HotPink Love

Girlies wanted chocolate cupcakes. I was going to make these cute cupcake love monsters for the monsters I love... we have all been snowed in together all week...

I had the cupcakes in the oven, made my favorite way - in jumbo cupcake paper, butter for oil, and milk for water - and I was working on the icing.

I normally buy 1lb boxes of powder sugar because then I don't have to measure it. I find that powder sugar is hard to measure. Is it compact enough? Is it too compact? Should I go by weight? It's just easier to buy the 1lb box and be done with it.

Last time I bought ingredients the store (target) only had 2lb bags. I bought just one so that I could make the cake... it's much easier to correct icing that has too much PS.

So what I had in the bag SHOULD have been the leftover 1lb. But the icing did not come out right, I even had my girlies taste it and they said "just not right." Totally not enough sugar... and no possibility of getting more anytime soon... as the roads are sheets of ice.

Cake is cake and we can eat it without topping... but I was looking forward to doing something pink.

Fortunately I'm all stocked up on Candy Melts and Candy Melts Coloring and just coincidentally had heavy cream on hand. So I made hot pink ganache. LOVE IT! The vanilla flavor is really nice and my youngest girlie says she likes it better than buttercream.

I love the added... crunch?... of nonpariels, so we sprinkled liberally. I think everyone should keep these white nonpariels on hand as a staple in the baking pantry. We also added a cute heart sprinkle in the middle of each cupcake... mmmm, these are edible but not yummy. Not something my girlies will try to sneak while I'm baking.

So, I'll make the love monsters on Saturday or Sunday. These Pink Loves should go like HOT cakes :)

Never too old for a princess cake

Made a surprise cake for a friend. Triple chocolate box, sub milk for water.

Love the wonder mold except for the cooling process. I like to turn my cakes over, release them, and then put the pan back on for 10-24 hrs. This takes the steam and traps it so that the moisture goes back into the cake.

The wonder mold pan doesn't do that. There is no seal of moisture created because of the hole/bolt at the bottom of the pan.

So, unfortunately, all my princess cakes so far have been a bit dry for my standards. I might experiment in pouring some condensed milk on the cakes when they come out of the over...

Pink buttercream for the dress with white... layery looking things? I totally just did, no plan involved. I also added a pearl necklace and earrings and a buttercream band in her hair.

The cake matches the birthday girl. Plus I thought this picture was fun, because except for the bodice/head of princess slipping a little you can't tell that her backside has been eaten.

Chocolate Hugs & Kisses

Finally have a moment to bake. In honor of the new year I decided chocolate overload was in order.

Triple Chocolate Cake box.

Chocolate glaze.

Chocolate buttercream.

Hershey's Kiss.

Pink sprinkles.

Made the cake as directed but subbed butter for oil and milk for water. I wanted to make these last night, but it's been so long since I've had a chance to bake that I got out of the habit of keeping sticks of butter at room temperature. I've got 5 stick out now... ready to go for the next experiment.

Anyway, I've mentioned before that I like to use the jumbo cupcake papers in the regular pan:

I love the little white collar that remains above the cupcakes... plus, it makes it possible to pool the glaze!

I winged the chocolate glaze. I didn't have the ingredients to make the Wilton Chocolate Glaze, so I made the confectioner sugar glaze and added a tbls of coco powder.

Next, chocolate buttercream. Okay, don't know if I've mentioned this... but I strongly believe that the key to buttercream icing is b-u-t-t-e-r. Many people will make buttercream with shortening. They do this because it doesn't spoil or need to be refrigerated... It also doesn't need to be consumed. (That's just my big ol' opinion.)

Add a kiss and sprinkles... and you are sure to get hugs.

Cocktail Balls

Finally Wilton has changed their home page... I am a little over Christmas cakes. They are now pushing cake balls... which is totally not as fun as the featured idea in the middle of the page, Cocktail Balls.

Kill Me Now. My life is complete. I am too immature to handle/pass up the chance to make a food called Cocktail Balls. These non-alcohol treats will be delivered to the office on Tuesday.

Photos to come (when I've actually made them).

So please, join me for Cocktail Balls on Tuesday (they will be labeled as cocktail bon-bons at the office.)

Te to the he.

Let's see how close to Wilton's picture I can hit, here's the goal:

Happy New Year!

2011, officially the year of amusements.

33 and 5 and 1 to grow on...

December has been busy! Lots of baking but not lots o' blogging.

Note: What cha' missed...

1. Totally exciting news! First official "I don't know this person" cupcake request. Easy breezy half chocolate and half white with buttercream icing. I used this as a time experiment, exactly 1.5 hours to bake, decorate, and deliver 36 cupcakes (12 stayed home).

2. Soccer ball Christmas party for Karen's girlie. Chocolate soccer ball in white and red AND 36 sugar cookies to decorate. 18 snowmen and 18 gingermen.

3. Eggnog cupcakes. My b-in-law and I were at the store getting some last minute Christmas eve needs for Gorgeous. We decided I definitely needed to make some cupcakes (a dangerous move to make in G's kitchen on Christmas eve... but we are sly!) The doorbell rang just as Gorgeous took the last dish out of the oven, we had a solid 5 min distraction and the oven set at the right temp! Bwa-ha-ha-ha. Made the eggnog-cream cheese icing after dinner and voila!

Now that you're all caught up... 33 and 5. Two birthdays in December; my sister turned 33 and her oldest girlie turned 5.

My sister is a much more disciplined diner than I am... or anyone I know. She said to make whatever cake everyone else would like because she probably wouldn't have any... So I made what I (that's a capital I for emphasis, not for grammar) wanted: angel cupcakes!

Yummers! Even my sister could not resist the evil draw of angel cupcakes...

And who could resist the candles I found on clearance... (The "33" didn't come with the set...tehe... it came with a "1st")

For my niece's birthday, her actual birthday, we decided to celebrate princess style. At her party earlier we celebrated P-Leia style and now we'll celebrate Purple Princess style!

My niece is 34 going on 5. It's very hard to remember she's a child when you are speaking with her because she is SUPER smart. But she really IS a child... she just has an SAT vocabulary that is off the chart. Anywho... she loves purple.

My original plan had been to create a purple princess in the wonder-mold (yes, by Wilton) and then 4 mini princesses in the mini wonder-mold (yes, also by Wilton). Chocolate for the main princess and white for the mini princesses... Chocolate dress was cooling and I was half way through mixing the white cake when I fell one. egg. short. Coulda really used a "baker's dozen" here. No mini princesses.

I wish I'd taken a picture of how the cake baked... not even. Anyway, we had a short princess by the time I leveled the cake. I played this very safe. No fancy icing, just some "flower petals" for ruffles and pearls for the bodice.

My youngest girlie has asked for one for her birthday... So I'll count it as a success.

10 lbs of buttercream and a Ho Ho Ho later...

It's 70 degrees outside and my girlies keep trying to wear shorts and flip-flops even though I have told them it doesn't matter if it is 100 outside, it's December and we're going to dress like it!

All this drama while creating Santa and Sir Elf... 2 of my 10 lbs of buttercream needed to be red for their hats. I usually just use Wilton's tubed red icing when I need it for accents, but I needed a LOT of red for for this project and I wanted it to taste good. I put a whole container of red into the buttercream, and it looked pink... but it was going to have to do. I had read on another blog to let the colored buttercream set because the color would continue to change and it did! I ended up having a nice red for the hats.

I had way more fun with Santa, I loved piping his beard. And I used the "grass" tip to put some texture on their hats. I'm still not good at smoothing buttercream... The Elf was supposed to be smooth buttercream, instead he looks like he suffered from severe acne as a teen elf (I see a Christmas movie here...)

We're bringing in the season with butter and sugar. In icing alone, 5 lbs of powder sugar and 5 lbs of butter. Wowsa!

Secret Santa

My week started out a "bit" rocky... and in the middle of these rocky waves of nerves a Secret Santa brought me the most beautifully wrapped tower of Wilton wonders. My friends in the OP are the BEST Secret Santas EVER! I wish I had taken a picture before ripping into the gift... but I didn't, I was too excited.

I decided to bake them a thank you cake.

Cake 1 (monday night) cratered. I would have taken a picture, but it looks just like this one. I don't know what the deal is. Sometimes the white cake just gives up on me... I might start suspecting my girlies, who are the ones to gain in this situation.

Cake 2 (tuesday night)... my rocky week was starting to smooth out so I was up for another go and I made a chocolate cake. Great bake although it did rise a good 2 inches over the pan, perfectly flat, just high. So I took my wire and and cut the overage,which my children also enjoyed, and set my alarm to decorate it in the morning before work.

I had grand decorating plans. Yellow icing, pink flowers on top and white flowers around the bottom.

I WOKE UP LATE!

Grand plans gone. Need new plan. Need new plan fast. Need new plan before my kitchen aid is done mixing my buttercream icing!

Needless to say, my decorating was a bit organic.

I did use a new tool, the decorating triangle, to make the lines around the cake. It was fun, and the girlies thought it was cool, but I definitely need to practice. A star here, a scallop there, sprinkle with candy pearls... and the no-plan cake is done. It looked cuter than it does in the picture... or maybe it just smelled so good it didn't matter.

Anyway, the cake was well received and OP sent the best note back. The highlight of the note, "If an urge should overcome you to indulge us once again with another of your baked masterpieces, please know we would certainly welcome it with open mouths."

Ahhh, words to make my little baker heart pitter-patter!