Bake Sale Total

The last of our donations have come straggling in and I'm pleased to report Brooklyn raised $1,180 for Farm Sanctuary and Sea Shepherd through the Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale. Hugs for everyone!

Here are screen caps of the donation confirmation pages so everyone can rest easy knowing I didn't use the money to fund my upcoming piercing project or next week's trip to San Diego.






Thanks again to everyone who participated in the bake sale and supported us in all sorts of awesome ways. You're the best!

Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale Wrap Up

We held our second Brooklyn bake sale on Sunday and a wonderful time was had by all. We ate, drank, made merry, sang, danced and raised over $1000 for Farm Sanctuary and Sea Shepherd (and we're not done yet, so if you'd like to contribute, keep reading).

Oh yeah. There were also some cakes and things.



Photo by Ronit Tal

That's me being completely overwhelmed by the selection. We had:

Berry Muffins
Zucchini Muffins
Mini Coffee Cakes
Tomato Rosemary Scones
Banana Bread
Aloha Bread
Raspberry Chocolate Chip Blondies
Brownies
Peach Pocket Pies
Chocolate Raspberry Bundt Cake
Chocolate Orange Agave Sweetened Cupcakes
Cappuccino Cupcakes
Margarita Cupcakes
Apricot Almond Cupcakes
Blackberry Topped Low Fat Cupcakes
Pineapple Right Side Upcakes
Vanilla Gluten Free Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Sugar Cookies
Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies
Chocolate Chip Trifecta Cookies
Chocolate Chocolate Mint Chunk Cookies
White Chocolate Chip Cashew Butter Cookies
Chocolate Chip Cookies

All vegan. All homemade. Damn, we're good.

As we did last time, we got most of our recipes from Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero's books, but we also broke out Yellow Rose Recipes and Papa Tofu. Also Panda With Cookie and sarchan from The PPK got creative with their own awesome recipes.

We had a great turnout. Loads of friends and family came by. If there's anything better than raising money for a great cause, it's raising money for a great cause while spending time with awesome people. We did that.

On to the pictures!

Chocolate Chip Cookies



Margarita and Apricot Almond Cupcakes



Chocolate Orange and Cappuccino Cupcakes



White Chocolate Chip Cashew Butter and Chocolate Chocolate Mint Chunk Cookies



Brownies and Blondies



Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies



Sugar Cookies



Raspberry Chocolate Bundt Cake



There are even more food pictures in my Flickr set.



Photo by David Barrett Graver



Photo by Ronit Tal



Photo by MY MOM



Photo by David Barrett Graver



Photo by Sharlene Mousfar

We weren't just selling baked goods, either. S. Fulton came by and was kind enough to donate several copies of both volumes of Cookin' With My Crawdaddy to sell as part of our fundraiser. We still have one copy of Part II left! If you'd like to buy it, comment here or email me and we'll work something out.



We also had a bunch of Adrienne Dee-Olsen's handmade thematic earrings for sale. She crafted them out of fimo clay, Japanese toys and other things. We still have a few pairs of these available too, so if you'd like to buy some (with the proceeds going to the charities, of course), again, please leave a comment or email me.

Seal cubs!



Cookies!



Roll Cakes!



Pie!



We even caught the creator in the act:



Photos by Ronit Tal

To see more of Adrienne's bake sale jewelry CLICK!

It was a pretty long day. Some of us passed the time with a dance party...



Photo by Sharlene Mousfar



Photo by MY MOM



Photo by Sharlene Mousfar

While others chased people into the street with cupcakes and shoved them in their faces until they agreed to buy something.





Photos by Sharlene Mousfar

I'm still not sure which was the better business tactic, but either way, people laughed!

Many thanks to:
Compassion For Animals for organizing the Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale
Open Source Gallery
The people of the PPK, who are totally awesome
Everyone who baked, sewed, sculpted, shopped, drove, drew, printed, promoted, re-Tweeted, listened, laughed, chalked, location scouted, and contributed to the success of this bake sale in myriad ways I'm forgetting (for which I apologize). Without that, there would have been no bake sale, which would have sucked.

I think that's it. I promise to shut up about the bake sale now...until we get our final fundraising total.

Vegan Bake Sale Day 1

We held our first bake sale on Sunday and things went surprisingly smoothly. We started a bit late, the weather sucked, chocolatey things got a bit melty due to the humidity and we had a small coffee accident, but other than that, smooth as silken tofu.



Before I talk about the past, a quick reminder about the future:

Our next bake sale is going to be even bigger and better*, and it's this Sunday, June 28, starting around 11 AM**.

Open Source Gallery
Park Slope, Brooklyn
251 17th Street, right off of 5th Avenue, one block east of the Prospect Avenue M/R station and convenient from the B63 bus

In addition to Panda With Cookie's apron and the signed Vegan Brunch cookbooks we're raffling off, we'll also have some thematic handmade accessories by Adrienne Dee-Olsen on hand.

The profits are still going to Farm Sanctuary and Sea Shepherd.

Now back to the fun stuff. Here's what we had up for sale:

Cranberry orange muffins
Lemon poppy seed muffins
Toasted coconut mango muffins
Apple rosemary scones
Banana bread
Vanilla agave sweetened cupcakes
Green tea cupcakes
Lemon cupcakes
Chocolate gluten free cupcakes
Low fat vanilla cupcakes
Chocolate mint cupcakes
Brownies
Raspberry chocolate chip blondies
Almond cookies
Gingerbread cookies
Chocolate chip cookies
Chewy peanut butter-banana-Peanut Chew (TM)-chunk oatmeal cookies
Mocha chip cookies
Mint chocolate cupcakes
Butterscotch chip cupcakes
Chocolate doughnut holes
Apricot almond doughnut holes

Most of those were made from the recipes in Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero's wonderful books because while most of my friends and I love to bake and are good at it, we're not ready for our own recipes, yet. The exceptions would be Kittee's banana bread recipe, the big, chunky cookies made by sarchan from The PPK, and the doughnut holes. Kind of. They were made out of globs of cakes that didn't pan out (the cake recipes were from VCTOTW).

We sold out of almost everything we made and raised about $500. What we didn't sell Sunday, our coworkers bought Monday. Business came from many sources. Vegans who read about the bake sale online came to the area specifically for it, while people who live in the area stopped by to see what was up and got some treats. My favorite part of the day was probably when a parent told his young son he could pick out whatever he wanted and the kid asked for one dollar to buy a Sea Shepherd button. That boy is going places. Also awesome: a mother who bought a whole load of stuff and asked about cooking tips and recipes so she could cook for her newly-vegetarian daughter.

But you probably don't care about that, you want to see the pretty, right? Let's go.



Agave sweetened cupcakes:



Gingerbread cookies:



A raffle prize by Panda With Cookie:



Orange cranberry muffins:



Chocolate chip cookies:



The Shroud of Vegan (the hand of the divine guided us to leave part of the coffee maker out when making our second pot of the day. See the face?):



Green tea and chocolate gluten free cupcakes:



Mocha chip cookies:



Apple rosemary scones:



Low fat cupcakes:



More pictures are over at Flickr.

And that's a wrap. Hope to see you Sunday! Remember: the gallery is indoors, so if it's raining, we'll keep you dry!

*We'll be making some of the things we had last week, like the blondies and brownies, but also heaps of new things like cappuccino cupcakes and hand-held pies.

*Last week, we were around until at least 8 PM, so don't skip the sale if you can only come late. If you want to make sure we're there before coming out, you can always email or Twitter at me, or comment here. I'll be checking it all throughout the day.

I Interrupt Our Regularly Scheduled Bake Sale Shilling

To bring you cake.

We're just days away from a bake sale, so I decided it would be a good idea to make a birthday cake*. I clearly have no desire to ever leave my kitchen.

I'm lucky to have friends who sometimes challenge me to make new things. Last year, my friend wanted a crepe cake and it didn't go so well. Inspired by last month's fiasco, she asked about a cannoli cake this year. I had no idea what this was, but that's what the Internet's for, right?

Fun fact: Everyone on the Internet has a different idea of what a cannoli cake is and it doesn't even usually have cannoli in/on it.

I pieced together assorted bits of Internet and concluded that cannoli cake is a layer cake made of sponge cake soaked in rum syrup and cannoli filling, topped with a buttercream/heavy cream sort of frosting and here's what I came up with:



This is a great make-ahead recipe. I made the cake over the course of three days, taking less than an hour of active time each day.

Monday, I made my Super Secret Cannoli Filling, which isn't so much a secret as an offhand mess. It's basically squished up firm tofu, lemon juice, vanilla extract, granulated and confectioners sugar, tofu cream cheese and mini chocolate chips. It needs to drain at least over night.

I made the sponge cake Tuesday, using VeganYumYum's recipe. When making a cake from a cupcake recipe, I usually double it, but this one says it makes fifteen, so I just 1.5ed it, which was perfect. As you can see, I would have had a major mess on my hands had I used any more batter.



Wednesday started with the rum syrup. That recipe was so strong sniffing the steam coming off the pot made my eyes water. I upped the sugar and reheated it in an attempt to boil off some of the alcohol. It still seemed very strong to me (I don't really drink much), so I used a minimal amount and now have a container of orangey sweetened rum in my fridge. Boy, I sure do hope someone can figure out something to do with it.

Next came assembly. Here's the first rum-soaked cake, topped with cannoli filling:



I had another collapsed cake problem last month and vowed not to let that happen again. My weapon of choice in the war against cake collapse? Skewers!



I just kept shifting them around as I frosted the cake with a mashup of the buttercream and cream cheese frostings from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World., then threw some extra chocolate chips over the cake right before serving to cover the holes.





I know I said I wouldn't plug our upcoming bake sale in this post, but this is what I did at work. I think I may have convinced some people it would be in their best interest to attend. I also attached a flier to the lid of the cake carrier, to give people on the subway something to think about.



Now I'm off for a a few hours of sleep before I get cracking on this bake sale. Hope to see you there!



* Do YOU need a birthday cake? Father's Day cake? Bar Mitzvah? Graduation? Communion? New baby? Old baby? Let us know in advance and we'll have one ready for you on Bake Sale Day. I promise to try not to drop it.

Bake Sale Twittering!

Just so you know, I'm on Twitter.

Normally, I'd never suggest following me, since I'm boring. But if you plan on coming to the bake sale, it might be a good idea to check out my feed for things like "OHMYGOD WE'RE STUCK IN TRAFFIC! WE'RE NEVER GOING TO GET THERE!" or "Holy crap! We're already out of gluten free cupcakes!" or "Screw this, I'm going home".

Contrariwise, if you already do follow me on Twitter and don't want to read days of "Dammit! I burned my hand again!" and "I JUST DROPPED THREE DOZEN CUPCAKES IN THE MIDDLE OF FIFTH AVENUE!!" you may want to unfollow or silence me for a while.

Either way, I hope to see you there!

Wrap Up!

With our first bake sale only FIVE DAYS AWAY, it's time for me to get a little repetitive and sum stuff up for the folks just tuning in:

Compassion for Animals' Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale!

June 21 and 28, 11 AM until we sell out and/or can't take it anymore
Open Source Gallery
Park Slope, Brooklyn
251 17th Street, right off of 5th Avenue, one block east of the Prospect Avenue M/R station and convenient from the B63 bus

Profits to Farm Sanctuary and Sea Shepherd.

Music! Dancing (kinda)! Art! Drinks! Raffles! Much, much more!*

Raffle prizes:
Signed copies of Vegan Brunch by Isa Chandra Moskowitz
A handmade contribution from Panda With Cookie**

In case you're still not convinced you need to attend this bake sale, there are pictures of some of the items we'll have on offer after the jump.

Chocolate chip cookies:



Lemon poppy seed muffins:



Raspberry chocolate chip blondie bars and brownies:



Toasted coconut mango muffin:



Banana bread:



There will also be cupcakes, scones and assorted other awesomeness.

Hope to see you there!


*OK, maybe not SO much more.

**Panda With Cookie will also be doing a craft fair in the area on the 21st, so it might be in your best interest to hop from one to the other. More info here).

PS: The first day of this bake sale falls on Father's Day. Need a cake? Pre-order one from us!

Cupcakes and Culture

Woo! The Worldwide Vegan Bake sale is fast approaching! It's exciting!

As previously mentioned, our sale will be held at the Open Source Gallery, in Park Slope, Brooklyn. We're lucky enough to be sharing the space with "3 Prisoners", an installation by Hubert Dobler, so expect the unexpected. If the space doesn't look like the ideal place to be holding a bake sale, come on in anyway. Don't be shy! We'll be in there. Honest. The piece has nothing to do with our bake sale, but all are welcome to check it out.

To read more about the installation, check out the gallery's site. Please note that pictures on the site are just examples of the artist's work and may not be indicative of this specific installation.

Updates!

Bake sale related news!

1. Check out our snazzy fliers:



Created by the lovely and talented Adrienne Dee-Olsen.

2. Check out our snazzy prizes!



Yes, two lucky patrons (one each day) will win signed copies of Isa Chandra Moskowitz's Vegan Brunch! There will probably be some sort of raffle. Don't worry, we won't make you hang around all day to win (though you're welcome to!).

We'll also have some other small free things (tea, coffee, hugs, etc.), but none of them will compare with the awesomeness that is Vegan Brunch. You NEED this book. And you need it free. Signed. And now that Isa lives in Portland, New Yorkers can't just stalk her for signatures anymore, so this bake sale is probably your best bet.


The bake sale will be June 21 and 28 at the Open Source Gallery: 251 17th Street, right off of 5th Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn, just one block east of the Prospect Avenue M/R station and convenient from the B63 bus.

Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale

The Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale is coming to Brooklyn!

That's right, we're participating in Compassion for Animals' bake sale on June 21 AND 28, with the profits going to Farm Sanctuary and Sea Shepherd.

We'll be hanging out at the Open Source Gallery, in Park Slope, Brooklyn, with loads of vegan treats including some gluten free, low fat, low sugar, kosher, soy and nut-free options.

We'll have some free samples on hand for those who doubt the power of vegan baking, as well as some seating, music and drinks available, so come for the cookies but stay for the good times.

The Open Source Gallery is located at 251 17th Street, right off of 5th Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn, just one block east of the Prospect Avenue M/R station and convenient from the B63 bus.

More details will be posted soon, so watch this space!

PS: We hope to be up and running around 11 AM and will be around until we've sold everything!

Month of 1000 Birthdays

Well, just five, really. But they were all mine! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!

Ahem.

Sorry.

Aaaaanyway...Sunday, May 10, was my birthday, but I've been fortunate enough to have it acknowledged five times this month. All with awesome edibles.

The first time was my office birthday party on the seventh. Since I like baking and finding vegan cake in midtown Manhattan is kind of a pain in the ass, I make my own birthday cake every year and my boss reimburses me $20 for it. This year, I made a giant chocolate mint cupcake (please note the phone in the background for scale):



I tripled the Chocolate Mint Cupcake recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, and covered it with mint icing, Quick Melty Ganache and chocolate mint lentils. It was dangerously good. The mint makes the cake seem lighter than regular chocolate cake, and this cake pan kind of keeps you from going overboard with the icing, so if you're not careful, you can just keep eating this cake until suddenly your platter is empty and you've gained twenty pounds. Twenty tasty, tasty pounds. If you haven't tried this recipe yet (and like mint), please do. But proceed with caution.

The absolute best part of making the chocolate mint cake is...well...did you ever buy the mint Girl Scout cookies? Do you remember the aroma that would waft out and hit you in the face when you opened the box? Well, when you're making this cake, your ENTIRE KITCHEN SMELLS LIKE MINT GIRL SCOUT COOKIE WAFTINGS! It's an amazing thing. If you have a really tiny apartment, you can probably hotbox yourself in minty goodness. Awesome.

In case you're wondering, I made it using this cake pan, which was a gift from the same awesome people who gave me the boat cake pan. I guess they kind of know me pretty well. If you want to see how the cake assembly works, just browse backward from here.

Then, the Tofu Takedown was on my actual birthday. Obviously, I celebrated with lots of cannoli. Then we moved the party to Curly's Lunch, followed by Lula's Sweet Apothecary, where I got carrot cake ice cream (in a sugar cone!!) which tasted like the creamiest pumpkin pie ever. It was difficult to keep my pants on (especially since I was wearing a dress).

May 16 was mostly a celebration for other people, but I received my share of birthday wishes and brought the Raspberry Chocolate Chip Blondie Bars from Vegan With a Vengeance. They're definitely one of my favorite things and only take about an hour to make, which is pretty awesome. I didn't take any pictures this time, but they looked just like the ones I made for Election Day.

My family and I celebrated my birthday, Mother's Day and my mother's birthday (the 8th) on the 17th because I was busy taking down tofu on the 10th. I tried to make a cake out of the Brooklyn vs. Boston Cream Pie recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, but kind of failed:



Pastry creme is just not what to use when trying to stick layers together. I should have known that from my last pastry creme debacle, but no one ever said I was a fast learner. I spent a good part of my afternoon cleaning ganache and pastry creme off the door of my refrigerator. I will not tell you whether or not I licked the fridge.

Lastly, my friends and I celebrated my birthday on the 24th in Philadelphia. Thanks to an awesome friend who did all sorts of veganny research, we ate at Basic Four Vegetarian Snack Bar and New Harmony Vegetarian Restaurant. At Basic Four, I had the best freaking tofu scramble I've ever eaten that I didn't make myself. Their potatoes are really good too. Most importantly, there was vegan Philly cheesesteak. I don't have words for how good this was, so just eat it with your eyes:



Please note that the picture does not do it justice.

New Harmony was a vegan Chinese buffet of awesomeness. Even the tea, orange slices and pineapple chunks were better than most. I gave faux shrimp another try (the first time I tried it, it tasted like fish - BLECH!) and even liked that.

Another friend brought Mexican Hot Chocolate cupcakes from VCTOTW. They're always wonderful and were a great pick-me-up between finding twenty (yes, TWENTY) geocaches and visiting The Mutter Museum, which is more than slightly awesome.

If you're reading this, good job with the vegan food, Philadelphia! I want to walk in your subway tunnels and eat many of your sandwiches!