Lemon Cream Pie Oh My!

My poor little blog gets neglected during the months of September through June while I’m teaching. It’s always during my summer vacation that I get inspired to do more with it. I always have the desire, but sometimes I need a little nudge…so I decided to join Flavor of the Month carnival from Bake at 350. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to keep up with the monthly flavor posts.

For the month of June, we had to make pie. The thought of making a pie immediately intimidated me because of the crust. Making a crust is much easier when you have a food processor and I do not. Someday, I’d love to whip up a flaky, buttery crust from scratch, but this was not the time. So I cheated and went with store bought. I know it’s terrible, but the rest was definitely homemade. After flipping through my collection of magazines, I decided on a lemon cream pie from Martha Stewart.

This was such an easy pie to make, especially since I bought the crust (shame on me). The hardest part was waiting for the pie to cool so that I could add the whipped cream topping and eat it! If I were to make it again, I think I’d use a little less lemon juice. The lemony taste was good, but a bit too much for me. This pie recipe was excellent, now I just have to work on making my own pie crust from scratch. For the recipe go here. Enjoy!


Check out more pie ideas and recipes here.

Cupcakes 2008

Baking has been a hobby of mine for a long time, but I've never invested as much time and money into it as I have in the last two years. I guess it has a lot to do with finally living alone and having the time and freedom to play around with it.

Cupcakes have taken center stage in my baking for the last two years. I'm now known by my friends and family as the cupcake baker. I love these miniature creations! Here is a sampling of my favorites that I've baked this year. Enjoy!

Chocolate Cupcakes w/Vegan Buttercream

Chocolate Banana Monkey Cupcakes

Vanilla Cupcakes w/ Chocolate Ganache

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes w/Buttercream

Vanilla Cinnamon Cupcakes w/Cream Cheese Frosting

Oreo Cupcakes

The Farm

Even though I have been focusing my search on cupcake bakeries in the bay area, I also can't help but check out places when I am out and about traveling. The Farm is located near my old stomping grounds in Santa Cruz. I have visited The Farm many times for various things. The Farm is a bakery and shop all in one. They have so many neat things for gifts and lots of Mexican folk art. The Farm is known for their delicious fruit tarts, but I decided to give their cupcakes a try.

To start the cupcake was cold....I hate that! This has happened to me before and I just don't get why a bakery would sell a cold cupcake - what is the deal? I was really disappointed and the cupcake was terrible. I think I'll just stick to their fruit tarts and cute little gifts.

Belgano

I was not satisfied with the cupcakes at Noe Valley Bakery, so I continued my stroll and stubbled upon Belgano. Their cupcakes looked homemade and delicious. I choose the white cake with vanilla buttercream. The cupcake was moist and simple, but soooo good! I think the best cupcakes are the ones that are simple and have a balance between the flavors and textures. This cupcake had it all! It turns out these cupcakes are brought in fresh daily from the bakers at Kookez Cafe. Delicious...I will definitely be returning here for more cupcakes.

Tea Cake Bake Shop

Once I found Tea Cake Bakeshop, I was a little disappointed to find that they are located in an outdoor shopping area/strip mall. I guess I was hoping for something on a smaller scale since the decor is so cute.

Tea Cake Bakeshop is cute, but the lay out seemed a bit awkward. The display case did not have any cupcakes, but instead had some other decent looking sweets. The cupcakes were all on display along the windows on cake stands. The cupcakes themselves were gorgeous,but we weren't allowed to take from the ones on display. That seems weird to me...if I go into a bakery I expect the baked goods to be rotated through not just sitting on display.

After selecting a few basic flavors to try, I headed home to do some taste testing. I roped my boyfriend in to get his opinion on the flavors too. We agreed that the cupcakes were too sweet. Some might object that a cupcake can never be too sweet, well I disagree. I was really disappointed because these cupcakes were so cute. Ah well, back to my search for the perfect cupcake....