Forks up, Phoenix! Chow Bella and Roosevelt Row present the third annual Pie Social Saturday, November 3rd, from 2 to 6 p.m. on Roosevelt Row in downtown Phoenix. We've got an all-star line up of bakers making pies for you to taste, and from now til Pie Social, we'll introduce them to you, one by one.
Today: Corianne Sizemore of Treehouse Bakery makes raspberry pop tarts.
See also: - Pie Social 2012: All the Sweet Details -Wait 'Til You See the Final Celebrity Baker Lineup for Pie Social 2012! -Chow Bella and Roosevelt Row's Pie Social 2011
Corianne Sizemore might not be vegan herself, but her bakery sure is. You won't find dairy, eggs, butter -- or any other animal product, for that matter -- in this kitchen. She greets us at Treehouse Bakery wearing jeans, a white baker's coat and a bright smile.
On the stainless-steel island in the back of the bakery are the ingredients for raspberry pop tarts.
Organic raspberry preserves, flour, vanilla, sugar (both powdered and granulated), and baking powder will be in play, among other items.
As she starts putting the ingredients together, Sizemore tells us where the name for her bakery comes from.
As a child she had always dreamed of having a tree house, she says, and this bakery is her playground. Started by Sizemore and her sister, Amanda, Treehouse Bakery, has only had an official storefront since April -- but has already created quite a name for itself in the community.
Originally, the duo baked their goods in the back of an industrial kitchen of a local restaurant and then sold them primarily at farmers markets around Phoenix or through phone orders.
Phone orders are common, and Sizemore receives calls for large quantities of pastries (300 pop tarts anyone?), but now people have an actual shop to go to as well.
Parents also come to the shop for allergy-friendly cakes for their children, Sizemore says, adding that for many children with allergies, this is the first time they have ever had birthday cake.
As the pop tarts take shape, she pulls out a fork with bent tines, and pokes holes in the little pillow-like pastries. The bent fork makes it easier to do this, she says, and points out something else made out of forks as well.
Sizemore (who got engaged earlier this month) said that her fiancé made the bent-fork sign-holders outside the store after he went to a craft fair and was inspired by a set he saw there.
The raspberry pop tarts go into the oven for 15 minutes and as we wait for the timer to go off, Sizemore makes icing out of almond milk, confectioner's sugar, and vanilla.
Fifteen minutes later, the pop tarts are out of the oven and begin cooling.
Lavender-hued sprinkles appear and a short while later, the little pastries are ready to dress up.
As with most of the chefs we've profiled in this series, Sizemore declined to give us her secret recipe. We'll just have to go back to Treehouse Bakery for more.
Want to read about the other competitors? Tammie Coe Makes Eyeball Cupcakes Karen Olson Makes Chocolate Chip Cookies Brady Breese Makes Pumpkin Bread Joan O'Connor Makes Mediterranean Pasta Salad Monti Carlo Makes Banana Bread Muffins Mamma Toledo Makes Egg Sammies with Horseradish Cheese Slade Grove Makes Gluten-Free Amaretti Cookies Jeff Kraus Makes the "First Time Crepe" -- Nutella, Elderflower, Spiced Walnuts and More David Duarte Makes Peanut Butter Crunch Bars Winnona Herr Makes Butterscotch Bananas Foster Pudding
