neopolitan cake

Elizabeth wanted to practice her mad icing skills and create a cake for the case, the Neapolitan, a twist on her cupcake creation of the same name.

This yummy delicious cake has a layer of chocolate cake, a layer of vanilla cake, and a layer of strawberry cake iced with first strawberry icing, then vanilla icing, then chocolate icing.

It's amazing and in the case now!
$4.25 per monster slice.

super-cute tea towel

Oops! I made this post right after Christmas and forgot to publish...

My dad got this tea towel for me for Christmas and I thought I'd share.

It is so freakin' adorable and it cheers me just to look at it.
He got it on Etsy from the seller LeiLiLaLoo.

Check out her Etsy shop here!

phonelines phixed! (heh heh)

Huzzah!!!

And mad props to AT&T for getting Sanderlin Centre's lines fixed SO quickly!

no phones!!!

The phone lines at our shopping center are broken and AT&T has estimated a repair time of 7pm on Wednesday!

This means our regular phone line has been forwarded to my personal cell phone; if you call during open hours* and get the voice mail, it just means we're on the phone with another customer so please just try again in a few minutes.

You are also welcome to email us at eat@muddysbakeshop.com. Although our internet is down, I will be regularly checking this email from home.

This also means our credit card machine is inoperable, so please bring cash or checks with you!

I am so sorry for the inconvenience!!!

*open hours: T,W,Th 11am-9pm F, Sa 11am-11pm

in the case this week (jan 27-31)

Cookies and Things:
toffee bars
chocolate chip
peanut butter
strawberry almond oat bars
ginger kips
molasses cookies
oatmeal raisin
chewy sugar cookies

Cupcakes:
prozac
plain jane
pucker up
capote
classic
strawberry fields forever
frankly scarlett
chocolate decadence
mocha madness
citrus explosion
strawberry lemonade
grasshopper

Other:
'nana puddin'
pimiento cheese

As usual, our cakes and pies by the slice are chef's choice!

twitter!

Muddy's is now on twitter! (I know, can I get any more technological?)
Follow us at http://twitter.com/muddysbakeshop
Yay!

real men...

... fold bakery boxes.

Preston displays his powerful guns after a box-folding marathon.

pie day!

Ok, so today is apparently one of several "national pie day(s)", so obviously this is a very important time for me. :)

We have pulled out all the stops for national pie day and will be selling more than the usual number of pies by the slice as well as 4" individual pies, 7" pies, and teeny cupcake-size pies.

We have quite the variety as well:
lemon chess, apple, bourbon chocolate, pumpkin, banana cream, pecan, blueberry, pumpkin with bourbon and pecans...

Yum yum yum.

curry lamb casserole thing

I cooked!
This may not sound like a big surprise coming from someone who bakes professionally, but I am terrible about collecting recipes from books and magazines with Good Intentions to cook them and then, oops, staying at work 3 hours late and just making peanut butter and jelly.
Poor Thomas... he gets promises of yummy dishes that just don't materialize!

However, I made myself go on and purchase the fixins for this one so that I'd HAVE to make it and it's pretty good!
I made a half recipe (better for just two of us with a few leftovers or if you're a little tight on cash for lamb!), so I'm putting those instructions here. I added my notes in red and edited a little for clarity.

Mild Curried Lamb Casserole with Almonds
from Martha Stewart Living (I think January, but maybe February issue...)

1 1/2 Tbl olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 Tbl fresh minced ginger (I'll add a little more next time)
coarse salt and pepper
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/8 tsp ground cayenne pepper (I'd add a little more)
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cardamom
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1 pound ground lamb
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted (I'll use 1/2 cup next time)
2 slices white bread, crusts removed
1/8 cup and 3/4 cup whole milk (I bet coconut milk would be interesting)
1 Tbl apricot preserves (I'll use 2 Tbl next time)
1 Tbl fresh lemon juice
2 large eggs
pinch ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp lemon zest
2 dried bay leaves (I'd say these are optional)
cilantro and rice, for serving

Preheat oven to 325.
Heat a large saute pan (and if you double the above recipe you will need a LARGE one, you're putting just about everything into it!) over medium-high heat.
Add oil, onions, and fresh ginger; cook until onions are golden and tender, about 15 min.
Mix turmeric, cumin, coriander, cayenne, cinnamon, cardamom, and ground ginger together, then stir into the onions. Add the lamb also and cook until cooked through, about 10 minutes.
Add almonds and cook 2 more minutes.
Tear the bread into largish pieces and place in a small bowl; add the 1/8 cup milk and a pinch of salt and let it stand until absorbed. Add the bread to the lamb and cook, stirring a lot, about 2 minutes.
Now stir in the apricot preserves and lemon juice; cook 2 more minutes, then remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.
Spoon the lamb/onion mixture into a 6 cup baking dish.
In a small bowl, whisk eggs, nutmeg, lemon zest, and the 3/4 cup milk together, then pour this over the lamb. Place the bay leaves on top.
Bake until the egg mixture is set around edges and center isn't runny anymore, about 25-30 minutes. Let stand 15-20 minutes before serving (the perfect amount of time to cook your rice!).
I served with rice and chopped cilantro. Martha also suggests mango chutney, sliced banana, and/or unsweetened coconut flakes as toppers.

Yummy!!!

handmade toys

Ok, I'm on my soapbox for just a minute...

In 2007, large toy manufacturers who outsource their production to China etc, sold toys with high lead content, unsafe parts, and made from dangerous chemicals. In response, Congress passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) , which among other things, mandates third-party testing and certification for all toys. This testing will be easy for large corporations who churn out thousands of each toy a year.

However, the way the current act is written, it puts most small toy-making businesses out of business. All the Etsy sellers, crafts fair artisans, etc in America would also have to pay the $300-$4,000 fee for third-party testing for EACH toy that they make. This makes the crafts-fair toymaker extinct while Mattel and Bratz prosper.

Please visit the Handmade Toy Alliance for more information, including a sample letter and a list of state representatives and their contact information:
www.handmadetoyalliance.org

You can also sign the Handmade Toy Alliance petition here:
petition

two words...

Freakin' adorable.

vegan vanilla cupcakes*

Woohoo! We're really on a roll now.
We have made some pretty decent vegan vanilla cupcakes and vegan vanilla icing. We haven't yet tried it in cake form to see if it holds up there too, but we will soon.

I think they're pretty good, although I still prefer my food made with real butter and eggs!

Next up is the hunt for a good vegan chocolate recipe. If you have one, please share it with us but if not, we'll continue the search.

We do get a lot of requests for goodies made without animal products or without eggs, etc, so I hope that we'll be able to add these to our special order menu very soon.
Stay tuned!

*Ok, I wrote the above last week and totally forgot to publish it... in the meantime, we've made a pretty yummy vegan chocolate cupcake. We some available this week in the shop, so come check it out!

Muddy's portrait

Yay!
We've had this blank spot on our magenta wall behind the register just screaming for something to go there, and now that space is filled with a gorgeous portrait of my grandmother, Muddy.

The painting was done from the black and white photograph that most of you have seen in the shop of her as a young woman and the artist did a wonderful job providing color, texture, and basically, bringing Muddy to life on canvas.

My thanks to Clare Torina, the excellent artist, for painting this and for doing such a wonderful job. Clare was a dream to work with and is so gifted. If you're interested in having a portrait painted, I highly recommend her and have her business cards at the shop. You can also check out her website here.

in the case this week... (jan 13-17)

Cookies and bars:
chocolate chip
peanut butter
oatmeal cranberry
oatmeal coconut
honey rosemary
toffee bars
sprinkle sugar cookies
elyssa's espresso brownies

Cupcakes:
plain jane
prozac
classic
capote
pucker up
frankly scarlett
mocha madness
white tie
chocolate chimp
strawberry fields forever
the king
neopolitan
vegan chocolate

As usual, our cakes and pies by the slice vary- chef's choice!

pear ginger pie

Oh how I love to experiment... like Dr. Frankenstein in my lab, only less gruesome. On Saturday, I decided to try my hand at some pear ginger pie. I didn't want to make a whole 10" one, you know, in case it was gross, so I made a few 4" ones.

I rolled out my pie dough and lined the tins, then peeled and chopped the pears. I added just a little bit of ginger, because I didn't want to overpower the pears. I tasted the filling so far and thought it needed just a dash of cinnamon.

I made little cut outs in heart shapes instead of regular ole' slits in the top, you know, feeling creative.

They were yummy, and we'll definitely be making more!

great big whisk

If you've been in the shop in the last week, you've probably noticed we have a Great Big Whisk hanging from the ceiling.

Laurel (I'm sure you've seen her smiling face on Fridays on Saturdays!) was visiting a friend, Kody, and saw that he had a huge whisk. Apparently, it was from a Limited Too window display... I know, random.

So, Kody gave it to Laurel who gave it to the shop.
I mean, what's a bakery without a be-jeweled whisk big enough to beat eggs in a bowl the size of a little league field? Crazy!

greeting cards

You asked, we answered!

We now carry a selection of cards for many occasions. We have really tried to pull together a selection that is unavailable anywhere else in Memphis.

We have cards from Knoxville's Yee Haw Industries printing press as well as several independent printers such as Dutch Door Press, Morris and Essex and Love for Sale.
We also have some cards from local artist Lia Gordon (my stepmother!) and welcome other artists to submit designs.

This will make it even more convenient when you're picking up birthday cakes, etc. Please let me know what you think of the selection!