Where did summer go?!

The summer has blown by fast and we have enjoyed our time at the Cohasset Farmers Market. Our last Cohasset Market is Thursday, August 25, 2011. Since I have to report for school on the 30th and due to Bob's change in workplace, we won't be able to a vendor at the market during the week. Guess this comes with being a mom and pop operations. We will still be at the Hingham Market on Saturdays until November. We are there September 3rd and every other Saturday after that until Nov. 19. Hingham is one of the few markets that start in May and end in November.

This time of the summer one can find fresh blackberries, blueberries, strawberries and raspberries. Some apples are already starting to show up and don't get me started on fruits like peaches and plums. I've been making what I call Farmers Market Muffins. These muffins have tons of berries purchased from local farms. I even made apple spice muffins with early fresh Macintosh apples.

Even though the summer is waning,  we are gearing up for the fall and that means creating yummy fall concoctions that will cause your taste buds to explode, in a good way.

Just a reminder. If you haven't signed up for the e-newsletter do so today. There are some Back-to-School specials happening for the month of September not to mention, you'll get notice of any other new specials, discounts, or information on new items.

Enjoy the last few days of summer and get ready for the fall.

And we're off!

The summer is in full swing and we are busy. The markets are all up and running and we are enjoying seeing customers from last year, meeting new vendors, and making new customers. If you have time on a Thursday from 2pm-6pm, stop by the Commons in Cohasset for the Cohasset Farmer's Market. Saturdays from 10am-2pm at the Bathing Beach in Hingham is the Hingham market. We had to pull out of Carver for the summer but hope to get there by the end of the season.

We are sending out e-mail newsletters once a month. These newsletters give you an update on what is going on at Family Secrets Bakery whether it is about new products coming to a market near you, discounts being offered, or recipes; this is a newsletter you want to get. We WILL not bombard you with emails and will only send out an email if there is NEWS. Our latest email was sent right before the 1st of July. If you have missed it, you can click the link in the sentence about and you can sign up for future emails while checking out the archived emails.

Have a Happy Independence Day.

More new items coming to a market near you!

Double Chocolate Cookies

 The market season has begun and we are bringing out some new items that will be found at the markets. We've added some non-oatmeal based cookies such as the Double Chocolate cookies and the Peanut Butter cookies. More non-oatmeal based cookies will be arriving as the season progresses. We will also have brownies and Gluten-Free muffins at markets along with the mini-pies that were a hit last year. Items with fresh fruit will be available and we will also bring out cupcakes for you to purchase. Another feature we are pushing this summer is the PreOrder feature. Some customers used this feature last year and we are offering it again this year. Since we do not bring every item we offer on our Menu to the market, we will take preorders for any item presently on our menu. You can order your items by calling us, emailing us, talking to us at a market, or ordering it through our online store. If you purchase it through the online store, you can pay for the item then and there. If you order it another way besides the store, you will need to put down 50% of the order amount the day of ordering and then pay the balance when you pick it up. Can't get to the market, we can deliver it to you.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Custom Order Cakes

Louisa's Chocolate cake with Chocolate Covered Strawberries and chocolate shards

Garden Party Cake with edible flowers and butterflies

 Family Secrets is proud to offer you custom designed cakes to suit your celebration needs.  Cakes can be decorated with icing flowers, fondant and gumpaste flowers. Themed cakes or cakes that reflect the type of celebration are made after a brief consultation. Sqaure and round cakes, small and large cakes, tiered and sheet cakes are all available.  Next time you need to purchase a cake for a celebration, give us a call and let us design a cake for you.

Chocolate Birthday Cake with Gumpaste flowers

6" chocolate birthday cake with edible flowers and a basket weave side.

More Offerings.

More delicious cupcakes have been added to the menu recently.

Strawberries-n-Cream

Strawberries-n-Cream cupcakes are a strawberry cake filled with strawberry frosting (mixture of strawberry buttercream and cream cheese) and topped with more frosting and a strawberry slice. Originally was going to call these strawberry milkshakes but after one bite, the name was changed. 

PBJ cupcakes

PBJ cupcakes are a take on the traditional lunchbox sandwich. The cupcake is a vanilla cake and is filled with either Grape or Strawberry jam/jelly. Peanut Butter buttercream frosting is swirled on top and a dollop of jam/jelly is placed on top. Originally when I was talking about making these cupcakes, Bob bulked at the idea and even stated "That sounds gross." Well he changed his tune after eating on

Plain Ole' Strawberry

Sometimes just a plain ole' cupcake is what you need. Besides just plain vanilla and chocolate, we've added strawberry. Vanilla cake topped with Strawberry frosting.

Key Lime Cupcakes

 Being a Southern, desserts are always present at any family gathering or function or even potluck. One dessert that is notorious for being on a table is the Key Lime Pie. Getting Key Limes here in the North can be hard but when they are found, I usually will make a ton of desserts using key lime juice. I decided to do a batch of key lime cupcakes when I found some Key Limes at a local market. The cake is a tender vanilla cake and is filled with a key lime filling. Real whipped cream is added to the top along with graham cracker crumbs and some lime zest. These cupcakes are as delicious as the pie.

Pina Colada Cupcake

 Memorial Day weekend had us doing a cookout with family and friends. I decided to try a few new flavors on the guinea pigs, I mean, guests. Pina Colada cupcakes have a pineapple cake and are topped with Coconut Cream frosting. You can't have a pina colada without a cute drink umbrella so I added those along with some rainbow sprinkles to finish these off. Next time, I will be adding more crushed pineapple to the cake for more of a pineapple flavor but the cupcakes still were delicious.

Old Glory Cupcakes

 Also for Memorial Day, I did the Old Glory Cupcakes. Strawberry cake topped with fresh whipped cream, strawberry slices, blueberries, and a Flag. These cupcakes are light and definitely bring in those fruits that are associated with the summer. These cupcakes can be used for July 4th celebration, Veteran's Day, or any day you want to show your American Pride.

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

The last day of the school year signaled the beginning of summer. In the south, summer started about March with the hot and humid temperatures. We would drink lemonade, Kool-Aid, iced tea, and other cool refreshments by the gallons during the summer whenever we couldn't get a snowball (snowcone for the Northerners). This cupcake was my take on a summer memory. Pink Lemonade mix is used in the batter to make a tart lemonade flavor cake. Diluted lemonade mix, lemon extract and lemon zest is used to make the pink lemonade frosting. A sprinkling of pink lemonade mix on top and a straw garnish these delicious cupcakes.

I'm sure as the summer goes on, more cupcake flavors will be made and brought to a market near you. I'm already thinking about fall flavors but I'm in no hurry for the summer to fly by. Have a safe and happy summer.

Here it is!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcake

Just finished frosting these cupcakes. Since I didn't have shelled peanuts, I went with just a single whole peanut. The cake is a rich chocolate cake and the frosting is a peanut butter buttercream. I might even have one of these and I don't like chocolate and peanut butter together.

More cupcakes!

Black-n-White Frappe Cupcake

 I'm really having fun experimenting with cupcakes. They don't take a lot of time and I don't feel that guilty for trying one after it's made. Of course I have taste testers that are more than happy to try out some experimental creations.

Mocha Latte Cupcake

 The week prior to Mother's Day had me playing around with chocolate. I'm usually not a fan of chocolate, would rather have, say, Sour Patch Kids instead. However every month I get this craving for chocolate; has to be a female thing. I started out making Cookies-n-Cream cupcakes but ended up making Black-n-White Frappe cupcakes. These are like the Cookies-n-Cream cupcakes but instead of a nice white, vanilla buttercream frosting, the Frappes have so much chocolate cookie crumbs in it that the white frosting appears chocolate. They are still very good, as coworkers stated on Friday when they were taken in. The cupcake is filled with the cookie frosting and topped with either a half Oreo cookie or cookie crumbs.

I also tried out a couple new flavors with my sister-in-law and mother-in-law in mind. My sister-in-law doesn't like fruit in her cupcakes and likes all things lemon. Since I had already done lemon cupcakes for Easter, I figured I would try out a cupcake that is like a local coffee shops frozen drink. This thought sparked the creation of the Mocha Latte. The cupcake is made of a rich Mocha cake using coffee roasted by Redeye Roasters. As my neighbor stated after trying out the batter, it's the perfect combination of Chocolate and Coffee. To this cupcake, a drop of vanilla buttercream frosting was added. Caramel and Chocolate Ganache was drizzled on top of the frosting and chocolate jimmies (sprinkles as we called them) is on top. Since I don't drink coffee, I can't tell you how they taste. I can only state what was said by those that had them. My nephews loved them, to the point they had seconds. My husband stated they were good but too sweet for him. The rest that had them stated they were delicious but if I could add more coffee to the cake, it would be even better.

Chocolate Raspberry Cupcake

My mother-in-law loves chocolate and raspberries. Usually when I make a cake for her, it is a chocolate cake with raspberries between the layers topped with more chocolate frosting. This cupcake was tailored made for her. It is a rich chocolate cake filled with homemade Raspberry jam (from our harvest last season). The vanilla buttercream frosting is light and fluffy and has more raspberry jam added to it. A fresh raspberry is topped on the peak of the frosting. I did have one of these and it was delicious; not too sweet and very light. After eating a meal, this is a nice ending and you don't feel like you have eaten too much.

I'm still on my chocolate fixation right at the moment, so currently I'm making Chocolate Peanut Butter cupcakes. Chocolate cake with Peanut Butter frosting and I haven't decided if I want to top off the frosting with peanuts, one peanut in its shell, or peanut butter chips. Guess you will have to find out later.

Gone Bananas...

Banana Pudding and Banana Cream Pie Cupcakes

Today I spent the day baking cupcakes using my least favorite fruit, Bananas. I dislike bananas. My mom says I've hated them since I was little. The funny thing though, I love Banana flavored pudding, Banana flavored Taffy, Banana Chips, Banana Nut Bread and Coconut Banana Bread. I can scrap the bowl clean after I make one of these creations but when it physically comes to eating a banana, I gag. It's the texture. I know Bananas are good for you but I still can't stomach them. My sister on the other hand was born a monkey. She devours bananas and she has now passed this love for this tropical fruit on to her daughters. Maybe her son will not get the 'banana like' gene and can be like me.

Gone Bananas Cupcakes

The three types of cupcakes made today were Gone Bananas, Banana Pudding, and Banana Cream Pie. The Gone Bananas cupcakes are a banana cake topped with whipped cream and banana chips. The Banana Pudding and Cream Pie are similar except for the topping. Both are banana cakes filled with fresh banana curd. They are both topped with fresh whipped cream but the Banana Pudding has a wafer added to the banana chips while the Banana Cream Pie has graham crackers sprinkled on top. All three of them are delicious. Yes, I tried the cupcakes. Since it isn't the actual banana I can stomach it. They are tasty and will be given away tomorrow to lucky taste testers. Just one more new item coming to a farmers market near you.

Banana Cream Pie Cupcakes

Banana Pudding Cupcakes

New Additions

Hello Spring.

 With the extra time on our hands, we have been creating new additions that will roll out during the market season. We have added some gluten-free products, vegan products, and other baked goods. Just a reminder. All of our items can be made as a gluten-free and/or vegan product. We will only carry a few of these items each week at the market. If you are looking for something in particular, special order it and will bring it to a market where you can pick it up.

Over-The-Top Lemon Cupcakes

The last few weeks have been spent getting ready for Easter. We made a Lemon Layer cake with Lemon Curd and Mascarpone Filling and Frosting for Easter dinner. It was a light cake and didn't make one feel as if they ate too much for the holidays. The frosting was a pain to work with and I realized why I hadn't made this cake many times before. But the frustration was worth it. The final product came out lovely. I added a dark chocolate coconut 'nest' to the top and placed chocolate covered eggs in the nest. Everyone was pleased with the results. Since I had a lot of lemons left over I figured I would make some Lemon Cupcakes. These were also served for dessert and were also given to a customer for their Easter dessert. The cupcakes were a lemon cake filled with lemon frosting and topped with lemon frosting. Definitely a dessert that made your lips pucker but they got rave reviews from those that enjoyed them.

Nutty Professor Cupcakes

 

 

After the chaos of Easter Sunday, I had some time to work on a few more creations. The first one was the Nutty Professor. This cupcake is a white cupcake filled with coconut frosting and topped with more coconut frosting and shredded coconut. A drizzle of chocolate ganache and a few raw almonds make this cupcake delicious, almost like a candy bar I enjoyed growing up. The second and third creations were the Death By Chocolate cupcakes and the Caramel Mocha Delight Cupcakes. The Death By Chocolate and Caramel Mocha both have a chocolate cake as the base but that is where all similarities stop.

Death By Chocolate Cupcakes

The DBC cupcakes are filled with chocolate ganache and topped with chocolate butter cream frosting. A little bit of chocolate is grated along the top of the frosting. Just make sure you have a glass of milk to wash down all that chocolate.  The CMD cupcakes are not filled but are topped with Mocha butter cream frosting. They are also drizzled with homemade caramel sauce and just to make sure these cupcakes aren't too sweet, a little sea salt is sprinkled on top. A few espresso beans are added for those coffee lovers.

Caramel Mocha Delight Cupcakes

These are a few items we will be offering during the summer. They will join our cookies, breads, pies, and biscotti. The plan is to bring a few different types of cupcakes to the markets. During the season, more cupcakes using those berries that are in season, like Strawberry Milkshake and Shortcake, Blackberry Lemon. Traditional cupcakes like plain Vanilla and Chocolate will be available and the goal is to offer a few cupcakes for Adults, like Mojito, Strawberry Daiquiri, or Sangria. Of course these items can be purchased without coming to a Farmer's Market and these cupcakes can be made into a cake. Just give us a call or drop us an email. We look forward to seeing you at a market.

Mission Statement

We believe that food can taste good without using preservatives so all of our items are made fresh to order  using only the simplest of ingredients such as butter, eggs, and milk.

We believe that using natural and as many organic ingredients in our products that the items made for you will not only be good for you but also good for the environment.

We STRONGLY believe in supporting local agriculture and businesses by purchasing as many of our ingredients and packaging even if the overhead is more costly.

We believe that great customer service is the best form of advertisement so we strive to please our customers and we encourage feedback as we continue to grow and develop.

We know that life is too short so enjoying a delicious sweet to celebrate special occasions or to take to a party or a gathering or to just have because you want it, is a guarantee way to bring a smile to one's face.

Our mission is to provide you with a tasty homemade, handmade product that includes all of our beliefs.

Menu 2011

COOKIES
Half Dozen range from $7.00 to $9.00
Bakers Dozen range from $14.00 to $17.00

Oatmeal Based cookies:

Original: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip
Holiday: Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Chip
Harvest: Oatmeal Blueberry Cranberry Cherry
Cinnamon Chip: Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip
Peanut Butter Cup: Oatmeal Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chips
Toffee Chip: Oatmeal Toffee Chocolate Chip
Oaty: Just plain Oatmeal
Choc-o-lotta: Oatmeal Dark, White, and Semi Chocolate Chips
Black and White: Oatmeal Dark and White Chocolate Chips
South Water Caye: Oatmeal Coconut Chocolate Chip
Southern Comfort: Oatmeal Pecan Chocolate Chip
Grapevine: Oatmeal Raisin
Granola: Oatmeal Cranberry Almond
Blondie: Oatmeal Macadamia White Chocolate Chips
Freedom: Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Blueberry

Non-Oatmeal Based:
Ginger3: Fresh, ground, and crystallized ginger make this cookie snap.
Lemon Coolers: Spritz of lemon and powered sugar make this cookie melt in your mouth
Frosted Sugar Cookies- individual cookies $2.00 each
Italian Cookies

BREADS
$7.00-$8.00

Banana
Banana Nut
Chocolate
Chocolate Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Chocolate Zucchini
Coconut Banana
Cranberry
Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Date
Irish Soda
Lemon Poppy Seed
Maple Walnut
Oatmeal Raisin
Orange Nut
Pumpkin
Zucchini

BISCOTTI
Non-dipped Dozen range from $10.00-$11.00
Dipped Dozen $13.00

Anise
Chocolate Coffee Cashew, non-dipped or dipped
Orange Cherry Almond, non-dipped or dipped
Pecan Oat
Pistachio Cherry, non-dipped or dipped

CAKES
Range $20.00-$35.00

Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Chocolate Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Sour Cream Coffee Cake
German Chocolate Cake
Italian Cream Cake
Louisa's Chocolate Cake
Peppermint Chocolate Ice Cream Cake
Red Velvet Cake
Tropical Carrot Cake

CUPCAKES   COMING SOON!!! COMING SOON!!!
$2.50 each             Dozen $25.00

 
TEXAS-SIZED MUFFINS  seasonal 
$2.50 each (Gluten-Free $3.00)

Banana (regular and GF)
Banana Nut (regular and GF)
Blueberry
Chocolate (regular, GF, and Vegan)
Coconut Banana
Cranberry
Lemon Poppy Seed (regular and GF)
Orange Nut
Trail Mix (regular and GF)


PIES    Seasonal
Range $15.00-$30.00

Blueberry
Cherry
Cranberry
Pumpkin
Coconut Cream Pie
Lime-Cranberry Tart

SPECIAL ORDER CAKES    For weddings, bridal showers, baby showers, anniversaries, and birthdays. Call for Pricing

Let us design your special cake. We offer a variety of cakes, fillings, and icings. Cakes can be created using icing flowers, figures and designs, fondant,  gum paste and mixtures of techniques. We're eager to work with you in designing a cake of your dreams.

CORPORATE
Call for Pricing

Appreciation boxes: individually wrapped cookies of your choice (small and large boxes available)
Platters: cookies, cakes, breads, biscotti, or combos of items

GIFT BASKETS AND CERTIFICATES ALSO AVAILABLE

Items can be made sugar-free and gluten-free for an additional charge.

New Offerings

 The past few months have been busy with experiments and decorating classes. We are proud to offer to you special order cakes (birthday, wedding, anniversary, baby shower, bridal shower). A variety of cake bases and icings allow you to design the perfect cake for your special occasion. We are willing to work with you in designing the cake you want for your special day.

Farmer's Market Season is quickly approaching and we'll have new offers for you. Such offers we are looking at offering during the season are muffins, cupcakes, and even slices of cake. There are also new breads and cookies that will be available soon.