Getting Ready To Bake!

That right there, that is just some of the stuff I used. Also please ignore the junk on the chairs, I have no room in my house!

 Firstly I wanted to say happy anniversary to my Hubby, he says I can be overly dramatic on my blog.  And yeah; I so said it Hubby, what you going to do now?  That's right, I am dramatic, and very brave on a key board.  But you still love me and I like you, a lot.  So it's all good.  It has not always been easy but it has always been what I wanted, no matter what, I knew it was going to be. 10 years of marriage later, and over 15 years of knowing you, I still get that feeling when I hear your voice or see you make that face you make when you really want to roll your eye when I say something so super smart you just cannot tell me any different.  So I love you, and you are awesome, and now I am going to talk about food.  

  So, a few weeks back I did my first wedding sweet table, and probably my last.  I don't think I realized how much work it would be.  I mean I know how to work a baking schedule, but even with three days and a helper it was not easy.  If I was not working two jobs, or if I was rich, I would so do this again.  But as that is not in the cards, I will stick to the things I can do.  Like little things for friends and family, and for Pork Chop of course.  Hubby, well he won't eat it, so I give up on him.  Sort of, you know I will keep trying right?

  Anyway this wedding was fun, I didn't get lot's of pictures because I was trying to do a lot in a little time.  But I took a few, and I hope to get some professional pictures from her photographer of my desserts, could you imagine?  I real picture on my blog, not you know, crazy blurry ones?   I know, I dream big.

 So for this wedding, the bride, my friend from work, really wanted lots of options.  She is such a foodie, every time I bring something in, she is always telling me she loves it.  This is also the friend that thought whoopie pies were called whoopie cushions.  She will never live that down.  

  When we talked about what she wanted we picked a whole bunch of things, her only really specific requests were that I use the best ingredients, so the best cocoa and vanilla bean paste of course.  And then she also wanted a gluten free option for her friend.  I have never done that so it was a sort of "OMG I hope this tastes good."  And it did.

Just a few of the chocolate pretzel rods, yeah I said it, rods.

Dessert Table Menu:

Double Chocolate and Chocolate Vanilla Cake Pops
Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Rods
Chocolate and Vanilla Cupcakes
Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Chocolate and Vanilla Whoopie Pies
Hazelnut Donuts
Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies
Mint Chocolate Brownies
Chocolate Fudge Brownies
Vanilla Bean Macarons with Chocolate Ganache
Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes


 So I wrote a list of what  I needed.  It was something like 5 dozen eggs, 6 blocks of butter, lots of sugar, flour and milk.  And that was just the beginning.  I set up a day by day baking schedule and asked my mom and sister to each come help me out one day.  It worked out great, and the bride seemed very happy.  Or she could have been drunk, or just happy to be married. I choose to believe it was the sight of all that yummy food that did it, you cannot tell me any different!

  I am not going to share the recipes here with you, yet.  If I have made the things before I will link them in the post, if not I will talk about them, then come back and make them again, because I only did like three new things and they were good, so they deserve to be made again.

This right here is my new favorite thing.  Last month Bakerella released a kids baking set.  And I so wanted it, but Hubby was all "that's for kids"  And I gave him the stink eye and got it anyway.  But I got a picture of Pork Chop holding the box, so I totally get to say it was for him.  He is also not allowed to touch it, well at least until I play with all the things first.  I did pay for it after all.  Anyway this is the cake crumbler thingy doo dah.  It is amazing and I am sort of mad these were not around before.  And I also think there needs to be one made for adults, but I am not above using it for myself, I will now be using it all the time. Love it!

So a few of the things I made and have made  before are:

Chocolate and Vanilla Cupcakes - Linked Here

Chocolate and Vanilla Whoopie Pies - Linked Here

Chocolate Mint Brownies - Linked Here

Triple Chocolate Cookies - Linked Here, but using lots of different chocolate chips

Vanilla Bean Macarons and Chocolate Ganache - Linked Here

Chocolate Covered Pretzels - Linked Here

Chocolate Cake Pops  - Linked Here

Hazelnut Donuts - Linked Here

  So I will share with you in the near future the Chocolate Fudge Brownies, the Gluten Free Cupcakes and the Chocolate Covered Strawberries.  I tried making the tuxedo strawberries and I was happy with how they turned out.  For a first try anyway.

This is just part of my prep.  I would measure everything out.  Like all the flour and sugar and such, then plastic wrap the bowls, this made it so I could bake 5 or more different recipes really quickly, only stopping to crack eggs and measure the wet ingredients.  Saves a lot of time.

  I was really surprised by how much work this was, I loved it, and seriously would do it again if I had the time, but wow I was tired.  I had dishes like you wouldn't believe and my mom and sister were great about doing them as I worked.  I hate measuring out everything ahead of time for the simple fact it takes up a lot of dishes.  I could measure everything out into plastic bags, but those get costly, so I use the bowls.  I also love that I can use my blog to go back and get my own recipes.  I have a page started for those, but have not had the time to get to it.  I will one day.  I mean you know, I should right?

Sort of lop sided, but they tasted great.  I got some really good strawberries at the farmers market, and the ones on top were perfect.  The ones on the bottom were too small, and ended up going moldy within a few days.  Oh well, these ones looked good.

  So I hope to share the nice pictures with you soon, and also those other recipes, I seriously now want to make that gluten free cake again and again, it was so good!  Also my one year blog anniversary is coming up, but there will be no big give away, sorry, unless we win the lottery.  Also Pork Chop is turning 8 this month, and I had plans for his birthday.  We already booked and paid for the pool and party room, so we will have that and most of the other extras will not happen.  But there will be cupcakes and cookies and cake pops and home made marshmallows, so it won't be all bad.  Also there will be a bunch of friends and family and Pizza.  I will share all the baking too.

  And I also just want you all to know I am way too young to have an 8 year old, I mean have you seen how good I look?  Have you also noticed how immature I am?  It all factors in people.

It's Over, Summer Time Fun Pictures

He is smiling now, but just mention school and he gets mad.

  So it's over, the summer is done.  And I feel like I got nothing done at all.  Really I had such plans.  They all fell through.  The one thing I did get to do was spend time with Hubby and Pork Chop, so you cannot really complain.

  Thought I would post some pictures to show you the fun we had.  We did a few day trips, because everything cost so much, we tried to just pic a few big ones.  So here are some fun pictures.

  And just so you know I hate taking pictures, a lot.  I never like how I look. So just pretend I am a super hot, it will make looking at these a little easier.

  So we went to the Zoo with my Aunt, she is awesome, she knows all the short cuts and she even will get down and crawl around with Pork Chop.  Although she wouldn't do this, I don't know why I did.

Yeah, so basically it is a ropes course.  And that means heights, I hate heights. Oh and you are basically comparing yourself to a gorilla, double crappy situation. 

And the funny thing is this is as high as we got, we went up one level and Pork Chop and I climbed back and forth across the easiest thing like 4 times.  I kept telling him it was fine we could get down, but he was all "no I like this" when I totally could see he was scared.  So after a few trips across and such we got off.  I will point out there are no pictures of me hugging the post behind me there, well none that I will post.  It was high!

Then another day we went to Canada's Wonderland.  It has been here for as long as I can remember and every year there is a new ride.  Hubby took Pork Chop a few years back, but he was too little for any real rides. Well this year, he was allowed on almost all of them.  And so we rode rides from the minute it opened, until the minute it closed. This is the big waterfall where they had divers, we saw them and Pork Chop was all "let's go, more rides!"

That is Pork Chop and I in the front of this kids size coaster.  I swear he would ride them all day , every day if he could.

And we got to go swimming at my parents a few times.  Pork Chop is big enough  to stand up in the pool but wears his life jacket to be "brave"  And I hate the pool now, not sure why, I would spend all day in it as a kid.  Anyway I spent the time listening to "Daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy look at me!"  And then he would jump in.

And of coarse Hubby had to take pictures under water.  I will not post the self portraits he took, those are just for me.  Also Grandpa will always do a canon ball, Pork Chop thinks it's the coolest.  He has done that since I was a kid.

My little Pork Chop, he is getting so big.

And he had to wear these goggles, and jump in holding his nose.  So cute.

  Then this past week we went to the annual exhibition.  We had planned to go to the Fan Expo, you know the thing I was making my steam punk outfit for?  Well since a little Pork Chop is due for some serious dental work in the near future we had to pick one thing to go to.  And I figure a trip as a family is better.  And considering the outfit I started for Hubby ended up being a complete mess, this was good.  Also they had a food truck weekend, so really it was for me to eat lots of food.

I only wanted pictures with the two treat trucks.  This pink one looked good! I have no idea who that guy is but he must be getting a treat, so I will allow him to be in my picture.

And here is Pork Chop and I and the Cupcake truck.  I was "scream cupcake!" Can Pork Chop yelled "No!"  So there you  go.   Notice the owner giving me the look?  Well you know, I am used to that by now.  Poor Pork Chop was not feeling the best, so I carried him "piggy back" for a while.

It was only 10:30 am but I felt bad because I wanted to try a cupcake.  I did and only took two bites, then tossed it.  Way too sweet first thing in the morning.  But I bet it would have rocked later on.  So sad.

We usually only get ride passes for Pork Chop and one of us, they are costly.  We lucked out that my brother in law won two and hooked us up, but I was the lucky one to go on the rides.  Can you tell that I am loving it?

I am trying to give Hubby the stink eye, as I got really wet and he was all nice and dry. Jerk.

And it was so hot we had to sit in a building to try to cool off.  So Pork Chop make himself a craft, and picked out a stuffy for his new cousin, who is "the cutest baby ever!" as he says.  I think he is obsessed with her, he is always asking about her.  And me and her mom hope they get married one day, we are not related really so it's all good.

And here is my guy in his cool guy shades, eating a plain snow cone.  He loves shaved ice, and he was not drinking enough so I figured it would get some water into him.  But the lady at the stand gave me a weird look when I said no flavor please, and people were sort of eyeing him as they passed by.  I choose to believe it is because he is cute, not because they probably feel sorry for him having the mother that will not allow him to have a real snow cone.

  So that is about it, we didn't do as much as we usually do, as this is the first summer I am working my second job.  I actually miss spending as much time with the boys as I used to.  But then give me an hour with them and I am ready to go to work.  Just saying.

  Hope you are all ready for back to school, because it's going to be a while until next summer.


I'm linking up HERE and HERE



 

Filling Cupcakes

I don't know why but these cupcake thingies make me very happy.

So I have a sister, she is a good sister.  Well now; growing up, I thought I may have to kill her.  That's totally normal right?  Well, when you share a car and live in the same house and have totally different lives, it is normal, trust me.

  Anyway, now, now I like her lots more.  She seems to get me now, or she is just playing it safe, because I have big chef knifes at home, and I know how to dig a deep, deep hole if I need to.  Who can really say right?

That is the left over ganache there, which is so yummy.

  So she went on a little trip to the states for her birthday and she got me a few little gadgets.  I may have mentioned I have a thing for kitchen gadgets.  I blame my mom, she has them for everything.  Need a pickle, she has a pickle picker.  Need a itty bitty whisk, she has almost 100 different sizes. Or need a cookie tray, she had almost every one ever invented.  And no I am not totally exaggerating.  Just a little.

And here is the cupcake as I use the tool of death.

And see, a nice big space to put yummy stuff in!

  So my sister found me some cake pop molds, and a cupcake corer thingy.  That is the technical term just in case you were wondering.

It almost looks like ice cream, so now that is what I want to do next!

 So far I have used it twice, and so far I hate it.  Well  I like it, I hate that it makes me want to eat my cupcakes even more.  So it's a love hate relationship.  My goodness, she must really have it out for me!

Oh my goodness, this stuff is good.  Like I would sell Pork Chop good, but that is not saying much, he is driving me crazy on the summer break.

  So the first time I had an extra cupcake and some left over chocolate ganache from those cream puffs.  And I know left over ganache should never happen, but I made a big batch and I am only one little person.  By the way I ate ganache and strawberries for a few days.  It's totally healthy if there is fruit in it.

I don't know why you needed to see this picture.

  So to use this mind blowingly crappy tool of the devil, you just push it into your cupcake, as far down as you want, then pull it back out. The core of the cupcake will be in the tool and you will have this huge space in your cupcake which you totally need to fill with stuff.  So I used my tiny ice cream scoop and filled it with chocolate ganache that was cooled and set up.  Then you can take the core out of the tool and push it back into your cupcake.  Or, you can just pop that core right into your mouth and run for a bowl so you can eat that cupcake before your Pork Chop sees it.

Or this one, but you know, it's in focus, I have to try and show the good pictures.

 Sorry, I have issues.

  So the second time I did these, it was because I had gotten this super awesome amazing stuff that all the cool USA baking bloggers have been using.  It is called Biscoff spread.  I choose to call it "Orgasm in a jar" Which is sort of gross, but not so gross that I won't eat it.  I have some standards. They are not high, but I have them.

It looks just like peanut butter, but totally has no nuts.  As far as I could tell from the label any way.  And I told Hubby it totally had nuts, just in case he got stupid and wanted to try it.

  So I made cupcakes again, in my super cute tea cup silicon cupcake holder things.  Oh my goodness, I have drooled over these for a while on line, and then one day, in the warehouse store, there they were.  And I picked them up, and may have screamed a little.  Then I had to explain to Pork Chop why it was okay to make that noise when you are touching baking items, and I got them.  For the love of all that is holey, I need an intervention!

See that core, you can totally just eat it. Or put it back in, either way.

  So anyway, I used the coring tool and you know, cored out my cupcake.

 Does that sound dirty to anyone else?

 Anyone?

 No?


 Fine.  Well I did that and then I used my ice cream scoop to fill the cupcake.  I then smooshed the core back into the cupcake.  You could totally trim it off if you want even cupcakes.  But I knew it would not last longer than 2 minutes so whatever.  Then I iced them with some simple butter cream.  I made two chocolate ones, and ate one right away.  Felt sick.  Then I ate the next one the next day, and felt sick.  Holy jeez were they sugary.  But oh so good.

See how sloppy the icing is?  Well I was in a rush and just wanted to eat one, so pretend they look all pretty.

  I also made two plain vanilla ones for Hubby, which I might add are still sitting on the dining room table, almost 8 days later.  What is wrong with him? They will end up in the trash I think. ( small update, they got tossed out, sigh.)

  Anyway, long story short.  My sister is awesome, except when she gets me devil tools that make me want to eat more cupcakes.

 The end.

I'm linking up HERE

Angry Birds Cupcakes

See how red they are?  They were red, but not as red as this picture.  The camera makes it look better.  Wish it did the same for me.

  So as with most things, I am behind the times.  I mean I didn't start playing Angry Birds until a few months back.  But as also is my issue, I become obsessed and play all the versions any free second I have.

  I may have issues.

  Anyway when one of Hubbies friends at work asked me to make her some Angry Birds cupcakes I said sure, after yelling at Hubby for not giving me like 4 weeks notice.  Anyway they turned out just fine, I nearly lost my mind when my stupid edible printer would not work.  I mean I seriously almost drop kicked that sucker.  Only saving grace was I left it alone over night and the next day it was fine.  Whatever, I am still mad at it.


  So I made cupcakes from scratch as that is what she asked for, and I make cupcake toppers like I have before and I just used a bunch of colourful butter cream.

The pictures Hubby printed out for me.

  So to start I printed out the pictures, I told Hubby to make them smaller as I was in no mood to roll out a bunch of fondant after the printer was pissing me off.  Then I rolled out a mixture of half fondant half gum paste, using my pasta roller of course.  Then I brushed a little water on the fondant and placed a strip of pictures on top.  I planned to use a cookie cutter to get them to cut out nicely.  And of course it didn't work, it would cause the picture to tear a bit.  So then I thought I would cut out the picture before putting them on the fondant.  And that worked okay.  I don't know, something about being in a rush really makes me screw things up.

And this is Pork Chop, in his Perry the Platypus PJs, making a really weird face.  What else is new.

  Anyway, I did the toppers a few nights ahead so they would dry right out.

  Then I made two batches of cupcakes, using these recipes that I love from Sugarlicious.  The chocolate ones are so dense and moist, honestly they are better than....well, you know.  I cannot say it, Hubby may read this you know.  Anyway they are good!

Icing paper goes in.

And Pork Chop waiting, so he can eat the left over paper.  

   So once they were baked I picked out the colours I wanted to make my icing.  I made my regular old butter cream, on that same link I put up there, and coloured it all.

The pigs are my favorite.

And I think they turned out okay.

 I then used the largest fluted tip I had and disposable pipping bags and just put a nice swirl on each one.  I then stuck a topper on each cupcake, before the icing had a chance to crust over.

   I made that awesome red using Americolor super red, you need a good amount, but man it is red, no pansy pinky red for us.

  So that was it, the kids had a great time.  Pork Chop got to play some fun party games at the birthday, and I got to make something and not have to worry about who to make eat it all.