As I guessed, the pumpkin-pie spiced caramels tasted kind of burnt. Scorched, or something. Fail. I'll try again, maybe this time adding the spices and vanilla at the last moment.

I have a cake order coming up in a few weeks, and the guy I'm talking to asked me if I write on cakes. The answer has always been "no," but I guess I've been practicing enough and I feel a bit more sure of myself. This order is for nine (NINE!) long words on a 10" cake. I'm so nervous. I think I'm going to trace it all out in chocolate on parchment paper over a template. I like doing that. That way, if I mess up, I don't have to worry about scraping it off the cake and messing it all up. And the chocolate slides right off the parchment if it's tempered correctly and frozen.

We'll see.

During my attempt this morning to make pumpkin-pie-spiced caramels, I inadvertently caught my stove top on fire. Oops. I was able to extinguish the small flame pretty quickly, but I felt dumb afterward.

I think I may have added the spice mixture to the caramel mix too soon. I think the hot sugar may have instantly scorched the delicate spices. I guess I'll know tomorrow when they've cooled and I can cut into them and have a taste, but I have a feeling they'll taste burnt.

Woh wah

Really busy in the kitchen lately with these salted caramels.

The Ace Hotel is carrying them now, though currently only as amenities for VIP guests . Still, the work is good and fun, and I'm getting a lot of positive feedback from the hotel staff and from guests of the hotel who have tried them. It's really helping to build my confidence and is a great motivation to start pushing myself a bit more.

Also, without jinxing myself, I'm talking to a pretty major retailer on the West Coast. That's really all I can say for now. Maybe something will happen, maybe not, but the idea is pretty exciting.

Do I have any readers that have also started a food business? Especially in New York City, but anywhere, really. I want to talk to others who are in my shoes and facing the same hurdle as me - small, artisan food maker trying to get a business up and running. If anyone who reads this has any information or can direct me to any helpful resources (human, internet, literature, or otherwise), I'd greatly appreciate it.

On a different note, over the weekend I got a chance to make pastry. I really love making pastry. I especially love rolling it out. It feels like velvet. There's something so satisfying about watching the dough get larger and flatter, then brushing the excess flour off with a pastry brush - ohh! It's so wonderful. The filling for this one was blood orange custard. It came out pretty well, but it was mostly all about the pastry shell for me.

That's it for now. I hope to hear back from a few of y'all.

Hope everyone had a great Halloween weekend - I did!