Sick of the same old food on campus? Looking for something homemade and sweet? Well then meet junior Maddie Ziff, who turned a hobby she loved to do into a baking business with just a website, a blog, and some business cards.
Class: 2013
Major/Minor: Psychology and Business major with a minor in Anthropology
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
HC: Besides baking and school, what activities are you involved with on campus?
MZ: Mock trial is my main activity outside of class and I love it! This year I’m on the executive board and my position is Tournament Director.
HC: When did you first start cooking/baking?
MZ: My mom and I did a little bit of baking when I was little: boxed brownies, bundt cakes, and other delicious things. Although I have great memories of licking the bowl, baking wasn’t a big part of my life until high school. When I was about 15 I started reading all sorts of baking blogs and that encouraged me to try to step outside my comfort zone to make more adventurous desserts. It started small (homemade cake instead of from a mix, for example), but every time I went out to a restaurant or a bakery I’d taste something and think “I can do that.” The more comfortable I got in the kitchen, the more I was able to try new things and come up with my own twists on recipes. I starting taking pictures of my treats and posting them on Facebook and when people realized what I was doing, I started getting a few orders here and there. A friend lent me a beautiful camera so I could take nice pictures and I started baking every second I could. When my boss from a few summers ago asked me to bake for her wedding, I realized I needed some nice business cards and really got to work on my website and blog.
HC: how do you manage running a catering business and being in college?
MZ: It’s really not that difficult because it’s what I would be doing anyways, except now I get paid for it! Whether or not I have an order, I still bake because making up a batch of anything with sugar and butter a huge stress reliever for me. There’s something so comforting about knowing that if you mix certain ingredients in certain ways, it’ll always turn out delicious. I’m constantly getting new ideas for flavor combinations, cupcake decorations, and cookies, so I love that when I get orders it means I have to make the time to do what I enjoy and try out new things.
HC: Do you cater any Brandeis events? Where do you work out of at school?
MZ: I haven’t been asked to bake for any big events at Brandeis, but I get orders here and there for cakes, cupcakes, and cookies. It’s trickier because I don’t have all my tools on this side of the country, but it’s good for me to work with different ingredients and use different techniques. Some of my friends keep kosher very strictly, so I’ve been experimenting with non-dairy and kosher delicacies. I don’t bake as much during the school year because I live in Ziv and sadly don’t have a kitchen, but I make my way over to the Village or a friend’s house whenever I can. I’d go crazy if I couldn’t!
HC: What is your favorite thing to make?
MZ: I never have a good answer for this question, but I’ll do my best. Basically, I love to make anything bite-sized. There’s something so special about everyone being able to enjoy their own treat. You can never go wrong with cupcakes because there are so many different flavor combinations and they’re so much fun to eat. Little lemon meringue pies are so impressive and incredibly delicious. Cake pops are super customizable, too, and I had a lot of fun with decorated sugar cookies in different shapes this summer. They take forever to make because the detailing on each cookie is done individually but they’re so impressive and very easily customizable. Every time I make a new batch my technique gets better and I learn new things. I took quite a few art classes in high school, so I enjoy the chance to practice my detail work and color combination. Having an art background has really helped me, both with detail work (on a fondant Aston Martin cake, for example) and with dessert table arrangements because I just know what feels right without having to think too much about it.
Check out one of Maddie’s own recipes!
Soft Sugar Cookies
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup egg
2 cups flour
2 tablespoons cream
Vanilla extract (I usually use abotu two teaspoons of vanilla bean paste, but the same amount of vanilla extract would work great as well)
Pinch of salt
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar on high until light and fluffy. Add the egg and keep beating, then blend in the salt and vanilla. Dump the flour in all at once and mix on low until just combined (careful not to over mix or the cookies will be tough!). Refrigerate the dough for a few hours, then roll it out evenly to about 1/4 inch thick if you want them hefty or less if you want your cookies thin and crispy. After rolling on a lightly floured surface and cutting your shapes using whatever cookie cutter you choose, freeze cookies for at least 15 minutes before baking to make sure they keep their crisp edges. Preheat oven to 375. I like my cookies thick, so I bake them for about 9 minutes, but check your cookies at about 6 minutes so you don’t over bake them if you made ’em thin. Makes about 2 dozen thick cookies.
Decorate with royal icing, cream cheese frosting, sprinkles, or just leave them plain.