The 12 Emotional Stages of Eating an Ice Cream Cone

Picture this: you're walking down the street on an unseasonably warm and lovely day in New York City. You spy the Mr. Softee truck on the corner, and decide to buy yourself an ice cream cone.

Just like that, your whole day changes. What was pleasant before is spectacular now, and you didn't even see it coming. 

But...are you prepared for the emotional journey of eating an ice cream cone on a beautiful day in New York City? Because truly, what seems like an effortless and breezy experience can really start quite a chain reaction of emotions.

I recently documented my thoughts at several stages of the ice cream cone eating process, and have narrowed it down to 12 stages. Why would I do such a thing? To equip you, dear reader, with a road map of what to expect--the joy and the sorrow--that comes with eating an ice cream cone. So that you can know you're not alone. 

Stage one: the buzz.

You have walked by the ice cream truck and decided to go for it. This is a beautiful moment. You may see sparkles in your peripheral vision. The world seems magical.

Stage two: anticipation. You have ordered. The guy is preparing your cherry dip with sprinkles right now. This is a sweet moment. You've got ice cream coming and it's a beautiful day.

Stage three: slight twinge of sadness.

 

 It's the strangest thing, your ice cream was just handed to you, but you felt the weirdest little twinge of sadness. Why? Because even as your ice cream cone is handed to you, you can sense innately that this joy is already fleeting. It is warm, so the ice cream is soft. Yet it is mingled with joy, because you are taking your first lick.

Stage four: bliss.

 

In terms of eating, you're in a place of "Pleasuretown, population you". You've taken a few licks but your cone still has its perfect shape. It's creamy, it's delicious, but you've still got a long way to go.  You're tasting every little lick and bite.

Stage five: zombie zone. Somehow, you zoned out there for a few minutes and more of your cone disappeared than you mindfully realized. Wait, you want those licks back. Which leads to...

Stage six: minor anxiety.

This cone is beginning to disappear way too fast. What happened to the perfect cap of ice cream? It's half sized now, and things are starting to melt so you're having to lick more rapidly, doing small repairs where the ice cream is oozing near where it meets the cone. 

Stage seven: zen calm.

Wait. You calm down for a minute. You haven't even reached the cone yet, almost but not quite. You still have ice cream to enjoy. It tastes great. You are loving life on this warm day. You feel calm.

Stage eight: surprise.

You bite into the cone, and although you've been dreading this moment because it means you're nearing the end of your cone, the pleasing crunch of the cone against the cool, creamy ice cream is actually quite nice. 

Stage nine: avoidance.

In an effort to avoid the thought of this cone experience ending, you gently nibble the cone as evenly as possible and try to imagine how it would look if a small animal such as a squirrel were holding it. Hilarious!

Stage ten: panic.

This cone is ending fast. Your heart hurts. It's coming to an end.

Stage eleven: crazy desire and irrational thoughts. If some is good, more is better, right? Should you get another cone? Should you go back and tell him you dropped it and see if he'll give you another? Should you grab that cone the little kid next to you has? You may not be proud of thoughts you have during this phase.

Stage twelve: acceptance. The cone was good, but now the cone is gone. You wisely choose to take Dr. Seuss's advice: "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened." 

Do you have a specific way of eating an ice cream cone? 

CakeSpy for Craftsy: Cherries Jubilee Cupcakes

Want to know how to make Cherries Jubilee cupcakes? Click here, yo. 

Can You Bake Doughnuts Instead of Frying Them?

When it comes to baking, I'm an experimenter. How 'bout you? 

Usually, my experiments involve making things more rich, more sweet, more indulgent. But this time, I was actually tempted to make something more virtuous. Maybe I'm maturing, after all. (or maybe not)

To set the scene for you: I was making some tasty apple cider doughnuts for my most recent Craftsy entry. Gosh are these things good. To make them even more apple cider-y, I made a glaze that had apple cider in it, too. They really came out splendidly.

But I wondered, as I was cutting out the doughnuts for the third or fourth batch of frying three at a time, "what would happen if I baked these puppies?" so I decided to give it a try. I set the oven to a temperate 350, placed some pre-cut doughnuts on a baking sheet, and popped it in the oven.

I let them bake for about 20 minutes. And when I took them out, here's what I found:

To give more of a comparison, here's a side by side with a baked and a fried doughnut. Same exact dough, two distinctly different end results.

So how do they stack up, flavor-wise?

Short answer? They taste good. But in terms of a comparison? That is tougher, because they are more different than you'd think, based on the fact that the only difference is the cooking method, and I used a flavorless vegetable oil. Here's a picture which features a few variations: top, a fried and glazed doughnut, then going clockwise, a fried doughnut unglazed, then a baked and glazed doughnut. 

The baked doughnuts are tasty, but if you did a blind test, you'd never even guess they're a doughnut. They kind of have the texture of a Starbucks scone--you know what I mean when I say that, don't you? Sort of like a slightly coarse, sweet bread? Pleasant enough, and they tasted like they'd be great with cream and jam, or lightly buttered. But they weren't as much of a stand-alone indulgence as the fried doughnuts. They were more like lightly sweet apple biscuits.

Once I added the apple cider glaze, however, they were more of a stand-alone treat. If you're looking for a healthier way to enjoy doughnuts, you might want to give it a try. They don't taste exactly like a doughnut, so I won't make that claim, but they don't taste like suffering. 

As a final observation, the baked version seemed to keep better (especially when glazed). You know how a fried doughnut that is more than a few hours old just starts to taste sad? That didn't happen with the baked version--they maintained their flavor for at least a couple of days at room temperature, whereas the fried ones had to be frozen to keep well.

If you'd like to see the doughnut recipe and try baking them for yourself, visit Craftsy. But instead of frying the doughnuts, bake them in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until golden. Baked or fried...enjoy!

What's your most recent baking experiment? 

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Banana avocado cookies? I'm intrigued.

Well, that brings new meaning to "getting baked".

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MEGA FUN SIZE CANDY BAR.

CakeSpy for Craftsy: Four Famous Cake Designers You Should Know

Do you know who’s who in the world of cake decorating and designing?

Here’s a chance to discover some of the famous cake designers who are shaping (literally) the culture of custom cake design, one sugary creation at a time.

Since there are too many great designers to name in just one post, we’ll take it a few at a time so that you can really get to know these inspiring artists, including an inside look at who they are as well as an exploration of the amazing art they create with buttercream, fondant, gum paste and cake.

Read profiles of four wonderful cake designers you should know on Craftsy! 

CakeSpy for Craftsy: Tart Recipes

First things first: let’s not confuse tarts with pies. While the pastries are certainly related, and often share flavors, they are not the same thing.

Basically, their difference comes down to crust. A tart generally has either shallow sides or no sides at all, and only a bottom crust (though some bakers can’t resist a little lattice or decoration on top). A tart crust also differs from pie crust. Often, a tart crust will be more “short” than pie crust–that is to say, more crumbly and rich. The ingredients include flour, unsalted butter, cold water, sometimes sugar, sometimes egg (confusing caveat: sometimes tarts employ a puff pastry type crust, too). And, tarts are baked in a pan with a removable bottom, or in pastry ring, so that they can be served unmolded; a pie is usually served right in its baking dish.

For the full post and a tasty roundup of tart recipes both sweet and savory, visit Craftsy!

The Bake-Off is Coming: Breakfast Panini with Caramelized Bananas in Coffee Syrup

CakeSpy Note: OMG! The 46th Annual Pillsbury Bake-Off is coming! Since I so deeply loved attending the 45th Bake-Off, I thought I would get you excited early by sharing some of the finalists' recipes. Narrowed down from zillions of entries, I'll profile some of the 100 finalists--but of course, based on the subject matter of this site, I will focus on sweets! You can follow them by clicking the bakeoff tag below the post to see which ones have been posted so far. Enjoy! 

Monday! It does not have to be no fun-day. Nope. Not when you start the day right, with a sweet breakfast sandwich made with bananas, choco-hazelnut spread, and some coffee liqueur sandwiched sweetly between biscuits. 

It's not hard to see why this tasty morsel is a finalist in the Pillsbury Bake-Off. Let's all take a moment to silently thank Lisa Speer of Palm Beach, Florida, for dreaming it up.

Breakfast Panini with Caramelized Bananas in Coffee Syrup

Prep Time: 25 Min Total Time: 40 Min Makes: 8 servings

Ingredients

• 1 can Pillsbury® Grands! Flaky Layers refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4cup unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup coffee-flavored liqueur or brewed coffee
• 2 ripe firm large bananas, cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 1/2 cup Chocolate Flavored Hazelnut Spread
• 8 small strawberries, halved

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Bake biscuits as directed on can. Cool 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in 10-inch nonstick skillet, cook brown sugar, butter and coffee liqueur over medium heat, stirring constantly, 3 to 5 minutes or until slightly thickened. Stir in bananas; cook 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat; keep warm.
3. Heat closed medium-size contact grill or panini maker for 5 minutes. Spray grill plates with Crisco® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray.
4. Split biscuits. Spread 1 tablespoon of the chocolate hazelnut spread on cut side of each biscuit bottom to within 1/2 inch from edges; top with remaining biscuit halves. Place filled biscuits 3 to 4 at a time on grill; close grill. Cook 1 to 2 minutes or until golden brown. Repeat with remaining 4 filled biscuits.
5. Top panini with bananas and syrup. Garnish with strawberries.

CakeSpy for Craftsy: How to Melt White Chocolate

Have you ever tried to melt white chocolate, only to end up with a scorched, lumpy mess? I feel you, so I made a tutorial on how to do it right.  Find the full tutorial and writeup on Craftsy!

CakeSpy for Craftsy: Coffee Themed Cakes

Photo via That's Very Fun

Coffee is certainly a powerful brew. It’s the stuff of waking up, of mid-morning gossip sessions, of afternoon pick-me-ups, of after-dinner dessert bliss. Whether it’s in a mug, a takeaway cup or a carafe, it’s a part of our everyday lives. So why not celebrate its influence on cake decorating?

This collection of beautifully decorated cakes may not always include actual coffee but the majority include plenty of cream and sugar. See the full article with some beautiful coffee themed cakes on Craftsy!

Baker's Dozen: A Batch of Sweet Links!

In case you missed it: Nacho cakelets inspired by Bake and Destroy: Good Food for Bad Vegans. 

Also of interest: vegan "Elvis" -style whoopie pies by Bake and Destroy!

Not cake: how to make homemade bagels.

More like cake: how to make doughnuts look like bagels. 

Four famous cake designers you should know.

I'm sad that a bakery in my hometown may become a brewery. Not that there's anything wrong with beer, but I'll miss the sweets!

How to make clotted cream.

What's it like to work as a baker?

Tasty tart recipes.

Interesting: jicama apple cake.

How to make Gooey Butter Cake: a step by step tutorial. YESSSSS.

Good to know: how to melt white chocolate.

Wish I could have gone: the Cake & Bake show in London.

CakeSpy for Craftsy: Say Hello to Apple Season

(Above: a note from a CakeSpy sponsor. Now, on to the tasty stuff.)

To say hello to apple season, I made a fantastic roundup of delicious apple recipes for Craftsy.com. Here's a preview:

When it comes to cooking, apples are most commonly used as an ingredient in pies or applesauce. But there are many more sublime flavor experiences to be found with apples, in recipes both sweet and savory. From morning breads to bright salads to filling meals to cake and yes, some pie too, you’ll find plenty of culinary inspiration with this collection of thirteen recipes starring apples. 

For the full roundup, visit Craftsy!

Nacho Mamma's Cake: Nacho Cakelets inspired by Bake and Destroy

This is nacho mamma's cake. Well, unless that is your mom is prone to making savory nacho cake. 

(crickets)

Listen. My bloggy BFF Natalie of Bake & Destroy has a book out. Bake and Destroy: Good Food for Bad Vegans. This book is totally vegan, but I don't care about that. What I do care about, and what is even more important, is that it is wonderful. When the book came, I all but had to restrain myself from doing a happy dance. 

 It's funny, it's creative, it's edgy, it's covered in tattoo art...just like Natalie. It's illustrated by Betty Turbo. There's a blurb on the back written by...well, me. Awesome!

So when her publicist (I love casually mentioning how my friends have publicists) contacted me to see if I'd help promote the book by posting a recipe on my site, I said of course. Because Natalie is pretty awesome and she's always supportive of what I do. 

The recipe for Nacho Cupcakes caught my eye right away, because it sounded...interesting. And I like keeping things interesting.

If you're expecting a real nacho-infused cake, think again. As the headnote reads, 

"technically this is a muffin. I think I just enjoy the horrified look on people’s faces when I say things like, “Have you tried the nacho cupcake?” Sadistic. Anyway, serve these with a bean salad and a side of guacamole and you’ve got yourself a fiesta. Better yet, bake the muffins and let your guests top their own!"

Now. I don't know why exactly, but probably because I couldn't find cupcake liners at the moment of baking, but I baked the cornbread batter in a 9x13 inch pan instead of as cupcakes, and treated them as cakelets. I chose my own adventure with the decoration, garnishing with "cheez" sauce, green chile (I'm in New Mexico at the moment, and when in Rome...), corn, salsa, and...of course, a nacho chip on top. 

These are a wonderful snack cake, and could even make a nice light lunch with a salad. A candy salad, that is!

Bake and Destroy: Good Food for Bad Vegans

Makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients

• 1 cup (235 ml) soy milk
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup (127 g) yellow cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon (14 g) baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 medium-size jalapeños, diced with seeds
• ⅓ cup (50 g) corn kernels (thawed, if frozen)
• ¼ cup (60 g) blended silken tofu
• ⅓ cup (67 g) sugar
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil
• Unhydrogenated vegetable shortening, for greasing pan

TOPPINGS:

• 1 (15-ounce [425 g]) can refried beans
• Sliced olives
• Additional jalapeño slices, ground seitan, guacamole, etc. (optional)
• Tortilla chips
• Nacho Chee-Zee Sauce

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C) and grease a twelve-cup muffin pan or a 9x13 inch pan.
2. In a measuring cup, combine the soy milk and apple cider vinegar and set aside to curdle for a few minutes while you prepare the other ingredients.
3. In a medium-size bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and pepper. In another bowl, whisk together the soy milk mixture, jalapeños, corn, tofu, sugar and oil. Add to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
4. Fill the prepared muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes.
5. Remove from the pan and let cool completely on wire rack.
6. To nacho-fy the “cupcakes”: Warm the refried beans on your stovetop; spread a layer of beans on top of each muffin. Sprinkle with olives and additional peppers or other toppings, if desired. Top it with a tortilla chip, serve with Nacho Chee-Zee Sauce, and get ready to party.

Truly Terrible: Dollar Store Dessert Pizza

Happy National Cheeseburger Day! On an unrelated note, let me tell you about the most awful thing I've eaten in dessert memory.

It was dessert pizza from the dollar store.

I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "what were you thinking, CakeSpy?"

What can I say? It appealed to my thrifty nature. Plus, the novelty of finding dessert pizza at the dollar store was pretty wonderful. It seemd like a pretty nice haul for just a buck. 

I took it home and ripped that baby open.

Now, to its credit, the actual making-of was kind of fun. First, you take the crust, which is nestled on its own little cardboard circle and requires no pan! out of the package.

Next, you take out the enclosed icing (the "cheese"?) and pour it on top. It's sort of like the icing that comes with pop-n-bake cinnamon rolls.

Now, spread it for even coverage...

Now, you're ready to get baking. As advertised, it's ready in 7 minutes! Now, I know it had said it didn't require a pan, but I didn't want icing goo on the bottom of my oven, so I did put it in a pan.

I baked, and it began to do stuff. Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble.

 When I took it out of the oven, here's how it looked.

Now, I will tell you, there was a brief, shining moment when I had somewhat high hopes for this dessert. It smelled awesome: like cinnamon and sugar and a soupçon of something else. I wasn't quite sure what yet, but at that moment I wanted to find out.

My hopes began to fall. It started with a perfect consistency--soft on top, crispy on the bottom. Then, as it cooled, it began to firm up, then harden, then harden to a crispy, stiff-as-a-board type consistency. I needed a very large and very sharp knife to slice that baby. As you can see, I could only score it with a pizza cutter--it didn't even make a dent in that crust.

Once I finally got it sliced, I took a bite. 

Now, let me tell you...I'm not a dessert snob. I can enjoy a Pop-Tart or Little Debbie Snack on occasion. I tell you this so that you will know that I am not the type of person who would just bash a sweet because it was cheap or "low class".

But the truth is, his dessert pizza was absolutely terrible. It may not be the worst dessert I have ever eaten, but no others come to mind just at this moment.

People occasionally will say how something tastes "like cardboard". I generally think this is a bit of an exaggeration. But in this case...it actually did taste like cardboard. I had discovered the alluded-to soupçon of "something else" in this dessert pizza's aroma. 

I tried another bite, but it was hard to navigate the beyond crispy crust without breaking a tooth or ten. 

The final verdict on dollar store dessert pizza? Please, let my curiosity be your cautionary tale. Don't do it. 

What's the worst dessert you've ever had?

CakeSpy Undercover: No Regrets Bakery, Alvord TX

Last week I found myself driving along a long stretch of highway in Texas, several hours between here and there.

And then, unexpectedly, I see a sign along the highway: "Bakery ahead". Did I really see that? Yes, I did, because there's another one: "bakery ahead" with a little arrow pointing to the left.

You can bet your bottom silver dollar pancake we pulled over at the next turn signal.

What we found, quite unexpectedly, was a gluten-free, no-refined-sugar bakery, smack dab in the middle of Texas. No Regrets Bakery is the name.

"No offense", I said to one of the owners, Casey Harris, "but you're kind of out of the gluten-free belt."

She was kind enough to laugh at this, acknowledging that it was certainly the truth, but that their trailblazing had been rewarded: this was their first anniversary, and they'd gained a cult status with locals and those not-so-local. Turns out that just because this type of bakery isn't common in Texas doesn't mean that there isn't a demand. 

So, No Regrets Bakery has come along to fill it. But why start an oasis of gluten free, non refined sugar, low glycemic index baked goods? As the owners say, 

"This bakery is our way of paying it forward, our blood sugar came back high twice and that was enough to scare both of us. We changed our lifestyle and diet, lost a lot of weight (60lbs and 40lbs) and our blood sugar stabilized at low normal. My husband never stopped craving sugar so I started manipulating recipes to replace the refined sugars and then started removing wheat flours to remove the simple sugars, replacing with gluten-free flours to make a baked good with higher protein and more complex carbohydrates. I started as a cottage industry out of my home and then received a call that a restaurant wanted to carry my products and No Regrets was launched with the location on HWY 287 in Alvord, TX."

I realize that the idea of a gluten-free, "paleo-friendly" Hostess style cupcake might frighten my sugar-loving friends. Or that the idea of a birthday cake made with coconut flour might sound downright strange. Or that the idea of homemade protein-rich bars full of flax and berries might just sound like hippie food that isn't worth your time.

Listen, I don't really care how they do it, because the most important thing here is that what they make at No Regrets Bakery tastes good. 

Here's the raw/vegan cherry vanilla bar, filled with dried cherries, dried cranberries, flaxmeal and vanilla stevia. 

It was actually a very good bar. Homemade versus store bought, when it comes to granola type bars, makes a big difference. This one had a really nice tartness from the cranberries, too. I approve.

We also got a "Chocolate Pecan Bar", made with cocoa powder, toasted pecans, dates and dried cranberries. It tasted like a Lara Bar, but better. 

We also got one of the "power balls", with almonds, almond extract, unsweetened coconut, maca and agave. It was a decadent and tasty little morsel. 

And they were giving out slices of birthday cake because of the aforementioned anniversary! This cake did not taste like deprivation at all. The chocolate masked any coconuttiness from the coconut flour, but it definitely tasted lightly nutty in a good way. The frosting, which is agave-sweetened, didn't have a weird or artificial taste, which pleased me. I can deal with a cake like this, if this is what gluten-free cake can be.

We also picked up a doggie cookie for Porkchop the pug. I don't think he cared that it was corn and wheat free--he just ate the thing. 

Overall, this was a magical stop in Texas. Hit them up if you find yourself on highway 287! Or, help them out with their fundraising goals to open a second location in the Dallas metro area. 

No Regrets Bakery, 8879 Highway 287 North, Alvord, TX. Online here.

CakeSpy for Craftsy: How to Make Plantains into Dessert

Think plantains are just for frying?

Think again. They're also for baking with copious amounts of butter and sugar and using as an ice cream topping. Yep. 

I recently wrote an article about How to Cook Plantains for Craftsy.com, and I included one recipe that is savory, and one that is sweet. Here's a preview of the sweet part: 

When a plantain becomes very ripe, it becomes sweeter and slightly less starchy, making it perfectly suited for sweet applications. In this recipe, plantain slices are baked in a butter, brown sugar, rum, and spice mixture which caramelizes around the fruit as it bakes, making for a warm, buttery indulgence that may call to mind Bananas Foster, but with a more subtle sweetness.

Like, whoa. Check out the full article and recipe on Craftsy!

Sweet Discovery: Pampeana Empanadas, Seattle

Photos via Pampeana Empanadas

Repeat after me: dessert empanadas with homemade dulce de leche. 

I ask you to repeat after me, because I want to work on this infusion through repetition thing. If everybody starts chanting that, maybe dessert empanadas will become the next thing, and dulce de leche will accompany them on their rise to the top. 

Of course, instead of trying to convince you of the merits of the humble empanada, I could suggest that those in the Seattle area give Pampeana Empanadas a sample.

I had the good pleasure of meeting the mother and daughter team behind this empanada business in Seattle, when they were feeding the hungry masses with their wares at the Urban Craft Uprising. My friend Jameson also pointed me in their direction, noting that these empanadas were characterized by a particularly spectacular crust. 

Well, that's about all I needed to hear. 

Pampeana Empanadas has a cute story: "Alexis met Leandro Torres in the Argentine ski town of San Martín de Los Andes in 2005. Fairly soon thereafter, Leandro, a schooled Argentine chef, showed up in Seattle and wow-ed everyone with his batches of homemade empanadas.

We loved that his baked empanadas were a much healthier alternative to the usual deep or pan-fried empanadas to be found in the local restaurants and stores. It was decided that not only did we need to have constant access to these, but so did the rest of the Seattle area!"

Talk about sweet ambassadors.

Oh, and in case you are curious about the name, their website addresses it: "Pampeana describes anything "from the Pampas", the region in Argentina where empanadas originated."

What a delightful find! All of these empanadas are made by hand, with a secret ingredient of love, I assume. Pampeana makes savory offerings and sweet, but you can tell which empanada is which with their handy "how to identify your empanada" illustration (I love it!).

Their sweet offerings include apple and dulce de leche, guava, pumpkin and dulce de leche in the fall, and "red, white, and blueberry" (strawberry, cream cheese, and blueberry) in the summer months.

Pumpkin dulce de leche. Don't you love it already?

They also offer empanada dough for sale, so you can choose your own adventure! As they say, "Our empanada dough is available for sale, frozen and ready for you to make your own empanadas at home. Each package comes with pre-made discs layered with wax paper for easy separation. With the dough as your canvas, you get to be creative with your own fillings!". 

And yes, they also sell that dulce de leche that is used for the sweet fillings--but, you know, If at this moment I had an empanada with dulce de leche inside of it, I wouldn't be above dipping it in some more dulce de leche.

If you are in the Seattle area, rejoice! You can get these empanadas by special order. Find them online here.

CakeSpy Undercover: The Buttermilk Drop Cafe, New Orleans

I first heard about the Buttermilk Drop in a New York Times article, gloriously entitled "A City Drenched in Sugar". I had known that New Orleans was a city famed for its sweets, but I don't think I really knew until I read this article. Not only King cake waited for me in the Big Easy, but doberge cake and snowballs and doughnuts, too.

Actually, a particular type of doughnut called the Buttermilk Drop.

As I learned from this site, the buttermilk drop is a doughnut unique to New Orleans which gained fame at the now defunct but still beloved McKenzie's Pastry Shoppe. It is, on the surface, not an incredibly unique treat. It looks like a doughnut hole, but it's bigger. But not quite as big as a full-sized doughnut. But one taste will tell you that this is a very special doughnutty morsel. Rich in buttermilk, yes, which gives them a perfect delicate crumb yet substantial texture, which is gorgeously and generously coated in a thick glaze. 

I can understand why New Orleans would simply not stand for this doughnut disappearing.

Today, from what I gather, you can get buttermilk drops at two places: Tastee's, which apparently purchased the rights to a number of McKenzie's recipes, and The Buttermilk Drop Cafe. 

I recently tried them at The Buttermilk Drop Cafe, an establishment with an interesting story. Owner Dwight Henry first gained fame as a maker of sweet treats, then gained local celebrity status when he put incredible effort into helping re-open businesses in his Seventh Ward neighborhood following Hurricane Katrina.

And then, he was "discovered" when the movie Beasts of the Southern Wild was filming in his neighborhood, and ended up being featured in the movie. So basically now, in addition to being famous for making doughnuts, he's being featured in New York Times Magazine style shoots. 

Well, I will tell you, I was intrigued.

So when you walk into The Buttermilk Drop Cafe, I was greeted by an odd sight. A large room with ample seating space...but no seating. A menu that seemed to invite sitting and staying a spell...but nowhere to sit and stay. Cool artwork on the wall and even ceiling. 

A large case greeted us, but only a portion of it was filled. All of what filled it looked good though: DOUGHNUTS. Glazed and cake, vanilla and chocolate, in rounds and braids...

and, of course, the famed buttermilk drops.

From behind a small glass window, a friendly girl took our order. It was alarmingly affordable. The doughnuts and buttermilk drops were all well under a dollar each, which was refreshing. 

We got a few buttermilk, a few chocolate, and of course several buttermilk drops.

The doughnuts were very, very good. Light in texture, with a solid buttermilk flavor, and most importantly, drenched in a highly delicious glaze.

But the real star was the buttermilk drops. Was it the power of suggestion, that I was ready to love these best because I had heard so much about them? Perhaps. But d-a-m-n were they fine doughnuts.

The texture of the buttermilk drop is perfect. Like I said before, it's a delicate crumb, but a substantial doughnut in nature. I love the size, too. It's more serious than a mere doughnut hole, but not quite a full size doughnut. It is the perfect snacking size. And the glaze was so liberally applied that it kind of fused into the drop's crust...oh, heaven.

So what am I saying here? Get yourself to the Buttermilk Drop Cafe. I was impressed by how "real" the place has remained even following its fame. Weird about the seating, but you can deal. This is an experience that must be lived by doughnut lovers.

The Buttermilk Drop Cafe, 1781 N. Dorgenois Street, New Orleans. Online here.

Triple Chip Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Dip from Peanut Butter Comfort

When I think of peanut butter, visions of happiness, butterflies, unicorns prancing, and cotton candy clouds dance in my head. I love the stuff that much.

So when I received the book Peanut Butter Comfort: Recipes for Breakfasts, Brownies, Cakes, Cookies, Candies, and Frozen Treats Featuring America's Favorite Spread, I was pretty psyched. Especially since I happened to have plenty of peanut butter around at the moment.

Naturally, I was drawn in pretty instantly by this recipe because it had pink thingies in the photos. But then, upon futher review, I found that the recipe was for something amazing: Triple Chip Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Dip. Like, OMG. That's a dip I can get into!

Even better, the dough is egg free, so that dough can get right in your mouth.

What would one use cookie dough dip for, you ask? Well, that's kind of a dopey question because I really hope you already have some ideas. It would be a great, indulgent frosting, or a nice dip for graham crackers, or...you know, great by the spoonful. Yum.

Here's the magical recipe.

Peanut Butter Triple Chip Cookie Dough Dip

Adapted from Peanut Butter Comfort: Recipes for Breakfasts, Brownies, Cakes, Cookies, Candies, and Frozen Treats Featuring America's Favorite Spread

Makes 4 1/2 cups dip, or 2-3 servings (kidding)

Ingredients

• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened to cool room temperature
• 2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened to cool room temperature
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned whole rolled oats (not quick cook or instant)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 to 4 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup m&m candies--plain, peanut, or peanut butter
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup butterscotch chips

Procedure

1. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the cream cheese, peanut butter, and butter, mixing on high speed for 3 to 4 minutes until nice and smooth and creamy. Pause to scrape down the sides of the bowl. 
2. Add all the sugars and the vanilla, and beat for 2 to 3 minutes on medium high speed. Start slowly, then increase the speed to keep from having a sugar snowstorm. Pause to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
3. Add the oats and salt and beat until incorporated, 1 minute on medium high speed. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the flour, one tablespoon at a time, mixing after each addition. Only add enough to give it your desired dip consistency.
4. Fold in the m&m candies and all those chocolate and other chips by hand or with a couple swipes of the mixer on low speed. Serve right away, or keep chilled. Keep this tastiness in the fridge for up to a week.

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The Bake-Off is Coming: Decadent Chocolate Hazelnut Tart

CakeSpy Note: OMG! The 46th Annual Pillsbury Bake-Off is coming! Since I so deeply loved attending the 45th Bake-Off, I thought I would get you excited early by sharing some of the finalists' recipes. Narrowed down from zillions of entries, I'll profile some of the 100 finalists--but of course, based on the subject matter of this site, I will focus on sweets! You can follow them by clicking the bakeoff tag below the post to see which ones have been posted so far. Enjoy! 

Generally, I like to make it clear to people that I am CakeSpy, not MathSpy.

However, every now and again I like to riddle with numbers and equations. Here's one that I feel pretty good about:

Flaky pastry + super rich creamy fudgy filling  = deliciously indulgent dessert.

Now, this type of addition makes sense to me. And the delicious result is beautifully illustrated in the form of this Decadent Chocolate Hazelnut Tart, a Bake-Off finalist recipe dreamed up by Marie Bruno of Greensboro, Georgia. 

Seriously. It's got crust. It's got chocolate. It's got hazelnut. What is not to love? Oh, and it only takes 30 minutes to make, and including cooling time, you'll be eating this treat in under 2 hours. YES!

Decadent Chocolate Hazelnut Tart

12 servings - 30 min active time, 1 hr 30 min total time

Ingredients

• 1 Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust, softened as directed on box
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 8 oz semisweet baking chocolate
• 1 cup mascarpone cheese
• 1/2 cup Jif Chocolate Flavored Hazelnut Spread
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 1/4 cups toasted hazelnuts

Procedure

1. Heat oven to 450°F. Unroll pie crust; place in 10-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Press crust firmly against bottom and side of pan; trim edges. Bake 8 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove from oven to cooling rack. If crust puffs in center, flatten gently with back of wooden spoon. Cool 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in 2-quart saucepan, heat 3/4 cup of the cream over medium heat until bubbles begin to form around sides of pan. DO NOT BOIL. Remove from heat. Stir in chocolate until melted. Stir in 1/4 cup of the mascarpone cheese and 6 tablespoons of the chocolate hazelnut spread until well blended.
3. In small bowl, beat egg yolks with fork. Gradually add about 1/4 of the melted chocolate mixture to the egg yolks, stirring constantly. Stir egg mixture back into the pan of hot chocolate cream. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly for 3 to 5 minutes until mixture begins to thicken; remove from heat. Spread 1/2 cup of the chocolate mixture in bottom of cooled crust. Press 1 cup of the toasted hazelnuts into hot filling. Carefully spoon remaining chocolate filling over nuts. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or until completely cooled.
4. In medium bowl, beat remaining 1 1/4 cups cream with electric mixer on high speed until slightly thickened. Slowly add the remaining 3/4 cup mascapone cheese and the remaining 2 tablespoons chocolate hazelnut spread. Continue beating until stiff peaks form.
5. Pipe or spoon whipped cream mixture over top of cooled tart. Finely chop remaining 1/4 cup hazelnuts; sprinkle over whipped cream. Store covered in refrigerator.