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

Dolce Amore Cupcakes is Moving on Up!

This past weekend has been amazing... and really busy!

Nikita and I completed 6 different East cupcake Orders (and added a few more dozen for our own families as well). After the incredibly fun and busy Easter weekend we decided to take a break... JUST KIDDING! Nikita has just finished an order for cupcakes that were used at an Open House for a Local Real Estate Agent making a real splash in the real estate business world. We are so excited to be asked to be a part of it!



This coming weekend I will be baking some cupcakes for a 30th surprise birthday party. I'll let you guess the birthday boy's profession after you see the cupcakes! ;)

Lastly I want to admit something that has been bothering me for months.

Finding the perfect Vanilla recipe has been nearly impossible. I think between Nikita and I we have tried about 30 different recipe variations! I'm looking for Betty Crocker fluffiness with the natural vanilla flavor that we currently have in our cupcake. Going between using oil, butter, applesauce, zucchini, sour cream you name it and we've probably used it in hopes of finding the perfectly, fluffiest, most moist cupcake possible. I'm certainly not giving up yet, although I am prepared to get much more creative in the kitchen if necessary. I'll keep you posted on

I'm now going to call on you, all my fellow cupcake connoisseurs and lovers, to answer one question. What is the most important characteristic of a cupcake to you? Is it moistness? Density? Fluffiness? Frosting? You name it, we'll try to make it the best way ever.

I'll leave you with that. I hope you are all staying dry and doing your best to enjoy this rain!
Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!

Jen

Nothing says Spring like... Snow???

Ok I am all about encouraging the showers in April. Rain is natural and beautiful and gives me an excuse to stay inside and bake new cupcakes... HOWEVER when I wake up on the 17th of April to a BLIZZARD of snow, I am certainly less than impressed.
Anyway, hopefully this was the final appearance snow will make for the season.

Regardless of what mood Mother Nature is in this weekend, Nikita and I got together to make some Spring Cupcakes! After putting our heads together we have come up with some pretty cool designs for easter and Spring in general.
I really love what we've come up with. Here, take a look!









Also this past weekend we had an order for a 3 year old's Birthday Party. The theme was Pink Princess! We had to free hand the little crowns, painted them with edible gold dust and added a little silver candy ball for a 'little something extra'.
Here they are!



After the great response we've gotten from our friends and loved ones (and some strangers) Nikita and I will be baking almost all weekend! I'm pretty excited about it actually! I have a feeling this Easter is going to be DELICIOUS!

I hope you have yourself a Merry Tuesday and Wonderful Wednesday!
Talk to you soon,

Jen

Happy Birthaversary

Hello Cupcake Eaters!

Since I finished school I have been occupying my time with cupcake baking and trial decorating. I have to be honest, it's A LOT of fun!

First of all I would like to give a very big happy birthday and anniversary to Kelly (and Sam). 25 years of marriage is something to be proud of. Dolce Amore Cupcakes was honored to be part of their celebration as we put together 120 scrumptious cupcakes in 5 different flavors. All the cupcakes had a different shade of pink to match their theme. A final picture of the cupcakes on display at the venue is on it's way, but here's what it looked like before pick up!


Raspberry Lemon Drop Cupcakes with Fondant circles and heart toppers!


Vanilla and Lemon cupcakes in different shades of pink!

And last but not least...



Hot pink Peppermint Patty cupcakes! These were the big winner (and my personal favorite as well).

Next up we're preparing some Floral bouquets made of cupcakes (of course), Easter theme cupcakes, and Princess Cupcakes! And later next week Marlee MacLean, photographer extrordinare will be doing a photo shoot with our new line up of decorative cupcakes. I can't wait to show them off to you. I'm really getting excited.

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend, even though the weather man has predicted rain until Monday. I'm sending positive sunshine style vibes to the universe... you never know, it COULD work one day!

Pleasant dreams!

Jen