Cute Pic Time

P.S. Thank you for ignoring the candy cane

OBX Cookies

This summer, Greg and I went on a family vacation with his dad's side of the family to the Outer Banks, NC.

17 people = lots of cookies

Enjoy the pics!

Neon Fruits (Sweetopia's tutorial here)

Sail Boats

Seashells

Starfish/flowers

Butterfly

 Pretty, right?

Side Note: allow plenty of time for drying 

Side Note 2: No more brown butterfly bodies, no one needs that :P

Summer Birthday Cake #2

A tip about birthdays: they come around once a year per person, so you're always going to need birthday candles.

As I was at Christmas Tree Shops, a friend and I ran across some pretty cool looking candles. They were tall, elegant, and came in gold and silver, so I bought one of each after a few minutes of being teased as to what I'd use them for. 

They were only $1 per pack (nbd) but you will always need birthday candles at least once a year so you might as well pick up the good ones when they're in front of you. 

For Greg's birthday, I had picked up special colored candles so the flames actually turn colors (green, blue, purple, red) rather than standard flame colored.

So...when in doubt, buy more candles..unless you're a hoarder or pyro. 

Told you...cool candles...nbd 

Plus when you have awesome candles, people are even more blown away (ha ha) when they see what's inside.

Summer Birthday Cake #1

This cake was a first in two different ways. 

#1. It's Covered in a Light, Refreshing...Raspberry Lemonade Frosting! 

I loosely followed this recipe from Confessions of a Cookbook Queen using raspberry lemonade mix and a little bit of vanilla to cut down on the tartness.

Decorated with white jimmies and small/large sugar pearls

# 2. Funky Pink and Black Zebra Stripes... so cool, right?!?!

After prepping two cake pans, slowly layer scoops of pre-colored batter in the middle of the pans and on top of the previous batter. Once the batter is used up, gently shake to move the batter to the edges.

Om nom nom... Om nom nom indeed.

What to get for an Engagement Gift

A few weeks ago, Greg's best friend got engaged! Shortly after that, Greg started questioning me on what one brings to give to the couple at the engagement party. 

I assume everyone will want what I would want in that situation. My advice went along the lines of:

1. Cash

2. Visa Gift Card a.k.a. Cash 

3) Target/BB&B gift card (see above)

None of these were acceptable to Greg's specific taste so I decided to make the following:

Engagement Cookies!

The couple are big fans of sailing and have been on multiple sailing trips with Greg so they were a must.
Next there is the heart boarder cookies (tutorial here at Jesicakes) with their initials (written with an edible ink pen).

 And an engagement ring with gold shimmer dust and sanding sugar.

There were also little heart and flowers but they didn't end up in front of the camera.

The package was topped off with the awesome bride and groom koozies that I found at the local craft store!

Overall, this was a big hit and super fun to make!

Pre-Blog Creations

Dad's Birthday Cake - 

Cake Recipe: Used Devils Food Cake Mix, Devils Food Pudding, Coca-Cola

Frosting/Ganache Recipe: Added Vanilla Bean Paste instead of Vanilla, Used raspberries and filler and toppings

Second try at Royal Icing decorating using new tips:

First try with Royal Icing - need a steadier hand and better decorating tips:

 Easter Cookies!

Irish Soda Bread:

Valentine's Day Rice Krispies: Use 2 sizes of heart cookie cutters, switch the inside hearts of different rice krispie recipes (mixed with sprinkles vs dyed pink)

Cake mix pinwheel cookies with sprinkles: 2 seperate sites, one for a recipe, one for preparation directions

Rice Krispie Pumpkins with Sour Apple Straw Stems

Rainbow Birthday Cake: I used the directions for the rainbow, not the recipe. I believe I used 2 box mixes. Sprinkles on top and in the middle, with chocolate butter cream frosting.

Pistachio Cupcakes

Pistachios - I have loved these nuts since I was a small child. The cracking of the shell, the salty then sweet taste, who doesn't love a pistachio (besides those with a nut allergy).


I always liked the idea of pistachio pudding as a child but I could never get over having tiny pieces of the nut in the actual pudding (the one that came from a box). I would pick around the pieces and leave them in the bowl to be washed down the drain. I only recently tried pistachio ice cream and I had the same issue! I hated the soggy texture of the pistachios in the ice cream.


Regardless, I've been looking for a pistachio recipe and came across an awesome recipe on Bakerella for a box cake mix mixed with pudding, and I decided to use pistachio and make cupcakes! Who knew that was coming?


So, I have another issue other than my dislike for soggy nuts (haha, very funny, moving on). My cupcake pans are more of muffins pan so my cupcakes come out very large and squat. But! I came across larger cupcake wrappers that are geared towards absurdly large cupcakes which worked perfectly. Plus, the recipe make the cake rise higher than normal so the wrappers kept it from spilling over. 


Here's what I did:

Pistachio Cupcakes amended from Bakerella's Simple Sprite Cake 
1 white cake mix (I used funfetti, I wish I had used white)
4 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 box instant pistachio pudding (3 oz. size)
8 oz. can of Seltzer (I ran out of clear soda's and didn't go the the store, I wish I had used sprite)

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Place wrappers in cupcake pans. (I made 12 giant cupcakes, I assume normal sized ones are around 24.)
• Mix ingredients on low until combined and then increase speed to medium and mix for about 2 minutes.
• Pour batter into wrappers (about 1/2 way) and bake for about 25 - 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
• Cool for a few minutes in the pan before removing and placing them on a cooling rack (the image below is showing them cooling in the pan).

Then have your boyfriend whip up some frosting because he think your homemade butter cream frosting is never soft enough for his taste. Or use the canned stuff, I love both options.


These turned out delicious, moist, and I didn't find any soggy nuts (last time, I promise).