Meet the Baker: 8 Questions with Stefanie Gaxiola

Stefanie Gaxiola has a cheesecake named after her

photo courtesy of Stefanie Gaxiola

Finally, someone who loves red velvet as much as I do. 

24-year-old baker and entrepreneur Stefanie Gaxiola beat more than 10,000 others in Cheesecake Factory's "What's Your Flavor" contest (yes she's that awesome) last April. The challenge? To come up with a new flavor for the restaurant's already ginormous cheesecake roster (33 kinds and counting). Remember that red velvet cheesecake I raved about a few weeks back? That was her brilliant doing. Now, not only does she have a cheesecake named after her, she's also got a new online store with gourmet cupcake mixes and a cupcake catering business to show for. Did I mention she's only 24?

You have a cheesecake named after you! What was the first thing you did when you found out you won?
I screamed and jumped up and down, I was so excited! I called my mom and my best friend to let them know I won, it was 12am. 

Why red velvet? (...thank you, thank you!)
Red Velvet is my favorite dessert indulgence. I literally live, eat and breathe it. I wouldn't have felt right about submitting any other entry.

What makes an awesome red velvet anything?
Moist Red Velvet Cake is very important, as well as just the right amount of cream cheese frosting. A light layer of frosting is all you need.

What ingredient would you always, always have in your cupboard?
I really love having  Pure Vanilla extract on hand. It really spices up anything! Add it to canned frosting, packaged cupcake mix, cool whip, hot cocoa, cookie dough, etc.

Favorite chocolate?
See's Candy Chocolate covered marshmallow. 

Name a pastry chef/foodie/ food personality you want to meet.  
Paula Deen is my idol. I absolutely love her! She is so sweet and funny, a fabulous cook and makes for an amazing television personality! I want to go to her restaurant in Georgia, The Lady & Sons.

What's an important but often overlooked baking tip?
Sifting! I can not stress enough, take the extra time to sift all of your dry ingredients. The end product will come out 100% better every single time.

Thoughts on "never trust a skinny chef?"
I realized when I wanted to pursue baking as my career, I needed to make a lifestyle change so I do not gain weight. I work out 1-2 times per day, 6 or 7 days a week. I am more than fine with the fact that I have to be a work out machine to stay trim but, I will NOT skimp on my sweets!

Check out Stefanie's red velvet cupcake recipe on her web site!

Spreading the Red Velvet Love,
- Kris Alcantara   

When Bad Pictures Happen to Good Desserts

The monstrosity that was Junior's Cheesecake.

Like people, not all desserts are photogenic.

I'm kidding! Well, kind of.

Since I started Married to Chocolate in May, I've been eating dessert every day (even when I'm sick). Sometimes three times a day on a good day (or a horrible one). So if I don't blog about it, it's either, one, they're not worth the effort (Crumbs Red Velvet Cupcake, this means you, you big fat disappointer), or two, I took bad pictures of them.

It's usually nothing major. Either they're not the right color, not the most flattering angle, plain un-pretty, or some odd combination of the three. I blame them on days when excitement gets the best of me and I would quickly trade my camera for a spoon. Behold, a parade of bad pictures of good desserts--completely unedited.

 Cheesecake Factory's Stefanie's Ultimate Red Velvet Cheesecake

Case in point of over-excitedness. But come on, look at that--white chocolate shavings on the side, dense red velvet cake sandwiched between even denser cheesecake layers. It was rich, not cloyingly sweet, with a nice tangy-ness to it that only comes from real cream cheese--and lots of it. That swirl of whipped cream was overkill for me but this brilliant cheesecake flavor lived up to its name. Stefanie, whoever you are, you're awesome.

 

Mr. Cupcake's Carrot Cake Cupcake

Ever since I ate carrot cake at Serendipity 3, I became a huge fan. What I found was carrot cakes are usually hit or miss, and its fate depended mostly on good cream cheese frosting. This had lots of it. The cupcake itself was lovably moist, not the kind that crumbles in your mouth, but one that delicately melts on your tongue. Two thumbs up.

 

Julia Child's Crepe Recipe with Raspberries and Chocolate Raspberry Pudding

If this crepe were a woman, this would definitely be her fat angle. This was an attempt at making Julia Child's famous crepe recipe a couple of months back. Mind you, the crepe was seriously good, light and milky almost. To this day I remember how the crepes managed to smell perfectly fresh, and how they were fantastic with apples and brown sugar.

Got bad dessert pictures you wanna share? This blogger does. Check out Cake Wreck's fall collection of bad cakes!

- Kris Alcantara

Today's Sugarhigh: Cheryl and Co.'s Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookie (Thank you Roosevelt hotel!)
Score: A