The Power of Pixies.

So the other night, I participated in WHYY’s Best of Chefs Event, as I mentioned in my last post. The event was a blast! It was organized, fun, well-attended and also provided me with a serendiptious opportunity to do some market research. Allow me to explain: I made an assortment of Pixie Cakes, in the following flavors:

Chocolate Pixies

Chocolate cake mixed with buttercream icing, dipped in dark chocolate, with chocolate sprinkles.

Vanilla Pixies

Vanilla cake mixed with buttercream icing, dipped in white chocolate, sprinkled with sugar.

Red Velvet Pixies

Red Velvet cake mixed with buttercream icing, dipped in white chocolate, sprinkled with red sugar.

Cookies and Cream Pixies

Chocolate cake mixed with cookies and buttercream icing, rolled in cookie crumbs.

and Coconut Pixies.

Vanilla cake mixed with coconut buttercream, dipped in white chocolate, and sprinkled with coconut.

I placed them all on a tray, as so:

Pixies on a plate.

Now here’s where it got interesting: the doors opened and the crowd shuffled in. As they approached my table, one after another after another went straight for the Red Velvet. And if it wasn’t the Red Velvet, it was the good old fashioned Chocolate. Now by mere coincidence, I made more of the Red Velvets than any of the others; but it didn’t matter – I ran out of them first, and people were coming back and asking me if there were anymore! When I told them I ran out, they were only dejected for a second, and then just sampled another flavor instead (and liked it!).

The moral of the story: cake is great, but Red Velvet rules.

The people have spoken.

 

that’s one not quite as big cookie.

I had to do it.

I had to make another cookie cake. I was so stoked with how great the first one turned out, that I had to go back and do it again. This time, however, on a much smaller scale, after all, this blog is supposed to be about SMALL Indulgences.

less gigantic in size, yet equally delicious.

This time, I used an 8″ pan, but with the same technique as the 12″ – keeping it about 1/2″ thick, and just freezing the rest of the dough for a future cookie cake.

I was chatting with a friend today regarding my new found desire to corner the cookie cake market, and he commented on how you only see chocolate chip cookie cakes. Why should the other cookies be left out of the fun??? No more, I say! Oatmeal cookie cake, sugar cookie cake, white chocolate macadamia nut cookie cake! It’s happening people. I shall be crowned queen of the cookie cake and live in a castle made entirely of cookie cake, with two cupcake towers, surrounded by a moat of pastry cream, in which dwells a giant gummy worm who wards off unwelcome invaders from neighboring candylands. (too much?)  

 

 

that’s one big cookie.

A couple of months ago, I was chatting with two friends about the phenomenon known as the “cookie cake.” I remember in the 90′s when I first started seeing them. I think there was a place in the mall that made them. It was what appeared to be a giant pizza-sized chocolate chip cookie, with whatever writing you wanted on top. I got one for my birthday in ’97. It was from my college roommates. They were awesome.

But anyway, my two friends and I were recently debating the cookie cake and how it fared among other cakes, and if it was even still around. I don’t remember seeing one in at least 10 years, but my friends both said that yes, it was still around, and one of these two even went as far as saying the cookie cake was her all time favorite cake. As I often do, I made a mental note of this, as this friend’s birthday was in the not-so-distant future, and I’ve never made a cookie cake before, so not only did it give me the perfect birthday gift idea, it also provided me with a new baking challenge. So I started doing some research.I looked up “giant cookie cake” and found a ton of recipes. The problem was, they all appeared to be just un-altered chocolate chip cookie recipes – I couldn’t see any common denominator that set them apart from any regular old cookie recipe I’ve come across. Even the baking temp was the same (375). So, if that was the case, I saw no reason why I couldn’t use my own personal Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe. So, that’s what I did.

it worked for them.

I dug out the biggest cake pan I have, which is a 12″. I made the cookie dough. I greased the pan, I spread the dough in the pan (I used all of it). It was spread about 1/2″ thick. One tidbit I did pick up in my research was to make sure the cookie cake wasn’t too thick – 1/2″ is about the thickest you should go, or the middle wont cook and the edges will burn.

there's not a glass of milk big enough.

Anyway, I baked it at 375, and I checked it at 7 minutes, like you would for normal cookies, but it was not close to being done. So, I checked it again, at 2 minute intervals. It finished at around 12 minutes. I let it cool for about 10 minutes, then the moment of truth: flipped the pan upside down and popped it out.

we've achieved cookie cake.

The next part was easy – I just made some simple buttercream, and decorated.

Mrs. Fields can bite my cookie cake.

So, my foray into the land of Cookie Cakes was a success! My friend loved hers, said it was better than the ones from the mall, and is now encouraging me to sell them. So sell them l shall. Now who’s buying?

 

they were all yellow.

So this week, two friends had birthdays, so I surprised them each with a box of cupcakes. I love giving folks unsuspected baked goods – it warms my heart and soul, and always brings a smile to the face of the cupcake receiver. Good stuff.

So the cupcakes I gave this week were cookies and cream, with yellow buttercream icing. Not lemon, just yellow. The cupcakes looked good – clean, symmetrical and rounded. The taste passed my taste-test as well. These puppies got the stamp of approval to leave my kitchen.

look how they shine for you.

Pretty nice looking, eh? But if someone were to give you these cupcakes, and not tell you the flavor, what would you think? This was a question posed to me in my class the other night. Of course I know that people “eat first with their eyes.” So although these cupcakes get a 6.0 for the technical program, they get a “WTF” for creative, because if someone handed these to me without telling me the flavor, I’d assume they were….lemon.

Don’t get me wrong, I would not complain – nor did any of the recipients of these yellow-but-not-lemon treats. It’s a bit different to get them as a gift. But if you entered a bakeshop, and saw these cupcakes under the glass, you’d get one if you had a hankering for lemon – and then be disappointed that you paid for a cupcake that, although good, was not what you had expected, therefore negating the goodness of the cake entirely.

Marketing: fail.

The moral of the story: you can give people free cupcakes decorated however you want and it won’t matter. But when someone’s money is on the line, they better get what they expect. And when someone sees yellow, they think lemon, and when life gives you lemons, make cupcakes.

 

cupcake matchmaker.

I made birthday cupcakes this weekend, for one of my favorite 2 year olds. Not only did I get to contribute to the celebration with some confectionery love,  but I also got to double the fun, with cupcakes in not one, but 2 different flavors. And just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, it did – the flavors requested just so happened to be 2 of my personal favorites (and specialties) as well!

Flavor #1: Cookies and Cream

oreo-my-oh.

I’ve mentioned before that these are probably my most popular cupcake (available in either chocolate or vanilla). I’m certainly not complaining – they’re fun to make, and taste good too (note the “Toy Story” wrappers). I mean, how can you go wrong when oreos are involved? (Random aside: when my brother and I were kids, we went to a babysitter while our parents worked, and our mom always sent us with “snacks,” which were often oreos. Well, the first time we were eating our oreos, we did what we always did, which was to break them in half. The babysitter was none too pleased by this turn of events, and promptly removed the halved oreos from our plates and with finger shaking, informed us that we were never to break oreos in her house again. True story.)

Flavor #2: Salted Caramel.

2 times the fun.

This one has become my favorite, mainly because the frosting is wicked good  - as in, I have to make extra because I know that I will not be able to resist eating it which could potentially cause me to run out before the product is completed. Knowing yourself is half the battle.

Anyway, the order was for 2 of each type in a box, making 4 total, like so:

soul mates.

Not only do these two very different cupcakes look great together, but the flavors compliment each other like yin and yang. I’m a cupcake matchmaker, people.

The good news is that I have extras of everything. So somewhere, someone in the next day or so is going to be pleasantly surprised with some unexpected cupcakes; and those are ultimately the best kind.

 

 

“c” is for cookies and cream chocolate cupcakes.

That’s actually 5 “c’s”.

I keep getting requests for these bad boys.  This is a good thing – I like making them – not only do I get to fill a bag with Oreos and smash the crap out of it with my bare hands, but the icing is, pardon my bragging, the best icing I’ve really ever had. Ever. And whenever I make something, I have to taste it – it’s part of the job. And sometimes, I have to taste it multiple times, in various conditions, just to make 100% certain it can leave the kitchen.  There’s just something about smashed Oreos mixed with buttercream that makes my taste buds tremble.  And I must not be alone, as these C&CCCCs are the most popular item in my confectionery repertoire.

that's good enough for me.

I’m making another order of them for an event this week, in fact. I can’t wait to taste - I mean make – the icing. 

Like what you see? Buy my book – the recipe’s in there.

 

oven spring.

I’ve been doing a very suck-tastic job of blogging lately. I’ve been busy with classes, work, self-discovery…and baking, of course. In fact, the spring has been pretty busy as far as cake making goes. If there’s one thing in this life I’ve been able to rely on lately, it’s the public’s demand for all things baked. And I learned that even when my mind is elsewhere, the one thing that I can still do is bake, and bake well (I’m patting myself on the back at this very moment).

i've also decided to start taking yoga so i can pat myself on the back more easily.

 

Now that we got that out-of-the-way, it’s time to get to the good stuff – the cakes. So, here’s a sampling of what’s been “springing” out of my oven as of late (ha ha, springing – get it? look ma, I’m funny!).

1. Say Hello to Elmo:

i'm vegan!

 

2. The purrrr-fect cake:

no cats were harmed in the making of this cake.

 

3. vanilla cupcakes by day…

give me some sugar, cookie.

 

4. ….chocolate cupcakes by night.

o-o-oreo...o-o!

(on a side note, both of these cupcakes were for an event for WHYY (you know, the TV station…)

5. And last, but not least, the Grande Dame of the lot:

april showers really do bring may flowers (on so many levels).

So, I hope your mouth is now sufficiently watered, and your cake-envy has prompted you to want one of your very own (cakemuffingirl@gmail.com would be a good place to start…just saying).

 

Keep calm and have a cupcake.

A good friend  gave me a handmade sign for my wall that said this. I hung it in my kitchen, and I read it everyday. It’s pretty much become my mantra. What’s not to love about the cupcake? It’s cute, petite, and delicious – if I were a confection, I’d be a cupcake, no doubt.  They come in an endless variety of flavors and can be decorated with pretty much anything your heart desires. So when you’re feeling blue, don’t reach for that bag of chips, giant tub of ice cream, or anything from any fast food joint or giant calorie-ridden chain restaurant - have a cupcake instead (you can even get one that looks like a hamburger, if that’s your thing). You’ll get your sugar fix on, without regretting it later.

 

cookies and cream cupcakes - one of my specialties.