Cakes, Cakes, Glorious Cakes

It's been a busy few weeks.

Work has been zapping a lot of my energy...so much so that I've not spent nearly enough time dedicated to you wonderful readers. I have been so busy with life, working hard, celebrating the warm weather, baking and decorating that I've cut out some of my time in front of the computer (aka bringing tasty posts to a computer near you).

Even though the posts are not as regular, I promise you the baking is still going strong so they recipes will eventually be coming your way.

In addition to the personal baking, there also seems to be a correlation between warmer months and number of cakes decorated. I already have 5 wedding cakes lined up for the coming months (including my own!) and the orders keep coming in!

Speaking of which I also want to let everyone know that I've created a website dedicated strictly to my cakes: sweetsbye.weebly.com. It not only showcases the different cakes I've done, but I'm also hoping to increase my clientele, so if any of you out there know someone in need of a cake and they live in Central Texas send em my way please :) And let me know what you think of it!

Now back to this post! I thought I'd highlight a few of the cakes I've made recently.. the wedding cakes will be posts all their own.

Beiber Fever was made for a little girl through Free Cakes for Kids Killeen. She was so excited when I delivered the cake- not only did she fake a fainting spell, in true Beiber-dom, but I got 2 hugs out of the deal!

The next cake was one I made was actually for one of the volunteers for Free Cakes for Kids Killeen. She was in a pinch and asked if I could make a Monkey Mod cake for her daughter. Having never heard of Monkey Mod I had to do a little research, but after that is was a piece of cake ;)

This last cake was one of my favorites yet.. one of the girls at work wanted to surprise her boyfriend with a cake for their 1 year anniversary. Both avid sky divers, she somehow wanted to incorporate their hobby and together we came up with an idea to replicate them completing a skydiving formation together. The two colorful sky divers are actually replicas of them and the suits they skydive in.

(that's them!)

And before I forget!! As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program I recently received a coupon for a box of Magnum Ice Cream Bars..

We finally got around to digging into the chocolate and caramel variety and I don't even know where to begin! They're rich and creamy and super satisfying after a day in the hot Texas sun! The next time you're at Walmart I highly suggest running to the freezer section and buying a box! Thanks Foodbuzz!

As for Mountain Man and me.. we're off to Vegas for the weekend :) We're going to win big, I can feel it!

Happy Baking!

Peanut Butter & Jelly Bread Pudding Cups

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program, the wonderful folks at Nature's Pride bread offered a coupon good for one free package of their delicious bread and challenged Tastemakers to come up with a unique recipe using their product.

Although this bread can easily be enjoyed via a healthy turkey sandwich, a hearty grilled cheese, or a delicious slice of cinnamon toast,  I opted to use my loaf for a twist on an American classic- the PB&J.

Gourmet sandwiches may come and go, but a good ole fashioned Peanut Butter and Jelly will get me every time... especially on 100% Whole Wheat Bread.

Another thing I love? bread pudding.

So when I got the fancy idea to combine the two, I just knew it would be good.

Peanut Butter & Jelly Bread Pudding Cups

Oven: 350 Bake time: 20-25 minutes

Makes 10-12 individual cups

1/2 cup whole milk

1/2 cup half and half 

2 eggs

1/2 cup peanut butter, warmed

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup grape or strawberry jelly

6-8 slices of Nature's Pride bread, cubed (I got about 2 muffins for every slice of bread)

Preheat the oven to 350. Spray muffin pan with cooking spray.

Cut bread into small pieces or cubes, fill each muffin cup.

In a small bowl, microwave jelly for about 20 seconds or until it becomes liquid.

Pour 1 or 2 spoonfuls of liquified jelly over each muffin cup of bread and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk whole milk, half and half, eggs, brown sugar and vanilla.

In a small bowl microwave peanut butter for about 20 seconds.

Slowly add warmed peanut butter to milk mixture and whisk until well blended.

Pour about 1/4 cup of peanut butter mixture over each cup of bread. 

Gently press bread cubes down into muffin pan, making sure they soak up all the peanut butter mixture. 

Fill a large baking dish with about an inch of water to create a water bath.

Place muffin pan inside baking dish and transfer to oven.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until no liquid appears when the top of the bread pudding is gently pressed.

Remove muffin pan from water bath and allow to set/cool for about 15-20 minutes.

Remove bread puddings from pan and serve with a sprinkle of powdered sugar.  

Happy Baking!

 Sorry for another peanut butter recipe, but I couldn't resist!

Project Food Blog- The Definition

If there was ever to be a definition of me as a food blogger it might look a little something like this...

Evan @swEEts proper noun \ev-in 'at' sw-eets\ 

  Definition of EVAN @SWEETS

1 : a food blogger

   : lover of anything sweet

   : passionate and self proclaimed foodie

   : weeknight/weekend baker

   : aspiring bakery owner

2 : kitchen risk taker

   : creative designer

   : taste engineer

3 : originator of the 'Traveling Sweets' (see also Traveling Sweets)

Origin of Evan @swEEts

 A very small galley kitchen nestled in the plains of Central Texas.

First known use: December 2009

Related to Evan @swEEts

 Cookies, Cakes, Brownies, Bars, Pies, Jams, Muffins, Scones, Biscuits, Buttercream, Icing, Cinnamon, Chocolate

You think I can submit that to Webster?? What about Foodbuzz?

I mentioned a few days back that I would be participating in a blogger competition and this is it! The challenges have begun :)

For those of you that have been here before you know what I'm all about... If sugar and butter happen to be two of the main ingredients in a recipe then count me in, throw some chocolate in the mix or better yet cinnamon, then I'm all yours!

Let's face it, I, Evan Elizabeth, put the 'EE' in swEEts!

My first fondant and tiered cake

Believe it or not, Mountain Man (my boyfriend) and I do occasionally eat savory things too.. In fact, we're both pretty decent cooks, but that's not where my passion lies. 

I love to bake.

Baked goods celebrate joyous occasions, milestones, achievements, birthdays and anniversaries. They can turn a frown upside down, remind people that you're thinking about them, bring folks together, be the beginning of a great day or make a bad day just a little better.

I started this blog not only as a means to document my recipes and adventures in the kitchen, but to stay connected with friends and family as well as make some new ones along the way.

Sweets make people happy- and that's why I started The Traveling Sweets. Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury (or income) to travel far and wide to visit my friends and family, but my sweets do...a cookie here, a cake there, just a simple and yummy way to show those I care about that I'm thinking of them. Every time I send a sweet from Texas to the mountains of Tennessee, the shores of Rhode Island or the desert of Afghanistan, I know a little part of me is making its way there as well.

Those sweets get around!

And I'm always up for an adventure..

Like when I traveled over 1000 miles from Texas to Georgia, wedding cake in tow, for a friend's wedding (which I'm doing AGAIN in November?!)...

... or when I went to visit Mountain Man for his birthday while I was living in New York for an internship and hand carried little fondant replicas of him and his brother to be placed atop a mountain of a cake I had to make once I got there...

... or when I had to figure out the best way to get little flower pot cupcakes (I had to run to make my connection mind you) and their delicate gumpaste flowers through airport security as a surprise for my mother's birthday...

All in all, just another day in The Kitchen of the Traveling Sweets and these adventures are only just beginning!

Mountain Man and I have big plans for opening a bakery one day and look forward to spending countless hours in the kitchen fixing up all kinds of goodies for ya'll! In the meantime, I'll keep spending my Saturday and Sunday mornings whipping up delicious morning goods...

Decorating cakes for family and friends..

And baking cookies for all of you to enjoy..

There are some amazing bloggers participating in this competition and I hope you'll spend some time getting to know them as they blog about their passions and inspirations in the kitchen. So head on over to Foodbuzz to check that all out!

Of course, feel free to stick around here, kick of your shoes, grab a cup of coffee and browse my archive of sweets!

I love hearing from all of you out there in the blogging world so I hope you'll keep checking up on my baking adventures, following up on my traveling sweets and leaving the wonderful comments I so often find here. 

Happy Baking!

Oatmeal Cinnamon-Raisin Scones

A few weeks ago I stumbled upon a status update, via my news feed on facebook, of a friend proclaiming that anyone in the NYC area must go to Levain Bakery, claiming she just had the best cookie she had ever eaten and offered a link.

The best cookie she's ever eaten!? Of course I had to check this out..

Levain Bakery in NYC is supposed to have some of the best cookies known to man.. unfortunately I've never personally tried one, but if they're anything like the scones I made this morning then I don't doubt it!

As I browsed their website I came across a recipe for their Oatmeal Raisin Scones. I've had the page bookmarked for a while now and as I scoured my recipes for a good weekend morning scone this one just screamed "Pick me! Pick me!"

Now, I am no stranger to scones.. in fact I have a slight obsession with them..just take a look at my Sweet Potato Scones, Blackberry Scones, Maple and Bacon Scones, Carrot Cake Scones, Asiago & Rosemary Scones and whenever I'm at a bakery it's my go-to breakfast pastry. All that being said, I think these are hands down the best scones I have ever made/had.

I made a few tweaks here and there but the texture and flavor are perfect. I also halved the recipe and still got 6-8 good sized scones. For the original recipe check it out here.

I could seriously eat the whole batch...

Oatmeal Cinnamon-Raisin Scones
adapted from Levain Bakery
Oven: 350 Bake time: 20 minutes

1 cup AP flour
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup plus 2 TBS white sugar
1 TBS baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 TBS flax meal*optional
6 oz butter, cold and diced small (about 1 1/2 sticks)
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup cinnamon chips*optional
1/2 cup buttermilk *plus about 2 TBS for brushing

Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheet with parchment paper
Combine all ingredients except for buttermilk until sandy consistency is reached. Do not over mix!
Pour in buttermilk and continue to mix until just combined. If dough doesn't seem to be sticking together add more buttermilk, a little at a time.
Turn out dough on lightly floured surface (if dough is sticky sprinkle flour on top of dough as well). Form mixture into flat disc about a 3/4-1 inch thick.
Cut scone into triangles like you would a pie or pizza or use a round cookie cutter.
Place scones on baking sheet and brush each lightly using 2 TBS buttermilk.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown on top and bottom.

Have a great weekend!

Happy Baking!

I'd also like to let you all know that I'll be participating in the Foodbuzz Project Food Blog and would greatly appreciate your support. A little background on what it is all about: Foodbuzz is sponsoring a contest for the next Food Blog Star and a shot at $10,000- a series of culinary blogging challenges have been created and as a contestant you must create a post following the rules of each challenge. Come judgement day a series of judges will critique each post to see if you have what it takes to be the next star.. in addition to the judges, support from fellow bloggers and admirers is considered as well, which means I'd love your help when the time comes :) So be on the lookout for the first challenge next week!!