Now that we’re through the busy spring season of confirmations, first communions, graduations and lots of birthdays, we can settle into summer and start having fun again experimenting with new stuff! This is my absolute favorite thing to do as a bakery owner. My fingers literally start to tingle when I get on the computer and start hunting for new ideas.

Chocolate frosted brownies

One thing I love to experiment with is finding a way for the flavor of the baked good to really pack a punch.  So when we do CHOCOLATE brownies, I won’t settle on a recipe until I’m sure that a decent number of people tasting that brownie will say, “Oooh, chocolate!” Otherwise what’s the point in calling it a “chocolate” brownie, right?

We do go over the top sometimes (perhaps a chocolate brownie could be enjoyed without a half inch of chocolate frosting on it) but it’s worth it to me so long as it means that the eating experience of a couple of people will be a memorable one!

I’ve had a lot of fun developing our new key lime cupcake with mango buttercream. It’s always a challenge to create a strong fruit flavor because of the amount of water found in fruit. I spent almost a year fooling around with our strawberry buttercream until I finally figured out a way to make it taste like real strawberries.

It has been a similar challenge to get the mango buttercream to REALLY taste like mangos. But by using some combination of natural mango flavoring, mango coulis (yes I know that word and it makes me sound like a chef, right?), mango puree and mango pulp, I think we’re 99% there.

Three cupcake cones

Another thing I totally enjoy experimenting with is making fun baked goods that will appeal to kids. What better thing to do on a Monday morning than to return to your 5-year-old self and think about what you liked to eat. When we make our oreo cupcakes, our bakers always ask me how many oreo pieces to put in the batter.  I always say, “Pretend you’re a kid and put in as much as you think a kid would like!”

Lemon and key lime bars will be returning this summer as well.

I used to make all the snacks for the Vacation Bible School at my church (located just two buildings away from the bakery). One of the favorites was cupcake cones with rainbow sprinkles. We always did this on the first day and the kids LOVED them. I like to think that those cupcake cones helped break the ice for those kids who were feeling a little nervous on their first day. To kids, I think the cupcake cones just seem playful and fun — a special and somewhat unusual treat.

So when I was at the grocery store last week, I bought a box of cones and we’re going to make some. It’ll be REALLY fun figuring out how to take those over the top!  Maybe add oreo crumbs on top? Maybe drizzle them with a little hot fudge and then sprinkle with mini M&Ms? But for sure, there will be rainbow sprinkles involved!

It’s summer!  Be sure to play a lot, enjoy a lot, and occasionally treat yourself to a sweet something or other that packs a punch of taste and playfulness!

Jenny

Carly, Jenny and Bonnie display sweetheart cakes.

It’s finally starting to feel a LITTLE bit like spring around here but I bought a quart of strawberries at the store the other day and they were TERRIBLE. So we’re a little ways from strawberry season but at least the daffodils are blooming!

Kristen on Halloween

In late winter JennyCakes faced a spate of health issues as one employee dealt with a kidney infection, another struggled with a strained ligament in her elbow and the husband of another suffered a terrible shoulder injury. My daughter Lily tore her ACL in her first-ever high school lacrosse scrimmage and I had to have a basal cell carcinoma removed from my left cheek.

Look who coordinated their outfits!

We are all better or at least on the mend, but this stretch of bad luck reminded me that behind all the yummy baked goods at the bakery is a tiny army of people trying their best and going through the myriad of ups, downs and struggles that everyone goes through, health-related and otherwise.

Jenny and long-time friend Martha.

In this post, I celebrate this wild and crazy group of people!

Each person who works at the bakery brings to us a unique set of talents (or “mad skills” as Aidan calls them) and quirks (such as Bonnie’s murmurings as people  select cupcakes — oooh, that’s a good one, ohhhh, that’s one of my favorites). And while clocking long hours together in such a tiny space, we can’t help but share in each other’s lives.

Aidan checking out our ginormous order sheet

Our little band of bakers has fun (Kristen’s response to my question “Is anything in particular a priority for the oven?” was “Perhaps it should think about getting its GED?”), is sometimes stressed out  (mostly due to my propensity for worrying) but no one can argue it’s anything short of extremely real and very human!

Jim at the front counter per usual.

I love this group of people and feel very lucky that they want to work at the bakery. I know, I know, enough sappy stuff!

Strawberry icebox pie

On to what we’re excited about making for the spring! Once we finally get to strawberry season, we’ll bring back our strawberry bread, strawberry icebox pie and cassata cake. We also plan to bring back the JennyCakes — remember those?

One of our JennyCakes

The blueberry slabs (or crumb bars) will be back and the brown sugar cookies were such a success that I think we’ll start selling those on a regular basis as well. You may notice that a few things disappear but remember you can always email me and ask for me to make a batch of them.

Happy Spring!

Jenny

What a long cold winter!  I remember crossing Armory Ave from the Safeway garage on my way to the bakery on a few of those low-digit mornings and feeling like I was walking through a freezing cold wind tunnel as the wind swept from the train tracks down Armory toward Town Hall. Brrrr!

I’m VERY happy to be moving on to spring!  We’re a little late in sending out a spring post because we got distracted by a stretch of time when the bakery was plagued (or cursed, as my staff likes to say) by a broken dishwasher, a refrigerated display case that stopped working, problems with our hot water and several other frustrating woes.

But NOW all is well and we are happy, happy, happy! The dishwasher is at last fixed. We have a new refrigerated display case, thanks to Suburban Trading (who sold it to me) and Mario (whose crew from the Kensington Gas Station on Antique Row did amazing work in fitting a 35″ wide display case through a 35″ wide door three days before the Easter rush). We have a new hot water heater and in general things are functioning smoothly, knock on wood!

And what’s even better, we have been busy, busy, busy! The last month or so included a very busy Easter, a crazy Mother’s Day and lots of beautiful First Communion, graduation and wedding cakes, thanks to the efforts of Kristen Kellogg, our unique and pink-haired cake decorator.

We have one new addition to the bakery, Gali Sapir. Gali is from Israel — she works very hard and is a joy to have with us at the bakery. She specializes in fondant, but don’t worry, we’ll still be using buttercream for the most part. We just may add some fondant accents from time to time.

We are so sad that Julie Howard will be leaving us soon to focus on finishing up her teaching degree, but she has promised to come in on Friday afternoons for a couple of hours from time to time. I am thrilled to welcome back my pretend daughter :), Ana Caceres Hernandez, who was a student at the University of Maryland during the school year.

But OK, enough about us! Here’s what’s new for you at the bakery. We’ve brought back the blueberry crumb bars (or blueberry slabs, as Jason Swain, the Town’s public works supervisor, calls them — I think it’s an Australia thing) and strawberry icebox pies (graham cracker crust and lots of fresh strawberries).

We’ve added strawberry bread (one of my staff members, Kara Knips, calls it one of our “damn you, Jenny” baked goods) and strawberry buttercream (which, after many failed attempts, at last has the big kick of strawberry flavor I wanted without watering down the frosting too much).

And last but not least, we will be introducing Hillary’s heart healthy bran muffin. Based on my dear friend Hillary’s recipe for incredibly yummy and moist bran muffins (with dried cherries and toasted almonds), I’m still tinkering with this one, but we’ll get there. I’m bound and determined to have one truly healthy yet delicious thing on the menu!

Once again,  happy happy spring! Enjoy this short season and check back in with us in a month or two for new things happening for summer!

Jenny