Campus Cravings: Behind the scenes at Bing’s Bakery

Freshman year, I fell in love with Bing's Bakery when my mom ordered me their cheesecake for my birthday. Later that year, I bought the bake shop's fruit cheesecake to use in a bet (My friend was challenged to finish the whole thing in under 10 minutes; disgusting to watch.) But the bakery is good for more than cheesecake. They have over 200 different cakes, pastries and cookies. Although I've yet to work my way through all of them (dream big), this week I decided to go behind-the-scenes at the bakery, and talk with the owners about their confections and the secrets behind what makes them so sweet.

As I made my way behind the counter of the bakery, the smell was incredible—behind the colorful and delicious looking cases of baked goods was the decorating room. On my right, a woman was standing decorating a huge teal three-layer wedding cake. Elsewhere in the shop, there was a cake for Gore with the logo imprinted on it.

Fresh sheet cakes were coming out of the oven and shelves of freshly iced cupcakes lined the walls. It was heaven.

When you walk in, you can't tell, but the shop has nine bakers and decorators working in the back to make the huge amounts of cakes in the store front. The store has functioned this way for over 50 years.

The bakery was first opened in 1946 by Selena and Russell Bing. Tom and Carla Guzzi bought it from them in 2005 and made some major changes to the place, including maximizing selection.

"We now make pepperoni rolls, tomato pies, vegetable boards, fudge cakes and more; our variety has grown tremendously," Carla Guzzi says.

Despite the 2005 takeover, Carla Guzzi says the secret behind their work is they've continued to make their products the same way the bakery always has—using fresh, quality ingredients.

"We're baking everything here in our shop from scratch everyday the old fashioned way," she says.

Bing's biggest seller? The black and white cookies, which Guzzi says are different from other places in the region because of the dough they use. While some places just put the black and white icing on a sugar cookie, bing's makes the cookie out of a richer dough, giving it a more cake-like taste.

Another secret is that they use real buttercream. She notes that real buttercream isn't white at all, it should be the color of butter. Many places just use vanilla icing and call it buttercream, but not Bing's.

Although the black and white cookies are the store's biggest seller,  they aren't Guzzi's favorite. She loves their glacé, two layers of pound cake with chocolate butter cream and chocolate on the outside. One former university student loves it so much that she asks Guzzi to send her six pieces every six months—in Chicago.

Bing's has now started to cater more to the student population as well. They now accept the Off- Campus Meal Plan and have a website, campusbirthdaycakes.com, where students or parents can order baked goods to be delivered to students directly.

My favorite item is their cheesecake, but I'm definitely going to have to come back for that glacé.

While I'll admit I can't bake like this place, I have a few recipes for you this week that are a bit different, but trust me—they're worth trying.

Skor Bar Cheesecake

Crust:

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray non-stick baking spray on the sides of a springform cheesecake pan. (Cheap at supermarkets or online).

    Put about 10 graham crackers in a plastic bag and crush until you have 1 1/2 cups of crumbs. Mix this in a bowl with 6 tbsp. of butter and 1/3 cup of firmly packed dark brown sugar.

    Spoon out and press onto the spring-form pan, making sure to cover the bottom and 1 or more inches on each of the sides of the pan. Stick the crust in the Refrigerator while you do the rest of the steps.

Filling:

    In a larger pan beat 2 bars of cream cheese (Philadelphia works for me), 1 1/2 cups of sugar, four eggs and 3 tsp. of vanilla extract. Crumble up two Skor bars and add them to this mixture as well.

     Spoon filling over the crust and make sure it covers the pan. Bake in oven for approximately 15 minutes—until the cake is golden and has risen above the spring-form pan. Chill in the fridge for about an hour.

Topping:

    In a sauce pan, on low heat, mix 1 cup of heavy cream with six milk chocolate Hershey Bars. Stir so chocolate doesn't stick to the bottom. Add in 1 tsp. of vanilla extract and mix. When combined, pour mixture on top of the filling in the center. Sprinkle with crushed up Skor bars and serve.

Pancake Cupcakes with Bacon:

    Yes these are real. Real delicious.

    Buy Bisquick Shake and Pour pancake mix.

    Line muffin tin with cupcake liners and spray liners with non-stick baking spray. Preheat the over to 400 degrees.

    Follow the directions on the bottle and pour into paper cupcake liners inside a cupcake pan. Bake for 10 minutes or until the top is golden like a regular pancake. Always put a tooth pick in first and if it comes out clean, you're good to go. If not, put them in for a few more minutes and then check again.

    Next, take regular vanilla or buttercream icing (I prefer buttercream) and put it in a bowl and mix in two tablespoons of maple syrup. Once mixed together, spread on the cupcakes.

    Shake bacon bits on top of the frosting and you're ready to go. The salty sweet goodness is amazing and the pancakes make them extra tender—and good for breakfast or dessert.