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!