Weekly farmers market

If you have followed any of our website updates or our Facebook status's, you should know we are at the Salem Farmers Market (www.salemnhfarmersmarket.com) every Sunday until October. I have frequented farmers markets in the past but this is the first market I have ever worked. Let me tell you, it's hard work! 

I'm sure you're thinking, how hard can it be, sitting outside, breathing in fresh air? Well a few hours worth of work actually takes awhile to prepare for. We bake everything fresh for the market the day before and we have to transport everything we make to the market along with everything else we need, like chairs, tables, tents, etc. Then setting everything up and taking it down in the summer weather takes its toll. 

Luckily, there are tons of great vendors and farms at the market where you can not only pick up your fresh fruits and vegetables but also get your lunch from the Blue Ox Food Box or cool off with some ice cold New Hampshire made soda. 

When you visit our table you can sample some of our great products. This past week our samples included lemon cake with raspberry buttercream, white chocolate raspberry with cream cheese frosting, strawberry vanilla made with our homegrown organic strawberries and chocolate zucchini cake made with homegrown organic zucchini. In addition to these great flavors, we also carry a variety of whoopie pies and cake pops. 

So come stop by and see us any Sunday. You never know what yummy goodies we might have that day! 

Cupcake decorating parties

Something new we recently launched here at Frost This Cakes are cupcake decorating parties! These parties are an easy way to keep kids entertained at a birthday party or a fun way to start girls night out or a bachelorette party.  We come to your location of event, saving you the trouble of driving anywhere. We bring everything you need, from the cupcakes and the frosting, to fondant and candy toppers. 

We start with freshly baked cupcakes, in a flavor of your choosing. We bring a variety of colored frostings in piping bags with various frosting tips, which create a plethora of different design options. We provide general guidance and direction on proper techniques, as well as one on one assistance if needed/requested. 

We provide all sorts of fun stuff to top off your cupcake: sugar sprinkles in a variety of colors, m&m's, Reese's pieces, Reese's peanut butter cups, mini snickers, candy eyeballs, and more. We also have fondant toppers, made by you! We provide a variety of colors of fondant as well as the fondant tools needed. You will be able to make large and small flowers, butterflies, stars and other small toppers for your cupcake.  The rest is up to you. With creativity and a fun imagination, anything is possible!

The parties are fun for anyone of all ages. If you have any questions in this, feel free to ask! 

Grocery store vs bakery cake

So why go to a bakery or home baker instead of using a boxed mix or getting one from your local grocery store? With the many choices available in your local grocery store, a boxed mix surely makes it easy (and cheap) to whip up any flavored cake. From vanilla and chocolate to carrot and german chocolate, most mixes are under $2 per box. Then for another $2, you can get a can of pre made frosting including shelf stable and non-refrigerated cream cheese frosting? Add some oil, eggs and water and presto, you have a cake. But, have you looked at the ingredients in a box mix?

In a world where so many of us are concerned with processed foods and high fructose corn syrup, I am amazed at the amount of people that still opt for boxed mixes. Here is the list of ingredients off a box of Betty Crocker chocolate cake mix: enriched bleached flour, sugar, corn syrup, cocoa processed with alkali, baking side, sodium aluminum phosphate, mono calcium phosphate, corn starch, modified corn starch, nonfat milk, partially hydrogenated soybean oil and/or cottonseed oil, propylene glycol mono and diesters of fatty acids, salt, distilled monoglycerides, dicalcium phosphate, sodium stearoyl lactylate, xanthan gum, cellulose gum and artificial flavor. Phew! I think I counted 21 ingredients... For a cake... Not including the oil, water and eggs. Not including the frosting or any fillings. I'm curious what ingredients are in the cream cheese frosting.

Can I tell you what goes into a Frost This chocolate cake? Unbleached flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla, brown sugar, butter, eggs, milk and cocoa powder. 10 ingredients. And we try to use local, fresh ingredients when available. That's just one of the reasons...

If you get your cake at your local supermarket, yes, you will save a few bucks. You can pick up a dozen cupcakes for $6 where you are looking to spend atleast $20 from your local bakery. So why spend the extra funds at a bakery when the supermarket is just so cheap? Because you will get the personal touch. If your son is really into science, do you think the local grocer will take the time to research science cakes, find out their favorite flavors and colors and make it come to life like this cake?

Or if your unique 10 year old has an odd obsession with rubber ducks, mustaches and the color purple, will the local baker take the time to make this cake?

The local supermarket has one or 2 decorators that need to whip out 50 cakes, that all look the same and the most personalization you will get is happy birthday (insert name here)

On those occasions that are special enough to you that you want to celebrate with cake, why not choose someone that can help you make your child's face light up with excitement, or your dad be even more excited to retire.