Cake Byte: Whoopie Pie Bake-Off at Oddfellows Cafe on July 12

It's time to make whoopie. Pies, that is. That's right: it's time for Whoopie Pie Bake-off, Part Deux!

Per the newsletter from Oddfellows:

Last year our Whoopie Pie Bake Off was a smack down between home and professional bakers. Winners were Heather Earnhardt of the Volunteer Park Café with her Red Velvet and Chocolate Raspberry Whoopie Pies, Chef Eliza (age 7) with her Sous Chef Robin had the best Classic Whoopie Pie, and Audrey McManus the babe from Babeland won the popular vote. Judges John Roderick, Molly Moon, Michael Wells, Christopher Frizzelle, Jen Graves, and Chelsea D. Lin consumed an inhuman amount of Whoopie Pies in order to determine these champions. While there may have been a few stomachaches, it sure was worth it!

Oddfellows Café + Bar will be having its Second Annual Whoopie Pie Bake Off on July 12, 2011 at 2pm at the communal table. This year it will be even bigger and better than ever! Last year our poor judges were over burdened by the amount of (delicious) entries, thus, this year we will have 9 judges, 3 per category, who are to be announced on our facebook page (facebook.com/Oddfellowscafe). The entries will be broken up into the following categories: professional bakers, home bakers, and gluten-free/vegan bakers who may be a combination of both, as well as the peoples choice, which will be decided by public vote. Within each category there will be a winner for best classic Whoopie Pie as well as Non Traditional Whoopie Pie. 

For more information, or to sign up as an entrant, email tallulah@lindashq.com

Cake Byte: CakeSpy Interview on Craftcast with Allison Lee!

Curious about the life of a Spy? Shame on you.

Oh, just kidding. Here's a great new way to stalk me: listen to this interview I did with Allison Lee of CRAFTCAST!

She introduces it thusly:

Today I talk with head spy Jessie Oleson from Cake Spy.com.

CakeSpy is a Dessert Detective Agency dedicated to seeking sweetness (literally) in everyday life. Jessie does this by writing about bakeries, conducting baking experiments, and picking the brains of bakers and food artists, and finding awesome products for lovers of baked goods.

Jessie O is also a freelance writer and illustrator, whose writing appears on DailyCandy.com, and Serious Eats. 
Recently she opened a retail CakeSpy Shop in Seattle,WA as well as finishing her book, Sweet Treats for a Sugar-Filled Life

Listen in and hear her favorite “must have ingredients” and “can’t do without” tools in the kitchen.  

To listen to the interview, visit the CRAFTCAST site! Thanks to Allison for a totally sweet interview.

Cake Byte: CakeSpy at the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn this Weekend!

What's awesomer than hanging out in über-hip McCarren Park in Brooklyn on the weekend?

How 'bout hanging out in uber-awesome McCarren Park with a professional Cake Gumshoe?

CakeSpy will be taking part in the annual Renegade Craft Fair this coming weekend in Brooklyn (one full of sweet memories, where, among other things, I met the awesome Rachel of Cupcakes Take the Cake and Jennifer Pooley for the first time); I hope that I'll see some of your smiling faces! I won't have everything in my webstore (I had to ship it all, after all--that business is expensive, yo!) but I will have plenty of cards, prints, pins, bookmarks, and of course my new favorite product, CakeSpy undies. Here's the info about the show:

The Renegade Craft Fair is headed back to McCarren Park for our 7th Annual Brooklyn Fair on June 11 +12, 2011, from 11am – 7pm each day! Along with hundreds of today’s best makers of handmade goods, we’ll be hosting hands-on crafting workshops and planning a handful of summertime surprises! New York’s most exciting outdoor showcase of indie-craft is always free-to-attend! Food and beverages will also be available!

Here's the official site; you can find a vendor map and more info here.

Cake Byte: Trophy Cupcakes Debuts Pina Colada Cupcakes for June

Do you like Pina Coladas? Do you like Cupcakes? Well, lucky you: Seattle's Trophy Cupcakes has combined these sweet treats.

What makes up a Pina Colada cupcake? Inspired by the classic cocktail's flavors, this sweet treat is comprised of a pineapple coconut cupcake topped in coconut rum buttercream--all prettily topped with a maraschino cherry. 

Per the Trophy Cupcakes newsletter,

This seasonal flavor is our staff pick for our "Best Cupcake Ever", and it is no wonder why... Coconut Cupcake, caramelized pineapple, Sailor Jerry's Coconut Rum Buttercream, a cherry... and to top it off a paper umbrella! Helllloo Summer! 

I'd go so far as to say that any hour this cupcake is consumed is an extremely Happy Hour. But watch out--other flavors might get jealous!

Pina Colada Cupcakes, available all June at all Trophy Cupcakes locations. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow them on Twitter and on Facebook!

Cake Byte: Cupcake Royale Debuts Raspberry Rhubarb Cupcakes for June

The weather may not be very warm, but sweet signs of summer are evident at Cupcake Royale with the debut of their new flavor of the month for June: Raspberry Rhubarb!

What do they have to say about it? Raspberry Rhubarb is here!! Tart & Sweet. Come 'n' get it!

Well, that's simple enough.

You can get it all month long at Cupcake Royale; for locations and hours and availability, visit cupcakeroyale.com.

Cake Byte: CakeSpy Gets To Tour the Wilton Test Kitchens!

Now, I don't want you to get too jealous, BUT.

In a little over a week, on June 9, your dear CakeSpy (along with a select handful of other sweetie-bloggers) will get the opportunity to attend a super-awesome event at the Wilton facilities in the Chicago area.

What is Wilton, you ask? Well, most cake lovers won't have to ask. But, if you aren't familiar with the name:

“For more than 80years, Wilton has been the industry leader in cake decorating, quality bakeware and food crafting. Wilton classes, publications and products help millions of people create celebrations filled with color, sweetness and fun.”

Basically, if you've ever decorated a cake, used a decorative cake pan, or piped icing onto something, you've probably used Wilton products.

I know! Awesome!

Featured events will include an overview and tour, a decorating workshop, a decorating challenge, and--the part that excites me most--a tour of the Wilton Test Kitchens. I know--it's the most exciting thing since I got to tour a butter factory!

And--even better--I get to meet in person several of the sweet dessert blog-writers whose work I admire. YES!

Now, don't worry, because even though you all can't be there with me, I promise to take pictures and take notes so that it can be just like you were there with me. K? Totally promise.

For more about Wilton, visit wilton.com. 

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!

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.

Cake Byte: Win a Copy of CakeSpy's Book on Not Martha!

A couple of things, sweeties.

1. On the totally awesome-sweet-magical website Not Martha, You can win a copy of my totally awesome book, coming out this fall, entitled CakeSpy Presents Sweet Treats for a Sugar-Filled Life! Sorry, you still have to wait til the fall to receive it, but, you know, it sure will be a sweet thing to look forward to.

2. Speaking of that book, did you know I get to go on a book tour? For sure I will be visiting bakeries -- you got that right, I am visiting BAKERIES, not bookstores for the most part -- in Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, New York, New Jersey, and maybe Chicago. Maybe Philadelphia, DC, and/or Boston if I can talk my publisher into it. The tour is called "Tour de Sweet" and I will announce dates in the next month or so.

3. For fun, I thought you might like to see an early picture of what ended up being the cover design. When you receive your book (whether you buy or win it) you can compare and see how the design was altered for the ultimately totally sweet back cover.

What else do I need to tell you? GO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY HERE.