Chef Bren Newlin

Summer 2024

Prepping for a big order of these sparkly beauties! My Cake Truffles are one-of-a-kind and jam-packed with flavor and texture. Made from a "cake pop" base, where I combine cake crumbles with my signature buttercream, a flavorful filling, think jam, ganache, or caramel, and enrobed in chocolate.

What flavor of each element would you dream up?! Let's talk!

Summer is here! What did you take to your Memorial Day BBQ?!

I LOVE combining fresh, seasonal fruits into big, yummy salads all summer long. Pictured here are my Memorial Day 2024 contributions:

+ A leaf-lettuce salad with grilled nectarines, fresh blueberries, sliced strawberries, heirloom cherry tomatoes, crumbled feta, basil ribbons, and a reduced Balsamic strawberry vinaigrette

+ A peanut butter pie on graham cracker crust & peanut butter cup garnish-- there's a sneaky layer of Nutella between the crust and pie filling for an extra YUM!

I'd love to make you something awesome. Let's talk about how delicious your summer could be!

Collabing with Kristen has proven to be one of my absolute favorite activities. She lit up one day and pondered, "croissant monkey bread?!"
I immediately snapped into action and we made this food baby together.

Already buttery croissants, drenched in more butter, cinnamon-sugar, a little vanilla, a little bourbon, & a drizzle of maple icing. We brulee that and top it with bourbon pecan ice cream. It's absolutely ridiculous.

Did I do a few with cayenne, too? You know I did, babies. 🌶️🔥

It’s probably the best dessert I’ve had in a couple of years. I said it! But, I’m partial ! BRENDA BREAD. House made croissant monkey bread. Baked to order and finished with a salted maple bourbon ice cream. Finished with crushed Reese’s and maple syrup icing….ok? Ok.

MAY ORDERING UPDATE

Hello all of my incredible supporters! I will be sharing this post on my personal page as well, but May is BIG for me and I need to let you know the details so that we can ALL be better prepared!

I am no accepting Mother's Day Orders. Mini cakes, cake truffles, semifreddos...all a great choice for mom on her special day! The cut off to order for Mother's Day is MONDAY, MAY 5th.

Following Mother's Day is my culinary school graduation and celebration.
From May 12th to May 26th, my time is limited. If you need a cake within that time window, please still reach out to me. We can make a plan!

I will not be taking orders from May 18th to May 25th. I'm taking some much-needed time away.

June is back to some normalcy, but May is nuts.

TLDR: If you need a cake in May, I WANT to make it for you, but I need your dates locked in ASAP. Please email [email protected] or visit www.craftworksgf.com/get-a-quote to get those orders in today! Thanks for your support!

Kristin has lovingly named them "BROnuts" 😆, as the colloquial name is trademarked 🙃, but I was asked to figure out a way to use croissants and was INSTANTLY taken back to my favorite treat from visiting the New York, New York hotel in Las Vegas. Fried croissant donuts are a real treat and I whipped up some buttery maple icing to top 'em off. It took four days for us to get 'em juuuuuust right, but we did it and they. are. awesome.

Ice cream cakes are delicious, but are kind of difficult to achieve without specific equipment & ingredients. This semifreddo is an excellent compromise, with a texture similar to cheesecake or custard.

This one is for a 15th birthday celebration! A rich brownie crust is the base for layers of creamy vanilla semifreddo and candy bar ganache. It's topped with a ganache drip and every over-the-top treat I could think of! I think it definitely says "party time"!

The final St. Paddy's Speshies!

Roasted corn & poblano chowder, LOADED with cilantro and basil for some yummy spring flavors, topped with bacon, cheese, and grilled baguette.
AND
Grilled brioche with whipped ricotta & goat cheese (with just a hint of vanilla), lightly sweetened fresh strawberry slices, basil ribbons, balsamic reduction, and lemon zest.

Today's the day! Come see me at SPLIT Social Kitchen!

St. Paddy's Speshie #2:
Spinach Artichoke loaded potato skins. I was inspired by the flavors in traditional Colcannon, but remembered not everyone likes kale 🙃. These are insane as-is, but adding bacon makes 'em a REAL treat!

Everyone in the kitch is hard at work prepping for our ST PATRICK SWAYZE DAY CELEBRATION (Sunday 3/17) combining roadhouse food and st pats favs! This is gonna be a good one guys! Can’t wait to have the best day with ya!

Prepping for our Sunday St. Patrick Swayze Brunch! We've got a TON of fun specials in the works, and this l'il baby is more than the sum of its parts.

Whipped ricotta cheesecake parfait with crumbled mint Oreos. Checkmate, Ronald 🤡

ANOTHER PREVIEW TO OUR ST PATRICK SWAYZE DAY BRUNCH ….Chef Bren’s Whipped Ricotta Cheesecake with Mint Oreo Crumble.

Katsu x2!

First up, pineapple garlic sticky rice provides the l'il bed for savory, crunchy, panko-breaded pork tenderloin cutlets and a super-bright citrussy apple/pineapple slaw. I topped it with gochu mayo and some pickled reds for a color POP.

Secondly, I take all that pork & slaw goodness and pile it high on toasty slider buns & serve it with sweet chili fries.

Super stoked with how both of these turned out and super stoked for YOU to come see me & try either one for yourself!

Bye bye, winter! I will not miss you (I will miss your flavors). But I'm ready to move on! And so are my clients! I whipped up this French Brown Butter Lemon Tart for my first client order of 2024. 🍋💕

A Saturday Speshie for tomorrow at SPLIT Social Kitchen!

Birria Patty Melt with an all-beef patty, our signature slow-cooked birria beef, red pepper relish, melty white cheddar, & a generous drizzle of my signature chipotle aioli, on perfectly-toasted buttery sourdough.

We're gonna serve it up with parm fries and a cup of birria consome so you can dippit to your heart's content. I'm excited. Come see me for brunch/lunch!

My take on Arancini for SPLIT Social Kitchen : garlic-thyme risotto, white truffle cheese, a light panko and seasoned flour breading with zesty red sauce & sunflower basil pesto.

"Like" this post if you'd be interested in a Tiny Cake Pop Up this spring. It would likely be on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. I'd even offer "flash-style" customization where you could pick from a selection of messages for me to pipe on before you took it home. Could be fun.

My take on a classic Monte Cristo:
French toast, cheddar, Swiss, ham, coated in pancake batter and fried to perfection. Topped with a hot-honey drizzle, chopped bacon, and served with an apricot Sriracha jam.

Still in the R&D phase, but I'll let you know when it's on the menu 😉

Inspiration struck last night and if the crumbs I've been sneaking are any indication, I've nailed it.

I got invited to a Breakfast for Dinner tonight with friends and decided to try and make a coffee cake using our sourdough starter combined with my signature brown butter vanilla cake.
I started with the base cake recipe, and honestly just eyeballed an amount of starter, my goal was only to provide flavor, not rise or much volume even.
I wove in ribbons of cinnamon just before baking.
The glaze is maple cream cheese sprinkled with the tiniest pistachio pieces I could muster.

Think I can make it without sampling a slice before the party? 😉

Something sweet for your sweet? There's still time to order for Valentine's Day!

Cake Truffles: $12 for a giftbox of 6 large or 12 small, white chocolate strawberry, double chocolate, chocolate strawberry, or two/four of each

To order: Email amounts and flavors to [email protected]

Don't wait 'til the last minute!

Valentine's Mini Cakes (3"x4") : $10 each, either vanilla & cherry jam, chocolate & chocolate ganache, or strawberry & strawberry jam

Grab some for your love, your pals, your kids-- their fun size makes them a hit for everyone!

To order: Email amounts and flavors to [email protected]

my first special at SPLIT Social Kitchen hits the menu tonight!
My take on Pappas Rellenas-- "Big Pappas"
White cheddar and slow-cooked birria beef encased in a garlic mashed potatoes and then breaded and panko fried. They sit on a bed of kimchi red pepper slaw & get drizzled with kimchi vinaigrette and red pepper coulis. A million different flavors that sing on the palate, come try!!

the guest literally did a happy dance as she was eating this.

cheesecake wonton, bourbon caramel, sauteed green apples with vanilla ice cream & fresh whipped cream.

One month until Valentine's Day! Since the retailers have already turned everything pink, red, and purple, I thought I'd better get to opening my books and taking orders!

We're gonna keep it real simple this year.
Mini Cakes (3"x4") : $10 each, either vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry
Cake Truffles: $12 for a giftbox of 6, white chocolate strawberry, double chocolate, chocolate strawberry, or two of each

To order: Email amounts and flavors to [email protected]
(decoration will be on-theme for Valentine's Day, these photos are just for reference & algorithm)

It's a pasta party. Come see me.

Did you eat your greens & black eyed peas today? There's still time! I cooked ours up with caramelized onion and garlic, added bacon and red chili flake, then deglazed the pan with LOTS of red wine vinegar to simmer the greens in and make them so tangy and delicious.

If you have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about, here's a great article from Appetite For Change that explains the history behind this tradition: https://shorturl.at/ipHMV

Happy New Year!