself standing next to a group of former East-Coasters. Since I am originally a Jersey girl herself, it was inevitable that the conversation would turn to that age-old question of the relocated: "What do you miss most about the East Coast?". Just as inevitably, many of the things that former East Coasters will miss are food related: Dunkin' Donuts, black and white cookies, decent pizza...and crumb cake.

Really, it surprises me that crumb cake isn't the same phenomenon in the west that it is in the Mid-Atlantic region. While yes, it does exist in Seattle and on the West Coast, rarely is it quite the same as those huge, deli-style hunks, individually wrapped in plastic, that we recall so fondly from the other coast. Moreover, the west coast crumb cake seems to be more like a pound cake with a light layer of brown sugar topping; none of those knobby, walnut-sized, buttery crumbs that we so love.

Happily, a heavenly voice recently called to me (OK, the NPR announcer) with a solution for this heartache: Hahn's Old-Fashioned Cake Company, a Long Island-based company that ships their authentic crumb cakes nationwide. The cake, which starts with a pleasingly yellow butter cake base, bears a sweet burden indeed: a mountaintop of perfect, extra-large brown sugar crumbs, all dusted with sweet powdered sugar. The ratio of cake to crumb is perfect; the taste is even more so. Buttery, dense and with just the right touch of saltiness, these cakes are like a taste of the East Coast, even so far out west.

It's enough to bring a tear to the eye.

Available online at crumbcake.net. 

Just Donut: Apple Cider Donuts by Delicious Orchards

What is Fall? More than just dates on the calendar, it's a season of colors, flavors and sensations. Fiery-colored leaves, the taste of hot apple cider, piles of leaves that all but ask to be jumped upon. Blustery days that make your body and soul cry out for sweet, cakey treats.

And what could be a better marriage of seasonal flavors and comforting cake than apple cider donuts?
Happily, Delicious Orchards of Colts Neck, New Jersey, offers these wonderful fall treats online. The orchard and gourmet market, based in Central New Jersey, serves as proof of why it's called the "Garden State" with their beautiful and seasonal selection of gourmet foods and baked goods. These donuts are the stuff of dreams: beautifully spiced and thick, they're perfect with hot coffee or apple cider; we love how they taste after having been heated in the toaster oven for a minute. They come in two variations: plain apple cider, and powdered sugar coated apple cider.

They'll leave you full of happiness--and energy for diving into your neighbors' leaf piles (and running away after).

Available online at deliciousorchardsnjonline.com.

Honey Pie: the Desserts of Vegan Honey

For some reason, the phrase "Whoopie Pie" really, truly bothers us. Not the dessert, mind you; just the name. Cakespy notes that a different name might make them less mortifying to order, out loud, in a bakery. Just to throw out a few ideas: frosting sandwiches, happycakes, sweetburgers, cakewiches, cream cuties, twin quasars of pleasure.

Nonetheless, the photo and description were so alluring on Vegan Honey's Peter Pumpkin Whoopie Pies that we had to give them a try. Now, there were risks involved--even name aside, these were also vegan (and with our non-vegan tasting crew, we weren't sure how they'd go over). After arriving yesterday via express mail from Brooklyn, the pies were a bit soft from their long trip to Seattle, but were revived by a brief stint in the freezer. And the verdict? We were converts after the first bite. Creamy, sweet (but not cloying) and expertly spiced, these confections are nearly perfect, and the word "vegan" never even entered our mind--in fact, one of our unknowing testers never even noticed! Ideal with warm soy milk or tea, these are a wonderful, cakey autumn treat. Although we haven't sampled anything else, we're feeling very good about Vegan Honey; we're especially intrigued by the brand-new "Faux-stess" Hostess inspired vegan treats.

Cakespy note: One more reason to feel good: a percentage of Vegan Honey's sales go toward animal advocacy, environmental and social justice organizations!

Available online at veganhoney.etsy.com or by calling 718-928-8495.

Do You Believe in Magid?: Cakes by Sarah Magid

They say that one thing leads to another. Never has this been more true than in the case of Sarah Magid: after inheriting a serious sweet tooth from kitchen savvy mom and Grandma growing up in So-Cal, she moves to NYC to study Art History; fashion beckons and she becomes a shoe designer, which segues into jewelry design; somewhere in all of this she realizes that the demand for the home-baked goods she brings to fashionable affairs were just as great as the demand for her jewelry designs; the baking business takes off, and now there are plans in the works for a bakery to open in 2008 in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

And we haven't even mentioned the actual cakes yet.

These cakes are the epitome of urban cool: not too perfect and not too cute, they're nonetheless unmistakably hip. Oh, and they're made with the finest organic ingredients-- so you can count on your cake tasting as good as it looks.

Unfortunately for much of the nation, delivery and orders for custom wedding, birthday and other occasion cakes are only available for the NYC area at the moment. But we're going to keep our eyes on this one--we see many more great things ahead for Sarah Magid.

To order or inquire about cakes, visit sarahmagid.com

(Photo credit goes with thanks to Sarah Magid)