Taking it to the Sweet: Cupcake Street Art Takes Over the World!

When we recently did a cupcake street art installation in Seattle, we had no idea that it would garner such a reaction--we've gotten so much love and support, and the project was even featured on KCRW's Good Food!

Since then, we've received numerous emails from artists, crafters and bakers interested in spreading the sweetness in their own cities. We love this idea.

Want to take part?

Your mission, should you choose to accept: 

• Spread sweetness throughout your neighborhood or city by making up a batch of sweet (but not delicious) cakes--here's a tutorial on how we made ours--and leave them in unexpected spots for others to discover, with the idea that this will brighten people's day.
• Help us document the project! Most importantly, take pictures! Send them--and your stories--to jessieoleson@gmail.com and we'll write about your experiences!
• Spread the word! Put the CakeSpy URL (or your own, if applicable) on the back of the little affixed flags, so that people can read about the project if they are the lucky ones who find the cakes out on the street. 

Sweet Art: A Tutorial on How To Make Fake Cupcakes

Whether you're taking these to the streets as part of a sweet art installation or just want to decorate a room, these cupcakes are not delicious, but they sure are sweet. Keep in mind that this is more of a field guide; feel free to make alterations to suit them to your fancy.

Here's how we made ours:

You will need:

• Plaster of Paris (available at most hardware stores or Target-type places with a hardware or home section)
• Water
• Paint to dye the plaster (we used crafter acrylic paint--the type that is less thick)
• Cupcake cups (we used the silicone kind, but the paper kind work as well)

For the cake part: Mix plaster and water (usually 1 part each, but adjust to a pourable but thick consistency). You can mix up whatever quantity you'd like; generally we will do about 3-4 cups' worth at a time; with 4 ounce cupcake-cups, this will make about 8 or so cupcakes. Add a small bit of water-soluble paint (like a watery acrylic or gouache) in the color that you want the bottom part to be, and mix until the color is to the point you like it. Pour into the cups til they level off at the top.

Let these dry for an hour or so. It's ok to move on when they are hard, even if they are still slightly clammy to the touch.

For the frosting: Do the same plaster mix, but with whatever color you'd like for the frosting (we like pink best--so red paint). You can do slightly less, maybe 2/3 the amount that you used for the cake. Make this "batter" a little bit thicker though (by adding a little more plaster) so that it won't drip off of the sides when applied.

Using a spoon, gently put a spoonful on top of each cupcake, adding another spoonful to get a gentle "tiered" effect on the frosting, which will kind of melt into a pleasing cupcake frosting-y shape.

Optional for if you'd like to add messages: While still wet, insert toothpicks into center of frosting so that it will dry with the toothpick in. You can have the flags attached now or attach them later.

Let them set overnight or until they're hard and dry.

Now you're ready to place them on the street--or maybe just give them to friends--but whereever they end up, they're bound to make the world a little sweeter!

Comeback Candy: Valentine's Day Chocolate Redux

It's a hard thing indeed, to realize that you're past you're prime. Where once you were the toast of the town, now you're yesterday's news: washed up, aging, without many prospects for the future.

But what if--just what if--you could have one more shot at the big time?

No, we're not talking about you, Mickey Rourke (although seriously--what's happened to you since Diner?). We're talking about Valentine's Day Candy. Just a week and a half  ago it was the star of the sweet world--now, half eaten boxes of chocolates are being discarded, and what boxes are left are relegated to sad sales bins, prices slashed.

But we know everyone loves a comeback--and so we decided to try to breathe some new life into those leftover chocolates to give them one last hurrah and to bring them up to date with the current sweet scene: and so, we made them into an Easter Bunny.

Here's what we did.

First, we took all of our leftover Valentine's Day chocolates--you know, those weird flavors that are always left--can't say for sure, but think they were vanilla fondant, strawberry cream, and some sort of almond marzipan-filled. We put them in a water bath to melt them.

Of course, having a brilliant idea in the middle of this, we poured in all of our leftover Sweethearts (side note: when did Sweethearts start sounding so stalker-creepy?).

Unfortunately, these sweethearts are pretty much indestructible, so rather than melting they more just became sugary lumps.

Since we didn't have a rabbit-shaped mold, we then sort of bent a mitten cookie cutter into a vaguely bunny-shaped blob, and poured the chocolate slurry into it.

Once it was solid but still malleable, we removed the cookie cutter and added an extra few dabs to form bunny ears. 

Then, we let it all cool down and set overnight.

In the morning, we touched it up with some bunnylike features rendered in decorating gel frosting. And then we decided to name it. "Easter Bunny" didn't seem quite appropriate, so we settled on "Mangly". Because certainly, this mangled little bunny had a face only a mother could love.

Feeling rather self-satisfied with having helped breathe new life into Valentine's Day candy and fairly holier-than-thou about having a small carbon footprint, we decided to see what other Easter Candy thought of their new peer.

Unfortunately, they didn't seem to get along. Maybe they're just jealous.

Or maybe they see Mangly the leftover-candy Easter Bunny for what he is: a has-been who is desperately grasping for one more moment in the spotlight. 

And if this is so, then perhaps it's time to face the fact that there's a season for everything, and unfortunately, the season of Valentine's Day candy has, sadly, passed.

Hey, at least we tried. But now, we say bring on the Cadbury Creme eggs and chocolate bunnies!

Holey Yum: Donut Pies

Donuts play nice, don't they? They're so open to collaboration. There's donut bread pudding. Donut burgers. Donut muffins. Donut soup.

And now, Donut Pie. Don't be fooled by the photo at the top: these are no typical donuts. They're in fact little morsels of pie crust, with filling rolled inside of them and then fried. While they're certainly not health food, they certainly are delicious: crispy, not too-sweet, easy to make, and completely open to improvisation with flavor. Here's how we made them:

Donut Pies

1. First, choose your favorite pie crust recipe (we used this one). We made the equivalent of a single pie crust, and the yield was about 15 mini Donut Pies.
   
2. Next, decide what your filling would be. For our filling, we mixed one ripe banana, a small amount (1/4 cup, adding more to desired thickness) of heavy whipping cream, and 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, and two pinches of cinnamon. We mashed it until it was incorporated, but still a little bit lumpy. You can fill them with just about anything you'd use in a pie though. Let your filling sit to the side.
   
3. Roll out your pie crust, and then score into strips. The strips should be about 2.5 inches wide, but as long or as short as you'd like. The length will determine how large the donut's circumfrence will be, so if you like mini donuts, keep them shorter.

4. Lengthwise, spoon a small amount of filling in each strip. Be sure to leave a small gap of space at the top and bottom of the strip.

5. Fold the crust over the filling lengthwise, so that you have a long, narrow, filled "log" of pie crust with filling inside.

6. Form into a circle.

7. Since we don't have a deep fryer, we then filled a frying pan on  with about 2 cups of canola oil, set to high heat, and once hot gently placed the donuts several at a time into the fryer, frying each side about 3-4 minutes or until golden.

8. Gently remove from frying pan and place on paper towels to blot excess oil.

9. Garnish as desired: with additional fruit topping (as above), whipped cream, ice cream, or for a more donutty look, chocolate icing (as seen on the chocolate topped ones) and sprinkles or swirls. Yum.

Pie, A La Mode: A Campaign to Make Pie Cooler

Every so often, someone will make that grand, sweeping statement: "Pie is the New Cake". Usually, this is someone who owns or is related to the owner of a pie-related business. Unfortunately, in a world which supports cupcake shops opening roughly every five minutes, pie has simply failed to have the same effect in the baked-good market.

So what's the problem? Clearly, it's a lack of media attention. After all, what did Heidi get for Posh on her birthday? What does Katie pick up for a sweet afternoon snack with Suri? Sorry, pie--but cupcakes are most definitely taking that cake.

But we feel for you pie lovers--really, we do. And so, in an effort to lend a helping hand in getting pie the attention it deserves, may we humbly suggest the following tried-and-true tabloid methods to be applied for pie promotion? Here goes:

Stir up some controversy:

Get people thinking about the issues that touch pies' lives:

Dish about fashion faux pas:

But of course--in spite of everything, don't forget to show how pies really are just like us:

Scandalized? Well, they say there's no such thing as bad press; surely these sweet tips are the first step in making pie the true cream of the crop--or at least shaking off some of that wholesome crusty image.

Taking it to the Sweet: A Cupcake Street Art Installation

Sometimes life sucks. We're talking about the little things that can wear on you in a big way: long commutes; waiting in line; dealing with rude people; being broke.

It was with these stressors in mind that we dreamed up an installation project small in scope but big in touchy-feeliness: we made a batch of fake cupcakes with uplifting phrases attached, and placed them throughout our neighborhood. 

Told you it was touchy-feely.

Here's what we did:

First, we made up a batch of faux cupcakes using plaster of paris. (Cakespy Note: If doing it again we might not use the silicone baking cups though, because they have a built-in fill line which showed up in our finished cakes.)

Then we attached little flags to each, with cute sayings.

Then came the fun part: we let 'em loose around town. Here are some of the highlights:

A park bench got a whole lot sweeter with a cupcake that said "You're super sweet";

On top of a "No Parking" sign, a cupcake declared "People like you. Really";

Atop some foliage, stressed passersby are reminded to "Remain Calm";

Perched atop a hydrant, one cupcake urges you to "Eat More Cake";

On someone's garden patio, there's a reminder to "Relax!";

At a bus stop, weary travelers are told to "Have a very sweet day!";

Smokers may want to be cool, but this cupcake urges them to "Stay Cute!";

On an entryway, one cupcake reminds that "You deserve a treat";

And finally, an ATM got a whimsical upgrade with a cupcake bearing the saying "The economy will be OK".

But on to the big question: Why?

Well, it's not too complicated. You know that we're strange little darlings, we spies. We liked the idea that the novelty of finding such an unusual art object in an unexpected spot might give viewer pause. Perhaps coming across one of these little cupcakes it made them smile, or maybe it annoyed them as a piece of rubbish. Maybe it made them scratch their head and wonder why. But in any instance, the ultimate goal was a repreive--a momentary escape from everyday worries, and a small reminder that yes, life can be strange--but sometimes sweet.

What happened to the cupcakes? Beats us, though if you live in Seattle, you might just find a sweet surprise where you least expect it.

Well-Dressed: The Salad Dressing Cake

The New Year is upon us, and with it comes that most dreaded, terrible custom: The New Year's Resolution. Proclamations of healthy eating and new gym memberships are as plentiful as the popping of champagne corks less than a week before. However, as we all know, few stick to those resolutions--so when you've given up, when you're ready to come back to the dark side, we present the Salad Dressing Cake.

Now, the name "Salad Dressing Cake" can be misleading--this is not some sort of exotic balsamic-glazed confection. No sir, the dressing we're talking about here is the one that dresses salads of the potato and macaroni varieties: mayonnaise. Now, for all those naysayers, a few points. If you're disgusted by this cake but you're one of the many who indulged in bacon-flavored baked goods in the past year, you take a long look at yourself in the mirror before you judge the mayo cake. Because what makes up mayonnaise--egg yolks, oil, vinegar--is all stuff that would go into a cake anyway. And as a note to vegan readers, the recipe works just fine with Vegenaise as well.

We were surprised by this cake. It's probably the most dense, moist, rich cake we've ever made--it has a slightly tangy flavor, not unlike a sour cream cake. In our version, instead of using 4 tbsp of cocoa powder as in the original recipe, we substituted the same amount of ground Callebaut chocolate--this not only gave the cake a nice added texture and color, but added a nice bittersweet flavor contrast. Topped with a simple buttercream frosting, it's actually quite a pleasant cake. 

Moreover, the biggest problem with this cake is not the flavor but the gross-out factor--no matter how you put it, no matter how many justifications you have, Salad Dressing Cake does not sound delicious or appetizing. Still, once you get past that hurdle, you might be pleasantly surprised. Our advice? Serve now, and tell the tasters what they ate later. 

Salad Dressing Cake (Via reliableanswers.com)

• 2 cups Flour
• 2 teaspoons Baking Soda
• 1 cup Sugar
• 4 tablespoons cocoa (we used ground chocolate--see above)
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 cup Miracle Whip or mayonnaise salad dressing (or vegenaise for a vegan option)
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla

1. Mix all ingredients together, beat until smooth. Grease a 13"x9" cake pan (we used a circular pan) and dust with flour. Bake at 350° for 30-minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
2. Frost when cool; we used this simple buttercream frosting:

• 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 pound confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

1. In a mixer bowl fitted with a paddle attachment, combine butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt. Beat on high speed 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally.

If desired, serve on top of a real salad for a delightfully mischievous presentation.

Tele-Graham Crackers: Sweet Treats in the Mail

Though Cakespy Headquarters is based in Seattle, we're originally from a magical place known as New Jersey; as such, at this time of year, we really start to miss friends and family back East. And while certainly a holiday card is a sweet gesture, this year, if we may put modesty aside for a moment, we had an idea that is really pure genius: the Tele-Graham Cracker. These sweet little treats in the mail give a shout-out to a lost art of communication and offer sweet (or not so sweet) greetings for the holiday season.

What do you need to make them? We made ours into little sandwiches, using Honey Maid Cinnamon Graham Crackers and cream cheese frosting; for the outside messages, we used gel frosting (and we're gonna be honest here, we bought the little gel writers). 

How do you make them? Oh please, it's easy. Split a graham cracker in half; frost one side and adhere the top layer to form a little sandwich. Using your gel writer, write in the message of your choice.

May we make suggestions? We tried to personalize them for various friends in various places and states; for a friend who has promised to pay a visit but hasn't in four years, a "Visit Soon" Tele-Graham was in order;

for Rakka, who has been experiencing some aches and pains, a slightly mangled "Feel Better" Tele-Graham complete with injured Teddy Graham seemed appropriate;

for the friend who disappeared after we loaned him 50 bucks, we made an extra-special treat (kidding); 

For Mr. Cakespy, our own live-in Chia Pet, "URAQT" seemed to fit the bill;

and as general greetings for family and friends go, you can't miss with "Miss You" or "Love You" . 

How to Pack them Up? We packed ours up using waxed paper, with an outer layer of tissue paper to buffer the edges and protect the little Tele-Grahams. We then packed them in perfectly-sized kraft jewelry boxes purchased from U-Line, taped the edges and simply addressed and sent. Will they arrive OK? Only time will tell, but certainly the sweet sentiment will be appreciated. 

Sweet But Dark: Fifty Ways to Kill a Twinkie

Thanks again to our buddy at Suspect and Fugitive for her help on this adventure!

It's been said that Twinkies could survive a Nuclear Holocaust--and we wouldn't dare challenge the wisdom of The Family Guy. But what about far more mundane, everyday perils? Certainly Twinkies aren't completely indestructable. There's always a means to an end, isn't there? As Paul Simon once said, there must be fifty ways to leave your lover--and so, in what may be considered a perverse twist on this logic, we figured there must also be fifty ways to kill a Twinkie. Ranging from somewhat useful to creative to downright cruel, here they are:

1. Step on it. If so desired, do it slowly.

2. Death by Razr: crush it in a cell phone.

3. Put it in a handbag for a week. That sucker doesn't have a chance.

4. Put it in the mail. (Note: The first picture is before we sent it --for the recipient's privacy we photographed it before adhering the label-- and the second is after it arrived.)

5. Shank it. 

6. Leave it out in the Seattle rain.

7. Make it listen to Randy Newman on an endless loop.

8. Take it to a fat camp and see how long it lasts.

9. Teddy Graham attack!

10. Pour boiling water on it. Either marvel at, or be repulsed by, the results.

11. Stuff it in a sewer grate.

12. Hurl it at the Space Needle. (Note: We wanted to throw it FROM the Space Needle, but fearing arrest and / or heavy fines, we decided to throw it AT the Space Needle.)

13. Make it into roadkill.

14. Give it to someone less fortunate (to use it as a punching bag when they see they got a ticket).

15. Impale it.

16. Chop it into tiny bits--you know, like mobsters do.

17. Fry cubed Twinkie and make Twinkie Croutons.

18. Make your friends eat a real salad with Twinkie croutons--hilarity will ensue! (for you).

19. Add salt. It kills slugs, so why not Twinkies, right?

20. Put it in the microwave. Wonder why the microwave makes the cream filling turn to translucent goo.

21. Go all Damien Hirst on it!

22. Make it into something delicious, like Twinkie tiramisu.

23. Feed it to a snake.

24. Sit on it for an extended period of time.

25. Put bleach in its coffee.

26. Slice it in half and try to see hidden Rorschach-style pictures.

27. Make Twinkie hot dogs!

28. Use it to balance a wobbly chair.

29. Give it a Monster Thickburger--a heart attack will surely follow.

30. Go all mad science, like these people did.

31. Make it into an instant breakfast. Screw you, Carnation Instant!

32. Give it alcohol poisoning.

33. Use it as a bookend.

34. Leave it to Godzilla's wrath.

35. Dehydrate it.

36. Give it to a guinea pig.

37. Skewer it. Twin-kebab, anyone?

38. Make Twinkie Sushi (Note: This was not originally our idea. Check it out here.)

39. Give it to Mariah Carey. That Twinkie's a goner for sure.

40. Submit it to cryogenesis, as these people did.

41. Zombie attack!

42. Freeze it

43. Put it in the kitchen fan.

44. Use it as a doorstop.

45. Mauled by Unicorn!

46. Drop it off a building. We didn't, but they did.

47. Mentos, Diet Coke, Explode!

48. Hang it.

49. Give it to an artist. We gave it to our good friend at Suspect and Fugitive, who made a "Twin-Keith Richards" portrait out of the creme filling. Why? Well, as an homage to their shared infinite shelf life.

Finally, for #50? Oh, you know...eat it. If you dare.

Batter Chatter: Interview with Matt and Renato of Baked, Brooklyn NY

(Cakespy Note: Many of the photos in this interview are c/o the Baked website, and were taken by Tina Rupp and Brian Kennedy).

In case you're not familar, this is Baked, a sweet little spot in Red Hook, Brooklyn.

These are Renato and Matt, the adorable owners.

And these are some of their baked goods. 

If it's not already clear why we love Baked and its bakers, then please scroll back and review the photos again (and smack yourself while you're at it). Yes, we love Baked--and so it should be no surprise that we also love their brand new cookbook, Baked: New Frontiers in Baking, which includes recipes for a great variety of their gorgeously decadent, down-home-with-a-gourmet-touch baked goods, as well as the sweet stories behind them. 

Recently we caught up with them when they passed through Seattle on their book tour. Knowing that they've been doing a lot of interviews, we decided to conduct ours a little bit differently--putting them on the spot by having their own baked goods conduct a picto-interview. In a sort of rorschach-type manner, they were presented the following images and asked to react. 

Question one was presented by the Baked Brownie and the Bakedbar.

Matt: Almost always theBaked Brownie--I love the Bakedbar...I mean, they're both our children...but I think the Baked Brownie is a little tougher.
Renato: A little meaner.
Matt: Yes...a little meaner.
Cakespy: So that's it. Sophie's Choice--you win, Baked Brownie.

Baked Good Response: Bakedbar bows head in shame, little coconut bits drooping sadly.

Question two addressed the buzz about the bakery case's heartthrob, the Sweet & Salty Cake (dark chocolate cake infused with a salty caramel, caramel chocolate ganache and topped with fleur de sel.).

Renato: It's a classic combination that nobody really thinks about--that sweet and salty combination, with dark chocolate, caramel, fleur de sel, it comes together in this way that makes all other desserts bow down to it.
Matt: It's an obsessive dessert, that's for sure.
Renato: When people bite into it, you see their face just...melt.
Cakespy: And then it's just a journey to see how fast they can cram it into their mouth.

Baked good response: Sweet & Salty says "Please, ladies and gentlemen...there's enough of me to go around!"

Question three addresses a serious cake issue--cupcakes vs. muffins--is the banana espresso chocolate chip muffin in their book really just cake in disguise?

Matt: Oh, absolutely. There's no doubt about it. The best muffin is just a cake in disguise.
Renato: It's kind of like a naked cake--there's just no frosting.

Baked Good response: "I've been living a lie!"

Question four addressed headpieces: whose is awesomer, the meringue topped tart, or their logo-mascot deer?

Renato: My answer is the mascot...we use him everywhere--on tote bags, buttons, tee-shirts...
Matt: Is it possible they could be equally awesome?
Renato: I do love lemon, but I'm gonna go with the stag.
Matt: I'm gonna go equal.
Cakespy: I'll try to be diplomatic here: while the stag's antlers may be slightly more awesome, the lemon meringue is likely more delicious. (Matt and Renato seem to like that).

Baked Good Response: Tart says "What does stag have that I don't?"

Question five tackled the Baked take on the tricolor cookie, which is different from the traditional Italian-flag coloring. It begs the question--would theirs get beat up in Little Italy? 

Renato: Probably.
Matt: Probably.
Renato: Ours are very delicate--they're made in small batches, with a circular cutter--those other ones are mass produced, and so would overpower them by sheer number.

Cakespy: So we'll keep them in their corner of Brooklyn--out of Bensonhurst.

Baked Good Response: "I'm a delicate flower--keep me away from those thug-cookies!"

Question six was posed by the Red-Hot Velvet cake: "Am I the sexiest cake in the case?"

Matt: Oh yeah. Everyone wants a piece of that red velvet. It's just that deep scarlet red, with a little bit of cinnamon in the buttercream...you just can't go wrong. I think that a lot of red velvet cakes look like the crazy aunt--but this is the sexy nymph.
Renato: If you watch Mad Men...this cake is Joan.

Baked Good Response: "You know you want me."

Question seven came to us from German Chocolate cake, the underdog of the bakery case--always a solid choice, but so rarely the #1 choice. He asks in a winsome manner, "Which one of us would you take with you on a desert island?". We can tell he hopes it's him.

Matt: I don't know if I would take German Chocolate...but I would definitely send him notes back home.
Renato: I'd want more buttercream.
Matt: We're indulgent to a fault.
Renato: I'd put a letter in a bottle in hopes that it would get back to him.
Matt: Yeah, we'd definitely send letters and money.
But what would you choose?
Matt: I'd choose the Baked brownie. I'm a brownie fan, and that's the reason to be for me.
Renato: I'd take the chocolate chip cookie, because I could eat that every day and not get tired of it.

Baked Good Response: Cue the "Debbie Downer" music.

Wanna get Baked? Check out their site at bakednyc.com. We also highly suggest their book, Baked: New Frontiers in Baking!