Nope, we haven’t passed out from too much coconut. We’ve just been super busy. Lots of new creations, ideas, recipes, and products coming through our barn doors. Many thanks to our readers and followers who haven’t forgotten us!

One of the projects we’ve been working on is a new product line called “Frosted Foodie.” You can find everything from clothing to tote bags in our store. We will keep putting out new products and will be happy to hear any ideas you may have that you’d like to see us tackle.

Here is our “Cupcake Pirate” design on a t-shirt:

Cupcake Pirate by RedBarnBakery

and on a magnet:

Cupcake Pirate by RedBarnBakery

What about a recipe binder for all your sweet recipes? As we’ve been changed over to an all vegan menu, we’ve been cleaning up our own recipe storage. This binder offers a variety of methods to keep your precious recipes. You could make photo collages of your recipes, keep written recipes in protective sleeves, print your recipes out on great paper, or even create a scrapbook.

Sweet Temptations Recipes by RedBarnBakery

2009 has been the year of the coconut for us. We start every morning off with a coconut-flavored mocha and we seem to be craving all foods coconut.

Additionally, we are transitioning to all things vegan. We’ve been vegetarians for ten years, and as of 2009 – vegan. We’ve been away for awhile while we worked out some recipes and learned some new tricks. As always, we continue to learn.

There are some great books available for the vegan baker, like: Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World: 75 Dairy-Free Recipes for Cupcakes that Rule.

The book has so many great recipes and photos, I dare you not to pick one up!

Here is our version of their Toasted Coconut Cupcake with Coffee Buttercream Frosting, topped off with our favorite coconut coffee beans.

Check out the Post Punk Kitchen and Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World

The 2009 Wilton Tent Sale is upon us! Unfortunately, we won’t be attending this year, but I hope the rest of you have @ the tent. If you can make, it is well worth the time and effort.

Wilton Tent Sale

May 29 – June 16

Saturday & Sunday 8am – 6pm

Monday thru Friday 9am – 8pm

This year they’ve expanded the crafts section and will be offering a large selection of craft products and scrapbook essentials.

And…free demonstrations!

Don’t miss any of the great demonstrations of Wilton products and techniques that will be offered by The Wilton School. All demonstrations are from 11 am – 2 pm.

Saturday May 30th Fondant Decorating Techniques

Tuesday June 2nd Chocolate

Wednesday June 3rd Fondant Decorating Techniques

Thursday June 4th Buttercream Decorating Techniques

Friday June 5th Buttercream Decorating Techniques

Saturday June 6th Chocolate

Monday June 8th Buttercream Decorating Techniques

Wednesday June 10th Fondant Decorating Techniques

Thursday June 11th Chocolate

Friday June 12th Buttercream Decorating Techniques

Saturday June 13th Fondant Decorating Techniques

Have fun in Woodridge!

I’ve fallen in love with the scone. I don’t know how I went my entire life without trying one, but don’t worry, the wrong has been corrected.

I’m in search of a great vegan scone recipe that is nothing less than amazing. Last weekend I attempted my first, a maple and cinnamon mixture that did not settle well with me. Mr. Baker thought it was great (he is supportive like that), I thought it was far from great. So far from great that I don’t have a picture to offer as I’ve passed my dismal attempt off to the birds who’ve been busy returning to their favorite yard and preparing for all the spring chicks we will soon be seeing.

Please feel free to post your fave. links, recipes, etc… that you believe qualify as an amazing vegan scone.

Football or cake? I’ll let you fight that battle. For the lover of all things cake, this is indeed a “super” weekend. Don’t pass out in the cake before you check out these listings:

FOOD Network

Saturday, January 31, 2009   2:00 PM ET/PT

Cirque du Soleil Cakes

Four top pastry chefs square off in a competition to see who best captures the spirit of the Cirque du Soleil La Nouba performance. The winner takes home $10,000 and a gold medal.

Sunday, February 1, 2009  3:00 PM ET/PT

Wedding Cake Surprise

Five cake decorators design wedding cakes specifically for a couple they meet a night before the competition. The winning cake not only earns $10,000 but is actually served at the couples’ wedding the following evening.

Sunday, February 1, 2009  4:00 PM ET/PT

National Wedding Cake Championship

Over 80 top cake decorators travel from all over the world to compete in one of the world’s premier wedding cake competitions. A cash prize and industry bragging rights are at stake.

Sunday, February 1, 2009 5:00 PM ET/PT

Challenge: Designer Wedding Cake Cook-Off

Over 70 competitors descend on Tulsa, Oklahoma with every imaginable wedding cake idea to see how their creations stack up against some of the best designers in the country! Seven of the best competitors will take this challenge to another level, going head-to-head in the “One Tip Contest.” They’ll have only one hour and one decorating tip to create a design that truly takes the cake.

Sunday, February 1, 2009 6:00 PM ET/PT

Challenge: Ultimate Wedding Cakes

Food Network brings together five of the country’s best pastry artists to design the perfect wedding cake for a real-life wedding. Watch as some of Food Network’s biggest stars, including Giada De Laurentiis and Warren Brown, help the lucky couple choose their dream confection.

Sunday, February 1, 2009  7:00 PM ET/PT

Challenge: Wedding Cake Classic

It’s a bride’s fantasy and a cake decorator’s dream. Dozens of decorators travel to Tulsa to compete for a cut of the $10,000 purse. Art is the name of the game at this show, only these sculptures and paintings are done with sugar and icing. It is three days packed with taste, style and beauty, making for one grand reception with a sweet reward in the end.

Sunday, February 1, 2009 8:00 PM ET/PT

Surprise Engagement Cake

Four of the nation’s top cake designers compete to make the cake for a couple’s engagement party, but there’s one GIANT catch. The couple isn’t engaged yet! The proposal happens right before the competition starts and the pressure builds from there. With $10,000 on the line, the four competitors have to create 3-foot cakes in just 7 hours, and they’ll need to get inspiration from a woman who may or may not be happy with what her boyfriend just proposed.

Upcoming:

February 3, 2009  7pm/6c

Sweet 16

Sweet 16 parties are all the rage, and in this challenge, four cake designers try to make a sweet sixteen cake for a lavish birthday party.

Photo credit: berent @ stock.xchng

Interested in starting a cookie exchange at work or hosting one at home, but don’t exactly know what to do? Cookie swaps and exchanges are a great way to have some friends over for the holiday and load up on sweets and catch up on all the dish. Let the following cookie exchange experts help you out:

• Bring the tradition of cookie exchanges into your life – Wilton provides a little summary to help you get into the right state of mind.
• Plan your exchange – Better Homes and Gardens takes you step-by-step through the process. Read the customer reviews for additional tips that will prevent you from wasting time and energy.
• Need some recipes? – This comprehensive list of cookie recipe links will keep you busy.
• Instructions, ideas, and templates galore! – Domino Sugar has done it all for you…check out the downloadable templates for invites, recipe labels and name tags.
• Finally, Partybluprints.com is offering a FREE 17-page E-guide on how to host a successful cookie exchange / swap.

It is never too late to share a cookie. Don’t fret if you can’t squeeze the cookie exchange in before the holiday season melts away… start planning now for your Valentine’s Day cookie swap and you’ll be ahead of the curve.

Not into baking but looking for a way to give back? Why not consider making a donation to the “Share Our Strength’s Great American Bake Sale,” sponsored by Domino Sugar and C&H. This national campaign “mobilizes Americans to end childhood hunger by holding bake sales (and cookie swaps) in their communities.” Pretty cool what a cookie can do.

Photo credit: saflora

You know they make superior baking flour, but King Arthur Flour offers so much more to the baking enthusiast.                                            

Need some professional guidance when it comes to batch costing or the correct dough temperature? Maybe you just need a little help when it comes to selecting the proper flour for your baking needs.

If you are looking to improve your baking skills they offer free online classes! Learn how to make and decorate a family favorite, a gingerbread house.   

If your holiday baking repertoire needs a boost, check out the Christmas recipes and the Gift Giving recipes.  The Bakers’ Banter blog offers some great ideas, too.

Speaking of ideas…they have a great program that teaches children to bake and help feed those who are in need. The Life Skills Bread Baking Program is a wonderful mixture of education and philanthropy. The program is free to schools in the Midwest and Northeast regions (grades 4-7). The kids attend a 50 minute assembly program that teaches them the science of baking and the joy of sharing. They are given enough supplies to make two loaves of bread, one to make and share with their family, and one to make and donate to a local organization chosen by the school. The program has an application process. 

When you need some companionship from your fellow bakers, join the Baking Circle online community and share recipes, tips, and receive special offers from King Arthur. Don’t forget to sign up for their free eNewsletter and you’ll never miss out on new product announcements, recipes, and sales.

Finally, if you can’t coax the yeast to rise, conquer the flour confusion, or create a mirror image of the featured recipe, give the professionals a call. Ring the Bakers’ Hotline and you’ll receive free product support and advice. How awesome is that?

Another Awesome Fact: They don’t use GMO wheat.

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Photo credits: King Arthur Flour

You’ve made it past the Thanksgiving hump, akin to Wednesday, the mid-week hump, and now you are faced with December–the month of baking and eating. For some, the baking and eating are purely spectator sports, and for others, the month of December offers a chance for full hand-to-flour contact.

Family gatherings, gifts for friends, coworkers, and neighbors can get your oven humming and your home smelling like a bakery. Worried you won’t have enough ideas, recipes, or skills to carry out the holiday season? Don’t worry, there are some wonderful resources available that will help get you through the holidays with a smile on your face.

Join us for the month of December as we guide you through the maze of holiday baking.

Photo credit: Per Hardestam

ICES ‘09 is coming to Illinois. The International Cake Exploration Societe has scheduled their 34th convention for July 30th – August 2, 2009 in St. Charles, Illinois.

There will be demonstrations, cake book authors, vendors for cake supplies, displays of member creations and a few field trips. There will be off site tours to Wilton Industries, The French Pastry School, and three local Chicago bakeries. Wonder if one of them is featured on the Amazing Wedding Cakes show?

Have you attended an ICES convention before? Want to share some photos here?

Some of the most difficult cake decorating challenges can be solved by some of the great “printables” sites that are available to all, free of charge. Whether you are in need of a creative spark to help you pull together a professional or family celebration, these sites can offer the inspiration you need to link the theme, invitations, design, and set up. Sometimes we just need that creative boost. One such site is Kaboose. They have information for holidays, birthdays, and all the days in between that deserve to be celebrated.

In need of some birthday guidance? From the invitations to the cake design, you can’t go wrong when incorporating birthday printables into your research.

We’ve often been in a position where we needed a physical representation of an item or an odd-shaped box. Mirkwood Designs is a wonderful resource for templates for boxes, cards, baskets and envelopes.  

While these sites may not be a traditional method for inspiration, they are bound to spark a new interest or design that you can turn into beautiful edible art.

Have any sites to share? As this site matures we hope to provide a comprehensive list of sites that are helpful and inspirational.