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Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Gravity Defying

One of the greatest things about pastry art is being able to achieve the impossible...defy gravity! 🎂🍫🚀
I made this cake for my sisters birthday (well I was a couple of days late 😕), but nonetheless, I made it, delivered it, and it was enjoyed! I won't elaborate on how I made it, as this post would be long and confusing (a video tutorial would be better). But the cake itself was chocolate with a peanut/peanut butter filling and caramel buttercream. The outter portion had chocolate buttercream and KitKats (9 1/2 bars to be exact) which helped keep the chocolate ganache from going everywhere and created a pool of chocolate 😋


Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Ice Cream Churro Bowls

A friend of mine sent me a recipe that was featured on fb by Buzz Feed Tasty, for Ice Cream Churro Bowls, I immediately knew that my two kids would love them!

I'm not a fan of ice cream or churros :( surprised??? So I wasn't in a hurry to make them. My friend made them first and stated that they didn't work out for her, something about the bowl slipping down the cupcake pan (you'll get the just once you see my pic). I mentioned them to my oldest and she wanted them, but I was a little hesitant because of the issues my friend encountered.

Finally, about a week or so later I made them, my oldest, was excited and my youngest, had no idea I was making them. He likes to be surprised over stuff like that, so I'd decided to surprise him versus just mentioning it. 

The recipe is super duper easy, takes minimal basic ingredients, and can be a fun project to do with the kiddies! 

***side note, the churro bowl is still very hot when covering it with the cinnamon and granulated sugar mixture, so take caution if you allow the kiddos to do this part. I would probably wait for it to cool some if they really want to, but I'm not sure how well the sugar/cinnamon mixture would adhere to the bowl, OR, you can hold the bowl for them while they sprinkle the mixture!


The only ingredients not pictured are the cinnamon & granulated sugar. I didn't measure either out, I pretty much winged it, tried it and it taste fine to me so I went with it.

Ingredients:

1/4 (half stick) butter
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 cup water
1 c all purpose flour
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla flavor
Pan spray
Cinnamon 
Granulated Sugar

Additional items:
Cup
Pastry/Piping Bag
Wilton Star tip 18 or 21(you can go slightly smaller than 18 if you don't have either of these)
Scissors
Cupcake/Muffin baking pan
Cooking oil
Ice Cream
Caramel Syrup (optional)
Hot Fudge (optional)

Directions:

Add butter, brown sugar and water to sauce pan, periodically stir until sugar and butter melts. Bring to a boil, add flour, remove from pan heat and stir with a wooden spoon until flour has absorbed the wet ingredients. 

Let cool for 5 minutes 

Add vanilla flavor and 1 egg, stir until egg is completely incorporated, continue to add one egg at a time and mix completely before adding the next.

Spray the bottom of the entire pan with pan spray and prepare pastry/piping bag with tip. Place bag in cup, fold down top of bag over the cup and fill bag with mixture). 

Gently squeeze bag with mixture to remove any air bubbles, give the top of the bag a twist and begin piping around each cupcake cup. 

***the larger star tip you use, the wider the cup will be. I used tip 21 and was unable to place the bowls next to each other. I did every other cup so the mix wouldn't spill over into the next bowl (see my pic). 

Ok, so here's the difficult part, put the pan in the freezer until each cup is frozen solid. Right before the cups are ready, place cooking oil in a sauce pan on medium high heat. You'll need enough to over the bowl (like a deep frying method). Take a butter knife and go around the top of the bowl, which will be at the bottom of the pan to pry the bowl a loose. 

Gently place the bowl in the oil, be sure put the entire bowl down in the oil. It will start to brown and cook fairly fast, so once you achieve a nice golden brown color, flip the bowl to complete the frying process. Once done, blot oil off with paper towels and sprinkle bowl with the cinnamon and sugar mixture. 

Ok, I hope I didn't miss anything. Have fun making your bowls and drop a pic!!!



Saturday, June 25, 2016

Candied and Caramel Apples!

Got Milk?

'Cause I have double chocolate chip cookies! Brownies and chocolate cookies (double or regular with chocolate chips), are my weakness! 🙊🙈


Carrot Cake

I LOVE carrot cake!!! Yummy! How can a cake made with a veggie taste soooo good! For once I made a cake for me, something I rarely do. I used to think that carrot cakes were time consuming but they're actually quite easy, and as long as you have a grater or food processor you're good to go on the carrots! Here's my fancy carrot cake...fancy because I put shredded candied carrots on top as a garnish...lol, oh and toasted coconut! Well I guess I also have to give props to the crushed walnuts that graced the perimeter! 😋

Strawberry Shortcake Cheesecake

I decided to jump on the bandwagon and make a Strawberry Shortcake Cheesecake, it was ok. The first slice I was presently surprised with the cream cheesy taste of the cheese cake and frosting plus the butteriness (is that a word?), of the strawberry and vanilla crumbles. But the pieces thereafter were no surprise and I became less and less interested in the taste. But then again, I'm not big on cake with the exception for a selected few. Yeah I know, I bake them but don't really eat them...lol. But I did have a request from someone to make them one, and so I did. It's a very time consuming cake as it takes 2 days unless to start very early and won't need it until later in the day. Next project...the Chocolate Eclair Cake!!!!


Sunday, May 8, 2016

I'm baaaaaack!

I didn't realize that my last post was December 2015. But then again that was the last time I baked until just recently. My dad suddenly passed away on December 29, 2015 and I was immediately on a baking hiatus. Then I closed on my home in January and moved in February, soooo, things have been a little crazy and I'm trying to get back on track. My normal day to day hasn't existed in months, and certain things I just don't like doing anymore.

I know it's a phase and eventually things will be sort of normal again. I've baked a bit over the past 3 weeks. It started with a vendor show where I made Banana Pudding, Chocolate and Strawberry Shortcake cupcakes and jumbo chewy chocolate chip cookies. I then had a request for a Banana Pudding Cake, and with the left over pudding I made home made vanilla wafer cookies and made Banana Pudding cookies! And with today being Mother's Day (Happy Mother's Day all!), I made my mom a Cream Cheese Pound cake (w/ a white chocolate ganache drizzle), my sis Piña Colada w/rum cupcakes and a couple of banana puddings.

So I've been a little busy baking, but not too much! Well, without further ado, here's the pics!