For Goodness Sake Cupcakes

Here are some of the cupcakes I made for customers this week.



These are Sweet Bites Cupcakes in Vanilla Bean Cream and Chocolate Fudge, for a baby shower. The colors were blue, brown and white.


These are for a "pink cowgirl"-themed shower. My customer sent a jpg of the shower invitation so I could see the colors of pink and brown.


I decorated Vanilla Bean Cream cupcakes to match the wrapped present.


Chocolate Fudge represented a brown skirt with pink dots and denim lace.

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!

Super Bowl Sunday--It's All About the Food

Although my favorite football season is now over and my team lost, there is still an upcoming sports event which will again capture my undivided attention. And even though I have little interest in the teams that are playing, I'm looking forward to the Super Bowl! Because, you see, it's all about the food on Super Bowl Sunday!

I have been scouring the internet and blogsites (I love cookbooks, but they have sadly taken a back seat to internet and blog recipes) for menu ideas. Here are just a few of the recipes I am considering for our little party.

Beverages
White Wine Citrus Sangria

Noble Pig's Peach Margaritas

Hot Chocolate Martini

Pomegranate Margarita (make mine frozen!)

and for gluten-free cooks, recommendations for gluten-free beers

Savory
Absolute givens: My daughter's Gameday Cajun Chicken Nachos and her Yummy Taco Soup, which I would dip with Tostitos; and my husbands' Pimento Cheese Dip, which is a simple concoction of low-fat, small curd cottage cheese mixed with Price's Pimento Cheese Spread, sprinkled with salt and pepper, and served with Fritos.



Apricot Glazed Meatballs

Hot Sweet Onion Dip and spread on toasted Country French Bread

Holiday (And Any Other Day) Cheeseball

Salsa and Guacamole

Roasted Artichoke and Spinach Dip

Corn and Black Bean Quesadillas

More Natural Chile con Queso

Sausage Cheese Balls

A gluten-free Chili

Crockpot Italian Beef Sammies

Boneless Buffalo Chicken Wings...Sort Of

Mini Burgers

Caramelized Onion Mashed Potatoes

an array of yummy salads

Sweets
White Chocolate Fruit Tart

Lower Fat Vegan Brownies

Ultimate Chocolate Cookies

And a kicked-up version of Rice Krispies treats from David Lebovitz

My biggest dilemma is narrowing the list; but I could make all of them in the name of research and development.

Triple Chocolate Brownies

A few months ago I blogged about a brownie recipe that contained (gasp!) a full pound of chocolate. Although those decadent brownies were excellent, when a recent customer requested birthday brownies for her husband, I decided to try a different recipe, and it was a big success.


Triple Chocolate Brownies

1-1/4 cups unbleached flour
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon instant espresso
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
11 oz semisweet chocolate chips
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
5 large eggs, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray 9 X 13 pan with nonstick spray; line with parchment paper.

Sift together flour, salt, cocoa powder, and espresso and set aside.

In a large bowl, melt butter in microwave, then add chocolate chips and whisk until smooth. Add sugars and vanilla and stir until smooth. Add 3 eggs into chocolate mixture and very gently whisk until smooth. Add remaining 2 eggs and gently whisk again. Add flour mixture and gently fold with spatula, until just combined. Scrape batter into prepared pan and level batter with spatula.

Bake in center of preheated oven, rotating pan halfway through. Baking time depends on your oven--the recipe states 30 minutes; mine took almost 45. Bake until a toothpick inserted into center of pan comes out with moist crumbs attached. Cool completely before cutting.

Although these brownies are stand-alone delicious, in order to make a nice presentation I sprinkled semisweet chocolate chips over the brownies after they had cooled a few minutes. When the brownies were completely cooled, I drizzled them with white chocolate. After the white chocolate had firmed, I cut into a dozen squares.

Sweet Dreams

Strawberry Bliss
By my estimate I baked approximately 1000 cupcakes in 2008--and what fun it was! If I wasn't baking, decorating, or eating cupcakes, I was dreaming up the next new flavor.


Shower Cupcakes and Sweet Pumpkin Bliss

When I started For Goodness Sake Bakery last year, my dream was to eventually open a cupcake bakery. I envisioned people lined up outside my shop, waiting to buy one of my cupcakes, à la Magnolia Bakery, and Martha Stewart calling me to appear on her show, just like Sprinkles owner Candace Nelson.


Scarlet Velveteen and Lemon Cream

The reality is that I am no closer to a cupcake bakery in 2009 than I was in 2008.

The reality is that I was privileged to bake approximately 140 dozen jumbo muffins, 115 dozen jumbo cinnamon rolls, as well as dozens of scones, cobblers, and pies, for a local Java Dave's.

The reality is that For Goodness Sake Bakery became For Goodness Sake Bakery and Catering as I expanded my menu to cater 12 events ranging from sack lunches to brunches to wedding cakes to full menu dinners.


Mississippi Mud and Vanilla Bean Cream


Hot Fudge Sundae and White Velvet

What have I learned from my first year in business? To listen to my family and to my gut. That I am way too hard on myself. That giving 110% is a good thing. That I need better work shoes. That too much sampling leads to weight gain. That discouragement is OK because tomorrow is another day. That creativity with new recipes takes a back seat to customer favorites. And that catering, which initially held little interest for me, is surprisingly satisfying.


Chocolate Dip Bliss and Chocolate Covered Strawberry Sweet Bites

A slightly different direction for my baking passion is anticipated for 2009, as I focus on the catering side of For Goodness Sake and experiment with gluten-free baking. My enthusiasm is building as I research recipes and prepare menus.


Sweet Bites Cupcakes and Pink Blackberry Pearl Sweet Bites

Is the cupcake bakery an unrealistic dream? Perhaps. But as long as the excitement remains, the dream is alive!

Chocolate Fudge

Christmas Gifts Bread

What to do with Christmas food gifts--a welcome dilemma I face every year.

Pecans are an annual gift, this year from Holdenville, Oklahoma--small, crisp, delicately sweet--those that aren't popped into my mouth go into pies and cookies.

My mother always orders my perennial favorite: Harry & David pears, with a texture so buttery a knife literally slides through a slice--impossibly juicy, ambrosially sweet--and those that aren't eaten out of hand (over the sink, with juice running down to my elbow) go into breads or cakes.


This year, an unusual gift of artisanal Maytag blue cheese--creamy, pungent, exquisitely marbled with blue veins--I savored a small bite as soon as I received it in the mail--sharp on the tongue but mellowing to moist, velvety, tangy goodness.


With a recipe for pear bread in hand, I properly paired the cheese, pears, and pecans to create a fragrant, moist bread; baking transformed the diced pears into little pockets of melted sweetness and the cheese from sharp-flavored to mild.

Blue Cheese Pecan Pear Bread

3 cups flour
1-1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 stick butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon peel
2 very ripe pears, peeled, cored, and finely diced (approximately 2 cups)
1/4 cup blue cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Prepare two 9 inch X 5 inch loaf pans, either with baking spray, oil, shortening, or parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350 F.

Combine flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, lightly whisk eggs;, add oil, butter, vanilla, and lemon peel. Add to flour/sugar mixture and stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in pears, cheese, and pecans. Evenly spoon batter into prepared pans, lightly smoothing out top. Bake 55-60 minutes or until cake tester inserted into middle of bread comes out clean. Let cool in pans for 10-15 minutes, then turn onto wire rack to cool.

Helen's Danish Kringle

During the Christmas seasons of my youth, neighbors that lived on our country road brought the best Christmas gifts to us--delicious home-baked cakes, cookies, and candies on foil-lined box lids or doily-covered paper plates. My home economics teacher, Helen, was one of our neighbors, and every year we looked forward to her unique Christmas offering, a slightly sweet yeast dough baked around a brown sugar and nut filling that she called Danish Kringle.

When Helen stopped by, although we enjoyed her company, we waited in keen anticipation for her to leave, politely making small talk while trying not to drool from the enticing yeasty aroma emanating from the kringle. Her car would barely leave the driveway before we tore into the melt-in-your-mouth tenderness of the still-warm pastry.

After I got married, I tried in vain to duplicate her recipe. Finally I wrote her asking (begging) for the recipe, and she graciously sent it to me. From that handwritten recipe, I have recreated that warm culinary Christmas memory every year.

Helen's Danish Kringle
2 cups sifted flour
1-1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup soft shortening (part butter or margarine)
1/2 cup milk, scalded
1 egg, separated
1/4 cup warm water (110-115 F)
1 pkg active dry yeast

Measure flour, sugar, salt and shortening/butter into bowl; blend well. Cool milk slightly, then stir in egg yolk. Pour into bowl with first ingredients. Add yeast to warm water and let stand a few minutes. Add to all other ingredients, mixing thoroughly. Scrape down dough from sides of bowl (it will be very soft). Cover tightly and chill 2 to not more than 48 hrs in refrigerator.

Prepare fillings before shaping kringles. Divide dough in two parts. Take out one and return other half to refrigerator. Beat egg white. On a floured surface, roll dough into a 6 inch X 18 inch rectangle. Spread 3" center stripe with half of beaten egg white, then carefully spread with filling. Fold over one side of dough and then the other with 1-1/2 inch lap to cover filling. Pinch dough to close the fold.

Pick up kringle carefully and arrange, seam-side down, on baking sheet (I use parchment paper on the baking sheets) in oval or horseshoe shape, pinching ends for the latter. Shape second kringle as first. Cover and let rise in warm place 30-45 min, or until dent remains when finger is pressed gently on side of dough and dough is no longer cold.

Bake in moderately hot oven (400 F) for 20-30 min or until golden brown.

Spread with powdered sugar icing while hot. Cut in wedges to serve. Makes about 2 dozen servings or 2 kringles.

Fillings:
Pecan
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)
1 cup finely chopped or ground nuts
Cream butter and sugar until fluffy, then sprinkle with nuts.

Apple Pecan
1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)
1 cup finely chopped apples
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
Sprinkle sugar, then apples and pecans

PizzaBons

If you find yourself facing turkey glut on the weekend after Thanksgiving, try PizzaBons. Similar to those huge mall cinnamon rolls, these have cheese and pepperoni instead of sugar and cinnamon.

Simply roll out your favorite bread dough, or you may use frozen dough, add pepperoni and cheese and whatever other pizza ingredients you prefer, roll it up, slice and bake.

I used this bread recipe:

4 cups unbleached flour
1 tbsp active dry yeast
2 tbsp honey
1 cup water, warm (100-110F)
1 cup yogurt
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1-1/2 tsp salt

In a large mixing bowl, combine 1/2 cup flour, yeast, honey and warm water. Beat on low speed of electric mixer, using paddle attachment (may also be done manually). Add yogurt, vegetable oil, salt and 2 cups of remaining flour; beat until smooth. Change to dough hook and gradually stir in more flour until you have a soft dough that sticks together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead, adding additional flour if necessary to prevent sticking, until dough is smooth and elastic, or about 5 minutes. Place in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Punch dough down and place on lightly floured surface. Using rolling pin, roll into a large rectangle that is about 1/4 inch thick. Mine was about 24 inches by 16 inches; size will vary.

Add to rolled out dough:
Spread 1/4 cup melted butter (optional)
Sliced pepperoni
Any combination of shredded or grated cheeses
Sprinkle of Italian seasoning and/or garlic powder
Your favorite pizza toppings, such as fresh or sauteed onions, peppers, and mushrooms, black olives, sun-dried tomatoes
Grated parmesan cheese

Lightly press ingredients into the dough, then roll up dough, jelly-roll style, pinching edges to seal. Cut into 1 to 1-1/2 inch slices, then place cut-side up onto a baking pan lined with parchment paper or Silpat.

Let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake in preheated 375 to 400 degree oven (depending on the calibration of your oven) until golden brown.

Serve with buttermilk ranch dressing or marinara sauce as dipping sauce.

Cream Sherry Pumpkin Bread

Beth Hensperger's Bread Bible is one of those books that inspires me to use an entire box of Post-It flags. Each turn of the page brings a new recipe to challenge or an old recipe with a different twist.

One such recipe is her version of pumpkin bread made with cream sherry. There are so many recipes for pumpkin bread that I usually skip past one listed in a cookbook. But the words Cream and Sherry made this one sound decadent, and I knew I must make it. For research purposes. For my bakery. OK, for myself!

I had to sub dry sherry, but the resulting bread was so good that I ran out and bought a bottle of cream sherry so I can try the recipe with the correct liquid ingredient. I actually stood in the liquor store calculating how many loaves I could make with a 1.5L bottle.


Just as sherry enhances the flavor of savory foods, the sweet earthiness of the pumpkin was intensified so that it was more than just a "pumpkin plus sugar" bread. I selfishly changed up the spices, which include cinnamon, cloves, and coriander, to suit my own palate. I dusted the loaf pan with granulated sugar to make a sugar-crunchy crust.

Although the recipe is copyrighted, you can find a list of the ingredients here on RecipeZaar.

Comfort Food is Fattening

There is just no denying it--most of the foods I love are fattening. This Hash Brown Casserole is no exception. It is great for breakfast or brunch mixed with browned, crumbled sausage or bacon, and it makes a nice side dish for a beef or pork entree.

The cornflakes crisp up into a light crunchy topping and the tater tots break down into little pieces of tender potato surrounded by a melted queso-like cheese sauce. Tonight we enjoyed it as written with teriyaki greens beans and homemade bread. It is also nicely complemented with either a fruit salad or homemade cranberry sauce.

Hash Brown Casserole
Adapted from Allrecipes

Ingredients:
1 (2 pound) package frozen tater tots, thawed
1/4 cup melted butter
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 cup water
1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chiles
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1-1/2 cups shredded Velveeta cheese
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Topping:
2 cups crushed cornflakes cereal
1/4 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix all ingredients (except topping) in a large bowl. Scoop into a 9 X 13 inch glass pan that has been sprayed with baking spray. Mix crushed cornflakes with melted butter and sprinkle evenly over top of casserole. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until bubbling and center is cooked through.