Cupcakes

I absolutely LOVE cupcakes! Out of all of the desserts in the world, cupcakes have to be one of my very favorites. On our trip to San Fransisco last summer, we stopped in at the cutest cupcake shop ever! They had a key lime cupcake TO DIE FOR! Some of my favorite cupcake makers are the ladies from D.C Cupcakes. I think it would be amazing to go to one of their shops one time!

Amazing Cupcakes from the shop in San Fransisco!

Great Giveaway!

Bringing Peace into the Home is offering this great giveaway -- they are giving away FIVE of these framed artpieces by Liz Lemon Swindle.  They would make a great Christmas gift.  I would love to give this to my mom for Christmas!  Click HERE for the details.

It's a Girl!!!

Finally I'm an aunt!!! I'm so excited! My little niece Aivi was born on Wednesday! Here are some really cute pics!

I love the burrito role! :)

She's so beautiful!

Congrats Dustin and Melissa!



Halloween Fondant Cake

I know, Halloween's over sadly.: ( But it's also happy, because here comes Thanksgiving, and Christmas!! Well anyway here's my first fondant cake that I've made. My friend and I made it for a contest at school. We didn't win, but it was still really fun. Thanks Jackie for the pans, and tips! :)

We used a rice krispy center for the bottom layer, and it worked out great!

You just add the cake mix around the rice krispies, and cook it.

Here is a finished picture!

Here's the bottom up close

That's the end of my post! Hope you had a great Halloween!



Chocolate Sunflower Cupcakes

These cupcakes are way fun for the fall season! I love the yellow on the brown, these colors look so good together! I got this idea from Stone Gable's blog, that I am a huge fan of!

Okay, first off you will want to make your favorite chocolate cupcake recipe.

While your cupcakes are baking, it is time to make some frosting. I used my Aunt Jackies amazing frosting, click here to view her blog. Here is the recipe for my Aunt Jackie's buttercream frosting:

Blend together 3/4 cup room temperature butter, 4 cups powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract, and 3-4 tablespoons water. You may need to add extra water, depending on how thick you want it.

You will also need to make your fondant for the sunflowers, here is my Aunt Jackie's marshmellow fondant recipe:

Marshmallow Fondant

16 oz. marshmallows - use good quality marshmallows
2-3 T. water
2 lb. powdered sugar

Place the marshmallows and water in a large microwavable bowl. Place in the microwave and microwave 30 seconds until the marshmallows are beginning to melt. Remove from microwave and stir the melted marshmallows and water together. Repeat until completely melted and blended together. Place in your large Kitchenaid or other heavy duty mixer bowl. You will need a powerful mixer to blend this. Use your bread kneading hook. Add the 2 lb. powdered sugar. You can also add 2 tsp. almond flavoring. Begin to mix the dough at a low speed. Mix until completely blended.
After your fondant is done, you will want to start coloring it. Take a little of the fondant out and save it for the middle of the flowers, and color the rest yellow. Use as much food coloring depending on what shade of yellow you want your sunflowers to be. You will need to knead the fondant until the color is completely mixed in. Color the saved out fondant by mixing in brown food coloring or cocoa baking powder.

Roll out your fondant. You will need a flower fondant, or cookie cutter. You will also need to use the bottom of a frosting tip to make the middles. Cut out your flowers, and middles, and set them in the middle of your frosted cupcakes. Sprinkle a little powdered sugar, or cocoa powder on top to make them look extra beautiful!

I love the cocoa powder on top!

That's it for my post for now, see you later!

Pigs in Mud!!

Pigs are so cute! My mother and I made these pig cupcakes. We got this idea from Cupcakes Take The Cake. Click here to view this website. 

Love those noses!

We made these cupcakes with a strawberry cake mix. Read the directions on the box to make strawberry cupcakes. Or make your favorite cupcake recipe.

Make your favorite frosting, and add a little bit of pink food coloring to get the color you want.

For the noses and ears you will need strawberry marshmallows.

Take a marshmallow and cut it in half to  make the nose, use an edible marker or two chocolate chips to make the nose holes. Use the other half of the marshmallow to make ears by cutting it in half to make two fourths. Use two chocolate chips for the eyes.

This should be the end result.

Just chillin' in the mud!

I think this one might have had a little bit too much fun in the mud!

That's all for now. Hope you enjoyed!

I posted this with Foodie Friday.

Summer Strawberry Sorbet

Sorbet is one of my favorite desserts! Ice cream is great too, but there's something about sorbet that I really love. So I made this strawberry sorbet!  I got this recipe from the cookbook Sorbets and Ice Creams by Lou Seibert Pappas, but I just changed it a little bit. Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup water

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice                 

3-3/4  cups fresh

Strawberries, hulled

In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and water, bring to a boil while stirring, and cook until the syrup is clear. Stir in the lemon juice. Let cool, cover, and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours, or until thoroughly chilled. In a blender or food processor, puree the strawberries, and stir in the chilled syrup.

Refrigerate for 1 hour, or until thoroughly chilled.

Freeze the mixture in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions. You can also freeze without an ice cream maker: Pour the mixture into a 8 or 9 inch square metal pan or a half-gallon plastic container. Cover with aluminum foil, plastic wrap or a lid. Place in the freezer and freeze until firm, about 2 to 3 hours. Transfer to an electric mixer or food processor and beat until light and fluffy. Transfer to a container, cover, and freeze until firm, about 1 to 2 hours.

After you are finished making your sorbet, serve it in a bowl with

 strawberry leaves, and/or strawberries.

Hope you enjoyed my post! Until next time!

I posted this at Tasty Tuesday.

I also posted this with Foodie Friday.