The Women's Group

My mother called me in mid-May asking when I was coming home for a visit, and specifically what date I might be available to cater a luncheon at the house. Turns out the Unitarians were anxious to organize their summer calendar of "Women's Group" meetings. They meet twice a month and rotate the host house so every member takes a turn opening up her kitchen table to the group of women to share stories... and snacks. The first time the ladies came to our house, my mom asked if I could throw some refreshments together. I whipped up a quick curry chicken salad, snuck past the ladies tumbling into the house, and headed off to the beach. Apparently, the Sunday following the meeting at our house, the church buzzed with reviews of curry chicken salad instead of the usual religious banter. Each year after that, attendance at our house seemed to grow, and I continued to make more and more elaborate snacks. This year, not only was the group larger then ever, some ladies even brought their own "to go" bags.

The Menu
Cream-puffs filled with chocolate ganache
French macaroons sprinkled with powdered sugar
Home-made salted caramels
Candies walnut, cranberry, and goat cheese sandwiches
Toasted bread with hummus, radish, cucumber, and kalamata olives
Fresh fruit frangipane tart

How Much is That Peach in the Window?

"5$? Are you sure? Can you weigh it again? There must be some mistake." I tried to reason with the shop-keeper, but apparently it was indeed possible and nonnegotiable -- my one, single peach was going to cost me $5. How can this happen? A confluence of realities with which I am all too familiar: An adorable boutique farm-stand serves the wealthiest clientele of an already famous resort island. Most likely, they could charge $50 for that same peach and most of their shoppers wouldn't blink an eye. How did I fall into this ridiculous scenario? One simple answer: I smelled the peach from across the room. It called to me, and I came running. At least it made a delicious tart.

Fields of Cakes

Who knew that 200 cupcakes is quite a hefty order? I do now. And so does my dining room. I successfully covered every inch of the old mahogany table in our beautifully formal entertaining space. Lined up by flavor -- chocolate (with caramel sauce inside), vanilla (with lemon curd filling), and strawberry -- the 200 cupcake soldiers dominated the house... and my morning. Now frosting all 200 tiny cakes... that took care of my afternoon hours.

Who Needs Cake?

Maybe I don't need to be sweating over my oven in this Berkeley summer heat, or constantly finding dabs of crusty frosting on my face at the most awkward times. I've found another totally satisfying and aesthetically pleasing side of the dessert industry: Homemade Cake Stands. I did some savvy shopping and researching on the subject, and I found that on average, a cake stand costs between $30-$60. (!) That's probably more than you are charging for the cake on the stand. So I decided to make my own. Mine are the white porcelain tiered cake stands on the right and the black-stemmed stands on the left. Check the blog soon to see some of my more funky designs I'm working on! If you are a chef, caterer, or just a cake-stand-lover and want to purchase one of my stands, contact me. They're for sale!

Polka Dot Parade

I know I should branch out. I know I should experiment with basket-weave, swirls, rosettes, shell borders, fancy icing designs. But I am tragically in love with the simplicity of the polka dot. I take out my Wilton manuals and archaic cake-decorating magazines from decades past, flipping through all the "how-to" decorating lessons. I practice all the standards -- classically elegant and hideously outdated -- I skip none. But then it comes time to dress up my cake, and without even realizing it, I start polka-dotting every frosted surface. Maybe it's "my thing." Can I do that? Claim the polka dot as my trademark? I'll look into it... but I think I better keep practicing my basket-weave... just in case. 

It's Birthday Season

Happy Birthday to you... again. This cake is a pretty funny story. Aside from the fact that it looks like I swiped it right from under Barbie's nose, this is actually the second time I am catering Reyna's 4th birthday. Her first party was at the ballet studio where we had vanilla cupcakes with pink frosting and purple sugar roses. Reyna's mom placed another order for the family party today at their home. The girl knows what she likes: Pink frosting again... Purple flowers again. Can't wait to see what 5-year-old Reyna will want! 

Stop and Smell the Sweets

This weekend was my busiest yet for my under-the-radar cake making business I've been trying to start up. Five orders in one weekend: 50 cupcakes for a party at a bar, 2 sets of pink cupcakes for ballerina birthday parties, 2 elaborate cakes for a 4-year-old birthday girl, and a cake and cupcakes to be used as props in a film being made about a pastry delivery service (!). My hands feel overly moisturized with butter, regardless of how many times I hold them under burning hot water. I just found some frosting on the cuff of my favorite sweat shirt. My red hair has spots of white, not from aging, but from fly-away flour from this morning's baking. Sometimes I just need to take my cupcakes and look at them lovingly. I place them carefully on a cake-stand, cover them with a gorgeous glass dome, and enjoy their company while drinking a cup of tea in the living room. And then... Back to work! 

The Devil's in the Details

I started decorating this cake for my friend, Scott. No big deal. I just filled a vanilla cake with some strawberry rhubarb preserves (one of my students made this jam for me in class the other night -- yes, rhubarb just might be my favorite stalk). Then I frosted it with vanilla buttercream and thought I'd give it a little chocolate tease with some piped decorations. Originally I was thinking something subtle, sparse, free-form. Then I remembered that I don't really have any of those three words in my vocabulary. I got the icing in my piping bag, sat down over my cake, and started making individual, tiny chocolate dots: One circle around the edge of the cake... then another circle inside that circle... then another.. and another... Damn you, Detail Devil! One hour later I finally plopped my last little chocolate polka dot on Scott's "simple" cake.

I Scream. You Scream.

We all scream for ice cream. And why shouldn't we? It's delicious! And now.. I've been churning my nights away making my very own ice cream. It's a beautiful sight to watch milk, cream, a little sugar, and egg yolks gently simmer together, cool down, and then spin their way into a fluffy, frozen, fantastic scoop of ice cream. It's even more enchanting to be able to make ANY kind of ice cream you want. Dark Chocolate? Lavender? Caramel Swirl? Strawberry Rose? Blueberry? Anything!

Here we have Almond Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.

Tart Triathlon

My landlady's son came into town for the weekend. He planned a Bar-B-Q for his old Berkeley high school buddies he hadn't seen since his move to L.A. Knowing his mom was renting a room to a Pastry Chef, he sent me a sweet email asking if I would make a dessert for his soiree. Still acquaintances, he is not yet familiar with the way I do things. When someone asks to me make A dessert, inevitably I hear MANY desserts. And so it happened as it always does: I made three different types of tarts and two kinds of homemade ice cream. 

The Berkeley Bar-B-Q Dessert Menu: 

Almond Pate Sucre Tart with Chocolate Ganache Filling

Layered Tart with Raspberries, Chocolate Ganache, and Fresh Glazed Berries

Rose Pastry Cream Tart with Fresh Blueberries

Creamy Smooth Almond Ice Cream

Chocolate and Almond Chunk Ice Cream

Ballet and Baking Need Each Other

I grew up a dancer, then danced my way right into the kitchen and started baking. One might think I had to choose between these two passions when it came time to start a career. Nope. I make my living teaching dance classes during the day and teaching pastry classes at night. Sure, there are downsides. Like, for instance, the fact that I live my professional life in costumes: A purple corset with fabric roses and jewels, a matching tutu that sticks out a foot from my body on all sides with tuile, pink tights, ballet slippers, and a diamond tiara at the ballet studio -- An oversized starched white chef coat and baggy black and white checkered pants with clogs and an apron at the pastry school. But I don't think I would have it any other way. It's balance. For every student's souffle I have to taste for my job at night, I dance at least 4 hours the next day. It's a constant cycle -- Consuming butter and sugar, then burning energy. In fact, my two passions, my two careers, sort of need each other. And to integrate things even more... Chef Ballerina Katie makes the cupcakes for the birthday parties at the dance studio every weekend. Always the same -- pink icing with homemade purple sugar roses -- but it's one more way to tie these two careers into one. 

Continuing My Education

Is there a such thing as graduate school for Pastry? Let me know. Until I find out about this illustrious institution (that I'm pretty darn sure does not exist) I'm on my own to forage around for classes to learn more about this chosen field. I've made phone calls to community colleges, other baking schools, and most recently... a 2-car-garage-sized cake decorating supply store in Berkeley asking the same thing: "Do you offer classes? For people who have already gone to pastry school and become chefs?" Usually the answer is something about how I should be off making money baking instead of spending more to re-learn things I already know with novice students. Alas, I kept calling and finally enrolled in "American Cake Decorating" at afore-mentioned tiny cake decorating supply store. It's a 4-week course meeting one night a week in a make-shift kitchen resembling that of a small house-boat galley kitchen. Each week we bring a frosted cake and the "Sugar Art Guru" instructs us in how to make egg-yolk-yellow sunflowers, pastel pink rose buds, moss-green vines, and strangely-enough -- fuscia famingos -- all out of a powdered sugar / crisco special she calls frosting. If this is American cake decorating, please, someone whisk me away to France.

Did I Do Something Wrong?

I've been hearing those words a lot from my students -- Especially in our first few weeks of the course as they learn to navigate the kitchen and attempt to use equipment they have never even seen before. But most often, questions arise at the beginning of the process, or when a student is about half way through making a recipe and his or her bowl of ingredients resembles scrambled eggs instead of a smooth creme anglaise. Usually, we can catch the error, come up with a remedy, or... start over. But this instance was different. Lovely Student brought me her final cookie that she was about to present at our "Final Tasting" at the end of class. She handed me her Meyer Lemon Shortbread cookie and with pleading eyes she sincerely asked the fateful question: "Did I do something wrong?" Wanting to inspire confidence and show off my amazing, problem-solving taste buds, I shoved the entire cookie into my mouth before delivering my diagnosis. All at once, my mouth seized up unable to chew the rectangle of cooked dough inside. My teeth felt frozen, my tongue stinging with pain. I ran to the compost bin, tried to spit out what I could, and took 4 glasses of water to wash the remaining cookie down. The mistake was painfully obvious. Lovely Student had replaced all of the sugar in the recipe with... Salt. Take a look at the picture. Could you tell the difference without tasting it?

Pastry Professor Katie

They just couldn't keep me away. After graduation, I became the assistant pastry teacher for the next session of the Professional Pastry Program at my school. At many points in my life, I have considered going back to graduate school, perhaps getting a PhD in Public Policy, Social Work, or heck -- maybe even Statistics. In fact, I've been to the optometrist an embarrassing number of times begging him or her to find some defect in my eyes that would necessitate my donning academic-looking black rimmed glasses. (Sadly, my eyes always test 20/20). I've enjoyed many a night snuggled in my cubicle among the library stacks, I've purchased every shade of high-lighter and every shape of post-it note. Studying, researching, analytical writing, power-point presentations -- the true spice of life. But I also have this bug for baking. So here's my recipe-test for combining my ambitions: Academic meets sugar. I'm the new Pastry Professor.

Pomp and Circumstance... and Cake!

Somehow, February melted into March. And March became a rushing river leading us all rapidly to the finale of our course. After much design time, practice runs, garnish experimentation, success, and disasters... it was time for Graduation. We were allowed to create anything we wanted. You name it: from macaroon cookies to full-size wedding cakes, brioche bread to creme brulee -- the world was our sweet little oyster. Because our program was so short and intense, recipes were divided up each week among the students -- hence, not everyone made everything each week. So I decided I would try to combine as many of those techniques I hadn't yet done during the course into my final project. I knew I had not made praline (a hazelnut, caramel paste), homemade Nutella, gelee (a clear gelatenous glaze), or jaconde (a pastry staple cake type). Then the real work began. How do I combine all these elements into one cake? Here's what I came up with:

A hazelnut and chocolate chunk jaconde cake base
Layered with homemade nutella, praline bavarian, white chocolate frangelico mousse, and caramel gelee
Garnished with dragee hazelnuts, crushed hazelnuts, white and dark chocolate shavings

I passed! And graduated from Pastry School!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I know I might be the only annoying one out there... but Valentine's Day REALLY is my favorite holiday. I know. You hate me now. In fact, it has nothing to do with hugging and kissing and getting all dressed up for a fancy date in my mind. As I said back in college, and still believe, "Valentine's Day is not about love... It's about love-handles."
My love for sharing sugar, butter, and general sweetness in the form of food naturally shines on this glorious holiday! So... Cheers! Hope it was a good one!
I wore three different shades of pink today, made a wedding cake, delivered egg-cartons full of mini-cupcakes to friends, and ate an entirely pink and red dinner (including cocktails) with my honey. I love you, February 14th!

High Maintenance Dough

Talk about High Maintenance... Laminated Dough. I wonder how many people know just how many hours and complicated steps go into making their buttery little croissant or danish breakfast treats. Scale, Mix, Laminate, Fold, Rest, Fold again, Rest, Roll, Shape, Bake. It's a seemingly never-ending cycle of giving the dough tons of attention and muscle, rolling it out and folding it in on itself, and then leaving it alone in the cooler to "rest and relax."
Who knew that croissant dough basically requires spa-like treatment? Apparently the gluten needs just the right amount of handling to develop... but then gets nervous and shrinks when you over-work it, necessitating a little "massage" of sorts to calm it down. And the butter in the dough is so temperamental that it gets all heated up and requires a "cooling, resting period" of about an hour in the refrigerator every time you try to roll it out. Give me a break, laminated dough. You are too much!

My Wedding Cake, All Grown Up

I had trouble sleeping this week. I knew on Monday that Saturday would be the Big Day. Many a young woman around my age might refer to the "Big Day" as the one when she wears an ornate white gown, carries a bouquet of her favorite flowers, and parades down a long aisle to marry the man of her dreams. Oh no. Not for Little Miss Pastry Chef.
The Big Day for me was when we finally made wedding cakes at Pastry School. It was all that I had hoped for and more -- lots of excitement, a little stress, and a tiny dose of "cold feet." But in the end, all three tiers of our giant orange, cardamom genoise cake filled with thick layers of ginger buttercream stood tall and proud at the tasting table.
Happily ever after... until we sliced into it and ate it! Ah, the ephemeral beauty of pastry. A happy, intimate relationship that lasts just the right amount of time. And when it ends, it always leaves the sweetest taste in your mouth.

Parade of Purple Roses

When I say there were roses everywhere in my new Berkeley kitchen... I am not exaggerating. Those who know me well are aware of my "tendency towards hyperbole." But this time, I am serious. On plates, on cutting boards, on pizza bricks, on the wooden table and the tile counter-top... The sugar roses took over! All those hours I spent glued to the computer screen practicing along with cake-decorating YouTube videos are finally starting to pay off!

Bread, You Scoundrel

I feel strangely guilty. Like I am cheating on a long-time, innocent partner. I tell myself I'm just intoxicated by the smell of the fermenting yeast, mesmerized by the rising of the dough, and that I need the kneading it calls for. The smell of the French Levain almost ready to come out of the oven wafts and dances through my kitchen and nearly knocks me over. It wakes me up from my love affair just in time to say: "Bread! You dirty scoundrel!"

That's the terrible thing about being in love with Pastry. I was so sure that cakes... wedding cakes, especially.... were my true confection obsession. But since getting into breads, my monogomy with Cake has fallen into question. Nobody told me this experience would be so similar in nature to a Soap Opera.

Alas, I will have to learn how to pull the strings of my heart (and the work of my Pastry Chef hands) in multiple directions... Bread, Cake, Bread, Cake... Regardless: It's good to be in love. Even if it's confusing sometimes.

Email me if you want some fresh bread delivered to your Bay Area doorstep!

Oh, The Holidays...

Since my last post much has happened, like, for instance: 2009! Also: Christmas, New Year's Eve, 3 separate trips to Philadelphia, a visit to Maryland to see 3 nephews and 2 nieces, quality Jersey time, and a Manhattan adventure. Other things I have done more related to this Blog include: Caramel Lollipops, Banana Caramel Pound Cake, Coconut Pastry Cream filled Cake with Shredded Coconut Frosting, and of course, some cupcake-making with my favorite 4-year-old baking helper, Sam. Wish I had more photo-documentation of these things, but I think the title of this post says it all.... "Oh, (sigh) the Holidays..."

I Am Thankful For... Cake

And for my family, friends, and health, of course! But I would be lying if I didn't say that a large portion of this Thanksgiving was spent baking, frosting, decorating, and thinking about cake. Thankfully, it all turned out pretty well. I made a three layer pound cake with homemade lemon curd in between the layers. It's frosted in a vanilla Swiss buttercream and the flowers on top are real and edible!

Cupcake -- The Perfect Little Cake

I went to an Indian Restaurant in Palo Alto today, and when I was done dining, I asked the waiter if he knew of any good cupcake places. He looked at me like I was crazy. "Cake? In a cup? That sounds very strange!" I had never thought of cupcakes as exotic before.

The other day, I found a giant Japanese Kabocha pumpkin at the Farmer's Market. I roasted it, pureed it with some sugar and spices, and created some cute little cakes topped with vanilla buttercream icing and edible flowers.

If you're planning a party, or just need some sweet snacks, think about ordering some cupcakes. Email me at katiespastries@gmail.com!

To the Patron Saint of Pastry...

This cake is named "Saint Honoré" after the Patron Saint of Pastry and Bakers. Saint Honoré, who was also the Bishop of Amiens, lived in Northern France during the sixth century. The cake is a brisée dough at the base, encircled with a ring of pâte a choux , and filled with a special "Chiboust Cream." (For you history buffs out there: This Chiboust Cream filling, which is a Pastry Cream stabilized by gelatin and lightened by Meringue, is named after Chef Chiboust who had a pastry shop on rue Saint Honoré in the 1840s.) Then, individual cream puffs, dipped in caramel, are placed around the top of the cake like a shining crown. Chantilly (or whipped cream) fills in as the "ruffles" of the crown.

The Smallest Mini-Wedding Cake Yet

Tonight I accomplished it! I made the smallest wedding cake I have ever seen in my life! The largest layer of the cake -- the base-- is just a hair over 2 inches, and the top tier is under 1 inch in diameter. It is frosted in Buttercream and decorated with Royal Icing and Pearl Candies. When Honey (our baby bunny rabbit) posed near it, it looked even too small for her! But it was cute. I say was because most of the cake has already been eaten by a certain someone with an amazing sweet tooth...

Gluten-Free Cake!

I've been asked more than once, since living in the Bay Area, to make a gluten-free cake. With Celiac Disease seemingly more and more common -- and people just becoming generally more sensitive to wheat products -- gluten-free seems like an important path to follow. I've been researching and experimenting, and tonight's cake turned out... well... delicious! I was shocked!

The photo of my creation from this evening is an honest-to-goodness gluten-free wedding cake: Pound Cake surrounded by a Swiss Buttercream frosting (lightly "zested" with some fresh lemon and grapefruit) and decorated with my Dark Chocolate Ganache. I didn't think it could happen.. but what can I say? ... Gluten-free Cake? Yes We Can!

I know I have some special, newly-engaged, friends who will be interested in this discovery.

If you have any need or want for some gluten-free cake in your life, email katiespastries@gmail.com! I'm happy to customize frosting flavors and decoration styles.

Wedding Cake Weekend

So some hip 24-year olds who live in this rockin' city head to the Mission for Tapas, or maybe hit some bars on Divisadero, or perhaps grind all night at a favorite dance club on any given Saturday night. I, on the other hand, spent this weekend in the kitchen baking, frosting, and decorating yet another mini-wedding cake. Alas... I just always seem to miss the "hip-train." But as everything is relative, I think it turned out to be a pretty exciting weekend -- Instead of the traditional white wedding cake, I went chocolate brown! This is a classic vanilla genoise cake with layers of homemade raspberry jam, frosted in a rich dark chocolate ganache.

Mini Wedding Cakes

I've always been a little bit obsessed with wedding cakes. Well, let's be real... VERY obsessed with wedding cakes. There's something about the multiple tiers of cake, the ridiculous abundance of fluffy frosting, and the elaborate decorations that just mesmerizes me. Sometimes it's a visceral negative fascination: "How could anyone possibly think that red frosting bows are classy on a pastel, fondant-covered cake with fake pillars holding up each layer??" But more often than not, it is in admiration that I oggle the decadent dessert we call the wedding cake. In fact, I am hoping to one day be a professional wedding cake maker (!). This weekend, I made my very first attempt -- a practice wedding cake... mini-size. My skills need some major development, but the project was fun, the cake delicious, and the minature nature of the whole thing... just plain cute. If you have any need for a mini-wedding cake (ahem, my newly engaged friends), drop me an email.

The Beauty of Meringues

Meringues might be one of the most amazing discoveries in pastry history. Who would ever guess that 2 runny little egg whites -- quite unfortunately mucous-like in nature -- could transform into silky, shiny, gorgeous peaks of sweet white decadence three times their original volume? And the only magic needed for this fairy-tale-like like transformation is some form of sugar and a whole ton of whipping. Amazing. We are learning about all sorts of meringues -- from Swiss, to Italian, to French Meringue -- they each have slight variations in how you add the sugar and whether or not you bake them. But they are all fascinating. Stay tuned.. Later this week, I'll be making delicious meringue cookies with a layer of chocolate ganache in the center... A sweet sandwich, if I ever tasted one!

Pastry of the Week: Biscuits!

A delicious, flaky, buttery biscuit... does it get any better? Warm it up in the oven, cut it open, watch the steam rush up, slap a little jam inside... the perfect breakfast! Or... Try one of my bacon, cheddar, scallion biscuits -- a meal all on its own! Email me if you are interested... 

Custards, custards, custards

Who knew that eggs could be so versatile? And delicious? Turns out, almost everything creamy and rich is actually just egg yolks and sugar. Wow! Bad news for the cholesterol, but interesting. We experienced a whole week of the custard spectrum... from "Floating Islands" (an old, traditional French dessert -- "Oeufs A La Neige"), to Mocha Pots de Creme, to Ice Cream (Yes, it's actually just a custard... frozen), to Creme Brulee (Using a torch is awesome!), to Honey Parfaits with fancy macerated fruit compote, to Flan, to Souffles! I don't even want to think about how many eggs I cracked this week... And then consumed. Sorry, Doc!

Pastry School Begins!

Oh the bounty! Pastry School is turning out to be beyond my wildest, sweetest dreams! We have an amazingly talented and kind teacher and a fabulous group of Pastry-Chef-to-be's. The atmosphere is teamwork-oriented and incredibly supportive... no culinary competitiveness here! So far we've worked on all sorts of fancy cookies, fruit tarts, chocolate ganache, pate a choux (cream puffs and eclairs), and lemon meringue tarts. It's a whirlwind, but in our 4-hour sessions, we sure do create (and taste) quite a spread of lovely desserts. I'm learning so much about technique -- the academic nerd side of me is constantly being fed -- and I'm loving it!

Pastry of the Week... Katie's Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hello San Francisco! After a boat, a bus, two planes, and a shuttle... I have returned to the West Coast. Aside from the offensive airport food offerings, the trip went pretty well -- with one exception...

Taylor very kindly offered to stow a few of my things in his carry-on.. (since my bags were already packed with essentials like Sea Salt made in West Tisbury and spatulas galore). I swiftly slid through the Security Check, but Taylor did not.

The "Authorities" asked Taylor to open his bag so they could inspect it. Taylor diligently sifted through and presented all the items in the bag until the source of suspicion revealed itself. I overheard the guard say, "Really?! We saw it go through the scan and thought it was chocolate... but we just couldn't believe it." The guard then swiped our 10 pound block of delicious dark chocolate with a bomb check just to make sure before sending us on our way -- chuckling to himself as we continued on to our gate.

Mary Beth had sent me back with this heavy and decadent gift so I could begin to make my own chocolate chips for my cookies. Rest assured, this chocolate is as good as it gets. Order some chocolate chip cookies this week to check it out for yourself!

Before Pastry School Begins

Currently I am on Martha's Vineyard Island spending some quality time with my family at their summer home. Even though Pastry School doesn't start for me until September 29th, my four-year-old assistant baker and I are hard at work keeping ourselves in practice. Together we made a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting -- A tried and true toddler favorite (even though Grampy ate more slices than anyone else). 

Point of the story: Though this first Post has nothing to offer in the way of San Francisco pastry deliveries... I just want to let you all know that I, with the help of my nephew, am gearing up for a great, and extremely sweet, Fall of baking.