Candy Brownies!

For school on Wednesday I made brownies, but they were't ordinary brownies; I made brownies with candy inside!

Generally I don't eat that much of what I make, but I ate a few of these and they tasted incredible. My friends at school LOVED THEM. Even my school advisor who is not keen on chocolate ate them and loved them. It was strange, but I was happy about that because clearly I was doing something right.

I filled the brownies with Snickers, Milky Way, Hershey's Chocolate Bars, Three Musketeers, and Rolos. I made the batter from scratch which I strongly preferred compared to boxed mix. For the Rolo brownies, I also made a homemade carmel drizzle to put on top of them. While this was a great added bonus, it was not much fun to clean up. Let's just say caramel got everywhere!

Brownies with Rolos inside

 Sugar browning in pan

 caramel forming

 completed product!!

-J

Raspberry and Espresso for the NCAA

Yesterday I made cupcakes for my mom's office. David, a co-owner of the company IMX and good family friend, asked me if I could bake for a "client party" that was happening later that day. Basically it was a bunch of clients going to a bar to watch the NCAA game. Clearly eating was going to be involved as well, so I was ready to put my best foot forward. Also, since I was getting paid for this "catering service" I wanted to make sure they were perfect.  I had very limited time to make the cupcakes, let alone craft an idea, so I made cupcakes that I had made previously.

I decided to make White Chocolate filled Vanilla Cupcakes with a Raspberry frosting and Mahogany Cake (coffee chocolate cake) with Chocolate filling and Espresso Cream Cheese frosting.

I love love love these cupcakes.

Raspberry Cupcakes:
The raspberry frosting is my favorite. To make it, I strained blended raspberries over a cheesecloth for a few hours. While this was tedious work, I really think it makes the frosting a lot better. The consistency is smooth (and seed-free) and it generally has a more appealing look to it. Adding that into the frosting gave it a bright flavor that tasted truly like fresh raspberries.

Espresso Chocolate Cupcakes:
These cupcakes are also a favorite of mine because I love coffee with a little milk (espresso with cream cheese). In the past, I have topped them with Starbucks Brand Carmel Brûlée bites that I purchase at my local shop. This being said, due to the lack of time I had I used chocolate covered almonds instead.

Having all of the clients eat my cupcakes was a treat, but I am excited to make them again later throughout my project so I can give them to people I actually know and receive feedback. That being said, in the past I received great reviews so I am sure people were and will be pleased with them.

New Equiptment
Now, to make me sound like a baking geek, I got new equipment in the mail today! I got a Batter Dispenser  (generally used for pancakes) and I am TRILLED about it. Having this tool will facilitate me throughout my baking process so that I can make cupcakes even faster than before. Since I spend so much time baking, any time-saving tools are always greatly appreciated. In addition, I also got a new Wilton Decorator Pro and some mini cupcake baking pans. Having these tools makes me so excited to bake again later this week.

I scheduled a meeting with my senior comp advisor for next thursday, so I will probably blog about that as well. Hopefully the meeting will help me figure out how to focus better on what I am doing throughout this project.

Hope everyone has a GREAT weekend!
-J

Ice Cream Theme!

Today I brought "ice cream" flavored cupcakes to school. I made Mint Chocolate Chip cupcakes and Cookies & Cream cupcakes.

Mint Chocolate Chip:
The cupcakes had a perfect consistency and the frosting turned out extremely well.

Frosting and Infusing - 
I infused heavy cream with fresh mint leaves to give the frosting a natural mint flavor instead of the artificial one present in mint extract. Some people chose to use extract, but I think it tastes too much like toothpaste or chewing gum,  yuck!

Infusing was a lot easier than I originally thought it would be. In order to infuse, I simmered the cream in a saucepan and added the mint leaves. After around 5 minutes, I removed the saucepan from the heat and strained the mint out.

For the garnish, I used half an Andes Chocolate (they are mint flavored) and sprinkled some mint leaves as well.

Cookies and Cream:
I was worried about the consistency of these. The cupcakes seemed a little on the harder side, so I was concerned that they would taste overcooked or too dense. There is a half of an oreo at the bottom of the cupcake and chunks throughout, so there was definitely a lack of batter. Nevertheless, my guardian Judy said that they "tasted amazing" and that you couldn't tell that anything was wrong with them. I figure I was maybe being neurotic since I have become a perfectionist with my baked goods.

The Frosting for these cupcakes is probably my favorite I have ever tried. The consistency was perfect for piping. It almost tasted like the cream of an oreo (but less artificial).

 Cookies & Cream Cupcake

Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcake

On another note…
I started using the Kitchen Aid Electric Mixer my mother purchased a few years ago. Let me tell you, it is AMAZING! Best investment my mom had ever made! While the hands free aspect makes things 100 times easier, I also think it makes the frosting and cupcake batter consistency better. I was even told my frosting has started tasting better since using it (but that may be because I've been practicing over 8 hours a week). I advise ANYONE who loves baking to save up and invest. It's pricy but well worth the cost; plus it lasts a long time.

I will be writing soon because later today I will also be making cupcakes for my moms office!

-J

Cake Balls or Cake Blobs?

Today I decided to make cake balls. I made them before over the summer for coworkers and they were a HIT, so I figured I might as well give them another go! Sadly, I still have yet to master the "ball" shape of them.

(This may be due to my impatience of letting them set in the fridge, but I won't know until I try again.)

I had two friends over the night I made them to be my tasting guinea pigs. Shaina and Sarah tasted them and said, "Damn Jess, these are amazing!!!!" (in unison), so I figured it was a job well done. Nevertheless, I still wished they had looked nicer.

The process wasn't too bad...I guess. The process of dipping the cake and frosting balls into the chocolate was the main struggle. I decided that next time I will freeze them on sticks to make cake "lollipops". This hopefully will help with the dipping process, too. Although the recipe isn't on here, ask and i'll send it right away.

Now i'm off to make cupcakes!

Stay tuned to hear about my cookies and cream cupcakes!

-J

(Shaina and Sarah)

cake blobs

The Baking Journey Begins....

Hi Everybody!

For those who don't know, my name is Jessica Stone. I created this blog as part of my senior project. I plan on baking desserts and snacks for friends, family, classmates, etc., while also doing research and learning more about baking as a whole.

I have had a passion for baking for as long as I can remember. I have been baking since I was a little girl. When getting assigned a senior project I immediately decided that I wanted to bake. While I clearly bake because of my love for food, I truly enjoy making people happy when giving them my desserts. As cheesy as that may sound, whenever I bake for people, the smile that appears on their face makes it so much more worthwhile. Regardless on how someone's day has been thus far, I know that if I give someone a tasty treat there will be a good chance that I can make their day better, if only for 5 minutes (for people already in a good mood, it's just an added bonus).

I hope to post pictures and descriptions of everything I make while discussing technique, venting about my struggles, and contemplating how to solve them.

 If anyone has ideas please let me know! I will take requests weekly, for I will probably be baking 2-3 different items every week.

Other than that, please enjoy!

-J