testing out agave nectar AND...

This holiday season I've given myself a little challenge. I'd like to broaden my horizon's and get some new recipes under my belt. Even more so I'm looking to find some sugar alternatives that are natural and free of artificial sweeteners (yuck!)

I just learned about David's Tea (in Sherway mall in Etobicoke... it's a must try) and one of the best cups of tea I've ever had (flavor was buttery rum with milk). I found out they sweeten their tea with agave nectar... and it was DELICIOUS. I later found out that agave nectar has a lower glycemic index than other refined sugars and thought to myself... tastes good, and is good for you? I want more of this!

SO I am going to be tweaking some of our fantastic recipes and seeing if we can't make them even better by keeping the taste and making them better for people.... now WISH US LUCK... it'll be quite a challenge.


On a more holiday related note I hope everyone is happily preparing for the festivities (Christmas, Hanukkah, Diwali etc...).
If you find yourself getting stressed out or overwhelmed in the hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping and party planning just remember one thing...


Have a great weekend everyone!

Christmas is Coming...

Good afternoon bakers!

I'm just wrapping up my last fall semester but made sure to take a break from finals to start some Christmas baking with Nikita. Here is what we came up with!


Buttercream Christmas Tree's!


The Snowman Family :)


The whole Christmas crew!




Happy Holidays everyone!

Jen

Happy Birthday Brother!!!

Happy Birthday to my big brother! He specifically requested a NON fondant covered cake... but he wanted a lot of detail and smoothness (yes he's quite demanding!)

Regardless I was able to use a combo cream cheese/butter cream frosting mixed with a little fondant Maple Leaf jersey (I got off on a technicality since the it was only a small portion of the cake).

Here is the final product!!! I think he really liked it.


By the way the mustache is for MOVEMBER, he doesn't always have that.


My next order of business is to learn how to rotate pictures in the blog... woopsie!





Next up... SOCCER themed cupcakes and CHRISTMAS baking!!! Nikita and I are tickled with excitement!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Jen
Jen

happy birthday mama~

The last few weeks have been marked with birthdays in my family. First was my mom, then my grandmother and Wednesday is my brother's birthday. I'm surrounded by scorpio's!


Here is a peak at what's been happening for their special days...




I will be sure to post a picture of my brother's cake after tomorrow... I'll give you a hint: He's a leafs fan!

Have a magnificent Monday!

Happy Halloween update!

WOW it has been a long time.
I won't spend too much time chatting, I'll just let some of the pictures do the talking.

With Nikita back from Africa and baking away I have had my nose buried in books (with the occasional baking binge). Here is what we've been doing...


Miguel's 3rd birthday called for a Diego cake and cupcakes!




Manny wanted to get his mom something special for her early fall birthday:




Nikita helped Panago Erin Mills celebrate their 1-year anniversary!:




Last but definitely NOT least.. Halloween themed birthday cupcakes:



Weekend Whirlwind


Hello there!

This weekend has been one of the busiest we've had so far this summer. With Nikita still in Kenya (and from the last update, she's loving every minute of it) I had the pleasure of completing three orders for very different occasions. On Saturday we had Melissa's Bachelorette Party with Lingerie themed cupcakes. Later that day was Fatima's Baby Shower take-aways (Redvelvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and pink daises on top). Finally on Sunday a 'test' order from a new client wanting to try out some of our most popular flavors. I gave him Vanilla, Chocolate (see below), A Sweet MESS **Not on menu, special flavor** and Mango Delite (see below)! I'm hoping to hear from him soon on how they were received.




I'm not going to lie to you. Lately I have been on a chocolate kick and it has taken a lot of willpower not to make myself a batch of chocoholic cupcakes. This chocolate icing with pure cocoa powder and our classic vanilla buttercream smells (and tastes) VERY good... yeah, maybe I'll whip up a quick batch for myself tonight.


This week officially marks the beginning of the end of summer (hard to believe it is nearly September already). I am thinking of starting to bring back some of the fall flavors, but can't bring myself to do it quite yet.

I hope you all are able to make the most of your summer and enjoy time outdoors!

I'll post more pictures shortly, but for now I must get back to work!
Have a great day,

Jen

Happy Cupcake cookies!


Hello!

This past weekend I had the pleasure seeing some family from Michigan that came up for the weekend. It had been years since we had last seen them and it was a much enjoyed visit. My young cousin, Brian (who I hadn't seen since he was in diapers) came with his vibrant energy and eagerness to learn about baking and decorating cupcakes. I wasn't sure that he'd be that excited about it, but we had so much fun (and he was a big help) in the kitchen.



After mentioning the tray of cupcakes and homemade oreos I had made last weekend we began talking about the idea of putting cookies in cupcakes (one of my favorite things to do). Well Brian took this idea and ran with it...

Friday night with his help we created "A Sweet Mess"- A vanilla cupcake filled with chocolate chip cookie dough and topped with an oreo buttercream frosting. It was D.E.L.I.C.I.O.U.S.! There were about 50 other great ideas that came with him this past weekend and I'm looking forward to trying some of them out in the coming months.

I have a photograph on my phone that I will be sure to put up tonight.

That's all for now. I'm trying to mentally prepare for this weekend. Baby Shower, Bachelorette Party and "just because" cupcake orders coming right up!

See you soon,
Jen

Concert Cake and cupcakes... with avocado?



Hello!!!
It's been a week since I last posted and sadly, I have to keep this one brief. I say sadly because so much is going on right now and I'd love to type for a while explaining the excitement!

Here is the short form:
1) The website is up and running... and WE LOVE IT! Thank you Angelo Manalili from gellobot designs! He's done such a great job and really knows how to capture our vision.
to get to our website (if you didn't just come from there)click here!

2) I had to do a concert themed birthday cake for Nikita's cousin's daughter. Although there were some last minute glitches (the backdrop BROKE IN HALF minutes before he took the cake home) the show went on... and here is what it looked like (without the Winx Dolls that were on top)

3) Lastly last night I decided to make some chocolate vegan avocado cupcakes. They were DELICIOUS and just different enough. I love the new dimension of flavor added by the avocado buttercream. Here it is start to finish...(in all it's bright green glory!)




have a great weekend everyone!

Jen

The Website is Coming!

Hello!

I can't believe it's already AUGUST... there, I said it. I feel better now.

Last night after meeting with our web designer I started making some of the beloved homemade oreos for some friends that are coming by this weekend. I'm even thinking of making homemade ice cream and filling them with that instead of the regular icing. I'll let you know what happens.

Speaking of web designer...
Angelo is so incredibly knowledgable and helpful. Last night he showed me what the site is essentially going to look like (at go-live) missing just a few minor details.
It looks great! And I'm so excited about it. I can't wait to share it with everyone (maybe I'll send out a "Launch" notice tomorrow...). I highly reccommend his work. He listens to his clients and is patient and provides great ideas and efficient work.

A huge thanks goes out to Angelo for all his hard work, dedication and patience with us!

Before I go I MUST show you the new logo... yes... we have a logo. and yes, Nikita and I have been turned into cartoons!
Andrea Commande is a fabulous, talented, intelligent artist that was able to whip up exactly what we wanted. Something simple, fun, and clean.
Here is his work (The colors MAY change, or disappear, we're not 100% sure yet).



So... what do you think?


Lastly I think I should say I never realized how much time and effort goes into setting up a business. I can't believe it's been just over a year since Nikita and I started doing this "Seriously". Thankfully neither of us know what that word means when it comes to cupcakes, so we're still having a blast.


Now I must go.
Have a great weekend everyone! :)
Jen

cake decorating take 2

It's happening... I can feel my heart rate starting to rise ever so subtly. haha No I'm just kidding. But seriously I'm pretty excited because this weekend I'll be creating a cake with a Concert stage "winx" theme for a special little girls birthday. I'm excited to get to try my hand at fondant again, hopefully with much better results than last night (it was 2007, humid, and I did NOT know what I was doing). I'll definitely keep you posted.
Here is what I'm using as inspiration

It's a Wilton "Diva's Debut Cake". My cake will look significantly different than this, but generally the concept will be the same. I'll show you the final product as soon as I have it done! (just for starters, mine will be a rectangle, and not have those dolls on it)

I'm compeltely open to suggestion by the way! Feel free to tell me what to do.

Have a great day!

PS I'm starting a week long mini bake a thon with something different everyday before Saturday (my brother is hosting a BBQ/Party thing) and I usually like to have some homemade treats on hand. So far I'm thinking homemade oreo's, mini cupcakes, ice cream... and MAYBE some ice cream sandwiches, although I don't know if I'll have enough time.
Wish me luck!!!

Jen

I Scream for Ice Cream

Hello!
So I got a new ice cream maker (it is the Kitchen Aid attachment for the mixer, and quite possible the best purchase I've made in a while) and... I LOVE IT!

This week I tried my hand at making homemade chocolate coconut ice cream. I shredded some bitter chocolate, mixed the yolk and sugar over a double boiler (which I had to improvise with since I do not have one... next purchase perhaps?) and let it set for about half an hour before putting it into the ice cream maker. I was really happy with the results. Kind of like soft serve creamy goodness.

The recipe is from William Sonoma's collection and I added in about 1/4 cup of shredded coconut just before setting it to cool.
Click here for WS Chocolate Ice Cream Recipe

Next week i think I want to try making an ice cream brownie, cookie cake. It sounds weird, but I'll explain it later if it works out haha.

There are a few birthday's and BBQ's coming up which means CUPCAKE time!

One of the dozen's will be our classic buttermilk vanilla cupcake with vanilla buttercream, and another will be some sort of surprise, but definitely with cream cheese frosting (her favorite dessert is cheesecake so we'll see what I can put in there).

I want to leave you with another sneak peak of the Marlee MacLean Photography session... our website is launching in less than two weeks and I'm so excited!

Our *quickly becoming* famous Raspberry Lemon Drop cupcake (a personal favorite of mine for the summer).


A light and fluffy cupcake with light raspberry puree buttercream and a fondant star! For some reason this cupcake just brightens up my day.


Have a great long weekend if I don't see you soon!

Jen

Black Tie cupcakes

Good Monday morning,

I am incredibly tired from a jam packed weekend (yet again) but feeling pretty good this morning.
That BBQ I was talking about in my earlier post was a success, although I must admit I did not make half the things I thought I would.
I opted for the Bounty Hunter Cupcake which is a chocolate base cake with shredded coconut and topped with coconut cream cheese frosting. They were a big hit!

On Friday I made 24 mini's for my friend Jen's brother's 16th birthday. She wanted to keep them classy and gender neutral so we went with chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream. The rich dark color of our chocolate cupcakes always looks so classic when paired with a stark white buttercream. Here they are:


For this week I'm planning on keeping things a bit more low key and am hoping to spend some more time outside!

I am also planning on trying my own Chocolate Coconut icecream (and I'm debating if I should toss some banana in there too to see how it comes out.)
That is on the agenda for tonight. It's my first time trying ice cream from scratch so wish me luck!

Have a great day,

Jen

What to make...

So I seem to have hit a bit of a road block.

There are a few things I want to make this week, and I cannot seem to decide which one to do (I don't have time to make all three).

First there are the homemade oreos that seem to be a huge hit with family and friends. I have a BBQ this weekend and I'm thinking those might be a good idea.

Next is a cupcake pie (yes with pie filling and all). This one will likely take the longest, but I think will be the most rewarding... I might HAVE to do this one soon... I don't think I can wait much longer! haha

Lastly I came across the MOST intriguing recipe I've seen to date.
It's a vegan chocolate cake with AVOCADO buttercream. YES... Avocado. And yes, the icing is bright green. That sounds like it could be amazingly delicious and rich, (not to mention full of healthy fats)... OR it could be a green monster. The curiosity may actually be getting the best of me.

I am inviting fellow bakers to think of the weirdest concotion you have ever come up with. What made it so interesting? and most importantly... how amazing was it?

That's it for me today... I'll be sure to let you know how the recipe comes out (which I choose).

Happy Tuesday everyone!


Photo by Marlee MacLean Photography... wait til you see all the other amazing photos she's done for us!

Lemony Lime Coconut Pie

Good morning everyone!

As I sluggishly made my way to work this morning I thought what better way to start of a gloomy Monday than with a recipe to a declious pie.
This past weekend as you may know (if you read this blog) I made a delicious (and ridiculously easy) key lime pie. As it turned out I thought making 2 pies would be best since there were going to be 10 adults at this dinner and I wanted to make sure they had enough for seconds!

So, since I only bought enough lime for one key lime pie I decided to change the second to something slightly different. Below is the recipe!

Lemony Lime Pie Adapted from allrecipes
Ingredients
1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust (or make your own)
2 and 2/3 cups sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup sour cream (I used 5%)
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup of freshly squeezed lime juice
1 and 1/2 teaspoon of grated lime zest
1 and 1/2 teaspoon of grated lemon zest
1-2 tablespoon(s) of shredded coconut (I used sweetened but unsweetened would be best) **optional**

Method
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

2. In a medium bowl, combine condensed milk, sour cream, lime juice, and lime rind. Mix well. Add in shredded coconut and mix for another 10 seconds.

3. Pour mixture into gram cracker crust and sprinkle more shredded coconut on top.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 12-16 minutes, until tiny pinhole bubbles form and burst on top (this took a little longer than I thought so keep checking it to make sure it cooks and the pie doesn't brown)
The coconut on top should be a little toasted (brown in color) when the pie is baked.

Make sure you put the pie in the fridge to completely cool (about 2 hours).

This pie was sweet and tart with a tropical flare. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.



Happy Monday! :)

Jen

Bridal Shower #2 and birthday cupcake pics!

Hello!

Once again I will keep this message short. I want to share with you some of the cupcakes form this weekend.


The first dozen has toppers made to represent an eclectic 23 year old's personality for her birthday.

The toppers included items such as a hi-liter (she studies a lot), alarm clock and Pack of Belmont Milds

Next there were classic chocolate mini cupcakes with vanilla frosting for an engagement party


Lastly today was Colleen's bridal shower. I was honored when she asked me to bake cucpakes for the special day

The cupcakes were a mix of "Girls night out"- Chocolate cupcake with raspberry buttercream, Lemon Drop cupcakes and Chocolate Ganache filled Vanilla cupcakes. There were some fondant toppers made to look like daisies, hearts and wedding dresses! They were a hit, I was so happy everyone like them!


So now that it's all done, baked and understandably eaten... it's time to rest!
Have a great night

...and enjoy this heat! (I hope you have a pool around!)

Jen

Walking on Sunshine

I promised pictures so I'm going to keep this brief.

The parisian theme bridal shower from last week was a success. I'm so happy everyone loved the cupcakes and I got to help them make the day complete.



Chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream and raspberry lemon drops. All tinted with a different shade of pink to match the decor accents in the hall.


Tomorrow is another bridal shower that I had the privilege of doing the cupcakes for.

Also coming up are pictures of a fun 23rd year olds birthday cupcakes .

Hope you're enjoying the sunshine and warmth today!!!

Jen

Summer is here!

Good Thursday morning!
So now that summer is here and I am officially finished my school work until September I thought it might be a good idea to begin blogging on a more regular basis.

With the new website still in the works I have been very busy creating new ideas and cupcakes for some really amazing clients. I am at work right now (shhh) so I don't have the pictures from last weekend's Parisian themed bridal shower but I will get into that tonight or tomorrow... I promise.

This coming weekend gets even more love filled and exciting.
Saturday I'm completing an order of mini's for Jenna and Glenn's engagement party(congratulations!!!). After that I'll be doing an order for an ecclectic 23 year old whose friend wanted the fondant toppers to really reflect her taste and personality. I must say it is going to be the oddest group of fondant toppers I've had on a dozen cupcakes to date (I'll be sure to post pictures of that also in a couple of days). I am excited to see how they come out.

Lastly a dear friend of mine that I have known for 19 years (wow... I don't think I realized it was that long until now)is also getting married and has asked me to make the cupcakes at her bridal shower. I'm so excited! I've decided to do some fondant toppers for those as well and am hoping that the colors I've chose coincide with her raspberry color theme for the afternoon.

Tonight I'm going to be making one of two (or two of two) things for a family dinner party I am attending tomorrow.
Homemade Oreo cookies AND/OR keylime pie. Nothing says summer to me like Key Lime Pie. I've wanted to make it ever since we came back from our cruise (4.5 months ago!)

I know I've posted a picture of the oreo's before but I don't think I have sent out the recipe for a good keylime pie. I'll be trying out Jamie from mybakingaddiction.com's recipe. I have the utmost faith in her work... she's never steered me wrong before! Here is a link to the recipe if you're interested.
http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/key-lime-pies/

I'm hoping mine will look as delicious as this one. Wish me luck!



Have a great thursday! I hope you are enjoying the sunshine and warmth!

This picture makes me feel warmer already!


Jen

website update

I cannot believe it has been nearly a month since the last post. It feels like no time at all has passed since then.

June was a busy (but very fun) month. With the Anniversary party, birthdays, weddings etc... so there was a lot going on but it was worth every minute of it.

After the events were finished it was time to focus on updating our photo gallery and that's where Marlee MacLean Photography comes in.
This professional photographer is so incredibly talented... I'm really lucky she is our exclusive photographer for the new dolceamorecupcakes.com website (still in the works). Here is just one of MANY photos we'll have posted on our site as soon as it's up and running.

.

These were some of the mini's we had on display on the sweet table at Maria and Michele's 50th anniversary party.
Last week we did a photoshoot with marlee to show the world our unique flavor and icing combos.
It may take a few more weeks but it's really starting to come along. I'll be sure to keep you posted.

In baking news, this coming week I am making some Red Velvet cupcakes as well as our Classic Chocolate and Raspberry Lemon Drop cupcakes for Melissa's bridal shower. Photos of that to come very soon!

Lastly... it's summer time FINALLY so I thought I would send a link to one of my favorite summer recipe's. KEY LIME PIE! Find the recipe here: http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/key-lime-pies/ Yes... it's delicious, creamy with a kick of citrus flavor. Sometimes I like to add some shredded coconut on top for garnish (and a new dimension of flavor). This recipe comes from mybakingaddiction.com and it is definitely worth a try.

Hello Everyone!

I am writing as a very sleepy version of myself. This past weekend has been filled with birthdays and anniversaries (and of course, baking). It has been so much fun. In particular I am so grateful to have been able to celebrate my beloved uncle and aunt's 50th anniversary with them last night.

There will be more pictures to follow from that event but here is what we've been cooking up the past few days.


First up were icecream cone cupcakes with vanilla cupcakes, buttercream frosting (and sprinkles on some) for a friends 25th birthday.


Mini cupcakes in classic vanilla were made to match the theme of a 50th anniversary party. White and champagne colored roses filled the hall and these little guys fit right in.


A 20th birthday celebration for someone that loves a punch of color. These Dolce Amore cupcakes have their traditional chocolate base, custard filling and fondant topper, with a little message added to it!

I hope everyone can enjoy the sunshine and rest that is required on a Sunday such as this.

Talk to you later,
Jen

Monkeying Around this week

Hello Everyone,

I wish the above statement was true. The past couple of weeks have been a completely, fabulously busy whirlwind of exciting events. Aside from the summer course I am taking (for fun... I don't know why I do these things) work has been busy and baking has been top priority when time is available.

This weekend there are several events we're baking for. I have a 50th anniversary party for my Aunt and Uncle that I am baking mini cupcakes for, then a 20th birthday party and lastly a 2 year old's Monkey-themed birthday party.

Here are the fondant toppers we're putting on them!


I love these little guys. And since I didn't have round cutters in all the different shapes I needed I decided to get creative. For the eyes, I ended up using one of my wilton tips for decorating and just used the edge of those! Sounds a little bit messy but it was totally worth it!

I'll post pictures of all the finished product at the end of the weekend

Tip for the Kitchen: If you're ever trying to make new shapes, don't be afraid to use tools that have been created to do something else. Sometimes those are the best tools to use, and FREE! Just make sure they are well cleaned of course ;)

Till next time,
Have fun and eat a cupcake!

Jen

HAPPY VICTORIA DAY LONG WEEKEND!

Hey everyone!

I'm going to keep this short and sweet.

I recently learned that humans laugh an average 15 times per day. I hope this post I'm going to put in here brings you to at LEAST 16. I laughed so hard I started clapping my hands and searching for something to lean on. I hope it has the same effect on you!

http://jezebel.com/5582562/clueless-secretary-makes-for-hilarious-office-email-thread


Oh ya, and in baking news... I tweaked a recipe from bakerella's blog... and did some Holiday weekend cupcakes. To me, nothing says Summer is here more than cottaging, campfires, and of course SMORES:


These cucpakes are made with part chocolate, part graham cracker based cupcake and in the middle is a jumbo marshmellow (I think I'll use mini's next time to be honest... the jumbo's exploded as they cooled out of the oven, haha). All in all my family and I enjoyed these. I also want to mention that I didn't even put the finishing touches on them! Picture a silky smooth chocolatey ganache drizzle.
mmmm... maybe I should add it then.

You can find the original recipe from...
http://www.bakerella.com/smore-or-less/

this site has amazing ideas and recipes.

ENJOY and Happy Long Weekend!!!

Jen

Bachelorette here we go!

Hello bakers (and non-bakers),

Today is a day I am happy to say I have been down in the kitchen since the moment I woke up. First and foremost I made some lovely cupcakes for a Lingerie themed Bachelorette Party!

These mini chocolate and vanilla cupcakes are topped with vanilla butter cream frosting and fondant bra's!
Here's a peak.



next we're having a get together with family for dinner and I thought it would be nice to make some Penne a la vodka for my cousins.


I love this sauce. it's so easy to make too!

I'm also loving that it is cool and rainy out... It makes being in here all the more fun (since I'm not missing out on anything!)

Have a wonderful Saturday everyone! Eat well and be Merry :)

Jen

a non cupcake baking adventure... kind of

Hello!

This evening I decided to try a new recipe after going for a jog (yes that sounds very counter productive I'm sure, although I only ate one, honest!)

I don't know if you guys have ever heard of a website called http://www.mybakingaddiction.com WELL- it.is.amazing!

I decided to slightly tweak her Homemade Oreo recipe to see if I couldn't make some for myself.

They were definitely too big, and I want to make them again with even less sugar than I put in (which was less than the recipe called for) but I think, with anice big glass of milk they are DELISH.

here is a sneak peak of the picture:




have a great night everyone!

Happy Mother's Day!!!

It is a gorgeous day today. The sun is shining and it's nice and warm out.

I don't have a lot to say except I love this weather and hope that you are all able to enjoy the sunshine!

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful Mothers in the world!!!

I will leave you with some photos of this weeks creations!


Lemon drop daisy mini's and Lady bug chocolate ganache filled mini's!



strawberry-lemon minicakes!


chocolate sunflowers with peppermint patty centers.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

P.S. Hi Mom! Thank you for being the best mother ever and supporting me through everything I do. I love you! <3

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