For the locals: Cakewalk at Crackerjacks

I'm so excited to be helping Crackerjacks, children's consignment and boutique, celebrate the grand opening of their new digs at 4009 Piedmont Ave. in Oakland this Saturday. Crackerjacks offers a selection of gently used children's & maternity clothing and baby gear as well as lovely handcrafted toys, organic bath products, adorable shoes and much more. I will bring mini-cupcakes for customers big & small to enjoy while shopping at the new, much larger location. Saturday, June 26th/ 10 am - 6 pm.

Ice Cream

I love making ice cream at home and I'm always in search for new recipes. I often find when making a custard style recipe the result is too rich and 'eggy' tasting, so I was intrigued when I found this Farm Chicks recipe published in Country Living magazine that used considerably fewer yolks than I'm used to. The recipe also eliminated the time consuming step of tempering the eggs when making the custard and added half & half in addition to cream and milk. The yield was huge so I made two batches adding 1 tsp peppermint extract and itty bitty chocolate chips to one and 1 tbl vanilla to the other. Using my trusty (but incredibly loud - does anyone else have this problem??) Cuisinart Supreme , I whipped up my ice cream. The base is rather thin, so I think a night in the fridge would make it firm up a bit quicker, but I can never be that patient. YUM! I was very happy with the results of both batches - nice texture, perfect sweetness and flavor. I think this will be my go to recipe from now on and I can hardly wait to make the chocolate & peanut butter variations!

Little Lemon Lovelies

Mini lemon cupcakes two ways: lemon cake with lemon curd buttercream & sprinkles and lemon meringue.

Summertime!

I was asked by a customer to make a cookie for her to give to co-workers to wish them a happy summer. What epitomizes summer more than watermelon? Nada if you ask me!

For the locals: A diamond in the rough

After years of driving by Paper Party Plus on San Pablo Ave. in Berkeley, I finally made it in this weekend. There is nothing charming or quaint about this store, but man alive, is it stocked with amazing deals and hidden jewels. Looking for tissue paper for pom poms? They have it - in every color and big sheets too. Tins for cookies - you have your choice of dozens. Crepe paper sheets, cellophane bags, paper plates & napkins (again in every color)- they have it all. You can rent cotton candy machines, popcorn makers - carnival party anyone?? Oh, and my favorite find: the most adorable individual letter and number candles for .30 each!! How cool to have your whole name in candles on your bithday cake. I wasn't looking for balloons, but they have a huge selection of sizes and patterns. So, if you're looking for party supplies and don't mind sifting through a lot of, ahem, stuff check it out!

Do you really want to buy me?

This lovely 3 tier cake stand from Mesa will be available soon. This picture with my treats will be on the package and hopefully entice lots of buyers. Sherry Heck is the talented photographer.