Freshness in bakeries

As bakeries face an unpredictable economy and the inconsistent stream of customers that comes with it, pastry shops face the pressure of keeping their food fresh, while throwing the minimum amount of money into the trash.

Some Crust Bakery in Claremont takes advantage of end of the day left overs in the form of their happy hour sale as a way to attract customers. Happy hour takes place in the last hour of every open business day and left overs are sold for half the price. If left overs are still left, the bakery uses it as samples the next day.

Other bakeries, like the Cupcake Shack in Pomona, also take full advantage of their left overs to preserve freshness. Khai Jackson, owner of the Cupcake Shack, does not throw away any food and uses his left overs to make cake pops.

Both bakeries used to give their food to homeless shelters but stopped because they became more savvy in the way they managed their left overs. Their solutions are influenced by the need to save and properly use the money invested in their products.

Although most bakeries try their best to ensure freshness in their products, it is always best to ask the bakery what their policy is on day old food.

Cupcakes For a Cause

The first Inland Cupcake Fair brought together local bakers to showcase their talent and provided an assortment of exotic, as well as traditional cupcake flavors to family and friends who came together at the Riverside Municipal Auditorioum on March 17.

The event was organized by IEShineOn.com , an entertainment guide for the the Inland Empire, and directed its proceeds to the California Riverside Ballet and the Foothill Family Shelter.The Inland Cupcake Fair also served as an opportunity for amateur and professional bakers to enter contests in best ingredient and best overall categories.

Attendees walked in circular rotation through the auditorium to music as friendly bakers talked about their featured cupcakes and special ingredients. As more people started coming in during the first hour, several booths had garnered attention from people and gathered lines circling around the auditorium.

Although there was a large variety of cupcake with unique flavors, such as chicken and waffles and jalapeno, the fair did run out of cupcakes before 4 p.m, the expected ending time of the event. By the time some people arrived around 2 p.m. there were few cupcakes left which seemed to have left people disappointed.

Overall, the event was successful in promoting the organizations in need and giving people that did manage to arrive early a delicious and fun time.

For more information about the fair, including the winners, and other events in the Inland Empire visit:  http://www.ieshineon.com/

Sugar free desserts

The Thinnery has served the Upland community for 35 years and is currently the only sugar free bakery in Southern California that offers healthy alternatives while satisfying any sweet tooth.

With "no guilt feelings" as their motto, this bakery offers a solution to the problem of consuming half a day's calorie intake after eating a slice of cake.

Saccharin, maltitol, apple juice, Splenda and fructose are used as a replacement for sugar in their recipes. Saccharin, an artificial sweetener that is used to lower the calorie count, is an ingredient that tends to leave a bitter after taste which is why it is mixed with a variety of alternative sweeteners.

According to The Thinnery's nutrition facts, their mousse brownies contain approximately 125 calories. In comparison, a Starbucks double chocolate brownie contains 410 calories. Like their mousse brownies, most of their desserts are less than half the usual calorie count of a specific pastry.

The Thinnery also offers custom made cakes and cupcakes, but because the sugar and cholesterol free whipped cream melts easily, they do not make wedding cakes. In addition to their large selection of baked goods, The Thinnery recently added vegan free cinnamon rolls and donuts as well as a gluten free menu.

For more information visit: http://thethinnery.com/ 

Cupcakes go gluten free

Vegetarians, vegans, pescetarians, meat eaters. Classifying someone based on their specific food diet is not new. But recently, calling yourself "gluten free" has been adopted by people with celiac disease, as well as by those ready to bandwagon on the latest diet trend. With brick walls surrounding the entrance and narrow, teal colored doors,  ConfeXion Cupcakes in Old Town Pasadena, has added gluten free cupcakes to their menu. With two "Cupcake Wars" winning titles under their belt, ConfeXion also transfers  the same quality taste of their wheat based cupcakes to their gluten free selection.

"There was a big population of people who wanted it [gluten free]," Vandy Altounian, co-owner of ConfeXion Cupcakes, said. Because of the increase popularity, ConfeXion wanted to present their customers with more options other than the simple, gluten free vanilla. A different gluten free flavor is featured every month. For February, this flavor is red velvet with cream cheese frosting and topped with a red heart.


 It was hard to tell the difference between the gluten and the gluten free cupcakes after a taste test, although the slight difference came from the gluten free cupcake which was a bit sweeter and had a more relevant cinnamon taste. "People say they taste the same, you can't tell the difference between them," Altounian said. The taste is remarkably similar even though the gluten free cupcakes do not use a wheat mix. "We use more of a rice blend," Altounian said.

"You're going to use specialty things, so it's going to cost more," Altounian said. But regardless of the higher expense to make gluten free products, ConfeXion keeps all their cupcakes at $3.25 for their customers. George Francis has often delivered ConfeXion's gluten free cupcakes to customers. "They're obviously delicious. They [customers] keep coming back," Francis said.

ConfeXion Cupcakes also offers gluten free cakes and other cupcake flavors upon request. Although they sell wheat free items, ConfeXion strongly points out that it is not strictly gluten free. "There's a risk of gluten being in the air," Altounian said.