I dream in flavor, flour and sugar!

OK - So I am FASCINATED really by the whole science behind cakery bakery! To the occasional baker, it doesn't occur the roles that flour, sugar, butter, eggs and milk play in baking a cake.

Well - I'm here to tell ya....ALOT! And HERE, in all this science, is where I REALLLY like to play! But - don't tell my secrets, shhhhhhh! Lets' keep them between you and I, ok?

Flour isn't just 'flour'. ALL flours serve a specific purpose and most of it comes down to one tiny little difference, gluten. Yup, that thing that many people are now allergic to eating.

Gluten, as relates to baking, serves to make dough elastic and to extract moisture in batters. So, if you are baking bread, you typically would use bread flour. Cakes, All-purpose or Cake Flour. Pastry Flour has the highest content of gluten and is used to make pastry dough used for tarts, pie crusts and such. The lowest amount of gluten is found in Cake Flour.

Now, think about how dense a tart is compared to a soft piece of cake, Angel Food cake for instance. Dense and chewy vs. Soft and melty-like. THAT my friends is gluten at work!

How sweet the sugar! Not only does it add the sweetness, but the water content in those liiiiitle grains of goodness help the cake brown! As the cake bakes, moisture is released, sugars rise to the top (hence the reason why the very top part of the cake is just a bit sweeter than the rest) and the edges begin to brown. Ahhhhhh - you may say....how very interesting! YES it IS interesting. Here's some MORE fun stuff; Did you know that brown sugar is really just white sugar that has molasses added for taste and color? YUP! It has Noooooooo added health benefits! Sugar in the raw or 'natural' sugar however, is a different story.  It is not as produced as white sugar and leaves a bit of the natural molasses from the sugar cane. The granules however are larger than white sugar, so they don't break down in the same manner and that doesn't bode well for a delicious balanced cake.


One of the things that typically happens to dry cakes is....overbeating! However, the more a batter or dough is worked, the more dense and dry it becomes. You would think that a cake batter should be beat for minutes on end to make sure all ot the ingredients are properly incorporated. Alas, no!!! That is actually COMPLETLY WRONG.. So STOP DOIN IT!!! You only want to beat a batter to incorporate the ingredients. On their own, they will become cozy with each other and eventually form one beautiful, fantabulous dessert!

Ahhhh Eggs! THE most versatile ingredient! Eggs are wonderful because the have like a ga-zillion uses! Let's use the tangy delicious Lemon Meringue Pie for an example. To make the Lemon Curd, you use only the yolk portion of the egg and to make the meringue, only the white can be used. How ingenious!!

Everything is better with butter, right? RIGHT??? And, the more fat in the butter, the better. So, having said that, as in many things, store brand ain't the best brand! They contain more water and less fat than competitors. I will say, however that I have noticed Land O' Lakes is a heap bit lighter than it used to be.......hmmmmm. Butter is primarily responsible for the moist texture in cake.

Milk - Mooooooooooo!!!!!! Milk is another producer of fat. But, is it enough to make a masterful, wonderfully moist, highly praised and drempt about cake? NOPE...Not in MY book it ain't. Things just aren't produced the way they used to be...PERIOD.  Maaaaaaany years ago, dairy products were delivered FRESH from the farm and full of all that goodness the animals produced. Now, with mass production and economy, EVERYTHING is watered down and pumped full of chemicals.

This is one reason why you see recipes using things like mayonnaise, yogurt, pudding and applesauce ingredients to add moisture. MY solution however is a tad bit different.

So, what DO I do? Well - I play with my flours, milk and butter! I adjust them all to ensure a lower level of gluten development and higher level of moisture content. I also don't overbeat my batter!

Cakery Bakery at it's finest!!!! Don't you feel like a scientist now?? LOL. Or is your head just spinning around going.....uuuummmmm....what did she just say?? LOL. Either way, NOW you know....TRULY what goes into those yummy bites of deliciousness! Well - at least from a scratch baking perspective. I don't believe that box cakes are real, so don't even get me started down THAT path!

Let's make this a discussion, shall we? What are YOUR experiences or questions about Cakery Bakery? Do you have or WANT to have as much fun as do I? Are ya scared of the mixer or oven? Let's talk about it!!

Welcome to my 'sweet' brain!

Sometimes Sweet....Sometimes Savory and Sometimes.....Bitter

So...inherently this post is not about desserts, well maybe a bit of dessert stuff will be thrown in here and there - LOL.

Life, as we all know can be sooooooo......soooooo  very sweet! The laughs, giggles, hugs and blessings that make everyday feel like it's a perfect summer day when all the flowers are in bloom, dreamy white clouds lazily float by and you lay in the warmth of the day trying to imagine what shapes the clouds are making.

For sometime however, my days have been more snowy than sunny and the clouds have been more ominous than dreamy....literally and metaphorically!  WORST....WINTER....EVER!!!!!!!

God in his awesomeness has though given provision, clarity, love and a TON of hugs and kisses, which has made the snowy days feel at times, like summer. For THAT AND His Grace and Mercy, I am eternally grateful!!! I DO believe that all.....ALL things are intended to work together for the good! NO matter HOW dark, cloudy and down right ugly life can become.

Many of us who are of some form or other spiritually connected, particularly us Christians speak of a 'Hell' that we are experience at times in our lives. "Pray for me Saints, The Devil is Busy", is a theme that resonates through many a church on Sunday morning, or in the hallways of work or stores as we pass each other. MANY of us speak of an almost unbearable circumstance or set of circumstances for which we ask for prayer.

What we DON'T admit too often is....how...we...got there, or WHO put is in this Hell we speak about and we are slow to admit our own wrong doings or repeated offenses even AFTER we have been given a MULTITUDE of chances, outs, forgiveness and fresh starts.

Well, I have been TRULY in a Hell that seemed insurmountable...AND..... I'm the one who got me there! Yup - no longer ashamed to admit.....My shit don't smell like a flower garden! (Although, I would like to have thought it did).

Pretty daunting thing when you think about it! Admitting that through all the posts, the smiles, the laughs and pretty pictures, my feet was burnin' from the Hell I allowed myself to fall into.

Well DAMNIT - I'M TIRED OF BEIN IN HELL AND TIRED OF RESITIAVISM!!!!!!!! THIS IS SOME SHIT, Y'ALL!!!!

BUT.......SPRING is SPRINGING and I am embarking on new ventures and a new ME!!!! I will NOT in this post or in verbal utterance PROMISE to do ANYTHING  Fantasimal, Stupendance or otherwise High and Lofty OTHER THAN BE ME - authentic and wonderful.  THAT is (as I have been told) is good enough! Find the strength to stretch, search, do and BE who I am meant to be in this life.

Going on my Mom's recent theme 'No Expectations'. My addendum to that....Just follow authentically and with respect and reverence in the path I am supposed to follow, that is all.

This Hell that I have jumped into has TRULY been Life Altering! Got my Ass KICKED and brought back to reality. Along the way however, I HAVE experienced PROFOUND forgiveness, prayer, love and encouragement! THAT has made this hell a great bit cooler and extremey humbling.

So the Sweet...where is it? It's coming!!!!!! SOON, I pray! Soon! Nowhere to go from here, but up. There really isn't a lower down to reach.

Is there fear? Ummmm...maybe, but (talking to myself now), I need to move through it with strength. I am by nature a risk taker....blindly at many times and calculated at others (more the former than latter). So, now in moving out of this hell, I look forward to seeing the pictures that occur. The ones that I CAN look at and say...I'M HAPPY! This is a picture I like! No fear behind it, no angst, just a Happy Me.

So - no this post is not inherently about desserts and my adventures with them, but maybe in part it is as well; because while I have been in this hell, I have created the most amazing desserts to date! I have had some projects that this time last year would've caused me to turn into a Mad Woman, yet somehow I found the hutzpah to do them beautifully and without stress. All things - ALL things working together for the good! To find the strength to commit, to do and deliver. Unapologetically and Professionally, deliver what I would deem as MY best. This I believe too, is a part of the many lessons I am learning.

OY - The Sweet, Savory and at times, bitter of being a grown-up! There is a great deal of relief in coming out of this hell; Looking honestly at myself and saying....This is ALL ON YOU, BOO! Not pointing at others for the hell and admitting to my loved ones, I did this, I'm sorry (for the millionenth time) and praying, trusting and believing, this hell....I will never see again.

I lean now on a prayer someone prayed for me....My latter shall be better my former!

I'm seeing Stripes!!!!!!

MY FIRST ZEBRA STRIPED CAKE!!!! WOO HOO!!!! My Sister-in-law Jenai graduated HS and for her party, she wanted a pink Zebra cake. One tiiiny little thing...I'd NEVER done Zebra stripes, sooo there was just the tinsiest bit of learning to do - LOL. Soooo a few days before I started the cake - I YouTubed Zebra Striped Cake and up popped a WONDERFUL and short video tutorial! EXTREMELY helpful!!! THANK GOD for the Internet. 

The two tiers are different flavors - bottom - Red Velvet..top - Black Forest (Chocolate with a cherry ceneter) The icing for the Black Forest was among THE best I've EVER done!!!! It was an Italian Buttercream made with Chocolate Curacao liquer, milk chocolate and a bit of espresso - DEE-FRIGGIN-LI-CIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMG - I don't usually get geeked over my desserts because I am admitted perfectionist, but DAAAYUM!!! The combination was just incredible!!!!

Of course, no new venture is free of problems - LOL.  The ones I experienced with this cake were ensuring the bottom of the tiers were done right, avoiding collapse and a stubborn cake that wouldn't come out of the pan!!!!

Challenge No. 1 - The Red Velvet cake said 'NO - I'm NOT coming out of this pan! I DON'T WANNA get ate up'? Sooooo after careful use of a rubber spatula - out it came.....in TWO pieces....EACH PAN!!! I'm noooooot quite sure what happened! Maybe I didn't spray the pan enough - not quite done...blah blah blah. The BEAUTY however is that, I don bin down this road before, so my panic was averted :-). As an aside - you NEVER know what goes on behind the bakery curtain. There are 10 million calamities - ALWAYS. But Bakers are Doctors essentially and by the time we're done fixin stuff - ya'd never know there was ever a problem :-). Thank God for the lessons, So...I fixed it  and NO one is the wiser - well - till NOW of course - LOL.

Challenge No. 2 - I had TWO shades of pink fondant and NOT one. Crisis averted how? Thanks to God I have a crayola palette of food coloring :-). I simply put the two shades together...added some fuchsia and VOILA....HOT PINK!

Challenge 3 -  Making stripes! I think they turned out o....kaaaay. but I should've cut them thinner. The process for adding the stripes on the cake is quite simple actually....you roll out the base color, place the stripes on top and roll once again to make the stripes look like it's one piece. Rolling them thinner would've allowed the stripes to be a bit more distinctive.  I'm still proud of it as a first time run, but now I know what to do next time.

Challenge No. 4 - My Arch Nemesis to this point!: Fondant!!!! Fondant is NOT the easiest of mediums and can be downright disastrous. I again, didn't measure correctly and there were some areas of concern on the bottom of the cakes.  They weren't able to be fixed by stretching the fondant because it was already pretty thin. So - Thank God for decorative trim :-)

Challenge No. 5 - Weight, Construction and Delivery Time - OY! The bottom was Red Velvet and top Black Forest; Different weights. The filling for Red Velvet is just cream cheese icing and Black Forest has Cherries and Icing. Stacking them isn't the issue per se, but weight CAN be if the bottom tier is not properly doweled. Doweling a cake means that you insert wooden sticks (called dowels) in the cake, usually clock wise at the 12, 3, 6 and 9 positions.  Depending on what's going on top, will determine: how many you actually need, how far apart they should be placed and the thickness of the dowels. The last step in doweling a cake is that once you've got all the tiers stacked, you take one long dowel (the exact length of the cake), sharpen the end and stake the sucker straight down the center like you're staking Dracula...hard and fast - LOL! This helps ensure the tiers don't fall off :-)

Here's where I could've made a better choice.  I should've cut the dowels about 1/8 in. taller and maybe a bit thicker dowel would've helped. The OTHER thing I could've done, using the same dowels, is wait till the next day to stack them, after they'd been refrigerated overnight. What happened was that even though we drove with the AC on pretty high and immediately put it in the fridge when we arrived at our destination (an 1 1/2 hour drive....with the sun beaming on the car), it still sank just a bit.  Nobody but me really noticed, but I noticed and that means...it's a problem.

So what went REALLY well were the flavors!!!! I have a new secret weapon for my cakes to make them even richer than before :-). The Red Velvet was probably the best I've made and the Black Forest  - WOOOOOWSERS is all I can say!!!!!! Deep....Rich...Chocolate with a hint of cinnamon. Maraschino Cherries cooked down with Barados Sugar in the Raw and Kirsch Liqueur, and the icing.....hold on to your hat!  Milk Chocolate Italian Butter Cream made with Chocolate Curasao Liqueur and Espresso!  I could've slapped my OWN Mamma!!!!

I think I learn something new everytime I do a cake and I LOVE it!! Each time (prayerfully), there's something better and that's always a great thing!

I wish my chocolates were better, but alas, it's a learning process as well. :-)

What's MOST important is that the graduate, Miss Jenai loved it!! In the end, that's alll that matters to me :-)

Getting back up to speed!

So I've been on baking hiatus of sorts since Kendal was born and it....has......been TOUGH getting back into the swing of things!! By the time I get home with her, we play, eat dinner and then it's time for little girl to go night, night. I MYSELF, am all tuckered out by that time! Needless to say, getting back in the kitchen has been quite the challenge.

When I was pregnant, I just KNEW I'd quickly get back up to speed after delivery; I had this master schedule in mind and everything would be beautiful!  HA! I didn't take into accout the energy I'd expend taking care of my princess! Getting up and trying to get TWO ppl dressed in the time I did ONE!  NOOOT!  Getting  her to bed successfully (that means no fussing in the first 15 mins after putting her in her crib), cleaning up after her, and then trying be productive with MY goals has been a bit like climbing Mt. Everest!

Needless to say, Sweetly Savory has been on the shelf for a while.  But, I'm ready to pull it off, blow the dust away, put on my Chef coat, crack my knuckles, turn on the oven and get back to being creative!! This, for me will be NO simple task and I give a rousing standing ovation to Mothers who hold down careers, take care of families and STILL successfully pursue other time consuming passions! These women are my SHEROES!!!

I have prayed and hoped that God would help me move forward one cupcake and truffle at a time. It is time and Christmas Season proved that my hypothesis is correct! I baked oooooooohhhhh over 1000 cupcakes since Mid-December, DOZENS of chocolates and a few cakes - LOL. It is time!

I'm also ready to stretch my writing muscles and start blogging and writing more often. I would LOVE to write a column for a magazine newspaper. Maybe I could do some travel food writing; I could start with Barbados or Italy :-)

This being a new Mommy is TOUGH, but experiencing the world through her is THE most awesome thing ever!!!! Watching her particularly with food is worthy of a book in and of itself! She's a girly girl eater! LOL; She doesn't just pick it up and say...'oh...this must be food'. NO - she MUST hold it herself, inspect it and THEN taste it.  If it ain't up to snuff...OUT it comes...like a polite 'pardon me, but blech!  this is not to my liking'! If it's something she likes, weeellll then, we get an eyebrow raise, maybe a smile and DEFINITELY a whine and reach for more. With the added look of...'Heeeeey....I want Moooooore. Come Oooon, no faaair!

As a baker, one of the things I TRULY look forward to with her is, of course, cooking and baking. I TRULY hope she has a big sense of kitchen curiosity! I have visions of her cracking her first egg and beating batter; getting her hands covered in flour and creating her first bread. Seeing the look of satisfaction on her face as she presents her first cookie or cupcake! Like most parents, I want her to be and do whatever she wants. Alas, there is that place in my heart for the kitchen - LOL.

I am TRULY praying for a banner year with Sweetly Savory.  I'd love to go more in depth with chocolates. I dunno, maybe I'll become a World-Class Chocolatier! :-). 

There aren't many classes offered country wide, but I've found two; One in Chicago and the other here in MD.  I will do some more investigating, but I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE  to go and really roll my sleeves up and become great at chocolates.  I REALLY would also love to have a guitar (an instrument used to perfectly cut chocolates and candy - not the one you play - lol), but their rather expensive...so maybe there's a fairy chocolate person somewhere :-) (batting eyes...coyly smiling).

This getting back to me thing is quite honestly one of  the toughest things I have EVER had to do and I have a TON of work ahead of me.  I wish (like all of us - LOL), that I could be the recipient of a financial windfall, take a month to get stuff back in line and then start fresh with a clear head, renewed spirit and hands ready to work!

So what WOULD that look like? Well - I'd put allll my passions together into one BEAUTIFUL career!  The chef, interpreter, traveler AND writer would be stirred together with some Barbados sugar, Madagascar Vanilla and Cinnamon Bark; Poured in a souffle pan; Baked to perfection and served En Masse for the world to enjoy! THAT would be me!

I am reminded by my favorite quote: "God can dream a bigger dream for you...far beyond anything You can imagine' - Oprah.

OK - God, there's mine....what's yours?

The great 'Chicken and Waffle' quest.

Marriages are interesting; Two people with different backgrounds, quirks and idiosyncrasies come together and say  "OK - this is it! It's just you and me baby! Till death do we part, either by natural causes or Iron Skillet!" Often times, individual likes and dislikes become fodder for disagreement and anguish. There ARE times, thankfully that these individuals share some commonalities and these shared pleasures become reason for travel, experimentation and great conversation.

Such is the case with us! WE....LOVE.....CHICKEN AND WAFFLES!!! (CW) If I asked my husband Herb what is ultimate comfort food would be, he'd no doubt say..."Chicken and Waffle". We should probably have bumper stickers that say "I Brake for Chicken and Waffles".

Now let's get something clear from the beginning, we don't mean IHOP's version, which is Chicken Strips and Waffles - NOOOOO...SO not acceptable. TRUE CW can ONLY be enjoyed at small individually owned establishments and cooked by Chefs who KNOW the history of CW and play within the guidelines of this treat.  The theory here follows the same for Red Velvet Cake. ANYBODY who thinks it's Chocolate Cake with Red Food Coloring is just WRONG and needs to be seriously schooled and/or whooped!!!!

Historically speaking, there are a few schools of thought regarding the inception of both CW and Red Velvet. Interestingly enough, both histories are steeped in cultures from both above and below the Mason/Dixon Line! (Hmmm...maybe these were causes for the Civil War - LOL).  Some say Red Velvet is a product of the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in NYC and many claim it's a Southern tradition in which most recipes are secret and only passed down orally. I promise you though, if you go to ANY southern family reunion and bring your version, it better be right because your survival in that family may be hinged on your prowess! Particularly if you're trying to MARRY into the family. Thank God mine was well received!  We may not have my little cupcake if I'd jacked it up! 

I have, for a few years have been trying to create the perfect Red Velvet cake. There's a recipe in my book, but alas, that iteration is no longer good enough. I think now I have a good profile and formula for the crimson delight, but, that could change.

I digress! Back to CW!!! SO....many people are familiar with Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles. They became famous in the 70's and 80's for bringing this dish to widespread popularity. Kinda like Arnold Palmer with the 1/2 Sweet Tea 1/2 Lemonade.  HE didn't invent it by a LONG shot! But he sure did make it famous! Gladys Knight also had a version of CW. Both places serve it the way it's SUPPOSED to be served!  Bone-in fried chicken atopor alongside a waffle. According to Wiki....CW was created by Slaves as a special treat on the rare ocassion they received poultry scraps from their masters and usually served for Sunday morning breakfast. That certainly does seem to still be the case in Southern African American culture.  Anytime you say CW....hearts race, eyes get big and folks jump!

Enter Herb and I! Our love for CW truly is steeped in tradition and a desire for gooood ole fashioned comfort food!  We are ALWAYS on the look-out for CW! Especially here in DC. You'd think that since we're below the Mason Dixon Line, there'd be places aplenty!!! But, alas, NO!  Many places have fallen short of our expectations and we've left many a place slamming our napkins down and decreeing "Welp...scratch THIS place off this list.....NEXT!!!"

That is....until....one FINE Saturday morning...August 18, 2012 in fact. While in Durham, NC we were sightseeing and foraging for food before preparing for his cousin's wedding.

Picture it....He's driving....I'm riding, taking in the sights and talking on my cell phone when on the left....I see it...a sign bearing: "Dame's (Almost) World Famous Chicken and Waffles". Immediatley, we pull into a parking lot, not DARING to pass up an opportunity to have CW! Especially in NC! He puts our name on a looong list.  But we don't care and I pass time in a boutique next door. 

FINALLY, it's our turn. We're seated at this wonderful table and admiring the restaraunt's decore. I open the menu and begin to salavate! Rather than boasting 100% pure maple syrup for the waffles (which, is my favorite), the boast 'shmears'. Butters infused with wonderful flavors like Apricot/Peach and Orange Honeycomb.  My eyebrows raise in intrigue as I further read their offering of Panko breaded chicken breast served with Creme Whiskey Sauce. Wha..wha...WHAT??!!! You're KIDDING??!!

Then....my eyes begin to well up as I read "Pick your waffle flavor": Classic, Sweet Potato, Gingerbread. *sniff...sniff* Say it ain't sooo!!!

Our jaws DROP as we watch plates being  delivered to other customers.  Excitedly....we order.  Herb Classic Chicken and Waffles with a side of Macaroni and Cheese.  Me: Panko breaded chicken cutlet with whiskey cream sauce, Sweet Potato Waffle with Orange/ Honeycomb shmear, cheese eggs and grits!

As we wait, we laugh and joke as we play hangman and tic tac toe on the white paper on the table and I draw Kendal's name in an obvious display of missing her.

Our food has arrived!!!!!!

We damn near cry as we savor every bite. THE MACARONI AND CHEESE was THE BEST I HAVE EVER EATEN. And lemee tell ya, with THESE hips and my forty years of life...I've eaten ALOT of Macaroni and Cheese!  I tried to bribe and bat my eyes to get the recipe, but alas, even my smile and batting eyes were futile.  All I can say is that it was creamy, delicious and I'd drive ALLLLLL the way back to Durham, NC JUST for that macaroni and cheese!!!!!!

The waffle and shmear...sigh....There are NO words!!! Fan-ta-bu-lous!!!!!!!!! PERFECT in every way!!!! Served hot....thick....tongue poppin flavor and the shmear....OOHHHH!!!! Syrup on THAT waffle with THAT butter, would have been blasphemous!

FINALLY!!!!!!! We had arrived at Chicken and Waffle Nirvana!!!! (que heavenly music and opening skies)

I cried as I discover that my belly can't hold anymore and that I must take my waffle with me. I tried, but then I realized that in two hours, I must put on a pretty dress (that I'd NEVER worn) and sit comfortably through a wedding ceremony.

TRUE bliss was experienced that day!  Ture Bliss!  Our quest for delicious CW lives on, for sure, but atop our list now: Dame's (Almost) World Famous Chicken and Waffles in Durham, NC!!!!!!! Guy Fieri.....Road trip to Durham is required of you!!!!!

As an aside, I DID make it into my dress (whew) and Natalie and Ashley's wedding was beautiful!

The Sweetest Cupcake Ever!!!

WELL! It has been more than a year since my last post....and for good reason I might add! On December 14, 2011, at 10:09 pm, THE SWEETEST CUPCAKE EVER.....Miss Kendal Simone Seward was born! My beautiful little cupcake weighed 6 lbs. 3 oz. and was 19 3/4 ins. long. I also had the pleasure of becoming MRS. Kimberly Renee-Veney Seward on September 17, 2011...WHEW!!!! WHAT....A....YEAR!!!!

 

 

Giving birth to my daughter is THE greatest thing I've ever done in my life! For most of my life I feared that I would endure many calamities regarding pregnancy and delivery. I am SO honored to say that NONE of them transpired. I had a GREAT pregnancy and WONDERFUL delivery. I got my wish to do deliver her the old-fashioned way....push her out...shove her out.....waaaaay out! (Hommage to Bill Cosby - LOL)! I got to feel the greatest joy in the world - giving birth to another life. NOTHING in this world can even come close to how awesome that feels!

I look at her everyday, kiss her, hug her and Thank GOD for the blessing she is to me! She is now my greatest inspiration and best reason to ACT on my dreams. I have a dream so vivid that I can touch, smell and yes, TASTE it! It's a dream of running a business where not only are people recipients of delicious food, but they become creators of delicious food! I am not only a purveyor, but also teacher. I dream of writing more, doing more and being AMAZINGLY happy! I need this dream to be reality for us! For me, so that I can truly live my dream life and for her to see that she can do ANYTHING she wants. I need to be her most important example; And I intend to do so. I am Mommy after all - LOL and THAT'S what Mommy's do! Just as mine does for me! She inspires me with love, conviction, pusurverence and a candidness that corrects yet soothes. That's the Mommy I want to be for Kendal!

In THAT vein new flavors have sprung! New ideas and increased passion! For instance, KSS - my newest cupcake flavor that brings together lucious chocolate, spicy cinnamon and sweet caramel into one delicious bite! Then there's Lemon Loves Chocolate.....Rich chocolate cupcake filled with a sunny yummy meyer lemon filling and topped with a buttercream so lucious it melts not only in your mouth, but ushers in a bliss not often acheived by a dessert!

I'm also playing around with different flours and sugars so that I can mass produce cakes and not have to make the batter each time. I pride myself on making everything from scratch, so I need to find a way to mass produce my cakes using a mix that I concocte. One idea I have is to replace granulated sugar with powdered sugar. I tried this with not so good results. The cake was drier and a bit less sweet than my normal. But I was also using 6x confectioner's sugar instead of 10x. That might have made the difference. I intend to try again.

Something else I have been DYING to perfect is the buttercream in chocolates. I now have a theory. MAYBE it's one of the European buttercreams. Maybe Swiss...it's definetly not Italian, although it could be a variation. In any case, I have to also find a stabilizer (preservative) for them for shelving. Unless I intend for them to always be eaten within two weeks (as is the case with The Chocolate Box in St. Martin)

In regards to actually DOING my dream and not just dreaming, I recently got an opportunity to provide desserts to a local company once a month.  April was the trial month and I'm proud to say it was a success and I get to do it again this month!! YAAAAAY ME!

Now that I have my cupcake, planning and scheduling are crucial.  I've not been much of a scheduler in my life soooo...this is alll new to me  - LOL.  ANY great suggestion on mastering this would be greatly appreciated! I'm also in another new life event......an employee!!! WHEW! For the last 12 years of my life I've been a Freelance American Sign Language Interpreter which meant I could set my schedule any way I wanted, even though I worked a ton of hours, they were still on MY terms.  NOW, I'm going to the same place everyday. While I am SOOOOOOO glad for the MUCH needed opportunity, it's a bit of a foreign concept to me, but so far so great! This is a great opportunity for me to GET on a schedule and sticking with it! Way to go God for answereing a prayer.  He doesn't always answer them in the manner we expect, but rather in the manner we need!  It is comforting to know that there is a plan for my life even though my way may need to be re-directed at times.

The website is still coming along and I'm proud to say it is now LIVE!!!!!!! WOO HOO!!!! . Book sales have been at ZERO - but Heck....I had a baby!!!! So I am looking to kick that up again As well as prepare for the next iteration. I don't have a title yet, but I know tons of ways I intend to improve upon the first one!

Excitedly, I look forward to all this newness in my life!  Being Mommy to my beautiful baby girl is almost MORE than I can fathom and everyday I hold her is the best day of my life.  KNOWING that my husband truly loves and supports me is truly one of my greatest blessings and having the opportunity to roll up my sleeves and do what I want is astounding. So....EXCITEDLY, NERVOUSLY and GLEEFULLY I put back on my white jacket, tie on my purple head scarf and shout: LET'S PLAY WITH FOOD!!!!

"It's easier to into Carnegie Hall than it is to temper Chocolate"

Truer words have rarely been spoken! It took me...oooo...hmmm about THREE days to complete my first chocolate box! But....in my small defense, I was working a full time schedule and had to work on them at night and on the weekends. One good thing is that there was no crying this time around - LOL. I did learn a ton though. Things that weren't taught in class (or maybe I missed).

Chocolate and bread are alot alike. They both are extremely sensitive to room temperature (ambient temperature), they are funny in the way they like to be touched (agitated) and sometimes they really wanna just be left alone.

In the case of chocolate, the first goal is to melt it to a particular temperature (105 for Dark and 98 for White and Milk). The heat MUST be low (this I just really learned - eek).; If not, some of the chocolate will heat too quickly, leaving un-melted chunks...not good. It also can't be stirred tooo much, otherwise you're over agitating the chocolate and it'll fold it's hands and say 'uh uh'...I don't WANNA play nice and it'll bloom. Blooming is a whooooole other topic that I'll address in a minute. So, you got low heat and you're not over agitating it, but you can't just leave it to melt....greeaaaat!


Next up....being poured on a marble or granite slab. Don't ask me why, I forgot! Something about the temperature again - LOL. If the slab is too cold, the choc won't get the chance to be agitated correctly and the cells won't align the way they need. What happens in that case? Bloom! That's what happens! If the room is too warm, the choc won't do what it needs and You Know What'll happen again! Ok...so now you're agitating away and it get's down to the temp you need (between 76-78)...now it gets poured back into the pot to re-join the small amount you should've left. After all that heating and beating, it needs a rest. So...you let it cool down to Mid 80's - 85 - 86 and now you can pour it in molds :-).



The loverly chocoloate gets poured into molds and allowed to rest briefly before being inverted to leave just a shell of chocolate. Once they're completely cooled, they can be filled; ganache, caramel, fruit puree...etc. They get to rest again to allow the fillings to get used to their new homes. This can be a short or long rest, depending on the fillings you use. Now to cap them off and that whooooooole tempering process occurs again. After they're capped and excess choc. wiped away, the'yre FINALLY ready to pop out of the molds and into my...I mean someones mouth! Pray they pop and most importantly, PRAY THERE'S NO BLOOM! The goal is to have beautiful shiny chocolates.





In this case of this box, there actually WAS some bloom...but no one will ever know! I performed majic on the little dears and no one was ever the wiser - LOL. As frustrating as this process can be, I REALLY do look forward to playing with chocolate. In the end, it's extremely rewarding to know that people enjoy them and even better that they're asking for more :-)