South African Munchies: Delicious Crunchies

I first discovered Crunchies, a (natch) crunchy South African bar cookie, when CakeSpy Buddy Naomi handed one to me and said "eat this". Of course I was more than happy to oblige. Now, these cookies (made by local catering company On Safari) vaguely resembled granola bars, but one bite made the difference achingly clear. These cookies have a flavor that granola bars could only aspire to: crunchy, salty-sweet, coconutty, and very buttery.

So what's the deal with these cookies?

As one South African blogger reminisced,

Growing up in South Africa, the one cookie-tin constant that every child will remember is crunchies. They were usually one of the first things that your mom let you bake and kept forever in an airtight container, so we all grew up on crunchies. To me, they were distressingly unglamorous....but they certainly were a stalwart of every cookie tin that I remember growing up.

Want to make some crunchies? While On Safari's recipe is proprietary, I did find a crunchie recipe on the Hulett's Sugars (a South African manufacturer of sweeteners) which seems pretty legit.

South African Crunchies

• 310ml (1¼ cups) flour
• 310ml (1¼ cups) breakfast oats
• 310ml (1¼ cups) coconut
• 185ml (¾ cups) Huletts White Sugar
• 20ml (4 teaspoons) Huletts Golden Syrup
• 125ml (½ cup) butter or brick margarine
• 5ml (1 teaspoon) bicarbonate of soda
• 45 - 60ml boiling water

1. Combine dry ingredients.
2. Melt the Huletts Golden Syrup and butter together. Combine the bicarbonate of soda with the water and add to the butter mixture.
3. Mix together with the dry ingredients.
4. Press the mixture into a Swiss roll tin (or for a thicker crunchie, bake in a square 20cm x 20cm tin) and bake for 20 minutes at 150ºC. Gently press down the sides if they seem to rise too much.
5. When light brown, remove from the oven and cut into squares. Switch off the oven. Return crunchies to the oven, for about 10 minutes to dry out.
6. Allow to cool before removing from tin.

All That Glitters: Golden Glow Cake With Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting from Cupcake Project

Continuing our monthlong celebration of birthdays and all things sweet, Stef from the amazingly creative site Cupcake Project has sweetly donated some of her sweet birthday memories--as long as a killer recipe for a classic Golden Glow Cake with an amazingly decadent chocolate cream cheese frosting. Here's her story (as well as a picture of her during her early days of caking it up):

I never understood why my friends enjoyed store-bought heavily buttercreamed birthday cakes. But, I don’t think my friends ever understood why I liked my birthday cakes. I was so excited for my mom’s homemade cake, but my friends would barely touch it. Oh well – more for me!

My birthday cake each year was a Golden Glow cake. It’s a somewhat dry yellow cake – not that exciting on its own. However, it was topped with homemade chocolate cream cheese frosting that I loved! To this day, chocolate cream cheese frosting is my favorite frosting.

Sure, I didn’t get professional decorations with cartoon characters, but nothing beats cake from mom! I should also mention that she got the recipe from her mom.

I have no proof that the above picture is from eating Golden Glow, but I wouldn’t be surprised.

Golden Glow Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

- CakeSpy note: I made this recipe as cupcakes, and it yielded about 24. While Stef's comment that the cake is somewhat dry is true, the frosting really does "make" this recipe. -

Cake

• 2 1/4 c flour
• 3 t baking powder
• 1 t salt
• 1 1/4 C sugar
• 1/2 C butter
• 3/4 C milk
• 2 T milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 t vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Sift flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
3. Add butter and ¾ C milk and beat for two minutes.
4. Add remaining milk, eggs, and vanilla and beat for another two minutes.
5. Pour into well greased, lightly floured pan.
6. Bake 25 - 35 min.

Frosting
(CakeSpy note: the frosting in the pictures above looks thinner and glossier than it should; this is because we couldn't resist frosting some of the still-warm cakes and eating immediately)

• 1 8 oz package of cream cheese
• 3 T milk
• 3 C powdered sugar, sifted
• 2 squares (2 oz) of melted unsweetened bakers chocolate

1. Soften cream cheese by adding milk, 1 tablespoon at a time.
2. Add powdered sugar gradually, blending well after each addition.
3. Blend in melted chocolate.

Keep tabs on what's going on in Stef's sweet world on her site or via her Twitter feed!

Sweet Art: (Un) Wrapped for Illustration Friday

Cupcakes are awfully pretty when they're wrapped, but as Cuppie is discovering in what can only be described as a cupcake coming-of-age moment, they're pretty attractive when they're unwrapped, too. Done for this week's Illustration Friday theme of "Wrapped".

CakeSpy Sweetens Up Serious Eats With Pizza Pie!

It's a pie all right, but that's not pizza. It's just dressed up to look like it: this sweet confection is comprised of pie crust heaped with fruit preserves, cheesecake and marzipan "leaves" to resemble a classic Neapolitan pie. Not only is it delicious, but it's fun to watch the reactions as unsuspecting guests bite into a slice.

And this sweet pie also marks CakeSpy's debut on Serious Eats (which, incidentally, is where you can also find the recipe)! Yup--I've joined forces with the premier food blog community on the interweb! You can look out for my contributions on Mondays at 3pm EST.

Looks like the internet just got sweeter!

If you haven't already, bookmark Serious Eats now and visit often!

Sweet Art: Just Baked in Michigan

I have fallen in love, from afar, with Just Baked, a Detroit-area bakery. I discovered them recently when I was hired by a friend of the owner to do a custom painting depicting cupcakes from their menu hanging out in front of the shop.

But business mixed with pleasure the moment I took a look at their menu, which has a gorgeous array of cupcakes:

as well as other baked goods:

If you're in the Detroit area, well then, lucky you--because you can taste the magic for yourself! A second location is set to open very soon.

Just Baked is located at 33309 7 Mile Road, Livonia, MI, (248) 255-1441; online at justbakedshop.com‎.

Taste the Rainbow: A Homemade Funfetti Recipe from iheartcuppycakes

Continuing our monthlong celebration of birthdays and all things sweet, CB from the inimitable iheartcuppycakes.com has kindly donated not only some sweet birthday memories, but also her super sweet recipe for homemade Funfetti Cupcakes. All the fun of a classic childhood treat--but grown up for more adult palates. Here goes:

My birthday is in July. I'm an Independence baby. Tom Cruise eat your heart out! When I was very little my mom would make me a Funfetti birthday cake from cake mix while I "helped" by licking the beaters. It was my favorite part! Even to this day. Don't judge me! It's Funfetti. HA! I think that's why I am not as anti-cake mix like some other bakers because of those great birthday memories with my mom.

Here is my recipe for homemade Funfetti Cupcakes:

Funfetti Cupcakes

Recipe adapted from Cupcakes by Shelly Kaldunski

Makes about 12 cupcakes

For the cupcakes

• 1-1/4 cups AP flour
• 1-1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 6 tbsp butter, room temperature
• 1 large egg + 1 egg white, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk (I used half-and-half instead)
• 2 tbsp rainbow sprinkles

For vanilla buttercream

• 2 sticks butter
• 7 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

To make cupcakes—

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Line cupcake pan with paper liners.
3. In a large bowl, sift flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a stand mixer, fitted with flat beater, beat the sugar and butter until well combined, about 2-3 minutes. Add egg and egg white, one at a time, beating on low.
4. Then add vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with milk in 2 additions, ending with the flour mixture. Fold in rainbow sprinkles.
5. Fill cupcake liners about 1/2-2/3 full. Bake for about 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from pan and cool completely on a wire cooling rack before frosting.

To make buttercream—
In a stand mixer, fitted with flat beater, beat butter until creamy, about 2-3 minutes. Add 5 cups of sifted powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla, beat until combined. Add more powdered sugar until you get to the consistency you want.

[NOTES: I think I added about 6-1/2 cups, give or take a few tbsp, to get the consistency I wanted. If its too stiff, you can add a little more milk.]

Frost with vanilla buttercream and garnish with more rainbow sprinkles.

ENJOY!

Keep up with CB at iheartcuppycakes.com or via her twitter feed!

Love and Crumbs: A Peach Crisp Recipe from Moonrat

August is totally the sweetest month: it's the month during which CakeSpy was created, and it's also the month of your humble Head Spy's birthday! And so, in celebration of all of this sweetness, there's going to be a month-long celebration of birthday treats, featuring memories (and recipes) from a collection of CakeSpy pals. It kicks off with the lovely and amazing Moonrat, writer of the Editorial Ass blog, which gives a behind-the-scenes look at the publishing industry (and plenty of other fun social commentary). And--bonus--it happens to be her *actual* birthday! As for her laissez-faire birthday treat? Here goes:

Dadrat's Birthday Peach Crisp

When you're a kid, having a summer birthday seems like the short end of the stick. Not only are all your friends away on vacation when you want to have a party, but you can't even bring cupcakes into school for your class!

But I got over my righteous anger pretty quick, because I was a really, really lucky kid whose dad had a penchant for fruit trees. The white peach tree in our back yard would drop peaches at the exact right time each year for Dad to make me some of his peach crisp. Here's his recipe, Dadrat-approved.

Here's how Dadrat did it:

First, he'd make me collect all the peaches and check them for worms (pesky buggers; the antithesis of delicious!). But in case you don't have a white peach tree in your yard, or live in a cement box in the city (like yours truly), you can also buy peaches at the store. If you can find white peaches, they're really, really nice--softer, fibrous, tangy. You'll need about 4 cups. Unless you're doubling or tripling the recipe, which we usually do.

Then he'd preheat the oven to 425. Or around there; Dad dislikes numbers and favors cooking impressionistically. But let 425 be a guidepost for normal people.

Now while the oven is preheating, prep your peaches. You don't want any fuzzy skin in the crisp, so you're going to have to peel them. Luckily, there's a trick. If the peaches are fresh, put them in boiling water for about 30 seconds. Apparently this is called "blanching"--which is particularly humorous if you're using white peaches already. But anyway. Take them out and let them cool, and the skins will come right off. Definitely wait until they cool, though, so you don't burn your mitts. Peel, and slice.

Now stick your peach slices in a large bowl. Mix with:

• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon of flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (if you like nutmeg, which I really really do)

Butter the bottom of a casserole and pour the peaches in. Squeeze some lemon (or lemon juice) over the peaches if you feel like it.

In a separate bowl, combine

• 1/2 cup flour
• 3/4 cup uncooked rolled oats
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 stick of cold butter, chopped up into little squares

If you want, you can throw in walnuts, too, which we never did when I was a kid, but which suddenly strikes me as an awesome idea, unless you are allergic to nuts, in whcih case I don't recommend it. But for everyone else, walnuts are both delicious and an excellent source of iron.

Sprinkle this dry mixture over the top of the peach mixture in the casserole. If you like--and I do--sprinkle an additional teaspoon of brown sugar over the top. It gets sweet and crusty.

Bake for about a half an hour. If you do it right, it doesn't turn to mush. My dad quothe, "The only reason to cook it is to heat it up."

Now you can eat it.

Keep up with Moonrat's rad adventures (and the occasional fuzzy animal picture) at editorialass.blogspot.com.

Sweet Discovery: Little Debbie Cake Still Life Paintings by Mollie Armstrong

What a happy side effect to all of the Little Debbie torture I've been engaging in lately: a new cake-art discovery. While conducting various research on the sweet snacks, I stumbled upon Mollie Moore Armstrong's amazing artwork (which, though mostly done in the late 90's, was new to me!), in particular her lovingly rendered still life paintings of Little Debbie Snack Cakes.

Through Armstrong's eyes the cakes seem so lovely and poignant, like portraits of society matrons.

But one cannot help but wonder...what lies beneath that sweet icing veneer?

Oh yes...creme filling.

CakeSpy Note: Though I didn't see any work that was more recent than 2002 on the site, if anyone knows of any upcoming shows or another site on which to see her work, please leave a comment!

Discover Mollie Armstrong's artwork on her site, molliearmstrong.com.

To-Thali Awesome: The Dessert Thali at Poppy, Seattle

The informal definition of "crush" is "one who is the object of an infatuation." But it's so much more than that--it's that feeling you get in the presence of your crush. It consumes you. It gives you an impulse to ride your bike by their house...just in case they happen to be around.

And I'm crushing really hard on the Dessert Thali at Seattle restaurant Poppy; it's the creation of Dana Cree, whom I suspect is some sort of pastry and confectionery genius.

What is a Dessert Thali, you may be wondering? Well, in case you missed its recent shout-out as the Best Dessert Date in Seattle, here's the article's well-put overview:

A large tray arrives at your table loaded up with one of Cree's main desserts (say, her warm orange-rhubarb shortcake or the, haha, hot date cake), plus a scoop of ice cream (mango lassi, sassafras, neapolitan) and a host of bite-sized things, including candied nuts, fruit gelées, chocolate truffles, and an exquisite nutter-butter square with a crackly caramel topping.

Oh, it's a sexy dessert tray all right.

On the day we went, we personalized ours with the following:

First, the "Rocky Rose" ice cream, which was kind of a fancy take on Rocky Road, with a thick fudge topping and homemade marshmallows;

Then, a crumble consisting of roasted cherries topped with almond streusel and honey-lavender ice cream. This was an absolute standout: assembling it just moments before being served, apparently, is one of the secrets--each ingredient maintains its own flavor and texture "identity"--coming together beautifully without becoming soupy.

Various other little bites were served alongside the main attractions: little lemon cream puffs; cumin cashews; apricot pâtes de fruits (translation: fancy fruit jellies); and some absolutely tantalizing Nutter butter squares, which were crispy and sweet and salty all at once, andwith a crowning glory of thick caramel, completely addictive.

..and, we were treated to a sneak preview of something Dana is working on for an upcoming event. Not going to give away too much, but it was good.

Honestly, I couldn't imagine a more delightful way to serve dessert. With a sampler like this, you still have some choice in the matter--but it also gives you an opportunity to try some tiny bites of unexpected desserts; there's also a certain drama that comes with having this platter full of sweets glistening like little jewels being delivered to your table. It's one of those dishes that all the other diners tend to turn to see as it goes by.

Want a piece of this sweet action? Poppy is located at 622 Broadway East, Seattle (206) 324-1108; you can check them out online at poppyseattle.com. For more on the lovely and amazing Dana Cree, check out this article and stay tuned for other new developments!

More is More: Decadent Poundcake Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

There are those people who say that pound cake is a dessert that needs no garnish, rich and decadent as it is on its own. 

I am not one of those people, however, so when I recently prepared the pound cake recipe featured on the absolutely amazing Smitten Kitchen site, while the cakes (which I baked in cupcake-cups) were absolutely delicious, I couldn't help but feel that it was a beginning, not an end: they needed something serious--no delicate fruit toppings here, please--to balance out that lightness.

And what could be more decadent than topping an already-buttery cake with peanut butter buttercream frosting?

Happily, I had just received a sweet sample pack from Superior Nut which included a decadent peanut butter dessert topping (think peanut butter, but sweeter and with the consistency of a thick hot fudge), which was easily incorporated into a batch of buttercream which was then used to frost the baby-poundcakes; it was all topped off with some sea salt and roasted peanut chunks. The result? Astoundingly sweet, rich, and satisfyingly salty cupcakes which prove that while sometimes less is more, sometimes more is best.  

Want a piece of this awesome? Here's how I did it:

Poundcake Cupcakes With Peanut Butter Frosting

For the Cake: For a light and versatile poundcake, check out this recipe on Smitten Kitchen; I made my batch with two major changes: first, vanilla extract was used in place of cognac; second, they were baked them as cupcakes instead of one large cake (this reduced the baking time by about 5-7 minutes). It made about 15 cupcakes. Some of them were a little bit short, but extra frosting compensated quite nicely.

For the Frosting: I doctored up a batch of Magnolia Bakery's famous buttercream:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 4 to 6 cups confectioners’ sugar (less than in the original recipe, since the Peanut butter topping was sweetened)
• 1/2 cup light cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 heaping tablespoons of Superior Nut's Peanut Butter topping (or, I'm sure you could make due with a similar amount of lightly melted peanut butter or other nut butter, but you might want to add a little more confectioners' sugar)
• Optional: Sea salt and Roasted Peanut Chunks for garnish

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 2 cups of the sugar and then the cream and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes). After incorporated, add the peanut butter topping to the mix and put back on low speed until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency; you might need to add a little extra sugar but probably not. Do not refrigerate this frosting, or it will become a brick; it can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Finally, enjoy. These cakes were brought to CakeSpy buddy Dave's birthday party, and apparently had the birthday crowd in a sugar coma even the next day.

Baker's Dozen: A Batch of Sweet Links!

Though this article is geared toward caterers, the "How to Plan a Dessert Menu" section is interesting!

Peter Pan Donuts (a CakeSpy favorite!) in Brooklyn, NY has debuted the donut ice cream sandwich. (thanks Lauren!)

Over at BUST Magazine, Ice cream flavors + book titles = a plethora of puns

Rice Krispie Treats filled with ice cream: Pure genius!

Blondie & Brownie's adorable entry to the Threadcakes contest will make you want to coo over the cuteness.

CakeSpy reported on how awesome the new Cupcake Royale location is, and the New York Times agrees!

Learn a life skill: How to carve a watermelon baby carriage.

Nope: still don't think that Whoopie Pies are the next big thing. But Gourmet's Zucchini Whoopie pies sure do look delicious.

Butterfingers, all grown up and in a gorgeous cake.

They're raw. They're balls. They look delicious.

Aran of Cannelle et Vanille has set up an online food styling and photography portfolio. It's delightful.

CakeSpy buddy Nurit tries out Tom Douglas's famous Triple Coconut Cream Pie, with yummy results.

In case you missed it, I'll tell you again: CakeSpy has collaborated with All-Mighty, with adorable results.

CakeSpy Undercover: Chuck's Donuts in Renton, WA

I often say that bad things happen when you leave the city, but when a CakeSpy reader emailed extolling the virtues of Chuck's Donuts in Renton:

While you won't find espresso, cupcakes, or frozen yogurt on the menu, you will find the best maple bars in five counties and a lot of extremely tasty cake donuts with simple fillings. I could eat their chocolate-covered custard-filled donuts until they came out my ears! I grew up on these sugar bombs and many people in my massive family consider them prime bribe material.

...well, let's just say I knew it was time to hit the road.

Chuck's Donuts is a deeply and delightfully unpretentious place. It's perched at the corner of a strip mall off of the highway; the signage and decor are fairly nondescript. But that's OK, because we're here to talk about the donuts.

We tested three to get a full variety: a bear claw, and old fashioned, and a frosted cake donut. The bear claw had a thin sheen of glaze that shattered oh so delicately when bitten into, giving way to a yeasty, sweet dough filled with a buttery cinnamon-sugar mix--the filling was a nice complement to the lightness of the donut.

The cake donut was lightly crispy on the outside, dense, soft and cakey on the inside; the frosting was almost too sweet, but we powered through it--and it should be noted that the coconut added a nice texture too.

But the real start of the show was an old fashioned cake donut which vaguely resembled a potato in size and texure (though as to the technical name, not quite sure), which was filled with jam and lightly glazed; overall, very pleasingly dense and just greasy enough to be satisfying without being gross.

Overall, a great find and definitely worth a stop if you find yourself in Renton; and though we do have a number of great donut shops in the city, I'd even deem it a worthy destination for Seattle donut lovers.

Chuck's Donuts, 5335 N. 4th Street, Renton; click here for more info.

A Sweet Love Whose Name Cannot Be Spoken: Store-Bought Cakes

No matter how many gorgeous homemade cakes I try, no matter how many fancy pastries I sample, I will always have a lingering love for grocery store-bought birthday cake. 

I'm not talking about a fancy cake that you might buy at the bakery of an upscale store like Whole Foods. No. I am talking about the garishly frosted, probably not trans fat-free, gonna-leave-a-greasy-slick-on-your-tongue, packed in a plastic cake cover type of store bought cake that you'd see at national grocery store chains.

Now, I realize that on so many levels, they are an inferior product. They are not made with the care that goes into the cakes at most retail bakeries, nor are they made with the same caliber of ingredients. They don't look or taste as good.

And yet--in spite of these powerful arguments against them--sometimes nothing else will do. So what gives? 

Is it Nostalgia? Perhaps it can be blamed on growing up in the suburbs, where for every birthday party with a homemade cake, there were probably four with store-bought cakes? Perhaps somewhere in that combination of bright frosting in colors never found in nature, that inch-and-a-half slick of waxy-sweet frosting, and soft and spongy cake, it's all about trying to conjure up a simpler and sweeter time in life?

Or is it Simply Bad Taste? Or are these cakes like the relationship that you know is toxic but you just can't give up, because even while it's so bad, it's also so good? Is confessing a love of store-bought cake simply admitting that deep down, you've got bad (not to mention unrefined) taste?

Or perhaps it's a bit of both: sweet nostalgia and trashy taste? While I can't answer it definitively, I can say one thing for sure: grocery store-bought cake, I just can't quit you (and I don't want to, either).

What about you? Do you have a soft spot in your heart for store-bought cakes, or is CakeSpy simply guilty of bad taste?

Cake Byte: CakeSpy for All-Mighty!

Do you love cupcakes? Do you love dogs? Do you love cute?

Well then, my friends, prepare for the triple threat of awesome that is the new CakeSpy / All-Mighty.net collaboration!

All-Mighty is an online shop run by CakeSpy buddies Erica and Jen and their adorable Boston Terriers, Mighty and Stinky! Their shop features all sorts of adorable clothing for humans and their furry friends, and I have collaborated with them on several sets of pins which are now available for purchase in their shop.

First, there's the pack of "Paris Pins", which includes three adorable pins with scenes of Parisian puppies and pastries. They come on a nice thick postcard made of 100% recycled matte paper--and each set comes with a frame-able print on the back.

There's also a pack of "Big Apple Badges" which includes three pins portraying some sweet street scenes from the Big Apple; like the other sets, they come on a nice thick postcard made of 100% recycled matte paper--and each set comes with a frame-able print on the back.

They can be purchased (along with a lot of other cool stuff!) at all-mighty.net!

Babka Kebabs: Glorious Kebabka!

There is a deeply rooted belief here at CakeSpy that just about any food tastes better on a stick. I dare you to think of one that doesn't.

But as Rachel of Coconut & Lime recently lamented via twitter, while many desserts-on-a-stick are adorable and delicious, they can all too often be "too small to be satisfying". 

Happily, there is a food on a stick that will stick with you: delicious chunks of chocolate babka speared kebab style on a skewer--or, as I like to call it, kebabka.

Now, kebabka is not necessarily a cute food. It's not delicate, and it's not dainty. But it is rich, chocolatey, carbohydratey, and delicious--and when enjoyed several chunks at a time eaten directly off of a stick, it will not leave you hungry.

Here's how you do it.

Kebabka (based loosely on this recipe)

• For the babka
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1 (.25-ounce) package active dry yeast (2 1/2 teaspoons)
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour

For the topping (I kind of cheated here)

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 big bar of chocolate (the jumbo sized ones at the grocery store--I used Hershey's Special dark chocolate)
• Small amount of whipping cream, just for texture

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and 1/2 cup sugar until smooth.
2. In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks until creamy (I saved the egg whites for an egg wash later)
3. Mix the yeast in warm water with the 1/2 teaspoon of sugar. When this mixture thickens, add it to the egg yolks along with the, milk, vanilla and salt.
4. Add the yeast mixture to the butter/sugar mixture and mix well. Slowly add the flour until a soft dough is formed. 
5. Turn dough out onto a floured work surface and knead until dough is no longer sticky.
6. Cover the dough and allow it to rise in a warm place until it doubles.
7. When it's looking pretty big, you might want to prepare the filling. To do so, you could put your butter and chocolate (broken up) in a double boiler to melt it, or you could do as I did and microwave it at 10 second intervals until it is melted. Add a touch of heavy cream (if you feel like it; I did) and mix until fully incorporated.
8. At this point, I put the dough on a floured silicone pastry mat and rolled it flat and long. I cut it into about 15 separate little chunks.
9. Then I rolled out each little chunk of dough and poured some chocolate filling in each one, then made it into a little roll and put each one into a cupcake cup.
   
10. Allow these little loaves to rise again for about 2 hours.
11. At this point you can either pour some of the leftover topping on top of the risen dough mounds or just, you know, eat it with a spoon (oh so rich!). 
12. I used some of the leftover egg whites to lightly brush on top of each little loaf to ensure a pleasing golden tone.
    
13. Place in a preheated 350*F (150*C) oven for 30 minutes or until done. Let cool completely.
    
14. Once cool, cut into either halves, or fourths; spear as many chunks as you'd like on kebab skewers, and eat yourself some food on a stick. If desired, serve with whipped cream for dipping (it's good!)

Refreshing and Sweet: Cupcake Royale Debuts the Raspberry-Lemonade Cupcake for August

Cupcake Royale has had a lot going on lately, what with the opening of their beautifully outfitted new location and owner Jody Hall speaking out about Health Care on NPR. But of course we can't forget the cupcakes, and this August they've got a refreshing new flavor: Raspberry Lemonade.

Per their site, the new flavor consists of "fresh, local, organic raspberries from Willie Green's organic farm in the cake, topped with tart and tangy, oh-so-summery lemon cream cheese frosting". I love that the flavor has the raspberries mixed into the cake rather than just as part of the frosting--it sounds so refreshing for the summer heat, but with a welcome bit of richness from the cream cheese frosting.

The new flavor will be available at all four Cupcake Royale locations through August 31st; for more information, visit cupcakeroyale.com; for instant updates, follow them on Twitter!

Edi-Mology: Cake

Edi-mology is a new featurette on CakeSpy, designed to explore the etymology and meanings of the terminology behind the baked goods we all love so much. One thing is for sure: this hunger for knowledge can sure give you an appetite for baked goods!

Today's lesson: CAKE

Definition:

Cake: [keyk] noun a sweet, baked, breadlike food, made with or without shortening, and usually containing flour, sugar, baking powder or soda, eggs, and liquid flavoring. (source: dictionary.com)

Etymology: 

This sweet term came to us circa the year 1230 from Old Norse kaka "cake," from the West Germanic "kokon-", from the Proto-Indo-European base "gag-" or "gog-", which meant "something round, lump of something." 

Surprise, surprise: Cake is not related to the Latin coquere ("to cook") as formerly supposed. Replaced its Olde English cognate (cognate = two words that have a common origin), coecel. 

Originally (until c.1420) it meant "a flat, round loaf of bread." (source: etymoline.com)

Of course, if you're wondering how it made the leap from referring to a flat, round loaf of bread to the delicious confection that we call cake today, here's a little excerpt from Foodtimeline.org:

According to the food historians, the precursors of modern cakes (round ones with icing) were first baked in Europe sometime in the mid-17th century. This is due to primarily to advances in technology (more reliable ovens, manufacture/availability of food molds) and ingredient availability (refined sugar)....The first icing were usually a boiled composition of the finest available sugar, egg whites and [sometimes] flavorings...It was not until the middle of the 19th century that cake as we know it today (made with extra refined white flour and baking powder instead of yeast) arrived on the scene...Butter-cream frostings (using butter, cream, confectioners [powdered] sugar and flavorings) began replacing traditional boiled icings in first few decades 20th century. In France, Antonin Careme [1784-1833] is considered THE premier historic chef of the modern pastry/cake world. You will find references to him in French culinary history books.

(Note: if you're interested in more Cake Lore, you might also want to check out Leslie F. Miller's book Let Me Eat Cake) 

First known publication: 

"What man, I trow ye raue, Wolde ye bothe eate your cake and haue your cake?" ["The Proverbs & Epigrams of John Heywood," 1562] (source: etymonline.com)

Idioms: 

A piece of cake: something easily done: She thought her first solo flight was a piece of cake.
Take the cake: a. to surpass all others, esp. in some undesirable quality; be extraordinary or unusual: His arrogance takes the cake.
b. to win first prize.

Let them eat cake: this is from Rousseau's "Confessions," in reference to an incident c.1740, when it was already proverbial, long before Marie Antoinette. The "cake" in question was not a confection, but a poor man's food. (source for these idioms: etymonline.com)

(CakeSpy Tip: If you're into idioms, bet you'll love Chocolate & Zucchini's "Edible Idiom" series!)

Taking the Cake: Trophy Cupcakes Announces New Bellevue Location!

It's official, friends: Trophy Cupcakes is expanding! They just announced the upcoming opening of their third location which will be in Bellevue. Here are the details from their Facebook page:

we had not planned on expanding this quickly but when the Bravern in Bellevue invited us to be a part of their amazing collection of shops, it was an offer we couldn’t refuse! With so many die-hard, commuting for Trophy Cupcakes, Eastside customers, how could we say no?!

The new Trophy Cupcakes location will be part of The Shops at the Bravern, an upscale shopping center which is scheduled to open in September. The new Trophy location is tentatively scheduled to open on September 12. Read more on the Trophy Cupcakes Facebook page!

Tweet All About It: CakeSpy Featured in Seattle Magazine!

Sweet treats and sweet tweets collide in this month's issue of Seattle Magazine, where CakeSpy gets a mention in Rebekah Denn's article about Seattle's food scene and Twitter!

Rebekah, who also writes the incredibly informative (and witty) site Eat All About It, has put together a very interesting article which ponders the phenomenon that is twitter, and how it is being used by foodies in Seattle (and beyond, really). 

And so what is twitter? A place to talk about the newest restaurant dishes? A place to dish about restaurants? Or is the appeal that "Unlike other forms of social media—or, ahem, real life—Twitter offers a six-degrees-of-separation equality between amateurs, professionals and celebrities"?

While the dust may have yet to settle, one thing is pretty clear: it's prompted many readers to tweet all about it! There's even a handy list of some of the coolest Seattle foodies to follow--CakeSpy is on the list (!) along with a seriously talented and entertaining crew including Shauna Ahern, Brian Canlis, Dana Cree, Maggie Dutton, Whitney Ricketts (who just became acquisitions editor at Sasquatch Books!), Traca Savadogo, Seattle Bon Vivant, Becky Selengut, Surly Gourmand, Lorna Yee, and of course, the grande dame of foodery everywhere, Ruth Reichl.

Check out the article here; or, to go right to the list of Seattle foodies that you should mos' def be following, click here! Of course, you should most definitely be following Rebekah via twitter and her site too.

What a Turon-On: A Delicious Find at Delite Bakery

Nope: this is not an eggroll. It's even better, because it's dessert.

Say hello to the turon, my most recent discovery at Delite Bakery in Seattle's Beacon Hill. What is a turon (or turrón, as I've seen it elsewhere), exactly? Well, according to Wikipedia,

Though many varieties exist, a typical turrón is plantain and jackfruit wrapped in a springroll wrapper, dipped in brown sugar, then fried. This somewhat resembles banana spring rolls. These are also known as banana fritters.

Oh, and these little confections (which cost only $1.45 each! a steal!) are also exceedingly delicious. Delite's version was made with banana, and had the most delicious slightly crackly, carmelly-sticky crust which gave way to the sweet taste of banana. The banana's texture was perfect: yielding, but not too mushy. A satisfying treat, and surprisingly for something fried, not too heavy--all in all, perfect for a hot day and definitely worth seeking out if you find yourself in the Beacon Hill area (especially easy now, thanks to the light rail).

Delite Bakery, 2701 15th Ave S., Seattle. Read more online here!

Of course, if you're not in the Seattle area, you might want to investigate making your own turon--this recipe looks pretty delicious! If you've got another to share, please leave a comment!