Baking for Bica

I was sipping a spectacular cappuccino the other morning at one of my favorite cafés, Bica Coffeehouse, in Rockridge.  I had my book, but I was only sort of reading-- I'd get a few paragraphs in and break to chat with the charming barista.  The subject of my afternoon came up, and I mentioned that I was slated to do some BAKING at home-- I had made a list of things I wanted to make, had acquired the necessaries and was happily contemplating spending a few hours covered in flour.  He asked what I was making.  I told him, and he said without missing a beat, "I'll buy that from you."  Well... 40,000 exciting ideas later...

There's a hidden smear of onion jam under all of that ham and cheese.  Yes, I did.

They were glazed and finished with black pepper before baking.  

So began a potentially very exciting relationship between this demitasse and a perfectly lovely café.  I am in once a week as a guest baker, having begun with black forest ham and antique gruyère turnovers and a walnut-streusel coffee cake.
Tomorrow I deliver pecan sticky buns and a savory focaccia smothered in a roasted sweet potato, red cabbage and Parmesan blanket, available by the slice.

Bica Coffeehouse is just across the street from the Rockridge BART, on the corner of Miles and College Avenues.  I'm working specifically on bringing something savory to the table each time I bake- and being the seasonal-produce fiend that I am, my inspiration is rooted firmly in the market.  I am looking forward to exploring such ideas as shirred egg tartlets, the egg nestled into a rich vegetable filling, the filling nestled into crisp and flaky puff pastry.  Or savory pound cake- the famous "cake salé" of the french apéro.  Or little portable cellophane bags of handmade crackers. Or, or or... I clearly cannot be stopped.