Cinnamon Bun Tuesday {RECIPE}

When Ryan and I first got our place together, we dubbed Tuesdays "Cinnamon Bun Tuesday" with the intention of baking fresh cinnamon buns for breakfast every Tuesday morning. It might be because I burned my batch or that sleep trumps cinnabuns to me, but either way, the idea was short lived lasting only about 3 weeks before we gave up on it.

So today, I thought I'd surprise Ryan with a nice little treat since it's been awhile. This recipe comes from one of my favorite Chefs at L'Academie de Cuisine. It's a yeast-less dough, so it's quick and easy, but just as fluffy and delicious.

FILLING:
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2t cinnamon
1/8t salt
1/4 cup finely ground pecans
1T melted butter

DOUGH:
2.5 cups all purpose flour
2T sugar
1 1/4t baking powder
1/2t baking soda
1/2t salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
6T melted butter

ICING:
2T cream cheese
2T buttermilk
1 cup 10x

DIRECTIONS:
1. Prepare a 9 in cake pan with parchment paper and coat with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
3. Make the filling by combining all the ingredients using a fork or your hands (my preferred method).
4. Make the dough by whisking the dry ingredients in one mixing bowl and the butter and buttermilk in another. Combine wet ingredients into dry and stir with a wooden spoon until all dry ingredients are absorbed, about 30 seconds.
5. Dump the dough onto a floured work surface and knead gently until the dough becomes smooth. Once smooth, pat the dough into a rectangle thats about 1/2" thick using your hands.
Sprinkle the filling evenly over the dough leaving 1/2" border around the edges naked.
Press the topping onto the dough firmly and begin rolling the rectangle into a tight log.
Crimp the seam and turn it so the seam faces down.
Cut into 8 equal pieces and arrange in the prepared cake pan.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until edges are golden brown and immediately invert the baking pan on to a plate to unmold buns. Let them cool slightly.
7. Prepare the icing by first whisking the cream cheese and buttermilk, then adding the confectioner's sugar and whisk until smooth.
8. Drizzle the icing over the buns and scarf 'em down!!

Of course, being that it's almost February, I just had to add a little bit of Valentine flair and sprinkled some mini hearts over them.

If you haven't taken a class with L'Academie, you are missing out! They offer a wide range of recreational classes from culinary to pastry, beginner to advanced. They even have classes specifically for kids, teens, & couples (which is a nice change up from your typical dinner-and-a-movie date night). Check them out!

Enjoy your Cinnamon Bun Tuesday!

2013: Let's Do This!

{via}

2012 brought lots of changes for me both personally and professionally, leaving behind many things that were holding me back and causing me lots of stress. One of the biggest changes was taking the plunge and leaving my full time job to pursue my passion for the world of pastry. It was an incredibly ballsy decision for me, but I did it, and I'm so excited for whats ahead.

I don't normally make New Years resolutions because I end up like the rest of the world, giving up about a month in. However, I decided to try something new this year. I'm going to share my goals & resolutions with you in hopes that you will light a fire under my ass and hold me to them. So here goes:

1. RUN 365 MILES
This idea stemmed from one of Ryans friends, whose resolution for 2012 was to run a mile a day. I'm pretty sure he accomplished it but let's be real for a minute. There are just some days that I don't even feel like getting out of bed, let alone going for a run. So to make this resolution a little more realistic for me, my goal is to run a total of 365 miles for the year so that I can treat myself to some of those lazy days. I downloaded the RunKeeper app on my phone to help me keep track. It is now day 15, and I am at 12 miles. I know I am a little behind and I'm not trying to make excuses already, but I was sick for the first few days this year, so cut me some slack.

2. RUN A 5K
This sort of piggy backs to my first resolution. It's been something I've wanted to do for years, but never felt "ready" to. It may not seem like much, but I've already worked my endurance up to 2 miles. So, I'm making progress!! If you have any recommendations for local 5k's, please share!

3. LIVE BEYOND THE PJs & ELASTIC WAISTS
For years I dreamed that I could work in sweats and was stoked that I could when I started working from home. But it hit me about two weeks ago. I looked at myself in the mirror and realized I had really started to let myself go. What started out simply wearing comfy clothes all day, turned into not doing my makeup, throwing my hair in a sloppy ponytail and just overall looking like a hot mess. And I started to feel it on the inside too. So, this resolution is all about making myself feel good inside and out, even if it's just Peanut that gets to enjoy it with me all day. I chopped my hair off last week so I have no choice but to style it, and hopefully with all this running I'm doing, I'll lose a pound or two and treat myself to a new stylish wardrobe! Oh! I finally gave in and bought myself my first pair of skinny jeans!!! Never in a million years did I think I could rock them.

4. TAKE MORE PHOTOS
I envy people that can compose and snap great photos. I want to be like them. Last year I purchased a DSLR thinking that if I had a fancy camera, I'd have fancy photos. WRONG. It's not as easy as it looks, people! I'm definitely spoiled because I have my own personal photographer to photograph my creations but I know I'll never learn unless I just take more photos. So that's what I'm going to do!

5. COOK
People think that just because I can bake means I can cook too. That couldn't be further from the truth because I actually hate cooking. If it were up to me, I'd eat Cheez-Its for every meal. Maybe a little canned tomato soup and grilled cheese if I wanted to get fancy. Feel free to send some delicious and EASY recipes my way if you have any!

6. BLOG MORE
Truth: I delete more posts than I publish because I am rarely happy with my writing and feel like no one is really interested in what I have to say. So, I am going to make a better effort to write, even if it isn't perfect and even if no one actually reads it.

7. LEARN HOW TO MAKE BUBBLE TEA!
Anyone wanna teach me? Anyone? Bueller?

Here's to seeing my resolutions through!
Happy New Year!!!

DIY Ornament Cake Stand {TUTORIAL & GIVEAWAY}

When Nicolle from Libby Lane Press announced that she was looking for contributors for her 12 Days of DIY December blog series, I knew I wanted in and I knew exactly what I wanted to do. So, today I am going to show you how to make a festive and inexpensive cake plate to display your treats this holiday season.

And to make things sweeter, I will be giving this ornament cake away! See my facebook page for details.

Materials/Tools:
- Multi-sized plastic ornaments
- Wood candlestick
- 1 - 4" Wood plaque
- 1 - 8" Round gift box lid
- Wood paint or spray paint
- Liquid nails or wood glue
- Hot glue gun
- Paint brushes

Step 1
Make the base of the cake stand by gluing the candlestick to the wood plaque. I like to use liquid nails for everything because its heavy duty and dries fast, but a strong wood glue will work too. If your candlestick has the little metal thing-y in it, remove it with some pliers.

Step 2
Once the glue is dry, paint the base using wood paint or spray paint.

Step 3
While the base is drying, work on the lid. Start by removing all the tops from the ornaments.

Step 4
Using your hot glue gun, glue the larger ornaments around the edge of your box lid.

Step 5
When you have finished, use the smaller ornaments to fill in any empty spaces.

Step 6
Finally, use the liquid nails to glue the lid to the base and TA-DA! It's that simple!

How you decorate the cake stand is up to you. Once you have the base structure made, the decorating possibilities are endless. In fact, I had such a hard time choosing one design, I decided to make two!

For this one, I covered the gift box lid using scrapbook paper. Then I used my hot glue gun and trimmed the edge with artificial garland. Finished it up with a few gold berries and a little poinsettia. Easy peasie, right?

I hope that you get a chance to try one out and if you do, please share! Would love to see other designs! And of course, if you need some goodies to display on your new stand, give us a call!

Happy Holidays!!!!

California Bakin'

"You haven't blogged since August 28th. Unacceptable! I want to see the work you did out in Cali!"  
This is an exact quote from my friend, Zeina. And she's right. I suppose it's about time I summarize my trip. I cannot believe we are halfway through December already. Seriously, where does the time go? Happy 12.12.12!
So, as you all know, I spent two months this past summer in Long Beach, California for an internship at one of my most admired bakeries, Sweet & Saucy Shop. It started out a little rough, being almost 3,000 miles away from home in a city I've never been before, living with complete strangers, not knowing a single person, and working with a bunch of incredibly talented (and intimidating at first) people. I was definitely way out of my comfort zone. But looking back now, I'm so glad I did it. I learned so much and met some great people I can now call friends.
Unfortunately, I can't really "show" you the work I did. Mainly because there wasn't a single person that worked on one thing from start to finish. However, if you look at their photos on Facebook from August & September, I guarantee that I had a hand in the making of every dessert, whether it was the chocolate mousse in a shooter, the extremely tedious mini graham cracker pie crusts or lattice pie tops, their signature three layer swirl frosting on the cupcakes, or the crumb coating of their amazing tiered cakes. I did it all! You may or may not remember from my last post, that I was a little disappointed at first because the cake decorating was done at a remote location. However, when they had 200 cakes ordered on a weekend when one of their head decorators was on vacation, they sent me over to help. I was such a good helper, that the cake girls talked the shop managers into having me work with them a couple days a week. So my 20 hour per week internship turned into 40. And while some might think I'm crazy to work that much for no dinero, I actually loved it and to an extent, begged for it! I didn't leave behind everything and travel across the country to lay out on the beautiful California beaches. Come on, now. I went out there because I wanted to learn, and that's worth more to me than a glowing tan or paycheck anyday. 

Jokes aside, it  did feel like I worked a lot at times, but I did get the opportunity to get a glimpse of what the west coast has to offer. Have you ever seen that Visit California commercial? It goes a little something like this. "People have alot of misconceptions about California, but none of them are really true. They think we're all surfers, or celebrities. That we're all into yoga and that everyone owns a winery or a skateboard. And that we all drive convertibles. Like how we all live in bikinis and act like rock stars."
It's so true! This is exactly what I thought California would be like. Surfers, skateboarders, young people rocking the hottest trends in fashion. But boy was I wrong. I know I can't really speak for all of California, but as far as Long Beach and Los Angeles go, they are just like any other city I've been to. Lots of crazies everywhere. Definitely not somewhere a 5'1" female would want to be alone after dark. I know there are some beautiful areas in in California, but you kind of have to travel to get there, and I didn't really have the means nor did I want to do it alone. I did have some friends from home who were out there for work (shout out to Daimon & Tauren!) and because of them I was able to see a few of the beaches and some tourist-y spots. I also got a chance to make it to Las Vegas for the first time with some girls from the shop for a bachelorette party. For less than 100 bucks for a flight out of Long Beach, there was no way I was going to pass the opportunity up. And after a big win at the penny slots, it ended up being a free trip for me. I will most definitely be making another trip to Vegas soon, and will try to make it back to SoCal to visit my girls and maybe get a real idea what the golden state is all about.

OH! I almost forgot! During my internship, we made cakes for a couple celebs, including LeAnn Rimes and Martha Stewart!! AND...I personally worked on the Martha Stewart cake! I would post a photo but I don't think it's been released yet.

Anyway, enough of my blabber. Here are some more photos from my trip.


My friend Daimon just happened to be in the LA area for work and took me to see the Hollywood sign. It was quite a hike in flip flops, but well worth it!

We then headed over to Santa Monica and soaked up some sun. Santa Monica is definitely a hot spot on the weekends.

I love me a balloon clown and secretly wished he would have made me one!

A little care package sent from Ryan. Can't go without my gummies! He also sent me a stun gun to protect myself from the crazies.

My Sweet & Saucy girls (some of them). 

Here is the display counter at the shop. Full of delicious cupcakes and cake pops! Love how they use all those beautiful cake stands to display their treats. Seriously, the shop is a cake-stand-lover's paradise.

 

My friend Tauren and his brother-in-law were in SoCal for work as well so we had dinner in LA and did a little shopping.

I was SO excited to visit the Johnny Cupcakes store. Unfortunately the store hours listed online were a lie and by the time we got done with dinner, they had already closed. I was so bummed. We planned to go back the next day but didn't get a chance to. Atleast I got to look in the windows.

Also got a chance to visit LA Ink. It's so much smaller in person! No sight of Kat Von D.

 

My roomies! Meet Alexis, Lorenzo, and their adorable daughter, Karis! She's eying that pizookie!

Karis turned one a week after I left, but they celebrated her birthday a little early (the same day I flew home) just so I could be there! We made the cutest smash cake at the shop to match her outfit. How adorable is this cake? I just can't get over how cute it is!

Happy Birthday Karis! Auntie Fresh misses you!!!

Week 3 Update!

It's hard to believe it's been 3 weeks since I arrived here in California. I'll be honest, the first week was incredibly difficult for me and I really didn't think I'd be able to handle being away for 2 whole months. But now that I'm all settled in and into a groove, time is flying and I just know my time here will be over before I know it.

I am renting a room from friends of friends who just so happen to live in Downtown Long Beach, just 7 miles from the bakery. They are a young couple (my age) with an 11 month old daughter. I was a little hesitant at first about sharing a room with a baby, but she has been great so far and if she wakes up throughout the night, I have no clue because I sleep right through it! I decided not to rent a car while out here so I use public transportation. Public transportation in Long Beach is big and being downtown makes it very convenient as I am right next to the main bus terminal as well as a block from the closest metro station stop. I am thankful that there is a bus that pretty much takes me door to door so commuting to work everyday is easy, even if it does take me almost an hour to go 7 miles.

Here are a few hilights of the trip so far:

- Experienced my first California earthquake (M4.4) my first night in Long Beach. 

- Almost got ticketed for jaywalking. Yes, I got PULLED OVER by the police while WALKING because I crossed an intersection (in a crosswalk mind you) when the sign said "don't walk." Apparently jaywalking in CA is a big no-no and carries a $250 fine. Lesson learned.

- Awesome weather, even though the locals say it's been unusually hot for the area.

- In-N-Out Burger

- Awesome Mexican food!

- My friend Daimon from back East is out here for work and has been my little tour guide. Because of him I was able to see the Hollywood sign, Santa Monica beach, Huntington beach, and Little Tokyo for my first Ramen experience.

I suppose you probably want to know how my internship is going too. I'm happy to report that things are going well! The shop is really cute and everyone seems pretty nice so far. When I arrived on my first day I figured I would just be observing and learning how they do things, but instead they threw me right into it, making cake batters, filling cake pans and assembling mini desserts. I'm sure it's how they do things but I felt as though they trusted I that knew what I was doing and that made me feel good. While the kitchen itself is more than double the size of other bakeries I've worked in, space is extremely scarce and everyone is always fighting for a clear spot to work. At times, there are as many as 10 or more people in the kitchen at once - bakers, managers, interns, owners, consultants, drivers. I am a little disappointed that the cake decorating takes place at an off-site location but I'm told that I can go over and watch the cake girls work at any time so I'm happy with that. 

I'm on a Boat!

Well, I made it to California! And for the past 2 days I've been staying with Aunt Mary and Michael (the sweetest people ever) who live on this boat in San Pedro, right outside Long Beach. 

This isn't really MY Aunt Mary, but you'd never know by the way she and Michael welcomed me. I had never met them before but they were kind enough to take me in, feed me, and show me around for a few days until my apartment was ready to move in to. I am so thankful for my dear friend Dee Dee for hooking me up with them. Aunt Mary was a HUGE help and I honestly don't know what I would have done without her. 

Here are a few more pics from my short stay in San Pedro...

Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club - where the boat is docked

Rode the trolley and got a very small tour of the town. 

Michael had a roofing job in Big Bear Lake and let me tag along. It was absolutely gorgeous!

Big Bear himself (not really)

Tried this pretty vegetable for the first time.

Aunt Mary, Michael and I

I am definitely going to miss these two but I am excited to get settled in to my place and start working!

Long Beach, Here I Come!

It's been awhile since I've blogged. One year to be exact. I really did have big intentions to write more often, but I always found an excuse not to. Anyway, here I am now, and I have some big news to share.

I'M MOVING TO CALIFORNIA!!! (for the summer)
But before you get your panties all tied up, let's rewind things a bit and I'll tell you why I'm doing such a crazy thing.

About two months ago I sent an email to the owner of a bakery in Long Beach inquiring about an internship. I sent her some photos of my work and told her I'd pack my bags in a heartbeat to move across country to learn from her because her work is just amazing. I honestly wasn't expecting a response though. I just thought I'd share my little fantasy as a compliment to her work and that would be the end of it. But I did get a response and here I am, just two short weeks away from shipping out for the next two months.

A lot of people have asked me, "Why California? Can't you find something closer?" The answer to that is simple. Well, it is to me at least. I have a huge bakery crush on this shop and I have been following the owner since she started her blog in 2008. She opened her first shop in 2009 and opened her 2nd just a few weeks ago. All of her work is absolutely stunning, and she has a style that I just haven't seen in the DC area. She is a huge inspiration to me and I can only hope to gain a lot out of this experience.

While I am incredibly excited about this opportunity, this will be the first time I've ever left home on my own and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared out of my mind. And I don't even want to think about the fact that I will be leaving behind my best friend whom I will miss dearly. I know it won't be easy for him, but I am so very grateful to have someone who fully supports my decision and wants me to do what makes me happy <3. The good news is that it's only 2 months, and if I absolutely hate it I can come back at any time. 

I will do my best to keep everyone updated and may finally put my DSLR to use. And maybe I'll even work on making my blog a little fancier while I'm at it :)

P.S. I'll miss you too, Peanut!