Day 2 of the "Flea By The Sea"

Thank you so much to those of you who were able to make it down to Coney Island!

The "Flea by the Sea" was HUGE success! Had a great day on Saturday! Completely sold out of brownies and cupcakes and sold most of the cookies. Our biggest seller... red velvet with cream cheese frosting! We had one staff member come back about 5 times for more!

We also had an order of 21. The woman wanted 15 golden with chocolate frosting and 5 red velvet with cream cheese frosting for her daughters birthday party. Then her daughter wanted a chocolate to eat on the way home! Mike had to run to Dunkin Donuts for a box big enough and that wouldn't squish the frosting. I hope they survived the trip!

I really can't believe how many cupcakes we went through in the 2 days! It makes me happy when people can really enjoy what I love to do. One girl came back twice and said she can really taste the love that goes into the baking. I hope it's just a matter of time until I can open up my own shop.

Flea by the Sea!

Had a great time today! Thanks so much to those of you who cake down!

I can't believe how many red velvets we sold! I really thought the golden would sell fastest.

Dog Treats...

Ok... these are a HUGE hit! I had no idea when I mixed up my first batch that they would be such a success. And I was experimenting today with personalized bones... worked out great! Much better than I expected.

The pile of dough does not look very appetizing at all... but I'm not a dog, so what do I know?

Bones and hearts

Ready to be baked

All Done!I probably should have taken this pics before they were bagged... Dogs names are Bocci,
Cookie, and Soco and they are all very loyal customers!

For the names, what I did was gently press letter cookie cutters into the dough to make impressions before they were baked. I also did little hearts with initials.

4th of July Idea!

Ok... so thanks to Bakerella I just figured out how I'm going to spice up the 4th of July bake sale! Cake burgers and cookie fries! I've seen something like this before, but these are so simple to do that I just have to make them! LOVE the idea!

Still making regular cupcakes, brownies, cookies and cake pops... for those of you who don't like your food to look like other foods. lol

Oh... and an update on the dog treats...
Made another batch today using regular skippy peanut butter and it worked out great. I didn't need to add an egg this time. It even rolled better. So, I guess the type of peanut butter you use really has a lot to do with it. So, for those of you who like using all natural organic for your furry little friends... just keep in mind that you may have to add an egg.

I'm exhausted tonight, but tomorrow I will upload the pics of the doggie treats. You can see the difference in the dough. I even tasted it.. not bad, but not as peanut-buttery as it smells.

Recipe from BullWrinkle.com:

2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 cup peanut butter (chunky or smooth, I use smooth)
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 375'F. In a bowl, combine flour and baking powder. In another bowl, mix peanut butter and milk, then add to dry ingredients and mix well. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and knead. Roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness and use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes. Bake for 20 minutes on a greased baking sheet until lightly brown. Cool on a rack, then store in an airtight container. --- This is the original recipe, but I have found the cookies burn easily.

They said it burns easily... I found that a little tonight. The first time I made it with the egg I had no problems at all but this time they did seem to cook faster. Keep an eye on them. I set my timer for 15 minutes and them kept a close eye on them after that.

Some better pics

Here are a few better pics from our Fathers Day bake sale!

Flea By The Sea update....

So, we went back today to get a permit for this coming weekend... we were smart this time and made sure it would be valid for the full 14 days. I can't wait. I really hope it doesn't get rained out again.

This weekend we will have cookies and brownies again, all individually wrapped for convenience.

We will also have golden cupcakes, chocolate cupcakes and red velvet cupcakes.

Our frosting varieties will be vanilla buttercream, chocolate buttercream and cream cheese.

I wanted to make some cake balls, but we agreed to hold out until the 4th of July... so make sure to come on down!

Fathers Day Bake Sale!

Happy Fathers Day!

So, even though the festival got rained out yesterday we still got to sell some baked goods today! We set up in Mike's driveway, tent and all, and pretty much broke even. We sold out of cookies right away and ended up with only a few bags of brownies left. The golden cupcakes sold pretty fast, but we still had 4 left by the time we got rained out.

Had lots of fun though! Big thanks to Linda, Rob and Kristen for the help and support!!! <3

Tomorrow we are going to get the permit for next weekend and the 4th of July. Can't wait! I really hope this rain lets up soon.

Saturday has been cancled due to weather

So.. now I have: (Prices have been lowered!)
bag of 3 chocolate chip cookies $2
bag of 2 finger brownies $1
bag of dog treats $1-$2
3 dozen chocolate cupcakes $2 each
1 dozen margarita cupcakes $2 each
3 dozen yellow cupcakes $2 each

I have not made any frostings yet, but I will be making vanilla buttercream and chocolate buttercream.

and NOWHERE to sell them!

Does anyone in the Bensonhurst area want to buy some? Please email me for more info!

lauren@dessertsbylauren.com

Doggie Treats!!!

Ok, so I was getting ready to get my bake on yesterday and I started thinking about how many people passed by the "Flea By The Sea" with their furry little friends. So I decided to bake up a batch of doggie treats!

Sorry for such a bad cell phone picture!
This was the first batch that came out of the oven.

I found this recipe:

Peanut Butter Dog Treats
Adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 cup peanut butter *I used natural peanut butter, which is very dry*
1 cup skim milk

**I had to add an egg to hold everything together since the peanut butter was so dry.

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl, combine flour and baking powder. In another bowl, mix peanut butter and milk. Add wet mixture to dry, and mix well.

Turn out dough on a lightly floured surface and knead. Roll out to 1/4-inch thickness and cut out shapes. Place on a greased baking sheet and bake 20 minutes or until lightly brown. Cool on a rack and store in an airtight container.

Makes about 20-30 dog biscuits.

In addition to the doggie treats I also baked up chocolate chip cookies, brownies, chocolate cupcakes and margarita cupcakes. Today I will be making golden cupcakes and red velvet, plus whipping up the frostings! I can't wait 'till Saturday's "Flea By The Sea"!

Come Check Us Out!! This weekend!!!

Ok.. so I'm back to my old self again! I hate being sick, so glad it passed. Went to the doc and got a clean bill of health.

"Flea By The Sea", here we come!!!!! This means that over the next 2 days I will be baking my buns off! Pardon the bad pun. We will have a booth right off Stillwell Ave. on Saturday, June 20th. Gates open at 12 noon!

Anyway, tomorrow I will be baking a double batch of chocolate chip cookies as well as a double batch of fudge brownies. If I have time left over I will also start baking some cupcakes.

On the menu for this Saturday, June 20th:

Custom Cupcakes!!! Who doesn't love a good cupcake?!?!

Cupcake flavors:

Golden

Chocolate
Red Velvet

Frosting flavors:
Vanilla Buttercream
Chocolate Buttercream
Creamcheese

Pick your cake, then pick your frosting!

Chocolate Chip Cookies!!! Moist and chewy!

I <3> I may even top them with some fudge!!!! Chocolate overload!!!

*Also going on in Coney Island this Saturday:
Mermaid Parade, The Cyclone, Wonder Wheel, and other rides are open AND the Circus will be there! Come on down and enjoy Brooklyn! Rain or shine!

That's about it for this weekend. We will also be there for July 4th and our menu will include much more, like "Liberty Ball" cake pops and possibly Margarita cupcakes with a twist of lime! So come on down and enjoy a cupcake with your fireworks!

Home sick... and all I wanna do is bake

So i'm home sick and I just found a very quick and easy recipe for Margarita cupcakes and all I wanna do is get up and bake them. I think if I'm feeling better tomorrow I will make them.

Also... next weekend... the 20th, we will be selling some cupcakes and cookies down in Coney Island's Flea By The Sea! So come check us out if you're in the NY area!!!

Finished "OM" Bites

Ok, so I don't know much about yoga, but this is the "OM" symbol. These pops were made for a yoga instructor course graduation. They are all yellow cake and half are covered with milk chocolate and half are covered with dark chocolate.

Originally, these were going to be large flat pops. It didn't work. The cakes were too big and the pops kept coming out. Also, I had asked a few people how to thin down the chocolate a little and everyone mentioned using a little vegetable oil. This did NOT work! The chocolate never dried. And I only used a tiny drop. When I went to the chocolate store today the guy told me about these "oil chips" called paramount crystals from the CK company. I found these on Amazon if you want to check them out. They worked great. The chocolate set very quickly and left a nice glossy shine.

It was too hard to throw away all that we had worked so hard on, so we ate them. Well, not all of them. We gave a lot away. As long as they were kept in the fridge, they were fine. The chocolate needed to stay cool. But boy were they delicious! The chocolate ones were like Ring Dings! Sooooo good.

The "OM" army!

I baked and dipped... Mike decorated.

I can't believe how well he did with the piping.

Each one, hand made.And now they are ready for delivery.I am so proud of these. They taste even better than they look!

Tasting party... good idea?

Ok... so Mike and I were discussing the idea of a tasting party and then last night I get an email from my cousin suggesting it. I think this is something I am going to have to do! I am so excited! I figure if I charge like $10 a person I should be able to cover the cost for all the cupcakes and cake pops.

I will probably have a raffle as well as sell some small baskets of cakes. I'd love some feedback from people if they think it's a good idea.

Thanks!

Cake bite pops.... flattened.

So I got an order for 50 cake bites... they the person wanted a symbol on it. It's a very specific yoga OM symbol. So what I decided to do is make them flat circles.

I had to make 25 chocolate ones and 25 yellow ones.

The heavy cream boiling to make the chocolate frostingheavy cream melting the chocolate.
Half milk chocolate, half dark

Melted chocolate and heavy creamFrosting once everything was mixed in.The chocolate cake base for the bite popsI didnt take many pics of the yellow cake process...
but that was the start of the batterAnd there they are chilling. Going to dip them in a few minutes.Dipped in Dark ChocolateDipped in the milk chocolate

Cake Bites

2nd try at dipping the cake bites... total success! The key really is to get them nice and frozen. They came great! LOVE them! Gonna go deliver some extras tonight to some willing and eager guinea pigs.

To make these... All you need to do is bake a cake. Any cake! box mix, scratch recipe, whatever you want. Bake it and then cool to room temp.

Then you make the frosting or scoop it out of the can. Again, doesnt matter. I just prefer mine all made from scratch.

Crumble the cake into a bowl or in a food processor. I prefer to do this by hand. Make it nice and fine with no large chunks.

Then, by hand, Slowly add a little frosting at a time until it comes together into a doughy consistency. Scoop out with an ice cream scooper onto a tray and freeze overnight.

To make pops, insert the sticks AFTER they have frozen. This helps the stick stay in!

Once frozen, dip in some melted chocolate. That's it! decorate however you'd like and enjoy!

Frozen red velvet cake bite popsDipped in Dark Chocolate

The completed dark chocolate dipped bites with a little
red chocolate drizzle so you know it's red velvet!

The finished white chocolate dipped ones from last night with
the red chocolate squiggle All wrapped up and ready to goHad to cut one open so you can see the deep red color
and they have such a soft truffle-like texture.Yea, I ate that one right after I shot this. LOL

Red Velvet Cake Balls!

Ok, so I got the recipe from a friend... super secret and all that jazz, and I would never post a recipe given by someone who didn't want me to. So I wont. However... I also did not use that recipe. I did a lot of research on line and found countless posts about this new craze.

The most basic recipe says to use:
1 box of cake mix... prepare as listed on box and cooled
1 can of frosting
Chocolate to dip

Once cake is cooled, crumble. Mix in the frosting until mushy and delicious. Scoop out some small balls. Cool (overnight for best results). Dip in melted chocolate.

I stuck some popsicle sticks in there too!

Tonight I tried a new red velvet recipe. Big mistake! I should have stuck with the old one, which, in my opinion, is damn near perfect. I also didn't have any cream cheese, so that was obviously out of the question. Instead I ended up using my regular go-to buttercream frosting (minus the vanilla because I'm all out of that too... need to hit the store tomorrow!)

Anywho, they taste incredible. I started to dip them in white chocolate but they are still too soft and they came out quite mushy. I'm keeping them in the freezer tonight and will resume the dipping tomorrow. I also just found out that this works best if you use a mixture of half chocolate, half cocoa butter. (need to add cocoa butter to my list)

Tomorrow I will add some pics when they are all done. Next time i'm trying it out with good 'ol chocolate cake and chocolate frosting.