bridal show at the queen mary

this is wholesome cakes' first ever bridal show. will i do it again? hell yeah! the event was well organized and the crowd was awesome. i must have said " here are our featured samples today.. we have fresh whole wheat organic coconut topped with raw organic shredded coconut, caramel apple, espresso and chocolate raspberry" about 500 times! i've met amazing couples and fellow vendors. my sidekick Gricelda was amazing and on top of things. she made sure that the samples, napkins and business cards were constantly filled. I would never have survived the show without her. she stayed up late to do the photo montage and help frost the samples (about 500 of them) and managed to have the smiles and energy to last the whole show. i'll definitely hire her again!





for more photos, please go to http://flickr.com/photos/organicbaker/sets/72157603712457338/

panna cotta for christmas

i know this isn't anything close to a cupcake, but i believe this is worthy of a post.

panna cotta is something i really truly like. the creamy texture is hard to beat, the flavor is anything you want it to be, and making it, a zinch. the only thing that it needs, just like any thing nice and good is time.

now pardon my memory as i am backtracking what i did as i made this about 2 weeks ago. i can assure you though that this is definitely divine.

i used honey as the base of my panna cotta, as seen on the first picture (as i am making honey panna cotta). if you wish to do this with caramel, be my guest and just adjust.

bloom a packet of unflavored gelatin on a pot of 1/2 cup cold half and half for about 5 minutes. stir in about 3 cups of heavy cream, a tablespoon of sugar and 1/4 cup honey and bring this mixture to a gentle simmer. add vanilla beans. taste to check for flavor and sweetness. adjust if necessary. laddle in ramekins (or martini glass for pretty effect) and let sit undisturbed in your refrigerator for about 6 to 8 hours. note: if you do this in the morning, it'll be ready for dinner.

inspired by michael chiarello's honey panna cotta.