Wedding Season is here!

Hello Cake lovers!

As we enjoy the last weeks of Summer here at Ady Cakes we start to prepare for our favorite part of the year: Wedding Season! Eeeeeh!!!

September, October and November are our busiest months and we are so excited this particular season.

Fall offers such a beautiful natural color palette to choose from and it seems brides are going back to the classic and more subtle yet stunning trends and we couldn't be more excited!

Here are some of the hottest trends we have this season in our shop:

Frills and ruffles: They add a sense of movement and femininity to wedding cakes and they are a great way to incorporate some of the designs of your wedding dress into the cake.

Damask Pattern: This pattern has made a huge come back in the cake scene, next week three of our wedding cakes are all decorated in this ornate and elegant design, can't wait to show you!

Lace, lace and more lace!: I'm a HUGE fan of lace, it's so romantic and classy.  Lace has been around for centuries and it translates into a timeless cake design.

 

Nature/ Rustic: The country chic and rustic cakes are less traditional than the classic tiered cake but they are perfect for a barn, plantation or outside wedding reception.

Gold, Gray and Navy: Seems that every wedding cake this Fall season gears toward these three colors, forget the all-white wedding cake, these colors truly make a statement.

Swirls of ombré gold tones make this style of cake a true show-stopper, pure elegance and perfect for a ballroom setting.

Gray and Navy are the new Black! Gray or navy combined with a pop of color is an incredibly popular combination these days, while trendy it is still chic.

Cupcakes are in! Cupcakes are still a fabulous option specially when you have large wedding and don't want the hassle of cutting and serving a huge cake or simply because you prefer the 'dessert table' type of display.
If you have a long guest list you can always combine a beautiful classic cake to cut and cupcakes to serve.
Either way, cupcakes are cute and they are not going away any time soon.

I can't wait to submerge myself in the blur that Fall Wedding Season is! bring on the Pumpkin lattes for our late-late-late nights creating these beauties!

For more pictures and ideas check out our website: Adycakes.com
Much love,
Ady

New York City Adventures

A few weeks ago I received an email for an offer to do a live TV segment for Telemundo near New York City, I quickly jumped to the opportunity, 2 days in the Big Apple talking about my favorite thing: Cupcakes! How cool is that?!

The segment was sponsored by Post Cereal after I created the oh-so-delicious Fruity Pebbles cupcakes.

Post Cereal is running a super fun promotional: Team Pebbles (check it out!) and they asked to create another recipe, this time using their Cocoa Pebbles Cereal.

As the we got closer to the date I was informed that 2 other stations: Univision and NY1 Noticias wanted to have me as well, YAY!!! this was an once in a life time opportunity to represent an amazing brand such as Post Cereals AND to share my recipes!

The day before shooting the segments we drove to New Jersey just a few blocks from the Telemundo studios and we settled into our fancy hotel room, and since I was doing 3 TV segments I brought with me every piece of pink of clothing I own, branding is key! ha!

We made great time driving there and it was still early evening so we decided that since we were 10 minutes away from New York City it would've been a shame not to spend some time in the city.

I called my BFF Chef Huascar Aquino, owner of  H Bake shop and fellow Cupcake Wars Winner, and after we met up at his shop we visited this incredible Korean fried chicken restaurant called Hell's Chicken.

Listen: If you haven't had Korean fried chicken, you never had fried chicken, wow! incredible super crunchy juicy fried chicken paired with a variety of hot, mild, sour, gingery and sweet sauces! yum! and I also discovered the most incredible beer, this Schofferhofer Graperfuit Weizen Mix, I don't know much about beer but I love this one! I could drink it like water, but I didn't! it's so light and refreshing! perfect for a hot summer date...with fried chicken! muahahaha!

After our amazing dinner we drove back to the hotel for a few hours of sleep and at the crack of dawn we packed up all our ingredients, cupcakes, tools and utensils and headed to the Telemundo studios.

YAYAY!!! this. is. happening!

 Everybody on set was so incredibly nice and helpful, they DO want you to look and feel great and it was such a fun experience.

The host Odalys Molina was so amazing, she was so sweet and gracious, and carried on the segment like a pro.  It DOES takes a special person to do TV, she has IT!

After a small breakfast break we continued our route chauffeured around (fancy!) by Mr. Gurmeet, such a great help especially when you are packing and unpacking several incredibly heavy boxes. Thank you Mr. G! you rock!!!

Our second stop was the Univision Studios, a couple of miles away, here I met the host Brenda Kessler.
She's gorgeous, talented, fun and TALL.  She not wearing shoes here! ha!

Our final stop was NY1 Noticias, located at the Chelsea Market in downtown Manhattan! Ohhh the big city! I love!

Here I had the pleasure to meet the host Adhelmar Montagne, super cool and friendly! awesome fun!

Finally and before leaving the Big Apple another visit to friend's Huascar's shop to pick up some incredible delicious cupcakes!

This was an exhausting 24hr day: running around, driving through crazy traffic, packing and unpacking, up and down elevators but such an incredibly FUN and rewarding experience.

I'm so happy and thankful I was given this opportunity.

And finally, HERE is a link for the Univision segment (in Spanish, of course), hope you like it!

Much love,
Ady

Real Men Eat Cupcakes-Baking with Beer

“For a quart of Ale is a dish for a king.” ―William Shakespeare.

When you think 'Cupcakes' the last thing that comes to mind is masculine or manly, but you can find a clever way to make this cutesy dessert into an attractive man-pleasing sinfully and delicious sweet treat.


During the month of June,  we feature one of our Cupcake Wars Winner Cupcakes and our number one choice for our male customers: our Chocolate Stout Beer and Salted Caramel Cupcake. Yes, it is as awesome as it sounds. This creation is our moist Chocolate cupcake infused with Extra Stout Beer- you can get the full recipe in my upcoming Recipe Book!


 This time I visited our neighbors Barley Mow Beer; they have a fabulous selection of craft beers (check them out!). They recommended the Southern Tier Double Milk 2X Stout, this beer has a great deep 'roasted' like flavor which perfect for baking!

 

Baking with alcohol can be a bit tricky mostly because if the alcohol level is not high enough the cooking process can bake off all of it and with it the flavor.
For this specific cupcake the main purpose is not necessarily to preserve the alcohol content of the beer but its deep and bitter flavors.

In order to keep as much as the beer taste after baking I normally reduce the beer previous to the baking by boiling it down to about half its volume.

If you would like to make a similar cake or cupcake simply choose your favorite chocolate cupcake recipe and substitute the liquid (ie: milk, water, buttermilk, etc.) for reduced beer.

Super easy, hopefully you will try it soon!

Much Love,
Ady

If life gives you lemons...make lemon cupcakes!

Summer is here! well, not really but the sun shines everyday and it is time for some summery and refreshing recipes.

When the weather is sunny and summery I always crave citrus based recipes, I love lemons and I have several lemon flavor cupcakes in my menu and of course in my upcoming book.

In case you haven't heard: I got a book deal!!! yay! I'm so excited I can barely contain myself! 

The book is being published by Schiffer Publishing and it's hitting the stands on Fall/ Winter of this year, I don't have an exact release date yet but I soon as I know I'll let you all know.

Back to the lemons! My biggest challenge when I started incorporating citrus (lemons, limes, oranges, etc.) into my baking was trying to find a balance of flavor and texture, I started by twisting my base Vanilla Cake recipe and switching all the liquid of my recipe for citrus juice; through trial and error I discovered than by doing so the cake tended to shrink (a lot!), the texture was heavy and dense and the cake was overly sour.

The best balance I found was substituting only half of the liquid the recipe needs for citrus juice and adding some of the zest, this way not only the recipe maintains its original light and fluffy consistency but it is citrusy enough without being too overpowering.

One of my favorite summer Cupcake flavors is our Lemon Blueberry cupcakes, these cuties incorporate seasonal blueberries.

Something you must keep in mind when adding fresh whole fruit into a cake is to FOLD them into to batter by hand AFTER the batter is completely mixed in your stand mixer.  If you mix the fruit with the rest of the batter during the mixing process the fruit will release its juice and the batter will have extra liquid, which might cause the cake or cupcakes to sink in the middle and to bake with a gooey consistency.

Some amazing citrus based recipes I'm including in my book: Margarita, Mojito, Limoncello, Cranberry Orange, Mimosa cupcakes, to name a few. 

Hopefully you'll give it a try, happy baking!

Much love,

Ady

Perfect Spring Time Cupcakes.

Recipe time!!! 

I was hoping to share this recipe a while back but I've been so busy-busy-busy running back and forth between my two shops, making cakes, baking cupcakes, and shoveling snow...which by the way: sick of it!  I'm hoping to not see snow again for a looooong time.   
I've been putting my energy on not only the daily operations of my business but branching out into other projects, one of which I was hoping to unveil back in February but it's a bit behind schedule but I PROMISE you-it will be worth the wait!
Spring is just around the corner and what a better time to whip up some new and exciting recipes!

To give you a little background on these Fruity Pebbles cupcakes, and a teaser on other bigger and better news (more on that later, I promise!), several months back I was contacted by a consumer products PR firm located New York City that represents global brands including Post Cereals and they expressed interest in having me to develop recipes using their clients' products, how cool is that?! I'm so excited!!! CAN'T WAIT to see my recipes on their website! There's MUCH more to come!

For this collaboration I received a pack of goodies that included a box of Fruity Pebbles so I created this fun, colorful, playful and of course DELICIOUS recipe.  I had these cupcakes for breakfast FOR DAYS and we included them in our stores menu for almost a month! Huge hit!   

These cupcakes are incredibly fluffy, light and moist and not too sweet and once baked the Fruity Pebbles cereal remains crunchy. Paired with the Cotton Candy flavored buttercream- these cuppies make your childhood dreams come to life.  I would love for you to try them and let me know how you like them <3 

Much love, Ady
  

Fruity Pebbles Cupcakes

Yields 30 cupcakes 

Cupcakes 

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
8 ounces unsalted butter (2 sticks)
1-1/2 cups sugar
5 large eggs
2 cups crushed fruity cereal  

Cotton Candy Icing  

1 lb unsalted butter
2 tablespoon cotton candy syrup
1 tablespoon cotton candy extract
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
¼ teaspoon liquid red food color
½ teaspoon salt
1 lb powdered sugar 

Cupcakes 
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and line a cupcake pan with 30 regular cupcakes liners. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl and set aside. Place cereal in a food processor until is half crushed and add to flour mixture.
Combine milk, oil, vanilla, and almond extract into another bowl and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until the mixture is lighter in color and fluffy, about 7 minutes on medium-high speed. Lower the speed to medium and add one egg at a time, scrapping down the sides of the bowl after each addition until fully incorporated, about 2 minutes. Turn the mixer to the lower speed, add the flour mixture and the liquids, alternating between the two, beginning and ending with the flour.

Evenly scooped cupcakes

Fill the 30 regular size cupcake liners 2/3 full with batter and bake for 20-22 minutes, until golden and baked through. Cool cupcakes completely.  

Icing

Whip the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment at medium-high speed until the butter is light and fluffy, about 7 minutes; lower the speed and add syrup, cotton candy, vanilla and almond extracts, food color and salt and beat until fully incorporated; stop the mixer and scrape the side, add the powdered sugar and beat for 3 more minutes. Stop and scrape the sides of the mixer and mix for 5 more minutes at medium-high speed. Put the icing into a pastry bag fitter with a large metal tip.

Perfectly moist and fluffy crumb!

They baked beautifully!

To assemble: Ice the Fruity Pebbles cupcakes with the Cotton Candy icing and rim with
 crushed cereal, enjoy!

Talking about Peaches...

“You can be the ripest, juiciest peach in the world, and there's still going to be somebody who hates peaches.”

Social Media has become such a big part of our daily life and more and more frequently I see people being involved and getting aggravated over "internet drama"; I often look from afar and wonder why people (usually younger) worry so much about what others have to say about them; of course we should not live in denial, but more often than not, it's hard to convince people who don't know us on a personal level to like us.
Growing up I was really skinny...REALLY- really skinny; kids at school would make fun of me but that was never a problem, seriously...it wasn't.  I'm not traumatized by that or scarred for life; I took it lightly and kept going.


The opinion of my real friends was what I always cared about, and up to this day, what counts.  

I always hung out with the 'good girls', the best students-top of the class; school work was always more important to me than petty drama. That decision paid off, those real friends have stuck with me through thick and thin through out the years and most of my friendships are as old as I am...and I'm old! trust me!

People who don't know you will always form their opinions based on what they've heard about you or by the way you looked or acted on a certain day. Unless my CLOSE friends and FAMILY have concerns about my decisions or my mental health or my physical well being -negative things others have to say about me-simply DON'T matter...at all.
My skin is as thick as a concrete block when it comes to that.  I simply brush it off with my typical: "meh...who cares?"

“You can be the ripest, juiciest peach in the world, and there's still going to be somebody who hates peaches.”

There's always going to be someone forming mislead opinions about you, not matter how much you try, not matter how nice and how beautiful you are, there will always going to be someone throughout your life who won't like you and there's nothing that you can do other than NOT letting that affect you.

Rather than wasting energy and being upset over nasty online comments or silly gossip I choose to use my energy on something positive and productive, such as baking, cuddling with my cat and enjoying time with my real friends and family.

I never lose sleep over nasty comments...those whose opinion I care about- know me, and know who I really am, and that's all that counts.

The other day I posted a picture of my new Ady Cakes location on Facebook, lots of my followers and friends were happy to see me succeed- but then there was the 'Peach Hater', whom I am going to refer as "Vincent" (because that's actually his name-ha!).  "Vincent" went on to write on MY page how I 'so soon' was opening a second location, how I was overcharging "stupid" customers and on and on...I was encouraged by other people to delete the comment, but I decided not too! it's a free world and everybody has the right to say whatever they want, and mostly because "Vincent" was just making a fool of himself in front of my 10,500+ fans. I actually LAUGHED at "Vincent"...you poor "Vincent"...like I said before: I eat "Vincents for breakfast"-the older I get the easier I can handle this type of people, they don't intimidate me, they don't scare me...BRING. IT. ON.

People like "Vincent" take time of their day to try to ruin people's happiness, but the thing is: "Vincent" doesn't know me...at all...so why would I be upset about his opinion?

"Vincent" doesn't know I've been in business for SEVEN YEARS, that opening a second locations didn't just happened, he doesn't know I worked 3 jobs for TWELVE YEARS, he doesn't know I work SEVEN DAYS a week...12-15hrs a day!


I have a strong circle of friends whose opinions I value, opinions of all the "Vincents" of the world will always be irrelevant to me, I brush them off, 'water off a duck's back'!

Don't let negativity and drama cloud your day, be a Peach...a juicy Peach.

Much love,
Ady



 

Do Your Thing.

I started this blog a couple of years back thinking it would be a great way to let people in to my world of sugar, and the funny (and sometimes not that funny) 'adventures' I get myself into, little did I know I was about to get into the very strange world of reality TV and most of my normal routines would be part of a distant past.

When people ask me about how was being on Cupcake Wars my answer varies depending on what I remember, you see..a lot of things that happened that day, things I said or things I did I have very little recollection of, it seems like a very strange dream, like a reality inside of a dream...a parallel universe type of experience, if you know what I mean.  
This is the picture that best represents my experience on Cupcake Wars:

Fast forward to today, there are some many great and positive things that came after the show, so many doors have been opened, so many wonderful people I've met. 

I was approached by people I never met, old friends and new friends that wanted to know what I was going to do next, because as you should know, being on national TV does not guarantee you to have a successful career past your 15 minutes of fame. Of course I wanted and still want to take advantage of what came with the exposure, but most importantly I want to stay true to myself, to my business and what it represents.

Yes, I could've opened another store months ago, but expanding a BRAND (not just a business) is more than just popping stores all over, is getting people to know you, it is spending TIME with the people who put you where you are in the first place.

You must know, I am VERY stubborn (maybe ~slightly~ obsessive); when it comes to my business I like to do things MY way, on my own terms, even if it takes a little longer.
I'm a big planner, I like to write lists after lists and go over them 100 times, I don't like surprises...I need to know what's going to happen next, but that's is my own little routine...that's the speed that works for ME.

There are so many things I've learned from the past year and half, one of them and the most important: DO YOUR THING. 

Instead of jumping into a new project, out of excitement, I've taken a step back and observe...I've gotten involved with many different organizations, community events, spend time on intangible projects (not just products) and I've put the second location, not on the back burner but in the slow cooker...It will happen and it IS happening but at a pace I'm comfortable with.
 
I'm more focused on long term projects, things that will live longer than me. 

When you are in the middle of any life changing event: changing careers, moving into a new city, starting a new relationship...just need to do it YOUR way. You just can't just play by someone else's rules all the time. You need to Do Your Thing, whatever that is, at your own pace.
Right now I am Doing My Thing, I am focusing on what I need to do, not on what other people are doing...I'm focused like a race horse...I'm like this dude:

Even if you march to the beat of your own drum, even if you seem like an odd duck...don't worry...DO YOUR THING.

Much love,
Ady