The inspiration:  Once upon a time this little baker was in the corporate world, and loved nothing more than sipping “Arnie P’s” (aka lemonade and iced tea) while taking a 3pm coffee (or in my case, tea) break.  The tangy and tart flavor of the tea and lemonade is so refreshing and makes me feel like I’m really stirring up my typical tea drinking for the day.  So, why not combine the best things about the beverage into a baked good?  I just wasn’t sure my customers would go for it, so I put it to a vote and wahh-laa, the crowds chose Arnie P!

The outcome:  I took lemons, but instead of making lemonade I made curd (btw- why is that word so terrible sounding when the product taste so good).  The tart curd is swirled into the center of a moist and light vanilla cake.  This sweet duo is then topped with a perfect-matcha (haha- get it?) green tea buttercream.  This mini cupcake is the best of both worlds and I think a sweeter way to look at an old cliche ” When life gives you lemons, make Arnie P’s!”

A bite of summer- Arnie P

Click here to view the embedded video.

So if you have been surfing the pages of TreetShop.com recently you may have noticed something snazzy and new on our homepage. We’ve started a new YouTube series entitled K.I.S.S. (Keep it Simple & Sweet) from Treet, starring the Chief Sweetness Officer (yours truly). The plan is each month I’ll provide easy tips on baking challenges tha will give the home-baker an edge in the kitchen.

The inspiration for this idea came from my reason for attending pastry school- I wanted to learn how to fix things. That’s exactly what the Pastry and Baking Arts program at I.C.E taught me! It also taught me that I will be paying off student loans for the rest of my life…the philanthropic side of me said, “hey, why not share some of the super helpful tips you learned in school with others so they can save their pennies for more fun KitchenAid attachments”. Thus, my K.I.S.S from Treet idea started.

So, the first K.I.S.S. tip is a “Solution for Cold Buttercream”. I hope all of you Swiss Buttercream lovers out there find it useful! I’d love feedback and ideas for the next segment!