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