A big thanks to those who came out to the signings at Border’s in Silver Spring this past Saturday and Barne’s & Noble last Tuesday. It’s always great to meet people who are enjoying the book!

Happy baking!

I’ll be signing copies of UCA from 2 to 4pm at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History on the National Mall! (14th and Constitution) It’s this Saturday June 5th! I’m just looking forward to being in the museum itself and making a small contribution toward U.S. history by chronicling the great cake recipes that we all have in common!

I’ll also be outside of Philadelphia on June 4th (tomorrow) at the Chester County Book Store from Noon to 2pm. (975 Paoli Pike Blvd, West Goshen Center, West Chester, PA). If you’re in the area please swing by!

I’m thrilled to announce the release of my second cookbook, United Cakes of America. It’s got an awesome cover with a cut-out of the continental U.S., beautiful pics throughout the book, and recipes celebrating the culture, folklore, and local harvests from every state. I’ve been doing a some touring with it over the past few weeks and look forward to more through the summer.

United Cakes of America is my look at the U.S. through the lens of a cake! There are so many wonderful American cakes out there, but it’s hard to know about all of them unless we put it all in one place. These are the traditional favorites with my own twist, plus I dropped in a few new creations that I hope you’ll like. Most of all I wanted to break down the recipes into simple steps so anyone can follow them and have an easier time getting good results.

I hope you have a chance to pick-it up and share it with your family and friends!

You can see some sample pages through a link on the CakeLove website or the CakeLove mobile App — a free download through the itunes store.

Check it out!

http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/daily-interactive-networks/id371031813?uo=6.

it’s free!

it’s recipes!

and shortcuts and hints!

It’s a way to post pics of your own cakes in our cake community.

Watch videos of me baking while you’re in the kitchen!

Have fun with it!

It couldn’t be a nicer day! I’ll be swinging by Fair Oaks around 1 and National Harbor around 4 today. Drop by and say hello!

And, I just got an advanced copy of United Cakes of America! it looks great and I’m really happy about it.  I can’t wait for it to hit the shelves!

An Open Letter to our Customers,

 When I opened my first Cakelove 6 ½ years ago, there were only a handful of bakeries offering cupcakes and it is exciting to see how popular they’ve become. I’d like to congratulate Georgetown Cupcake on their victory in the Washington Post’s Cupcake Wars. The winning cupcake is very good.

In the course of reading the articles, blogs, and comments about the cupcake boom everyone glosses over one element that deserves a lot more ink— the buttercream. There’s a world of difference between American buttercream—core ingredients powdered sugar, butter, and milk—and everything else. If cupcakes are your vice then you ought to know about the other styles of the good stuff that can go on top. I still remember the first time I tasted a French buttercream, and I’ve been hooked ever since.

Buttercreams at CakeLove are inspired by European styles of baking. We follow these methods because they offer more versatility and depth to create natural, bright flavors. This means that CakeLove buttercreams are closer in composition to ice cream than traditional American buttercream—our recipes call for custards and meringues. It also means we use far less sugar. Sugar is essential in baking, but the amounts used in many American inspired desserts are simply overwhelming. We make different flavors that are made from real berries and the like; we skip the artificial dyes and candies. And our style is simple—we frost by hand just because we think it’s homey. I’m a fan of the slow food movement, and I won’t throw my standards overboard even when it’s dessert.

But why refrigerate these delicate devils when they only taste good @ room temperature, especially when it invites comments like “cold cupcakes-WTF?!?”

 I wish it didn’t sound so lame and wonky, but we’re just following the Health Department’s rules and regulations. In a commercial bakery, perishable ingredients and foods can’t be out of the fridge for more than four hours. One visitor even accused us of committing “Temperature Abuse” (Yes, that’s right.) when they saw frosted cupcakes sitting out on the rack prior to going into the fridge. If we kept our butter or cream cheese based frostings out all day the Health Department would have a field day! We’ve even been forced to toss out plain butter because it didn’t jibe with their time and temperature charts. But that’s what the Health Department does to protect the public health and we respect their rules.

To simplify, it has been an ongoing challenge to marry the fruits of our all-natural labors and the health regulations we are legally required to abide by. Anything worth doing is worth doing right. Similarly, if you’re going to indulge in one of our delicious cupcakes, please wait 15 minutes for the cake to reach room temperature before enjoying.

 -Warren Brown, Owner/Founder, CakeLove & Love Café

Come out and join us at CakeLove for a preview of what we’re cookin’ up for the holidays!

Sunday November 16^th is the day to come in and graze on samples of baking from scratch! We’ll have a variety of holiday flavors and some of our favorites for you to snack on (we have even more specials in Baltimore—see our ad in the Baltimore City Paper for more info). If you’re scratchin’ your head wondering what  we’re all about at CakeLove we’ll have a few demonstrations, too. And for all of the bakers out there don’t miss our “Ask a Baker” corner where you can get help to figure out what need tweaking in your holiday baking.

CakeLove Holiday Open House

Sunday, November 16^th  from 2:00-4:00pm

Love Café/ CakeLove U st., CakeLove Silver Spring, CakeLove Shirlington

CakeLove Baltimore (see extra specials advertised in the Baltimore City Paper)

CakeLove National Harbor, CakeLove Tysons I

Featured Flavors at the 2008 Holiday Open House

French Vanilla – a new vanilla cupcake with a buttercream dotted with real Madagascar bourbon vanilla bean.  Warren developed the recipe for this soft and tender cake this fall and Mary Meyers developed a creamy, custardy buttercream  that is nearly lethal it’s so delicious. Don’t get too close because you might get bitten by people leaping for it.

Mojito –this is straight from the CakeLove cookbook. Rum, lime, and mint are stirred in the mixer instead of the cocktail glass for a sweet treat. No wonder it’s always enthusiastically embraced.

Pumpkin cupcake with cream cheese icing—Fall wouldn’t be the same without it’s wonderful flavors and we celebrate the best one with a moist slathered with tangy icing. Everyone loves this so much it might be around year round.

Spice cake with vanilla buttercream – This holiday have a taste of a gently spiced ginger cupcake topped with vanilla buttercream. Long time CakeLove fans may recognize this as the Gingerly cake now paired with vanilla buttercream to let the balance in the cake shine through.

Cinnamon Swirl – (limited availability) this knock-off of the hot, spiced buns drowned in icing makes its second annual return.

I look forward to returning to the EPCOT Food and Wine Festival with my first cookbook in hand this weekend on Saturday November 8^th & 9^th. It’ll be a huge dessert night as I’m joined by Mary Meyers of CakeLove to bake for 1,200 at the Taste of the Senses extravaganza. On Sunday the 9^th we’ll host Sweet Sundays, a fun and casual baking seminar that will feature scones, cookies and meringues. Baking at EPCOT center is always a rush and a push that we’re happy to do again. If you’re in the Orlando area or just love Disney World, come check us out this weekend!

National Harbor’s Grand Opening!

Hey everyone –don’t miss our next party this Saturday at National Harbor.

We’re celebrating the Grand Opening of CakeLove in Prince George’s county from Noon-3pm at CakeLove in National Harbor.

CakeLove

160 National Plaza Drive (at the water)

Oxon Hill, MD 20745

301.686.0340

View the maps and detailed directions from the cakelove.com website under National Harbor.

Essentially, you just drive to National Harbor off the Wilson Bridge on the I-495 Capitol beltway. Follow signs for National Harbor and head toward the water. Loads of paid parking garages are available. Walk toward the Visitors Center, we’re just down from it.

OR, take a water taxi from Old Town Alexandria or Georgetown!

Come get specials on slices of Strawberry Shortcake & kids get free mini cupcakes while supplies last. A DJ will spin tunes and we’ll cut the ribbon at 1:30.

We’ll have tons of samples all day long for your sweet tooth!

I’ll also be signing CakeLove cookbooks from noon-3pm.

I hope you can join us in the fun

Just want to thank all of the people who came out in the gloomy, sticky weather on Saturday to the National Book Festival on the national mall. Thanks for waiting in the rain to get your book signed.  If you saw me speak, then you probably realized that I was having fun. I don’t think I’ve ever pounded on a podium before, let alone while begging everyone to eat more roughage!?!  Yes, I get excited about food, not just cake, but all sorts of food. Food we love. Food we crave. Food we need. Roughage!

A special thanks goes to Connie Carter from the Library of Congress who helped me navigate the crowds and be in the right place, and for sharing some of her personal recipes. Thanks Connie!