July is National Ice Cream Month!

How fantastic!  I never knew there was such a designation, but I certainly know how much I love ice cream.  Ice cream sundaes, ice cream shakes, ice cream floats, ice cream cakes…..

In 1984, Ronald Reagan declared July as National Ice Cream Month, and the 3rd Sunday in July as National Ice Cream Day.

To celebrate ice cream, I am creating some new cupcakes inspired by my favorite ice cream flavors.  Cookies n’ Cream cupcakes (vanilla cupcakes with chunks of cookies, fluffy buttercream frosting and an Oreo sticking out), dulce de leche (chocolate cupcakes with a caramel filling and caramel drizzled on top)…..ooh, I am getting hungry just thinking about the possibilities.

What are your favorite ice cream flavors?  Maybe your fave will become the best cupcake, ever!

Cheesecake Bon Bons

Did you know that Neiman Marcus sells cheesecake pops?  I didn’t, but now that I do, I think I may just have to start working on making such a delicacy.  A cheesecake bon bon sounds deliciously decadent to me – cheesecake and chocolate in a bite size treat, stored in the fridge, cool and creamy and perfect?  Wow.

I never even considering putting my bon bons on sticks, but maybe I should do that as well.  What do you think?

Loving Linda

So, my good friend Lisa just lost her dog, Vishy, to cancer.  Lisa and Vishy had a super close relationship, and when Lisa learned of the diagnosis, her friend Linda Crayton came to take some special pictures of the two of them.  When I saw the pictures, my heart got all warm and fuzzy – Linda truly captured Vishy’s spirit and Lisa’s love.

Last week I got to spend a morning with Linda during a Treats photo shoot -  – Not only is Linda unbelievably talented, but she’s funny, and nice, and genuine.  And the pictures she took are fantastic.  Will they warm your heart like the pictures of Vishy?  No.  But they very well might make you hungry.  Check them out!

And check out Linda at LindaCrayton.com – I promise that you will dig her as much as I do.

It’s all in the name….

I’m trying to rename my cakeballs. They originally WERE cakeballs – that is, cake, mixed with frosting, then shaped into balls and dipped in chocolate. But now, what I offer is different – not a cake at all. And dare I say better.
More like a truffle, but not quite a truffle. Picture a fudgy center drenched in milk or dark chocolate and then swizzled with even more chocolate. And then there are two peanut butter versions – one soft, one more “butterfingery” (I know…that is not a word, but it’s a darn good description). So, what would you call them?

Since they’re temperature sensitive, I haven’t yet figured out how to ship these. But if you suggest the winning name, and you’re local, you shall receive a dozen as a prize!

Mattie Miracle Cancer Foundation

Friends,

Come see me this Sunday, May 23rd, from 1-4pm at Saint Stephen’s and Saint Agnes Upper School (1000 St. Stephen’s Road, Alexandria) – I will be there in support of the Mattie Miracle Cancer Foundation, a wonderful foundation set up in memory of a 7 year old student who died of cancer last fall.

What to expect on Sunday – It’s a walk AND a family fun event filled with balloon animals, crafts, a rock climbing wall, great raffle prizes and a magic show. You can pre-register for the event at www.mattiemiracle.com/Cancer_Walk.html, or just register at the event on Sunday.

Come visit me, buy a treat, and support pediatric cancer research and the families who have been affected by the disease. If you can’t come to the event, just mention Mattie’s name when placing any Treats order between now and July 1st, and I will donate 10% to the Foundation.

I love baking, obviously. But baking for such a fantastic cause raises it to a whole new level, and I hope that you will support Mattie and much needed cancer research.

Sweetly,
Erica

Jackson Pollack

Got to love fun orders! A friend has asked me to provide Jackson Pollack inspired treats for her bookclub tonight. I’ve been splattering away, channeling my inner artist and making a HUGE mess – But a tasty mess, indeed.

If she would have asked for Picasso, I would have been in big trouble!

Can you taste the love?!

It’s been a crazy baking extravaganza – I was up until midnight baking 3 types of cookies, 3 types of cupcakes, and dipping loads of pretzels and cakeballs in chocolate and toppings.  And, this morning, was up before the sun to frost 70 cupcakes and assemble gift boxes and platters.  Oh, and a great friend asked me yesterday to bake a triple layer carrot cake with cream cheese frosting – due, of course, today.  For Nicole I would do anything, so, of course, I obliged.  So exciting to have such great orders…..and so tiring, too.

But then, today, when delivering the cupcakes, I was told that by a customer that when you eat one of my cupcakes, you can “taste the love”.  How fantastic is that?!  I often get asked about my secret ingredients and I never know what to say….But now, I suppose, I can just say LOVE.

Baking for a Cure

“He who has health, has hope. And he who has hope, has everything.” (Arabian Proverb)

I’ve got my health (although my diet is most certainly too high in sugar.  hmmm….wonder why?!) and I’ve certainly got hope.  But one of my favorite people in the whole world does not have perfect health – She’s battling Multiple Sclerosis.  Truly, battling – and not letting the disease win.  What Kristina lacks in health she makes up for it with hope – and what my grandmother would have called chutzpa.

In support of Kristina and much needed MS research, 10% of my sales from the months of March and April will go to the MS Society.

Up next, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Do you have a cause near and dear to your heart that you would like me to support?  Let me know.

Sweetly,

Erica

Up next….the perfect decorated cookie!

I am about to embark on a new, sweet adventure – the decorated sugar cookie.  I have played around with sugar cookies before, and have had some messy (but fun, and tasty) trial runs involving piping and flooding with royal icing.  But I never took it too seriously.  Until now.

You see, yesterday, a few fabulous friends recommended my treats on our local neighborhood listserve, and within hours, email inquiries arrived.  3 potential customers wanted decorated sugar cookies as party favors.  And I had to say “no” – because I only sell what I KNOW I can do very well, and boy would I hate to let these ladies down.  So, I directed them to Eleni’s Bakery in NYC that sells the most gorgeous decorated cookies available anywhere – And they cost between $6 and $12 a cookie, which is kinda crazy.

So, here I go – I am going to create the perfect sugar cookie that doesn’t spread, doesn’t brown, stays chewy and tastes fantastic.  And I am going to channel my inner “Martha” and decorate these cookies so perfectly that you may think that I have bought them from Eleni’s.  But they will be from my kitchen – and my price will be much, much better.

I Love Tara!

Aren’t my pictures pretty?  I can’t take credit – My friend Tara Bandes took them, and she rocks. Photography is her passion and hobby, and it certainly should be her career – don’t you think?   For more info on getting your own lovely pics, email Tara – tarabandes@gmail.com