Cake Talk

More Sugar Fun

2009-12-15T11:09:35-06:00

The soft ball stage of sugar is the only stage where you can blow bubbles. Real,honest-to-goodness bubbles. I learned this in culinary school and it was a bright highlight of my fun two-year return to kitchen academics.

Just about any metal object with a hole will work. My first choice is a truffle dipper, but as you can see from these photos, a tea strainer will also work.

Just dip the circle into the sugar to coat the opening and blow.

The bubbles don't last long, but there is no mistaking you have reached the proper stage. These are NOT the bubbles you see on cakes and sugar centerpieces, which are an entirely different animal. These bubbles deflate and break, making a sticky mess wherever they drop.

And of course you need something to do with the sugar once it has reached a soft ball stage. My top options are to immediately beat it into egg whites and make meringue, or to continue cooking and make caramels or divinity. In any case, I rarely miss this opportunity to play, even if soft ball is not my ultimate goal.

By the way the sugar is really hot, so don't try to catch the bubbles before they deflate and cool off.

And cleaning up the sticky sugar mess when you are done is definitely worth it.

So if you cannot tell from this blog, we have caramels and divinity in the shop right now...

Hard Crack -- as in Divinity

2009-12-13T13:06:39-06:00

We make divinity. Mainly at Christmas.

Sometimes it is absolutely great, soft but dry, and melts in your mouth. Other times it is slightly harder. And once in a while it comes out sticky.

Divinity is one of those candies that your grandmother made. In Alabama, people say it is a southern tradition, but my grandmother made it too, and she was born in Switzerland and raised in California.

In any case, there are many recipes for divinity. Most call for you to cook sugar, water and corn syrup to a hard crack stage, then beat this syrup into whipped egg whites.

You do not need a candy thermometer to determine when sugar has reached a hard crack. It is much more fun to use the cold water test. So a quick lesson on cooking sugar...

As sugar syrup is cooked, water boils away -- the sugar concentration increases and the temperature rises. The highest temperature that the sugar syrup reaches tells you what the syrup will be like when it cools. Which is how the temperature stages are named.

My two favorite temperature stages are soft ball and hard crack.

The Soft-Ball Stage (235-240^oF) is the stage where the syrup will form a soft, flexible ball when dropped into cold water.

It is also the stage where you can blow a bubble if you dip a metal truffle dipping stick into the sugar. Not sort of a bubble, but a real, honest-to-goodness bubble. Learning this trick was the absolutely funnest things I ever did in culinary school. I boil sugar to this stage when making meringue.

The Hard-Crack Stage (295-310^oF) is the highest temperature you are likely to see in a candy recipe.

A little of the syrup dropped into cold water will form a hard, brittle thread that breaks easily when bent. I like the bottom range of this stage like when making divinity. Since sugar can quickly go from soft crack to hard crack, I watch it carefully and turn off the gas as soon as soon as it reaches a hard crack. Cooking it longer is great for nut brittles, but not so good for divinity.

If you want even more details about the temperature stages of sugar, check out his website.

This is the divinity recipe we use at the shop:

Divinity

2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cups white Karo syrup
1/2 cup water
2 large egg whites
dash salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Cook sugar, water and Karo to hard crack stage (295-310^oF). Beat whites with dash salt in electric mixer fitted with a whip attachment until stiff peaks form. Gradually pour syrup mixture in thin stream while continuing to beat on high speed. Add vanilla and continue beating until mixture loses its gloss. Stir in nuts and drop by teaspoonful onto wax paper.

Makes about 24-30 pieces.

This is the recipe that works for me (and it is in our cookbook), but I know people who swear by 2 cups of sugar and 1/2 cup of corn syrup, and those that cook their sugar syrup to a soft crack stage (270-290^oF).

Divinity is also known for being tricky. Most people blame the weather for bad divinity, but the culprit is usually impatience. If you take the sugar off the stove too early, it will not set. I've made lots of batches that did not harden properly. Divinity should never be tacky or sticky, and it should not be crunchy. It should be dull and soft. If it never loses its shine, no amount of whipping or cooling will make it right. The ingredients are reasonably inexpensive, so throw it out and start over. Just don't add the nuts until you are sure you have a good batch.

One more thing. Once the divinity starts to set, you have a very short window before it is too hard to spoon out. So work fast and never double the recipe. If you insist on a large batch, have extra hands available to spoon out the candy while it is still pliable.

Business 101: Before you open a Bakery...

2009-12-12T16:01:35-06:00

You went to culinary school (or maybe not) and you have a passion for baking. You are ready to pursue your dream of having your own bakery. Before you make this big investment, there are two things you should do:

Get a job as a manager at a major chain bakery or restaurant -- Panera Bread, la petite boulangerie, even McDonald's -- that hires predominantly low-skilled labor, for at least six months.

You need this experience for three main reasons.

First, you should learn how to deal with someone else's employees before you hire your own. You need to learn first hand that your employees may not have the same passion for the bakery as you have. You will not feel so bad about firing them if you are just the manager carrying out company policy.

Second, you will get a chance to deal with complaints in an impersonal way. There will always be employees or customers with problems. You need to NOT take it personally and it's easier to disengage when it is not your business. If you work for a large enough company, they will even teach you how to do this.

Third, as a manager in a large corporation, you will have health insurance which you can take with you when you leave. Assuming you live in the United States, your employer is required to offer you COBRA, which will allow you to continue (and pay for) your existing health insurance for 18 months.

The other work experience you need before you invest in your bakery is to work in a high volume kitchen for at least six months. Pay attention to how things are done, how the kitchen team works together, and ask lots of questions. Don't worry about the low salary because you'll appreciate any income at all during the first few years of having your own business. High volume kitchens do things over and over, and most are extremely efficient. During this internship you will learn that it CAN be done. Kitchen workers can multitask and work together to accomplish incredible things. And do it again the next day...and the next...and the next...

Consider this a year of training, and use the time to take notes, fine tune your business and marketing plan, write a detailed employee guide, and assemble a set of master recipes. You will have an opportunity to learn much from these experiences.

One more thing, save your money. As much as possible. No matter how much you think you will need, something will come up and you will need more.

Marketing on a Budget

2009-12-09T11:48:35-06:00

We are a small bakery. We don't have thousands, or even hundreds of dollars to spend on advertising each month. Most small business advisors will tell you how important getting the word out is, and they are so right. That's why we have a website, and why we have a blog.

The dilemma for us, and for many small businesses, is how to make every dollar spent on PR and advertising go as far as possible. It went very far today. The Tuscaloosa News published a photo of our rose and SEC cookies on the front page of the West Alabama section. In color!! If you click on the link, there are six more photos! And it did not cost us an arm or a leg!

We've been in the Tuscaloosa News before (and the Northport Gazette, and the Planet Weekly). When we opened the shop, when we published our cookbook, when we came up with the "Saban Hat" cookie. We've also been featured on local WVUA television. Even Fox6 in Birmingham has interviewed us three times! For a small business in a small city, this is better than Oprah. Lots of people read the local newspaper, and even more just look at the pictures, especially the color ones on the front page.

Access to our news media is one of the advantages of doing business in a smaller city. Yes we have crime and politics, but opening a bakery, publishing a book, or celebrating football is also news here. Tuscaloosa may not be Chicago, or even Birmingham, but we have most of the same amenities -- on a smaller scale. Unfortunately, many of the large media companies, and some of the smaller ones just don't get it.

I get calls almost every day from media sales representatives who want to sell us advertising. They simply do not understand why I'm not willing to pay hundreds and thousands of dollars to attract someone into the shop to spend one dollar on a cookie. Or that I don't have the time or inclination to explain my business plan to perfect strangers again and again.

The conversation often goes like this...

"You have such a nice shop here. It has that 'wow' factor that would really 'pop' on screen (or in print, or whatever), and you have come highly recommended."

Or "This cookie so delicious, I had no idea you were back here. I'd love to help you expand your business."

I'm busy so I cut to the chase. "Is there money involved on my part?"

"Well...yes, you would be sponsoring the video (or the ad). But I am sure it would pay for itself."

I think not.

But free? Well free is good.

Rose Bowl Cookies

2009-12-06T16:23:16-06:00

Rose cookies. It's our way of celebrating the SEC championship victory over the top ranked Florida Gators, and bid for their 22nd National Championship on January 7. As luck would have it, the BCS championship game will be played at the Rose Bowl this season.

I'm sure it got past nobody that Yea, Alabama, the Alabama fight song, has the following lyrics...

Fight on, fight on, fight on men!
Remember the Rose Bowl we'll win then!

Besides roses in two sizes, we also made cookies in the shape of footballs, SEC "trophies" and SEC emblems.

Go ahead, celebrate!

December at the Bakery

2009-12-05T12:55:41-06:00

It's December. That magical time before Christmas when the bakery turns into a cookie factory.

My obsession for Christmas cookies (and baking in general) harks back to San Jose, California circa 1968 and the house on 17th Street where I lived with my parents and four brothers and sisters. I was about ten, and we didn't have a lot of money. That year we made cookies to give as gifts.

Lots and lots of cookies. It was a very old house, and we had one of those old fashioned white enamel ovens with a very small door that baked unevenly, but we didn't care. We mixed most of the doughs by hand, from family recipes or ones we found in the Betty Crocker cookbook.

We had one of those cookie guns to make spritz cookies, which were everyone's favorites, but we also made sugar cookies and dream bars and chocolate chip cookies and russian tea cakes. Food coloring, sprinkles and powdered sugar were all over the floor, and we didn't finish baking until well after our normal bedtime.

So seeing all these cookies on platters makes me happy. At the bakery, our platters come in small (10-15 cookies), medium (20-25 cookies) and large (30-35 cookies).

Besides the platters, we sell lots of individual cookies.

These are almond spritz cookies.

And these are one of our many varieties of truffles. These babies are white chocolate mousse piped inside a dark chocolate shell. And topped with chopped pistachios and white chocolate drizzle.

Some of the shortbread cookies we make for the Christmas season include holly, snowflakes, santa hats, christmas trees, packages, ornaments and snowmen.

And pointsettias.

A new cookie this year is the caramel nut bar. It's a shortbread base topped with a light caramel mixed with pecan halves, salted cashews and pistachios. We found the recipe in the December issue of Sunset Magazine and adapted it a bit. And just about anything that is good, is even better when dipped in chocolate...

New Orleans Pralines are always good, but especially during the holiday season.

And peppermint fudge... We also make divinity, chocolate fudge, russian tea cakes, dream bars, Linzer tarts and more.

And egg nog gelato.

And fruit cake.

Just stop by for a little holiday cheer.

Our Hat Collection

2009-12-02T08:27:00-06:00

What's the fascination with hats?

Historically, the hat is a sign of achievement and authority. Hats are often worn to indicate a person's particular position or role in society. Think bishop's hat or sheriff's hat. A symbol of power.

Freud identified the hat as a symbol of repressed desire, and there are lots of interpretations of the meaning of hats in dreams.

Whatever. We get asked to make them often. But the symbolism and meanings are usually much simpler.

There is the magic hat, for a child's birthday party featuring a magician.

The witch's hat. For a halloween birthday.

And of course, the houndstooth hat. Here in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, the houndstooth hat is a symbol of championship football teams and the legendary coach who made them happen, the late Paul W. "Bear" Bryant. Our houndstooth hat cookies are one of our best sellers. Before, during and after football season.

You might think it is "cheating," but this particular houndstooth hat on a cake is real, placed as a "topper" on two large square stacked cakes, with a houndstooth design piped on the sides of the cakes. This is one instance where the cost of creating a hat from cake exceeded the willingness to pay. Especially when a similar (and longer lasting) effect could be achieved with a real hat.

Then there is the straw hat. A "regular" straw hat gives us a chance to practice our basketweave piping skills. It looks best with a wide brim, but sometimes the number of servings needed dictates a smaller brim.

Then the straw hat worn by Crimson Tide Coach Nick Saban, mainly during practice. We started making these last year when the team reached 5-0 for the season and rose in the AP ranking to #2 in the nation.

They are not yet as famous as the houndstooth hat, but in demand nonetheless. And with every win, more so.

Alabama is now 12-0 going in to the SEC championship game against Florida Saturday in Atlanta. Two more wins and these cookies will probably rise in popularity.

And this time of year, the Santa hat. We often add houndstooth trim, just because...

So whatever the symbolism of hats, and reasons for wanting hat cakes, if customers keep asking for them, we'll keep making them.

Red Mustang

2009-11-28T18:54:04-06:00

This cake was pretty fun, for a 50th birthday, and entirely edible.

It's three layers of red velvet cake, covered in buttercream, with fondant accents for the canvas, fenders, lights and other "chrome." A few of the side details are piped in buttercream.

The mustang on the front grill is also made from fondant.

The windshield and side windows are sugar.

The wheels and seat tops (which you cannot see well from this angle) are formed from rice crispy treats and covered in fondant.

Not counting the miscellaneous parts, the cake, which used almost all of a full sheet cake, serves about 75.

Dickens Downtown

2009-11-26T08:13:48-06:00

It's only five days away.

The 20th Annual Dickens Downtown. Tuesday, December 1, 2009 from 5-8 pm in the streets and shops of Historic Downtown Northport.

Carolers, craftspeople, and music of all kinds, from a regimental band to the blues. Snow, Father Christmas and Queen Victoria. Free samples of eats, from peanuts to cider to warm bread pudding and candy canes.

There is not a better way to begin the holiday season.

We hope to see you there. We'll be giving away the warm bread pudding outside the shop. Debbie Bond, Rick Asherson, and the Creme Brulees will be playing the blues. And inside we'll have soup, hot sandwiches, coffee cider and hot cocoa for sale, pus our usual selection of holiday treats.

Double Ouch -- The BSoD

2009-11-25T21:39:47-06:00

Hello from my new Mac.

Two days ago, every computer I own crashed. First the PC that runs our point-of-sale system. Then, a few hours later, my Mac.

The Mac iBook, I knew, was on its final leg for at least the last few months. It was the generation BEFORE built-in wireless. It was slow and tired, but still had life, as long as I didn't ask too much of it. But it went to sleep and never woke up. When I tried to reboot, I got a flashing question mark instead of the friendly Apple logo.

The PC was a complete surprise. One minute it was working. The next minute it displayed the blue screen of death, with a message saying windows has been shut down to prevent further damage to my computer.

I tried the reboot but still got the blue screen.

I panicked. Three days before Thanksgiving...Dickens Downtown approaching...I had no choice. I called "the computer guy" and begged. The first thing he asked me? "What are the chances you have backed up your data?" I almost cried. Sales tax. Brides. Customer accounts. Invoices. OMG.

Short story? He saved my data and repaired the hard drive. We had to use calculators and run credit cards manually for a day. And it took patience, but we got the POS back up and running yesterday. And now I have an automatic back-up program -- the entire system once a week, and changed files every two hours.

And since I have a new Mac as well, the two computers will be able to network (the OS on my old Mac was too old to relate to a PC) -- just as soon as the computer guy gets back from his Thanksgiving vacation. And I will be able to run reports. And print on regular sized paper on the printer in the back office from the PC in the bakery (instead of printing on the receipt printer).

Happy Thanksgiving!