I have never been as obsessed with something as much as I am with baking. Its hard for me to contain my enthusiasm, that's one of the reasons why I began this blog. I want to be able to keep my passion to myself as much as possible, but at the same time I need an outlet for all of my experiences.
This week I sold my second cake. It was a caramel cake. Prior to the order I had never heard of a caramel cake. I googled recipes but I didn't like the reviews that most of the recipes I came across. Luckily my mother gave me several cookbooks and I found an excellent caramel walnut cake recipe. I eliminated the walnuts and walla, caramel cake. From the beginning of my baking I have been looking for the key to a moist cake. I came across applesauce, mayonnaise, and other random things found in the refrigerator that just so happen to keep your cake wet. Luckily for me I have been observing everything at the bakery. And here my friends are the key steps to a moist cake. The first is creaming the sugar and butter really really well, the second is to add your flour last and don't over mix it. Over mixing is simply mixing the batter too long after the flour is added, all you want to do is incorporate the flour, and the last key to moist perfection is timing. Set a timer every six minutes, rotate the cake each time, when the cake is almost done check it around every two minutes or so and then remove it. My cake was so wonderfully moist I couldn't believe it. Now all I have to do is work on my icing skills. Practice will make perfect, and I am definitely up for the challenge.
Until next time...
Friday, March 19, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Something like irony
When I started working at the hospital a little over three years ago I always had a story to tell. Everything that happened was so out of the ordinary and unreal that I had to share these semi amusing stories to any and everyone that would listen. Today when asked how my day was a fog comes over me. I draw a blank. The semi amusing things still happen, but they are no longer new to me. My job has caused me to turn off a piece of me that I really want on. That is why I am seeking a profession/hobby that will provide me with daily joys. Today a man came into the bakery, he did not smile, he appeared to be lost. He asked for two dozen cupcakes. He didn't care about the price or the flavors he had to get them for an impromptu birthday party at his office. He went on to explain that initially they had nothing planned and later his boss decided he wanted to do something for this individuals birthday, he ended by saying so here I am. During our encounter he did not smile once, he actually seemed unhappy about having to search the city for cupcakes for someones last minute office birthday bash. After he left I reflected upon our interaction, and I knew that in ten years I do not want to be the person running errands for an indecisive boss, I want to be the person with the bakery for the last minute cupcakes.
This past week I worked with the geriatric patients. I sincerely love working with them, but there is one down side to working on that unit, it always smells like urine or the movement of bowels. I am so serious, the full time staff on the unit have started wearing face masks out of fear of becoming sick from the constant odor. On Tuesday I spent my entire 16 hours on that unit only to wake up the next day to intern at a bakery with an aroma of happiness. Lol, that is the only way that I can explain it. This week I have gained a little independence. I made my first batch of cookie dough, it was sugar lemon, and I baked my first batch of oatmeal raisin cookies. I have put them in the oven before but this was the first time that I took them out when they were done. That's a big accomplishment for a second week intern. My supervisors keep assuring me that as time progresses I will be doing more. I believe them and look forward to the hard work that lies ahead.
Until next time....
This past week I worked with the geriatric patients. I sincerely love working with them, but there is one down side to working on that unit, it always smells like urine or the movement of bowels. I am so serious, the full time staff on the unit have started wearing face masks out of fear of becoming sick from the constant odor. On Tuesday I spent my entire 16 hours on that unit only to wake up the next day to intern at a bakery with an aroma of happiness. Lol, that is the only way that I can explain it. This week I have gained a little independence. I made my first batch of cookie dough, it was sugar lemon, and I baked my first batch of oatmeal raisin cookies. I have put them in the oven before but this was the first time that I took them out when they were done. That's a big accomplishment for a second week intern. My supervisors keep assuring me that as time progresses I will be doing more. I believe them and look forward to the hard work that lies ahead.
Until next time....
Friday, March 5, 2010
Internship
I had driven past this bakery plenty times. The owner has a cute sign at the top of the parking lot that says "you need a cupcake now!". I will admit that I was initially jealous when I noticed it, jealous that someone else was living out my dream. I don't know what inspired me to email the owner, I really have no idea as to why I did it, but low and behold she was looking for someone that she could train and hire. I came in thinking that I was just going to see how I liked the environment, and for her to see if she liked me, but I was actually the intern when I had stepped out of her office the week before. My first day there did not feel like a first day at all. I was making cupcakes, doing dishes and assisting in the front. Every time I turned around there was something for me to do. The bakery has its sales floor where they sell cupcakes, cookies, and brownies, the kitchen where all of the magic happens, the owners office and a consultation room. They are constantly baking for the bakery and for the many orders that they have to complete. What I didn't know about this bakery is that the owner is amazing! She was voted brides choice last year, and she can make a cake to look like anything. But above all everything is perfectly delicious. She is eager to teach, in exchange for the help that I am giving. I know that I am going to learn so much from just being there. I have been there five times, and I think that I have the cupcakes under control. I cant wait until I am icing cakes and making designer bags. I really feel good about this experience. Right now I have a hectic schedule, I do three doubles at the hospital, two days at the bakery and two days for myself. I love it! Until next time...
Entry # 1
As I sit here trying to figure out how to begin the first sentence of my first blog entry I feel at peace. During the final days of 2009 I made several promises to myself; mainly promises that would allow my future to me different from my past, and I can say that on this fifth day of March that I am keeping the promises that were made.
Who am I?
Hmm....I am a twenty four year old, newly married, optimistic young lady who knows she is destined for success. That knowledge drives me to pursue my interests until I find what it is that I am looking for. As a child my profession of choice was the person at Dunkin Doughnuts that hands you to the doughnuts...lol, I would explain that to people with a straight face. Not understanding the puzzled looks I received while maintaining confidence behind my aspired profession. After maturing I decided on becoming what I thought was a psychologist but in reality I was interested in therapy. I have always had an appreciation for communication. There was a point where I was shut off to the world, because communication can hurt as much as it can heal, but now that I am older I appreciate it more and know when its necessary to use. All through high school I knew that I would attend college and major in psychology, and some how have an office and see clients. I didn't really know the necessary steps to accomplish that dream. The summer before college I had an emergency trip to the dentist, that trip changed my career goals to dentistry, but a couple semesters of college biology shifted my interest back to psychology. After finishing college there was one thing that I knew I did not want to do....go back to school. With no perspective jobs I took a month hiatus in Egypt to study Arabic. That month was a well needed vacation from the mental anguish I was in towards the end of my undergraduate years. I had no job, my resume was shabby, but I did have a college degree and a father with lots of contacts (or so I thought), so the uncertainties of my future were on hold while I rode camels, acted like I spoke the language and hung out on the Nile. The three months after my return were spent developing a resume, calling businesses, going to job fairs and trying to stay optimistic in what seemed like a horrible situation. I foolishly financed my lavish lifestyle with two credit cards, that I am still paying on today. Luckily my father was able to get me a job at a behavioral hospital, and I have been employed there for three years. After my first year I began graduate studies for professional counseling, but on the last day of my practicum I realized that I no longer wanted to listen to people's problems for a living. Being a counselor is very selfless. You have to use yourself as a mirror for your clients, and it is up to them to grow or to remain stagnant. Regardless of how much I enjoy to see others happy I cannot dedicate years of studying, internships and low pay for people who may or may not benefit from my patience. Luckily for me in the middle of my career changes I met my dream husband. It completely caught me off guard, but I knew who I was looking for and ten months later we were married in the most wonderful wedding, and today nine months later we are still happy and in love. We both are constant motivations for the other to succeed in whatever we are aspiring to do.
Where am I today? I still work at the nut house, only for income, but I am interning at a wonderful bakery around the corner from my house. Someone recently told me that people are more aware of what they want to do when they are younger than when they are older. Is it possible that the child who wanted to hand people doughnuts had more self awareness than the college graduate who was interested in therapy? Only time will tell....
Who am I?
Hmm....I am a twenty four year old, newly married, optimistic young lady who knows she is destined for success. That knowledge drives me to pursue my interests until I find what it is that I am looking for. As a child my profession of choice was the person at Dunkin Doughnuts that hands you to the doughnuts...lol, I would explain that to people with a straight face. Not understanding the puzzled looks I received while maintaining confidence behind my aspired profession. After maturing I decided on becoming what I thought was a psychologist but in reality I was interested in therapy. I have always had an appreciation for communication. There was a point where I was shut off to the world, because communication can hurt as much as it can heal, but now that I am older I appreciate it more and know when its necessary to use. All through high school I knew that I would attend college and major in psychology, and some how have an office and see clients. I didn't really know the necessary steps to accomplish that dream. The summer before college I had an emergency trip to the dentist, that trip changed my career goals to dentistry, but a couple semesters of college biology shifted my interest back to psychology. After finishing college there was one thing that I knew I did not want to do....go back to school. With no perspective jobs I took a month hiatus in Egypt to study Arabic. That month was a well needed vacation from the mental anguish I was in towards the end of my undergraduate years. I had no job, my resume was shabby, but I did have a college degree and a father with lots of contacts (or so I thought), so the uncertainties of my future were on hold while I rode camels, acted like I spoke the language and hung out on the Nile. The three months after my return were spent developing a resume, calling businesses, going to job fairs and trying to stay optimistic in what seemed like a horrible situation. I foolishly financed my lavish lifestyle with two credit cards, that I am still paying on today. Luckily my father was able to get me a job at a behavioral hospital, and I have been employed there for three years. After my first year I began graduate studies for professional counseling, but on the last day of my practicum I realized that I no longer wanted to listen to people's problems for a living. Being a counselor is very selfless. You have to use yourself as a mirror for your clients, and it is up to them to grow or to remain stagnant. Regardless of how much I enjoy to see others happy I cannot dedicate years of studying, internships and low pay for people who may or may not benefit from my patience. Luckily for me in the middle of my career changes I met my dream husband. It completely caught me off guard, but I knew who I was looking for and ten months later we were married in the most wonderful wedding, and today nine months later we are still happy and in love. We both are constant motivations for the other to succeed in whatever we are aspiring to do.
Where am I today? I still work at the nut house, only for income, but I am interning at a wonderful bakery around the corner from my house. Someone recently told me that people are more aware of what they want to do when they are younger than when they are older. Is it possible that the child who wanted to hand people doughnuts had more self awareness than the college graduate who was interested in therapy? Only time will tell....
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