Carrot Cake Just for You

From Miette

For years we made our carrot cake in a sweet little loaf pan, and called it the Picknicker. It was the perfect size for sharing, especially in the park on a blanket, ideally with a coffee from Blue Bottle down the alley. It was also a cake that former Confiserie-manager Kelly & I loved to share, with a cup of tea, on those days when 5pm arrived and yet we still hadn't eaten lunch, somehow.

Carrot cake makes an excellent lunch. Carrots! Walnuts! Coconut & currants!

From Miette

This is turning into a love letter to the Picknicker, but that's okay. It deserves a proper good-bye. After much deliberation, we decided the Carrot Cake was ready for a new form- actually, two new forms! The full-size 7-inch cake you see above, perfect for a party or a brunch. Carrot cake makes an excellent brunch.

From Miette

And now there are perky little Carrot Cake Cupcakes as well, just for you. The picnicker was too much for one person, and that says a lot coming from me. But a cupcake is just right.

Someday we'll discuss the custom of splitting a cupcake 4 ways. The mind reels.

Carrot Cake
7-inch: $24
Cupcake: $3.25
Available at Ferry Building & Octavia

Strawberries: Not just for daiquiris!

From Miette

It may be blustery & cold today in San Francisco but we're feeling sunny because look at the cute pink buttercream! Strawberries are back at the Ferry Building Farmers' Markets, as mentioned last week, and we can't get enough of them. Yellow cupcakes with strawberry buttercream? So stylin' & girly I wish they came in a dress.

From Miette

Even the Tomboy's sporting strawberry buttercream, though you know she is pouting about having to wear pink. You'll have to just deal, Tomboy, it's strawberry season!

From Miette

Strawberry macarons are like travel-size on-the-go strawberry shortcakes. Finally!

From Miette

And these babies manage to be strawberry-y & spare, in their black & white & pink splendor. Now that would make a cute shoe...

Cupcakes:$3.25/each

Tomboy Cakes: $30/six-inch, $50/eight-inch

Macarons: $1.75/each

All available at Ferry Building & Octavia!

No, We're Not On Some Crazy Strawberries-Only Diet!

From Miette

I sooo wish my refrigerator was like this: full of vintage charm & strawberries! Now that spring is here, the Ferry Building shopgirls jaunt out to the Farmers' Markets a few times a week to pick up flats of strawberries for us. The bakers incorporate them into buttercreams, mousses, & more, while the shopgirls place them delicately atop spring-pink desserts...

From Miette

...like this one! Super-moist chiffon cake is layered with soft-yet-bouncy strawberry mousse, topped with strawberries, and wrapped gently in an elegant little just-for-you wrapper.

From Miette

It doesn't get more single-serving-perfect than this petite buttermilk panna cotta, with its crown of fresh strawberries. Like something a fairy queen would served!

Strawberry Mousse Cake

Ferry Building Only (Octavia by special order)\

$5/slice

Contains gelatin, needs refrigeration

Panna Cotta

Ferry Building Only (Octavia by special order)

$4- bring back your jar for a $1 refund

Contains gelatin, needs refrigeration

When showing up empty-handed just won't do

From Miette

Hi! Can you imagine how cute you'll look on someone's doorstep, in your spring finest, sweet box of macarons in hand? Neighbors will start shouting, "No, come over here instead! We have Bellinis & a pinata!". You'll be totally in-demand.

From Miette

We sell a lot of macarons this time of year, in part because of the onset of Passover. Our little macs are flour-free & leavening-free, so they're quite popular for Passover desserts. And year-round for those who can't have gluten!

From Miette

And really, don't they look sweet & brunchy? No matter how many waffles or biscuits or hashbrowns you've had, there's definitely room for a tiny little almond cloud.

Macarons!
Price: $1.75/each
Availability: Ferry Building & Octavia
Current Flavors: Chocolate, Hazelnut, Grapefruit, Lemon, Pistachio, Rose Geranium, Vanilla

A Cake Worthy of a Bonnet

From Miette

You're all dressed up in your spring finery, basket on your arm, bonnet on your head, & you need a cake. You've been eating tiny chocolate bunnies & eggs (peanut butter filled, please!) all day, but that's just not enough. Those were just snacks: it's time for dessert. May we present: The Spring Scharffen Berger! Dark chocolate cake, a double-layer of dark chocolate ganache, & hand-piped spring blossoms. Would you like it to say "Spring", or "Happy Birthday Easter Bunny", or would you like just the flowers? Just let us know!

Spring Scharffen Berger
6-inch (serves 6-8): $30
8-inch (serves 10-12): $50
-Spring flowers are only available March 30th-April 4th
-For pick up on April 4th (Easter Sunday), place your order by 7pm on March 31st.
-You can order cakes by calling the Ferry Building at 415.837.0300, or Octavia at 415.626.6221.

Easter Parade (of Cakes)

From Miette

This year's Spring Cakes are so springy, we're going to need 2 days to cover them.

Or, I took photos of the Princesses & photos of the Scharffs under completely different circumstances, and they won't look good together...

Either way, double the springtime fun!

From Miette

We'll start with the Princesses, of course. They expect no less.

We usually make our Princess cake as follows: delicate sponge cake is moistened with St. George Raspberry Eau de Vie, spread with raspberry jam, heaped with pastry cream, dolloped with whipped & lightly-sweetened Straus organic cream, and draped in elegant green white chocolate fondant. Green, with a pink rose. Lovely.

But spring is the perfect time to indulge in sweet pastels the color of...

From Miette

...baby chicks...

From Miette

...robin's eggs....

From Miette

...or cherry blossoms. Order yours today!

Spring Princess Cakes
6-inch (serves 6-8): $35
8-inch (serves 10-12): $55
-Spring colors are only available March 30th-April 4th
-For pick up on April 4th (Easter Sunday), place your order by 7pm on March 31st.
-You can order cakes by calling the Ferry Building at 415.837.0300, or Octavia at 415.626.6221.

Grapefruits: Not just an excuse to buy a super-specific spoon

Have you heard? It's grapefruit season! Happy grapefruit season! We're celebrating pretty seriously, with cakes & macarons & general enthusiasm. As usual.

The Grapefruit Cream cake you see above is soooooooo special. Our delicate vanilla sponge cake is moistened with simple syrup, topped with almond meringue (dacquoise!), a generous layer of grapefruit cream, and sweet Chantilly cream, and finally sprinkled with dacquoise dust. Don't you want to be sprinkled with dacquoise dust? The texture of this cake is quite unctuous- it somehow reminds me of tres leches cake!

Grapefruit Cream Cake Slice
Availability: Ferry Building Only, Slices Only
Price: $5

From Miette

And, they may look humble, but those little morsels pictured above are highly-anticipated, impossible-to-forget Grapefruit Macarons. Our true macaron love is probably the Pistachio, but every winter we have a Summer Lovin'-style fling with the irresistible Grapefruit. Tell me more!

Grapefruit Macarons
Availability: Ferry Building, Octavia
Price: $1.75/each

Other grapefruit excitement around town?
*Bar Tartine is serving the fantastic cure-all, the Sunny Honey: grapefruit juice, white wine, vermouth & honey.
*Bi-Rite is selling specially-bred Cocktail Grapefruits, for all your home mixologing.
*Humphrey Slocombe is scooping Pink Grapefruit Sorbet. That's the only one on this list I haven't tried, so I better scoot on over soon. I hear it's dangerously refreshing.
*ALSO!- Nopalito is mixing sparkling white wine with fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice. Good enough to woo me away from my beloved Michelada!

Cakes loving cakes!

From Miette

Once upon a time, two cakes fell in love. The Princess loved the Scharffen Berger's dark, mysterious nature, and the Scharffen Berger was delighted by the Princess' sweetness, delicacy, and gentle blush. Um...that's all I got. I'm sure they were very happy.

But check out those cute cakes! Perfect for a Valentine's Day who-needs-romance-we've-got-friends-&-movies party, or an intimate dessert with plenty of cake left over for breakfast in the morning. Call us, order a cake, and let the cakey romance wash over you.

Scharffen Berger Heart
Dark chocolate cake enveloped in two layers of dark chocolate ganache
6-inch: $30
Mini-Heart(not pictured): $5

Princess Heart
Vanilla cake soaked in St. George Raspberry Eau de Vie, raspberry jam, pastry cream, whipped Straus cream, pink fondant, & sparkly pink sugar!
6-inch: $35

For pick-up on February 14th, please place your order by 7pm on February 11th!

Everything's Better With a Brogue

From Miette

Miette has a secret genius at work for us: his name is Jeff, and he makes the prettiest cookies around. He did such a gorgeous job on our Christmas cookies that now we just say, "Jeff, can you make us some cookies, please? Whatever strikes your fancy!" This week: Thistles, national flower of Scotland, symbol of both evil & protection (!), and all-around witch-ay wonder.

This post is dedicated to my favorite Scotsmen, all shining examples of Nobility, Bravery, but probably not Austerity*- Ewan McGregor, Craig Ferguson, and Martin Millar.

Thistle Cookies
Availability: Octavia (the Ferry Building cookie will be featured next week!)
Price: $4

*The Language of Flowers is pretty addictive. You'll start looking at bouquets as little cocktail parties of floral personalities: "Who invited Lime Blossom? She is soooo inappropriate!")

Field Trip to a Christmas Cake Farm!

From Miette

Very soon, we will have our fancy-pants super-official holiday menus, complete with professionally photographed cakes in all their holiday splendor! In the meantime, here are a few shots I was able to get of the cakes in their natural habitat!

Above, you see the elusive Snowball! It is a wintery cousin to our Princess cake, and is delicate & lovely. The Snowball is 6-inches, and serves approximately 6 people. $35

From Miette

And there's a darling woodland Buche de Noel, adorned with handmade meringue mushrooms, holly leaves, & chocolate pinecones! We suspect this yule log might be home to a gnome!

The smaller logs are 4-inches, and serve 4 people, for $20. The large logs are 10-inches, serve 10-12 people, and are $65.

Call any of our shops to place an order! Please allow 3 days notice.

We won't judge if you order one of each

From Miette

It's time to present this year's contenders for Your Thanksgiving Dessert!

Let's start with the show-stopper: The Pumpkin Princess! For a very short time every year, our classic, sweet, & delicate Princess cake is transformed into the lovely pumpkin you see above. Gosh, it's so pretty, maybe we should make it all year. The Debutante, Princess, & Tomboy could be joined by the Fairy-Tale Princess.
Pumpkin Princess
6-inch: $35, serves 6-8 people
Note: Needs to be refrigerated

From Miette

Oh, hey there, cheesecake. I had Miette cheesecake for my birthday cake two years in a row, and if I was lucky enough to be born in November, I would definitely get the Pumpkin Cheesecake. (Of course, then I probably wouldn't have been able to have all those January sledding birthday parties. Native Californians, I'll explain later.) The natural sweetness of the heirloom pumpkin is perfectly balanced by the rich & tart creme fraiche topping. I know I shouldn't play favorites, but I have to tell you that the shopgirls polished off the Pumpkin Cheesecake mere moments after this photo was taken.
Pumpkin Cheesecake
6-inch: $35, serves 6-8
Notes: Needs to be refrigerated

From Miette

Old-Fashioned Pumpkin, could you be any cuter? A dark-chocolate cake wearing a jaunty pumpkin beret, with a twisting handmade stem & fluffy, tinted Italian meringue.
Old-Fashioned Pumpkin
6-inch: $24, serves 6-8 people
8-inch: $35, serves 10-12 people
Note: Serve at room temperature

From Miette

The Pecan Tart may be dainty it's intense! It delivers the maximum rich, gooey, citrusy, nutty goodness per square-inch, and goes perfectly with a civilized after-dinner cup of strong coffee. Or with slighly less civilized coffee the next morning, when you find the leftovers from the photo-shoot on your bedside table. Score!
Pecan Tart
6-inch: $24, serves 4-6

Call any of our shops to place your votes-I mean orders!- by Monday November 23rd, for pick-up on Wednesday November 25th! All of our year-round cakes will also be available, of course!
Ferry Building 415.837.0300
Octavia 415.626.6221
Chestnut 415.359.0628

I hope the prizes included tiaras for all the cows.

From Miette

Oh, Straus Family Creamery! We love you so! Your beautiful bottles, your homeopathically-treated cows, your super-creamy cream & super-buttery butter. Your products are so delicious & happy & alive! As Sommer at our Ferry Building shop put it, "The difference between Straus & other butters is like the difference between me & a corpse."

We've always used Straus butter & cream in all our baked goods because we think they're the best, so we were sooooo proud of those darling cows & farmers when they recently swept the Los Angeles International Dairy Competition.* Out of 43 competitors, Straus won 4 gold medals, 2 silver medals, and a bronze.

From Miette

And that's why this cupcake looks so proud.

*My grandpa, uncle, and brother are all championship dairy judges. They can tell you what mood the cow was in & what direction the wind was blowing, just by smelling cream! Not so surprising, but still impressive, considering my grandpa & uncle live in rural Missouri. But my brother lives in Chicago! Nice work, city kid!

Nothing is More Fun Than a Caffeinated Tomboy

From Miette

For serious. Tomboys are always fun: they're not afraid to get dirty, they laugh a lot, they have holes in their jeans & smudges on their faces. We love tomboys. Heck, we are tomboys! We may wear fluffy dresses* & spend a lot of time tying bows, but we fix the sinks, climb the ladders, and ride our bikes up & down the crazy hills of San Francisco. With cakes in tow!

From Miette

One of our classic cakes is named The Tomboy, three layers of dark chocolate cake, layered simply with vanilla buttercream. We make the Vanilla Tomboy all year, but always make a seasonal version as well, as you can see above. We have said good-bye to the Raspberry & Strawberry Tomboys of Summer, and have welcomed the Coffee Tomboy into our chilly, drowsy arms.

*"Running, jumping, climbing trees... putting on make-up when you're up there."
-Eddie Izzard, a tomboy who can rock a frock

Vanilla or Coffee Tomboys
Availability: Ferry Building, Octavia, Chestnut.
Price: $30/6-inch cake, $50/8-inch cake (by special order only!)

I'm a Charlotte

From Miette

For a very short time each year, we make a very special, very dainty cake, the Charlotte. Look at her there, with her perfect ribbon. It takes a lot of work to look that pretty.

First, one of our lovely Ferry Building shopgirls scours the Farmers' Market for the most glorious nectarines, which our bakers puree and combine with Italian meringue & cream to create nectarine mousse. This delicate mousse is layered with fraimboise syrup-soaked cake & raspberry jam, with a floating cake layer in the center. Someday I hope to live in a floating cake layer. Mmmm.....

From Miette

But we're not done yet! The cake is encircled with house-made ladyfinger cookies, and tied up all lady-like with a satin ribbon. Our stalwart shopgirl returns to the Farmers' Market for luminous raspberries, and places them atop the Charlotte, just so.

Whew! I barely manage to pull my hair into a ponytail in the morning!

Charlotte
Price: $30
Availability: Ferry Building (Chestnut & Octavia by special order only)
Notes: Needs to be Refrigerated, Contains Gelatin

I wish raspberries were my birthstone....

From Miette

The dainty, bejeweled raspberry tartlettes are here!
Delicate little pastry tart shells are filled with rose-geranium pastry cream, and topped with the freshest-possible raspberries from the Ferry Building Farmers' Markets!

Raspberry Tartlettes
Price: $5
Availability: Ferry Building only; available for pick-up at other locations by Special-Order
Notes: Must be refrigerated!

Cakey Clouds, Italian Strawberries

From Miette

Every summer, just in time for strawberry season, we make Lemon Cloud Cake. Like a cross between angel food cake & lemon custard, it goes perfectly with macerated strawberries & fresh whipped cream. Or, you can wear it like a bracelet & snack on it all day!

Price: $12
Availability: Ferry Building, Octavia, Chestnut on Weekends

P.S. Those little strawberries are actually milk chocolate with creamy centers & bits of freeze-dried strawberry!
Price: 75cents
Availability: Ferry Building, Octavia, Chestnut