Dine & Dish with Dawn: Society Bakery in Dallas – It’s Not Just Their Desserts That Make Them Sweet!

Posted on September 8, 2015 by BeautyFrosting

Life might not be a cake walk, but don’t tell Society Bakery that.

The oven is always on at Society Bakery in Dallas, where they bake as much sweetness as they add to the world around them!

A bakery whose motto is “Be good to your sweet tooth, be good to society,” Society makes it its mission to sweeten the world, while giving back.

And, I’m not the only one who’s noticed. Ellen Degeneres and AOL have named them one of the Top Ten Cupcakes in America, and People Country Magazine listed Society Bakery as one of “Four top bakeries in L.A., Dallas, Birmingham, and N.Y.C.”.

Society Bakery founder, Roshi Muns and I established a friendship last December when I was referred to Society when I needed a last minute cake for an impromptu holiday tea party with my girlfriends. I tasted the cake (delicious!), and met Roshi (the sweetest!), and it was friendship at first sight! We’ve followed each other on social media since then, so when Roshi saw I was headed home to Dallas, she told me she wanted to “roll out the red carpet” for me and my family and friends, and host a tasting brunch for us.

Knowing I would need some help from other discerning tastebuds to taste such delectable treats, I invited my mom, my fabulous Dallas blogger friend Lee Cordon of DoSayGive, my best friend Jenny Harris, her son Shepherd, Jenny’s sister Dr. Sally Falwell, and her daughter, Evie.

Lots of love at the table with my tasting crew by my side – and that’s Roshi right behind me!

And oh my, were we ever treated!

We started out with Pimento Cheese on toast with hardboiled egg, bacon, lettuce and tomato.

Society Bakery’s homemade pimento cheese on toast, with hardboiled eggs, bacon, lettuce and tomato

Then, came out the chicken salad on croissant, tuna salad on wheat, grilled cheese and pasta salad with tomato and mozzarella.

Chicken salad on croissant, truna salad, grilled cheese and pasta salad at Society Bakery – delicious!

The next course was ricotta with fresh peaches and strawberries, served with a side of some of the most delicious homemade peach jam I’ve ever enjoyed.

Ricotta with fresh peaches and strawberries with a side of scrumptious homemade peach jam by Chef Erin

After all that, came the…DESSERTS!!
And, I do mean desserts plural!

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Life really is a cake walk at Society Bakery (details of desserts in this pic below)

We were treated to the following dessert smorgasbord (as pictured above clockwise witht the brownie, standing in for 12 o’clock): Brownie, Frosted Sugar Cookie, Red Velvet Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting, Jessie Jessup Cupcake (vanilla cake with buttercream frosting & my FAVE!), Strawberry Cupcake, Coconut Cupcake, Salted Caramel Cupcake with Salted Caramel Filling, vanilla Cupcake, White Petits Fours with filling, Monster Chocolate Chip Cookie, Bread Pudding Whoopie Pie, Apple Pie, another Whoopie Pie, Monster M&M Cookie, and their signature Chocolate Cake in the center.

Here’s a closeup of some of that deliciousness.

Sugar Heaven at Society Bakery with cupcakes, cookies, petits four, pies, brownies and whoopie pies!

As delicious as the food and “sweet treats” (as Sally & Evie call them) are, Roshi’s mission is even sweeter. Society Bakery is active in giving back to the local community of Dallas, by giving thousands of cupcakes away in exchange for items that local charities need. Society Bakery also donates throughout the year to over 100 different charities, schools and non-profit organizations, refraining from taking tax write-offs for donations because Roshi and her team believe that a business can be profitable and charitable at the same time. Sounds like someone else I know!

My heart was so full getting to share both my love for what I do, and my love of food, with some of the people I love best in my own hometown of Dallas.

What it takes to capture those delicious food pics y’all love looking at! My friend Jenny was praying I didn’t fall off that step ladder!

My dear friend (of 21 years), Jenny Harris Crandall and I cakewalking at Society Bakery

With my friend – and fellow influencer & blogger – Lee Cordon, of the fabulous blog, DoSayGive

So, when in Dallas, head on over to Society Bakery, where the oven’s always on – and the place, where when you buy sweetness, you also add sweetness to the world around you!

xoxo,
Dawn

Recipe Box: Sweet Georgia Peach Southern Dump Cake – a homespun recipe

Posted on September 27, 2013 by BeautyFrosting

A few weeks ago, I had a game night scheduled with my dear girlfriends with whom I used to work at Barbra Streisand’s. I love these girls. I have soooo much fun with these girls. And they love me for everything I am – the bad, the good, the goofy. Heck, they even love my dog more than most people.

But I also knew that no matter how busy I was, I couldn’t show up empty-handed. That was just not an option. They would be expecting something buttery, sweet and delicious. So I knew I had to deliver. But what to bake on a Friday afternoon when you have less than 2 hours to prepare?

My answer? My Sweet Georgia Peach Southern Dump Cake – a fave of my girlfriends for years. Perfect for an impromptu dinner party, an easy dessert on a beach vacation or the perfect treat to whip up in a jiffy, this cake will tantalize the tastebuds and delight the pickiest of dessert-eaters.

My Sweet Georgia Peach Southern Dump Cake - serve with a dollop of vanilla ice cream and your guests will be in heaven

And it’s a homespun recipe which means it’s homemade but with some ready-made products you probably have in your pantry right this second!

So bake it up, have a taste and share with the ones you love!
Sweet Georgia Peach Southern Dump Cake

1 (29 ounce) can sliced peaches in juice (strain juice and set aside)
1 (18.25 ounce) Package yellow cake mix

1 (6 ounce package Peach-flavored Jell-O)

1/2 c Salted Butter

1/2 c Water

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In the bottom of a 9 x 13 cake pan, place drained peaches. Sprinkle the dry peach Jell-O over peaches. Sprinkle dry yellow cake mix over Jell-O. Cut up butter in pieces and scatter over cake & Jell-O mixture. Pour 1 cup of the (previously set aside) peach juice and 1/2 cup of water over the top.

Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 60 minutes or until top is golden.

xoxo,
BF

BF Asks: What is your favorite in-a-pinch dessert recipe?

Recipe Box: Dawn’s Comforting Egg Custard

Posted on September 20, 2013 by BeautyFrosting

Comfort Food. It’s the food from our childhood that soothed us, nurtured us, healed the hurt, made us well when we were sick, mended our broken hearts and made us happy when we were sad. These heart-and-tummy-filling foods are the ones we’ll turn to for the rest of our lives.

My ultimate comfort food: Dawn's Comforting Egg Custard

One of these for me is my mom’s egg custard that she used to make for me. I got chronic sore throats growing up and this was both tasty and soothing going down. It felt like a hug for my throat. I know, I know. That sounded, um, weird.

Nevertheless, it’s the oh-so-comforting dessert recipe I always go to when a friend has their wisdom teeth taken out, has a baby or just needs a little pick-me-up.
I hope you – and your loved ones – find as much comfort in it as me and mine have.

p.s. Serving the custards in cute-shaped dishes, such as hearts, is totally optional but I highly suggest it!

The Chantal heart dishes are optional...but highly recommended

Dawn’s Comforting Egg Custard

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

*Makes approximately 6 individual servings

6 Slightly beaten eggs

1 c sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 c Scalded whole milk

2 c Scalded Heaving Whipping Cream

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Heat the milk and cream just until scalded (very hot) – not boiling. Take off stove and let cool.

Combine eggs, sugar and salt.

Slowly stir in milk and vanilla.

Fill six-ounce oven-safe custard cups, ramekins or bowls. Set in shallow baking pan on oven rack.

Pour hot water into pan 1 inch deep.

Bake at 325 degrees for 40-45 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Serve warm (for a creamy crème brulee-taste) or chilled for a straight-up, comforting custard.

*Note: If you’d like to make one large custard, bake in a 2-quart casserole dish or standard cake pan for 60 minutes.

You know how I love a good bath? Well, even my desserts sometimes love taking a long, hot bath.

Daily Delights: What’s Delighting Me Right Now, 9/16/13

Posted on September 16, 2013 by BeautyFrosting

So what are daily delights? Daily delights are the little things that make life worth living. Things that inspire. Encourage. Make Me Smile. Make Me Laugh. Make Things Rosier.

The happy little things, people, events, products, places and pieces of art that make the world a happier place to live in.

Are these things mind-blowing? Earth-shattering? Life-changing. Not usually. But they’re things that make me smile and, thus, make me want to share with you.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed them.

(These are usually pictures I post on Instagram of things that I’m loving at that exact moment. So if you want to get my daily delights on a daily, moment-by-moment basis, follow me on Instagram at @beautyfrosting)

***

1) What a sweet way to start the day! The most precious thank you note from my BeautyFrosting reader, Kate. This never gets old. I am so thankful for every single one of you!

2) Loved getting to have a ladies lunch at the Sunset Marquis with fellow blogger, Cassie Kelley of one of my fave blogs, Womanista who was in town from Nashville. In addition to being a talented blogger, sweet friend, southern lady and trendsetter, Cassie is also the wife of Lady Antebellum member, Charles Kelley so it’s super fun to keep up with all of her style, travel and favorite finds! Such a gorgeous and gracious southern lady!

With the comely Cassie Kelley of one of my fave blogs, Womanista

3) I got to have s’mores TWICE in two weeks. What a perfect sendoff to summer! First with a friend at Sushi Roku…

S'mores at Sushi Roku with green tea truffles and all. Swoon.

and then at KitchenSurfing LA‘s launch event in Venice.

S'Mores (nestled on gingersnaps) at the KitchenSurfing LA launch event in Venice

Both were utterly delicious and divine, I tell you.

4) A kiss sandwich between my two favorite girls, my neighbor-nieces, Nora and Lucy. Covered in kisses? Not a bad Friday.

A kiss sandwich between my two favorite girls - my neighbor nieces, Nora and Lucy.

5) Every Friday, I spend my day writing, drinking, eating and enjoying my favorite neighborhood haunt, Paper Or Plastik. This past Friday, I stayed past dark and it took on a whole other romantic mood – it really is a little piece of Paris right in my neighborhood.

A little piece of Paris right in my neighborhood...Paper or Plastik

6) This pic about sums up the delicious and delightful evening spent with some of my favorite ladies in Los Angeles last Thursday at the Nalukai Fall Dinner at The London WeHo. More on that magical evening & Nalukai’s new jewelry soon!

xoxo,

BF Asks: What were your “Daily Delights” this week?

Recipe Box Friday: Piggy Cupcakes

Posted on July 27, 2012 by BeautyFrosting

I made these piggy cupcakes a few weeks ago for my dear friend, Hope’s, baby shower.

BeautyFrosting's Piggy Cupcakes

How’d I choose pigs? Well, to celebrate a true southern-turned SoCal transplant-she was given a “BABY-Q”. Get it?

Baby-Q-themed Piggy Cupcakes

The invite (above) was super cute with a baby pig cartoon on it and, well, it just seemed the way to go!

So many of you liked the pics of the piggy cupcakes on my BeautyFrosting Facebook page, that I knew I had to share the recipe with y’all.
So here you go!

Pig Cupcakes: Super fun & delicious!

BeautyFrosting’s Piggy Cupcakes

As for the cake, I used my Mom’s Strawberry cake recipe which I will feature NEXT Friday. But here’s how you make the piggies.

What you need for your piggies:

Pink or Chocolate Cupcake Paper Cups

24 Baked Cupcakes of your choice

1 Batch of Buttercream Frosting (My favorite recipe is below!)

32 Jet-Puffed StrawberryMallows (1 8-ounce bag)

48 Milk Chocolate Chips

Pink Food Coloring

Red Food Coloring

Gettin’ Crafty with Cupcakes:

Let your cupcakes cool and mix up your frosting.

Tint the icing, by adding the pink food coloring, til you reach a nice bubblegum piglet-pink hue. Mix until perfectly pink.

Frost each cupcake making sure to make the “face” of the pig as smooth as possible. I prefer using a small cake frosting spatula.

Cut your marshmallows into halves.

Use half for the nose with the non-sticky side facing up in the middle of the cupcake.

Make the piggy’s eyes by placing the chocolate chips point down into the frosting (with the flat side up).

To make the ears, take the other half of the marshmallow and cut into two. Pinch each end to make pointy piggy ears.

Take a toothpick or chopstick and dip it in red food coloring. Make 2 dots on the nose marshmallow to make nostrils. You can re-do this again if the colour is too pale.

*Here’s my favorite, go-to, creamy buttercream recipe.

BeautyFrosting’s Creamy ButterCream Frosting Recipe

¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

½ cup Heavy Whipping Cream

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

4¼ to 4½ cups confectioners (powdered) sugar

xoxo,
BF

BF Asks: If you make ’em, please send me a pic! Have fun!!

Recipe Box: BeautyFrosting’s CCC Brownies – in honor of my Mom

Posted on May 11, 2012 by BeautyFrosting

When I think of moms, I think of my Mom baking brownies when we were growing up. I think of “getting to clean” the beaters from the mixer, licking the spatula, my mom taking a big finger’s worth of buttery brownie batter and my eyes widening in delight as I savored the gooey goodness. YUMMY!

So, on Sunday, when I couldn’t find my Mom’s brownie recipe (which she originally got from her dear friend, Judy Rainey), I decided to make up my own! I tried something out and it just worked beautifully! I love it when that happens. So here are my CCC Brownies. Why CCC? Because the key ingredients are cocoa and cream cheese! And butter, of course! Now, you can share my buttery, brownie recipe with your kids!! May their memories be as sweet as mine looking back on it one day! Happy Mother’s Day!

And, Mom, thanks to you and Nanny for giving me the baking bug! I am forever grateful.

xoxo,

BeautyFrosting's CCC Brownies

CCC Brownies (Cocoa Cream Cheese)

Preheat oven to 325.

2 sticks (1 c.) Butter, softened

1 package (8 oz) Cream Cheese, softened

3 eggs

3 c Sugar

2 tsp Vanilla extract

3/4 c Cocoa

1/4 tsp Baking Powder

1 c all-purpose Flour

1/2 tsp Salt

Line baking pan with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine softened butter and cream cheese. Whip ’til light & fluffy.

Add eggs. Add sugar. Add vanilla.

In a small bowl, combine cocoa, baking powder, flour and salt.

Add mixture to creamy mixture. Mix well.

Pour into parchment paper-lined pan.

Bake 30-45 minutes (I bake mine for about 40 but my oven’s a little slow).

: Mixing up CCC Brownies in the BF kitchen

Ready for the oven!

Yummylicious!! CCC Brownies