For the last few months, my nights and weekends have consisted mostly of checklists, song lists, guest lists, invitations, veils, showers, programs, dress fittings, menus, rings, flowers, bicep curls and push-ups (the boy kind!). You guessed it – I’m planning a wedding. Event planning generally falls into the PR umbrella, and is something we do for our clients on a regular basis… so in theory, planning an event for my personal life should be a breeze, right?
I actually have been having a blast planning the big day, together with my soon-to-be “other” half, Will, and our families. With May 24 right around the corner, one of the items we had to check off our list was the infamous wedding cake. Now, I’m not one of those girls that has been planning my wedding since the age of twelve, however, I will say that one of the first decisions that was made was that we’d be serving cupcakes instead of a traditional cake on our wedding day. What can I say – my priorities often revolve around food!
When I saw that one of Sacramento’s top gourmet cupcake bakeries opened a store front in Davis (where we live) I was intrigued. I called Cupcake Craving to set up a tasting, and they recommended I come into the main location (on Arden) to taste.
The people behind the counter were so friendly (I mean, they are surrounded by cupcakes, the happiest thing on earth) and they got us set up for the tasting in the back bakery. With a menu that includes flavors such as Mint Meltdown, S’More Galore and German Chocolate Wish, we had a tough time even deciding what to taste. We tasted several cupcakes, went through a jug of milk and discussed design and presentation. In the end, we decided on four flavors for our cupcake tower: Koo-Koo for Macaroon, Chocolate Brownie, Italian Rum Delight and the 10K Craving (carrot cake). Together with the folks at Cupcake Craving we designed the frosting and glazes that kept within the colors of our wedding, and even worked out a deal for a Davis delivery which would will make for one less thing for this bride to worry about on our wedding day. We walked away happy and awkwardly full, with a take-home container of half-eaten cupcakes. It was such a fun afternoon, and I can’t wait to see how they turn out. I’ll be sure to post a few post-wedding photos.
Preview: "12 Days of Cookies"
If you’ve read our blog in the past, you already know that at FH, we love food. So for our holiday party last week, we created the First Annual FH Cookie Exchange. Everyone in the office baked (okay, a few bought) their favorite holiday cookie and the result was truly delicious! After the office-wide sugar-high subsided we managed to track down some of the recipes and we’ll be sharing them with you over the next few weeks. Stay tuned for our Foodie Countdown to the Holidays: “The 12 Days of Cookies” starts now!
Quick Bite: Chocolate Three-Way
You either are one or you know one. Locally, you might find them hanging around Rick’s Dessert Diner , the Cookie Connection or Ginger Elizabeth’s. They can name every varietal in a box of See’s and will fight to lick the whisk at the end of a brownie-baking marathon. They’re chocoholics. And let’s be honest – you probably know a few.
If you’re ever looking to make the chocoholic in your life happy – all you have to do is take a quick trip down to 33rd Street Bistro in East Sacramento. Last Sunday, I was fortunate enough to try what they call the “Chocolate Three-Way” and let me tell you, it was heaven on a plate. Just take a look at the photo above – drooling yet?
33rd Street Bistro
3301 Folsom Blvd.
Sacramento, CA 95816
(916) 455-2233 phone
Almond Gateau with Praline Buttercream
It’s time for another Daring Bakers’ Challenge, this time a complex cake that kept me busy for about six hours. The original recipe is a Filbert Gateau with Praline Buttercream from Carol Walter’s “Great Cakes.” I prefer almonds over hazelnuts, so I made that little substitution.
For such a seemingly simple looking cake, there were tons of steps. In fact, there were so many steps, that I meticulously read through the recipe multiple times and made a to-do list. Alas, I forgot to do one of the last steps (I noticed my bowl of apricot glaze just sitting there minutes after applying my ganache.)
What I really liked about this challenge is that I learned a new technique for making ganache. I found that by grinding up the chocolate before adding the warmed sweetened cream made it much easier to blend and get a smooth, silky texture.
Also, do not even try and attempt this recipe without a food processor. I don’t think my Cuisinart has ever seen this much action.
My final thoughts on the Almond Gateau with Praline Buttercream are: 1) the praline buttercream was awesome and would be a delicious filling for a chocolate cake, and 2) the texture of this cake just wasn’t for me. Because of the all the nuts it was very mealy and I think I like a spongier cake.
My decorating skills are atrocious, so to see some truly spectacular pastry bag technicians, head on over the DB Blog Roll and check out other versions of this cake. Or, try it yourself – the recipe can be seen on SacFoodies here.
Gaga for Babycakes
If birthdays at Fleishman Hillard Sacramento mean delicious cakes from Freeport Bakery, then I bet you can only imagine what a pregnancy announcement and not one, but two engagements in the span of two weeks will bring . . . Babycakes!
Babycakes is a bakery in East Sacramento that opened in October, 2007 and specializes in decadent cupcakes. To view their daily flavors, you can visit Babycakes online here or visit them in person at 3675 J Street.
If you’ve indulged in a cupcake from Babycakes before, which is your favorite? Over here it’s fierce competition – carrot cake and red velvet are leading the pack in my book.
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