HOOWWW YOOUUUU DOOOIIINNNN???

How you Doin??? ( Where my Wendy Fan's at) .Another week of a crazy of ever changing schedules but I have been working on some great idea's to share with you! Plus I've been practicing, getting ready for a special cake that someone has asked for!

  So What do you all think?? I was fooling around in the Lab working on a special test cake for a special occasion.  I decided like always to get a little wild and crazy, I know what else is knew.  This wonderful cake you see, is just a bunch of ideas I was trying, with a few techniques I've learned over the years that I was practicing. You see I am making a very special cake this weekend for two very special people close to my heart. And I wanted to try out some ideas, kick around a few things to see what might be good what won't work. 

Ok so I decided lets test some of the ideas in my head. First this yummy cake you see is 100 % sugar free, which is why I was testing some techniques!  In my experience and adventure trying to find some yummy sugar free recipes I have found that the icing sometimes either has a funky taste ( thankfully I have worked out a great recipe you wouldn't even tell the difference and funky after taste)  The icing since it is sugar free also have a tendency to not be easy to decorate with. It is either to sticky or too runny or won't hold the shape I'm trying to make. I have found the perfect balance though is making the icing and keeping it sugar free and holding the shape.  Check out the roses!! This of course took time and patience.  Which I can say if you ever decide to try your hand at decorating, I suggest taking your time and practice. 

So As you can see, not only was I testing the technique, I was using coloring as well! With the sugar free icing when you add a little bit of coloring ( remember food coloring a little goes a llooooonnngggg waaayyy) it can also help in making your icing get a little thin. Heres a quick tip, after you mix the color in and place it in your piping bag stick it int he fridge. When working with icing it can warm up quickly and this makes it hard to work with.  Keeping it cold does help keep it firm, and so much easier to work with! So I got crazy decided to make green icing, ( mostly cause the special cake I'm making will have green in it, so I had to test it) And Also I was testing a new sugar free chocolate icing recipe that I had. Plus the contrasting colors actually make it pop! Now depending on the decorating your doing, is how you decide how stiff your icing should be.Take the roses, which I left white, for example. To make flowers you need very stiff icing, which gives your hand a good work out. That's why I left them white, cause I wanted to see how it would come out.  Next time I'm adding color!  I was also testing the writing technique and got inspiration from Ms. Wendy Williams ! I was all soft and pink!!

Ok My Sweets I'm off, have a lot of work to do for this weekends very special cake! I hope you are excited to see what I'm going to be doing. I have a vision in my head, and I want to make sure it comes out perfect.   Make sure to check back next week, and let me know what you think!! Also Remember to comment on this cake!! I want to see what you guys think of the test cake.

Happy Baking from Bradley Sweets!!

Guess Whose Back!!

Hello My Sweets!! Miss me?? I missed you!! I'm so so sorry I've been M.I.A.  Let me fill you in on whats been going on! Well First, as you may all know, we in a recession  and we all got to have a day job, including me! Lately my employer has been acting nuts with my schedule and changing it at least 5 times a day. When I mean changing I mean telling me one time, then 5 minutes later telling me another, and then another and another, and he has also sent me email 5 minutes before I'm about to leave to tell me another time . Needless to say its been crazy and I have not had a chance to get up in the lab and create some goodies to share with you!  He keeps promising that the schedule will even it out soon, however he does keep changing, so until then I have made the decision that my once daily blog, will be a weekly one, because I don't want to leave you guys out of all the fun! So please bare with me, and thank you so much to everyone who has been following and sending us messages of love! 

Okay so another thing we have been doing is that thanks to a very good friend ( Yeah you!!) we were informed of a great baking contest for Martha Stewart, and we have been working on a great recipe which we submitted and hopefully we will be considered in the running. As soon as we get more info my sweets I'm sending you all messages to vote vote vote for us!

Ok, so now that you know all the crazy that has been keeping me busy, lets get down to the nitty gritty of a great sweet that we created. How many of you have wished for a wonderful donut? Or perhaps that you had a Dunkin Donuts right in your house, or that they even at the least delivered?  Well someone in my house was wishing that very thing, so I decided to remuage  through my baking closet and look through my molds to see what I had.  Now There are lots of ways to make donuts, and there are lots of recipes. I was lucky enough to receive as a gift a donut mold a while back and decided what better time to use it. 

I was watching one of those America's Greatest Food Shows one night on tv, where they featured a dinner that was known for potato donuts which they called ponuts. Yeah not kidding, the batter was made from potato flower, I've never heard of such a thing so it sent me on a quest to look what other recipes I could find , and see what other types of batters people were using. My quest did not disappoint either and I found tons of different recipes from all over, and I had fun experimenting with them all and making my up my own as well. Needless to  say that donut craver in my house has been one happy camper! I have found in all of my experiments that this ponut thing is great, cause its light and not as heavy, and can easily be made sugar free and taste amazing.

The fun part was decorating them after as well/ I made some look like a very famous donut from the Simpsons, ( Oh Homer!) Luckily with the mold I was able to make all types that you can find at your favorite donut hole, but I have also been working on some other donuts that would be made without the use of the mold, and having fun doing so. Krispy Kream got nothing on me! I really suggest that everyone try this at least once. It was a messy adventure, but a fun one too!!

Well my sweets I'm off, to create the next great idea for you guys. Thank you all again for the love and support, and baring with us as our schedule has gotten nutty! I will keep you all updated on our adventures! Remember to please donate to our march of babies too while there is still time! Love you all!! Till next week...

Happy Baking from Bradley Sweets!!

This minty refreshing treat is for you my friend in Cali!!

Hello My Sweets! What a couple of days it has been. Our hearts and prayers go out to all those in Japan and hope that all those missing are found alive and well. We also would like to send our well wishes to those in our region who are suffering from the recent flooding. We wish you a speedy recovery.

So My Sweets,  I am still going through all the requests all of you made, and I came across one from a good friend of mine, a request I see more as a challenge. This friend mentioned they were craving the famous Shamrock Shake from Mcds, but alas could not have it with out getting sick. Well my friend from the west, challenge not only accepted but challenge won! I made a minty fresh, froze treat that is good for all!!  Okay so I know a fair amount of people who are lactose intolerant, ( meaning dairy, like milk, no good for the tum tum), and although when you go to the grocery store there are more options becoming available, sometimes a nice homemade treat hits the spot.

In the laboratory I went into my closet to dig out an my ice cream maker. I actually love this thing, and on top of that it is can make 2 flavors at one time!  I grabbed some ingredients I needed, and got to work mixing up some lactose free ice cream.  In keeping with one of my favorite flavors, and the fact that St. Patty's is right around the corner, I made a sweet mint, and added some green coloring!!  This treat will make that Shake rock its shams!  To keep it simple all I did was top it off with a nice mint cookie, ( which btw does anyone know a girl scoot I'm running low lol).

Weather has been warming up or trying to, and this refreshing treat is a great way to welcome in the Spring which is also just around the corner!! Remember to say a prayer to all those devastated  by the recent events, and hold those you love closer.  Off to create another request my sweets, till tomorrow...

Happy Baking from Bradley Sweets!!

Today is a day for Thought and Prayer....

In the early hours of the morning a very large earthquake hit Japan and many very strong aftershocks are still causing destruction. The earthquake caused a powerful tsunami that not only hit  the shores of Japan, but is  hitting Hawaii and also up and down the west coast. Today we are sending all of our thoughts and prayers to those affected by this devastation.  We are also keeping those in New Jersey Affected by the severe flooding caused by all the rain in the east  in our thoughts and prayers as well.   We wish everyone a speedy recovery.

Happy Baking from Bradley Sweets!!

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Told you I'm gonna keep promoting this till you donate or join the walk!!!!!

Happy Baking From Bradley Sweets!!

Down South getting Messy and Dirrrrrtttyyyy!!

Don't you love when Hump Day rolls around my sweets?? Have a fun Fat Tuesday yesterday?? So Who got the trinkit, as luck would have it I did!! Your still throwing the party, you know who you are... I bring the cake though!! So you might remember that yesterday I mentioned today we would be staying in the south for our treats, and I meant it.  Whose ready for a messy classic that reminds you have your childhood?

Picture it, summer of 85 in a small town in New Jersey, two young children around age 3 are playing in the yard.  The little boy has a bucket of water that he splashes at the ground and the little girl in her brand new pink dress covered in dirt is making a big old mess.  The little boy impatiently waits for his mud pie, that he of course plans on throwing at the little girl when she least expects it.  Except he doesn't anticipate the fact that she has a hidden mud pie and when he goes to sit down she smushes it in his hair. That little girl , she was me, and that little boy, well he was Charlie Sheen!  HAHA no not really Charlie Sheen, it was my cousin but his name has been changed for reasons unknown!  Did you also enjoy the Gold Girls set up to the story, just a little nod to one of my favorite shows, but it served as a good hint to todays request!  That's right, Mississippi + Mud = Decadence!!

Ok So if your not familiar with this cake, let me tell you something about it. Its a simple cake, you can make it as a pie your choice of course,  with cheap ingredients you find at the store. Its said that this cake originated in Mississippi, ( well Duh that must be how it got its name Winning , sorry Charlie Sheen again, gosh darn tiger blood!) and looked kinda like the banks of the along side of that river, you know the one, oh whats the name,  I'm sure it will come to me later!

Well like the fast pace of a running river to the Labratory I went ( aka my Kitchen) and grabbed some ingredients to make this yummy gooey mud cake!  Ok no you can add nuts to this if you want, but again I'm going nut free. Not cause I don't like nuts, or that I'm allergic,  just cause I feel like it! Okay now when I make Mississippi Mud cake, it brings back some memories of when I was young making mud pies and getting messy, so you can bet your butter socks that I want to make this as messy as possible! So here are some tips that I have that can help you make this as yummy and gooey as possible. After pouring your batter in the pan take some frozen chocolate and place a couple of pieces through out the cake. As the cake backs the chocolate will slowly sink and melt into the cake. That way when you take a bit it will have a yummy melty chocolate pour out! While your cake is baking  I like to get my topping ready, cause I like to put it one just before the cake is done. So take some chocolate  ( I like to keep it in the freezer that way it melts slower and doesn't burn easily) and some marshmallow fluff ( you can find it in the baking aisle near the marshmallows, grab a bag of those while your there) and start mixing the broken up chocolate or chocolate chips into the fluff and throw in some extra marshmallows as well . Fluff is sticky so have fun with it! So once you have it all mixed , and your cake is a little more than half way down, take the cake out of the oven, and spread the ooey gooey mixture on the top of your cake, and stick it back in the oven. The fluff and chocolate will melt, and so will the marshmallows which once they start to turn golden you know your cake is ready!

Now nothing beats this cake warm and first thing out of the oven, thats when its at it most messy, however if by some odd reason you have left over of this cake, just pop it in the microwave for like 20 seconds or so warm it up, and its just like straight from the oven!

Well well my sweets, I don't know about you, but request week is a whole lotta fun! We might do it again some time! Thanks for this messy request! Remember everyone is you want to visit us on Facebook or on Twitter you can, and if you would like an recipes or tips just sends us a message! We love hearing from all our friends!!  I'm off my sweets I got to get me a piece of that cake before its all gone! Please don't break the door down trying to get in to get a piece! You know who you are!!  Make sure to check back tomorrow, when we share another request  from one of our sweet friends!!

Happy Baking from Bradley Sweets!!

How To Be Royal on Fat Tuesday!!

Happy Fat Tuesday my sweets!! Thank you so much for all the wonderful request, I'm definitely going to be getting to all of them. One Request in particular came from a very special someone who wanted a taste of New Orleans, and because its Fat Tuesday I thought what better time to whip out the beads and get ready for some yummy KING CAKE! King Cake is actually very popular two times a year, during Christmas because it is also called 3 kings cake, and most popularly during Mardi Gras here in the states!

Running to the Kitchen I made sure to grab the trinket for inside the cake and got all my ingredients ready.  Traditionally this cake, has a cinnamon, nut and raisins filling, however I opted the nuts out.   After I got the filling ready I made my pastry dough which was fun! I love making dough!! Mainly because of the mess I always make but you know what, chicken butt! Just kidding, but no really I do love making a mess because it is a sign that I was having fun in the kitchen. To me that is one of the most important ingredient when baking, fun, it makes your treat that much sweeter! So I got my dough ready and gave it a good helping of the filling ( and hit the trinket ) and put it in the oven to bake up nice and golden!

Ok so while it got ready I had to go to my cubby to make sure I have some of my color sprinkles for the top of my cake, because what kind of Mardi Gras King Cake would it be with out the traditional colors green, purple, and yellow.  Now you might have noticed I mentioned a trinket twice, and I bet your wondering, oh lordy is she off her rocker again she is sticking things in the cake. HAHA very funny, but no I haven't lost my mind, that was lost a long time ago, instead this cake always has a small trinket baked in side of the cake, traditional it is a baby Jesus.  Who ever gets the piece that has the baby Jesus is actually said to be the King ( or queen, this cake is not sexist!) for the day and the next time everyone gets together is supposed to either throw the party, or bring the cake! Yeah I'm looking at  you, you better get that piece, cause you throw one hellava party! Woo Woo!!

Cakes Ready, and I got some Beads, but I want some more! In the words of My grandmother give them a little shimmy shimmy!! Everyone is invited to the Fat Tuesday Celebration, might not have the parade floats, but the drinks will be flowing and the Beads will be flying, and I'm sure the imagination would be soaring!! Remember to check out tomorrow when we keep it up with the Dirty South Theme and visit Mississippi for a wonderfully messy treat!

Happy Baking from Bradley Sweets!!

Kicking off Request Week!

Hey Everyone, We are kicking of Request Week! What yummy Idea would you like to see Bradley Sweets put its twist on? Remember to comment below, or please visit us on Twitter @bradleysweets or friend us on Facebook Bradley Sweets . We look forward to hearing all of your request, and seeing you lined up at the door! Don't forget to vote in this weeks poll too, What fruit do you love to star in  your favorite dessert?  Also please remember to visit my March for Babies . Its a great cause, we would love to see you join or walk or you can donate whatever amount you like from $1 to $1000, any help is a great help!

Minty Fresh!!

Gorgeous weather calls for a refreshing treat my sweets! Now for all of you that voted, Caramel won the most addicting flavor poll, however mint is taking center stage to show its not to be forgotten! 

This morning when I woke up and was cuddled in bed relaxing, one of my favorite past times on a Saturday, I came across a show on the Food Network called Big Daddy's House.  I have watched it a time or two and gotten some great ideas, today I got a most special idea from a dessert he was making. He made something cherry flavor, however I wanted to try it out with mint and it was a smashing success! I like to refer to this dish as Mint Custard Jubilee!

In the laboratory I whipped up a quick home made custard, which is basically pudding. While my custard simmered, I stirred in some yummy mint flavoring. Here is a fun fact for you, most of the time you seem something mint flavored its typically green in color, however when you add mint flavoring that is not what turns it green! The green coloring usually comes from food coloring. You bet your bippy I added some to my custard, cause I'm going for a Green Theme, with St Patty's just right around the corner.  I wanted my custard to have a very subtle green color ( you can't even notice in pictures its green, however in person its a a pale color, very pleasing to the eye)  to go with the very subtle mint flavor. If your using mint, I suggest the less is more tactic. Mint can be very over powering, but just a hint is a wonderful refreshing taste. 

To top off my sweet treat I decided to crush up a little graham cracker, with some mint chocolate cookie, ( kinda like the girl scout but not as good!) and placed it on top. I then added my mixture to a nice wine glass just to make the presentation a little snazzy! And what I wound up with was a yummy classy little after dinner treat, perfect for a romantic dinner with someone special.

Well my sweets I'm off to the circus. No literally I'm off to the circus to see some fabulous Elephants, and those lovable clowns! I'm sure I will get a lot of fun inspiration! Till Tomorrow...

Happy Baking from Bradley Sweets!!

What a pregnant Woman Wants....

TGIF again my Sweets!! Aren't you happy for the weekend?  It's March and weather is doing its best to get warmer. Now when you think warmer weather you start thinking oh I want to go and enjoy some summer treats and all that fun stuff, and one particular friend of mine who is with baby is having some warm weather cravings! Except like many of the other pregnant people that seem to be around me, ( i'm sticking to the story that their is something in the water so many pregnant women around me, ) she wanted something sweet, however she wanted a burger, did I mention she is Vegetarian? Yeah that's right.... Vegetarian!!  So I took an idea I got from a lady I met years ago and ran to the kitchen to cook up a sweet burger! 

Now I know you may ask, how on earth are you going to make a sweet burger, thats is also something a vegetarian would enjoy? Sure I could tell her go to store buy a veggie burger, but again, she is having a little bundle of joy and I love babies so I wanted to help out! So for those of you who follow along in the blog, you might remember a while ago when I mentioned the nilla wafer burger? Well I took it up a notch, because that is a nice little cookie idea however, my dear friend wanted it to be as burger like as possible.  When you think of burgers what do you think of? Soft bun, lettuce, ketchup, tomatoes, and whatever other things you like to add right.  This particular burger we are going to keep it old fashioned, and that includes being soft bun! 

Here is how I made the yummy treat! Mix up some yummy cake batter then grab a cookie sheet. Take a spoon and just drop some dollops of batter on your cookie sheet.  You can make them small like your making some cookies, or if you want to make it bigger that works too. Because batter does rise and expand a little you want to make sure that your dollop of better is a nice amount.  Keep a close eye on them in the oven, cause they cook quick! After you've taken them out the oven  and set them aside to cool off, start mixing some icing with the different colors you need.  I made some chocolate icing for the patty, some yellow for mustard , red for ketchup and green for lettuce. Again we were doing this simple, I have tried this and added little things to it, like purple onion, cheese, bacon using icing and or candy!

So you first want to take a couple of your cake cookies and ice them with chocolate icing to make our "patty".  Once you have them ready take an un iced cake cookie and place one of the chocolate iced ones on top, then you can drizzle some of your different colored icing before placing the top cake cookie on. Now you can drizzle, or if you have different tips and a piping bag, you can make the lettuce leaves and things like that to make it as realistic to fool all the foodies waiting to enjoy!

Well My Sweets, I hope you enjoyed this Fridays yummy treat. I'm off to make a pregnant lady very happy when she gets her sweet and tasty no meat burger! Please remember to visits my march for babies site March For Babies . Remember to please donate or join us in the walk!  

Happy Baking from Bradley Sweets!!

I Call it the Cheesy Graham!!

Hello my sweets! So have you missed me?  I was doing some research, creating messes, and taking request! But it was cause of those crazy request that I came up with the yummy dish I like to call the Cheesy Graham!!  Ok so follow along to see how I got to the Madness that is so Delicious that I can almost guarantee you are camped outside my door right now.

So one person in the sweets circle requested a crumb cake, while another requested a cheese cake. Complying with both, I got the crazy idea to try something and perhaps combine the two! Of course while taking it up another notch I threw in some strawberries, and stumbled upon a yummy treat.   In the lab i took some fresh strawberries cut them up threw um in a pot and cooked them up. I got a sweet strawberry sauce that filled the air with the aroma of something good coming up. While that was stewing, I grabbed some graham crackers and started smashing them up for the crust, and whipped up my cheese cake filling. I made sure to make extra crust to have a nice crumbly top for my cheese cake. Got the pan ready, crust in filling poured then I took some of the strawberries and swirled it in the. I got a little crazier poured some of my strawberry mixture into the left over graham mixture, which I in turned sprinkled over the top of my cheese cake.  Popped it in the oven and waited, and thought of how I wonder if the two people that requested the crumb cake and the cheese cake would enjoy the combination.

From something simple came something incredible. Isn't that always how some of the best things come about? Well my sweets I have to run, today I quite possibly made one of the bigger messes! I want to make sure its nice and clean for tomorrow, because someone made another request, and I have an interesting way of how to pull it off! Till Tomorrow my sweets

Happy Baking from Bradley Sweets!!

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