Photo by Emily!
Hot damn, blog blackout. Last I wrote, I was in the thick of summer and hardly baking a lick because of the swampy outdoors and sweltering indoors. It was a rollicking good summer with trips to Maine, California, and Pittsburgh and time spent in Baltimore, but fall is the g.d. best and what better way to kick it off than with a new business adventure!
Only the essentials y'all
In July, some amazing ladies and a wonderful fella moved into our house in DC, and one of these gals happens to be a killer baker with a pie forte. And in September, the Washington City Paper announced that this year's ginormous Crafty Bastards Arts and Crafts Fair would feature an "indie food market." Kismet! In years past, Crafty Bastards hasn't had much food, particularly not much local and independent food, so we quick-quick planned and wrote our application to represent. Thus was born Tarts by Tarts, our bakery ode to butter, bourbon, and New England.
Doughnuts stuffed with dulce de leche, savory apple tart, chocolate cookies, and apple-apple butter tartlets
Following nightly prep of business cards bunting, the day before the fair had us up and at 'em early with a breakfast of fried green tomato croque mesdames (holler!) and a last-minute grocery trip to purchase deep-fry oil and a boatload of sugar. Twenty-two hours of baking, two hours of sleep, and 15 pounds of flour later, we had churned out dulce-de-leche-stuffed doughnuts, apple cider doughnuts, chocolate- and vanilla-glazed buttermilk cake doughnuts, molasses gingerbread, pumpkin whoopie pies, a savory apple-onion-gruyere tart, double chocolate cookies, vegan iced oatmeal cookies, apple tartlets, honey walnut tartlets, and plum hazelnut tartlets—about 200 individual baked goods all told.
Emily, tartin' it up
And we sold out! After a rewarding though rainy and freezing four hours, Tarts by Tarts sold its last cookie and packed its many bags for home where hot toddies were flowing and nap time was calling. The marathon baking and fair had me tiptoeing the precipice of insanity, but in the end we had a bang-up time and are really looking forward to plotting our next appearance. Doughnut cart? Farmstand? Pop-up bakeshops? Thanks to everyone who came out to support, or helped us out with tents, cars, 3:00 a.m. company, and more! We're only just getting 'Tarted (hah).
