A little bit about the roots.

I get a lot of questions when I tell people about Stressed Desserts.  So I thought I would post a few of them here.

So why Baking?

Well, I love to cook period.  But there are a LOT of things in the savory world that I don't like and even more that I've refused to try.  For example, just about every protein haha.  But when it comes to sweets, I can say there isn't anything I haven't tried and very little that I'm not fond of.  I've even tried sweet bean paste...which I'm not fond of...but it was in a cute fish shaped pastry so how could I say no.  I've also just always loved to bake.  And it seems like sweets put smiles on peoples faces, and that is the biggest perk of the job =)

Where did the inspiration for your name come from?

Three years ago, we went on a trip to New York city and took a visit over to the famous Dylan's Candy Bar.  There I saw a shirt that said "Stressed is just Desserts spelled backwards!" A light bulb went off.  (No, really.  A light went out.)  I looked at my future husband and told him that one day, that would be the name of my business.

Why don't you just do cakes and cupcakes? 

While I love cakes and cupcakes and recognize that they are the staple go to for events, I am very passionate about other sweet treats.  I really love the idea of "Dessert Bars" instead of having just one kind of treat at the event, so everyone can try something new or get their favorite thing.  I'm also always experimenting with lots of different kinds of desserts, and want to get their names out there! I think pies, tarts, and puddings are often given too little recognition.


When did you realize this is what you wanted to do?

When we moved away from college I started spending a lot of time baking.  I became so interested in it, I seriously looked into culinary school but couldn't afford it financially.  After a while, I told myself I was going to pursue it, culinary school or not, and started practicing, reading and learning.  I don't regret my decision as I know this is where I want to and should be.


What is your favorite dessert?

Give me a piece of buttery yellow or white cake any day, plain.  Believe it or not, I am not the biggest fan of frosting!  Or a good slice of lemon meringue pie...mmmmm.


What is your approach to decorating?

I'm very much a minimalist in the way of I don't like clutter.  So I like to take an idea and use creative ways to throw two or three points into one form of decoration.  For example, the "Eat Me" Alice in Wonderland inspired cupcakes not only represented the iconic pastry from the movie itself, but the colors of the icing and flower were straight from the Mad Hatter's hat in the newest Disney rendition of it.  I love classy, classic styles, sharp lines and natural colors.  I'm also a sucker for sparkle.

Where do you get inspiration?
Blogs, T.V., magazines, and I get a lot of inspiration from friends and loved ones =)



What is in Stressed Desserts future?

LOTS!  We are booking events, getting our name out, and getting slightly better at photography =)  We recently got a direct number just for the business, are working out a website...and may be adding a whole new category to the business very soon!  So stay tuned =)



Got any questions?  Leave us a comment and we'd happy to answer =)






 

The secret to a good bread pudding.

I love bread pudding.  It's one of those desserts that are truly versatile in both what to make them out of and when to serve them (anytime!)

When I first started Stressed Desserts and had our official tasting party last November, I introduced my first attempt at bread pudding- the White Chocolate Orange Royale Bread Pudding.

It was a hit.

My next lightbulb came when I was contemplating what to do with leftover french toast.  Simple!  Make a bread pudding out of it.

It too was a hit.

And then it was a friend who inspired me.  Now and then I will have a little leftover chocolate chip banana bread on hand (what?! No way!)

My friend (and also designer of our fabulous logo) Megan had been telling me that she would warm up her banana bread and put peanut butter on it....mmmmmmm.

Ding.  Another light bulb.  Warm Banana Bread...gooey peanut butter....why not try a bread pudding out of it?

And so I did.

And although I'm the only one who has tried it so far...I think it's pretty good.

And with this bread pudding I discovered the golden secret to a good bread pudding.

It's all about the bread.

Start out with a GOOD bread that has it's OWN flavor...and you can't go wrong.

I use the same basic custard recipe for all my puddings, just alter it a bit for flavor...but they all have distinct tastes.

Why?  Because they use distinct, powerful breads.

So my suggestion if you want to venture into making bread pudding (and I really suggest you do!):

Start with a good bread and go from there =)

Stay Sweet.

Long Lost Soul Sister?

My first post was about blogs that I like to follow. 

Well today I stumbled upon a blog that has blown my mind and I can't stop raving about it.

Funny thing is I don't even remember HOW I got to it.  I saw a link for chocolate chip cookies stuffed with cake balls, clicked on it out of curiosity and I was hooked.

Not necessarily because of the recipe (although it is amazing and I will be trying it very soon), but as I searched through her past posts two things stood out to me.

1. This woman REALLY loves desserts.  Anything sweet and she will write about it!  And she has some amazingly creative ideas!! I'm truly envious.

2. She loves serving ware as much as I do!!

Now for those of you who don't know, I am OBSESSED with serving ware.  When we get a house I will have a room dedicated to it.  It started with a love for unique glasses and quickly spiraled into a desire for gorgeous plates, platters, cake stands and more. 

I had five cake stands on my wedding registry.  True story.

My most prized possession right now is the vintage serving set my husbands grandmother gave me.  It is too beautiful for words but because of space I cannot display it yet =(


So yeah, I'm in love with the blog and excited to know that I am not alone in the search for amazing serving ware =)

Anyways, I'm so excited to have found this  you should definently check it out! 

No really, go check it out NOW! =)

Stay Sweet.

Trying New Horizons.

I have a lot of friends that live in the DFW area but I also have a lot of friends all over Texas...and the Country...and heck the world!

I had been wanting to experiment mailing baked goods for a while and had the opportunity arise when a friend inquired about a French Toast Bread Pudding I had been experimenting with.

He was kind enough to take on the challenge of being my first test subject =)

I planned on sending him the French Toast Bread pudding but I wanted to send him something extra special too..

I take a lot of inspiration from my friends, my life and my surroundings when it comes to developing new concepts and in this case, I knew he wasn't the biggest fan of chocolate...but there was one candy he always loved-

The Peanut Butter Cup.

I drew a map, I researched and I executed.

And I named it after his signature phrase..."Do It Big!"

I was pretty darn proud of that cupcake.  The first thing my husband said when he bit into it was "Tastes Like a Peanut Butter Cup!"  Success.

Butttt...then came the process of shipping it.

A series of issues led up to this shipping process.  First, it snowed.  And iced.  A lot.  I wanted to ship UPS or FedEx because they take a little better care (I really do mean a little lol) of their packages if you ask them to be careful..but my shipping store I normally go to was closed. Along with pretty much everything else.

So I had to go with the good ol' post office.  I bubble wrapped both products and cussioned the box well in addition to writing FRAGILE and THIS SIDE UP a million times on the box. 

And then the women took the box behind the table and flipped it a million times while she taped it (which it was already taped...but whatever).

Still I had hope that it would survive.  Especially because it didn't have too far to go.

Boy was I wrong.

Cupcake before:

Cupcake after:

FAIL.

I don't know what they did..but it wasn't good.

Oh well, I've learned from this.   I will not use the post office again and I'm going to invest in cupcake containers that hold the cupcakes into place. 

The bread pudding, however, survived fabulously!

Live and learn...and he said they still tasted good so in the end that is what matters =)

Stay Sweet.

Outside of the Box

Every baker/cook/artist should challenge themselves during their career with something that they aren't 100% comfortable with.

For me, it was fondant.

I do not like fondant.  Not necessarily the decorative aspect-but the taste.

It's pure sugar...and just...bleh.

However, everyone (well mostly everyone) loves fondant! And fondant is an excellent material for decorations.  So I went outside of my box tonight and started playing around with it.

And you know what?  It was FUN.  Really fun! And stress relieving...and did I mention it was fun?

I still don't like the taste though lol.

But that is ok.  I like using it...and can't wait to explore the possiblities.

I think this is the start of a beautiful relationship

Stay Sweet!

Not to be cheesy...

But I've always said, if I wasn't a baker I would be a cheese connoisseur.

I LOVE cheese.  Cheddar, Manchago, Swiss, Bleu, Brie, Feta...

You name it, I love it.

A newer cheese to me in recent years has been goat cheese.  I first had it in New York City three years ago at a nice steak house in which I opted to have a salad.  Fresh greens, apple slices and a tangy vinaigrette were all second to the goat cheese crostini that accompanied it.  I was hooked.

Up until a couple of weeks ago, I only had Goat Cheese as a savory dish.  And when I was introuduced to the idea of Goat Cheese being sweet...a light bulb went off.

You see,  the bakery I work in is part of a series of teams.  There's meat, produce; all the typical sections you would find in your local grocery store.  But there is one section that stands above the rest...Specialty.  They are in charge of cheese, wine and chocolate.  Yeah, if I wasn't in bakery, I'd totally be in Specialty.

Bakery and Speciatly have a special bond.  We're always having them sample new things we get in, and in return they give us samples.  There is one lady who is always bringing me cheese samples, knowing my love for it, and one day she brought me something I had never heard of before...Cinnamon Goat Cheese.  It was amazing.  The tang of the goat cheese was quickly followed by the sweet spice of cinnamon.  I promptly bought some with no knowledge of how I was going to use it.

My husband usually works from home but now and then he ventures into the office.  When he does that I take the opportunity to use his co-workers as guinea pigs for new creations and I knew I wanted to use the goat cheese in some way.  I had some apples that needed to be used so I figured I would make my apple cupcakes.  Thinking back to how well the apples in the salad paired with the goat cheese on the crostini...I decided to be bold.  Apple Cake with Cinnamon Goat Cheese Frosting.

Well turns out the apples were bad.  So I went to plan B- Spice Cake with Cinnamon Goat Cheese Frosting.

I knew I wanted to pair the tang of the frosting with a cake that would have spice to cut through it.  Although now that I've tried it, I'm convinced plain goat cheese would work well with just about any cake.


The frosting came out creamy and suprisingly light.  In comparison to Cream Cheese Frosting it's not as dense and a little goes a long way.

I've posted the recipie below...give it a try and let me know what you think.  I think this is the start of a beautiful relatioinship between cheese and desserts.

Stay Sweet.

Cinnamon Goat Cheese Frosting
6 ounces of Mild Goat Cheese (or if you can find a cinnamon brand, use that and omit the extra cinnamon)
1 package (8oz) Cream Cheese
2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
1 Tsp. Cinnamon 
1-1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar*

1. Blend the softened cheeses and butter until well combined.
2. Slowly add in the powdered sugar  and cinnamon until completely mixed.
3. Frost on cooled cupcakes and enjoy! **

Frosts approx. 14 cupcakes or 1 9inch round cake.

*I don't like overly sweet frosting, so I use as little powdered sugar as possible.  If you like really sweet frosting, add more.
**I frosted the cupcakes and refrigerated them for about 30 minutes just to let the frosting set up a little more.  It will be softer than your average frosting.

History of the Chocolate Chip Banana Bread.

I've decided the infamous Chocolate Chip Banana Bread recipe will stay within my family.  My mom passed it on to me and one day I'll hopefully pass it on to my own daughter (or son...=) )

However, I will tell you the origin of the recipe along with some tips so you can create your own special recipe to pass on to your generations =)

The original recipe came from a very old book known as "The Woman's Home Companion Cookbook" circa 1942.  This book is a fun read.  It has everything from proper place settings (including where the ash tray should be placed) to a million meal ideas for the busy homemaker.  Now for those of you who know me know that I am semi-feminist and totally against the idea that every woman's purpose in life is to be a homemaker- but this book was written and published back when it was the norm to believe that...so I'll let it slide =)  Side note: If you have the opportunity to browse this book I highly recommend it. 

The cookbook itself was a gift given to my mom's family.  The pages are covered in dried on flour and old food, the edges are worn and the spine is broken.  It's the best looking cookbook ever. My mom took the recipe from the cookbook and modified it with her own measurements over the years from the many times she experimented with it.  They're written in blue ink beside the original recipe. 

It took me YEARS to convince my mom to give me the cookbook.  I don't think I've ever wanted another cookbook so badly.  I knew it was special as she cherished it like an antique piece of jewelery.  It was one of her most prized possessions.  She was always happy to give me her recipe but would only let me look at the cookbook...never take it home.

It wasn't until three years ago after I graduated that she gave in and let me have the book.  Of course I had to promise I would always take good care of it (and I have...everytime we move it's the one cookbook I keep with me!) and I also had to promise to start making her banana bread.

I made my own adjustments to the recipe- though not many.  The biggest adjustment I made is using butter instead of margarine.  I'm not a fan of margarine, and butter makes everything better, right?

Other than that I stick to the blue ink instructions.

Last year I was  making banana bread and just for fun decided to add chocolate chips.  My husband doesn't like banana bread too much as he isn't the biggest banana fan...so I figured maybe this would be a way to get him to eat it more.

And I was right.  It's amazing what a few little chocolate morsels can do.

Ever since then I always make the original and chocolate chip when I make banana bread. 

Here's a couple of tips I use when making my banana bread:

1. Combine the Dry Ingredients well.
This can really be used for any baking recipie.  A lot of recipies say to "sift" the dry ingredients together.  Well my sifter is pretty crumby and I've never really had the desire to get a new one.  Instead, I "sift" my dry ingredients with a fork.  This lightens the dry ingreadients and makes for a light cake/bread instead of a dense one.  Works like a charm everytime.  And everyone has a fork =)

2. Use the bananas you like to eat.
Ok this is going to sound crazy, but I am VERY picky about the bananas I use for my bread.  I think this comes from my banana phase last year when I spent eight months eating a banana everyday for breakfast. (yes I am crazy) During those months I came to learn that I hate Dole bananas because their texture is more chalky than their other counterparts to me.  My favorite brand of banana? Chaquita.  But if you love Dole, use Dole! Or whatever brand you eat.  Just make sure it is a brand you would eat alone as a banana- it will only make your bread tastier =)

3. Mix and Match your Chocolate Chips
This is something I came across on accident recently.  I usually use semi-sweet chips for my banana bread but while making banana bread for some friends during Christmas I realized I didn't have enough semi-sweet for the batter.  I improvised and tossed in some milk chocolate chips.  The combination was a hit and I think from now on I'll use a mix.  Also, I don't use a measurement for the chocolate chips.  I add enough to make sure there is an even batter to chocolate chip ratio and it works perfectly every time =)

I hope this post has inspired you to get out there and bake up some traditions.  There's nothing like a good banana bread to bring back memories...and make new ones =)

Stay Sweet.

That one time she started a blog...

Hello Friends, Fans, Enemies, and random people of the web.

In between baking, working, gaming, excercising, cooking, and being OCD I realized I miss an aspect of my life that I have  tucked away in the back of my brain for a couple of years now.

Writing.

I thought about it for a while and I decided a blog is a good start and what better to blog about then my baking adventures?  I have a lot of people ask me for advice, tips and recipes and instead of writing a paragraph long comment on Facebook...I can just answer them here =)

My first post, however, is going to be about other blogs.  Blogs that have inspired me, blogs that I frequent and blogs that are just plain fun.


Since this is about my baking adventures, the first blog I'd like to recommend to anyone wanting to dive into the "fun" part of baking (being creative of course!) is the one and only Bakerella.

Bakerella is famous for her creative Cake Pops and Cake Balls, but a lot of her blog posts are about different ways to be creative with what tools you have around the kitchen.  She is down to earth, honest and a very sweet person.  I highly recommend her to any budding bakers out there who are looking to start having fun with their imaginations.

Keeping with the Baking blogs, the next blog is a friend of mines blog...appropriately named Cakerella.

Now she hasn't blogged in a little bit...but she is a busy college student so just keep an eye out..when she does blog she keeps you entertained with her fun loving attitude towards everything and she has great tips for every baker out there.  You can feel the passion she has for baking in her posts and it makes for a very wonderful read.

Cake Spy is a blog about everything sweet and where you can find it.  She searches for some of the most unique sweets you have ever seen or wondered about (like the pumpple cake).  I also ADORE her art on her blog page...very very cute. Check her out and get some inspiration.

How to Eat a Cupcake is much more than an instruction guide in eating etiquette.  There are tons of recipes on here that are tried and true.   Unfortunately (well not unfortunately for her!) the writer has opened up her own bakery so she is no longer blogging on this site- but there is still a treasure chest of posts to go through!

Although it's not exactly baking related, it is still a wonderful blog and worth noting.  Fanciful Felt is a blog run by a wonderful woman who makes the CUTEST things out of felt.  She recently made a cherry pie wreath and looks good enough to eat!  She also has a link to her Etsy shoppe on her blog so after you've read all about her cute things head on over and pick something up for yourself ;)

Last but certainly not least...and again not really baking related but she loves food so it still counts =)

Lynn Michelle is a fabulous photographer and good friend.  She was our wedding photographer and I can honestly say I will never go with another photographer...she has spoiled me =)  She posts all of her latest weddings and events on her blog (check out her kitchen remodel...gorgeous!) and you can really see her passion for the field in every photo.  Lynn has photographed some of my baked goods before and soon I'll be doing a trash the dress session with her and I have a feeling it is going to be a lot of fun ;) If you love photography, or food, or just looking at amazing photos...check her out!
P.S. as I was writing this I found out she was nominated for an award for her blog! Go Here
and vote for her =)


That's all I have for now.  Stay tuned! Secrets and Recipes to follow in the next couple of days =) Until then- stay sweet!