Menu for November 23rd

Anyone else tired of the camel?

Happy Friday all!

Apologies for the delay in posting but I have been a baking fool this week. In the spirit of the holiday my moist and luscious pumpkin bundt with cinnamon glaze and apple cinnamon popovers topped with cinnamon sugar have made a comeback.

Pumpkin bundt w/cinnamon glaze

I have also experimented with some old flavors and will be presenting apple pockets and pecan pockets. A flaky crust filled with sweet juicy apples, cinnamon and sugar and crunchy pecans surrounded by gooey maple and molasses flavored goodness. $1 each.

My further experimentation with homemade marshmallow yielded some unexpected results. It’s no secret to anyone who knows me that while I make a mean yorkshire pudding and my ropa vieja have brought people to their knees in awe, I cannot for the life of me, make Jello. It’s the damnedest thing, even my teachers in culinary school couldn’t understand it. So when I decided to incorporate Jello flavors into my homemade marshmallows I already knew I was in for a fight and fight I did. The end result is my fantastically chewy chocolate dipped mint and vanilla marshmallows. These of course came out exactly how I wanted them to and I couldn’t be happier!

$2 each

However, I also found myself with lots of marshmallow cream that tasted fantastic and smells like Fruity Pebbles but just wouldn’t stiffen enough to be dipped in chocolate. So I decided to sandwich them between two chewy homemade chocolate chocolate chip cookies to create a delicious and gooey delight. Whoopie Pies are made with cake and cream and I adore them. I never knew they existed until we were transferred to Maine 4 years ago but there is just no way I could get the cream to hold in the heat of the Florida sunshine even now in mid-November. Instead I’ve made Yippee Pies which are available in two sizes, $2 for the smaller ones and $5 for large, and in original vanilla, strawberry, orange, mixed berry and pineapple.

$2 each

$5 each

Once again we’ll have gifts available for purchase for the holidays now through the end of December.

The weather is looking beautiful so come on out to the Ybor City Saturday Market tomorrow. Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Americans and Happy Hanukkah to my Jewish readers. Safe travels to all.

It’s All Happening at Ybor City This Saturday!

Good morrow good people!

I don’t know about you but I am psyched about the festivals happening at Ybor City Saturday October 12th. First up, yours truly will not only be vending at tomorrow’s 3rd Annual Cupcake Festival but we’ve entered the contest for Tampa’s Best Cupcake Maker.  A panel of local judges will munch their way through 20 entries to determine the best-tasting cupcakes along with the best-looking creations. Winners will earn the title of “Best Cupcake in Tampa Bay 2013,” along with up to $400 in cash prizes.

Here’s our entry, we call it the Have S’more Cupcake! Moist and chewy graham cracker cake infused with our very own rich chocolate ganache and topped with homemade marshmallow and a dusting of chocolate.

These will be available for purchase after the judging is over at noon. In the meantime you’ll still be able to try and buy our other creations at the festival. You’ll go bananas for our Bananas Foster cupcake made with banana flavored cake with homemade caramel and baked bananas at the bottom and caramelized sugar on top. Kids will love our PB&J cupcakes blending grape flavored cake and frosting made with natural peanut butter.

Also in time for Halloween is our Candy Corn Dream cupcake which tastes even better than it looks! Orange and lemon cake batter has been poured into each cup together and topped with festively colored vanilla butter cream icing.

Finally we’ve brought back the British favorite, Jaffa Cake, in the form of a cupcake with our rich chocolate ganache topping.

If you experience cupcake overload at the festival, fear not! We will also be selling your favorite mini apple pie, mini pecan pie and Chocolate Espresso mini bundt cake.

So come check out the Ybor City Saturday Market at Centennial Park (corner of 8th Ave & 19th St.), 1901 19th Street, Tampa, FL 33605 Saturday Oct., 12, from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. and stick around for Streetcar Fest 2013. Ride the TECO Line Streetcar for only 25 cents from 10 a.m. – 1:30 a.m and check out all the events and sights there is to see!

FoodStart Fundraiser kicks off today!

Greetings and salutations!

As you may or may not know, my husband and I have dreamed of opening a gastropub one day. A nice cozy place with soft lights, the works of local artists adorning deep wine colored walls as patrons lounge and listen to a poet or up and coming musician play. Other nights guests enjoy sampling new wines, coffee and food that may soon grace a seasonally changing menu while hearing how wine or coffee is made or taking part in a cooking lesson with their significant other. Still other nights college students, families or groups of friends out on the town scream and yell and jump up and down as they compete for prizes on trivia nights or local groups gather to contemplate the ideas and interests that have brought their members together. All while enjoying freshly made favorite dishes from their homeland and deliciously unique combinations of comfort fusion cuisine.

Well, everything has a beginning and Comfy Confections is the start of our dream gastropub. It is our intention to join the food truck fervor and expand into The Comfy Cafe food truck in 2014. Of course we’ll need your help to make it happen so check out our campaign page on FoodStart and all the perks and rewards we’re offering for getting on board with us and please, spread the word. Help us make our dream a reality!

 

FALL TASTING EVENT CANCELLED

Good morrow to all!

Unfortunately, restrictions at the location this event was planned has caused us to cancel the tasting for the time being. However, if you’ll check the schedule tab you’ll see Comfy Confections can now be found as a vendor at the Outdoor Market held at Stained Marketplace in Ybor City. Cash and credit/debit cards are accepted and any orders placed with us can be picked up at our booth. You can also try some free samples if you can’t make up your mind what to buy although I warn you, the tasting of samples won’t make your decision any easier and may prompt you to buy more;)

We’re in negotiations to set up in other locations and events in the Tampa Bay area so watch this space for updates!

Comfy Confections Menu items

Good morning all!

With the temperature due to start dropping in a few weeks and farmer’s markets opening for the Fall, we thought we’d give you an idea of the type of items you can expect to see at our booth in the Tampa Bay area.

First is my scrumptious apple pie made from scratch. Fresh Pink Lady/MacIntosh and Granny Smith apples give a nice sweet and tart flavor blend anchored by fragrant slurry of cinnamon and sugar in a flaky crust. It’s a popular favorite with friends and family and every Fall and Winter without fail I get requests to make and bring this dish for gatherings.

Next is a new favorite among friends and family. The British hubby and I have long been fans of the Jaffa cake. For those of you who may not know a Jaffa cake is a soft sponge cake filled with a Jaffa orange marmalade and topped with a crunchy chocolate coating. As these delicacies are few and far between here in the US, I’ve always wanted to capture the flavor exactly and by jove, I think I’ve done it! The first bite of my moist and fluffy Jaffa Bundt cake will remind you of a rich Dreamsicle with tones of vanilla and orange blending together. Then the orange liqueur infused in the cake will give you a nice slap in the mouth as the luscious ganache made with real Ghiradelli chocolate caresses your tastebuds. Truly an orgasmic delight!

In keeping with the international theme, we bring you the sweet and decadent Omm Ali. This rich and creamy Egyptian bread pudding will more than satisfy any sweet tooth. Have a glass of milk ready folks!

We also can’t wait for you to sink your teeth into our rice cakes to be named later. These little treats are inspired by Japanese mochi and feature sweet fillings like mango and orange marmalade and spicy and exotic flavors like strawberry jalapeño. There’ll even be a tribute to the King of Rock and Roll with our Elvis Bites.

So amazing they knocked his shirt right off, lookit that!

As we trek towards the holidays, we’ll continue to bring you familiar flavors and exotic fusions with our Peppermint Puffs, Pumpkin Honey cake and Ann Nog muffins featuring my mother’s very own special egg nog recipe.

Ann Nog Muffin NOM!

These items and more will be available in traditional sized cakes, pies, pastry and cookies as well as mini versions, slices, bites and pops. So keep watching this space for new menu items and prices as well as our schedule. We anticipate selling in local markets in Wesley Chapel, New Tampa, Carrollwood and Ybor City in the near future. Visit the About Us page for order details. Chow for now!

Comfy Confections comes to Tampa Bay this Fall!

Good afternoon and Happy Father’s Day to all you dads out there:)

Apologies for the hiatus but as we all know sometimes life grabs us, takes us for a ride and won’t let go until it’s done. Now that things have calmed down I’m focusing hard on jumpstarting my cafe. Picture it, you enter a large amber lit room colored with deep rich earth tones, artwork from local artists adorning the wine and pumpkin colored walls and mahogany shelves. Your ears are met with the sound of music originating from one of any number of world cultures as you choose a seat among plush couches and chairs in the corner or dining sets reminiscent of a French bistro. The menu is an array of delights that would please the palate of anyone missing the comforts of home or with a taste of adventure. Such is the experience that is The Comfy Cafe. Of course this is only a concept, the actual cafe does not yet exist but is the reality my husband and I are pushing for. At the moment however, we will have to start super small, even smaller than the food truck we hope to expand to on our journey towards the cafe. No, right now, in it’s infancy, The Comfy Cafe is known as Comfy Confections.

Scratch Apple Pie

Comfy Confections is a cottage law business operating in the Tampa Bay area of Florida and in keeping with the international comfort food theme, we will be offering delicious desserts and breakfast items that are familiar to Americans of old such as my famous apple pie from scratch, lemon tarts and spiced banana nut cake. We will also be offering cuisine that the rest of our cosmopolitan customers will enjoy just as much such as Omm Ali, Amaretto stuffed peaches, Green Tea cake and Italian sesame cookies.

Omm Ali                                                                                               (Eggs, cream, nuts, raisins, cinnamon and filo dough = YUM!)

 

Green Tea Cake

There will also be selections for those with an adventurous palate and a love for fusion cuisine. These include my savory Japanese inspired rice pockets filled with sweet strawberry, mango and marmalade preserves and a salute to the King, the natural peanut butter and baked banana filled Elvis Pockets drizzled with Foster sauce.

Fruit filled Mochi goodness

We hope to be operating out of the Fresh Market at Wiregrass in Wesley Chapel, the Ybor City Saturday Market and one other location in New Tampa this Fall so watch this space for locations, schedule and menu. Unfortunately, do to restrictions by Florida Cottage Law, we are unable to take orders online or ship out of state. However, if you do wish to order for a pick up in person we will have order forms available once the business gets underway. We will do custom orders and if you have an event in the Tampa Bay area that is looking for food vendors, please feel free to contact us.

Chow for now!