Banana Walnut Cake

Last night I tried a new recipe for a Banana Walnut Cake.  I grew up in the western Chicago suburbs where Sara Lee is headquartered, and I remember when I was a little girl going to a Sara Lee outlet store with my dad.  We'd buy frozen lasagnas and pound cakes, and I would always love the little individually wrapped banana cakes there.  My Banana Walnut Cake is sort of a grown-up version of that favorite treat.

It's a very simple cake made with mashed bananas and sour cream to keep it moist, and some coarsely chopped walnuts for some texture.  It's topped with a decadent cream cheese icing and a collar of more chopped walnuts.  Very simple and very good.

Cakes start at just $10.  Please contact me at susangietl@hotmail.com for more information.

Ganache Cupcakes

Okay, okay.  It's only December and last night I got a little antsy and made some Valentines-esque cupcakes.  But I wanted something chocolatey and rich, and I get a little trigger happy when it comes to Valentines Day because it's also my birthday-- it's a lot to look forward to.

These cupcakes I made just for fun.  I decided to try something new so I tweaked a chocolate cake recipe to make it a dark chocolate raspberry cake instead.  Then I topped it with a semisweet chocolate ganache, which is very rich and not too sweet-- the perfect icing for a chocolate lover.  To finish them off I placed some red candy hearts I piped out on top.  I think these look very, very pretty with the shiny ganache and the organic looking hearts.  Perfect for someone's sweetheart.  I'm sure I'll be making a lot more of these come February...

Boston Cream Pie

Yesterday morning I had an order for a Boston cream pie as the cake of choice for a birthday boy who is visiting from out of town.  For those who don't know, a Boston cream pie isn't really a pie, but a layer cake.  It is usually a couple of layers of a butter cake or a spongecake (yum), filled with pastry cream (double yum), and topped with a chocolate frosting or ganache (triple yum).  So if you do the math, it equals very, very good tasting.


My BCP started out with a butter cake.  It's one of my favorite recipes-- very dense and rich.  And since it was traveling to its owner I did a thicker chocolate butter frosting instead of a ganache.  (Well, technically it is a ganache since it's made from cream and chocolate... but it's a firm one.)  And on top I added a little marbled swirl of white chocolate glaze.  Voilà!  Boston Cream Pie.

Christmas Gifts

A co-worker asked me to make some Christmas gifts for his family to give out this weekend and I had a blast putting a few things together for him.  


The first thing I made was a yummy orange chocolate chip loaf, a variation on an orange chocolate chip cake recipe I have.  I made a few medium-sized loaves (about 6" X 3") that I baked in paper pans and wrapped in printed cellophane bags.  I also made some itty bitty loaves that I packaged in printed paper bags with a ribbon and Suzy Sweet Tooth sticker.  I also made up some rimmed sugar cookies that I stacked in cellophane bags to show off their colorful edges.  And last but not least I gave him some of my brownie bites, a favorite of mine.  They are a rich and fudgy chocolate chip brownie topped with cream cheese icing and, in this case, either sugar elves or tiny gingerbread man sprinkles.


I think these all look very cute and very ready to be gobbled up.  I hope the recipients enjoy eating them as much as I enjoyed making them.  And I hope that they all have a very merry Christmas on Saturday!

Buddy the Elf, What's Your Favorite Cupcake?

Tonight I made some Elf cupcakes for Chad and Bethany's Elf viewing party.  Although they contained no candy canes, candy corns, or syrup, they did have little candy elves on top.  So I think I got one of Buddy's four food groups covered.


The cupcakes were a new recipe I tried.  It's my cinnamon cake batter but with just a dash of Ghiradelli cocoa powder added in.  I thought it would give the cakes some more depth of flavor.  And on top?  A cinnamon cream cheese icing.  And some festive snowflake sprinkles and little Buddy look-a-likes.  Voila, Buddy the Elf cupcakes!

If you would like information about having custom cupcakes catered, please contact me at susangietl@hotmail.com.  Pricing information will be coming soon to the blog.

Mini Bundt Cakes

My best friend Krista gave me my Christmas present early and I have already put it to good use.  She gave me the cutest bundt pan from Sur La Table, and this morning I made four little bundt cakes in it.


The cake is a vanilla spice cake with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger.  I topped it with a simple chocolate ganache.  These are the cutest little cakes.  I'm sure I'll get a ton of use out of this gift, both personal and for Suzy Sweet Tooth.


Thanks, Krista!  Merry Christmas!

These Mini Bundt cakes can be custom made in the flavor of cake and icing of your choice.  Please email me at susangietl@hotmail.com for more information.

Holiday Sampler

My manager's parents came to Utah this weekend from Ohio and he ordered a sampler of my goodies for them as a welcome present.  It's an adorable Santa keepsake box filled with peppermint bark, salted peanut & caramel bark, chocolate covered pretzels, and white chocolate cranberry cookie bars.  


I think this sampler is a really great way to kick off a holiday vacation.  I hope they have a great time in Utah with their grandchildren.

Pink Peppermint Polar Bears

Today I made a few dozen cupcakes for a branch of Zions Bank's 12 Days of Christmas sweets run, where for twelve days they have some type of treat for the employees.  They are mint chocolate chip cakes with swirled pink and white peppermint buttercream.  And on top of each one is either a dainty sugar polar bear with a bow or some more mini semisweet chocolate chips.  Yum!

Sweet & Salty

I love the combination of sweet and salty together.  I love kettle corn, salted caramels, chocolate covered pretzels... yum.  Today I created a gem for any lover of sweet and salt together.  It's called Salted Peanut & Caramel Bark, and it's delicious.  It's a layer of milk chocolate, with coarsely chopped peanuts on top, a drizzle of caramel, a cover of more milk chocolate, and finally a sprinkling of sea salt.  It's crunchy from the peanuts and gooey from the caramel, and it's the perfect blend of the sweet and the savory.


Like my peppermint bark, I will be selling this loose by the pound or in small or large tins.  It makes a great gift for Christmas, and it's also very pretty in a dish for parties or house guests.  I'm sure it will be enjoyed by anyone who munches on it this Christmas.  


Remember you can click on any of my images to enlarge them for a closer look.  And a great big thank you to my fiancé for his photography!

Salted Peanut & Caramel Bark, sold by the pound or in small or large (pictured) tins

Tess' Winter Wonderland

Oh the weather outside is frightful, but some cupcakes sound delightful...

Today cutie patootie Tess Thorstrom is having her first birthday party.  To celebrate in style her mom picked out a winter wonderland theme and asked me to make the cupcakes.


When I hear winter wonderland I think of icy colors, so each marbled chocolate and vanilla cupcake is dressed to impress in a silver foil liner, and decorated in blue and white.  The icing on each is a cream cheese frosting.  One dozen are frosted white with edible pearls, one dozen are ice blue with a handmade white chocolate snowflake, and one dozen are marbled blue and white (which doesn't photograph as well) with snowflake sprinkles.


I am so pleased with how these turned out.  I think they look very frosty and inviting, and will taste amazing to boot.  They will be a perfect way to celebrate one first full year of being adorable.  Happy Birthday Tess!

If you would like information about having custom cupcakes catered, please contact me at susangietl@hotmail.com.  Pricing information will be coming soon to the blog.

Brownie Bites

These cuties may look like cupcakes but they're not.  If you are a chocolate fan you'll love these.  In the fudgy versus cakey brownie battle, I will fight tooth and nail for fudgy.  So these are little fudgy chocolate chip brownie bites.  They are the size of a mini muffin or cupcake, dressed up for the holidays in shiny green and red wrappers.  On top of each is a dollop of cream cheese frosting, perfect for cutting a bit the sweetness of the brownie underneath.  And no, I did not make the adorable polar bear girls on top.  Those are from Peppermint Place in Alpine.  The Brownie Bites can also be topped with sprinkles or a candy of your choice, or just icing if you'd prefer.

Chocolate Chip Brownie Bites, $10/two dozen

Peppermint Bark

'Tis the season to be munchy.  


Tonight I made a favorite of mine that just screams Christmas: Peppermint Bark.  It's the perfect thing to nibble on throughout the day or after a meal.  You can pick a small piece when someone's looking or a big ol' chunk when someone's not.


I make my Peppermint Bark with a layer first of milk chocolate, and then I marble on top of it Callebaut white chocolate flavored with a little bit of mint.  And the cherry on top isn't really a cherry, but crushed candy canes.


I would say to leave a plate of this for Santa in lieu of cookies, but if left out too long it will not last...  So unless you need a lot of coal this year, just come to grips with the fact that you're going to eat it all for yourself.

Chocolate Peppermint Bark, sold by the pound or in small or large tins