Think Spring!

It's mid-April - I'm hearing birds chirp more, buds are starting to appear and I'm thinking spring. In excitement for the coming season that lasts a mere 2-3 weeks up here in Maine, I created a new cupcake called "Think Spring." It's a vegan lemon cupcake with berry filling, topped with vanilla icing, a blackberry and some lemon zest - and it is yummers!

These cupcakes were my first experimentation with a "filled" cupcake, which seems to be all the rage right now. I used a cupcake corer from Williams Sonoma, and I must say, if you want to fill your cupcakes, get a cupcake core; it makes the job so much easier and much less messier! They're only $5 and are nice and compact and easy to clean. 

Filled Think Spring cupcakes, pre frosting

So I baked up the Think Springs last Saturday with an upcoming cupcake job I'm doing for a friend's graduation party in mind. I've had a bunch of taste-testers and have heard that they're awesome and that they don't taste vegan. It's interesting that people always need to qualify food as "tasting vegan" or not "tasting vegan." Vegan just means there are no animal products in whatever the product is - it doesn't mean that the cupcake contains ingredients the majority of us aren't familiar with. I'm sure most of us have had margarine in some form, flax seed, flour, sugar, fruit juices, applesauce...all normal things, I promise :o) But when someone says, "This doesn't even taste vegan!" I take it as a compliment. I think that vegan baking got a bad wrap at some point because a lot of vegan bakers didn't understand the world of substitutions and the chemistry going on in our ovens, and so a lot of vegan baked goods came out tasting grainy, seedy, bland, or dry. This certainly does not describe what I've been baking up! 

You may have noticed from my other blog or the From Scratch and Sniff Facebook group that I recently got engaged. We got engaged a few weeks ago before the ring was actually ready. On Tuesday we got the call that the ring was ready, and after returning home, I was surprised with a second proposal. My fiance had been doing a photo-shoot with the Think Spring cupcakes and asked to borrow the ring so he could get a shot. He came up behind me in the kitchen with the ring sticking up out of the top of the cupcake, and proposed again. And of course, I said yes again! Then we shared the cupcake, after he put the ring back on my finger. It was perfection. 

In it for the long haul....

I had a discouraging realization this week. I've started developing a "business plan" for myself which had a few beginning steps:

1. Develop a strong menu of 10-15 items that are fully vegan.
2. Rename business, develop a new look/logo, and packaging.
3. Go through the steps to get my apartment kitchen licensed & products FDA approved.
4. Obtain business insurance.
5. Begin visiting local businesses to get product sold in various places around the city.
6. Eventually, rent out a commercial kitchen and start doing local and shipping orders.
7. Dream - open a store front.

My good friend Kelly found me an article posted on the Maine Organic Farmers & Gardeners (MOFG) website by Cheryl Wixson who does workshops on how to get your kitchen licensed. The article is called Licensing the Home Food Processor Kitchen and goes through a lot of the requirements needed to get your kitchen licensed. Unfortunately, after reading this, I realized I would need to literally re-model our kitchen....which is in a rented property. I don't have a 2-bay sink, no dishwasher, no screen door, no granite or steel counter tops, and the floor is probably less than desirable. Huge let down. I sat on the couch close to tears as I realized my plan was now wrinkled quite a bit. My incredibly supportive and generous fiance asked if we should move. He said we could try to remodel this kitchen ourselves. And then he told me we would do whatever it took to have my dream fulfilled. What an amazing guy - I am so lucky!

I don't think we should move yet; between the two of us, we've moved 6 times in the last 2 years and it's getting really old. We also love our apartment despite the kitchen's "flaws" and the fact that the bathroom is wicked narrow/tiny and only has a stall shower. We love the location, that we have a driveway, that it's fairly quiet, and that we have an incredibly sweet landlord who lives in the building.

So plan b: find a commercial kitchen now or just sit tight, be patient and wait. I found a local commercial kitchen which rents for $10/hour, but I'm not going to jump into it right now. I think I'm just going to work at perfecting my products and will call on friends and family to promote my business, name, and quality products to everyone they know. Word of mouth is a powerful thing and I think it can get me far. I have some incredibly supportive friends who will call me rather than buying a cake somewhere, who will taste-test and give me real feedback, and who help me brainstorm through problems like these! I'm also going to look into going to some MOFG conferences focused on kitchen licensing and businesses planning. It'll be a great way to gain some new ideas/skills and to meet some locals with similar goals.

In the kitchen, I've been fervently baking each week and perfecting many of my recipes. Yesterday I baked up some vegan Nom Nom Carrot Cake Cupcakes with faux maple cream cheese icing. I took a few with me to a bar to meet friends and they were certainly a hit!

Vegan Nom Nom Cupcakes, photo by Justin Lewis, filmaperture Photography

A friend has also asked me to do an event for her in May, so I'm really looking forward to working with her to develop some new flavors. I will probably experiment with a vegan lemon cupcake with berry compote filling, topped with vanilla bean frosting with candied lemon rind. Reminding myself that although there was a set back, it's minor in the grand scheme of things and I will still see this thing through!

Change, Change, Change

It's official - From Scratch & Sniff is going to be a 100% bona fide vegan bakery. As of the 1st of January, my fiance and I changed to a vegan diet and have decided this is the life for us. Not only are we cooking compassionately and promoting conservation, we're losing weight and feeling incredibly more healthy. It's fantastic!

This change in our diets left me with a problem though. How could I change my ideals and habits around eating, but still use eggs and cream and butter in my baking? I was nervous as I began to dive into the world of vegan baking. I'd tried vegan baked goods before, always with the same thought, "This is dry, dense, and tastes more like health food than a dessert." Although I'm all for health food, I believe that when we want dessert, dessert we shall eat! If I want a healthy snack at night, I don't grab a cookie, I reach for an apple, and so I began to worry that my baking would lose it's desserty qualities.

Not so! Around my birthday, good friends of ours gave me The Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. What I love about this book is the in-depth exploration into the chemistry behind baking. I have learned the methods and madness behind substitutions and have tried out several of her recipes to get a feel for how each substitution works.

Vegan Blueberry-Orange Bundt Cake from The Joy of Vegan Baking

Photo by Justin Lewis, filmaperture Photography

After practicing a bit, I started a new baking notebook, rolled up my sleeves and got to work! So far I have veganized 6 of my standard recipes:

-Kelly's Oreo Truffles
-Italian Polenta Cake with Orange Marmalade Glaze
-Ginger Cookies
-Awesome Crunch
-Irish Cream Cupcakes
-Treasure Chest Cookies
-Cranberry Almond Biscotti

Vegan Treasure Chest Cookies

Photo by Justin Lewis, filmaperture Photography

Vegan Kelly's Oreo Truffles (Chocolate, White Chocolate, & Peanut Butter)

Photo by Justin Lewis, filmaperture Photography

Italian Polenta Cake with Orange Marmalade Glaze

Photo by Justin Lewis, filmaperture Photography

And so far - I've received very positive feedback and have even been told that some of the vegan versions are BETTER than the non-vegan ones! Horrah! The goal is to make them taste the same or better, and thus far I'm succeeding.

The next step - we've realized that maybe it's time for a name/branding change. Although From Scratch & Sniff has served me well for almost a year now, it doesn't quite convey the type of baking I'm trying to offer, and on top of that, there are already two bakeries in town related to kitties/animals. So I'm going through the difficulty of trying to decide what sort of image I want to convey.

Some people are telling me not to include "vegan" in the name - to try to "trick" people into ordering/coming in. Some are telling me I should not only offer vegan treats, but should supplement my stock with some "regular" baked goods. I know want to stand proud and not shy away from the fact that I'm vegan and this is what I have to offer. I don't want to return to cooking with animal products and I think there's a real market for it in Portland; there aren't any fully vegan bakeries up here yet. I want my name to reflect the goodness and simplicity of my product. At least I know these things for sure - now I just need a name and logo, ideas are welcome and much appreciated!

MIA

Hello All- Sorry I've been a bit MIA lately! I've been baking up a storm---made tons of cookies for friends and family, shipped cookie packages all over the country and world, and had several orders due. This past week, I developed two new flavors based on requests made on the From Scratch & Sniff Facebook page: Mexican Hot Chocolate Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting and Bailey's Irish Cream Cupcakes with Chocolate Bailey's Buttercream Frosting- YUM! I'll have photos up as soon as my boyfriend, photographer Justin Lewis, edits them and I promise to give you a "real" post after the new year.

Happy holidays, everyone!

Butternut Squash Ravioli? Yes, please!

The food for my brother's 17th was a big hit. The cupcakes, version 2.0 are MUCH prettier this time. See photographic evidence below. (And I need to say thanks to my amazing boyfriend who took the following picture. He's local photographer, Justin Lewis- filmaperture Photography :)



I tried out a new recipe for ravioli and it's definitely a keeper. I made a few modifications and thought I'd share it with you. Enjoy!

Butternut Squash, Sage & Goat Cheese Ravioli, with Hazelnut Brown-"butter" sauce
For the Filling:
2 lbs butternut squash, halved & seeded
1 med. onion, chopped
1 1/2 tsp ground sage
1 Tbsp butter (or use olive oil like me :P)
1 garlic clove, minced
3 oz goat cheese mozzerella, grated

60 wonton wrappers (2 packages)
1 stick of butter (or substitute with olive oil like me :P)
1/3 c. hazelnuts, lightly toasted, skinned, & chopped coarse
3 cups spinach leaves

Preheat the oven to 425 & lightly grease a baking sheet.

For Filling: Put squash, flesh down, on baking sheet & roast for 30 mins. Cool. Scoop out the flesh into a bowl and trash the skin. Mash until smooth

While squash roasts, cook onion & sage in oil w/salt & pepper, about 5 mins. Add garlic. Cool and add to the squash. Add the cheese and stir.


Bring 5 quarts of salted water to a boil. Place one wonton wrapper on a lightly floured surface and mound 1 Tbsp filling in the middle. Wet another wrapper and seal the deal! Transfer to a dry paper towel. After you make a bunch- I did 6 or so at a time- put them in the boiling water for about 6 minutes, until they float. If you aren't plating right away, transfer them to a shallow pan and add some cooking water. If you don't, they'll all stick together. Continue doing this until you have used up your filling or have made as many ravioli as you wish!

For the sauce- heat 1 stick of butter or some oil in a skillet and add the nuts & spinach leaves. If using butter, keep it on the heat until it browns and then remove from heat and season with salt & pepper. If using oil, just heat it up a bit.

Serve ravioli with butter/oil hazelnut spinach sauce on top! Yummy!

Serving amount is debateable- I made 5 raviolis for each of 5 people, so 5 total and I've still got leftovers to make another batch tonight.

A very happy birthday to you!

My little brother turns 17 on Saturday- 17! I can't even believe it. Somehow, within the last 2 years the kid has sprouted into a 6'3, thin as a rail, bright and talented, almost-young adult. I invited him and my dad for dinner on Saturday night and of course I've got to come up with a fitting dessert for the occaision. I started listing out some of his favorite things and focused on Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Inspiration quickly followed. I made a test batch this past Saturday.

I started with a simple cupcake batter and added a healthy helping of local raw honey from the Portland farmer's market.





As the cupcakes baked and the sweet honey smell started filling my kitchen, I pulled out my mixer and created a fluffy peanut butter icing. I don't have a ton of icing experience, so this next comment may not be saying much, but it is definitely the best icing I've ever created. It's light and airy and oh, so peanut buttery.





After the cupcakes cooled, I made a bowl of dark chocolate ganache. I piped the icing on top of the cupcakes and then dipped the tops in ganache.



Good idea- but it wasn't thought through. Of course, the icing did not keep it's pretty, evenly distributed shape. It melted and deflated a bit. I don't have photos of the finished product because I was sorley disappointed with their appearance. Apparently taste trumps appearance, though. The reactions I received have convinced me to make them again. One of my tasters told me it was an "orgasm" in her mouth, another placed an order for her and her boyfriend.

I will make them again this weekend, but I'm going to modify it a bit and hopefully it will be more visually appealing and I'll be able to get some pictures for you. Fingers crossed! Either way, I know my almost-17-year-old brother will devour them. Happy Birthday, Keith!