Interview with @ZugarHaus' Shay (A self-taught baker utilizing rich ingredients to invoke love, quality, and care in her desserts.)

My introduction to Zugar Haus was at last year's NYC Bake Sale. Shay stopped by to drop of her donation of shortbread sandwich cookies and was mindful to also provide some samples. Well, upon trying her samples I snatched up some of her goods and fell in love with her shortbread cookies, particularly the cinnamon guava which I rave about. Shay is a local baker--and I love meeting local bakers and purchasing their goods to support them. Her product is refined and definitely brings to mind a sense of class, care, and childhood with each bite. In tasting more of Shay's goods and looking at the unique ingredients and mixtures she compiles for her desserts I found I was even more intrigued by her experimental nature and how successful it was when blended into a confection. So I am super psyched to have interviewed Shay (and to be her first interview), which boggles my mind because Zugar Haus is a great find and I hope people catch on to how great her cookies are...quick!

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Some of the bakers/confectioners I’ve interviewed weren’t happy until they followed a path that included food. Having changed course to pursue the creation of Zugar Haus do you feel like you, and in general many of us, tend to have a strong connection to food?

My mom told me that I showed creativity at a very early age, which is quite true. I was that weird kid that walked around with a sketchbook in hand and colored pencils in my back pocket. Drawing, sketching, and painting made me happy, but when I learned how to sew…forget it! I was hooked!

I was off to the Fashion Institute of Technology and never looked back. Until, I realized I felt the most creative when I was in the kitchen breaking all the “rules” when it came to flavor combinations. But the bigger joy was sharing my baked goods with loved ones.

One birthday cake request snowballed into many others.  I really enjoyed creating something new with each request.  Hence, Zugar Haus was born. My goal is to convey my childhood memories to everyone in each bite with a little twist.

[I think] people have a strong connection with food because it’s intertwined with family and fond memories. It’s all about nostalgia! The greatest compliment someone can give you is “Oh, this birthday cake reminds me of grandma’s cake.”

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This may be a silly/obvious question: Is Zugar Haus translated in English ‘Sugar House’? Does this stem from your family's heritage? On your site it says you’ve had spaetzle and pate which have European origins and the items on Zugar Haus’ menu, particularly shortbread, also have European connections.

To be completely honest with you when I registered my domain, I accidently misspelled sugar in German which is zucker. So, zugar was accidently born and Zugar Haus stayed. But yes, the translation is Sugar House.

I was born in Brazil to a family with strong European values. One side of my family is French and Italian. The other side is German and Brazilian-Native American. So, to say the least, I grew up with a mixture of different foods, flavors, traditions, and languages.

My childhood memories of food stem mostly from the German side of my family. My great aunt and great grandfather were a huge influence in my love for food. I chose Zugar Haus in memory of my great aunt. Going to her house was a treat! As soon as you arrived you were greeted by the sweet aromas of the most delicious cookies, breads, and jams in her kitchen. She was an angel.

I wanted my business name to represent her and her love of food. She reminds me of happy times and comfort. As we rolled, baked and ate cookies she taught me the sense of quality, care, and love that goes into food and its preparation.

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Your shortbread cookies have a great consistency. I like to call it a kind of “buttery crisp” which is attributed to most shortbread but there is a great balance with your sandwich cookies, particularly the cinnamon guava (love!). Shortbread tends to be a bit delicate, especially when it comes to shipping, so why did you choose to make these cookies one of your focuses at Zugar Haus? I know when I ship items to friends I practically mummify these items in saran wrap.

I’m so glad you enjoy our Cinnamon Guava Shortbread! And yes, shortbread cookies are definitely delicate.

When I first started shipping I was completely horrified when I received an email from a customer about their cookies arriving smashed. And unfortunately, I have no control over what happens to the box once it’s shipped, but it’s still embarrassing and horrifying.

Our Cinnamon Guava Shortbread represents me and my business. Shortbread is a traditional European cookie and guava is a tropical fruit that grows like crazy in Brazil. It’s used in everything from sweet to savory dishes. If I had to choose a cookie to represent who I am, it would definitely be this one: traditional with a tropical twist. So, I couldn’t remove shortbread cookies from my list of baked goods.

The answer to this conundrum was to bubble wrap the heck out of everything!

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Are there any plans to expand Zugar Haus within the tri-state area?

Unfortunately, there are no plans to expand at the moment. I do plan to open a spot in the near future. [fingers crossed] My dream is to open a coffee/tea house with an attached art gallery to feature local artists. I want a place that combines my love of art and food. I truly believe that they go hand in hand.

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Are there seasonal flavors you’ll be employing as we transition from spring to summer? You had a great array of flavors for Valentine’s Day with a mixture of chocolate and rose and lavender also having marshmallows and citrus was an interesting variety. What inspired the holiday box and what else do you have in store?

We are transitioning flavors as we speak. We recently pulled our Brown Sugar Pepita Sablés with Spiced Ganache, Toasted Oatmeal Cranberry Shortbread, and our Spiced Pumpkin Seed Brittle, but don’t worry they’ll be back next fall/winter season.

We recently posted our Orange Lavender Oatmeal Shortbread. We are bringing back our Strawberry Lemon Thyme Shortbread and will be posting our Hibiscus Rose Marshmallows since they were a big hit for Valentine’s Day.

Our Valentine’s Day Gift Box was inspired by romance. And there’s nothing more romantic then chocolate, berries, and flowers. I wanted the box to feature different textures and flavors, but still complement each other. I thought that our Chocolate Cassis Sablés with Raspberry, Chocolate Dipped Lavender Orange Sablés Hearts, and Hibiscus Rose Marshmallows whimsically represented an edible romantic gift.

By the way at the moment, we are testing a few new flavors for Father’s Day. Think smoky, chocolate, and whiskey. Perfect for dads.

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The Chocolate Cassis Sablés with Raspberry Jam (still dreaming about it) I had from the Valentine’s Day box was super rich! It definitely held up more than anything I have ever tasted and my coworkers agreed. How do you find that balance when it comes to rich and organic flavors and especially perfecting that texture! Not asking for any trade secrets, but it was uncanny how intricate everything was.

Thanks, Jenn, I’m so glad that you enjoyed the Chocolate Cassis Sablés with Raspberry Jam! They were also a big hit for Valentine’s Day alongside the Hibiscus Rose Marshmallows. I’m thinking about making them a permanent cookie instead of a seasonal cookie.

My inspiration comes from everywhere; sometimes places I visited, combinations of flavors in savory foods, and at times random places. For example, this past autumn, my husband and I were munching on some roasted pumpkin seeds and blurted out, “How good would these be in a cookies with a pumpkin ganache?!” The next day I headed straight into the kitchen until I had the correct flavors and our Brown Sugar Pepita Sablés with Spiced Ganache was born.

I’m a self-taught baker, so I find the mixing of flavors and aromas quite cathartic. Most would think that rosemary, cornmeal, and sea salt doesn’t belong in a cookie or that hibiscus blooms don’t belong in a marshmallow, well it does in my world!

I was never taught flavor rules or had guidelines to follow. It’s all about trial and error with me.

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Beyond the Zugar Haus website, Facebook and Twitter pages where else can people find you online or in-person? Are there any events you'll be catering people should be on the lookout for?

Right now, our cookies and other confections are just available on our website, Etsy, and Wedzu. But besides cookies, we also cater desserts for parties and weddings. I’m so excited about an upcoming party. One of the desserts I will be making is Vanilla Bean & Poppy Seed Cupcakes with Viola Frosting. I love creating specialty desserts for people!

We are always trying new things to expand and branch out to new customers. So, keep a lookout for us this summer and follow us on social media because we might be coming to your local fleas and food markets soon.

Thanks so much, Shay, for taking the time to let us know how Zugar Haus contributes to your roots and creativity! I cannot wait for fall so I can get my hands on those pumpkin cookies.

#NYCBakeSale in Pictures

On Saturday, May 4th the NYC Bake Sale kicked off again at Brooklyn Flea. Here's a summary of the event in pictures. We're still taking donations online to help the NYC Bake Sale surpass this year's goal of $3,000. Thanks to all who helped us get there and big THANKS (and many bows) to organizers Lillian & Ken for doing a great job of getting this together and supporting a wonderful cause.

The Village Voice Sixth Annual Tasting Event: @ChoiceEats!

Tuesday, March 19th was a day of consumption. Choice Eats was upon us once again and I was prepared, or so I thought. I didn't eat carbs all day in preparation for the amount of goods that'd be available. Last year was a flavor explosion in every sense from savory to sweet to alcoholic and this year was no different. A portion of the proceeds earned from Choice Eats goes to the non-profit company Slow Food NYC which aims to "counteract the culture of fast food" by promoting local traditions in terms of food prep and eating.

Choice Eats is the opportunity for vendors in NYC to showcase some of their signature dishes to hundreds of people. Held at the 69th Regiment Armory it doesn't quite seem large enough to contain all the food lovers ready to mangia, but it does.

Last year at Choice Eats I didn't know where to start and felt I needed to eat everything on site. This wasn't too different, but my friends and I (the same gals who I attended it with last year) just sauntered and stopped where the lines were pretty short and the dishes displayed on the banners behind an establishment's stands intrigued us. (This year we had foldable trays which were increasingly handy to balance a few items rather than doing one at a time.) The gals and I were only through the first of three rows when our stomachs started to protrude and push against our belts. But we pushed on.

General admission for Choice Eats is $50 and you can get VIP status for about $30 more. VIP status grants you early access, some nice goodies and a cool totes, and a lounge. It may be worth the costs for some but you'll definitely eat your fill at the general admission price and then some.

What I love about Choice Eats is the variety and finding new cool finds I didn't know about in NYC. There's Asian, Asian fusion, Yemeni dishes, dim sum, seafood, vegetarian, vegan dishes, desserts, and wine, vodka, and beer. Beer, beer, and more beer. I have to say that there seemed to be more varieties of alcohol available this year than there had been in 2012. I got to sample vodka with cucumber essence (very refreshing) and a nice rose wine from Heritage Link Brands, a wine importer from Africa.

Some of my fave dishes that I sampled were the portobello mushroom ravioli with parmesan from Max Tribeca. It was creamy and light and had a hint of truffle oil. The double broccoli/cheese taco from No. 7 included feta and a nice mash of broccoli and cheese in a hard and soft tortilla, definitely hit the umami spot. There was also the perfectly tender brisket with a side of collard greens from Mable's Smokehouse that was a great treat getting towards the end of the first row. We passed ceviche and bouef borginon and a whole roasted pig from Kuma Inn and Jimmy's No. 43 had a smokey pork dish also. Spicy Bampa had not too spicy cold sesame noodles. There was a lamb and goat cheese puff pastry that mixed the sweet and savory in decadent form from Kaia Wine Bar. After savoring as much as we thought we could take we passed by the dessert aisle to find Yemen Café! I had visited their storefront with Ramen & Friends a few years ago and have been hooked by Yemeni food (and especially Yemeni tea) ever since. Their basmati rice and lamb were flavorful and the lamb fell of the bone!

Highlighted desserts were from one of my favorite Asian bakeries Fay Da Bakery that had egg custard and strawberry shortcake as well as bubble tea. If you've had cake from a Chinese bakery you know how light the sponge cake is that you feel you can eat pounds of it rather than slices. This was the perfect strawberry shortcake for me, not dense, just fluffy. Also available were Carlo's Bakery that had a great red velvet cake with super creamy cream cheese icing. I adored Butter & Scotch's (aka the Drunk Bakers) drunken caramel cupcake and wish I'd gotten multiples instead of just one. Also there representing the sweet were Robicelli's with a super rich brownie and The Good Batch's s'mores cookie that people were waiting in line for towards the end of the event. And SCRATCHBread had mainly different breads and sauces but also had some rich, thick, buttery shortbread cookies.

There were so many more vendors to name. Unfortunately many started to pack up close to 8:30 (even though the event goes to 9:30) due to being sold out. Sad. Whole Foods was around as a sponsor providing bags of snacks and the opportunity to win a giftcard if you followed them on Twitter on the spot. SmartWater was in abundance as well at various tables throughout the armory in case you needed to stay hydrated. I have to say that they thought of everything, booze, coat check, food and sweets galore. What more could you ask for? Nothing much really.

I'll definitely be going to Choice Eats again next year. It'll become an annual thing for me and perhaps I'll better prepare my stomach to get through more than one row of good eats but notes were taken mentally of who I'll be visiting soon and where I'll be bringing friends.

But let me leave you with a few tips if you go next year (which you should!):

1) Try to get in line at least 30 minutes before if not an hour before. The line extends far down and while everyone will get in at some point being closer to the front gets you in faster and on line for eating sooner.

2) Use the coat check! I don't know if people didn't realize there was a coat check or thought they had to pay. It's in the basement and is free! Many people were sweating and having to wear thick coats/jackets. With all the food and burners going and the increasing amount of bodies roaming around you get hot, fast. Utilize the coat check and do tip those working it.

3) This is not the best event for vegans and vegetarians. Are their items for vegans and vegetarians? Absolutely but not in abundance. There's a lot of meat dishes around and often I had to turn away because many contained pork. If you're a vegetarian there'll be eats but not necessarily a lot. So be forewarned.

4) Get water first to carry around. Yes, the bottle may be big but it'll be worth it because those go fast. There was a lot more this year than last so perhaps the organizers got hip to the fact that water was a huge commodity, but it doesn't hurt to stock up as you're going through the aisles.

5) Take breaks. Go drink something, have water, go hang downstairs by the coat check where it's cooler but don't keep stuffing yourself. Listen to your body, but enjoy the event and if you can pocket a couple desserts for home if they'll carry.

My New Addiction: Red Jacket Orchards Juices (@redjacketny) & Giveaway!

Red Jacket Orchards apple juice is a staple at farmer's markets in New York City and at Whole Foods (their juices can also be found at fine outlets in Pennsylvania & Ohio). The familiar logo and font calls out to those who know the brand and others who may be interested. Apple juice/cider is one of those drinks that is healthy, tasty, and when warmed over the colder fall/winter months can leave you feeling calm and aching for a mug of steaming juice/cider while laying on your couch watching items from your Netflix queue. Red Jacket Orchards has a long history stemming from 1917, but it's true start as the orchard we know now began in 1980. It expanded in the early 90s where the first apple fruit juice combos were developed and has continued to do so expanding in New York and having a warehouse in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

So what differentiates Red Jacket Orchards juices from others? First off, they're all natural. I know, I know. What isn't 'all natural' or 'organic' these days? Well this really and truly is. It's not "natural" (with items from concentrate). It's not proclaiming to be 100% juice (with additives). It's natural juice in the form that we should have and continue to experience it. Each of Red Jacket Orchards juices I've tried has ingredients I know. Their juices are not loaded down with additional items and flavors to capture what you think you should be tasting when it comes to fruit.

I had the opportunity to try several juices from Red Jacket Orchards and was really happy with the flavor combinations that they are offering. I even shared some with my co-workers, making the slump of 3pm "juice hour!"

The Juices!

Blackcurrant Apple Juice: Blackcurrant may be more known to the eastern European palate. I was first introduced to blackcurrant when I went to Dublin, Ireland for a study abroad years ago. Blackcurrant tends to be bitter, reminding one of a cherry to an extent but different. I did not taste the bitterness of blackcurrant but the apple comes through all the way. This juice isn't overly sweet but crisp and satisfying. I'd recommend this for people who want a bit of diversion from their apple juice, yet still that hint of flavor.

Tart Cherry Stomp: A tad tart but not too much so. As my co-worker John said, "the slight apple taste dovetails into cherry." He's good. There's a hint of apple as it hits your lips that goes full blast cherry tartness that won't make your lips pucker. A nice treat for fans of cherry and my co-workers are. In this one the cherry is very evident, more so than in the black currant. This was the fave amongst my co-workers. They LOVED the tartness the cherry brought to the table. Loved it!

Fuji Apple Juice: This one is solid apple juice. It is sweeter than the combo juices tasted thus far (cherry & blackcurrant). The ingredients list reads: apple, fuji apple, and vitamin C. So there's a mixture of apples in this juice and fuji, being on the sweeter side in general, ups the ante! The color looks more like concentrate ones or a bit orangey so you may think of an orange/apple hybrid but it is all apple and delicious. If you're a fan of apple juice having an additional bit of sweetness than this one is for you.

Strawberry Apple Juice: This tasted like a strawberry/apple juice hybrid. I repeat, it tastes like strawberry! Real strawberries, not the syrupy sweet fake 'flavor' of strawberries, but strawberries in the raw from the market! It's a tad sweet, especially compared to the tarter flavors but not overly so. This is my favorite of the bunch for the more natural strawberry taste that has apple right up on its tail when you take a sip. If you like strawberries this is the juice for you. Raspberry Apple Juice: Like many of the juice combos the raspberry hits your tastebuds initially. And similar to the strawberry apple this one has a real raspberry taste so it's light. The organic aspect of the strawberry and raspberry juices work well together in their lightness being a good combination for the apple juice and nothing overtaking the other in terms of flavor. A great coupling if you ask me. Refreshing. Grape Apple Juice: Solid taste that is all grape, very little apple. So in essence it's like a lighter grape juice. I would choose this over any of the ridiculously saccharine grape juices on the market (especially from concentrate, which it seems most are). Nice and light and doesn't leave my mouth feeling sickly sweet and no after taste like with other brands I recall drinking from my youth. I'd recommend this to you grape lovers out here.

In summary, Red Jacket Orchards is the real deal, my friends. The Pittsburgh-Post Gazette calls them a "fresh find," I call it them New York gem.

The Giveaway!

For the next two weeks you can enter for a nice giveaway of your own six-pack (12 oz/each) of juices! You can mix and match or just have one juice. I'll send them to you via the Red Jacket Orchards' site. (Limited to US residents only)

You can enter by leaving a comment and submitting to the Rafflecopter below. You can gain extra entries by following/liking Red Jacket Orchards on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest (please note this in comments).

The contest runs for two weeks exactly. So last day to enter is 11:59pm on March 7th and I'll announce the winner on Monday, March 11th. Should I not hear from the winner once I contact him/her within 24 hours I'll have Rafflecopter choose another entrant.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Trust me, these juices are delicious! And the 12 ounce bottles are good for travel and especially to pack with kids' lunches. So take advantage and also look for Red Jacket Orchards brand in your nearby store or request that they purchase them!

Thanks a ton to Danielle Raymo with Red Jacket Orchards for allowing me to sample their juices.

Smirnoff Kissed Caramel Cocktail Hour!

At Pie Party GE last year Smirnoff was one of the generous Gold Sponsors of the event. Attendees of Pie Party got to try drinks made with two of Smirnoff's newest flavors Smirnoff Kissed Caramel Vodka and Smirnoff Iced Cake Vodka. (Please note to enter Smirnoff's site you have to provide a birth date which will need to be at least 21 years of age to enter and view.) At Pie Party I tried the Caramel Apple Pie (made with Kissed Caramel flavored vodka) and was enamored with it. Smirnoff was so kind to offer samples for us to try. So I decided to have a cocktail hour at my place with bite-sized eats and a few close friends for a tasting!

Since drinks were going to be had I made pigs in a blanket, a blueberry buckle (a la Herbivoracious), chicken fingers, arancini balls (thanks Trader Joe's!), there were soft cheeses and multigrain baguettes, pita chips and Fritos and PopCorners with hummus, and my friend Lesley brought Dove chocolate caramels in honor of the event. My buddies Lesley and Ric, and cousin Melissa each brought a supplement for the drinks on Smirnoff's website to try and after stuffing ourselves we started our cocktail tasting.

Kissed Caramel Appletini

Made with Smirnoff Kissed Caramel, apple juice, lemon juice, and simple syrup (which I made). Everyone liked it for the most part because "It tasted like candy." The alcoholic taste was a bit sharp but not too much because the simple syrup elevated the sweetness. It was a fave of the group especially for Lesley who is not a big alcohol drinker.

Caramel Spiced Tea

Made with Kissed Caramel, strong chai tea (unsweetened), milk, and simple syrup. This was another fave. My friend Ric is a huge fan of chai tea and since the proportion of tea and milk was larger than the Kissed Caramel the alcohol taste was not overwhelming but adding the hint of caramel. It tasted like tea with a bit of caramel, so it could be dangerous because you may keep drinking and not realize how much alcohol you're having. Still darned tasty.

Caramel Candy Apple

Made with Kissed Caramel, apple juice, and cranberry juice. This drink is a shot so it's a bit stronger since it's supposed to be taken in one slog. I felt like this was a bit more alcoholic than the Appletini but Melissa, Ric, and Lesley thought the Appletini had a bit more alcohol taste to it. This may have been because the Appletini was the first we tried and after a couple breaks we were dulled by the taste of alcohol. The cranberry added some tartness to it, but either way it was a nice, smooth shot.

Detour into trying the Kissed Caramel Mule. We didn't have angostura bitters, so it was just ginger ale and Kissed Caramel. And, I learned an important lesson: Never shake carbonated drinks in a cocktail mixer or it will explode. It wasn't until I took a second stab at the drink that Melissa and Ric realized that this was the issue and by that time ginger ale and Smirnoff were on my floor, after exploding on my counter. Lesson learned. This drink, sans bitters, wasn't too intriguing, so we'll see if perhaps the bitters may have added that needed element to make the drink stand out in another try in the future.

Caramel Apple Pie

The drink I tasted at Pie Party GE. Even making it at home I LOVED it. It's made with Kissed Caramel (1.5 oz), apple cider (4 oz.), lemon juice (.25 oz), and a pinch of sea salt. Because the cider outweighs the Smirnoff this drink tastes very much like a pie in drink form. Ric and Melissa liked it (by this time Lesley had bowed out) but didn't think it stood out enough for them in the range of the drinks. I think they enjoyed some items that had that alcoholic element.

Creamy Caramel Martini (revised)

Ric was unable to find butterscotch liquor at the store near me so he got a (dark) chocolate liqueur since it seemed that may go with caramel well. This drink was strong. You pair 17% alcohol (chocolate) and 30% alcohol with the vodka and nothing to pare it down a bit and you have some serious stuff. I couldn't finish it because it was so intense, but the flavors did meld well together. It's a beverage you'd have to sip for awhile rather than drink.

Verdict

In the end the Appletini and Spiced Tea were the faves. The Tea was loved by Ric and Melissa because they are fans of chai and the caramel added a nice boost for them in terms of the overall flavor. It was milky and sweet! Lesley was all for the Appletini because it tasted like liquified candy. And my favorite remains the Caramel Apple Pie.

I would highly recommend Smirnoff Kissed Caramel Vodka and try the drinks we did. There's a good alternate for those who enjoy their alcohol sweet (Appletini or Caramel Apple Pie) or smooth and not too heavy (Caramel Spiced Tea) or strong (Creamy Caramel Martini).

Thanks again to Smirnoff for co-sponsoring Pie Party Live. I'm looking forward to making the flavored vodka cocktail hour a quarterly event at my place.