At the Hop: Cupcakes for all at the Grandview Hop.

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Long time no blog, eh? What's up with that? It's been a little hectic over here, plus my birthday was just a few weeks ago so blogging had to take a back seat for awhile. But I've still been baking! Boy, have I been baking. Most recently for the Grandview Hop. I know, you're like "What's the Grandview Hop? I've never heard of it." The Grandview Hop, for you locals here in Columbus, is like the Short North's Gallery Hop. It's a neighborhood affair with vendors & artists lining the streets, people milling up and down Grandview Ave checking out the shops and general goings-on, maybe taking a walk after going to dinner. The dance studio has free lessons. It's a really quite a nice affair. It happens the last Saturday of everything month from April-November. This past Saturday was my first Hop—actually, it was my first public vendor appearance period!

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The idea came from a friend who said "You know, we were talking and we think you should sell your cupcakes at the Grandview neighborhood thing that they have." Well, he didn't say it exactly like that, but you know. So that meant the Grandview Hop. And a lot of times when people say to me "Hey, why don't you do this?" I groan because it's usually some cockemamy, hair-brained idea that would take oodles of time and effort that they just don't understand, especially while holding down a full-time job plus the side business. BUT THIS IDEA??? I sat there, eyebrows furrowed, saying "You know... actually... that would work. That really would make sense... YES!!!" EUREKA! The location is perfect. The frequency of the event is perfect. The clientele is perfect. These are my peeps! Plus, I know a super sweet shop owner who would let me have a space outside her store, which is perfect. It just made so much sense! So I went for it. I contacted my shop-owner-lady-friend who was equally excited. We're a perfect match!

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So here's the set-up! I'm stationed in front of Peabody Papers, for future reference (Hint Hint: Come see me in action!). It's a great brand partnership. Gorgeous, sophisticated paper & stationery mixed w/ gorgeous (just go w/ it), delicious cupcakes. What could be better? And Brooke, the owner, is quite possibly the nicest person with whom you could ever cross paths, so if you come by, make sure to stop into Peabody to check it out.

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On the menu for the event was two cupcakes, two grahamwiches, a butter sable cookie, plus some frosting free for all to try. Who doesn't love a sample?? So for cupcakes I had red velvet with vanilla malt frosting since it's delicious, relatively safe and standard, but just intriguing enough. Next was the chocolate cupcake with raspberry amaretto frosting topped with a thin lemon cookie. A little usual but very delightful combo when it comes to fluffy little cupcakes. Just enough to make people stop, look, and really think about the baked goods they're craving. The frosting sample though? Brilliant. I would without a doubt say that I make a darn good frosting. I kick a lot of frosting behind, if you know what I'm saying. Why not let everyone try it out?

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And now for the sables. A sable is a buttery, French shortbread. It's so much better than your everyday shortbread if you ask me. Much richer with a much better texture. These were filled with orange zest, chopped roasted and salted pistachios, and chopped chocolate—both bittersweet and milk. Plus, I throw in a little extra salt for good measure. ;-) Thankfully, I have a few leftover that I'll probably munch on in a few minutes here.

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And last but not least, the newly revised menu! I'll be posting this soon—I just have to adapt a downloadable PDF version. But this has an updated list of frostings plus TWO NEW FLAVORS! Key lime and coconut, welcome to the family! Grahamwiches have also been added to the offering.Speaking of grahamwiches...

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The grahamwich selection? A salted caramel grahamwich, dipped in chocolate, and dipped in roasted, salted pecans (and some without nuts if that's your preference.) Also, a key lime grahamwich dipped in chocolate and shredded coconut (and of course, some without the coconut). The key lime frosting tastes just like key lime pie, just an eensy bit sweeter (due to the sugar in the frosting, of course). But my God, it's good. Seriously. You're going to have to try it.

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So what's next? Well there will be another Hop at the end of June on the 26th. Remember, the last Saturday of each month. I'm usually set up about 5:30 and stay around til 10 or until I sell enough to make me happy—whichever comes first. :-) On the menu will be key lime cupcakes (another chance for you to get that frosting!), cinnamon toast cupcakes (intrigued? you should be!), and of course a grahamwich or two. Just have to decide on which ones!

This coming weekend I have a graduation party to bake for. The menu consists of vanilla cupcakes with lavender-lemon-vanilla bean frosting (a custom request) and probably some with key lime frosting, strawberry cupcakes with strawberry frosting dipped in chocolate, and brown sugar cupcakes with chai spice frosting. Maybe that will inspire me for the next hop!

Meet the Grahamwiches.

Everybody, I would like you to meet The Grahamwich. Grahamwich, I'd like you to meet... everybody.

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Grahamwich. Say what? GRAM-wich, like sandwich. Noun. A sandwich made of homemade graham crackers (yes, really homemade) with frosting in between, then partially dipped in chocolate and garnished with...something else.

It all started one day at work when I was in desperate need for a snack. I was rummaging through my desk drawer (where I have a hefty snack supply, let me tell you), and I came across a leftover bag of little bitty graham cracker sticks. Or as Kroger refers to them, Graham Stix (Clever using that "x," guys). Anyway, I digress. It was late in the afternoon and I needed a snack and I needed it right that second. The graham sticks were a good start, but it wasn't enough. Luckily, I also keep a jar of peanut butter at work because 1) it's delicious 2) it's full of protein 3) it's delicious. Graham cracker sticks + peanut butter. This could work. So in the peanut butter the graham sticks went and it. Was. Good. Really good. Surprisingly good, actually. That's when I had an idea. THE GRAHAMWICH.

Homemade grahams, in progress.

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Homemade graham cracker, topped with peanut butter, dipped in chocolate, and then covered in sprinkles... or toffee, or nuts, or anything, really. Because hungry or not hungry, those cheapy little Kroger brand "stix" with the Smart Balance Peanut Butter (Shout out to Smart Balance PB) were awesome. How could you go wrong with this concept? There is no going wrong.

Ever since I gave birth to the idea of the grahamwich, I was dying for a chance to actually BAKE the grahamwiches. There was just no time or opportunity. Until it happened. A friend at work asked if I could bake "something delicious" for a birthday for a friend of hers. I gave her two choices, because the request came pretty late in the game. Option 1 was the glorious invention of the grahamwich. Option 2 was the standard cupcake, but preferably with a frosting like vanilla malt or salted caramel--something quick and easy. This girl is no newbie to the world of fine baked goods. She knows a thing or two, and she's also always ready for a culinary adventure. The idea of "homemade graham cracker" reeled her in and got her hooked on the idea of the grahamwich, which made me super excited because FINALLY! I CAN TRY THIS PUPPY OUT!

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While creating the components, I was thinking... it doesn't necessarily have to be peanut butter frosting. It could be anything, really. Vanilla malt would be fantastic in this case. Classic, but with a twist, and perfect with the graham. My friend/customer, was of course, up for two flavor options. Seriously, the baker is willingly offering you a variety--who's going to turn that down?!?

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So here they are. My little grahamwiches. Delicious and cute as a stinking button. Remember Dunkaroos?? Yeah, like that, sort of, only BETTER. But you know what I'm most psyched about?? THE POSSIBILITIES. THINK OF THE POSSIBILITIES, PEOPLE!! I am brimming with excitement! Graham + salted caramel frosting + chocolate + homemade toffee. Graham + chai frosting + white chocolate. I mean, I could go on and on but I'll try not to. So when I'm able, I think I'll be revising my menu to include the grahamwich. I'll be working on some suggested combos as well. They're available for order, folks, and I highly recommend it! The Grahamwich. Coming soon to a party tray near you!

Bread & Butter

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I have to admit, as much as I love the adorable cupcakes, chewy cookies, and other delectable sweets, I REALLY REALLY love bread. And salted butter. With the bread toasted, preferably. It's simple but SOOOO GOOD. Throw a glass of wine in there and I'm a happy camper. (Does the wine make me sound pretentious? It's most often Trader Joe's Charles Shaw, aka 2-Buck Chuck. There. Unpretentious.) This weekend I didn't have many obligations, so Sunday was a primo time to try baking something new. That led me to a recipe I found in ReadyMade Magazine for a simple baguette. Besides sounding delicious, it also sounded pretty easy.

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First off, THE POOLISH!!! That's pronounced "poo-LEESH," fyi. The poolish is a fermentation starter that (while sitting around for several hours) develops a complex flavor as well as a better texture for the bread dough. I could try to educate you and drone on and on, or I could just send you to the Wikipedia explanation. Or this one here from the blog Baking And Books. They'll explain it a lot better. The poolish for this recipe is one part water, one part flour (1 cup of each here), and one tbsp active dry yeast. What you're seeing above is right after the poolish has been sitting for 4.5 hours and I just added the salt.

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Next, after adding the remainder of flour, yeast, water, and salt, you let the dough sit and rise for an hour. That leaves you with a big giant blob of dough. After that first hour, you punch the dough w/ the heels of your hands to get rid of the gas/air the dough has collected. I was pretty psyched. The dough was big and puffy and I couldn't wait to punch that thing. However, silly me, I forgot that just maybe I should've floured my hand first... yeah, smooth move, ML. Brilliant.

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After letting the dough rise yet ANOTHER hour, you shape the dough into loaves and then BAKE AWAY! But first, I made sure to put a lovely egg wash on the loaves and coat those puppies in tasty sea salt and pink himalayan salt! Oh, salty bread, I'm drooling just at the thought.

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And here you have it! About 22 minutes/loaf later, you have crusty bread that's super soft on the inside. HELPFUL HINT: How can you tell when bread is done? It's not like you can poke this thing with a toothpick and "see if it comes out clean," you know what I'm saying? Turns out you can use a thermometer. The internal temp should be about 190°. You could also try some sort of old school method of turning the loaf upside down and hitting it and seeing if it makes a "thumping" sound but 1) that sounds archaic and I have a thermometer and 2) that might knock off my tasty salty topping so forget it. Trusty thermometer it is.

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Do I really need to convince you that the bread is delicious? I mean, look at it. It's a beautiful crusty baguette. Unless you hate on baguettes on a regular basis, this simple loaf will win you over, especially if you're a salt fiend like yours truly. And that salt on top? The crusty outside + the sea salt is similar to a soft pretzel, only better in my opinion!

Now, the recipe will give you 3-4 loaves. What do you do then? I opted for drenching some slices in dipping olive oil, toasting some and slathering them with Nutella, or my first aforementioned love, covering them in salted butter (after toasting them, of course!). I also brought a loaf and a half to work b/c let's face it. This little lady can't consume three loaves of white bread herself! Yikes! I imagine this would also be delicious in soup and it could make some killer appetizers (tomato, basil, mozzerella, DONE). So what do you think? Will you go for it? Are you going to bake some bread??? You know you want to... ;-)