Tandem Sweets

Banana Walnut Bread

2012-01-26T15:20:00.000-06:00

Made with a ripe banana and plantain. I had a banana and plantain that needed to be used and so plantains work the same as bananas and taste pretty much the same!

Apple Almond Tart

2011-12-12T16:40:00.000-06:00

Poached apples.
Homemade almond paste.
Sweet Crust.

Bad Day For a Cookie

2011-12-01T18:41:00.000-06:00

Pumpkin Bread, Apple Cider Cinnamon Rolls and more!

2011-10-16T06:39:00.002-05:00

Today-

Don't forget your umbrella and rain boots while picking up local treats at the Pilsen Community Market. We'll be there with pumpkin bread, apple cider cinnamon rolls, chocolate muffins and apple muffins!

See you there!

2011-09-25T19:57:00.000-05:00

Last Peach Pie of the Season.. Hello Fall!

2011-09-18T19:18:00.000-05:00

Coffee Muffin

2011-09-12T14:02:00.000-05:00

I am not a coffee drinker, but I do love the smell and taste of it in baked goods!

2011-09-03T18:29:00.000-05:00

Find us at the market next week, September 11! See you then!

Muffin Mania!

2011-08-19T19:32:00.002-05:00

I will be at the Pilsen Market this sunday with Cinnamon Rolls, Oatmeal Cookies, Blueberry Muffins, Vanilla Bean Muffins, Cinnamon Almond and Chocolate Chip Gluten Free Muffins.

No pies this weekend!

Blueberry and Vanilla Muffins

Oatmeal Cookies

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Muffins

Chocolate Chip Cookie

2011-08-08T19:56:00.000-05:00

August 7 Market

2011-08-08T19:51:00.001-05:00

Another rainy day at the market, but the skies cleared up for a great day at the Pilsen Market.
Thomas is the best signs!
-Peach Pies
-Chocolate Loafs
-Chocolate Chip Cookies
-Cinnamon Rolls

First Day of the Season

2011-07-25T06:49:00.001-05:00

It was a great first day despite the rain and wind almost blowing away our tent. The baked goods will vary week to week and I started off with blueberry pie, chocolate chocolate chip cookies, vanilla bean muffins, chocolate muffins and cinnamon rolls. It's wonderful to be at the Pilsen Community Market and I plan to be there every other weekend. See y'all Sunday August 7th and thanks for your support!

Embedded-Pilsen Block Party

2011-07-14T22:32:00.001-05:00

I will have a table at the block party with a few goodies from 12:30 -4:30. This block party is organized by Cobalt Studio and will be located at 21st and Damen. There will be food and activities organized throughout the day and music to dance to in the evening.

Pilsen Community Market

2011-06-05T19:47:00.000-05:00

It's that time again! I will be selling at the farmers market in Pilsen soon! I have a few things to get organized and I will be there sunday mornings with vegan sweets.

Come support the community!

xoxo

Chocolate Cake With Raspberry filing and Raspberry Frosting

2011-05-23T19:14:00.000-05:00

Whiskey Pear Tart

2011-01-30T20:51:00.004-06:00

Recipe adapted from Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented
It was pretty easy to veganize the recipe. The dough required one egg and I used one tablespoon of tapioca flour and a 1/4 of a cup of water as replacement. For the almond cream filling I added three tablespoons of flour, one teaspoon and a half of tapioca flour and a 1/4 of a teaspoon of baking powder to replace the egg and added another tablespoon of margarine. I added about 1/4 cup of water as well and processed the filling all in a food processor.

Sweet Tart Dough: I rolled out the dough to about 10 inches in diameter, rolled up the edges to create a wall and used a knife to created a design around the edge.

Almond Filling: After I par baked the crust and allowed it to cool, I spread the almond filling about an 1/8 to a 1/4 of an inch evenly then fanned the "poached" pears around the crust lightly pressing them into the filling.

"Poached" Pears in Pear Juice, Whiskey and Vanilla

Baked!

It was delicious!

Espresso Flan

2011-01-05T17:20:00.001-06:00

Recipe can be found in Viva Vegan! by Terry Hope Romero

6" Soy Free Pumpkin Pie

2010-11-25T12:49:00.001-06:00

Apple Pie

2010-11-16T19:59:00.000-06:00

Koi!

2010-11-04T21:22:00.003-05:00

Amazingly I found 12 aluminum koi fish molds at a second hand store. I lined it with gum paste let it dry, un-molded it and painted it with food coloring.

Devil's Food Cake with Sugar Skull

2010-11-01T16:01:00.001-05:00

Rich devil's food cake with a coffee ganache: yum.

Sugar Skulls

2010-10-08T18:47:00.002-05:00

I made these for my niece Nina's 6 th birthday to place on her cake...along with gummy eyeballs.....she's something else!

I bought the molds from www.mexicansugarskull.com
The skulls are made from gum paste, though I checked the packaging that I purchased from Michaels and I am not sure if it is vegan. Gum paste normally contains egg whites, but the packaging didn't state otherwise.

Ouch!

2010-10-01T13:14:00.002-05:00

Due to a bike accident I will not be at the farmers market this weekend! Severe Laceration to my right arm and cant work!
Bummer.
The following two weekends I will not be able to either because of specific events: my nieces birthday and then my 30th birthday!

Thanks for your support and I hope to see you all soon!

Viking!

2010-09-21T17:00:00.000-05:00

I made this viking when I was in school. It took me a while since it was the first figure I've ever made, but I had a lot of fun.

Next project: spaceships for my nephews birthday cake!

Pilsen Farmer's Market

2010-09-15T15:47:00.000-05:00

Support your local farmer's market! and visit me at the Pilsen Farmer's Market on 18th and halsted on Sundays from 9-3.

Blueberry Lavender Pie

2010-09-02T22:14:00.002-05:00

Pie!

2010-08-29T20:29:00.000-05:00

Peach pie.

Happy Birthday Sister

2010-08-01T19:52:00.001-05:00

Lemon Cake and Raspberry Filling

Raw Mango Cashew Cake

2010-07-30T21:16:00.000-05:00

Amazing. raw and delicious.
Now, Instead of calling it a cheesecake, as it's referred to, I prefer to title it by what it's made from....Cashews!

Ingredients consist of coconut oil, mango, agave, lime juice, and cashews.
The crust is made from almonds and dates....so good.

worked off of this recipe: http://kokoskitchen.com/raw/raw-cheesecake/

Rhubard Blueberry Crumble

2010-07-29T21:31:00.006-05:00

I followed this recipe (and changed some ingredients to make it vegan):
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/rhubarb-peach-cobbler-recipe/index.html

Peanut Butter Tart

2010-07-18T21:02:00.001-05:00

Having had extra peanut butter filling from a cake I made for a friend of a friend (right below), I made a chocolate shortbread crust and topped it off with vanilla pudding.

Birthday Cake

2010-07-13T16:30:00.001-05:00

Chocolate cake with a banana pudding filling and a peanut butter frosting finished off with chocolate shavings.

Yum.

Donation Cupcakes - Hope For Daniella

2010-07-11T14:58:00.002-05:00

Daniella is the cousin of a friend that has been diagnosed with liver cancer. A benefit was quickly put together to raise money. The organizers of this event were amazing at putting together a benefit in one week.

lemon cupcakes with blueberry frosting.

Wedding Fun.

2010-05-31T23:22:00.002-05:00

200 Chocolate and vanilla cupcakes with chocolate, vanilla, and raspberry frosting!

Happy 4th Birthday Gia!

2010-05-19T22:10:00.001-05:00

2010-04-25T18:12:00.002-05:00

Practice cake for Meagan's wedding.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Jameson Cream Filling

2010-03-26T18:13:00.000-05:00

Spot Light

2010-02-16T12:49:00.005-06:00

I joined The Daring Kitchen to keep up with working on baking projects, but I find it hard to keep up or remembering to participate.
What a problem, but I did make it to their front page where they feature bakers and cooks for a fews days.
I guess I was on the spot light some time in January and I missed out on seeing it on the front page!

You can find it: Right Here!

Vanilla Cake With Vanilla Frosting

2010-01-31T23:47:00.001-06:00

6" cake

Carrot Cake

2010-01-23T18:43:00.002-06:00

Baby Cakes Frosting - Soy Free

2010-01-15T23:08:00.002-06:00

I worked with rice milk and rice milk powder and powdered sugar. I haven't made it with soy milk and soy milk powder, so I am unable to compare them, but the frosting whips up well after it has set up in the fridge.

Light coconut taste and subtly sweet.

It will separate if you leave it out for a while and then decide to whip it up. Best to work with it straight out of the fridge.

So Soy...

2009-11-22T19:54:00.000-06:00

I've decided that I'm going to focus on Soy free baked goods. I've already been predominantly soy free, but have used tofu for mousses and that's probably it.
A couple of years ago I discovered I have a slight allergy with soy when I drink it. My lips tingle and my throat feels itchy and strange...hmm, but I never noticed any reaction with eating tofu or soy in baked goods, but knowing that my body is reacting this way I wonder if anything is going on that I am not aware of or connecting with this allergy!
And I immediately discovered that working with soy based recipes at work my arms develop small bumps that are super itchy and then disapear, but it seems to be getting worse.
Not fun!

So, rice milk all the way! Keeps me happy.

Present Cake

2009-11-22T19:33:00.002-06:00

Crappy image from my camera phone.

Made this cake for a baby shower.

Chocolate cake with a raspberry fruit spread filling.

At Work!

2009-11-22T19:23:00.002-06:00

First large cake to ice.
Heavy.
Fun Times.

Nina's 5th Birthday Cake

2009-10-07T18:16:00.002-05:00

Chocolate Cake With Peanut Butter Mousse Filling.

Chocolate Chip Bagels

2009-10-07T18:13:00.001-05:00

St. Anthony School Reunion 2009

2009-09-27T13:19:00.006-05:00

Vanilla Cake with Lavender Ganache and Tiny cupcakes made from a recipe from Fran Costigans Great Good Dairy Free Desserts.

I attended this school in the mid 80's from 1st to 4th grade. Our school uniform colors were brown and yellow.
I have interior images I documented here : www.lindaprieto.com

Star Wars Cake

2009-09-27T13:09:00.003-05:00

Happy 7 year old

Three layer Vanilla Cake with thin layer of Strawberry Jam and Strawberry Creme.

Me giving the kids their letter of choice

Dobos Torte - Daring Baker's Challenge

2009-08-27T00:02:00.001-05:00

The August 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Angela of A Spoonful of Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular Dobos Torte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers’ cookbook Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.

I finally had a chance to participate and used a sponge cake recipe I made vegan. I baked off a half sheet tray to see how this cake would bake off. I made it in a cake pan before with success and was curious as to how it would bake off. The cake was easy to handle.
I did not have any hazelnuts, but did have almonds! I made a buttercream from coconut fat, endangered species chocolate, and a small amount of organic earth balance shortening. I'm not exactly a fan of shortening, but wanted to try it out and see the results.
I have various cookie cutters that I've purchased at estate sales and thought a small deer would be fun.

2009-08-22T16:27:00.001-05:00

Found this vintage 1940's cake carrier at an antique shop I've always passed by and was always closed. This time around, I was visiting a friend that lives around the corner from the shop and was so excited to see the door open!

Sweet Plantain Muffin

2009-08-21T10:25:00.000-05:00

Sitting in my fridge was a very ripe plantain and instead of cooking it the normal way I would cook it, I decided to use it as an ingredient to make muffins. They are similar to bananas at this state of ripeness giving off a sweet taste after cooked.

I worked off a recipe from Fran Costigan's book: More Great Good Dairy-free Desserts Naturally and it all came together beautifully. I halved the recipe using agave nectar, rice milk and a whole ripe plantain. The taste had a slight hint of banana and not too sweet.

Birthday Cake

2009-08-16T16:18:00.000-05:00

Almond Chiffon with Buttercream filling. Not vegan. I made it for my sister's children other aunt's daughter's first birthday...phew!

Finally!

2009-05-31T22:20:00.000-05:00

In my last quarter of Pastry School for the Wedding and Display Cakes class, we worked on a project to replicate a wedding cake for the final project. I chose to replicate an Art Deco cake created by Ron Ben Israel. Amazing cake decorator!
I finished the cake in December 2008, but didn't finalize the cake until a couple of days ago, adding the vase, flowers, and dragees (silver balls).

Lemon Tart

2009-05-27T13:59:00.001-05:00

This recipe is adapted from Fran Costigans book "More Great Good Dairy Free Desserts". It is probably one of my favorite desserts and when it was made in Vegan Boot Camp, it was everyones favorite! I made two. The first was a tester and the next day I didn't realize I ran out of agar flakes, but had agar powder. So, I successfully made the tart using the agar powder, but had to keep testing a spoonful to make sure it set properly.

This is an image of the first tart.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

2009-05-27T13:56:00.000-05:00

Using Theo Chocolate!

All About Almond

2009-05-15T14:13:00.000-05:00

and a burnt tuile.

I have here an almond cupcake with almond cream and a tuile made from the almond cake batter. Unfortunately within seconds the tuile burned while I was on the phone with my sister and brewing some echinacea tea.

Bread Pudding

2009-05-11T12:37:00.000-05:00

I cubed bread from left over croissant attempt with chopped pecans. Soaked the cubed bread with heated rice milk, maple syrup and sucunat and almond meal. Sprinkled Xanthan Gum over the cubed bread then poured the sweetened milk over it and let it soak for about 1/2 hour and added the pecans after.
I used small springform pans and filled them up and baked them off at 350 degrees for twenty minutes.

Cinnamon Corn Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache

2009-05-05T15:48:00.000-05:00

Mini Cheesecakes

2009-05-01T10:13:00.000-05:00

I worked off of this recipe: http://www.veggieboards.com/boards/showthread.php?t=36079 and made a ground almond crust.

The taste was good and the texture turned out well. Still want to work on this though.

Cake Design

2009-04-14T09:18:00.000-05:00

This is a cake I designed for "Let Them Eat Cake" competition, a benefit for City of Hope in Philadelphia. Unfortunately, time was against me and I wasn't able to complete the cake. It was heart breaking investing so much time into the project, but worth the experience, since I am new to this.

The theme this year for the contest is "Ethnic Weddings", and I chose the Inca culture, inspired by the geometric and organic designs the Incas used on their pottery and sculptures. The six inch tier was to be elevated with two ornaments hanging between the six inch and 8 inch tiers.

This is what I had done so far, that I was able to work with at home.

Blueberry/Sunflower Seed Biscotti

2009-04-02T10:32:00.001-05:00

Little Red Goodness

2009-03-27T13:01:00.002-05:00

After a few tries, working in some different ingredients , recipe adapted from : http://bittersweetblog.wordpress.com/ , i was happy with the texture and taste. I actually didn't have cocoa powder without being processed with alkaline, so I omitted that ingredient, but will include it the next time.

Vegan Baking Boot Camp!

2009-03-27T13:01:00.001-05:00

I took a five day intensive course in Vegan Baking at the Natural Gourmet School in NY.
Basic fundamentals to Fran Costigan's Vegan delights. She focuses on healthy desserts using organic, fair trade, unprocessed ingredients.

Gum Paste Roses

2009-03-27T13:00:00.003-05:00

Gluten-Free

2009-03-27T13:00:00.001-05:00

I bought a gluten free mix and had really great results. It called for a bread maker, which I didn't have so I just made it the way I was taught to make bread, and eggs in which I used flax seeds. It was close to being vegan but there was a small amount of milk ingredient in the mix.