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You guys. Why didn't you ever tell me that Dunkin Donuts had a cereal in the 80s? I feel as if I now want to re-do my childhood so that it could please include these.
I consider it a public service announcement to tell you about this cereal. Did any of you ever try it?
CakeSpy Note: I am beyond ecstatic to announce that I have been invited as a media guest to the 45th Annual Pillsbury Bake-Off in Orlando, Florida! The event will take place in late March; til then, I am going to feature several of the sweets finalists here in anticipation of the big day!
Wow. Chocolate-Dipped Peanut Butter Empanadas: how awesome are these? Like the love child of pie, peanut butter cup, and pierogi (at least visually), these are a whimsical entry in the Pillsbury Bake-off!
"Partner cookie dough and pie crust for an indulgent treat dipped in peanut butter and rich chocolate," says inventor Susan Hubickey of West Chester, Pennsylvania.
24 empanadas
CakeSpy Note: I am beyond ecstatic to announce that I have been invited as a media guest to the 45th Annual Pillsbury Bake-Off in Orlando, Florida! The event will take place in late March; til then, I am going to feature several of the sweets finalists here in anticipation of the big day!
What happens when Millionaire's shortbread meets peanut butter? Total deliciousness, that's what!
And these ones are not only delicious but quite easy to prepare, says Sandra Hilbert of Fort Littleton, PA, who invented this recipe for the Pillsbury Bake-Off: "Pillsbury sugar cookies jump-start these ooey-gooey bars. A few additional ingredients create an awesome flavor combo!"
Chewy Peanut Butter-Caramel Bars
36 Bars
Procedure
Dudes. Dudettes. I love this time of year.
The cherry blossoms are in bloom, Creme Eggs are in abundance...and in Seattle, Trophy Cupcakes' most anticipated cupcake of the year is returning Easter weekend: The Marshmallow Hi-Hat!
Appearing just two days per year, the Hi-Hat Cupcake is made by "topping Trophy’s decadent Valrhona chocolate cupcake with a sky-high swirl of pastel-tinted marshmallow frosting, and then they are hand-dipped in semi-sweet Callebaut chocolate! Pretty pastel marshmallow, rich Belgian chocolate, and moist Valrhona cake all rolled into one amazing confection."
This epic sweet will be available at all Trophy locations on Saturday, April 7, and at the University Village and Pacific Place locations on Sunday, April 8!
The treats can be ordered in advance. For those interested in a Saturday, April 7 delivery, orders must be confirmed by Friday, April 6. Check us out on Facebook at facebook.com/trophy.cupcakes and Twitter at @trophycupcakes for delivery specials!
CakeSpy Note: I am beyond ecstatic to announce that I have been invited as a media guest to the 45th Annual Pillsbury Bake-Off in Orlando, Florida! The event will take place in late March; til then, I am going to feature several of the sweets finalists here in anticipation of the big day!
Clearly, Lori Falce of Osceola Mills, PA, is sort of a genius. Because she takes a chocolate-caramel cupcake, which is already a pretty perfect food, and makes it better in her recipe for Spiced Chocolate Cupcakes with Caramel Buttercream. As she puts it: "Surprise! There's a cayenne kick hiding in these fudgy brownie cupcakes smothered in a delightful caramel and whipped cream frosting".
NOM. Here's how you make 'em.
Spiced Chocolate Cupcakes with Caramel buttercream
Makes 18 cupcakes
CakeSpy Note: I am beyond ecstatic to announce that I have been invited as a media guest to the 45th Annual Pillsbury Bake-Off in Orlando, Florida! The event will take place in late March; til then, I am going to feature several of the sweets finalists here in anticipation of the big day!
First off, yum.
Second off, someone from Portland, OR, employs corn syrup in a recipe? I will confess, this made me feel better about myself, because I am not adverse to using corn syrup, and it proves that not everyone in the Northwest is living the Portlandia-life.
Third off, YUM again: here's a recipe, contributed by Marjean Bigelow of Portland, Oregon, for "Luscious Caramel-brownie bites". As she says, "Double desserts are doubly good! Bake brownies in flaky pie crust and then double the indulgence with ganache and caramel!". Here's the recipe.
Luscious Caramel-brownie bites
makes 36
Procedure
Source: bettycrocker.com via Anna on Pinterest
Cinnabunnies! See picture above.
Yeah, yeah. I made Cadbury Creme Egg Salad Sandwiches.
Educake-tion: A bakery designed with education in mind.
Rainbow connection cupcakes! All that's missing is a unicorn inside.
I want to eat this: chocolate malt cookies.
I also want to eat this: Cinnamon vanilla bean ice cream.
Marshmallow chocolate chip cornflake cookies: just crazy enough to be delicious!
Cutest cookies ever? Possibly.
Chocolates by Kelly. Deliciousness!
If you want to see a pretty Peeps cake...click here.
OMG! COOKIE BOWLS!
I want to be friends with these lemon cupcakes.
Popovers! With dark chocolate Irish Cream sauce.
Milk chocolate layer cake: yes please.
I officially despise frozen yogurt, but this made me smile.
Interesting: have food blogs jumped the shark?
CakeSpy Note: I am beyond ecstatic to announce that I have been invited as a media guest to the 45th Annual Pillsbury Bake-Off in Orlando, Florida! The event will take place in late March; til then, I am going to feature several of the sweets finalists here in anticipation of the big day!
"Good morning! Get a triple hit of orange in sweet homemade muffins and a special orange butter." Paula Mahagnoul of Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Makes 6 very freaking large muffins.
Orange Marmalade Cornmeal Muffins
CakeSpy Note: I am beyond ecstatic to announce that I have been invited as a media guest to the 45th Annual Pillsbury Bake-Off in Orlando, Florida! The event will take place in late March; til then, I am going to feature several of the sweets finalists here in anticipation of the big day!
If you wanna get fancy, you've got to start dressing up your sugar cookies.
Give them a virtual pinkies-out by tricking them out as Strawberries and Cream Sugar Cookie Sandwiches! "Dress up sugar cookies wtih a creamy filling, chocolate drizzle and fresh strawberries. Ooh la la!" says the inventor and Bake-off Finalist Christena Rooks of Cincinnati, Ohio.
Strawberries & Cream Sugar Cookie Sandwiches
Makes 12 sandwiches
CakeSpy Note: I am beyond ecstatic to announce that I have been invited as a media guest to the 45th Annual Pillsbury Bake-Off in Orlando, Florida! The event will take place in late March; til then, I am going to feature several of the sweets finalists here in anticipation of the big day!
It's official: eating cookies for breakfast is officially acceptable. Pillsbury says so. Or at least one of the finalists in the Bake-off does: "Mix carrots and crushed cereal into oatmeal cookie dough to bake a dozen good-morning breakfast cookies. " This sweet treat was invented by Teresa Ralston of New Albany, Ohio.
Great-Start Breakfast Cookies
Makes 12
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Curious about the life of a Spy? Well, you can find some sweet details--including the secrets of my sweet life, including my baking essentials, secret wish list, and the guilty-pleasure ingredients I cannot live without!
Hint: the color hot pink, and rainbow-hued food, are included.
To get the full story, check out the sweet interview I did on the Martha Stewart website. Martha and I, by the way, will be hanging out (because obviously we're BFF) at the upcoming Pillsbury Bake-off.
Recently, while visiting SpySis in San Francisco (where she manages a fashion boutique), I had a craving for ice cream. This happens often.
Now, I really wanted to visit Mr. and Mrs. Miscellaneous, which had been suggested by Anita Chu.
But when we got there, they had the saddest sign up: "SOLD OUT". What?!?
So, we did a quick search on where to find frozen sweets, FAST, and what came up was La Copa Loca, a gelato place in the Mission. I love gelato, so this was very acceptable.
Now, I should tell you that the selection of flavors was beautiful--surprisingly thorough for a small space, including Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Panna Cotta, Mexican chocolate, chestnut, and more.
I got a combo of deliciousness: French vanilla bean, and pumpkin (a special that day).
The French vanilla was a standout, lightly eggy and very rich, incredibly creamy in that "it-is-gonna-coat-your-mouth-but-that's-a-good-thing-because-you-don't-want-the-flavor-to-end" sort of way. The pumpkin gelato was sweetly spiced and acted as a beautiful complement to the rich vanilla--together, the two flavors were almost like eating the beating heart of pumpkin pie in frozen form, and man, was that a nice experience.
Sadly, while SpySis's dog, Hamilton, was eager to be SpyDog, he did not get any gelato. Maybe he'll talk to me again one day.
La Copa Loca Gelato, 3150 22nd street, San Francisco, CA 94110; find La Copa Loca on Facebook here.
CakeSpy Note: I am beyond ecstatic to announce that I have been invited as a media guest to the 45th Annual Pillsbury Bake-Off in Orlando, Florida! The event will take place in late March; til then, I am going to feature several of the sweets finalists here in anticipation of the big day!
Oh, good morning. Are you still eating cereal, like a jerk?
Well, stop it! Because you could be eating Almond-Macaroon Coffee Cake.
"Buttery, flaky biscuits are the center of an indulgent macaroon coffee cake." says finalist Linda Bibbo of Chagrin Falls, Ohio.
Get in my mouth! Say I.
Here's the recipe.
Almond-Macaroon Coffee Cake
15 servings
Recently I was contacted by Red Envelope to do a review of their custom products Easter products (their unique Easter baskets, etc). They gave me a gift code (cha-ching!) with which to get myself somethin' at no cost. I'm sure they intended something Easter-y.
But, never having been good with authority...you know what I decided? I decided to combine the joy of Easter with the magic of Birthdays. And so I sort of broke the rules and instead of one of their (cute, admittedly) easter products, I purchased the most delicious-looking thing I could find on the entire website: The jumbo Happy Birthday Chocolate Chip cookie cake.
And then I did what any self-respecting easter lover would: I PEEPS-BOMBED IT!
I'll tell you the truth: I could tell right away that those Peeps were up to no good. How did I know this? Oh, I don't know. But the sign helped.
First, they began to surround the cookie.
And then they began to nest.
Like, really nest.
and then, somehow, they had decorating icing and jellybeans.
And then, before I knew it, the cookie cake was Easter-fied! And...and it was delicious.
For more Easter fun, visit Red Envelope!
CakeSpy Note: I am beyond ecstatic to announce that I have been invited as a media guest to the 45th Annual Pillsbury Bake-Off in Orlando, Florida! The event will take place in late March; til then, I am going to feature several of the sweets finalists here in anticipation of the big day!
Even though this contains fruit, which always makes me suspicious that it might be health food, it also has sugar cookie dough and plenty of cream involved in the process--so I deem it acceptable. "Create a sweet new cookie dessert using Pillsbury® sugar cookie dough, cream cheese and fresh blueberries!" says the inventor and Pillsbury Bake-Off finalist Alice Wilson of Fairport, New York.
Blueberry White Chocolate Cream Ginger Tart
8 servings
Procedure
Photo: Metropolitan Bakery facebook pageI have a big, sweet, carbohydratey crush on Philadelphia's Metropolitan Bakery. Why, you ask?
Well. There are a few reasons.
First off, they make wonderful bread. This is important. But sometimes, when a bakery excels at baking bread, their sweet treats seem secondary. And I get it--bread is their "thing". But very happily, Metropolitan Bakery doesn't fall into this category.
First, I will address their sticky buns. Like, whoa. Nice and yeasty, but with a pleasing amount of gooey filling, these buns are generously bathed in a caramelly coating and topped with pecans, making for a decadently delicious breakfast treat. I heated mine a little bit, and it sort of tasted like heaven. Really. I think I heard the "Dream Weaver" music playing.
Next, I will address their lemon bars. Now, by appearances only, the lemon bars are fairly average. I don't mean this as an insult. All that I am saying is, how could you know that this unassuming bar holds such a treasure of flavors? Assertively--nearly puckeringly--lemon, these cool and tart bars are anchored by a rich, buttery shortbread crust. Please, let me have another.
Next, I will talk for a moment about their raspberry crumb bars. Once again, not saccharine sweet, and beautifully finished off which a slightly salty, very buttery brown sugar crumb topping. I can see how one could even convince oneself that it's vaguely healthy.
Speaking of vaguely healthy, they also offer something called a Millet Muffin. Now, in general, such a title would not entice me--but wrapped in liner paper that made them look like little flowers, I was intrigued. And I was assured by the counter lady that they were very, very good. "Are they healthy?" I asked. And she said, "Well, not really". That's all I needed--"I'll take it!" I said. And you know what? These muffins are very good. The millet adds a nice, nutty flavor and a wonderfully crunchy flavor which doesn't fall into "crack yo' teeth" territory--but the muffin base is deliciously dense and buttery. I call it a winner.
And because this stuff contributes to the overall bakery experience, I should say that as an artistic person, their logo, which is inspired by the Paris Metro, pleases me greatly.
Their menu is pretty extensive, featuring cakes, cookies, Frenchie-stuff like caneles and macarons, and tarts. And everything I have sampled has been quite good. What I am getting at here is: go to this bakery.
Metropolitan Bakery has a few locations in the Philadelphia area; find out more about them on their website.
CakeSpy Note: if you follow me on facebook or Twitter, you probably know I'm partial to documenting my sweet goings-on. Here's where I post a daily feel-good photo, for no particular reason other than to showcase these sweet little nothings, in hopes that they'll make you smile.
After I interviewed Carmen of C for Cupcake, she sent me these sweet cupcake toppers as a thank-you! It really made my day.
CakeSpy Note: I am beyond ecstatic to announce that I have been invited as a media guest to the 45th Annual Pillsbury Bake-Off in Orlando, Florida! The event will take place in late March; til then, I am going to feature several of the sweets finalists here in anticipation of the big day!
Do you like peanut butter and jelly? Do you like brownies? Do you like cupcakes?
Duh, of course you do. But why eat just one of these treats when you could eat all of them--at once?? "Indulge in fudgy peanut butter cupcakes topped off with homemade strawberry cream cheese frosting." says entrant Amy Siegel Clifton, New Jersey. OK!
Strawberry Swirl Peanut Butter Brownie Cupcakes
Cupcakes
Frosting and Garnish
Dudes. Dudettes.
I've received like 10 emails from concerned passers-by who noticed a moving van outside of CakeSpy Shop today.
What I need to tell you is "DO NOT PANIC." What has happened is that the condominium above the store had a water leak, and as a result we need to do some repainting and re-carpeting. Now, I know this might crimp your shopping style if you wanted to come in person, but overall, this is going to be an awesome thing for your shopping experience. As the shop Manager and overall awesome person Natalie puts it,
Hope all is well. We just wanted to keep everyone informed about a facelift that is happening at the shop. We will be closed starting tomorrow, March 20th and will re-open Wednesday, March 28th with new carpet, painted walls, and more! All of the product that was have was packed up today very carefully, under supervision. It is waiting safely in heated storage, and we will have it moved back in ASAP!
Yet awesomer? We will be using the time that we are shut to beef up our website, and to add more stock to our shop.
Cadbury Creme Egg Salad Sandwiches. Yes, you heard that correctly.
The bag lunch staple gets a sweet upgrade for Easter with this sweet trompe l'oeil sandwich. Pound cake slices sandwich a "salad" comprised of yellow-tinted frosting studded with almonds and sliced Cadbury Creme Eggs. Green coconut bits resemble lettuce and provide the final garnish. It's a fun dish to serve at a party, and a perfect complement to your Cadbury Creme Deviled Eggs and Cadbury Creme Eggs Benedict.
The perfect way to get "hopped" up for Easter.