What’s the easiest way to satisfy a craving?
Read More
why change a traditional family recipe?
Read More
can you improve on tradition?
Read More
Are you a Pumpkin Lover or Hater?
Read More
How To Bake a New Website
Read More
Many thanks to all for voting Sweet Maria's as Best Cakes in Connecticut! So sweet!
Read More
Last year I was honored to be asked to prepare the dessert course for the Stages wine dinner at the Palace Theater. This annual event is the local chef event of the year. My awesomely talented "cheffy" ( is that a word?) friend Jerry Reveron finally convinced the planning committee to include me in the program.
Read More
It's our 27th birthday! Celebrate with us through the month and ask about our Cupcake Rewards Card. Buy and try 12 of our most popular flavors, then receive 3 of your favorites for free!
Read More
I starting thinking about my Mom’s life in thirds. To borrow my Dad’s expression, there was “BC”.In Carmen’s experience this meant before Cori, for Cori this meant before Carmen. In her “BC” years, 36 of them, she was a daughter, a sister, a professional woman, a co-worker, a friend , a sister-in law, and an auntie.
Read More
These cookies are so easy to bake and so flexible. Enjoy them hundreds of ways: coat them with chopped walnuts, sliced almonds, coconut, chopped hazelnuts ( or leave them plain) and fill with raspberry, apricot, guava, mango or pineapple fillings. Just be sure the fillings are ovenproof. You can also fill them with nutella or lemon curd, just be sure to bake the cookies first, then fill.
Read More
Chocolate drip cakes are perfect for your Valentine!Try it yourself, Maria shows Scot and Kara how on Better Connecticut!
Read More
Every Christmas our family makes Italian Strufoli. For those unfamiliar with strufoli, they are delicious little morsels of fried dough smothered in honey and topped with festive nonpareils. Strufoli is a Neapolitan specialty, but can vary from family to family. Some are stacked like a tree and harden to a brittle-like consistency. My grandmother long ago tweaked this recipe to be a soft dough, lightly fried and honey coated. Many eat them by the morsel, I eat them by the bowl full.
Read More
Keeping up with the latest cake fashion is always a challenge. Especially after 25 plus years in the business. Many styles have thankfully come and gone; satellite cakes, extremely tall cakes with separator plates ( loved the ones with the swans!) and those crazy cake fountains. Not every trend is right for every bakery.
Read More
Sometimes it's hard to believe we all share the same sun. Vacation sun is always bright, vivid, perfect. This summer's lack of a true vacation forced me to savor our local sunshine. Fine for a lazy Sunday afternoon. But I couldn't stop dreaming of last summer's retreat on Anacapri. As if the beauty and culture weren't enough, I was treated, poolside, to the best Rum Baba; perfectly light and sweet and sublimely soaked. It was an afternoon snack, presented unannounced with fresh cream and berries.
Read More
The bakery turned 26 this year. Along with this milestone, I had a feeling that maybe the bakery ( and me as well!) could use a bit of re-branding... a kind of business facelift. I began thinking . "Is it time to re-do the logo? Are we still fresh in the minds of our consumers and/or potential customers? Are we still relevant , among the growing competition of cupcake shops, food trucks and Pinterest DIYers? " Does our website communicate what we are all about?"
Read More