Oh my word, yesterday was so fantastically awesome! The bake sale fundraiser was a HUGE success and received so much incredible support from the animal-loving & veg community that it was quite a surprise. Neither Kia nor myself ever expected such an impressive turnout. We even thought we'd end up with left over baked goods that we'd have to finish off ourselves, but boy were we wrong! We scheduled the bake sale to run for 7 hours, but every thing was totally sold out within about 3 hours. The cafe was positively busting with enthusiastic supporters and hungry people! Here are some shots I was able to snap before the sale began. Prepare to drool:
The entire spread
The cake/bread table
The cookie table
My banana nut choco chip muffins and Kia's strawberry cupcakes. I sooo wish I got to taste one of Kia's strawberry cupcakes, but I was too busy selling stuff to get a chance to taste anything she made. :( That's probably a good thing though, because my body didn't need anymore sugar & chocolate after all the cookie & muffin taste-testing I'd been doing prior to the sale. I was sugar-ed out! ^^ In addition to those cupcakes, Kia was also responsible for all the bar & square cookies. Observe:
Kia's chocolate chip cookies~ They look so soft & chewyyyy!
Kia made those gingerbread biscotti, and I did the coconut macaroons. Here are the other things I baked:
Even though I always struggle to get lemon poppy seed muffins to come out just the way I want, I was determined to have these at the bake sale because they're not something you can easily find in Korea. For these, I tinkered with a recipe from a Korean book, and surprisingly, they came out pretty well! I'm still not 100% pleased with it, but after a little more tweaking, I'll definitely share the recipe.
Lemon pound cake (one large loaf and 2 mini loaves). I think this was my best batch to date, as it rose so beautifully. I love it when pound cakes get that huge gaping crack in the top, like an earthquake splitting the ground! Hyesss!
Phew~ We definitely baked our little hearts out, and yet we still didn't have enough for everyone who came by! Good thing that Minju had plenty of vegan curry, waffles, and soy lattes for those who missed out on the baked goodies.
The special vegan drinks & food menu!
Here are the vegan "fruit waffles" that I helped Minju make. The waffles were topped with sugar powder, chocolate syrup, blueberry preserves, and served with a side of whipped cream & banana slices. I plan on convincing Minju to make these a permanent part of her menu so that vegans can come and enjoy this at any time.
If you wanna make these waffles at home, here's the recipe (adapted from here):
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon powder
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 1/4 cups soymilk
- 1/4 cup canola oil
2. In another bowl, whisk the wet ingredients, as well as the sugar & salt. (I like to get the sugar & salt dissolved before I combine the wet and the dry).
3. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture, and gently mix with a whisk, just until well incorporated. Don't over-mix~
4. Generously oil/butter both sides of the pre-heated waffle iron. Pour in batter and cook according to your iron's instructions.
5. Remove and top with your choice of toppings & sauces. Enjoy! (Makes 4 large waffles.)
By the time every thing sold out, I was feeling hungry & quite exhausted. I guess that's what happens when you only get 2 hours of sleep the night before, from staying up baking. Thankfully, Chris came through as the good friend that he is and bought me a serving of the vegan curry. It was a simple meal but still really quite delicious (5,000 won).
At the end of the day, due to the generous support of so sooo many, we were able to raise just short of 1,000,000 won! (That's equivalent to almost $900!!) I was BLOWN away. All that from our humble bake sale and also from generous gift donations. This is more than enough to cover the cost of the dog houses needed, and the extra money will go towards getting some of the sick ones medical vet care. So awesome.
Not only that, but several people also dropped off blankets to send to the shelter, and others expressed interest in adopting/fostering.
Here's a shot of the cafe around noon, right before it got crazy-awesome busy.
Minju's doggie, the Harunohee mascot.
So that wraps up this review of what was hopefully the first of many vegan bake sales to come. Even though it was a lot of work, I had a total blast with everything! All the work and time that went into organizing, poster-designing, promoting, shopping, and baking, was heaps of fun and energy well-spent. I was so pooped after though, that I went home and took a nap- my first nap in a verrry long time! I also feel so thankful to have been a part of this, and to have met so many wonderful people, vegans & non-vegans alike. A HUGE thank you to everyone who came out to support this cause! You guys rock!