Oh Joy!

{oh joy eats} sprinkles atm in beverly hills... 8 May 2012

Last week, I talked about pie being the hot new kid on the dessert block. That may be true, but my heart will always have a sweet spot for cupcakes. One morning on the way to brunch, Bonnie, her 8-year-old daughter, Venise, and I made an impromptu visit to the new Sprinkles Cupcake ATM in Beverly Hills located right next to the very first Sprinkles store.

The Cupcake ATM is pretty genius if you ask me. 24-hour-a-day access to a cupcake at any time?!? It's not surprising that the folks who made cupcakes trendy also decided to invent a machine that dispenses them around the clock. Simply walk up to the machine, select your flavor, and pay with a credit card. Out comes a perfectly packaged box with cupcake that looks like it came fresh from the actual bakery. Amazing.

While you wait for the cupcake to come to the little door in front, some amazing cupcake-themed music blasts while you wait. Venise rocked out to the music {with her adorable mis-matched socks!}, and we had a ball dancing on the streets of Beverly Hills at 9am on a Sunday morning. It was so fun that we just had to do it all over again...

And if you're wondering how on earth my dress happens to match the ATM pretty perfectly, it must be fate. I don't normally match the places that I go to, but I picked out this dress from ASOS for a little blogger style feature, and it seemed perfect to wear for a sweet treat. I didn't realize just how perfect it would be till we got there. It was such a fun morning... — Joy

Sprinkles ATM / 9635 Santa Monica Blvd. / Beverly Hills, CA 90210

{photos by Bonnie Tsang for Oh Joy. My outfit: dress c/o ASOS, blazer from J.Crew, necklace from past season of J.Crew (similar), shoes from Liebling, hair clip from Ban.do, clutch by Grace Design}

{everyday party} sweet sips for mom... 8 May 2012

With Mother's Day this weekend, we thought it would be fun to share a little something you can make for mom to accent the brunch, lunch, or dinner you might be whipping up in her honor. We asked Courtney from Merriment Events put together this little how to for some sweet floral straws for mom...

currently snacking on... 7 May 2012

One of my weaknesses in life is ice cream. I've been getting over a cold and eating pints by the spoonful this week as it seems to be the cure to all my ailments. During this same week, I got to try Jeni's Super Pop Cakes collection {ice cream with cake mixed in!}, and I'm pretty much in love with the Mango Kiwi frozen yogurt with angel food cake mixed in. It's sweet, tart, and creamy—all accented by light and fluffy bits of cake...um, yes cake! And so worth it to have it shipped from Columbus, Ohio! And for those of us in Southern California, select flavors of Jeni's are now being carried at Gelson's and Bristol Farms markets...dangerous, yet awesome news... — Joy

{photo by Oh Joy, ice cream from Jeni's*, egg cups from West Elm}

a little cinco de mayo... 3 May 2012

{1. Rhuby Madras recipe using Art in the Age spirits, 2. Gabbi's Achiote rub from Dean & Deluca, 3. mango lime salsa from Dean & Deluca, 4. Mara Mi paper napkin from Target, 5. Soda-Lime recycled glass pitcher and glasses from Anthropologie, 6. Vosges Aztec elixir couture cocoa. — Joanna}

currently snacking on... 30 Apr 2012

While in San Francisco, I came across Filipino silvana cookies for the first time at an ice cream shop, and I'm kind of in love. It's a crunchy, creamy, frozen cookie with butter cream sandwiched between two cashew-meringue wafers and coated with cookie crumbs. It looks like a bigger, flatter French macaron, but it's lighter, melts-in-your mouth, and is kind of refreshing {which you don't often say about a cookie}. I had the coconut {above}, chocolate, and mocha-flavored silvanas...yum! Now, I just need to find them locally... — Joy

{photo by Oh Joy}

{oh joy eats dessert with} hannah queen... 26 Apr 2012

Who  Hannah Queen, photographer and food blogger

Where Blue Ridge, Georgia

Time 3:30 pm

What's a typical dessert for you? I never order dessert out, so when I eat it, it's usualy something I've baked at home. My desserts are pretty simple and not too sweet. I love things like honey tapioca, lightly sweetened fruit pies in the middle of summer, and tart citrus desserts in the winter. This is a leftover maple buttermilk tart that I created for a blog post. It has a hazelnut crust which is my favorite thing ever. I topped it with extra whipped cream and toasted hazelnuts. 

What's your dream/ideal dessert? A dessert picnic in the middle of a forest. Little tarts, jam cookies, and towering cakes—I'd invite all my friends.

How often do you treat yourself to dessert? About once a week, or whenever I need to write a blog post! 

Thanks Hannah!
— Joanna

{photos by Hannah}

{flavor stories} chocolate dipped coconut rochers... 23 Apr 2012

One of my favorite tropical flavors is coconut, so I decided to make coconut rochers this week! They're a basic variation on the traditional coconut macaroon made a bit fancy with their pretty shape. They take less than an hour to prepare and are surprisingly simple to make. And, their crispy and lightly golden exterior and soft coconut center make them perfect for dipping in dark chocolate!

You'll need...
100 grams unsweetened coconut, finely shredded
65 grams sugar
50 grams egg whites, lightly whisked
1/2 vanilla bean, split length wise and scraped
a handful of dark or coating chocolate, melted {optional}

Here's how...
1. In a small bowl, stir together the sugar, vanilla and coconut.
2. Pour in egg whites and mix until fully combined.
3. Divide into 10 portions and squeeze each into a small mass. Next, form each into a small pyramid.
4. Arrange on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 325˚F for 15 minutes or until the base and tip are golden brown. 
5. Let cool on a wire rack.
6. If dipping in dark chocolate, temper your chocolate and dip each base {learn more about tempering chocolate here}. Let dry on parchment paper. If dipping in coating chocolate, tempering is not necessary, just melt, dip and dry. For a milk chocolate alternative skip the last step and instead add a handful of finely chopped milk chocolate into the coconut mixture.

I like them best day of, but leftovers can be kept for up to 3 days. Enjoy!

—Nikole

{photos and styling by Nikole Herriott for Oh Joy}

cookie monster... 19 Apr 2012

{1. Art of the Cookie cookbook from Williams-Sonoma, 2. compost cookie from Momofuku Milk Bar, 3. carnaby confections canister from Jonathan Adler, 4. Mast Brothers chocolate chips from Old Faithful Shop, 5. Beekman 1802 salty fudge cookies from Terrain, 6. Mr. Turtle measuring cup set from Urban Outfitters. — Joanna}

i scream for mom... 19 Apr 2012

With Mother's Day coming up, I love the idea of treating your favorite lady to something both sweet and interactive. So when the folks at West Elm asked me to come up with a gift idea for mom, rather than a crafty DIY, I created a little ice cream party for mom with an assortment of fun bowls and vessels. Here's a little peek, but you can see more details and how-to over at West Elm's blog, Front & Main! — Joy

{photos by Oh Joy}

oh joy {eats} snobar in west hollywood... 18 Apr 2012

I'm a sucker for frozen treats, so when I heard about SnoBar in West Hollywood—described as a mixture between shaved ice and ice cream—I had to have some.

The paper thin layers make for a really fun texture to eat. Sno reminds me a bit of Dippin' Dots in that it starts off super icy cold, but then quickly melts in your mouth. But in this case, the texture is even lighter. If ice cream could whisper, this is what it would say... 

Flavors come in standard staples like chocolate, strawberry, and peanut butter as well more unique options like rose, green tea, milk and taro. I loved the chocolate peanut butter combination mixed with strawberry...a lighter-than-air Neapolitan if you will! — Joy

SnoBar / 8717 Santa Monica Blvd. / West Hollywood, CA 90069 / 323.596.7766

{photos by Bonnie Tsang for Oh Joy. My outfit: blazer by J.Crew, heart & pom pins by Ban.do, top c/o LemLem, shoes from past season at J.Crew (similar), nail polish by Essie.}