Party-Q preview!

Tomorrow marks the 4th annual Party-Q!
In honor of the event I decided to do a little mini cupcake baking and decorating. I was going to decorate them tomorrow with Nikita but once I started doing a couple for practice, I couldn't stop!

Anyway here are a few pictures of what came of the event. I'm loving the raspberry lemon drop cupcakes. They're my current favorite.


While baking I noticed that my chocolate cupcakes are always slightly more dry than yellow cake based cupcakes. I will have to work on that. A bake-a-thon with the Nikita is slated for Tuesday . I'm looking forward to seeing what we can come up with.

I'm also looking into a new flavor. I am thinking something with coconut... Perhaps chocolate chip and coconut icing. I'll let you know how it goes.

Have a great long weekend everyone! Lets hope tomorrow is a success.

Back in the Kitchen


I just wanted to show you guys a picture of the cupcakes Nikita and I made for our friend's twins 3rd birthday. We like to call them "Truly marble, marble cupcakes". The frosting is a combo of chocolate fudge and vanilla buttercream.

One tip that I find really improves the flavour of the actual cake batter is using unsweetened choclate squares (or the discs) instead of cocoa powder. I like the richness of the taste. It is a more full, rich and smooth texture of cupcake. I highly recommend it!

Oh and a tip for the frosting; use cocoa powder so it's not TOO rich (if using buttercream frosting)The consistency of the frosting makes it full and rich and smooth enough, so the powder is a way to add the light chocolate flavor to the icing without over powering the flavour.

Happy baking everyone :)

P.S. Here is a picture of the cake we made for their Barney themed birthday to go along with the cupcakes. As our first attempt at full cake decorating (we did a Princess Jasmine for our friend earlier in the year) we were pleased and the boys loved it! The coloring was the hardest part to master, but so worth it to see their little faces covered in the icing a few hours later.

A Little Love

Happy Wednesday!

Withdrawl!

After deciding to take 2 days off from baking, I've begun having withdrawl symptoms. Why did I say I wasn't going to bake for 2 days?

There is something so calming about mixing different ingredients together to make a delicious creation. Even if it isn't cupcakes. I find creating differet cakes, tarts, meals etc... a challenge, but also a form of relaxation.

Comfort is something I think of when I think of my kitchen. It is a comfortable space. Nothing snazzy, nothing particularly over the top; But when I'm in there, I'm happy, comfortable and balanced.

Tomorrow I will get back to it. and... i'm going to try something new too! We'll have to see what I can come up with.

Good night!

THE ONE!!!!

Well after about a month of really searching and experimenting (and years of baking with several different recipe books) I think I have found THE ONE. It is light, with a hint of buttery goodness in a cupcake!

I've been forcing everyone I know to try it. I am fortunate to have supportive network of people that like to participate in taste tests. I haven't had a negative comment, which is saying a lot given my critics. I am so grateful for their honesty and am pretty excited about the positive feedback.

I'm starting to feel comfortable whipping these up quickly too. With new recipes I am always cautious, just in case I forget to add something, like baking powder... yes it happened, just once though).

Now I need to think of a name. I was hoping for sweet somethings but it seems to be taken. I want to make sure that my cupcakes are known to be natural, homemade, handmade. Homemade Handmade... hmmm that could work (clearly I'm not that creative).

In non baking related news, I've finished the summer semester of school (I'm also a full time student if I haven't mentioned that yet). In 4 days I'll be finished my placement as well. That means I have the next 5 and a half weeks to relax and BAKE my heart out. I have accomplished a vanilla and chocolate cupcake but I have about 8 more that I want to try.

I think the next one will be Raspberry White chocolate... or Banana Chocolate. We'll have to see what happens.

I must say. Having a cupcake finished feels really good. I'm hoping to add some photos soon. Hopefully they look as delicious as they taste! Now I'm off to enjoy the evening sunset. I hope everyone is able to enjoy the beautiful weather we've been having. What a fantastic summer.

Until next time; eat, drink and be merry

me

slight fail...AKA further opportunity for growth!

I believe in keeping the world (and desserts) as natural as possible. I hope to one day have a home that is environmentally friendly, waste nothing and of course, only feed my family natural foods.
My motto is, if I can't pronounce it... I probably shouldn't eat it (I'm sure there are a few exceptions of natural foods I cannot pronounce).

Today I made another batch of cupcakes, tried out a slightly different icing recipe (which was a definite winner by the way).

The downside... it wasn't "the one". I really thought it would be. As I put it in the oven I even said.. Lets hope... I think this is THE ONE.

After just 18 minutes my cupcakes today were too dry! I did use veggie oil instead of butter and I'm wondering if that made it cook faster? hmm I smell a test coming on.
I have to test this tomorrow. Perhaps I'll reduce the time by a couple of minutes and see what happens.

Also I'm starting to think of my next flavour. I'm thinking of a fruity cake or cupcake... kind of like a jelly filled donut but in a cupcake. Oh man, I could go for one of those right now. I just have to figure out how to make it!


Good night,

me

Finding the Right Mix

The best smell in the world to me, is freshly baked cake, cupcakes, cookies... you get the drift. I have a sweet tooth. I grew up with my grandmothers always baking something fresh, delicious and natural. Now I feel as though it is my turn to start the traditions of baking little sweet somethings for my family and friends to enjoy.

Currently I am trying to find the best cupcake recipe out there. The search started with cook books... but I couldn't find "The one". I've decided to try and make up the recipe all on my own. The task is proving to be more difficult than I originally anticipated.
The smallest changes can make a huge difference.

So far I have made...

Too dry cupcakes
Too sweet cupcakes
Not sweet enough cupcakes
Too dense cupcakes...

and finally, today... the "almost there, just a tiny tweak and they'd be perfect" cupcakes.

Wish me luck. I'm hoping I can find THE ONE tomorrow!

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