Sunsets.

"Sunsets, like childhood, are viewed with wonder not just because they are beautiful but because they are fleeting." 
— Richard Paul Evans

Vanilla Chai Cupcakes and Chocolate Cupcakes for Josh and Anna Duff's Wedding Reception (and what happened while I was making the cupcakes)

"One of the secrets, and pleasures, of cooking is to learn to correct something if it goes awry; and one of the lessons is to grin and bear it if it cannot be fixed." 
— Julia Child 

That's the quote that ran through my mind as I made a really stupid mistake.  One, surprisingly, that I've never done before.  I forgot 2 pounds of butter in the frosting. Okay, so it called for 4 pounds, and my brain somehow in a way which I currently just can't figure out, reduced it to 8 sticks.  Ah well.  

And, I didn't even realize it till I had used up all the frosting for the Vanilla Chai Cupcakes....  I walked in the kitchen to make more frosting because I had about 2 dozen cupcakes left to frost, and I looked at the recipe and had that terrible sinking feeling..... HOW COULD I HAVE FORGOTTEN 2 WHOLE POUNDS OF BUTTER??? 

Since we were taking these on a 7 hour trip all the way to NE, frosting that doesn't have enough butter in it.  So I then proceeded to soften the butter which should have been in the frosting at that very minute, and then beat it so it was nice and fluffy.  Then, armed with a spoon and lots of loud music, I scooped off the frosting.   

(You can find the recipe for the vanilla chai cupckes here- I just halved the cardamom in the recipe)

And then I beat the butter and scooped off frosting together.  Thankfully, it worked.  The frosting turned out a little softer than I would have liked, but at least it didn't end up looking funny or anything.

(and this was after I forgot the whipping cream in the chocolate frosting that I just made a few hours before that)

It just really wasn't my day.

But, the cupcakes didn't melt on the trip, and nothing else really eventful happened after that....

And I got the cupcakes all set up...

It looked good, and everyone liked them.

So yeah.  Long week.  :)

After the rain....

 "Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather. " 
— John Ruskin

Toffee Crunch Cupcakes!

Baker's Royale just happens to be one of my favorite sites to browse while looking for new ideas.... So when I came across a Toffee Crunch Cupcake recipe, I had to give it a whirl!  

I ended up using my typical recipe for chocolate cupcakes cause I was making about 200 chocolate cupcakes for a reception next week, so I didn't feel like making another one when the recipes were so similar.  And I didn't add all the water to the chocolate dipping sauce (3 tablespoons to their 6)- it just seemed like it was already thin enough.  Also, I added a little more caramel (my salted caramel that I made), just to make it a bit more caramely. 

You can find the recipe here: http://www.bakersroyale.com/cupcakes/toffee-crunch-cupcake/ 

This was the step I was dreading the most- dipping the cupcakes.  Once I did it, I found out that I shouldn't have been nervous at all- as long as you are sure to follow the instructions you should be good to go! 

There they are, delicious little mounds waiting for their crowning glory....

MORE FROSTING!!!

Honestly, I think that this one makes it to the top 5 favorite cupcakes.  

Chocolate Raspberry Toasted Almond Cake! (or how to use up all the bags and bags of leftover frosting)

I seem to have this problem rather often- I make a cake, and then just end up having a small amount of frosting left- not enough to really do anything with, but too much to just pitch it.  So then the frosting just ends up piling and piling and piling up.... till everyone else starts telling me I need to get rid of it.  But I have such a hard time just throwing away perfectly good frosting, and then we ended up having extra cake layers in the freezer.... so I made this.

Pretty much it's just a ton of leftover chocolate frosting, Smucker's seedless red raspberry jam, and toasted almonds (we always get them from Trader Joe's- they just taste sooooo good).  So, if you too have tons of frosting laying around in multiple fridges, this cake is for you.  ;)

I started out by splitting the cake layer in half (it was kinda a thick layer- and it had been in the freezer for a little while so I can't remember the recipe that I used), slathered it with the leftover Hershey's frosting, raspberry jam on top of that, and then sprinkled it with slivered toasted almond.

Oh, and here;s the tip I use for swirls!

But after I did the swirls on the top I ended up using all the frosting for just that (this is a chocolate swiss meringue), I didn't have any for the sides.  Boo hoo.  So here we go again....

I smoothed it out (swiss meringue apparently curdles if you leave it in the fridge too long- who knew)....

And then spread a mixture of Tunnel of Fudge frosting and chocolate ganache on top, piped more raspberry jam, and then honey roasted almonds.

Aaaaand there's the mess!

It ended up looking pretty good, if I do say so myself.... :)

yummmmm

And it tasted even better.  :)

Bekah and Joe Johnson's Wedding!

Last night, a good friend of mine got married to a wonderful young man- the ceremony was beautiful, and the reception was a blast.  :)  Dancing, food, fun, friends- it made for a wonderful evening.  :)  

A few months ago Bekah asked if I could do her cake and cupcakes- of course I was thrilled to do it!  I love making food for friends, and I was honored that she wanted me to do this for her special day!  

I wasn't able to get really good pictures- still having issues with getting the settings all right on my camera.  :D  The cake was red velvet with cream cheese frosting, the cupcakes are chocolate with mint frosting, and white with raspberry frosting.  :)

The colors were a deep, deep beautiful purple, and they decorated the tables with old books and lanterns!!  Needless to say, I loved it.  :)

Congratulations, Bekah and Joe!!!

June Flowers.....

So now I shall proceed to bore y'all who just care about my cooking stuff and post pictures from outside.  :)

Hopefully you won't end up hating me too much.  :D