0 Amaretto Truffle Icing and fondant flowers

I LOVE chocolate. Seriously, whoever said diamonds were a woman's best friend obviously was a man, because being a woman, I beg to differ--I think it is chocolate. I honestly don't know how I went 5 WHOLE YEARS without eating chocolate because of a bet with a good friend. Those definitely were years of sacrifice for me (and would you know I just received a letter from my friend indicating that she is on year 11 of no chocolate--can you say WILLPOWER?!)

Well, the past couple months have been hard--I am again off chocolate, this time because of my darling baby girl, who gets very fussy when I do eat it. Let's just say the holidays were very difficult--there was chocolate everywhere--but I resisted . . . until I got this book from my dad:

OK--that is a title I want put on vinyl lettering and plastered on my kitchen wall. There are soooo many amazing looking recipes in here that I just had to start trying them.

In this project I tried 2 of them. The cake was the Sinful Chocolate Cupcakes recipe and the icing was the Amaretto Truffle Icing recipe. Both looked delicious. I was slightly disappointed with the cupcake recipe, but then again all I had on hand was fat free sour cream, and it called for the fat-full stuff, so I'm guessing that may have had something to do with it. Still, not bad (but I am bound and determined to one day find the most perfect chocolate cake recipe, and will try recipe after recipe until I do).

On the other hand the Amaretto Truffle icing was delicious--and rich. Very rich. I love almond flavoring, so this hit the mark for me. It's kind of a mix between chocolate ganache and chocolate buttercream with a dash of almond. Definitely a keeper.

So I combined these two recipes into this birthday cake for a friend. Yes, I gave it away, and didn't eat it all (lucky for my baby I just tasted the cut off cake top with some icing for critique purposes :)

Then I whipped up a batch of marshmallow fondant to make my colorful flowers (recipe at end of post). I mixed in some gumtex with it to make it more of a gumpaste so my flowers would harden a little more).

These flowers were simple to make. I just used the medium flower cutter from my Wilton fondant rose cutters set (although another flower cutter would work just as well I presume). Just roll out your fondant/gumtex mixture, cut the flowers out (and use a knife to cut into them a little more so the petals will separate a bit more), and dry them in some tinfoil molded into a cup shape. I used my large lily nail to press my foil part way down to make the cup shape. Allow to dry (give a couple days at least--I only did one day and mine didn't harden as much as I wish they had--maybe I should have used more gumtex too). Rolled up balls of fondant can be glued in the center of the flowers with a little clear vanilla extract.

Just put the flowers where you like for a beautiful finished cake. Yum. Did I mention I love chocolate? Only 9 more months until I can really eat it again . . . but who's counting?

(I recommend checking out that book Chocolate Never Faileth. Unfortunately due to copywrite I can't reproduce the recipes here for you).

Marshmallow fondant

1 package (16 ounces) Kraft white mini marshmallows
2-5 Tbsp water
2 pounds (about 8 cups) sifted confectioners' sugar
1 tsp clear flavorings (vanilla, butter, almond) optional

Melt the marshmallows and 2T water in a greased microwavable bowl in 30 sec increments, stirring between until mixture is melted. At this point you can add in your flavoring if you want.

Place 1/2 of your powdered sugar in a pregreased Kitchenaid with greased dough hook attached. Pour marshmallow mixture over top (and scrap out all using a spatula). Knead fondant on medium speed. Continue adding powdered sugar in 1/2 cup increments until fondant is not sticky. By the end I usually have to knead a little bit more sugar in by hand on a well-greased surface. The amount of powdered sugar you need may vary depending on the humidity of where you live.

It should be done when it is pliable and non-sticky. I like to wrap mine in a couple of layers of saran wrap and let it rest for a couple of hours before using it. It can be stored for at least a month if coated with a thin layer of crisco, wrapped tight in plastic wrap, sealed in a ziploc bag, and stored in an airtight container.

0 Cupcake slippers

Guess what we found in my daughter's stocking Christmas morning--yep, these darling slippers. I just had to show you. Cupcake slippers--perfect for her--a girl that spends a majority of her day pretending to bake cupcakes in her little kitchen. She must be my child--obsessed with cupcakes and cakes. I just wish they made them in my size too!

(These are from The Children's Place in case anyone out there falls as in love with them as much as I did when I saw them).

0 Deck the Hall with lots of Cupcakes, fa la la la la. . .

What a wonderful time of the year. I can't help but smile just thinking of the Christmas season during the year, and when this season finally comes, I get so excited for all the many fun activities to do and treats to make. I have to admit, this year I haven't done as much with regards to making treats. I'm still trying to adjust to having 2 children from 1 (did I tell you yet?!--We were blessed with another adorable baby girl the end of October-6lbs and a head full of brown curly hair--we sure have a lot to be thankful for this season especially).

I did find some time to make these cute ornament cupcakes for a Relief Society activity. It was an idea I got from Hello, Cupcake. Pretty simple to make, and totally adorable.

I chose to use my jumbo cupcake pan instead of the normal cupcake size (well, I was kind of forced to do that--I realized the night I was making them that I only had jumbo cupcake liners in my stash, and I just didn't want to go to the store), but I really liked how the jumbo size worked well with this idea. Just frost, roll in some decorating sugar, and decorate with twizzler pull and peels, mini M&Ms, spice drops, fruit rollups, and whatever else you have on hand and voila--cupcakes fit for a tree (although I don't recommend decorating your tree with them.

One tip I learned (the hard way)--it is much easier cutting the fruit rollup into the shapes you need if you leave it on the plastic wrap it came on while cutting. Happy decorating and a very Merry Christmas to you!

0 Pie Night

During this holiday season, I wanted to share with you one of my favorite family traditions--Pie Night. Yep--an evening dedicated completely to eating pie (you can't get much better than that!)


It all started many years ago when my mother got tired of spending so much time making so many wonderful pies for Thanksgiving, only to have them go uneaten because we all were too full after our Thanksgiving feast to eat any pie. She didn't want her hard work to go unnoticed (and uneaten), so we started having Pie Night. The night before Thanksgiving, all our immediate and extended family that was around would get together and eat Mom's pies. It expanded year after year from a few pies to a couple dozen, as all the sisters and aunts would make pies too to bring. It has become a true Pie Feast.

We have shared this tradition with our friends the past few years since we are away at medical school and have been unable to travel home for Thanksgiving. It has become a tradition that they too look forward to each year.


The fun part is to see (and taste) all the different varieties of pies that people bring. Every year I make a few different pies for the night, but each year there is one recipe that I always make--one that I was introduced to while on a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints down in southern Texas. It is called Crunchy Carmel Apple Pie (recipe from the bhg.com website). I wanted to show you a simple, yet cute technique to dress your pies up using this recipe (minus the pecans--we aren't huge nut fans here).


This pie has a streusel-type top, so I couldn't do any decorating with a pie-crust top, but I decorated the rim of the pie by simply cutting out little leaf shapes from an extra 1/2 batch of pie crust that I made.

Just layer the leaves around the edge of the pie before baking.

Then wrap the edges with tinfoil for the first half of the baking time so they don't get overly browned.
You'll end up with an interesting and decorative edge to your pie. And for those of you with young kids, it is a great way to get them involved in the baking process. My daughter loves to help me cut out the shapes with our cookie cutters.
Don't forget the caramel sauce on top before serving! Maybe a few of you out there will try this tradition next year with your family. I offer one suggestion: cut small slices--then you will have room to try all the yummy kinds of pie.

I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving, full of family, friends, and an outpouring of gratitude for all the blessings we have been given. Have a safe Christmas holiday season, and never forget the true reason for the season--the birth of our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

0 Minnie Mouse Birthday Party

I can't believe it--my little girl is 2 (well, as of this Sunday). Where does the time go? We threw her a Minnie Mouse birthday party last weekend to celebrate--a little before her birthday but I'm just getting a little too pregnant, and didn't want to risk having a baby when her party was scheduled for.

Ever since we went to Disneyland in April and her Grammy bought her a Minnie Mouse doll, she has been obsessed with Minnie Mouse. I saw this idea of combining a Minnie Mouse theme with zebra and LOVED it--especially because my little girl loves animal print too.


I was super excited to try making these different Minnie treats. Continue below for tips on making the Minnie Caramel Apples, Minnie Cake Pops, Minnie Mouse cake (with a zebra cake batter) and Zebra Pretzels.


Before you can have a party, you need invitations. I designed these in photoshop, and added a little bow on the head after printing them. If you want to use this design for your own personal use (no commercial use) feel free to use my file found here.

I also found a pattern for these darling Mickey/Minnie Zebra party hats online here. It just takes a little time printing them, cutting them, and sticking in the ears, but they are super cute.

Minnie/Zebra Birthday Cake:

I had seen this idea a while ago that I have been wanting to try--Zebra Cake batter. When you bake it and cut into the cake, it is supposed to have zebra-looking stripes. All you do is make a vanilla cake batter, divide it into two portions, and add cocoa powder to one of the portions making it brown. I also added pink to the other portion to have some pink to go along with the party, but I think it would have turned out a little better leaving it the cream color it is originally.


How you put it in the pan is the trick. After greasing and flouring a pan (and if you are me, putting parchment paper down too because you're extra paranoid your cake will stick), you start layering the cake batter. Start by putting 3 TBSP of one color down in the center of the pan and allow to start spreading on it's own. Then pour 3 TBSP of the next color on top. It will spread out on it's own, and cause the layer underneath to spread out too. Continue alternating colors pouring 3 TBSP back and forth.


After using up all the batter, you should end up with something like this in your pan.


Once you bake it, and cut into it, there should be a zebra-ish pattern. I wasn't too happy with how mine turned out. I was hoping for a little better design, but I had fun trying. To see a great version of the zebra cake as well as the recipe I used, go here.


Decorating the actual cake was my favorite part. I made the head out of rice krispy treats using a sports ball pan, and covered it in the black chocolate fondant I had left over from a previous cake. The ears and bow were just a fondant/gumtex mixture that I allowed to dry hard before sticking in the head. The rest of the fondant detailing is pretty self explanatory. I loved my little girl's reaction when she saw the cake for the first time. She kept yelling "Minnie Cake!" over and over.


Minnie Mouse Caramel Apples:

I saw a show about Mickey treats they make at the Disney Parks during the summer, and one of the items they make were Mickey and Minnie caramel apples. I just had to try them myself.


Before anything, you need to prepare your apples. Thanks to my friend Alisha, I found out what that actually meant. There is a layer of wax on the apples from the store. Bring a pot of water to a boil, and quickly dip the apples into the water, then wipe off the wax. This will allow the caramel to stick better. I used 6" dowel rods that I sharpened at one end as my apple sticks.


Next comes the dipping in caramel. Melt some caramel in a double boiler. I used some homemade caramel I had made earlier. That recipe can be found at the end of this post. Dip the apples, then put in the fridge to set while you prepare your chocolate.


Now here is where I varied from what I saw on the show. They stuck marshmallows on caramel for Minnie's ears. I tried that . . . and they kept falling off. So I tried using some leftover melted chocolate from my cake pops to glue them on . . . only about half worked. Finally I resorted to using toothpicks. I am so glad I did. It made the dipping in chocolate a lot easier--I didn't have to worry about ears falling off.


Melt a few bags of dark chocolate candy melts. I didn't have enough to actually dip the whole apple in, so I resorted to pouring the chocolate over each apple in a glass bowl using a liquid measuring cup, allowing excess to drip off, and then pouring the remaining chocolate back into my glass measuring cup to do all over again with the next apple.


To do the skirt you will need 3 things--white candy melts, melted, white candies (I used the York peppermint pieces--you'll have to figure out what to do with all the blue ones leftover . . . that shouldn't be too hard. . . yum!), and pink sanding sugar.

Dip the bottom of the apple in the white chocolate, place the candies in the chocolate, then pour the sugar over and allow the excess to fall off.


Add a little bow, and voila--Minnie Mouse Caramel Apples.

Minnie Cake Pops:


I found this idea on Bakerella's website. They are cake balls on a stick with candy melts as ears dipped into chocolate. Luckily I found some black candy melts at Michaels since it is Halloween time. (You can dye dark chocolate melts black, but beware--the Wilton black food coloring contains water and may make your chocolate seize up. I've run into that problem before.) These were a little more difficult than I expected--ears kept falling off and chocolate was kind of thick and hard to get the excess off--but I managed to get a few descent ones.

For full directions, see Bakerella's instructions here.



And last, but not least . . .

Zebra Caramel Pretzels:

My husband and I love to make these chocolate caramel pretzels for Christmas presents, we usually sprinkle crushed up butterfinger or skor bar on top, but I changed it up a little to get a zebra look.



First take some of the homemade caramel, roll it out into ropes, and wrap it around your pretzels (I like the Snyders of Hanover pretzels).



Next, dip in white chocolate and allow to dry. In the meantime, melt some black chocolate melts and put in a ziplock bag. Snip a tiny portion of the corner, and drizzle over your pretzels to make look like zebra stripes.

Super cute, and super yummy!

Add some containers with matching candy, and you are ready to go--a Minnie-Zebra dessert table.

Now, I can't end without showing you a couple pictures of my cute girl. Here she is with her cake saying she is "2."

And here are all the kids. Let's just say it was quite an adventure trying to get them all to wear their hats and sit down at the same time for a group shot. This was the best we could do. They sure are a fun group of kids, though.

Homemade Caramel Recipe:

This is a recipe adapted from the Licorice Caramel Recipe found in Candymaking by Kendrick and Atkinson

1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

1 1/2 cups corn syrup

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

Butter a 9-inch square pan and set aside. In a large saucepan combine the sweetened condensed milk, corn syrup, butter, sugar, and salt. Plac over medium heat ad stir until well combined.

Clip on candy thermometer, and cook, stirring constantly to a firm ball stage (242F if at sea level, 232F in Salt Lake/Provo area, and 237F in Las Vegas area--if you live somewhere else you'll have to do the boiling water test to find out the difference between the boiling temperature at your location vs. sea level to adjust). Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour into pan and allow to stand at room temp over night.