Spring 2015 CSB, Week 6

This is the final week of treats for the Spring CSB!  I hope everyone enjoys their cupcakes!  If you have extras and would like to save them for later, place the cupcake(s) in the freezer until firm.  Then wrap individually in plastic.  Flavors are:

Rhubarb a la Mode:  Cinnamon-vanilla cake,
organic rhubarb filling, vanilla French buttercream,
pastry cookie.

Creamsicle:  Vanilla-orange scented cake,
vanilla-orange American buttercream, natural colors.

Mexican Hot Chocolate:  Spiced chocolate cake,
spiced chocolate French buttercream, chocolate sprinkles,
handmade marshmallow.

PB Truffle:  Chocolate cake, peanut butter creme filling,
chocolate ganache, mini all natural PB cup.

Chocolate Hostess Delight:  Chocolate cake,
vanilla creme filling, chocolate ganache, icing swirl. 

Snickerdoodle:  Cinnamon-vanilla cake,
cinnamon-vanilla French buttercream, freshly baked snickerdoodle cookie.

Early Summer Paleo CSB, Week 1

Thank you, Paleo CSB members, for signing up for this session!  It's so fun for me to have an opportunity to try out new recipes that are healthier, nutrient dense, and packed full of energy, and to share them with others!!  I appreciate that you're willing to let me experiment a bit on you.  :)

Today each share holder will be taking home 4 slices of Paleo Fudge Truffle Cake.  If you're familiar with my Classic Fudge Truffle Brownies, you may jump for joy, as these follow the same recipe, just with a number of ingredient substitutions, including coconut oil in place of the butter, and raw cacao in place of my usual cocoa powder.  With the exception of some organic, vegan, dark chocolate from Lillie Belle Farms, they are free of cane sugar (I believe the Lillie Belle chocolate is around 70% cacao, so it's very low in cane sugar anyway).

I also made an organic Mixed Berry Sauce to go along with your cake.  I suggest spooning a puddle in the middle of your plate and placing the rectangular slice right in the middle of it.  If you choose to indulge without using the sauce, no problem.  Extra sauce is great drizzled over pancakes, waffles, ice cream, oatmeal, yogurt, etc, or try mixing a generous amount with some soda water for a healthy paleo soda (and if you have cream…oh my, add a splash of that to your mixed berry soda too, to really send it over the top).  (I realize that many of those suggestions may not be read as strictly paleo, BUT there are many good paleo recipes for coconut ice cream, grain free breakfast goodies, etc!)

Ingredients:  Organic raw cacao, organic vegan dark chocolate, organic extra virgin coconut oil, organic coconut sugar, freshly ground almond butter, dates, eggs from pasture raised, organically fed hens, organic maple syrup, locally brewed vanilla, espresso powder, sea salt.

Mixed berry sauce ingredients:  All organic, local fruit (strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries), organic maple syrup, organic lemon juice.

Spring 2015 CSB, Week 5

Cookie cookies everywhere!!  Each CSB member is taking home a box of 2 dozen assorted cookies (unless they ordered extra, of course).  Here's what's inside:

~Orange Mocha Pinwheels
~Chocolate Spritz
~Vanilla Wafers with Sprinkles
~Iced Butterflies (naturally colored royal icing)
~Pistachio Moon Melts
~Lemon Ginger Sugar Cookies
~Lime Pepita Sugar Cookies
~Hazelnut Coconut
~Banana Macadamia with Chocolate Chips
~Cranberry Oat Spice
~Faux-reos (homemade Oreos)

Store cookies in their box up to 3 days (at room temperature), or freeze to enjoy later on!

Spring 2015 CSB, Week 4

Hello, CSB members!  This week you're receiving an assortment of bars…not really bar cookies, but….

~Candy Cap Mushroom Cheesecake Bars:  These are so special.  They start with a crust made with organic graham crackers, organic maple syrup, and expeller pressed sunflower oil.  The filling is a classic cheesecake variety, except that I use cultured organic cream cheese and delicious organic eggs from local, pasture raised hens.  I grind up Candy Cap Mushrooms to flavor the rich filling.  Yes, MUSHROOMS!  Many of my clients have experienced these gems before; if this is your first time I'm willing to bet you'll agree that they are quite incredible (if you like cheesecake)!  Even my daughter, who hates mushrooms, loves anything made with Candy Caps.  They lend a butterscotch-y, maple-y flair, with notes of earthiness.  These bars must be kept refrigerated.  They are best enjoyed TODAY.  Freeze for longer storage.

~Bomb Bars:  Many people fall in love with the semi-classic seven layer magic bars.  Those cookies are so over processed, though…they're made with all kinds of processed ingredients, and I have never been able to jump on board with that baking style.  I had to create my own!  These start with a 100% whole grain oat crust and are topped with organic sweetened condensed milk, Lillie Belle dark chocolate, Callebaut white chocolate chunks, unsweetened dry coconut shreds, and walnuts.

~100% Whole Grain Fruit Bars:  I like to use my premade, home canned fillings for these delicious squares/rectangles.  I call them bars, but they're more like individual pie servings.  Topped with streusel, you will find one Rhubarb bar and two Apple bars in your bo
x.  Both the apples and rhubarb are locally grown and organic, from last summer's bounty.

Bomb Bars and Fruit Bars may be stored at room temp, or refrigerated, in their bakery box for up to one day.  Freeze for longer storage.

Spring 2015 CSB, Week 3

I hope you enjoy your boxes filled with assorted goodies!!  This week I went for total improvisation, baking whatever inspiration struck.  Included in your boxes are:

~French Macarons
These sweet sandwich cookies are made with ground almonds, egg whites, and nonGMO powdered sugar.  They're filled with a soft, silky, decadent Italian meringue buttercream.  Each box has one small Vanilla-Raspberry Macaron and one slightly larger Salted Caramel Macaron.

~Chocolate Dipped Handmade Marshmallows
Made with gelatin from sustainable raised, grass fed cows and locally brewed vanilla, these are dipped in organic Lillie Belle chocolate and sprinkled with toasted coconut.

~Organic Strawberry Meringues
Classic meringues with a generous amount of freeze dried organic strawberries added in!

~Homemade Twix Bars
Classic shortbread crust topped with handmade caramel and a layer of organic milk chocolate from Lillie Belle Farms!

~Meyer Lemon Tartlets
Pastry shell filled with tangy filling made from freshly squeezed organic meyer lemons!

~"To Die For" Brownie Bites
Made with organic raw cacao, organic dark chocolate from Lillie Belle Farms, homemade coffee liqueur, locally breed vanilla, a hint of spice, mini Guittard chocolate chips, and currants, these bites are delectable, super fudge, and addictive!

~Chocolate Caramel Crispy Treat
Envirokids chocolate crisp rice cereal mixed with homemade marshmallow and homemade caramel sauce!

All of these should be stored at room temperature and enjoyed in 2-3 days, with the exception of the strawberry meringue and the caramel crispy treat.  The meringue should be enjoyed right away, before it has a chance to get soft or chewy in this humidity, and the crispy square tends to absorb moisture after the first day as well.  Cheers!

Spring 2015 CSB, Week 2

Cupcakes are so much fun!  The CSB is a great opportunity to sample several different cupcake flavors.  When I'm baking for so many people on the same day, minimums can be waived, and nobody has to take home a dozen of just one variety.

Today CSB members take home 6 assorted cupcakes.  Flavors are:

~Irish Cream:  Chocolate cake, Irish Cream French buttercream, chocolate ganache drizzle, and naturally colored green sprinkles.

~Thin Mint:  Chocolate cake, mint flavored creme filling (featuring local mint oil!), chocolate ganache, and naturally colored shamrock decor.

~Vanilla Latte:  Vanilla cake, vanilla espresso French buttercream, chocolate covered espresso bean.

~Hazelnut Mocha:  Chocolate cake, hazelnut espresso French buttercream, chocolate ganache drizzle, toasted Oregon organic hazelnuts, and a chocolate covered espresso bean.

~Coconut, Green Tea, & Ginger:  Coconut cake, green tea cream cheese icing (featuring organic matcha), toasted coconut, candied ginger.

~Coconut Lime:  Coconut cake, coconut pastry creme filling, fresh squeezed lime French buttercream, toasted coconut, and candied ginger.  (This cupcake should be kept refrigerated.)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Spring 2015 CSB, Week 1

CANNOLI!!

My cannoli have acquired an almost cult like following as the years have passed.  While it's certainly flattering to be behind such a successful dessert, I can't take full credit.  It's about the circumstances that led up to me making them in the first place, and also the quality of ingredients…probably the amount of time and attention that goes into them as well!

Many of my clients are familiar with our family's "Cannoli Story," but for those who may not have heard me tell it, here goes.  I first tried cannoli in New York as a child.  I wasn't blown away, and they certainly weren't something I would seek out (and actually, I'm still fairly indifferent, haha…I make them for YOU and for my husband mostly…although I do love the filling!).  Fast forward to 9 years ago, when my sister and I were showing my husband around NYC.  He sampled his first falafel (a big hit), and a little while later we found ourselves in Little Italy.  I knew he would love cannoli, so walked into the busiest bakery and picked up a freshly filled one for him.  He was smitten, and after that if he saw them on any menu anywhere, he would order them.  The following Christmas I slipped some cannoli forms into his stocking, with a promise to tackle them myself.

Storebought ricotta is grainy in texture, and is often filled with emulsifiers, preservatives, and other things.  I had a hard time wrapping my mind around using that in a cookie filling.  How could something that doesn't taste awesome on its own be used in a dessert?!  Then I learned how to MAKE ricotta, and now there is no going back.  Ever.

To make ricotta from scratch, I use a gallon of organic whole milk and a touch of nonGMO citric acid.  That's it!  The resulting cheese is soft, fluffy, and delicious, with a melt-in-your-mouth feel.  It's perfect as cannoli filling, and so much better than the grainy substitute!  The finished, cooled ricotta is mixed with a little sugar, organic citrus zest, locally brewed vanilla, and a sprinkle of mini dark chocolate chips.  I fold some freshly whipped cream in, and voila!  It's a three day process by the time it's all said and done.

Cannoli shells are a classic Italian tube shaped cookie, made with sweet wine in the dough and fried for crispness.  Once filled, they do not keep well, and are best enjoyed within a few hours of being prepared.  They must be kept refrigerated.

Thank you for participating in this spring's CSB (community supported bakery) baking club!  It's going to be so fun making goodies for you!

P.S.  Cannoli is the Italian plural spelling.  I have never seen it written singularly, although it seems the correct form would be cannolo?  Haha.  I smile (but never judge!) when someone asks for one cannoli or some cannolis.  :)