Frankie Says Relax!!

Do you ever have those months where you look back and say, "Where did this month go?!?!" That was our February.  How is March 1 this Friday???  As you know, this isn't our favorite month, so we're not super sad to see it go, but our life seems to be on fast forward right now!!

We have a break from our full time job at Initech today, and decided to get caught up on some bakery odds and ends while we have the chance.  It's been a crazy few weeks at work, and baking has taken a back seat to sleeping, showering, and occasionally eating. :-)  Luckily we're approaching wedding season, though, which means we'll be baking out the wazoo over the coming weeks.  Themed wedding cakes are our favorites, and we should have some pretty fun ones coming up this spring/summer season.

In the mean time, we've been baking up some fun treats for some birthday celebrations.  Our favorite of the month?  This stunning almond raspberry cake we made for a good friend.  Simple, elegant, and absolutely delicious.  Sometimes celebrating birthdays isn't about the icing and the sprinkles, but the smile one gets when biting into a perfectly delicious bite of cake.  Mmmmmmmm. :-)

We also had fun baking some cupcakes for a bridal shower last week.  It was a last minute request with one very simply instructions: no chocolate.  WHAAAAA...??!?!?!  No chocolate???  How could anyone want to throw a party without chocolate cupcakes??  The shock was quite unbelievable, but after we regained our breath from the initial bad news, we did manage to find some good flavors to celebrate the upcoming nuptials  strawberry champagne, vanilla bean, and lemon raspberry.  Even without a bit of chocolate in the batch, they still turned out surprisingly well.

For now, we're going to go reorganize our pantry (always an awful task), watch some Downton Abbey, and relax on this day off from Initech.  It's 43 and sunny today, a perfect sign that spring is just around the corner!!

Enjoy the sunshine, and watch out...some Psych themed cupcakes will be popping up in our bakery this week to celebrate the return of the wonderful tv show!  We can't figure this recipe out!!

Lis

Febru--ewwwwy

We're going to start off this post with a bit of honesty: we hate the month of February.  It is so cold, and so glum, and so confusing with the "Is it Leap Year, Isn't It??" drama, and seems like that last final hurdle between winter and spring.  How this month is only (usually) 28 days is beyond us, because it always seems like the longest month of the year.

The only good things about February:

     1. It's our half birthday on February 19th (and we have always been firm believers that you celebrate your half birthday!)

     2. It's Groundhog's Day, meaning the wonderful Bill Murray movie will be on TV again.

Otherwise, this month can pass as quickly as possible.

It's been another busy week for us here at PSR, although that is slowly becoming the norm.  We made our first tiered wedding cake, baked some delicious cupcakes, and managed to design a new logo.  Some wonderful pictures for you to drool over coming right up!

(the top photo is our raspberry lemon and the bottom is our breakfast cupcake, complete with freshly cooked bacon on top!)

So as we slowly build into a business, things have started to fall in place.  We came up with a name, thanks to a lengthy Facebook post.  We passed out PA SafeServ test.  We've bought new supplies and tools, and boxes, redesigned business cards, launched websites, wined and dined potential clients.  It's a very small snowball still, but at least it's rolling.

One thing that was bothering us was the lack of a logo on any of our products.  We're of the firm belief that branding, advertising, and logos help people to recognize your product (on a large scale: the golden arches of McDonalds.  On a smaller scale, we all know the commercials and advertising campaigns for Edgar Snyder and Associates). We feel we advertise fairly well, given our income, but we were still on the hunt for a good logo.  Online designs, while well priced at times, were a big game of "what ifs".  You paid for one design, and if you didn't like it, oh well.  We figured we'd rather pay a little more and make sure we had some say in the design.

A friend of the bakery is a graphic design student, and he does all that awesome stuff on computers we can only dream of.  Our computers are used for email, facebooking, and catching up on tv shows via Hulu.  We gave him a vague idea of what we were looking for: Color, definitely.  But elegance.  Also fun, we're a fun bakery.  The classic black and white theme works wonders too, though.  Feminine, but not too feminine that men run away screaming.  Honestly, that's almost word for word what we typed him.  He somehow made sense of all of that, and began working.  

8 revisions later (take that etsy and your "no-revision" policy!) we finally had a logo that I loved, he was proud of, and I could pay him for.

Ladies and gentlemen, our new logo:

Thoughts?  We personally LOVE it.  He somehow managed to incorporate everything we asked for in our email.  Fun, elegant, colorful, feminine (but not TOO feminine), and expressive of who we are.  You might see this popping up a little more often, as we slowly use logo placement to help you keep track of our business!

So on to today, and our busy weekend.  Business checks to cash, a sale to organize (read that and prepare yourself.  We're having a flash sale soon, on Facebook.  Amazing deals, extremely limited supply.  Keep watch, because it won't come around again anytime soon!!) and a pineapple birthday cake to make.  Any Psych lovers out there?  This cake is going to be for you!!

Have a wonderful weekend, try to stay warm.  March better come quickly, so we can get into the wedding swing of things!!  Cannot wait!!

Lis

New Deals and Happenings

It's been a crazy week here at Pittsburgh Sweet Relief. Besides the fact that our regular day job is sucking most of the energy out of our day, we're also trying to get ready for a road trip home this weekend. That means lots of baking. They always say your family is your biggest support group, and ours is no different. They love to eat things we bring home to bake, and this time we're using it to our advantage. Our sister has an awesome photography business (shameless plug, a link to her hilarious blog is on the right) and also has a sweet tooth for vanilla cupcakes. Being sisters, we're good at deals: she'll photograph some awesome photos of our stuff, and in return we'll bake her some of her favorite vanilla bean cupcakes. A win-win.

It is crazy here at PSR, though. Baking is EVERYWHERE!!! So is icing. And flowers. Our KitchenAide is humming, we'll have to post a review of it soon. It's working overtime, the poor thing.

Next week we'll show you everything we've been baking up, and we can't wait. Stop back to see all the wonderful things we've been creating!!

Homeward bound, here we come!!!

Lady Mix-A-Lot

Oh. My. God, Becky, look at her butt!

Ok, maybe that's not me.  But I could be Sir Mix-A-Lot's wife this week, after the arrival, finally of my KitchenAide mixer.

My word this was a long time coming!  As you guys know if you follow my posts, I have wanted this mixer since the dawn of time.  And now it's finally here, in all of its metallic glory, waiting for me to mix something in it.  I'm waiting to break it in until probably tomorrow or Friday, depending on my awful work schedule.  The first order I have is for a dear friend who moved to Massachusetts a few months ago.  She has the winter blues, who wouldn't in Massachusetts, so some cupcakes will soon be on their way to her house soon.  I also have a wedding cake to make this weekend, which means sitting down to invest some good ole' quality time with my rose making skills.  This is definitely the worst part of baking: making roses.  Ugh.  But more about that for another blog post.

For now, I'm gonna freak out a little more about my mixer, grin because I've got a big butt and I cannot lie, and gear up for a full weekend of baking.  

Shake that healthy butt!  Baby got back!

Quiz: Do I Like Cupcakes?

Sometimes people question aloud to us how strong their devotion to cupcakes really is.  Here's a simple quiz for you to determine if you like to eat cupcakes:

1. When I get home from school/work I like to:
 a. Run 6 miles to burn off any excess calories I may have accidently consumed today.  Must. Run. More.
b. Find a relaxing way to unwind by cooking, reading, or playing on the computer.  Sometimes I need to treat myself to some me-time.

2. My idea of a perfect party is:
a. Acquaintances gather in a circle to discuss life after Earth, and whether fortified jerky made of plant compounds is a realistic thing.
b. Music, games, good food, and plenty of laughter!

3. My idea of a healthy diet is:
a. Sprouts, sprouts, and more sprouts!
b. Balance that puppy, but leave room for some fun treats too!

4. On TV I like to watch:
a. Amish Mafia.  Their beliefs on an eye for an eye really get my blood pumping!
b. Cupcake Wars.  They're so cute, and fluffy, and I WANT TO EAT THEM ALL!!!

5. A friend calls and asks if I'll meet him at a bakery to catch up with each other.  I:
a. Panic.  Bakeries mean sugar.  Sugar is evil.  I cannot consume evil.  I must not set foot in a bakery ever!
b. Wonder how I have such amazing friends that they know meeting me at a bakery is a dream come true.

6. My favorite flavor of cupcake is:
a. Bran.  With a side of kale juice.
b. Chocolate.  No, vanilla.  Wait, maybe peanut butter.  Or perhaps red velvet.  Oh, it's mango peach.  I CAN'T DECIDE!!!

7.  I read this blog because:
a. I'm trying to get my certification in online creeping.
b. I love cupcakes!!!  And Lis!!!

RESULTS
If you answered mostly A, it's safe to say you're not a cupcake fan.  And you may want to check in with a doctor sometime soon.  And avoid the internet.

If you answered mostly B, congratulations, you love cupcakes!!  I know it was hard to figure out, but now that this quiz proves your love and devotion, it's time for you to show your love and devotion and eat a few!  The gym can wait!!

I hope this quiz was informative and helpful for you.  We here at PSR want to help all cupcake addicts to embrace their love for the delicious treat, and to let you know it's OK to admit you die for the treats.  We do too!!

Reviewing For You: LorAnn Gourmet Candy and Baking Flavoring

Product: LorAnn Gourmet Candy and Baking Flavoring (cherry and raspberry)

Claim to Fame: Anyone who has ever tried my baking knows I adore flavor combos.  A good old classic and vanilla is nice, but how about a basil and tomato cupcake with cornmeal?  Or a peach mango beauty made with fresh fruit?  Sound delish?  It is.  To me, baking is about finding a wonderful combination of flavors that make your mouth scream "OH MY WORD!!"

I do what I can to get as many fresh and natural flavors into my baking.  I use real vanilla beans.  My freezer is full of frozen fruit I purchased in the summer and cleaned, cut, and bagged myself.  But no matter how hard you try, sometimes it's just not possible to get fresh, all natural flavors you're looking for without spending an arm and a leg.  Sadly.

That's where LorAnn Gourmet flavorings come in.  These little bottles pack quite the punch in flavoring, and promise me 4 times the flavoring of regular extracts.  That's a hefty promise, but I decided to put it to the test.  I wanted to make a raspberry orange cake, and while fresh oranges are a dime a dozen right now, raspberries are not.  Time to try out my new flavoring.

Price $ ($0-$10): The price for these are amazing, one package is $3.49.  At first that seems a little pricey considering, if dared, I could swallow the contents of this with one try.  But then you think how much you'll be able to bake with just this tiny bit of flavoring, and suddenly the $3.49 seems like a steal.  Extracts usually run $4-8, and you need to use a lot more to achieve the same flavoring.  If nothing else, the savings will eventually make it worth the investment (if they taste ok).

Testing it Out: As I said, I wanted to bake an orange raspberry cake, pictures to come soon.  I had the orange flavoring no problem, but decided to bust out the LorAnn Gourmet raspberry flavoring for this project.  I do appreciate that they add very little artificial coloring to their mix: yes, it's tinted red, but you use so little of it you can't even tell.  Helps for those of us who love to make funky colored cakes and cookies.

Using was easy, no different than adding vanilla extract.  I used 1/4 tsp of the extract, and after I mixed it into the batter, it was time to bake.

The Results: I was a little disappointed in the final taste.  Maybe I'm too picky, but it definitely felt like this extract was made for candy flavoring, not baking.  Yes, I realize it says on the package it's made for candy flavoring, but it also says it's perfect for baking.  Ehhhhhhh....not so much...it definitely tasted like raspberry, but the raspberry taste was off.  It was, to be honest, a little fake tasting.  Kind of like it was made for a lollipop.  Haha.  I guess that should have been obvious for me when I bought it, but I was expecting more of a natural flavoring than what I got.

It wasn't bad.  It just wasn't what I was looking for.

Final Verdict: If you're looking for a cheap option for flavoring, and like the lollipop type of flavorings, this stuff is made for you.  It's well-priced, easy to use, and definitely gives you a pop of flavor.  For me, and my more natural preferences, I am probably going to keep looking for an alternative.

Rating: *** out of ***** Again, in the right situation, these are probably amazing products.  I just find it a little misleading that the packaging suggests it's the perfect tool to use for baking.  It's not, at least not in my opinion.

New Year, New Stuff!

Well hello 2013, didn't you creep up on us a little bit...?  Still getting used to writing "2012" on my things, and now have to make that 2 turn into a scary looking 3 with a few well-crafted pen strokes.  Remember when time seemed to stand still when we were kids?  What happened to those glory days?

Anyway, HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!!  We're excited that we can officially begin telling people, "Yes, we started our business last year."  What a nice ring that has instead of, "Oh, we started our business a few months ago, don't laugh, we're serious about making this work."  It sounds so much more professional when you can tell potential clients that you have successfully been in business since 2012 with no major mishaps.

This is all paled in comparison to the amazing news we have for everyone today.  For those of you who are new to the blog, or only read a handful of our posts, this past year has been operated on a shoestring budget.  As of right now our baking bank account has $162 in it.  We are by no means ready to trade on the NYSE. We're growing, though, which is evident in the fact that we even have a separate business bank account.  But this is still a shoestring operation until further notice.  We buy only what we need, everything in bulk at discount stores, and bake only what is absolutely necessary.  We use Facebook and this blog as our only means of advertising, as both are free.  We have wallpapered the Pittsburgh area with our business cards that someone gifted to us.  We have no working dishwasher, and make every order by hand with a small hand mixer and a few well-loved mixing bowls.

Until today.  Today, everything changes.  Today we can officially announce we have enough money to buy the one appliance we have always dreamed of owning, a professional KitchenAid Mixer.

For those of you who think, "Those things are only like $400, why haven't you bought one yet?" let me remind you of our shoestring budget.  While we do have a separate full-time job at a company, those funds are used to pay bills, buy food for us to eat, and pay down those dastardly student loans.  There's little left over at the end of the month for high-end appliances, and all the funds that are left over are saved for the day where we eventually do open our restaurant.  We believe in the theory that we use what we've been blessed with, whether it is a hand mixer with a questionable motor, cupcake tins from the Soviet era, or donated supplies from friends and loved ones.  Opening a business is a marathon, and well-planned finances help you finish the race.

So for the past 6 months we've been saving our coins and small bills in a jar on our dresser.  You know the routine, you get ready for bed, empty your pockets out and find 84 cents you didn't know you had.  Into the jar it went.  It's money we didn't even realize we had, so adding it to the jar was nothing.  Didn't even thing about it.  Every time we had $50 saved up, we would make a trip to the dreaded Giant Eagle (that's another story for another post) and buy a Visa gift card.  Slowly, ever so slowly, we were going to save up for this mixer.

We had help along the way.  Donations from friends who heard about our coined plight.  Gifts from friends and family.  We were once even paid for a job with a $50 gift card (totally unexpected but appreciated).  Slowly the number of gift cards grew.  Slowly we realized this would eventually work.

So as 2013 rings in across the world, we are happy to announce we finally have enough gift cards to buy that dang mixer!  The professional size, of course, we do have an image to keep up.  :-)

Now all we have to decide is what color we want.  Any suggestions?  Our flour/sugar/rice counter containers are red, yellow, and lime green.  Should we go with a color that compliments that like an aqua or pink or orange?  Or do we go with something classic and timeless like ivory or black?  Maybe we should consider which color is the easiest to clean...

Let us know your thoughts about color choices, or any other helpful KitchenAid mixer tips you might have.  And if you order anything from us from this point on, know that we did not mix it by hand!  We will soon be the proud owners of an amazing KitchenAid mixer! :-)

Happy 2013 everyone!