Ode to the Freezer

February 14th is around the corner!  As I've said in an earlier post, I am making a ton of baked items for my niece's 1st birthday party.  Knowing that I only have 2 days to make all the magic happen, the past two times I was home, I made two batches of chocolate chip cookie dough and the heart shaped sugar cookies.  The cookie dough is chillin in the freezer and so are the sugar cookies.  I know the sugar cookies won't be as fresh as possible, but they will still be perfectly delicious!  The chocolate chip cookie dough will be better having been frozen (I'm not so sure as to why, but trust me, they will be). 

This beautiful piece of machinery has allowed me to design and plan the sweetest birthday cake for my niece, who deserves it for being so deliciously cute. 

So yeah, I love you freezer.  A special thanks goes out to everyone who contributed to your existence.

Recipe Contribution - White Chocolate Clusters

White Chocolate Clusters

Here is a recipe for Valentine's Day that I wrote for the blog, http://www.foodandthings.com/. 

Sunday Fun at Chez Usatin

Cheddar and Pepper Scones courtesy of epicurious.com

yum yum

Recipe for Cheddar and Pepper Scones

Baking Experiment #3

As promised - Cinnamon Sugar Fantails

My nose, mouth and stomach thanked me for making these.  I'd imagine the smell of them could awaken someone from a coma; that's how good they smelled.  They tasted spectacular, right from the oven, making you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.  If you're looking for something impressive to make for a weekend brunch, please don't be intimidated and try making these!  The fantail technique isn't difficult at all,  it's doable, I promise!  And, once you get it you can make em sweet or savory!  Oh, think of all the possibilities!  Enjoy :)

A Savory Side to Cassie's Cakery - Pesto Fantails

As a reminder to those who may be reading this blog, Cassie's Cakery is a place where I am discovering the details of my future food business.  In this quest of a quest, which may take several years, I will be writing about baking experiments, business plans, and other important details of my future biz!  One of my many new years resolutions for 2010, was to blog once a week.  So far, I've been on track, but I definitely had way too many resolutions this year!  I'm really trying to keep up with all of them!  Here's another baking experiment:

                                                                        Pesto Fantails


This past weekend I was home in NJ at my parents house and my mom was planning a dinner for my brother's family who was visiting.  I saw this as a perfect opportunity to bake something!  Seeing that we didn't need a decadent dessert, I thought about a creative bread that could accompany the meal.  My mom was making meatballs and spaghetti, and all I could think about were these yummy buttermilk fantail rolls that I saw on the cover of Gourmet last year.  I've made them a few times and I just love them.  Each roll turns out beautifully unique.  If you're looking for uniformity, you are not going to find it in this roll - but you will find tons of flavor and fun.  The rolls themselves can be made out of any type of yeast bread because they are a technique based roll - I immediately thought about my options.  


I had to make a dairy free bread because my house in NJ is kosher (can't mix meat and milk).  I started thinking of garlic knots and thought of how I could turn that concept into my dream of buttermilk fantails.  What if I made a simple pizza dough and an easy cheese free pesto??... hmm... I didn't have to think too long to realize that this had definite potential to work, and boy did they work!  They were delicious, just as fun to eat as their buttermilk version, and a much better accompaniment to meatballs and spaghetti.  My 3 and 5 year old niece and nephew even loved them!  


Next experiment I plan to make a ridiculously sweet version of these rolls! Stay tuned :)


I haven't decided if I am going to post recipes on this site yet. 
If you are interested in a recipe just email me at - cassie.berkowitz@gmail.com.  

Baking Experiment #1

 Yesterday I went shopping with my sister to buy cards and decorations for her daughter's 1st birthday party.  I cannot believe that little A is going to be 1!  Lucky tot gets to have a very thematic birthday, being born on Valentine's Day.  My sister - is going - bananas - with the theme!  As the master baker of the family, I obviously volunteered to bake tons of sweet treats for the party all appropriately heart shaped, red, pink, and yummy!  I've been making my other niece and nephew's birthday cakes, so how could I ever refuse!  Little A's first taste of cake is going to be very special one, coming from Aunt Cassie.  I'm in charge of making goodie bags for the children, which will be full of heart shaped sugar cookies decorated with their names, amazing salted chocolate chip cookies (courtesy of Jaques Torres), and a birthday cake that I have yet to design.  (After the party, I will post pictures, I promise!)

  I needed to pick up a sieve for my apartment, so my sister dropped me off at a local kitchen supply store on our way home.  Surprisingly enough, I got very distracted by the baking section and ended up purchasing an alphabet cookie cutter set.  Did I need this - No!  I find myself always picking up little tchotchkes when I visit kitchen stores.  But, nonetheless, I felt very inspired to make cookies.  I used to work at a cookie store throughout high school, and my penchant for decorating cookies emerges every now and again.  Last night, was the night!  I have a great sugar cookie recipe that I've been using for a few months now.  Sugar cookies have few ingredients, so they are pretty easy to make, but not fool-proof.  My goal of the evening was to add some complexity to these already perfectly simple cookies.  I wanted to find some sort of balance between the sweet candor of a sugar cookie and the warmness and spice of a gingerbread cookie.

Drum roll please....

Introducing - Cassie's Cakery's

Pumpkin Spiced Brown Sugar Cookies decorated with a Vanilla Honey Glaze

Although I thought they needed less flour and more sugar, my roommates approved!  I will have to say that the glaze was fantastic!  All in all, a successful baking experiment!