This week in the bakery

I know I haven't shaken the jet-lag because a) I am hungry for roast chicken at around 11pm, b) I keep looking the wrong way when crossing Suffolk street, despite living in Dublin for over 10 years, c) I don't even remember a third thing because my brain feels like melted cheese. This week was conducted in a haze and a series of 5 hour delayed reactions. Here's what we got up to...

Starting off the "Cake of the Month" series was the Fruit & Nut Bar. More on Cake of the Month in coming posts.

I spent the early part of the week distributing New Years cards to clients, along with jars of Maple Sugar as gifts

I saved small store of Maple Sugar for the market, and made a Gluten-free Pecan and Maple Sugar baked cheesecake

A breath of fresh air (at Sugar Loaf, ironically)...

...followed by the waft of fresh baking. We headed to Delgany, to the much talked about Firehouse bakery. It's called research and development. Someone's got to do it. 

After tasting this hunka hunka doughnut, I know what all the fuss is about. This baby was filled with dark chocolate and coated in white chocolate ganache. Inspiring. 

I began a new EdX course, through Montreal's McGill University, titled Food For Thought. The course runs through to April and will look at the latest scientific studies and publications relating to food, nutrition, diet and agriculture. I am a huge fan of Dr. Joe Schwartz, who is on the lecture panel. Here I am proving my excellent knowledge of Plumpy Nut, gleaned from World Vision TV commercials.

Website: www.carynascakes.com

Twitter: @carynascakes

Facebook: Caryna's Cakes

Phone: 086 0703425

Address: Terenure Enterprise Centre, 

17 Rathfarnham Road, Terenure, 

Dublin 6w, Ireland

This week in the Bakery

This has been a busy week in the bakery, what with the catching up, keeping up with orders and unpacking all the fun stuff I brought back. Here's a sneaky peak of what went down. 

The arrival of my 2014 Best in Ireland award was the highlight of the week!

This week started by working from home, due to continued holidays in Montreal, due to flight cancellations, due to freezing weather. Here I am getting cracking on the Caryna's Cakes New Years cards. Sharpies - check. Spreadsheet - check. Chai Latte - check.

I came across this Boon drying mat and accessories in Target. It's intended for baby bottles and all of their tiny fiddly attachment bits. I saw it and had a vision...

This is the perfect solution for hanging piping tips to dry. The plastic grass keeps piping bags open and aerated while they dry. And it adds a touch of springtime to the sink area. What sink area could't do with a bit of springtime?

This is a photo of me gleefully measuring butter while modeling my new favorite apron. It's made of linen, it has pockets, it's adorned with beautiful embroidery and, most beautifully,  it belonged to my friend Benjy's late grandmother. 

Baking is like the Oscars sometimes. As you can see, I went for a costume change here to finish the butter measuring with added flair and drama. This is apron number 2 in the collection.

Here I am sporting apron number 3 as I move on to sieve the flour, most stylishly. I am so touched by the gift of these aprons and I will take very good care of them. They go in the "Good Aprons" pile. It's a touching show of my friends Benjy and Shari-Ann's support for Caryna's Cakes.

Not surprisingly, the Fruit & Nut Bar (which is wheat-free and sugar-free) was a best seller this week. Customers seemed to be opting for oats over chocolate of late. I predict a tide change at the start of February, as heart shaped chocolate boxes start popping up everywhere, luring the best internationalists into their luscious, dark depths.

Website: www.carynascakes.com

Twitter: @carynascakes

Facebook: Caryna's Cakes

Phone: 086 0703425

Address: Terenure Enterprise Centre, 

17 Rathfarnham Road, Terenure, 

Dublin 6w, Ireland

This week in the bakery...

This luggage got me a honk from the airport buggy. 

This has been a very happy new year so far. I've been away from the bakery, but the bakery is never far from my mind. Even as I inch across the sheets of ice using the 'slidey footwork technique' in Montreal, I am thinking about how to bring the food I love back to Dublin, in the form of cake. Here's a glimpse of my week away from the Caryna's Cakes, thinking about the Caryna's Cakes. 

We went to an old timey Montreal exhibition.  I of course took interest in this antique bag of sugar

We had a classic lunch at Schwartz's - Smoked Meat sandwich, dill pickle, fries, karnatzel and a cherry Coke (Schwartz's is a famous Montreal deli. So famous, they made a musical about it, which I have not seen and so cannot recommend)

We  hopped over to an adorable artisan bakery Boulangerie Les Co'Pains D'Abord (translation of pun: friends first), where I was treated to a delicious Lavandrier 

This little lady was an excellent tour guide of Syracuse New York 

We had a delicious brunch at Alto Cinquo, Syracuse

I love brunch. I love Huevos Rancheros. I loved these Huevos Rancheros, along with this crispy turkey bacon and Mexican Hot Chocolate Mocha

It was really nice of Mollie to treat us all to brunch

We wandered a block to a local bakery Picasso's Pastries and Cafe, and each picked a treat

My flight back to Dublin was cancelled. I sure hope it has nothing to do with the suspicious bags my mother is helping line my suitcases with (It's actually Maple Sugar. Did you hear that Airport Security? Maple Sugar!) The lengths I go for Caryna's Cakes...

Caryna's Cakes

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Website: www.carynascakes.com

Twitter: @carynascakes

Facebook: Caryna's Cakes

Phone: 086 0703425

Address: Terenure Enterprise Centre, 

17 Rathfarnham Road, Terenure, 

Dublin 6w, Ireland