Basics by Bake: Oven Accuracy

This marks our first post of a new segment called Basics by Bake. Every so often, we will discuss one or two topics which we consider the basics of baking. Things like oven accuracy, how to measure, baking equipment, different ingredients, and so on. Let's get started with oven accuracy.

According to Cindy Mushet, author of the Art & Soul of Baking, many home ovens are off by 25-50* even when brand new. A difference of this amount can easily affect your baking outcomes so it is important to test your oven's temperature periodically. 

To Test Oven Temp:
Purchase an alcohol based oven thermometer. Adjust your oven rack to the center and place the thermometer in the center of the rack. Set the over temp for 350* and allow time for it to fully heat up. Many ovens will beep when it has reached the set temperature, but don’t believe it. Allow for at least 20-30 min before you open the door quickly and read the temperature on the thermometer. If the temperature is hotter or cooler than the temp you set the oven to, make a note of it and you will be able to adjust for this later in yoru baking. For instance if you know that the oven is 25* cooler than what you set it for, you will know to set the oven to 375* when a recipe calls for 350*.

In order to keep your temperature accurate, be sure to check the gasket around the door to make sure that it's attached and properly fitted.  A loose gasket will allow heat to escape. Also be sure that no vents are obstructed.

Good luck and have fun!
Marcie and Katelyn

May is the month of Bake!

This past month and a half we have pretty busy. We catered our first wedding, finalized our business license, and started networking. And it looks like this month will be even busier! We've got our blog to keep going, a ton of new recipes to post, farmer's markets to go to, and a grand opening party to plan. :)

So stay tuned because great things are coming!

Catch you on the sweet side,
Marcie and Katelyn

Chocolate Butterscotch Cupcakes

Hope everyone had a wonderful Saint Patrick's day on Thursday! For our pot of gold after our meal, we made these wonderful cupcakes! Enjoy!

Chocolate Butterscotch Cupcakes
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp almond extract
1 cup boiling water
1 Butterscotch pudding cup

Directions:
Mix together all the dry ingredients.
Add in the eggs, milk, oil, and almond extract: beat until smooth
Add the water and pudding and mix until blended
The batter will be watery so you will have to ladle the batter into your liners.

Bake at 350* for 20-25 min. Cool in the pan 5 min, then remove and cool completely.
Frost cooled cupcakes and top with butterscotch chips. Yum!

For the frosting, use our Marshmallow Frosting recipe and simply add Cocoa powder:

Marshmallow Frosting
Ingredients:
4 sticks unsalted butter (room temperature)
2 cups powdered sugar
20 oz marshmallow cream
2 tsp cocoa powder

Directions:
Beat butter until creamy
Add sugar 1/2 cup at a time, beat until fluffy
Stir in marshmallow and cocoa powder.


Catch you on the sweet side!
Marcie and Katelyn

Green Dragon Cupcakes

Its only a week away from St Patrick's Day and in honor of the holiday we decided to create what we like to call our Green Dragon cupcake. Yes, we got our cupcake name from the best beer song in Lord of the Rings, but what can we say..."You can drink your fancy ales you can drink them by the flagon but the only brew for the brave and true.... comes from the green dragon!" :)


Green Dragon Cupcakes
Ingredients:
1 cup Guinness extra stout beer
1 cup 4 tbsp unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups dark brown sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla
2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp baking soda

Directions:
1. Heat guiness and butter in a sauce pan until the butter melts
2. Add in cocoa and sugar
3. Combine the buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla in a bowl and whisk.
4. Combine the flour and baking soda
5. Alternately combine the liquid mixture and the flour mixture into the original mix.
6. Poor into cupcake liners and bake for 18 min at 350*

Top cooled cupcakes with our Guinness Cream Cheese Frosting.
Ingredients:
1 8oz package of cream cheese (softened)
1 tbsp Guinness
2/3 cups powdered sugar

Mix all ingredients together, stir in green food coloring until you reach your desired shade, and enjoy!

Catch you on the sweet side!
Marcie and Katelyn

The Business of Baking, Part Two: Reaching a Balance

Its so easy...
                   ...easy to have an idea. The difficulty is turning that idea into a success.

Once quoted by Oprah, "Quality is never an accident- rather it is the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction, and skillful execution". It is with these four attributes that a company can go from good to great. In fact, these are what we want for the building blocks of BAKE, with the addition of yet one more all-important attribute: balance.

We began BAKE with unbelievably high intentions and when we first sat down and outlined what we wanted to accomplish in this past month we had pages full of checklists. 28 days later, we realize that while high intentions are necessary for a successful start-up, so too is realistic execution and maintaining balance within your life. We started this company whole holding down full time jobs as well as family obligations, and what we have learned thus far is that we cannot achieve the quality that BAKE deserves if we are constantly running at full speed in all directions. Passion is a necessity for any business but there is wisdom in knowing when to take a break. Without rest, you become vulnerable to emotional melt downs, stress attacks, and insomnia; all of which we have encountered in the past month.

Our goal for the month of March, and what we encourage all of you to strive for as well, is to reach a sustainable balance of high intentions and self care. We sat down Wednesday and scheduled out all of March. Which recipes we wanted to do, which days we wanted to post, and which tasks we needed to accomplish. This way we can work when we need to and enjoy our rest when we don't.

We have now learned that BAKE will not be the best if we personally are not at our bests. As Oprah has said, "Quality breeds quality" and it is impossible to create a quality company without first creating a quality life. Yes there will still be some stressful, sleepless nights (that is what owning a business means) but we will be sure to balance those nights with days full of laughter, fun, and love.

Catch you on the sweet side,
Marcie and Katelyn

Classic Vanilla Cupcakes

You can never go wrong with a classic, and everyone should have a vanilla cupcake recipe to fall back on. Our ballerina cupcake post was so popular, we thought we'd share our Classic Vanilla Cupcake recipe with you.

Classic Vanilla Cupcakes

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter                               2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups sugar                           1/2 tsp salt
3 stiff-beaten egg whites                2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla                                   1 cup milk

Directions:
1. Cream shortening and sugar
2. Add in vanilla extract; beat until fluffy
3. Add sifted dry ingredients alternately with milk; mix thoroughly after each addition
4. Fold in egg whites
5. Bake for 20-25 min at 350*

Enjoy,
Marcie & Katelyn

Gluten-Free Fridays: Old Fashioned Chocolate Chip Cookies

Everyone loves a chocolate chip cookie once in a while so here's a new spin on an old classic.

Old Fashioned Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar                                                  1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup brown sugar                                       1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter                                                  2 cups blended oats*
1 egg                                                              1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 tsp vanilla                                                  1 cup bitter sweet chocolate chips

*Blending the oats is most easily done in a food processor, but if you don't have one a blender works nicely too.

Instructions:
Mix together ingredients, drop onto a cookie sheet, and bake at 350* for 10 min.

Catch you on the sweet side,

Marcie and Katelyn

To line, or not to line...we found out.

Marcie and I like to wonder about things, we also like to rebel. So one day we found ourselves pondering why we had to use a cupcake liner when baking cupcakes. We figured they would come out basically the same, maybe a little yummier. But in reality, they baked almost completely differently.

For starters, we noticed that when we baked a cupcake without a liner, the form of the cupcake was different in two ways. It created a crusty edge on the top of the cupcake and there were visible air bubbles. The shape of the cupcake was also different, when you bake in a liner the cupcake comes out perfectly placed. It will fill out the liner. Without a liner though, and you're taking your chances on the shape. Some of ours came out close to similar in shape while others couldn't stand up straight.
 
So our next experiment? We want to try baking our cupcakes in some bright colored parchment paper kind of like these cuites here --------------->

We found these cupcakes at Natalie Blake's blog. (click here to check it out). 


Happy Baking!
Marcie and Katelyn

We got an award! :)

Marcie and I just love meeting new bloggers, whether they be bakers like us or simply interesting people. Don't you love how the web can bring people closer together?! Well, Ryan from Ryan Bakes was sweet enough to nominate us for this wonderful award and we just had to thank her for it! 

Ryan, you are too awesome. :)

The only rule for this award is that we pass on the love and notify the winning blogs!

So our blog choices are:

 Kristan from Confessions of a Cookbook Queen (love her!)

The mystery woman from Cookies and Cups (seriously, we don't know her name but she rocks)

And.....

Daow from Happy Food. 

Congrats fellow bloggers! :)

-Marcie and Katelyn

How to stay thin at a bakery...

Even wonder how anyone could stay thin while making sweets for a living? I found this video from one of my favorite bakery's you tube channel and thought it was so hilarious I just had to share!




Be sure to check out Retro Bakery's website for more info on their wonderful bakery. And for their blog, follow this link and enjoy!

Catch you on the sweet side,
Marcie and Katelyn

Chocolate Cinnamon Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Marshmallow Frosting

For this delicious cupcake, we use a simple, fluffy chocolate cinnamon cupcake, a super yummy peanut butter marshmallow frosting, and top it all off with a Snickers. :)

BAKEs Chocolate Cinnamon Cupcakes (adapted from The Farm Chicks chocolate cupcake recipe):
Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup boiling water

Directions:
Mix together all the dry ingredients.
Add in the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla: beat until smooth
Add the water and mix
The batter will be watery so you will have to ladle the batter into your liners. Be sure to have something like a paper towel ready because it will drip everywhere.

Bake at 350* for 20-25 min. Cool in the pan 5 min, then remove and cool completely. Then frost to your hearts delight! For our Peanut butter marshmallow frosting, click here.


This recipe is one of our favorites so far. In fact a friend of ours is having a birthday on Wednesday and for his present, we're going to make him these cupcakes topped with a snickers piped with frosting so that they look like little presents. Should be cute!

Enjoy!
Marcie and Katelyn

Peanut Butter Marshmallow Frosting

We are in love with this frosting! So yummy and light. 

BAKEs Peanut Butter Marshmallow Frosting
Ingredients:
4 sticks unsalted butter (room temperature)
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
20 oz marshmallow cream
1 cup peanut butter


Directions:
Beat butter until creamy
Add sugar 1/2 cup at a time, beat until fluffy
Beat in the vanilla
Stir in marshmallow and peanut butter

This recipe makes a lot of frosting, probably enough for 3 dozen cupcakes. Also this frosting can melt, so be sure to refrigerate after frosting if you are trying to hold its shape.

Hope you all love it too!
Marcie and Katelyn

The Buisness of Baking, Part One.

So you want to start a bakery?

While we can't talk to you about the store front part of things, we can tell you about the company things. Step one? Get a business license and, if you live in California, a sellers license. A week ago yesterday, we filed our papers for an LLC (limited liability company). It was extremely exciting, yet also intimidating...and scary because about 30 days from now we will be an official business. Wow- who the heck decided to make me (Katelyn) a CEO? I see that ending badly. :)

As soon as we submitted the paperwork, it was as if the starting gun had gone off. Its time to panic...oops I mean time to work around the clock. We have new recipes to create, pricing to determine, food safety testing to pass, rental kitchens to find, logos to think up, and blog posts to write. Never mind the extras, like networking and spreading the word. Even though Marcie and I decided that we would take Wednesdays and Saturdays off from BAKE, we have yet to actually stop working on it.

Next Saturday we have our first official tasting. And while Marcie works on the chocolates, I'm on cupcake duty (I've already had my cookie recipes figured out). The hardest part is perfecting the basics, vanilla and chocolate. You have to find the right consistency, sweetness, texture, and everything else you can think up. The tough thing is that almost everyone has different preferences. Some need a really fluffy cupcake while others (me) want something more substantial. Some like a very sweet cupcake with a light frosting, while others like my fiance like a rather subtle taste.

No matter how hard the work has been though, its been more fun than not. And so far we have had a better reaction from people than we had hoped we would. In fact we already have a few lined up who want to purchase some cupcakes and maybe even one party booked! For the next few days though, I will be bake- bake-baking! Saturday will be a blast, so stay tuned for the many pictures and stories to come.

Catch you on the sweet side,
Marcie and Katelyn

The Ballerina Cupcake: In honor of the Sacramento Ballet Company

"Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight!/ For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night."
- William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

Who doesn't love a little Romeo and Juliet? Even you boys out there can't deny you get a little teary eyed at the end. (Admit it, we all know you do). Well in honor of next weekends performance of Romeo and Juliet by the Sacramento Ballet Company, I felt I needed to create a cupcake. (Yes, a cupcake).

And behold...the Ballerina Cupcake!

When I thought of what a cupcake had to be in order to capture the feel of the ballet, I knew my honorary cupcake needed to be light, fluffy, and most importantly pink and white. So naturally I took our signature vanilla cupcake, added some food coloring, topped it with a light marshmallow frosting and admired my work. I really wanted some little ballerina shoes to top it off with but they were no where to be found. Not even in the Barbie section! I went to three different stores and no luck, talk about disappointed. But hey, I still think it turned out nice. :)

So next weekend (February 10-13th), if you are in the Sacramento area be sure to support our wonderful ballet company and catch a performance of their telling of Romeo and Juliet. They wont let you down.

Follow this link for more information.

Hope you all are enjoying your weekend!
-Marcie and Katelyn

Gluten-Free Fridays: Pumpkin Cookies with Almonds

Welcome to our first weekly Gluten-Free Fridays! Every Friday we will post up a new gluten free recipe. This week's selection is perfect year round, and especially delicious in the fall. These pumpkin cookies are easy to make and absolutely delicious! Feel free to add as much cinnamon as you like, I always double up. :)

Ingredients:
1 1/3 Cups Quick Oats (blended)
1/4 Cup Oil
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Cup Pumpkin
1/2 Tsp Vanilla
1 Tsp Baking Soda
1 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 1/2 Tsp Cinnamon
1 Cup Chopped Almonds

Directions:
1. Mix together the oats, oil, sugar, pumpkin, and vanilla.
2. Add in the baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
3. Stir in the almonds

Bake at 350* for 10-15 minuets. Makes about 2 dozen.

Enjoy!
Marcie and Katelyn

Simply Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies

We know many people with a Gluten allergy (including our very own Marcie), and it can be hard finding yummy recipes for them! These cookies are not only gluten-free, they're extremely simple! For this super easy recipe, you will only need 4 things, sugar, egg, peanut butter, and vanilla extract.

Ingredients:
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together, drop onto a nonstick cookie sheet, and bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 min.

Completely simple, right? If you feel like sprucing it up, try adding in some toppings like banana chips or even chocolate chips. We've even used Splenda for the sugar and Egg Beaters for the eggs before, and they still turned out great! We're telling you, with this recipe you just can't go wrong.

Catch you on the sweet side!
Marcie and Katelyn

Mini Apple Pies

These pies are delicious and perfectly sized! It takes about 30 min for the pie filling, and they're great whether you use a homemade pie crust or a store bought crust. Now you can use the following recipe for a regular sized apple pie or you can use a cupcake tin for mini apple pies. :)

For the Pie Crust recipe, click here.


Pie Filling:
6 cups peeled and thinly sliced apples
2/3 cup light brown sugar
2 tbsp flour
2 tsp cinnamon (feel free to add more, we love cinnamon!)
1 tsp nutmeg

1.Mix together all the ingredients, adding in the apple slices last, until the apple slices are adequately covered with the sugar mix.
2. Take a large mug, and cut out circles in the pie crust that are a little larger than the size of your cupcakes in your tin.
3. Place the crust into each of the cupcake openings in the tin. If you have enough extra, play around with the crust until it looks the way you want.
4. Put 1/3 cup of the pie filling into each crust holder.
5. Use the left over crust to make the mini pie coverings.

For the Mini Apple Pies, bake at 375 for 25 min.

Catch you on the sweet side!
Marcie and Katelyn

My Great Grandmother's Pie Crust

This recipe comes straight from my Great Grandmother's recipe book. So many happy memories, all with delicious pies to go along with them. :)

Ingredients:
4 cups flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 cups shortening
1/2 cup water
1 egg
1 tsp vinegar

1. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
2. Cut the shortening into the flour mixture.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together the water, egg, and vinegar and add that into the main mix.
4. Chill for 1 hour then roll out on a floured board until the correct size.

According to my grandmother, this crust can be chilled for a week to ten days.

Enjoy!
Katelyn

Gluten Free From a Box

This weekend I baked from a box (gasp!)-- no it’s not my favorite way to make deliciousness, but it sure is easy. Just add one egg and a stick of butter and 15 minutes later you have gluten free cookies thanks to Betty Crocker.

If not wheat then what flour? Ol’ Betty uses rice flour, Semi sweet chocolate chips, brown sugar, sugar, potato starch, potato flour, leavening and salt. Coming in at 3000 calories (prepared) for all the cookies in the box, this is not a snack for those watching their waistline.

How does it taste? Honestly, kinda grainy. It’s super sweet consistency could be hard to adjust to if your used to eating wheat flour chocolate cookies. I found that if you freeze the GF cookies while they are still warm, it creates a soft texture that is tasty to eat while cold.

I would give this 3 out of 5 bites.

And so it begins

What’s a girl to do when she just wants to bake?

Starting a baking business isn’t the piece of cake you'd think it would be, especially when you live in California. We want to invite you all to follow us as we make the journey into the wonderful world of baking. From gluten free to vegan we want to develop the best tasting baked goods using the best ingredients. No, we are not Martha Stewart (no matter how much Katelyn wishes she was), but we can make a mean cupcake.

So join us in our journey to the top as we fill out legal paper work, sell cupcakes, and enjoy MANY tastings. There will be pictures, jokes, and even a few tears but when the cupcakes are done that first bite will always worth it.

Catch you on the sweet side,
Marcie and Katelyn