Cupcakes for a Cause: Every Purchase Supports Christian's Wish

CoolVines and Savory Spice Shop will be selling cupcakes starting at noon on Saturday, May 19 to help the family of Christian Panarese afford a new wheelchair.

Westfield merchants CoolVines and Savory Spice Shop have cooked up a delicious way to support the family of 13-year-old Christian Panarese, born with spastic quadraplegia, in their efforts to purchase a new wheelchair.  Starting at noon on Saturday, May 19, the businesses will be selling 300 cupcakes, prepared by pastry chef and Garwood resident Melissa Walsh, with 100 percent of the proceeds benefiting Christian's Wish.  "We've already gotten a wonderful response from customers that we've told about the event," said Lauren Ramos of CoolVines.  Christian, a Westfield resident who attends Edison Intermediate School, lives with and is cared for by his grandparents Frank and Nancy Panarese. Because he has outgrown his current wheelchair, …

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Local Flavor

The Five Minute Tidbit: Tasty Cakes

Bake You Crazy brings sweet treats to Berkeley Heights.

Bake You Crazy has only been open for two months and they're selling out of cupcakes as fast as they can make them. We got owner Ebru Santore out of the kitchen for just a few minutes to tell us the secret to her success and how she tries to make what your mother did (see attached video). Patch: Where did you learn to bake? Santore: I'm from Istanbul and in Turkey all women cook and bake at home. From my childhood, I've been in the kitchen with my grandmother and aunts watching them cook and helping them.  I was given a knife at a young age to peel apples, so I grew up confident and capable of every aspect of the cooking process. I was always learning something in the kitchen, but what I love the most is baking from scratch. I realized I …

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