Summery Angel Food Cupcakes

So it's been awhile since I posted anything here, but I have a couple of verrrry good reasons. eh-em:

1) I moved to Fargo, ND, for the summer, and so stopped working in any kind of bakery and so had nothing (baking wise) to show you.

2)...nope, that first one pretty much sums it up! ;)

But thankfully, I have been hired!!!! (woohoo!), at a nearby bakery/ cafe, and although I will mainly be serving and waiting on lunch crowds, I'm hoping they'll let me do some baking as well. Until then, the only baking practice I've had is for FHE, and I may have to pare that down until I get some cash flow going. Last week, I concocted some Summery Angel Food Cupcakes. I've never worked with angel food before, and didn't realize the crazy number of eggs it requires, so I cheated a bit and used a mix for the cake ($2.19 baby!), but then I made the lemon glaze and sugared the straw-babies on my own ;) I made 18 cupcakes total and had enough of everything left over to make a loaf cake with strawberries stirred inside... it fell a bit, so I maybe should have just added the berries to the top after it got all firm and crusty on top- mmm!

Prior to Glazing:
I tried inserting berries after a few minutes baking( I wanted them to firm up some) into some of these, and left some plain- I think I preferred plain, the berry ones were a tad mushy inside, but still yummy!



Lemon Glaze: (yields 2/3 Cup)
2 C powdered sugar
4 Tb Lemon juice (fresh squeezed)
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
2 tsp. grated lemon rind or zest
(mix it all like crazy, should be runny)



And post-glazing and artful sugared strawberry placement ;)

Decorating!

So with all of the hectic craziness of Easter and Fiesta back to back, I (along with the other bakers and decorators at Lily's Cookies), have been putting in LOTS of hours, and we're still not caught up with the cookie orders! On the bright side, however, this frantic pace means that I've been allowed to do more in the way of decorating that I would have normally had to be trained and/ or not been thought of as "experienced enough" to do- yay? ;) I started out with just some basic royal icing outlining, (went alright, though I definitely need practice!), and now I've graduated to wet-on-wet glaze decorating, like so:

1) First I began with a fish with already dried royal frosting outlining, and filled it in with glaze.
2) Next, I piped colored glaze in lines across the fish,
3) then used a toothpick to drag the lines back towards its tail..
4) Voila!, completed fishy with eye! ;)
5) And I made him lots and lots of fishy friends :)

The End? ;)

Spring is in the air :)

This was a quick cookie montage I texted to my friend Kristin (aka Chicken) on her birthday. Sadly I did NOT make these cookies, (I'm still on the basic glazing for now), but hopefully someday soon I'll be turning out tasty treats that look this good :)

Commercial Baking Achievements!

So I'm calming down now, but my first orders for Kate's Frosting and Lily's Cookies had me bouncing (gently) with pride for weeks! Here are some modest pictures of those orders:

For Kate's, I frosted and decorated this assortment for a special order: (from left) strawberry, Pot of Gold (caramel melted in the middle of chocolate cake), Vanilla on chocolate cake, Ruby Slipper (cream cheese frosting on red velvet cake), and Chocolate frosting on vanilla cake- tada!




Then at Lily's Cookies, where they create these fabulous cookies,

I'm officially in charge of baking the treats for the coffee shop next door. Usually that entails quick breads and regular cookies, but lately I've been trying out different bundt recipes- this chocolate one was my first, lemon (not figured) is my most recent, but this first one of my favorite :)







Gotta love that hat, I was so proud and happy! :)

Kindred Souls :)

I've discovered lately that there's nothing quite as satisfying and reinforcing as talking to fellow culinary obsessed people. Sure, other friends and family all listen politely as I gush over the latest baking wonder I've learned about or do their best not to yawn as I describe in detail what I baked that day, (oh brave friends, you know who you are ;), but it takes another baker/ chef-at-heart to spark up an answering fanatical gleam. Instead of listening politely, they too get all worked up and starry-eyed over the wonders of fondant, and share kitchen foibles and triumphs. After such an exchange, I feel reenergized and excited to head back to the bakery kitchen, happy in the discovery that there are others like me finding joy in baking and cooking, despite the mildly puzzled looks being thrown their way by friends and family alike :)

Eureka!!! :)

(post from Feb 18, 2009)
After a full day (not the most patient person ever) of brainstorming bakery names and rejecting most of them as too cutesy, I've hit upon the perfect one! It has a good sound, would lend itself well to a nice iconic sign and logo, and also has a sentimental attachment as well. Before I unveil this great name, (which you are not allowed to borrow and/ sell to anyone else, or I will find you!), let me tell you the rejects so you too can marvel / cringe at what might have been: (you can steal these, have at it ;)

Berry Basket Bakery- Pies & Pastries (I like alliteration ;)

The SnowGlobe (I'd just finished watching Coraline, where snow globes play an important role)

The Cookie Jar (this was my fav so far, although it wasn't sweet enough yet for me...)

Serena's Kitchen (yeah, wanted to create that homey countrified feel, but it also made me envision hot and sweltery kitchens and stoves.)

Sugar & Spice Bakery (not bad, kinda overdone)

Sweet Nothings (sounds more like a lingerie store- maybe you get a free nightie with every order? ;)

Sweet & Sassy Bakery (ehhh, too much like sugar and spice, just Sassy would have been enough)

AND FINALLY, the eureka moment that hit me as I was driving home from the gym and gong past some of San Antonio's regal but crumbling old manor houses:


The Orange Blossom Bakery (& Cafe, in the future)

isn't it perfect?! alright, maybe you don't see it, but I think it sounds perfect- warm and fuzzy, sweet and simple (maybe I"m getting too into the adjectives here), and plus it reminds me of my roots- our big orange VW camper van was named, guess what?, Orange Blossom. :)

So there you have it, folks, the name of my future bakery :) Now it may be off in the way distant future that this finally comes to fruition, after I've gotten some bakery experience to make sure this is what I definitely want to be doing, plus maybe some culinary schooling, not to mention raising a substantial amount of money to start my own business, but still, there's one part that's finished. :) Now who wants a cookie? ;)

First New Post! :)

Wow, I can't believe that I have 2 blogs! I feel so technologically advanced! well, kinda ;)

SO I started this new blog to focus mainly on my baking journey, as I learn new tips, techniques, and basically just explore the culinary world. I'm just starting out, trying to determine if this is what I want to do "for the rest of my life!!!", or if it's just a passing fancy. So with that said, this is what I'm into right now;

~Fondant! I think I could easily make a whole long posting about this miraculous confectionary marvel, but suffice it to say that I'm especially impressed with the versatility of fondant. It can make cakes beautiful and posh looking, add a new dimension, or even be crafted into cunning little embellishments and figures! I can't wait to try this!

~Amazing Wedding Cakes, http://www.wetv.com/amazing-wedding-cakes, the show hosted by WE tv, is seriously inspiring for all of it's rocking girl-owned bakeries and the absolutely gorgeous cakes they come up with. I would sell a finger or toe to be able any of these featured bakeries, and hopefully suck up some of their talent in the process!

~Cutesy Cupcakes. So I know they're all the rage now but will probably fade out soon, but I can't help loving the sweet simpleness of these little treats. Ranging from mild to decadent, I wouldn't feel as bad actually eating one of these little creations as I would their older siblings, the elaborate pricey wedding cake! Cupcakes are portion controlled and bring back nostalgic childhood parties, with a new sassy edge.

~Cake Wrecks! The greatest blog ever!, found at http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/, this blog with it's terrible cakes on display for the (internet) world to mock cheers me up every time! I end up spending time reading back blogs, chuckling with the endearing author, and enjoying the gaiety of mocking these horrible cakes! It's updated with new monstrosities almost daily, satisfying my craving for daily and practically harmless glee. ;)