CakeSpy Presents Sweet Treats for a Sugar-Filled Life

Cuppied Golden Girls!

I "met" Jessie (aka CakeSpy) four years ago on Etsy. I loved her whimsical drawings and her reasonable prices. In fact, I commissioned an AMAZING Cuppie drawing from her for my Golden Girls loving best friend a few years ago, which you can see at right. Jessie does not miss a detail. Look at Blanche's wrapper...

Over the years she has shared amazing recipes, introduced me to sinfully decadant cakes, forged the friendship of Scoopalicious and Spice Dish (which in turn made way for Spice Dish Saturdays), and kept us utterly inspired along the way.

THE BOOK.

When my copy of CakeSpy Presents Sweet Treats for a Sugar-Filled Life arrived in the mail, I was thrilled. The book is beautiful. It's 100% CakeSpy. And having now followed the CakeSpy chronicles from very early on, I feel lucky to be one of those who can say "I knew her when..." Haha! Seriously though, having watched Jessie develop into this success in so many ways has been such a joy, but it was the publication of a book -- a book! -- that really took the cake (yes, of course pun intended!). We at Scoopalicious are so proud of you Jessie -- so well deserved.

There are so many treats I wanted to try (oh if the time allowed for them all!) but I was especially tickled by all the ice cream recipes included. Pudding using ice cream instead of milk?! Oh. My. God. Wow. Sounds heavenly. And. It. Was.

Ice Cream Pudding Pie as attempted by Scoopalicious

I brought the pie ("Ice Cream Pudding Pie," as it is so aptly named) to a dinner I was attending. It was super easy to make and ended up being a hit. The rich chocolate filling (ice cream pudding) was offset by the airiness of the Cool Whip. With the Oreo crust, it kind of reminded me of the chocolate mousse pie they served in the Tufts Dining Hall that I have been trying in vain to either buy or make my own version. Not exactly the same, but it might be good enough to fill the void. My pie isn't as beautiful as the one photographed in Jessie's book, but 1. She had a professional photographer. I had an iPhone. 2. She probably didn't drop the pie on the floor before she brought it to dinner guests. I did. (It just became messier looking. The cover was on so the five-second rule didn't even come up.)

As I was basking in the goodness of the book, something even more magical happened. Jessie's publisher got in touch with me and asked if we wanted to be part of CakeSpy's Virtual Tour de Sweet. I immediately agreed, and decided our leg of the tour would be part interview, part giveaway, part review and total awesomeness!

The best part is, this Virtual Tour de Sweet is eleven days long. You can visit these other fabulous blogs for more reviews and goodies tied in with CakeSpy's new book. Not only are we honored to be on CakeSpy's tour, but to be headlining with these bloggers is the cherry on top.

October 10—Cupcake Project

October 11—Bake It in a Cake!

October 12—Culinary Concoctions by Peabody

October 13—Dessert First

October 14—Cookie Madness

October 15—Bake and Destroy

October 16—Piece of Cake

October 17—Not Martha

October 18—Scoopalicious

October 19—Big Girls, Small Kitchen

October 20—Blondie and Brownie

Additionally, you can meet CakeSpy at her live Tour de Sweet book tour. Check out the link for the dates she'll be in a city near you.

Now without further delay, here's our fabulous interview with Jessie "CakeSpy" Oleseon.


Getting Started

Scoopalicious: You went to art school. I went to art school. Let's talk art. Where did you go to school and what specifically did you study?

CakeSpy: I went to Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY, where Law & Order was constantly being filmed on campus. I began as a Graphic Design major, but a course instructor urged me to switch to illustration very early on. It was a good idea.

Scoopalicious: Did you leave school with a life plan of world famous sweet blog, sweet store, sweet book, sweet life? How did you get where you are today? 

CakeSpy: Nope. I left school early--I believe the technical term would be "dropout". My goal was simply to get a job that didn't suck, but what is an art school dropout qualified to do, exactly? Well. I started out working at a rubber stamp store, then graduated to working at a textile company, then was a sort of artistic personal assistant for a while, then I finally landed at a greeting card company, and stuck with the gift and greeting card industry until I started my own business. 

The Blog

Scoopalicious: How and when did the blog start? 

CakeSpy: It started in the summer of 2007, as a way to unite my three greatest loves: writing, illustration, and baked goods.

Scoopalicious: Why did you start writing a blog? 

CakeSpy: I wanted a project that would unite the aforementioned loves, but I didn't know what. I figured I'd start a blog while I figured it out. I never thought the blog would be the project, but it has been!

Scoopalicious: How did it happen that your blog wasn't just another blog getting lost in the blogosphere? Do you think your readers come for the art? The recipes? The reviews? The interviews? Or a combo of all of the above? 

CakeSpy: I think it's very much a combo. I am not fishing for compliments when I say that quite honestly, there are probably people who can respectively write, illustrate, or bake much better than me. But there are few people who can do all three, and for me, it seems to be what sets me apart. That is to say -- I'm a triple threat!


Your Art Mom

Scoopalicious: Your (also incredibly talented) mom has a great interview about the technical part of your art, so I am not going to be redundant and I'll have our readers read that interview there. So, I guess this section should be renamed "Your Mom" since now my only art question is about your mom. Your mom is an illustrator and also quite the baker, I've heard. Would you say she has been the greatest inspiration in your career? 

CakeSpy: I think that she's been the greatest catalyst for my career, in that she raised me to love baked goods and with both parents being artistic I was not necessarily urged to do artwork, but it was more just a part of growing up--I never knew a household without paints and crayons at my disposal. However, the writing part I will credit to my 4th grade teacher, Mrs. Hillman (who is my friend on Facebook, btw), who really encouraged me to develop my writing and who introduced me to some of my favorite storytellers like Roald Dahl.


Cuppie and Friends

Scoopalicious: Let's talk Cuppie. When was he born? 

CakeSpy: Cuppie was born as the result of the tiniest bit of leftover cake batter being baked into one single cupcake. He (yes, it is a he, though I realize there are inconsistencies in my artwork) has always had a chip on his shoulder about not being his own complete cake--I think that's where the snarkiness comes from.

Scoopalicious: The first time you drew Cuppie, did you imagine his future in fame and stardom? 

CakeSpy: I believe the first time I drew this cupcake was probably in the second grade or so...so at the time, I was probably more focused on wanting cake than on wanting fame and fortune.

Scoopalicious: What is your favorite Cuppie drawing? 

CakeSpy: I love the image called "the talk" which is on a card and for sale on my website as a print, which is a three panel cartoon about a cupcake realizing where it came from.

"The Talk"

Scoopalicious: O.M.G. "The Talk" is awesome. So creative. Are you surrounded by (and when I say surrounded by, I mean, eating) cupcakes and other sweets while doing your artwork? 

CakeSpy: All too often, yes. This is a good and a bad thing. It's good because, well, cake rules. It's bad because buttery hands make for smudges and fingerprints on artwork. It's my constant struggle.


The Book

Scoopalicious: You. Published. A. Book. How exciting! Tell us a little bit about the process of this book coming together. 

CakeSpy: Really, it's the realization of many years' work on the blog, adapting many of my favorite recipes into a curated collection, surrounded by my clever illustrations, color-saturated photos, and of course my witty repartee.

Scoopalicious: The book filled with recipes akin to the adventures of a kid in a candy shop. How do you come up with these magical recipes? 

CakeSpy: I love puns and word play, so a lot of them come to me in that way. Many of them will also be inspired by treats I love simply taken to the next level--like, "how can I make this even more fun?"

Scoopalicious: How did you decide which recipes from the blog belonged in the book? 

Author's Pick:
Cadbury Creme Eggs Benedict

CakeSpy: I had a huge list of all of the ones I thought should be in the book, and my very helpful editor Susan Roxborough helped me weed the list to a manageable amount.

Scoopalicious: What's your favorite recipe in the book? 

CakeSpy: Cadbury Creme Eggs Benedict.


Ice Cream

Scoopalicious: We love ice cream. Duh. What's your favorite ice cream flavor? Ice cream brand? 

CakeSpy: My favorite ice cream is the chocolate-vanilla soft serve swirl that I grew up eating by the Jersey shore (boardwalk food!). When it comes to visiting an ice cream shop or buying a pint or gallon, I generally go with vanilla--I love adding toppings to it. However, I once had the most lovely ice cream experience at a place in Connecticut called Salem Valley Ice Cream. I believe it was an apple spice ice cream, special for the fall, and it still makes me smile to think of this ice cream.

Scoopalicious: What's your favorite ice cream recipe in the book? 

CakeSpy: Red Velvet Cake Shake.

Scoopalicious: That's next on my list to try. Stay tuned for that upcoming post...Anyway, I want to make a CakeSpy inspired ice cream. What would be an ice cream flavor only CakeSpy herself would dream up? 

CakeSpy: Whenever I go to Momofuku Milk Bar I think they've already done the types of ice cream flavors I would come up with. Cereal milk infused ice cream? Red vine soft serve? Be still my beating heart. Some ideas that have occurred to me: Hummingbird Cake ice cream, Pop-tart ice cream, Pain Au Chocolat ice cream, Coconut Cream Pie ice cream...

Scoopalicious: Noted and filed. Keep a look out in the future.


Advice for Our Readers

Scoopalicious: Sometimes -- er, um, always -- I think of you as Superwoman. The baking and testing, the blog, the art, the shop, the book...and you still manage to be great at replying to each and every email. How do you do it? Do you sleep? Do you ever see your husband? 

CakeSpy: I won't lie: although this is the funnest job I've ever had, it's also the most demanding--and time consuming, because it's not just a job, it's more like a lifestyle. It's almost like I made myself into a sort of superhero alter ego. On my days off, I eat brussels sprouts.

Scoopalicious: Any advice on coming up with new and creative recipes? 

CakeSpy: Start with a recipe or elements of recipes that you trust, so that you have good building blocks. That is to say--learn the rules before you break them.

Scoopalicious: Anything else to add? 

CakeSpy: Don't be scared to eat cake. So many people swear off of dessert--I think it's a dangerous idea. Much better to let yourself have a joy-filled dessert experience than to deny yourself and then stuff your face later because you're feeling deprived. I feel like people do that way too often.

Scoopalicious: Thank you to our favorite Spy! We ♥ you and your fabulously decadent treats and your adorable drawings!

Dear readers, I encourage you to buy the book for your sweet-loving self and all your sweet-loving friends and family. You won't be disappointed and even if you never make a recipe from the book, you can drool over the pictures and be magically transported to a land of cupcakes and unicorns. You can buy the book at Amazon, or spend a few extra bucks and get a signed copy of the book on CakeSpy's site. (Or visit this link for more resellers.)

And you can win. We are giving away a copy of the book as well. To enter, simply tell us your ideal Cuppie scene. Is it Cuppie starring in a favorite TV show? Maybe Cuppie visiting your favorite city? Perhaps it's Cuppie in a more daring role -- engaging in battle with a hated food? Leave us a comment by Friday, October 21, 2011 at 11:59 PM PST for a chance to be a winner. Winner will be chosen at random. You MUST include your email address. You can either leave it in your comment or email us at scoopaliciousblog@gmail.com. Unfortunately, we have learned from past experience that even though Blogger asks for your email address in the form, there is no way for me to access it. If we do not have your address, we unfortunately cannot award you the prize.


All images © Jessie Oleson and may not be used without her permission.

Interview with Jeni of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams

When my friend Pam lived in Ohio, I told her about Denise's Ice Cream (now closed), that had moved from Somerville, MA to Columbus, Ohio. I had loved Denise's and was so sad when they left us to move "west". When I told Pam about it, she said she had never been because she lived on the same block as Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams. I'd never heard of it, but clearly she thought it trumped even "thinking" about other Columbus ice cream, so it was something I had to look into.

Years later, Pam now lives in New England, and though I have never had the opportunity to visit a Jeni's, I have made a few of her fabulous recipes from her new book, and I too am now a fan, and Tina and I were so honored to have Jeni herself grant us an interview.

In the next week or so I head to visit Pam and her new(ish) baby girl, so in honor of that occasion and the person who first told me about Jeni's, here's the wonderful interview we conducted over email. And do read all the way through -- not only is the interview great, but she has so graciously supplied us with one of their recipes. Thanks Jeni! (Oh, and thanks Pam, for making the "introduction"!)

Getting Started...

Scoopalicious: Before you started making your own ice cream, what was your go to ice cream?

Jeni: Haagen-Dazs.

Scoopalicious: How did you make the leap from home churner to selling your ice cream?

Jeni: In the mid ‘90s I was experimenting for a few months at home—always with the intention to start a business, but for a party one evening I blended cayenne essential oil with store-bought milk chocolate ice cream and my guests went crazy—“It’s hot! It’s cold!” That flavor, made today of course with our ice cream base, is Queen City Cayenne, a nod to Cincinnati and it’s spicy chili (made with a touch of chocolate and pepper).

Scoopalicious: What equipment did you need to buy to make the leap?

Jeni: A really awesome stainless steel ice cream machine from Italy, some ice cream cabinets, and freezers.

Scoopalicious: Did you still make your ice creams out of your home or then move to a commercial space?

Jeni: When I opened Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams in 2002 in the North Market, a public market city market that’s a ready-made, entry level commercial space, I made and sold everything there pretty much by myself. Great time, very long days.


Design and Ice Cream (our two favorite things!)

Scoopalicious: Your book is gorgeous. We read you went to art school—did you design it?

Jeni: Thank you very much. I studied art for a bit at the Ohio State University but dropped out. I would say that I art directed the book. I had a pretty well-formed idea of what I wanted it to look like and I worked with our in-house designer at the time, Casey Carmell, freelance photographer Stacy Newgent, and our publisher, Artisan Books, to pull it off. We did a lot of sample layouts here in our office, and the end papers. Artisan has an awesome design team, so we worked with them closely. I also styled the photos in the book on our office’s conference table with Stacy Newgent.


The flavors...

Scoopalicious: How did you decide which recipes to put into your book?

Jeni: Most are just my favorites from over the years. You’ll notice that fall and winter have the most flavors; it’s because those are my favorite flavor seasons.

Scoopalicious: Your flavors are not run-of -the-mill. Do you find kids to be turned off by the flavors? Are there any flavors that kids really love?

Jeni: Kids are a lot more open-minded than people give them credit for. People assume kids won’t like certain flavors all the time. It’s ice cream. Kids like it. I never treat kids as kids. I treat them as thinkers. Allow them to explore the same way grown-ups do. Many kids love bitterness—many people don’t realize that—but they do. They love stout, coffee, grapefruit, and, like grown-ups they like anything with bright colors or chocolate.

Scoopalicious: Do you create all the flavors yourself or do you have help?

Jeni: I create them all, but I’m not opposed to anyone’s ideas. Of course, I have a kick-ass team who helps bring it all to life. We tweak and taste together, but we are very secretive during the process so there are only about 7 people working on new collections at any given time. One artist, two ice cream makers, one writer, one project director, and myself. The first batches start with me in my test kitchen, which is upstairs from my office. Then I work with my other ice cream makers and we taste together. When it’s almost perfect, we invite the rest of the team in for tasting. Then the process of design begins and eventually we will train the kitchen team to make the flavors and our shop keepers how to serve. We operate under a very strict schedule and deadlines or we won’t make the three month flavor drops. We don’t think everything has to be perfect or appeal to everyone. We see every collection as temporary, experimental. When it’s gone—poof! It’s gone, probably forever unless I can’t live without it.

Scoopalicious: How often do you introduce new flavors?

Jeni: We release six new flavors every three months. Our next collection will be available Nov. 2011 through Jan. 2012, followed by a collection Feb-April, May-July, and Aug.-Oct.

Scoopalicious: How often do you rotate flavors?

Jeni: See collections answer above. Signature Flavors are around all year, but something isn’t selling or if I decide it’s time to go, it’s time to go.

Scoopalicious: Are all your signature flavors constants on the menu in your shops?

Jeni: Every single day. We never run out. Which isn’t exactly easy, but we are committed to making sure those flavors are always available to anyone who walks into a shop and orders online.

Scoopalicious: How do you decide which are your "signature" flavors?

Jeni: Whatever is the most crave-able has made the list. Some have always been Signature (Salty Caramel), others made the list through demand (Brambleberry Crisp, which initially was introduced as a seasonal flavor).

Scoopalicious: Do you ever take flavor suggestions from your customers?

Jeni: My inbox is loaded with them. But the truth is I have a backlog of flavor ideas that will last years. I’ve got to get through all those first. That’s why I wrote the book and shared the recipe for a great base: so anyone can make the ice cream of their dreams.

Scoopalicious: What is your favorite flavor among your creations?

Jeni: Meyer Lemon Yogurt. I never get sick of it, probably because it’s so uncomplicated.


The "Business of Ice Cream"...

Scoopalicious: What part of Jeni's are you involved in on a day to day?

Jeni: Almost every part. Once I develop new flavor collection, I work with our creative team to do photography, artwork, and copy. Then we train the kitchen and our shop ambassadors how to make it and talk about it. And then the process repeats.

What I don’t do is worry about something like how to get Ugandan vanilla beans through customs/homeland security, or manage ice cream distribution, our 401k program, etc. That’s what we hired CEO, John Lowe who does that stuff and so much more.

Scoopalicious: Is your current role at Jeni's what you want to be doing? I mean, are you now wrapped up in the business when you'd rather still be doing the creative, etc?

Jeni: I’m right where I want to be.

Scoopalicious: How many people work in your kitchen helping with the creations and the production?

Jeni: About 40.


Advice from a Pro...

Scoopalicious: How do you keep from eating all of your ice cream all the time?!

Jeni: I eat ice cream all the time. I do not try to prevent it. I love it very much.

Scoopalicious: Any ice cream-making advice for our readers?

Jeni: All you need is the perfect base. Mine from the book is scoopable, and super creamy even on home machines. Then you can adapt the recipes in the book to make any flavor you can dream up.


Looking forward...

Scoopalicious: Do you have plans to expand retail stores outside of Ohio (like, um, Boston and Providence!)?

Jeni: Hell, yes. Can’t wait! But, we are not in a hurry to open another shop and we’re definitely not going to franchise. We own all 10 of our shops and manage them.

Scoopalicious: We cannot wait for you to come our way! Your 10th anniversary is coming up at the end of the year. Any big plans to celebrate?

Jeni: No plans yet, but we will have to think of something! I’m thinking we ought to throw a concert. Can you hook us up with Foreigner, the Civil Wars, Glen Campbell, Van Halen, what’s left of Queen, and Burt Reynolds to emcee?

Scoopalicious: Seriously, wish we had the connections so maybe we could bargain some free ice cream out of the hook up!


In case we forgot to ask...

Scoopalicious: Anything we haven't covered that you want to add?

Jeni: Not that I can think of! Thanks for the interview!

Thank you, Jeni! And thanks for the recipe! By the way I love the black raspberry part. My parents have tons of black raspberries growing on their property, but while you find many recipes for raspberries or blackberries, there are relatively few for the sweet black gems of a black raspberry -- which are truly my favorite.

Oh, and one other thing I forgot to mention...the forum on Jeni's site is AWESOME. It's full of great advice for people using her book. What a great ancillary to the book -- I wish more cookbooks came with something like it! Check it out if you have any questions or concerns with the recipes in the book!

Sweet Corn & Black Raspberry Ice Cream

A sublime summer match—initial hits of milky sweet corn give way to the floral nose of sweet black raspberry.

Ohio sweet corn is milky-tasting and shockingly sweet. I like to eat it raw straight off the truck. We add sea salt and fresh cream and milk to make a delightful peak-harvest ice cream, then swirl it with black raspberry sauce. This is the taste of summertime in Ohio, especially in Columbus, where this flavor has had a loyal following since I first made it over ten years ago.

Sweet corn ice cream is delicious on its own. My initial reason for adding black raspberries was visual, but black raspberries offer a perfect sweet-tart perfume to the flavor (complementary colors often make complementary flavors). If you can’t find good black raspberries for the sauce (some years they are all seeds—don’t bother), use half blackberries and half red raspberries, so the color is still a deep purple to complement the yellow corn.


Makes a generous 1 quart

1 ear sweet corn, husked
2 cups whole milk

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 1/2 ounces (3 tablespoons) cream cheese, softened
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
Black Raspberry Sauce (see below)

Pairs well with: Blue corn cakes with lots of powdered sugar and Queen City Cayenne Ice Cream. Bumbleberry crumble. Honey Butterscotch Sauce


PREP 

Slice the kernels from the corn cob, then “milk” the cob by scraping it with the back of your knife to extract the liquid; reserve the kernels and liquid.Mix about 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry.

Whisk the cream cheese and salt in a medium bowl until smooth.

Fill a large bowl with ice and water.


COOK 

Combine the remaining milk, the cream, sugar, corn and juices, and corn syrup in a 4-quart saucepan, bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, and boil for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and force the mixture through a sieve into a bowl, leaving the corn “cases” behind. Return the mixture to the saucepan and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry. Bring back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring with a heatproof spatula, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat.


CHILL
Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese until smooth. Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon Ziploc freezer bag and submerge the sealed bag in the ice bath. Let stand, adding more ice as necessary, until cold, about 30 minutes.


FREEZE
Pour the ice cream base into the frozen canister and spin until thick and creamy.

Pack the ice cream into a storage container, alternating it with layers of the black raspberry sauce and ending with a spoonful of sauce; do not mix. Press a sheet of parchment directly against the surface, and seal with an airtight lid. Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.

Black Raspberry Sauce
This sauce will not freeze fully when it’s frozen, so it’s perfect to swirl through any ice cream. Makes about 1 1/4 cups.

2 cups black raspberries
1 cup sugar

Combine the berries and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Continue boiling, stirring occasionally, until it reaches 220°F (5 to 8 minutes). Let cool slightly, then force through a sieve to remove the seeds. (Or leave a few seeds in there just to prove you made it.) Refrigerate until cold before using.

Excerpted from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home by Jeni Britton Bauer (Artisan Books). © 2011

Interview with New York's MilkMaid, Owner of MilkMade!

Froot Loop Ice Cream (©MilkMade)

The other day my husband sent me this link. Froot Loop Ice Cream?! Lucky Charms Ice Cream?! Why didn't I think of it and how can I get some? Upon further looking, I found that this was the creation of MilkMade, a small batch ice cream company out of New York. Immediately I pondered the move to New York, just so I could subscribe to their hand-delivered ice cream service. Unfortunately, right now moving to New York for ice cream just isn't feasible, so second best was getting in touch with the the MilkMaid herself and learning a bit about MilkMade.

Scoopalicious: Who are you?

The MilkMade: I'm Diana, the founder of MilkMade Ice Cream.

Scoopalicious: What were you doing before you started MilkMade?

The MilkMaid: Prior to launching the business I was working as a biz dev consultant for small businesses in NY, and had just received my MBA from NYU Stern.

Scoopalicious: How did you start MilkMade?

The MilkMaid: One summer I decided to start making ice cream. I wasn't satisfied with my local pint offerings -- I want a natural product made with local ingredients with unique and sophisticated flavors. I decided I could just make that for myself, so I bought a machine and started crafting 'scream. I began serving to friends, serving at parties, and found that I wasn't the only one seeking a better pint. So I launched MilkMade and have been sharing my creations with New Yorkers ever since.

You can read a bit more about how we got started on our website and in some of our latest press.

Scoopalicious: You source local ingredients -- AWESOME -- since I am assuming there aren't any cows in Brooklyn, how what area defines your "local"?

The MilkMaid: Yes, all of our ingredients are as local as possible. Our dairy is from a farm in Ancramdale, NY, about 100 miles upstate, and all of our mix-ins are sourced from the best local artisan producers in New York and Brooklyn.

Scoopalicious: How did you learn to make ice cream? 

The MilkMaid: I bought a little Cuisinart machine and taught myself. After many trials, I created the right base recipe for MilkMade and I always manipulate that recipe based on what mix-in or flavor add I'm using.

Scoopalicious: Adorable logo. Who designed it? 

The MilkMaid: The logo is the result of a gchat conversation between some MilkMade friends. Instead of a heart, <3, we double scooped, ,<00, and thought it would serve as a perfect logo. We'll know we've made it when Google turns it right side up.

Scoopalicious: (That would be awesome if Google turned it right side up! We'd love that too!) What is your favorite flavor among your creations?

S'Mores Ice Cream (©MilkMade)

The MilkMaid: After crafting almost every new flavor, I declare it my favorite. Recent favorites have been Strawberry Shortcake and S'Mores. 

Scoopalicious: Before MilkMade, what was your go-to ice cream?

The MilkMaid: I started MilkMade because my go to ice creams weren't cutting it anymore for me. My palate had become a bit more sophisticated, I wanted a natural product, and I wanted something locally produced. Nothing quite met that, so I decided to do it myself.

Scoopalicious: Any ice cream making advice for our readers?

The MilkMaid: Get creative!

Scoopalicious: Is it still just you in a kitchen with a single ice cream maker? Do you have help?

EVOO Ice Cream (©MilkMade)

The MilkMaid: I still craft and produce every pint myself in a commercial kitchen. We have some help in the form of friends and interns, and we're hoping to bring some full time help on soon.

Scoopalicious: I notice on your blog you have a flavor a day. How many of these flavors make it past your palette to the customers?

The MilkMaid: The flavors of the day are typically trial flavors for future flavors of the month, flavors for friends or events, or just fun experiments for me. Quite often something makes me go WOAH and I change the planned flavor offerings around to fit it in for our members. 

Scoopalicious: Do customers get any say in what is delivered? For example, can someone with allergies sign up for your service or would they potentially end up with ice creams they can't eat? Additionally, could a customer request something from your blog for their next delivery?

The MilkMaid: We make two flavors every month and announce them to our members about a week before delivery. Members have a choice of which flavor they'd like to order. We always take suggestions, and as you can imagine, people are always willing to suggest an ice cream flavor. if a member has an allergy, we allow them to defer their pint that month and extend the membership a month.

Scoopalicious: Who are your "testers"? Are you hiring any testers?

The MilkMaid: Ha, we don't need to 'hire' any testers, as we have a long and growing list of volunteers. My main testers are my boyfriend, my roommate, and really, anyone who drops by my apartment/test kitchen. I'll often pull out 5 different iterations of the same flavor and ask people to rank them.

Scoopalicious: Do you have plans to expand? Mail order? Local shops?

The MilkMaid: Yep! But we'll always keep it real and hand-craft each and every pint.

Scoopalicious:  We can't wait.

There are many ways you can follow MilkMade and/or learn more:
Check out the website.
Sign up for the mailing list.
Visit the MilkMade blog.
Like MilkMade on Facebook.
Follow MilkMade on Twitter.
Watch as the MilkMaid visits the Rachel Ray Show!
If you live in New York/TriState Area, become a member! (We're totally jealous.)

Thanks so much to the MilkMaid for such a fabulous interview!

Photos and logo © MilkMade.

[Scoopalicious is celebrating National Ice Cream month with a Post-A-Day throughout the month of July!]

The Naptime Chef Tells All About The Great Ice Cream Festival 2009

I recently ran across The Naptime Chef's™ blog and her exciting summertime Ice Cream Festival. You can read more here about The Naptime Chef and her Festival, but I think the interview should speak for itself. (As should the image at left of TNC's Chocolate Malted Milk.)

One thing that I think is pretty cool is that I have been meaning to share some of the recipes from my ice cream party (I know, I know! I will! I will!) and one of the recipes I was going to share was the Coconut Samoa Ice Cream I made for Husband. Mine is pretty easy: Make a coconut ice cream (I used the Toasted Coconut Ice Cream recipe in David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop) and add crumbled Girl Scout Samoas (a.k.a. Caramel deLites)...and cooincidentally, The Naptime Chef's latest recipe was also for Girl Scout Samoa Ice Cream!

Scoopalicious: Tell me about the Naptime Chef...

The Naptime Chef: The Naptime Chef™ started in early 2009 because of the birth of my daughter. Nothing throws a wrench in your cooking style like the arrival of a baby, and I was no different. I love to cook and bake, but with an infant I had no time or energy! I would start thinking about dinner at 4:30pm and, totally overwhelmed by the prospect of cooking from scratch, end up ordering delivery instead. It was awful. About three months after she was born I started “reworking” my favorite recipes to figure out how I could make them while she napped and complete them in the evening. After all, my tastes hadn’t changed, I still wanted to eat and make good food!

Once I figured out how to make all my favorites I was thrilled. Shortly thereafter I went to playgroup and told my friends about the lasagna I had recently made, they looked at me like I was crazy. I realized that they were struggling with cooking at home so I started The Naptime Chef™ to help them.

I purposely publish recipes that can be prepared ahead of time and completed in the evening, or whipped up on a moment’s notice. I want all home cooks to get excited and realize that is possible to cook delicious food with children at home, you don’t have to give up being a foodie just because you are a parent! Remarkably, many adults with grown children have told me that my work has reminded them of the joys of home cooking, and has motivated them to get cooking again.

The great news is that the site is currently being redesigned and will re-launch this fall with great features like an ingredient “search” bar, a recipe box, printable recipe pages and loads of helpful advice for all home cooks.

Scoopalicious: Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background?

The Naptime Chef: I grew up in Cooperstown NY where I learned to appreciate farm fresh food and artisanal food products. I attended Emma Willard (Hey! One of my best friends also went here!) for High School and then Bates College. When I arrived at Bates I was thrilled to discover their commitment to organic produce and recyclable materials. This was in the mid-90's, so they were ahead of the curve. After college I moved to New York City where I live today. My husband and I love the energy of the big city, and our 20-month old daughter enjoys it as well.

Scoopalicious: How did you come up with the idea of the Great Ice Cream Festival 2009?

The Naptime Chef: I love making Ice-cream and so does my friend Nicole, so we thought it would be fun this summer to make a new ice-cream flavor per week. Whenever we are together - our daughters are playmates and we are good friends - we always end up talking about food. So this project seemed like a fun thing for us to do together. We split the duties, each of us tackle recipes independently and then compare notes before they are published. Nicole doesn't blog, she is an event planner and busy mother. Her life is about to get busier, too, she is due with her second baby in September!

Scoopalicious: Who eats all the ice cream?

The Naptime Chef: Honestly, my husband and I. Thank goodness we live in NYC where we can walk everywhere for exercise!

Scoopalicious: How do you decide which ice cream to make when?

The Naptime Chef: At the beginning of the festival we asked people to submit ideas for flavors they would like to see. This gave us guidelines and ideas, it has been a lot of fun to develop new flavors based on requests.

Scoopalicious: What's your favorite ice cream so far?

The Naptime Chef: I love anything with mint so Peppermint Bark ice-cream has been my favorite so far.

Scoopalicious: What's your least favorite flavor? (We'll need you to report back at the end of the project for a final report on these two questions!)

The Naptime Chef: I don't have a least favorite. Yet.

Scoopalicious: What have you learned so far?

The Naptime Chef: I have become ace at making custard and now really appreciate the precision that goes into the cooking it correctly. If the custard gets messed up you have to start over and it stinks.

Scoopalicious: Which ice cream maker do you use?

The Naptime Chef: A basic Cuisinart Ice-20. There is no need for fancy equipment when making ice-cream, this can be bought on Amazon inexpensively.

Scoopalicious: I noticed that recipe number 2 (Chocolate Butter Almond) was based on a recipe from an ice cream maker instruction book. Are most of your recipes based on other recipes or are they from scratch?

The Naptime Chef: I have a vanilla custard base that I use for most recipes and that is my jumping off point. But the Chocolate Chocolate Chip w/ Salted Cashews was based on a New York Times recipe from last summer.

Scoopalicious: How was the peach ice cream? I have never made a peach ice cream that I was happy with. Mine is always icy. Any hints?

The Naptime Chef: The peach ice-cream is amazing! I let the peaches macerate in sugar for a little bit which draws out their juices. Then the juices go in the custard and serve as a natural sweetener and flavor boost. Don't scrimp on the peaches either, only fresh will do! Iciness might be caused by not enough milkfat, be sure to use real cream and whole milk.

Scoopalicious: Your friend Sarah seems helpful, too...how do we get hooked up to her ice cream making hints?

The Naptime Chef: Sarah is my friend from high school on Facebook. If you become her friend, too, you can read her "notes" page and ice-cream recipes! But I am not going to print her last name on a website - you'll have to contact me for it!

Scoopalicious: What's next?

The Naptime Chef: This fall I am planning a Great Apple Festival in celebration of my favorite delicious fall fruits. This winter I think I'll do cookies. It is fun to have a "concentration" by season, and I think my readers enjoy it as well.

Scoopalicious: Anything else you want to tell us?

The Naptime Chef: Never, ever by synthetic ice-cream. Either make it yourself or buy the quality brands that come in pints. Everything else is just filled with silicone!

Thanks so much TNC! We really enjoyed the interview! Keep up the yummy work!

Abbott's Frozen Custard, Needham, MA

If you are from the Rochester, New York area, you most likely are familiar with Abbott's Frozen Custard. Other parts of New York, Louisiana, and Florida might know of the frozen custard franchise (if they are lucky.) Last summer, Needham, Massachusetts welcomed the first Abbott's to New England, so now we at Scoopalicious are can indulge in the rich frozen treat.

While loving our frozen treats, it's always fun to learn a little bit more about the product and the people who make it happen. In this case, we are lucky to be able to chat with Mary Pat Dauria, the owner of Needham's Abbott's.

Scoopalicious: Abbott's is from Rochester, just like you and your husband originally. What made you bring it here?

Mary Pat (photo at right): [My husband] Alex and I grew up on Abbott's. We could not believe there were no true frozen custard shops in NE and we saw the need. Most people from Rochester a big part of their childhood is having frozen custard at the Abbott's at Charlotte Beach. They still have long lines all summer.

Scoopalicious: What is frozen custard? What makes it different from ice cream? (MP, I know you explained this to me, but I don't want to jumble it up...if you have a good place I can reference online, that would be fine too.
Mary Pat: Ice cream labeled “frozen custard” must have 10 percent milk fat and 1.4 percent egg yolk solids by weight. The machine that it is made in churns it slowly so it is very dense and it is made fresh everyday, not frozen.

Scoopalicious: Owning an frozen custard franchise...dangerous. Do you eat a lot of it or have you grown tired of it?
Mary Pat: Well, I can honestly say neither one of us has grown tired of it. I have to test the flavors as I make them all day. At the end of the night I always have a cup or a novelty. I look forward to it. I also encourage my employees to test and bring home. You can't sell something unless you love it.

Scoopalicious: Business seems to be booming. Are there other frozen in the area or did you fill happen to fill a big void?
Mary Pat: I think we filled a void. There was a very popular place on Nantasket Beach years ago, so older people in the area remember that. I believe we are the only place in the area that sells true frozen custard -- not soft serve labeled as frozen custard. You can find a few places in New Hampshire and Maine.

Scoopalicious: Your shop is small but popular. Any chance you will be expanding to have more seating area in the near future?
Mary Pat: We have no plans to expand this shop. People do not seem to mind standing and we do have benches outside. I am hoping to open more locations in the near future.

Scoopalicious: You only have about eight (?) flavors on your menu at any given time. How do you decide what flavors to have? Do you keep any up permanently while rotating others out?
Mary Pat: We do only 8 flavors because we have dipping cabinets that keep the product chilled and there is only 8 bins in them. Also since we make it fresh everyday it would be hard to make many more. I always run Chocolate, Vanilla, Chocolate Almond, one yogurt and one lite flavor. The rest I change everyday. People call me and request certain flavors and I will make it for them anytime. Otherwise I make what I am "feeling" that day.

Scoopalicious: What has been the best part of this new venture?
Mary Pat: All the new people I have met!!!! I love Needham and met such wonderful kids and adults. I love what I do and look forward to going in everyday.

Scoopalicious: The worst?
Mary Pat: The worst was probably just getting the business up and running. Getting all the building permits and running into all the build-out issues. I had a lot of sleepless nights. I do have to say also cleaning the machine every night is not my favorite thing!!

Scoopalicious: What did you do to fill your desire for frozen treats before you brought Abbott's to New England?
Mary Pat: I would eat a lot of Abbott's when I would go back to Rocheater.

Scoopalicious: Any other favorite places to get ice cream?
Mary Pat: I do have to say I am a Ben & Jerry's fan. Cherry Garcia is my favorite.

Scoopalicious: What is your favorite product in the whole shop?
Mary Pat: That is tough. I really like the plain vanilla with hot fudge. My favorite novelty flavor is prbably "Purple Cow", black raspberry custard with blueberry drizzled in and white & chococlate chips mixed in. HEAVEN!!

Scoopalicious: How was the first year?!?!?!
Mary Pat: The first year was awesome. I learned a lot. Sales exceeded expectations and am looking forward to more Abbott's on the horizon.

Abbott's sure is something special. It's rich and creamy and the flavors are just amazing. I mean, you can't go wrong with the old standbys of chocolate and vanilla, but it's rarely a disappointment when you go for something like pumpkin (one of my personal favorites) -- though, I have to say, I'll be visiting Mary Pat again very soon to try the Purple Cow. However, when you go to Abbott's in Needham, you don't just go for the ice cream (which in itself is worth it). You go to meet Mary Pat and her friendly crew of employees who will take great care of you.

All in all, whether you are in New York, Florida, Massachusetts or Louisiana, Abbott's is not a treat you want to pass up.

Thanks for the interview, Mary Pat, and best of luck to you and Alex and the whole team. We hope the upcoming years are just as awesome, if not better, than the first!

[Scoopalicious is celebrating National Ice Cream month with a Post-A-Day throughout the month of July!]

We've Been Featured!

We are so excited to be featured on the fabulous serving-ice-cream.com! They emailed us a while back, asking for an interview and finally we got our act together and answered. This is really the only "behind the scenes" look at the Scoopalicious team, so if you are interested in history, you can find your answers here! Can't believe we never thought to ask ourselves these questions to share with our lovely readers...but alas, serving-ice-cream.com has, so enjoy!

Here is the full interview.

An Interview with Motormouthpress, LLC -- Ice Cream Greeting Card Designer Extraodinaire!

In my search for note cards with ice cream for the Sweet Notes and A Contest With Sweet Rewards entry, I hit jackpot. I had really been craving some letterpress ice cream notes and came across Motormouthpress, LLC. Such a variety of ice cream (and other food related cards)...I was in heaven!

Curiosity got the better of me, and I decided to separate this from the original post, and emailed Laurie of Motormouthpress to see if she would do an interview with me. Lucky for us all, she agreed! Without further ado, I bring you Laurie!

And when I am done with this post, I am off to shop at Motormouthpress! Can't wait!

Scoopalicious: Is there anything you want to tell your lovely fans to start off?
Motormouthpress: Well, if you didn't guess it already, Motormouthpress, LLC specializes in food-themed stationery and cards that double as mementos. We call these cards our Specialty Line. Our Postercard is an example of one of these cards (see below). For those of you who already figured this out already, here's a tidbit that we haven't mentioned yet. Our website is currently undergoing a redesign. Expect a sweet new appearance with easier navigation and new cards to boot! If you want to join out email list, please submit your email on our contacts page at www.motormouthpress.com.

Scoopalicious: Are you the founder/sole creator of these cards? How do you choose the subject matter?
Motormouthpress: I am the founder and sole creator of these cards, except for the Let's get Gnawty card. This one was designed by my friend, Brittany Powell. All of my illustrations are original designs. I am influenced by sweet treats of all kinds. I love how they are displayed and how they make your taste buds dance when you eat them.

Scoopalicious: Are all your cards letterpress? If not, how do you decide which are going to be letterpress and which will be offset?
Motormouthpress: I carry both letterpress and offset lithography printed cards. As far as deciding which gets what, I usually let the design tell me as I create it. This may sound ethereal but, it is part of my creative process.

Scoopalicious: Any plans to expand to more retail stores in the future? (I can see your stuff at the Paper Source in an instant!)
Motormouthpress: Yes, my goal is to reach as many food and stationery lovers that I can through out the world. So ifyou all have any retail store suggestions, I would love to hear about them at info@motormouthpress.com

Scoopalicious: What is your favorite dessert?
Motormouthpress: I don't have one in particular, but my Grandma's blueberry cobbler with a scoop of Breyers Vanilla Bean at the top.

Scoopalicious: Do you print the cards yourself?
Motormouthpress: I am trained in all the print processes that I use, which makes working with local printers a easy and exciting.

Scoopalicious: How did you get started in the card business?
Motormouthpress: Serendipitously. A colleague invited me to design some greeting cards. I really enjoyed it, and wondered if it was possible to do it professionally.

Scoopalicious: Did you go to school for art/design?
Motormouthpress: Yes, I earned a BFA in Graphic Design and a MFA in Book Arts/Printmaking.

Scoopalicious: I notice you sell note cards, notebooks and teeshirts in your store (I am not missing anything, am I?)
Motormouthpress: Nope.

Scoopalicious: One of the coolest things you make are your poster cards. This is a totally creative and unique idea that has so many layers and aspects to it, and practically guarantees that the recipient will not throw away your cards (though in my book any of your cards would find a place on my wall!). Anyhow, can you tell us a little about these cards and how you came up with the idea for these? Any plans to make ice cream poster cards?
Motormouthpress: The Postercards are what actually inspired me to become a Stationery and Greeting Card Designer. It encompassed everything that I hold dearly about graphic design folded into one greeting card. It is a memorable and engaging design that not only sends you a greeting but leaves you with a memento.

You have a cute image on the front that leads into a greeting or place for you to write. Unfold the a second time, and it shows a recipe to share. Unfold it all the way, and it reveals a poster of the visual instructions of the recipe and you and your friend making the recipe together. It is a double layer story. One is the greeting and sharing of the card itself, and the second is the card acting as a memento and the memories it may evoke.

The idea of the Postercard came from the desire to create a card that someone would cherish and save rather than recycle. Sometimes, it is hard to find a card that says exactly you want, and sometimes you don't know really what to say. This card resolves both these issues.

Scoopalicious: Any plans to make ice cream poster cards?
Motormouthpress: I would love to do an ice cream Postercard; but any new Postercards most likely won't appear until 2009.

Scoopalicious: Do you have a best seller?
Motormouthpress: No, I actually have several. The most popular are the Letterpress Birdies and Ice Cream Sandwiches and Bars followed by the Sweet Treats Line of Cupcakes, and Ice cream Sandwiches.

Scoopalicious: What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
Motormouthpress: I don't really have a favorite; it is too hard to choose, but right now I like coconut or coconut praline.

Scoopalicious: What is your favorite ice cream treat?
Motormouthpress: I don't really have just one. I have favorites. I like hot fudge brownie sundaes, push-ups, dreamsicles, ice cream sandwiches, ice cream cone sundaes, malts, and ice cream cookie sandwiches the most.

Scoopalicious: Your company is located in San Francisco, yes?...do you have a favorite ice cream spot to go when you want that perfect scoop?
Motormouthpress: I usually go to Maggie Mudd's because they offer Vegan Ice Cream. I am lactose intolerant. But if I pop a few lactose pills, Bi-Rite Creamery makes a killer peach pie sundae in the Summer.

Special thanks to Laurie for answering all of our questions!

All images © Motormouthpress, LLC.

And I'll leave you with a mouthwatering image of raspberry fudge swirl and the detail of the little girl...(and, I suppose, some poetry.)