What's your favorite way to color in your artwork? Here's an exploration of several of my favorite ways. You might be amazed at what a difference the medium in question can make on a finished piece. You'll learn mroe about how to make your art come to life with this fun roundup. Read the full article here.
Tips for Adding Emotion to Illustrated Characters
Let me tell you how to make faces. With your art, I mean. Learn my secrets here!
Baker's Dozen: A Batch of Sweet Links!
Salt and pepper cookies: sort of like fancied up homemade oreos.
I tried to make a dull subject (perspective in art) exciting and cute. Did I succeed?
Donut doubt my devotion to these holey treats.
I'm in Puerto Rico right now, so I'm enjoying these plantain recipes in their natural element.
Although this is from 2008, this is an interesting piece on the phenomenon of shrinking ice cream cartons in stores.
I was expecting more from this collection of houses that look like cakes, but I like the idea.
I also like these cakes inspired by real buildings!
In case you missed it: a fun donut activity to distract you from work.
Add some color to your life with this exploration of ways to color in your illustrations, written by *me*.
Individual apple crisp recipe. You know what that means: it's all for you.
If you need a little Christmas, right this very minute...snowballs are tasty any time of year.
Peanut dacquoise with peanut butter mousse and glaze? I am so down with this.
Post of the week: 10 Commandments of Guilty Pleasure Desserts.
How to make buttercream even better. Yes, it's possible!
How to make cake in a mug in the microwave.
Book of the week: Peeps: Recipes and Crafts to Make with Your Favorite Marshmallow Treat
The Ten Commandments of Guilty Pleasure Desserts
Hear thee, hear thee!
I have alarming news about the world: it is overrun with locally produced, artisan desserts. It's a frightening time to be alive, when where bearing a Twinkie or Snowball in your hand is viewed almost as disdainfully as smoking a cigarette in front of an elementary school.
Why is it so terrible to take deep pleasure in sub-standard, commerically produced desserts? After all, life is short, and we have the right to derive pleasure both from high quality, lovingly baked desserts, as well as the ones that don't have any benefit but our gratification.
What follows is not just a series of commandments about guilty pleasure desserts, but an ode to their very essence! Follow these commandments for a life filled with guilty yet pleasurable sugary bliss.
Thou shalt not be local
A guilty pleasure shouldn't be a locally made food, unless you happen to live down the block from the Pop-Tart factory (in which case, I've been meaning to ask, can I move in with you?)
Thou shalt not be organic
If it has the word "organic" on it, be immediately suspicious of its guilty pleasure capacity. I've never in my life seen a package of Goetze's bullseye caramels labeled "organic"...have you?
Thou shalt not bear the word "artisan"
"Artisan" is a sure fire sign of quality that is not in the sphere of guilty pleasuredom. It is not a common attribute of a guilty pleaure dessert.
Thou shalt be pre-packaged
If a dessert item is in plastic packaging, this is a very good sign. I am not talking about plastic wrap here, but the kind of plastic cello packaging that is sealed by machines. All the better if units are individually packaged and then put in a common box, such as Little Debbie brownies.
Thou shalt possess a list of ingredients totaling one mile long
If you are in doubt about whether or not a food can be considered a guilty pleasure, take a look at the ingredient list. If it is short and you can pronounce every single word on it, immediately put it back on the shelf and keep looking. Your guilty pleasure item should contain an impressive list of ingredients, most of which you do not recognize and/or cannot pronounce.
Thou shalt not be classified as health food, ever
If anything about a dessert item smacks of health food, give it a wide berth. I'll be the first to admit that there are exceptions: Little Debbie's oatmeal creme pies might sound fairly virtuous, and I suppose the orange content in creamsicles could lull you into a sense of health security.
Thou shalt not possess colors readily found in nature
We eat with our eyes first, so guilty pleasure desserts benefit from a healthy dose of color. But watch out: if the color looks suspiciously like one found in nature, it might not actually be a guilty pleasure. If it has a palette which vaguely resembles the colors of a Lisa Frank trapper keeper, you're in business.
Thou shalt not cost an arm and a leg
Have you ever anyone saying "these $4.25 a pop cupcakes made with all local organic ingredients are my guilty pleasure"? No. Twinkies are a guilty pleasure, and if you shop right, you can get two whole boxes for that price.
Thou shalt not possess nutritional benefits
What kind of nutritional benefits should a guilty pleasure dessert have? It should have zero. I firmly believe that the primary benefit of a guilty pleasure dessert is on a mental level and you shouldn't sully it with physical benefits. Or, put it this way: nobody in the history of ever has eaten Snowballs because coconut is high in manganese.
Thou shalt feel right at home in a child's school lunchbox
Here's a good test for whether a dessert classifies as a guilty pleasure or not. Would a six year old kid be psyched to find it in their lunch box? If so, you may have a guilty pleasure dessert on your hands.
What is your governing law of what constitutes a guilty pleasure? Leave a comment!
How to Add Perspective and Dimension to Your Art
Even if you draw cute cartoons, perspective know-how is a must. Master it with this sweet article.
Monday Funday: A Fun Donut Activity
Donut you love Mondays?
Um, OK. I realize it's not very nice of me to ask that while I'm in Puerto Rico soaking up the sun. But let me help knock you out of the Monday doldrums with some virtual donuts!
What you see above is a sweet opportunity to hone your donut drawing skills. Bonus: if you've mastered donut drawing, that means you can draw bagels, too!
Enjoy, and happy Monday!
Donut Doubt My Devotion
Seriously, sweeties. If you want a bunch of my awesome doughnut recipes all in one place, plus even more awesome doughnut stuff, you've got to check out this free doughnut download via Craftsy. You'll thank me, donut you doubt it.
Creative Quilled Cakes Roundup
Quilling: it's not just for paper! Check out this awesome collection of quilled cake designs.
Baker's Dozen: A Batch of Sweet Links!
Take a quill pill: Awesome quilled cakes.
Wine tourism. (Wine sorbet included)
A fun retro recipe: fruit cocktail cake.
NYC style rainbow Italian cookies. So sweet. So good.
What do Cubans eat for dessert? Find out some favorites here.
Tips for adding emotion to your illustrations. I'm proud of this one!
Chocolate buttermilk biscuits. Brunch just got better.
Homemade Oreos. I'm OK with this.
Mojito cheesecake. Hook me up with this stuff!
Am I the only one thinking of Halloween candy and what I'll do with it already?
Did you miss my extremely opinionated essay on what is and is not crumb cake?
This is crumb cake, btw.
Book of the week: SprinkleBakes: Dessert Recipes to Inspire Your Inner Artist
Crumb Cake: An Extremely Opinionated Education
Before we even get into the issue of "what is crumb cake, anyway?" I'd like to address why, exactly, I ought to be considered an authority on the subject. In my opinion, of course.
First off, I was born and raised by the Jersey shore.
This is part of what you could consider the "crumb cake belt", extending into New York state to the North and down as far as the mid-Atlantic to the south. To the best of my knowledge, though, the New York metro area and about an hour outside of it is really where crumb cake is a prime time food.
I have experienced a lot of crumb cake in my time.
From the time I was able to eat solids, it was a favorite of mine as I grew up by the Jersey shore; the square box of Entenmann's crumb cake was a constant in our house, and whenever I had the opportunity to get a treat at the bakery or a deli, crumb cake was always my pick. For me, crumb cake has always been one of those foods, that like pizza, "even when it's bad, it's still good."
I've tried it all: artisan versions, commercially produced versions, bakery versions, homemade ones. And with nearly 33 years of crumb cake eating under my belt, I'd like to offer some opinions and thoughts on the stuff.
Crumb cake in America
If I were to make an educated guess on the history of crumb cake, it would be this.
What we know today as crumb cake is most likely the adaptation of coffee cake recipes by German bakers who came to America. The cake does bear a passing resemblance to many of the streusel topped kuchen recipes, a popular coffee-friendly cake from Germany.
To further my conjecture, I would guess that stateside bakers responded to the fact that everyone loves crumb by adding more to theirs, thus making everyone come back for more. As we all know, a lot of the NYC deli treats (black and white cookies are a good example) are often impressive in scale; if some is good, more is better. Today, many crumb cakes boast as much as a 50-50 ratio of crumb to cake. We live in a blessed time.
A regional treat
Curiously, while crumb cake is delicious regardless of your geography, it seems to be available primarily on the east coast, with a particular concentration in the New York metro area. In general, from New York city out to commuter areas is going to be the epicenter.
As a result of the regional aspect, many people further away have no idea what crumb cake actually is or should be. I remember in Seattle, people would think that a coffee cake with a streusel topping was a crumb cake. Sometimes, bakeries would even label it as such, adding to the confusion.
So here, let me show you in pictures a review of what crumb cake is and is not.
What crumb cake is
In a world full of cakes that have crumbs, defining true crumb cake can sometimes be difficult. So let me illustrate some examples of what crumb cake is.
This is crumb cake. Note the lightly yellow-hued cake. It is not to be confused with yellow cake, which is sponge-like and airy. There should be a certain fluffiness to the cake, but it needs to be sturdy enough to be weight bearing, because as you may have noticed, there is a rather top-heavy coating of fat brown sugar crumbs. However, it is not as firm as pound cake; it has a little give.
As for the crumb, this is important: it is not a solid layer of brown sugar, but a collection of fat brown sugar clusters.
In contemporary times, it is my belief that crumb cake should be at the very least 1/3 crumb, preferably 1/2 crumb to cake. But less than 1/3 and it's not crumb cake, it's cake with a crumb topping.
If you are worried about adding too much crumb, don't be. As you can see from the above, even a 9/10 crumb to 1/10 cake ratio is just fine.
Crumb cake can be purchased in a few places: prominently at delicatessens, where it may be individually wrapped in plastic. It can also be found at bakeries and bagel joints. It is not necessarily a fancy food, so you should be wary of fancy establishments who try to take a unique spin on crumb cake.
What crumb cake is definitely not
I want to say from the get-go that it's very possible for non-crumb cakes to be delicious. However, tastiness aside, none of the below cakes are crumb cake, and should not be referred to as such. If I asked for a slice of crumb cake and one of these were delivered, I would definitely have words with the baker about their terminology.
Photo via wikipedia commons
Cake with a streusel topping. I can see how you're confused. But NO. Streusel is a topping, not an ingegral half of the cake. Not crumb cake.
Photo via pixabay
Things called "coffee cake" with crumbs on top. Still not crumb cake.
Crumb topped bar cookies. Tasty, but not crumb cake. They have a cookie base, not cake, and a more dense, cookie-like crumb. Not crumb cake. Bar cookies. Got it?
Desserts with crumbs on top. Even if they are fat crumbs, like on this apple crisp, they are not crumb cake.
Almost but not quite crumb cake (in CakeSpy's opinion)
This is a coffee cake, not a proper crumb cake. The brown sugar swirl hidden inside is delightful, but it doesn't fully detract from the fact that there is 9/10 cake and 1/10 crumb going on here. The crumbs are too small; they aren't tightly packed or large enough. No.
Here is a fine example of a cake that almost, but not quite, classifies as crumb cake. While the ingredients are right, the ratio is off: it's more about the cake than the crumb. And speaking of the crumb, that's a problem, too: it's more like a thin layer of brown sugar topping rather than an assemblage of crumbs. This particular one tasted great, but lacked the satisfaction of crumbs the size of walnuts which you could pick off and enjoy.
Variations can be all right
Crumb cake is allowed to come in different variations and flavors. In New York delis, you'll see raspberry crumb cake (a thin layer of raspberry lives between the crumb and the cake), chocolate (the cake is marbled or two-tone and there is a chocolate ribbon on top), and a handful of other flavors. It is OK to add flavors to crumb cake. What is not ok, however, is to alter the architecture of the crumb top.
The crumb-heavy top is a constant, and must remain consistent.
As for the confectioners' sugar, I'm not a stickler. If they put a drizzle of glaze on top instead, I am fine with that.
What makes a good crumb cake
Here's a quick guide to the characteristics of a fine crumb cake:
- Ratio. Lots of crumb. No more than 2/3 cake.
- The perfect cake. Fluffy, but not spongey. Rich, but not pound cake.
- Salt. You have to have salt added to the crumbs. It makes them irresistible.
- Fat crumbs, presence of. The crumbs can be varied in size, but each slice should have at least one or two very fat crumbs.
- Coffee. Not as in you have to drink coffee with the cake (although that's quite nice) but as an indicator of the time of day best for eating crumb cake. It's the morning. Coffee time, and a cake that is not coffee cake, but crumb cake. If you have this cake for breakfast, it means you can still have dessert later!
Hey, if you love crumb cake, you may be interested in these recipes of mine:
Behemoth crumb cake, featured in CakeSpy Presents Sweet Treats for a Sugar-Filled Life
Classic NYC Crumb cake adapted from Arthur Schwartz
Do you have any thoughts to add on crumb cake? Leave a comment!
New York City Style Style Rainbow Cookies
New York city may be a place where people dress in all black, but they're definitely not rainbow-averse. It's proven in the regional specialty known as the Rainbow cookie. It's also known as an Italian flag cookie, but you know, I have made my decision on which one I like better. Learn how to make these cookies here.
Cuppie's Mini New York Diary
Dear Sweet Readers,
This past weekend, I went to NYC for a visit with some old dear friends, and I brought Cuppie with me.
You'd be absolutely appalled by how few sweets I ate on my trip (it was whirlwind and I was focused on my buddies!), so instead of telling you everything I ate, I thought I'd share, here, some of Cuppie's favorite moments from our trip.
First, I took Cuppie to Washington Square Park. "When Harry Met Sally!" he exclaimed.
Then I took Cuppie to the original Magnolia Bakery. "A bit obvious, don't you think?" Cuppie scoffed, and insisted taking the picture across the street so he didn't look like "the dude who wore the band's t-shirt to the concert."
"You sound like a food blogger, Cuppie!" I replied.
We ambled on over for a walk on the High Line, but before, we stopped in on our friends Liddabit Sweets.
Then, we headed to Brooklyn. "The G train sucks!" said Cuppie, like a true New Yorker.
I showed Cuppie where I studied Illustration, at Pratt. "It's like going to my own personal Ellis Island!" he said.
We walked by Broken Angel, a special house near Pratt that fell on some hard times.
Then we headed back to Manhattan and finished it all out with a glance at the Empire State Building (pictured top). Lovely!
Well, Cuppie enjoyed his time in NYC and I hope you liked reading about it. Next up: an article about NY Crumb cake!
Love, Cakespy
Wonky Cake Inspiration
Photo via CraftsyFeeling topsy-turvy? If you are what you eat, go with wonky...cake, that is! I've put together a collection of wonderful, whimsical, wonky cakes to keep you inspired to pursue awesome cake decorating projects. Here's the collection.
Egg in the Hole Toast Recipe
Ever heard of Humpty Dumpty's Off the Wall Toast? Or eggs in a basket? I call it egg in the hole toast. No matter what you like to call it, it's always a fun and inspired breakfast. Here's how to do it.
Baker's Dozen: A Batch of Sweet Links!
Perfect peach pie. Plain and simple.
Chocolate zucchini snack cake. Trust me, it's not health food.
Better together (and wrapped in pie crust): Peanut butter cup pocket pies.
Awesomely whimsical wonky cakes.
Ever heard of Humpty Dumpty's Off the Wall Toast? AKA egg in hole toast or a zillion other names. Always tasty.
Want to know my thoughts about the best paper for illustration? Look here.
A forever favorite that always disappears quickly after baking: Houdini bars.
Look at this cute cartoon. It involves ice cream.
Cornmeal blueberry bar cookies. Because both corn and blueberries are so good in the summer where I'm from (NJ).
I love the trivia section of the Ice Cream Sundae site.
I'm OK with bringing a bit of fall into a summer treat: pumpkin cheesecake popsicles.
A fun interview with...well, me!
Cool kitchen gadget alert: Baking Steel. I wonder what sweet treats you could make with it?
Just saying: lots of stuff on sale on the CakeSpy online shop.
Book of the week: The Wizard of Oz Cookbook: Breakfast in Kansas, Dessert in Oz
Unicorn Pom-Pom Puffs
Here's an important question to which I would like an honest response. It is this:
Would you rather eat a macaroon-esque "white chocolate coconut cluster"...
or a unicorn pom-pom puff?
Hey, remember how I said I wanted an honest answer? I lied: I don't even need or want it. Because I've made the executive decision: the unicorn ones are better.
Basically, I dreamed up this confection thusly: upon pondering a simple use for the white chocolate cache I had at the time, I discovered an easy way of combining melted white chocolate with shredded coconut to form a super-sweet (and simple) confection. I like multipurpose treats, though, so I thought "well, how could I make these a lure for unicorns in addition to satisfying my sweet tooth?".
The answer was simple: add a little rainbow magic. By divvying up the mix and tinting portions in different colors before forming clusters, I ended up with fuzzy-cute treats that tasted like the Spirit Of Sugar had descended and was knocking right on my taste buds (that is to say--very sweet). I settled on the name "Unicorn Pom Pom Puffs" because, well, look at them.
If you don't love white chocolate or coconut, make them anyway. You might just catch a unicorn!
Unicorn Pom-Pom Puffs
- 2 cups lightly toasted coconut (very light color is important)
- 7 ounces white chocolate
- food coloring
Procedure
- Melt the white chocolate. Remove from heat.
- Divide the chocolate into four separate bowls large enough to do some stirrin'.
- Tint each portion with the color desired (I used red, yellow, blue, and green) until it reaches the tone of your liking.
- Add 1/4 of the coconut to each bowl. Stir til combined.
- Gather a small lump of each color together, and clump them lightly so that they adhere. Place on a baking sheet as you finish them. Continue until you've used all of the mixtures.
- Let them set for an hour or more before eating for the best texture. Store leftovers at room temperature in an airtight container.
Taste the rainbow!
Learn from the Master: How to Draw a Cupcake
You want my secrets? HERE YOU GO. Good clean cupcake drawing fun. Um, but don't try to sell your cupcake artwork, because I have the trademark on this guy, ok?
Pugs and Kisses: 10 Awesome Pug Cakes
Photo via Cakesdecor
There are few things that I love more than cake. One of those sacred few things is my little pug, Porkchop. This little love muffin is the darling of my life. Here we are together:
Pugs are definitely on my mind at this moment: I am embarking on a month long trip to New Jersey, NYC, and Puerto Rico and Porkchop will not be coming. I'm going to miss the little dude!
To satisfy my love of all things pug, I've put together a collection of ten awesome pug cakes which will have you cooing, and may either inspire you to bake a cake, go adopt a pug, or (yay!) maybe both.
Here goes:
Two cuddling pugs cake (pictured top)
This cake was inspired by a fawn pug named Boo and a black pug named Onyx. It took the decorator a solid 2.5 days, but it's worth it: she captured the expressions perfectly!
Photo via Baked Cupcakery
Pug-cakes
These cupcakes are cleverly configured with coils of fondant to resemble sweet little pugs. Don't you just want to pinch those faces? And then stuff the cupcakes in your face? Me, too.
Photo via Cakesdecor
Pug face cake
This lovely cake captures the bug-eyes and pink tongue of a pug. The designer has a lot of other great work; check it out at https://www.facebook.com/zoesfancycakes.
Photo via Dailymail.uk
Expressive pug cake
I adore how this cake captures the odd way that pugs sit; when Porkchop sits like this, I say he is "sitting like a real boy". The winsome expression is pure pug, too!
Photo via Betty Crocker
Sprinkle pug cake
The clever use of sprinkles makes this cake party-perfect. Piped chocolate and white chocolate elements make perfect pug eyes, and a peanut butter frosting attains the perfect fawn pug hue.
Photo via Deviantart
Wary pug cake
This pug looks like he knows something's going on. What really made me like this cake is that it vaguely resembles Porkchop, don't you think?
Photo via Coco Cake Land
Black pug face cake
Look at the mug on this pug! Coco Cake Land captures the adorableness of a pug in this cake, which is far cuter than you'd ever expect a cake with all-over black fondant to come out!
Photo via Coloured Bubble Cakery
Pug face cupcakes
Seriously. If these fondant-topped cuties with pink tongues hanging out don't make you want to coo, I don't know what will.
Photo via Pinterest
Wrinkled pug face cake
Pugs have a lot of wrinkles, which makes them seem wise even when they are little baby pugs. This cake accurately and adorably captures the pug wrinkle-fest in edible form.
Photo via The Butter End
Naughty pug cake
To close out the list, an adorable tricksy cake decoration: a pug adhered to the side of a cake which is slightly torn up. The effect of a naughty pug eating cake is whimsical, clever, and inspiring for future cake decorations I'm planning!
Do you have an adorable pug cake to share? Leave a link to it in the comments!
Amazing Cakes: Birthday Party Inspiration
I don't know about you, but I think about my birthday cake basically all year. This collection of awesome birthday cakes is fantastic fuel for the baking fire! Check it out here.
How to Make Desserts Float
I'm sorry--have you been eating non-hovering desserts, like some gravity-following geek? Well, STOP IT! Enjoy a dessert that hovers magically by taking these easy steps. Here's the tutorial.