March 21st, 2013 § § permalink
It goes without saying that I’m down for pretty much anything that includes confetti and some sort of sugar, and after yesterday’s rant, I could use a little sparkle in just about any form. Today that form happens to be Easter eggs.
I don’t have a whole, whole lot of patience for tedious egg designs (although I totally admire it from others), so I’m more of the “throw it all together and call it a party” type of Easter egg goer. All of that being said, I created these sweet nothing Easter eggs that take all of 5 seconds to make and they’re full of about as much cuteness as you can take. Edible glitter, confetti, macarons… if you can dream it up (and it fits in an egg), then you can put it in your sweet nothing eggs.
To make these, I filled each egg with colored crinkle paper, confetti, edible glitter, and a macaron! Let me just tell you, I would squeal with excitement to receive one of these babies. In fact, I did squeal and I even made them… mostly it was the macarons, but still.
January 17th, 2013 § § permalink
Aside from the number one question I always receive (which I mentioned here), people always ask me how I come up with ideas for projects, or things that inspire me. I can say without a doubt that adventuring to new shops, cities, and places inspires me more than anything else. I’m always intrigued by how things are displayed or used in new ways, and there is never any shortage of genius ideas behind little boutiques and local spots that are reinventing the creative wheel. To spread the wealth, I thought I’d start sharing my favorites with you here…
I’d like to introduce you to Sweet, the cutest, most drool-worthy bakery and coffee shop that you may ever step foot into. Not only does Sweet do sweet really well, but it definitely has bragging rights for the loveliest decor on the Houston macaron block, and trust me, I have been around the macaron block!
And just in case you want to take the treats (and cuteness) home with you, all of their goodies can come lovingly tucked into containers and boxes that could make any heart melt.
I had the strawberry and vanilla pots de creme… and maybe a macaron or two for the go, but I can neither confirm or deny that.
January 8th, 2013 § § permalink
This might be a chubby thing to say, but honestly, can you think of a day that wouldn’t be a good day for donuts? I couldn’t either. As a result, I took it upon myself to update the everyday deliciousness that is donuts, and turned them into cute bite-sized treats perfect for this upcoming Valentine’s day (or any other day). I made them using the best homemade donuts you’ll ever have recipe from A Cup of Jo, and a really simple colored glaze for dipping.
To make the heart shapes, chill the donut dough in the fridge for about an hour. Once it’s chilled firm, roll and cut heart shapes from the dough using a cookie cutter on a lightly floured cutting board. I had the best success with the hearts keeping their shape when frying by exaggerating the heart shape dough a bit with my hands, and then popping the cut-outs in the fridge for a few more minutes before cooking them.
Ingredients for the glaze:
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- Pink food coloring
- Sprinkles
Combine milk and vanilla in a medium saucepan and heat over low heat until warm. Sift confectioners’ sugar into milk mixture. Whisk slowly, until well combined. Remove the glaze from the heat and set over a bowl of warm water. Dip doughnuts into the glaze, one at a time, and then place them on wax paper to set.
November 16th, 2012 § § permalink
Honestly, where did November go?! I swear I just blinked for a second and now it’s Thanksgiving! Don’t get me wrong, I love a good excuse to stuff myself on turkey, dressing, and as much pie as the next person, but I’m just a little astonished (and way, way underprepared). Luckily, I have a token last minute Thanksgiving recipe or two, and one of them happens to involve snacking on chocolate covered strawberry turkeys (would you really expect any less from me?)…
Ingredients:
- Strawberries
- Melting chocolate
- Candy corn
- Fudge stripe cookies (cut into halves)
- Wax paper
- White royal icing (optional)
Cut the tops off of the strawberries, making sure that you cut the “back” flat so that the tail stands upright. Dip a few strawberries in chocolate and place them on wax paper. Once the chocolate is almost dry (but still sticky), press a half of a fudge stripe cookie onto the back to make the feathers, then press a candy corn on the tip to make the beaks. If you have any excess chocolate on the side of the turkeys, use a butter knife to cut it off. That’s all you have to do! You can put eyes on them with royal icing, but I like to keep it simple, especially since they never last long.
Not only are these perfect for snacking on throughout Thanksgiving (and the few days before and after, ughm..), but they also make really cute hostess gifts!
November 7th, 2012 § § permalink
I have a new found respect for cake-namers. I spent a solid 15 minutes trying to come up with a catchy, new name for this cake combo I concocted but I was seriously stumped! I’ll just claim that I didn’t want to blow you away with my creativity, ughm, so I settled on a tell it like it is name with Cream Cheese and Dark Chocolate Frosted Cake recipe. On an even more serious note, how could a cake with a macaron on top not be totally delicious? I mean, if nothing else, the cuteness alone would make me grab a second piece.
For the cream cheese frosting:
- 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, room temperature
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Place cream cheese in a medium mixing bowl. Using a rubber spatula, soften cream cheese. Gradually add butter, and continue beating until smooth and well blended. Sift in confectioners’ sugar, and continue beating until smooth. Add vanilla, and stir to combine.
For the dark chocolate frosting:
- 3 cups confectioner’s sugar
- 1/2 sifted dark cocoa powder
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/4 cup unsalted margarine
- 1/3 cup of soy milk
Put all ingredients into the bowl of the mixer. Beat on low to combine. Beat on medium high speed until very light and fluffy, at least 5 minutes. Check that the consistency is good for spreading, not too soft and not too thick, if it’s a bit too thick add a little more soy milk.
For the yellow cake recipe:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom of two 8-inch round cake pans. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. Cream sugar and butter together until light. Add eggs and vanilla to creamed mixture and beat until thoroughly mixed. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Continue beating one minute. Spread batter evenly in prepared pans and bake 30 to 35 minutes.
