Joy of Cupcakes

Gooey Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Spice Buttercream,
Chocolate Ganache and a Cherry Ontop

An Extra Special Cake for Family

Chewy Gooey Chocolate and Orange!

Double Chocolate Cookies with a hint of Orange and Cinnamon, dipped in Orange Peel Chocolate. The best Double Chocolate cookie recipe I developed a few years back that also makes good Macadamia Nut Cookies, or Chocolate with White Chips, etc. Super fudgy and soft! They look swell when made Jumbo and they come out nicely rounded. But the best thing... that perfectly soft chewy chocolate. Delicious I am told.

 

Painted Cakes Experimenting

LOVE and Warm Apples.

It's interesting how baking can really be soothing. While listening to some fine music and slicing apples, I thought of how nice it felt and the beauty of slicing fruit for a dessert - the calmness, warmth, memories and joy it brings. Apple Crisp is an all time family favorite and comfort food. It's the dessert of love. Sharing love. Sharing warm comfort and pretty much saying "I love you" to family and those close. It fills your home with the smell of warm apples and cinnamon. It brings warm memories and love. Warm apples are simply combined with cinnamon and sugar with a toasted, crunchy topping.. beautiful. Baked together to create pure comfort and bliss. If one must Enjoy the Simple Things -- there is nothing better than this.

It's funny the thoughts going through my head while slicing apples. Five minutes of complete joy and comfort, thinking of the simplicity this little moment brings and how everything else completely disappears. Everything is just warm. Like when you eat it. But while slicing apples and enjoying the moment, while coming to the last bit of apples, I suddenly thought of the fact that this was only the second time cutting apples in the past 3 years. Then my eyes filled with tears. But 3 years ago, the apples I sliced for the pie I was making was just the beginning of one long night. I believed the apple pie I made played a part in karma. NO REALLY. Baked Apples with love will save the day. Always. Well, with this thought of what Apple Pie reminds me of - good times, and bad times.. it's kind of like life, full of good and bad.. but it's all good. After 30 seconds of watery eyes that didn't shed a tear, I suddenly smiled, This apple crisp is going to a coworker who watched my dog for me a couple of days, and is having a bad weekend because she has to put her own dog to sleep. It's the joy and comfort that warm cinnamon apples brings that overrides all. In the end.. LOVE WINS. While such desserts can bring joy and comfort, we also have memories of people attached to them. My grandma loves to cook apples and I have fond memories of her cooking (maybe a bit too old and mushy apples) and making apple crisp with my mother while young and it always being a comfort food after family dinners. So we must share Apple Pie for love.

The past few weeks I've really been appreciating what I have. It's amazing how we learn from moves we make and keep on growing. I've been thinking lately that I am truely blessed with life and gifts that I have, and blessed to be in a great town with some good people. I realize that Sioux Falls is incredibly good for me at this time and I am grateful for people in this town and happy to be here. I realize that moving from Brookings was really good for me and I have everything I need in this moment. We all carry a lot with us day to day and within our lives, but I am incredibly blessed and grateful for the good life I have and the bad things that come to help me grow the way I need to and appreciate what's most important. I am happy for love, grateful for my wonderful comforting pup. It's important to keep the bad away and focus on the good. I've been doing that a lot lately. It's important to keep the people whom are good for us in our lives and let them know how we feel. Thank you to kind folks and friends. I wish I could share warm Apple Crisp with you all. Much love.

May you have a soulful life.

Warm Gingersnap Cookies for a good friend. The BEST chewy, soft, gingersnap cookies ever! With little crystalized ginger bits. YUM! Always a good go-to cookie. One of the best - perfectly chewy, perfect flavor, and perfect form. And something warm for the bit of colder weather. It is just about time for pumpkin flavored EVERYTHING.

And good things to live by:

May you find serenity and tranquility in a world you may not always understand. May the pain you have known and conflict you have experienced give you the strength to walk through life facing each new situation with courage and optimism. Always know that there are those whose love and understanding will always be there,even when you feel most alone. May you discover enough goodness in others to believe in a world of peace. May a kind word, a reassuring touch, a warm smile be yours every day of your life, and may you give these gifts as well as receive them. Remember the sunshine when the storm seems unending. Teach love to those who know hate, and let that love embrace you as you go into the world.May the teaching of those you admire become part of you, so that you may call upon them. Remember, those whose lives you have touched and who have touched yours are always a part of you, even if the encounters were less than you would have wished. It is the content of the encounter that is more important than its form. May you not become too concerned with material matters, but instead place immeasurable value on the goodness in your heart. Find time in each day to see beauty and love in the world around you. Realize that each person has limitless abilities, but each of us is different in our own way. What you may feel you lack in one regard may be more than compensated for in another. What you feel you lack in the present may become one of your strengths in the future. May you see your future as one filled with promise and possibility. Learn to view everything as a worthwhile experience.
May you find enough inner strength to determine your own worth by yourself, and not be dependent on another's judgements of your accomplishments.

May you always feel loved.

Poolish for Better Flavor

Chocolate Mango Mousse Cake

Quick Crafting, for my Niece.

Random Bakes of Kindness

On a mission to always bake for kindness and joy. On a mission for Random Bakes of Kindness day to day. Sometimes it is easy to get lost in work and miss the meaning. To get so wrapped in what one should do, that it is important to not forget what such work can do for others, rather than it be something more selfish. It is my hope to never forget why I bake and what I hope others get from it. The small joys that simple pleasure may bring – like folding butter into dough and gently rolling out the dough – bringing comfort and small moments of peace.. even if it only lasts about 2-5 minutes, is something that is cherished throughout the day and week. From rolling dough to blending butter into a flour mixture to make a crust, to layering cake, to making chocolate curls, to putting together Tortes and any fine detail... these are all moments of Pleasure. And it is to not be forgotten that the joy I get from baking, like any artist, I want others to feel that same joy when they have such a pastry. It is my goal to create pieces of perfection that really wow someone. WHY? Not for attention or to know that I created something great, not to become something bigger or greater.. but to wow other people in order to make their day just a LITTLE bit more bright. Or to help add to THEIR simple pleasures throughout the day.

" I have a card stuck on my refrigerator that shows a woman standing in reverence before an open freezer door, saying, "Amazing! Perfect ice cubes again." That's the kind of simple rapture I am talking about. I realize we are not put on this earth to stand around open freezers ranting like idiots about ice cubes. But a good question to ask yourself is this: If perfect ice cubes or an evening sky or an old song on the radio has not made your heart flip-flop lately, why not? What is keeping you from feeling the rapture? I can assure you, you won't find the answer in a lighted room. What stands between you and a full-bodied life can be found only in the shadows."

This past week as my mother came to visit, I realize the time I do not spend with my family. However, life events in my mid twenties gave me the idea that "I CAN DO ANYTHING." If I can get through something crazy and incredibly difficult, why can I not get through anything? Or I told myself that hard times were a reason to really live and to have a purpose. To know that it is possible to do anything one sets their mind to, as long as they work for it. To really push to live harder. But what does living harder mean? I can do anything? Is it really completely following ones dreams? and how does one WORK REALLY HARD, stay busy and want to achieve things for oneself, but not be selfish? How can you work work work, but still devote time to others or not be too busy to take time to care for others? I thought, is this focus on wanting to REALLY live and follow my passion for life really a development of the same conscience that I was faced with from others - That life revolves around them? That they DESERVE something? That there were treated poorly once or maybe many many times, so they have the attitude that they DESERVE well, they deserve the best. Am I becoming selfish like them? Am I becoming the person that wants to work work work, but gives no time to others. Am I becoming the person I dated that wanted me to come hang out, but worked as I sat there? Am I becoming the person that thinks others just get in my way? "Be a person to admire," "Be the person you want to meet." Am I being the person that I want to meet? Completely? These our questions and realizations to remember to not be what I have not liked. Why do any of us really "deserve" anything? How do we succeed in our own dreams and passions, but not be selfish? As much as I believe I am equal to anyone else and want to be treated with respect, I must still give to receive. It is important to stand up for ourselves, but maybe we mustn't think so much about what we deserve.. . but rather continuously give and care. And focus on how to better the world and how to use our own unique Super Powers to do our own little thing to help.

I realize that I often think it is important to make myself happy. But focusing on ones own passion all the time and thinking that it's always a strive to accomplish accomplish accomplish, loses connection with those who matter. So my goal is to always keep a balance between life and passion. To balance people in my life equally with work. To spend much time with family, while also focusing on others in a different way. To know the parts of baking that truely matter the most - the parts of touching others. The part of baking that can really take effect on another's day. Such as a simple pastry or a designed Anniversary Cake that brings tears, joy and memory. Or a really unique fun birthday cake that gives a child a birthday they will ALWAYS remember. I remember my best birthday as a child. What do I remember, that Barbie cake that I always wanted. It went down in my book as the best birthday ever, the only cake I remember, other than the Carrot Cakes I asked for every year :) But that ONE, that one, created memories of friends, my brother Kyle, and a love for Barbie. These reasons are why baking is important - a connection with people, an opportunity to create joy constantly. Not everyone has the opportunity to do that in their work. It is my gift to try my hardest to enjoy my passion, but use it in a way that helps others. If I work constantly and experiment (and enjoy the simple pleasures and WONDER of doing so), I can perfect desserts in order to give people simple pleasures. To give them a moment of thinking "Dang, this is the best Cheesecake I have ever had," giving them peace and warmth. I have a love for chocolate. It is no secret. Chocolate of course can make anything better. That is what desserts can do.  My duty is to help remind others of simple pleasures and moments of bliss. Stress doesn't exist in moments of indulging a smooth, creamy, or flaky pastry.

Of course I always speak of baking bringing others Simple Joy – But it is important to never ever forget this meaning and true purpose behind it all. Oh yeah, I started a random facebook page https://www.facebook.com/BakeForJoy

"Believe in yourself and believe that you have something to offer this world that nobody else has."

 

A little extra golden.. but they were still good. Chocolate and Butter Croissants warm for friends! A little at home baking to share and bring joy and comfort to those dearest.

Sometimes You just gotta draw things on cakes and do what you're told.

Babka

What is Babka ?? Look at these layers!  yum yum.

http://newyork.seriouseats.com/2010/02/where-to-find-the-best-babka-in-nyc-chocolate-cinnamon-greens-bakery-russ-daughters-william-greenbergs-katzs-moishes-andres.html

Sweet flowers blossom when I smile

Quinoa and Alternative Ingredients

Check out this almond flour, quinoa, coconut oil crust.. ! And Maple Syrup in the mousse.

http://www.cookingquinoa.net/quinoa-berry-mousse-tarts

Coconut cream would be great to use! But mainly I enjoy the ingredients of the crust - which could be used for many different things and fillings! And altered to preference. I love the idea of using ground almonds, pistachios or any nut. And quinoa can add a nutty unique flavor. Coconut flakes or dates are always good added to a crust - especially cheesecake crust!

 
Random Sugar recap from back tracking notes from blog and a bit of added research from Natural & Healthy Sweeteners, by Diana Allen, MS, CNS --

Natural sweeteners (such as Maple Syrup) are better because they contain trace minerals not found in refined sugar or artificial sweeteners. However it can still raise your glucose level, since it is basically a liquid sugar.

Watch the calories: Agave nectar (90 percent fructose and 10 percent glucose), has 60 calories per tablespoon. Maple syrup  (sap that is boiled until 70 percent sucrose), has 40 calories in every tablespoon. Refined sugar has 50 calories per tablespoon. While eating lots of it could certainly be a tasty way to get phenolics, you'd be ingesting a solution that is at least 66 percent sugar. So while pure maple syrup may contain a bit of nutritional value and less calories, it's not really something you can eat in large amounts as a health food. It is still a carbohydrate, so diabetics or those at risk for developing diabetes, must watch and be careful how much they consume of this sugar.

BE NICE TO PEOPLE.

DO WHAT YOU LOVE.