Bake sale impaired

[ludja]

Wonderful, teepee, just wonderful. Each item looks terrific and very appetizing.

Is the recipe for the caramel-topped blondies online? I'm a huge caramel fan and would love to add these to my limited 'bar' cookie repetoire.

[Jaymes]

I take three cakes every year to my church bake sale. They are bundt cakes. They all have glazes, but not icing. They all feature booze quite prominently. They are a Spiced Rum Cake, a Sherry Cake, and a Blackberry Wine cake.

I write the names of these cakes in large letters on cute labels that I attach to the top of the plastic wrapping.

They are always sold before the bake sale even starts.

I think it's all in the marketing.

And it's been my experience, anyway, that booze sells.

Edited September 11, 2006 by Jaymes (log)

[Kent D]

For bake sales, I invent an interesting bread dough, portion it off in oven-safe soup bowls, and bake off a run of "snack-sized" bread loaves. Slice them, wrap them up in some nice cellophane with a tie-on tag to identify the type of loaf. I've made multi-grain, rye, jalepeno cheese, freckle bread, tomato basil...and they never last.

[Tepee]

Oooh...I love the ideas in this thread!

Is the recipe for the caramel-topped blondies online?  I'm a huge caramel fan and would love to add these to my limited 'bar' cookie repetoire.

←

Phew! Am I glad you chose the only recipe there which can be found online! Here it is. However, as you can see in the pic, it produces a very thin layer. I'd do 1 1/2 recipe in an 8" square tin next time. Err...and I didn't add any nuts.

For the topping: Just put 2 oz butter, around 5 T brown sugar (I used molasses sugar), 4T milk into a saucepan....low heat. Stir till the sugar has melted. Add about 1 1/2 C confectioner's sugar.

Edited September 12, 2006 by Tepee (log)

[Ling]

^Teepee, everything looks wonderful. I read about your trials in the Pastry forum. You are such a good friend!

[ludja]

Oooh...I love the ideas in this thread!

Is the recipe for the caramel-topped blondies online?  I'm a huge caramel fan and would love to add these to my limited 'bar' cookie repetoire.

←

Phew! Am I glad you chose the only recipe there which can be found online! Here it is. However, as you can see in the pic, it produces a very thin layer. I'd do 1 1/2 recipe in an 8" square tin next time. Err...and I didn't add any nuts.

For the topping: Just put 2 oz butter, around 5 T brown sugar (I used molasses sugar), 4T milk into a saucepan....low heat. Stir till the sugar has melted. Add about 1 1/2 C confectioner's sugar.

←

Thanks for the recipe and modifications, teepee!

[Tepee]

You're welcome, ludja.

Tks, Ling. I got a very big hug from my friend and it was enough.

[prasantrin]

Is the recipe for the caramel-topped blondies online?  I'm a huge caramel fan and would love to add these to my limited 'bar' cookie repetoire.

←

Phew! Am I glad you chose the only recipe there which can be found online! Here it is.

I guess it's a good thing I didn't ask for the ones I wanted then!

They do all look fabulous, and I'd make all of them if you gave the recipes. (except maybe the biscotti--I'm not a big fan of biscotti)

[Tepee]

I was too bushed to do anything except link the other day. I've recovered now, lol....so here are the recipes, Rona.

Lemon Bars

Shortbread Base:

3/4 cup (170g) unsalted butter

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup castor sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

Bake 20 mins moderate oven. Tin must be lined at the bottom.

Lemon Topping:

4 large eggs

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Pour over hot shortbread.

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Bake for 30 mins or until set in 150 deg C oven.

I like to melt some jam over it...didn't have lemon jam, so I used apricot...brush on top. Cut into bars or squares when still hot. But, let it cool completely before you lift them out.

Hundreds n Thousands Shortbread

Adapted the recipe from AWW cookbook, changed bits. This is a melt and mix shortbread, different for the above, which is creaming.

250g butter

1/3 C icing sugar

1/3 C cornflour

1/4 C castor sugar

1/2 teasp vanilla

2 1/2 C plain flour, sifted

Melt butter. Sift icing sugar and cornflour, then add sugar. Add butter and vanilla. Beat until thick and creamy. Mix in flour. Press into 8 inch square tin. Bake in mod oven 30 mins.

Make royal icing....gosh I wing this all the time, so I don't have the proportions. Just start with around 2 C of sifted icing sugar. Add egg white until you reach a consistency which is not too stiff it can't flow. Get your sprinkles ready because you have to work fast before the icing dries. Spread over warm shortbread. Add sprinkles. I didn't have enough sprinkles to cover the biscuit fully..because making this was impromptu. Cut while warm and let cool completely before lifting out of tin.

White Chocolate Coated Flapjacks (apparently flapjacks in the US mean something else...pancakes with maple syrup)

This recipe is by Chef Stephan Franz..paraphrased and slightly tweaked from The Cooks Book.

250g unsalted butter, cubed

200g golden syrup

100g brown sugar

250g porridge oats

100g plain flour, sifted twice

150g dried longan (his recipe uses dried cranberries)

100g white chocolate (I used more)

Grease and line 9" tin. Oven 170 deg C.

Simply melt butter, golden syrup and sugar till foaming. Stir tog oats, flour and dried fruit. Add butter/sugar mixture and blend well. Press into tin. Bake 25 - 30 mins. Cool. Cut.

Melt choc. Dip bar inside diagonally (or any way you like). Let set on tin lined with non-stick parchment.

Benedict Bars - inspired by Dan Lepard (in his Baking with Passion book). I've tweaked the amounts.

Choose your fav shortbread recipe. I used the melt and mix one (above). After pressing the dough into the tin. Spread a thin layer of fav jam...don't get too greedy here (look who's talking?). Add topping. Bake for 25 - 30 mins at 170 deg C.

Topping:

80g unsalted butter

60g castor sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

150g flaked almonds

3 T milk

Put everything into a saucepan. Heat over lowest heat until butter has melted. Remove until cool.

Edited September 13, 2006 by Tepee (log)

[zoe b]

o, tepee, you made my yogurt breakfast seem long ago and skimpy--those are some beautiful treats!

just wanted to add that i make a couple loaves of bread in my bread machine for bake sales when asked --mine makes a rounded loaf that looks like pannetone--I make some sort of rich, sweet bread with friut and nuts in it, and ice or glaze it, and wrap in cellophane tied with a beautiful ribbon or two--these sell as soon as i drop them off each time--and the effort is pretty minimal!!!

Zoe

[suseyblue]

I will only add from sad experience that unless your proposed customers are a far cry from the usual bake-sale lot, you may find your unusual, not immediately recognisable items will be scorned in favour of the easily-identifiable chocolate chip cookies and Rice Krispie Treats. That strange-lookin' stuff might have something weird in it! Something funny-tasting!

←

Oddly enough, when I made hazelnut tartlets for the last bake sale I participated in they flew right off the table. People can get bored with the standard offerings. (Of course, being in an area where pecan pie & chess pies are standard & beloved items didn't hurt.) Fresh bread is always a winner (and the ingredients are cheap enough).

[suseyblue]

I will only add from sad experience that unless your proposed customers are a far cry from the usual bake-sale lot, you may find your unusual, not immediately recognisable items will be scorned in favour of the easily-identifiable chocolate chip cookies and Rice Krispie Treats. That strange-lookin' stuff might have something weird in it! Something funny-tasting!

←

Oddly enough, when I made hazelnut tartlets for the last bake sale I participated in they flew right off the table. People can get bored with the standard offerings. (Of course, being in an area where pecan pie & chess pies are standard & beloved items didn't hurt.) Fresh bread is always a winner (and the ingredients are cheap enough).

[suseyblue]

I will only add from sad experience that unless your proposed customers are a far cry from the usual bake-sale lot, you may find your unusual, not immediately recognisable items will be scorned in favour of the easily-identifiable chocolate chip cookies and Rice Krispie Treats. That strange-lookin' stuff might have something weird in it! Something funny-tasting!

←

Oddly enough, when I made hazelnut tartlets for the last bake sale I participated in they flew right off the table. People can get bored with the standard offerings. (Of course, being in an area where pecan pie & chess pies are standard & beloved items didn't hurt.) Fresh bread is always a winner (and the ingredients are cheap enough).

[suseyblue]

I will only add from sad experience that unless your proposed customers are a far cry from the usual bake-sale lot, you may find your unusual, not immediately recognisable items will be scorned in favour of the easily-identifiable chocolate chip cookies and Rice Krispie Treats. That strange-lookin' stuff might have something weird in it! Something funny-tasting!

←

Oddly enough, when I made hazelnut tartlets for the last bake sale I participated in they flew right off the table. People can get bored with the standard offerings. (Of course, being in an area where pecan pie & chess pies are standard & beloved items didn't hurt.) Fresh bread is always a winner (and the ingredients are cheap enough).

[Heidi the Pilgrim]

What great recipes in this thread. I always thought the next time I need to bake something for a bake sale, I'd make Ina Garten's coconut cupcakes. I made them for a baby shower once and they were the hit of the day, they're absolutely beautiful to look at and they taste fantastic. You could bake them in silver foil muffin cups for some fancy flash, and put them in individual cello bags (get them at party stores, themed if you want). Tie them with ribbon or sparkly silver twist ties- pretty and they won't get crushed if you transport them in a tray.

Recipe is here:Ina Garten's coconut cupcakes

Edited September 14, 2006 by Heidi the Pilgrim (log)

[prasantrin]

I was too bushed to do anything except link the other day. I've recovered now, lol....so here are the recipes, Rona.

←

Thanks so much! I love making bars, and yours all looked so delicious! I'm starting with hundreds 'n thousands shortbread (because that's the only one I have all the ingredients for), but I see a trip to Costco in my near future to pick up supplies for the rest!

About the flapjacks, when you first posted your pictures of the bars, I kept thinking, "Oh, I guess she decided not to make the flapjacks!" because I was expecting some sort of little pancake dipped in chocolate. So thanks for the explanation!

Oh, did you use something like an 8" square tin, or a 9x12-ish rectangular one? I'm not very good at estimating pan sizes based on volume of dough, so I thought I should ask before I make a mistake!

[Tepee]

You're welcome, Rona.

I'm not a very good person to ask about tin sizes. I eyeball (in Malaysia, we say agak-agak) all the time. Use the 8" square tin for a single recipe. I use an 11" tin for a double recipe.

Edited September 14, 2006 by Tepee (log)

[helenjp]

unusual, not immediately recognisable items

I think the key is visual appeal, especially with one known ingredient visible (remembering that people are looking at things from directly above, and usually in a tearing hurry with lots of other people around), so they won't see cake texture etc, only the decoration.

Sliced cakes (I feel) often sell better than whole, as they can be sampled/fed to kids on site, and the stacking of sliced cake does allow you to show the texture. For bake sales, I bake all cakes in small loaf pans.

Cookies - presentation is the key, because they can easily look jumbled. I make a hole in the middle (or twist ropes of dough in to garlands) and string them, and dip only half in a glaze, so you can see the underlying cookie at a glance.

Don't know about the US, but here in Japan most such sales are held in the morning or early afternoon, so I try not to make things look too, too sugary or gooey.

Labels - do 'em on a word processor, and make 'em BIG, BOLD, and concise!

Tepee, thanks for recipes - school bazaar next week here!

[Jaymes]

I would say lemon squares are always a big seller (maybe this is just b/c I like them myself).

You're not the only one. Lemon squares/bars are my very favorite, and one thing I simply cannot resist.