Boozy Banana Bread

I recently purchased Eva's Kitchen by Eva Longoria, and I've read it cover to cover. Usually when I get a cookbook I mainly look at the pictures, read the recipes that look appealing to me, bookmark a few to try, and give a cursory glance at the others. This cookbook captured my attention, because I like the way Eva writes, and I want to try nearly every recipe. She includes the stories and traditional recipes of her family, what is was like growing up on a Texas ranch, and some of the recipes she has developed from her travels as well as from her restaurant, Beso. Her cookbook is not pretentious in any way and is written as you might imagine she is talking to you while you watch her cook. Her recipes are simple with uncomplicated directions, emphasizing fresh, local, and in-season ingredients.

Scouting Out the Competition - Sprinkles

It is always fun to visit a cupcake bakery and especially one of such celebrity as the Beverly Hills-based Sprinkles Cupcakes. When we were in Dallas recently, we made the trek to the The Plaza at Preston Center, an upscale shopping center where the gourmet cupcake bakery, with its sparse, modern decor, has been in place since 2007.

Candace Nelson, owner of Sprinkles, shared her recipe for strawberry cupcakes with the world on Martha Stewart's show and website. Once I tried the recipe, I was hooked on the moist texture and natural taste--no strawberry jello or cake mix--and with a minor tweak or two this has become my Strawberry Bliss Cupcake, second in popularity to my Vanilla Bean Cream Cupcake. One of my purposes in visiting the bakery was to compare the actual store cupcake to my cupcake.

For Goodness Sake Strawberry Bliss Cupcake
We arrived at mid-afternoon, and there were at least 20 fashionably attired ladies crowded inside the tiny store. My husband stood at a safe distance while I carefully chose my cupcakes. As I started taking pictures of the famed cupcake display, the cool young woman behind the counter said, "I'm sorry, no pictures allowed in here." Huh? But, I replied brilliantly in my best whining tone, I've seen pictures of Sprinkles' displays on blogs. "Sorry, company policy." Not quite the welcoming atmosphere I would strive for in my future bakery!


After choosing four flavors and paying $13.00, I waited impatiently until we reached our hotel before taste-testing. In my haste to sample, I forgot to take pictures of my cupcakes.

My review, in order of preference:
Strawberry - every bit as moist and tasty as mine, naturally colored and fragrant with real strawberries; the frosting was equally luscious.
Red Velvet - tender and moist with a hint of cocoa; especially delicious paired with the Cream Cheese frosting.
Lemon Blueberry - a bit dense with a dominant taste of lemon extract; the blueberries were juicy and flavorful; the Lemon Cream Cheese frosting had the same lemon extract flavor.
Chocolate Marshmallow - least favorite--the chocolate cake was unexceptionally flavored; the chocolate ganache was quite bitter, and it is indeed advertised as bittersweet; the marshmallow was a tiny dollop for which I had to search.
The creamy frosting, with no gritty feel of powdered sugar, is worthy of eating alone.

Sprinkles Cupcakes = very good; Sprinkles Bakery = a bit pretentious

Scouting Out the Competition - Kupcakz

Yesterday I was in Tulsa, OK, which in spite of being about 15 miles from my hometown remains one of my very favorite places to visit. Wherever I am, I love to check out my "competition" in bakeries to glean tips for my own bakery and to learn from their best practices. This time I chose a relatively new cupcake bakery on the east side of Tulsa, Kupcakz.I spoke at length to the very friendly young woman behind the counter as she enthusiastically shared information about the bakery. I was pleasantly surprised to find a bakery that prescribes to my own baking ethics: bake with only the freshest and most natural ingredients. Kupcakz are baked fresh daily, are never refrigerated or frozen, and are baked with real butter, imported Valrhona chocolate, and from-scratch ingredients. From-scratch? Yes, that includes roasting peanuts to make their own peanut butter, making pastry cream for fillings, making candied pecans, sweetening and toasting coconut. No wonder they are baking cupcakes at 1:30 a.m.


Cupcakes are $2.50 each, $14.50 for a six pack; and $28 for a dozen. I purchased one dozen, for research and development purposes, of course.

I was more than impressed with Kupcakz. With my first bite of Cheeky Monkey, my eyes rolled back in an Oh-my-god moment. It is composed of not-to-sweet yellow cake with real bits of banana, very creamy, non-grainy buttercream, a drizzle of homemade caramel, and whole, crunchy, candied pecans atop the buttercream. The pecans were so good I got goosebumps.

You may find a list of Kupcakz's flavors on this page of their website. I purchased My Peanut Buttercup (the frosting tastes exactly like a peanut butter cup), Lemon Drop, Cheeky Monkey, Boston Dreamer, Sooner than Later (red velvet), Peppermint Maddy, Pretty in Pink, Not a Carrot in the World, Tropical Bliss, and January's Flavor of the Month--Bring on the Heath, which was milk chocolate cake filled with caramel, topped with milk chocolate ganache and homemade toffee, and drizzled with caramel. My husband, who claims to not like cupcakes, ate that one in about 5 bites, declaring it "very good".

Among the lessons I learned from my visit to Kupcakz: using the finest, freshest and from-scratch ingredients is well worth the indulgence, both in customer and personal satisfaction. Although I would offer my Strawberry Bliss, Sweet Pumpkin Bliss, Chocolate Dip Bliss, and Vanilla Bean Cream cupcakes in a throwdown with Kupcakz, I am quite happy that Kupcakz is 100 miles away from For Goodness Sake bakery!

Scouting Out the Competition - 1 Smart Cookie

One of the more pleasurable aspects of starting my own bakery is what I like to call "research". Here's how it works: I search online to find bakeries either locally or in the vicinity of my travel destination. I visit them to view their shops and equipment and to see how their products are displayed. And I taste-test by purchasing one of each item that is comparable to what I sell--cinnamon rolls, muffins, scones, brownies, cookies, etc.

It's one of America's dirtiest jobs, but I am compelled to do it.

Ever since I read this newspaper article about 1 Smart Cookie, a local bakery, I knew I had to go check it out. I went at absolutely the wrong time of the day, 4:30 p.m., not the prime hour for a bakery. But in spite of the sparse inventory, I found a good mix of baked goods to sample. The cookies were reasonably priced for a gourmet bakery, and the young man serving me was pleasant and helpful. I happily made my choices, waited as long as I could (till I got back in my car), then consumed an entire sugar cookie before I reached the end of the block.

This is one of 1 Smart Cookie's featured extra-thick sugar cookie cutouts. The star is one of hundreds of shapes available. I like the funkiness of the irregular shape.



The next photo shows the texture, which is slightly chewy, not crumbly like a shortbread; it is soft enough to bite into easily but still substantial--a surprising consistency for such a thick cookie; the taste is not overly sweet and no detectable spices; and it has none of the shortening aftertaste I associate with most commercial cookies. The icing is real icing--very tasty with a slight almond flavor. And the all-important sugar cookie aroma is present, not buttery but an indefinable sweet dough scent.



Below is the array of goodies I purchased--snickerdoodle, chocolate-chocolate chip, lemon sugar, oatmeal, and a lemon bar with a nice streusel-ish topping--all tasted just as good as they appear in the photo:



Based on previous samplings of local bakeries, 1 Smart Cookie wins hands-down. In spite of being purchased late in the day, the cookies still had a fresh taste. And they didn't have that chalky taste present in many bakery products. They tasted homemade, thereby achieving my golden rule of baking: bake for others as you would have them bake for you.

I appreciate good competition--it motivates me to stay on my toes (and to wear stretch pants.)