Kholood Eid

Firecracker cake pop from Honey Moon Sweets.

​​Last week we went DIY on the cake pop, with a trip to Crafty Chica Kathy Cano-Murillo's home kitchen on the west side. Today we're in Tempe with a baker who's gonna tell us how the pros make cake go pop. More >>

​It was bound to happen, right?

Cupcake this. Cupcake that. Cupcakes dressed up like people. People dressed up like cupcakes. As Chow Bella bloggers, Americans, we can't seem to get enough of this seemingly immortal sweet treat trend. When the universe asked what we would like, we demanded it give us more cupcakes. We shouted, "C'MON UNIVERSE, MAKE WITH MORE CUPCAKE STUFF!!! WE CAN'T STAND NOT HAVING CUPCAKE STUFF EVERY SECOND OF OUR LIVES!!!"

And so it did. It gave us Cupcake Vodka. And then it laughed.

It's true. Cupcake Vineyards wines, which claims to be "the U.S.'s fastest growing $8+ wine brand in 2010" is releasing Cupcake Vodka. And if you think it doesn't get worse than that, wait until you hear the flavors and the use of the word, "mouth-feel."

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Carol Blonder

chocolate-peanut butter mousse and sauted banana cake with creme fraiche ice cream

​ Posh pastry chef Melissa Barth followed her older brother into a culinary program in high school, hit the pastry station, and found her niche. After completing the pastry and baking program at the Culinary Institute of America, Melissa did an externship at The Atlantic Inn on Block Island and worked at The Cupcake Station in Birmingham MI before landing in Phoenix. Word of mouth led her to Posh where she creates dessert compositions to complement the improv menu. Melissa shares her recipe for a composition of chocolate cake layered with sautéed bananas and peanut butter mousse served with crème fraiche ice cream and macerated berries.More >>

Carol Blonder

Posh pastry chef Melissa Barth

​ Like most younger siblings, Melissa Barth liked to follow her big brother around. In high school she entered a culinary program to be just like him. Her brother went on to a career in computers, but once Melissa hit the pastry station, she never wanted to leave.

Growing up in a small town in upstate New York, Melissa didn't have the opportunity to eat out much. Attending culinary school in Hyde Park added restaurant dining experiences. Trips to NYC included eating out and discovering new foods like dim sum and squab.

Melissa is intrigued by how things work, like bread baking and people's minds. She envies her cousin's studies in criminal justice and psychology, only for the learning, never as a career. Melissa wouldn't trade her world of baking and pastry for the anything.

Pastry path: I followed my older brother's footsteps; he was on a culinary kick. I liked to do what he did, and entered the culinary program, like he did, in high school. It was like the EVIT program here. Every two weeks we rotated through a kitchen station, I hit the pastry station and I didn't want to move!

pushing through, breaking the bread code, and being one of the guys after the jump

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Carol Blonder

Suzanne Garcia and her cookie counter

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Yesterday, Suzanne Garcia president of Chocolate Star Bakery shared the lessons she brought from a successful fashion and business background to her cookie bakery. The San Francisco native likes to keep her recipes simple but isn't afraid to glam up a cookie with premium ingredient combinations. Today, Suzanne shares her recipe for Chocolate Cherry Almond Cookies.

jump to the recipe

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Carol Blonder

Suzanne Garcia

​ Today we present Suzanne Garcia, president and chief cookie controller at Chocolate Star Bakery. Many people find Chocolate Star after receiving a tin of their cookies or while surfing the internet for a great cookie gift. Don't let the small store front location fool you,walk in and you will find Suzanne behind the cookie-laden counter or her 20 gallon Hobart mixer.

Have cookies always been your thing?
My Dad had the biggest sweet tooth. He was a fire fighter. I always baked with my Mom, and often the baked goods went with my dad to the firehouse. When I was a kid, my friend and I always ate the raw cookie dough!

I studied at the Fashion Institute in San Francisco and worked for Nordstrom for eighteen years in women's apparel. I was a regional merchandise manager responsible for 27 stores and a $220 million budget. Marketing, merchandising and design are elements of my background from Nordstrom that I bring to my cookie business.

Suzanne's first cookie order and baking in the desert after the jump

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Carol Blonder

sugar cookies with poured sugar icing

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When we visited Barbara Gardner at Let Them Eat Cake, we didn't find the Michael Jackson Cupcake. Instead, a tribute to I Love Lucy was on display, and that is what Barbara likes to do: switch up flavors, decorations and continue to create beautiful and whimsical cake designs. Today Barbara shares her recipe for Sugar Cookies with Poured Cookie Icing.

recipe

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Carol Blonder

Barbara Gardner

​ Barbara Gardner loves art and funneled her talent into the niche of cake decorating. She grew her hobby into a business, and still thrives on her creative outlet. The cakes, cupcakes and cookies at Let Them Eat Cake are known for their beautiful decorations and the whimsical change in the line up each month.

Was baking always your thing?
I really loved art, when I was a high school senior I took a Wilton cake decorating class. It was in the basement of JC Penney at The Park Central Mall. As soon as I took the class, I was hooked, I knew it was something I could start as a hobby and build up. I baked and decorated my first cake order for free.

I went to college, studied restaurant management, and thought about other careers like dietician, physical therapist, and athletic trainer. I would bake at night and continued cake decoration as a hobby. I worked as a waitress, florist, and portrait photographer; I always needed a creative outlet.

More Sweet Talk after the jump

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courtesy Wei of Chocolate

chocolate cake ingredient prep

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Lisa Reinhardt is the CEO and chocolatier behind Wei of Chocolate, a unique Phoenix chocolate business combining the health benefits of dark chocolate with homeopathic floral essence infusions. In our Sweet Talk with Lisa she revealed her experiments with various eating regimens. One constant is her belief in the power of chocolate for its proven health benefits (see Harvard study) and as a reminder to slow down, take a break and pay attention to the moment. Today, Lisa shares a favorite recipe for flourless chocolate cake.

jump to the recipe

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Carol Blonder

cacao pod

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In the eighteenth century, Carl Linnaeus, the Swedish botanist credited for the naming and classification system used to distinguish plants and species found in Europe and the New World, named the cacao tree, Theobroma cacao, "food of the gods". Cacao had a long-established spiritual connotation among the Mayans and the Aztecs. The Mayans had a cacao god, the Aztecs accepted the beans as currency, and both cultures used the bean in food and beverage preparation.

The bean and its derivative chocolate drink arrived in Europe from the New World along with Native Americans, brought to prepare a chocolate beverage for European aristocracy. Chocolate houses were established as the drink gained popularity, and became associated with beneficial medicinal qualities. The development of chocolate as we know it today, took centuries after the bean was first introduced to Europe by Spanish conquistadors.

Cacao and its derivitive chocolate still hold a magical power that reaches beyond the palate. Lisa Reinhardt started her Phoenix-based business, Wei of Chocolate, based on the belief of the transformational qualities of chocolate.

follow the jump for Lisa's ah-ha chocolate moment and more

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