Cream & Sugar Kitchen

Field Research: Zoë Lukas of Whipped Bakeshop

If Whipped Bakeshop's Zoë Lukas was a character in a chick flick, I might have to hate her.  Maybe I should be more clear.  You know those chick flicks where the heroine has a perfect cookie cutter apartment, immaculately tailored wardrobe, and super cute job, like...a baker at her equally super cute bakery?  So I have no idea if Zoë lives in a perfect apartment or even knows a tailor, but she does have her own amazing bakery, and for that alone I guess I'm allowed to be a tad bit jealous.  Right?  

Okay I'm not really jealous...don't hate, congratulate!  Zoë and her husband Brennan have much to celebrate lately.  In the past couple of months they have moved their home business into an eco-friendly baking studio and retail space in the Fishtown / Kensington / Port Richmond area without compromising the quality and handmade details that Whipped is known for.  I can't tell you how talented this little lady is, and with her supportive husband tackling the business and marketing side of Whipped Bakeshop, they are a culinary force to be reckoned with...mwahaHAHAHA!  Ahem.  Excuse me.

I was fortunate enough to sit down with both Zoë and Brennen at Mugshots Café in the Fairmount area (which is a really cool coffee shop, may I add - they even have movie nights!) about two months ago.  Yeah this post is a bit overdue, but better late than never.  It was a lot of fun hearing from both about the process of building their business from the ground up...and I'm not sure if it really comes across at all in the transcription, but Zoë has a refreshing, down-to-earth sense of humor.  I think I spent most of the interview laughing.  Check it out to hear more about her fine arts background, her insatiable sweet tooth, and how she feels about footballs, diapers, and Duff Goldman.  Oh and there's tons of photos straight from the Whipped Flickr page - enjoy!

Off to NYC - where should I eat?

I mean it's New York City, how do you even begin to choose where to spend your time and $$$ chowing down?

I'll only be there for a day and a half but it might as well only be one day in terms of food choices - I'm going to Tavern on the Green for brunch on Sunday.  So tomorrow will have to be a day for cramming in a lot of eating!  Well maybe not the whole day...I'm going wedding dress shopping, so I should probably take 'er easy.  After all, I can't really imagine stuffing myself full of burgers and fries or cupcakes or bagels or pretzels or sugar-covered peanuts before squeezing (or barely squeezing) into too-small sample-size dresses.  Maybe I can imagine that.  Yeah, it could totally happen. 

So I did a quick search of the neighborhoods we'll be spending most of our time in to see what's close by.  I put together a not-so-bad list of convenient places to hit:

• Shake Shack (awesome burgers, fries, shakes - they even have beer and wine there.  A favorite of Fries With That Shake's BurgerBaroness)
• H&H Bagels Midtown East (pretty sure it's affiliated with the famous bagelry of the same name, but this location has its own website)
• City Bakery (two words:  pretzel croissants!  I die, these are so bananas)
• Buttercup Bake Shop (I've actually been here before and adore all of their sweet treats; certainly wouldn't mind making another trip)
• Papaya King (a hot dog / juice bar late night joint...it's not far from where we're staying in case we need midnight grub, but honestly I'd rather go to Gray's Papaya)
• Levain Bakery (ok, technically not that close to where we'll be as it's on the West Side but I'm hoping we can make a special trek through Central Park.  I have to try their amazing chock-full cookies.  HAVE TO!)

Shake Shack burger photo courtesy of Off the Broiler

everything bagel photo courtesy of H&H Midtown site

pretzel croissant photo courtesy of Serious Eats

photo courtesy of Levain Bakery website

We'll mostly be in Midtown and the Upper West Side.  Any other suggestions?  Comment here or email me at creamandsugarkitchen@gmail.com.  Have a great weekend!

Snack Break: S'mores Cupcakes

I just had to share pictures of some fabulous s'mores cupcakes that my friend Tracey made for a friend's recent birthday.  They were moist, crunchy, and chocolatey, with the perfect amount of lightly toasted, not-too-sweet marshmallow icing.  These little cuties have been on my mind for the past week or so; think that means I'm going to have to make a batch of my own soon.

Tracey's husband mans the torch

Almost too cute to eat.

Naah.

Recipe courtesy of Jennifer Shea of Trophy Cupcakes by way of Martha Stewart.

All photos by Tracey Carullo.