*** christmas ***

it's been a while since my last post and it's only 6 more days until christmas. 2011 went by so quickly. and i've grown so much as a baker. i have so much more to learn and improve upon but have come so far.

i bit the bullet and tried working with royal icing. it was not as hard as i made it out to be in my head. i think the hardest part is making sure the consistency is workable. i didn't thin out my royal icing enough so it was harder to work with so i know next time it will be that much better.

i made chocolate sugar cookies and cut them out into different designs. then went a little crazy.

i definitely need to get used to working with royal icing but at least i took the first step of overcoming my fear of it. there's so much you can do with decorating cookies. can't wait to try again.

christmas is one of my favorite holidays. i love giving gifts and making people smile. this year is a little different as almost all my gifts will be edible. so far i have made almond rolo pretzels, chocolate marshmallow mile-high squares and oatmeal almond chocolate chip cookies. thinking about making truffles and cake pops before i hang my baking apron before the end of the year. i have cupcake orders coming in for christmas eve so i will be busy up until christmas and new years so my apron will thank me when i do finally hang it up.

next up: more cookies!

love,
elain

*** life and death ***

this past week has been particularly hard as my hubby's grandmother passed away unexpectedly. she was a beautiful 83 years young and was one of the hardest working mom/grandma/sister/daughter/great grandma/great great grandma's ever. we've been visiting family, bringing over food and baked goodies and just spending time with extended family that we haven't seen in quite some time. sometimes it's sad that it takes an event like this to bring us together but it's so nice to see my hubby reintegrating himself with his cousins and aunts and uncle. grandma's rosary service is tomorrow night so these days that have been leading up to it have just been full of emotion for my hubby which means, i'm doing everything i can do to give him his space. so getting three littles ready for a baby shower and frosting 72 cupcakes was a coordinated chaos this morning.

carrot cake cupcakes with yellow cream cheese frosting

the baby shower was for my childhood friend and her hubby, they're expecting their first child in december. i made carrot cake cupcakes adapted from Sweetopia with cream cheese frosting that i colored yellow to match their theme. and chocolate cupcakes (that i made recently for my SIL) adapted from Glorious Treats with baby blue buttercream frosting. the shower was so much fun. i saw friends that i haven't seen in a while and there were soooo many babies! and dogs! i've never seen so many dogs at a baby shower. they had a jumpy house for the kiddies so we didn't see them much because all their time was spent in the jumper.

chocolate cupcakes with blue buttercream frosting

this was my first real "gig" so i was nervous and excited. it was great because i was able to network with a few folks at the shower and hopefully that will turn into more business in the months ahead.

so amazing that in one week we celebrate the life of a new baby to be born and mourn the loss of a wonderfully loving grandmother. se la vie.

up next: i overcome my fear of royal icing and sugar cookies.

*** chocolate cupcakes ***

i had a last minute party come up on monday (labor day) and was asked if i could make chocolate cupcakes. it was a hectic week and busy weekend even though we didn't have anything scheduled originally but i made it work. squeezing in time to "test" bake recipes isn't always feasible but it is necessary to make sure i'm using a recipe that is "perfect": the right flavor, the right texture, the right look. i have made chocolate cupcakes in the past but they were always from a box. now that i am baking as a business, i want to provide my clients with premium quality baked goodies made from scratch.

i adapted a recipe i found from glorious treats and they came out beautifully. they had that deep dark chocolate look, spongy moist texture and tasted DELICIOUS! i just used a basic cream cheese frosting recipe and added unsweetened cocoa powder and heavy cream to make the chocolate frosting. i topped off each cupcake with some white non-pareil sprinkles and cut out some pink fondant butterflies. i made a little bunting of the birthday girl's name to "top it off".

next up: carrot cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and more chocolate cupcakes but this time i'm topping them off with buttercream frosting

love,
elain

*** strawberry cake pops ***

the past few weeks have flown by. with summer vacation ending for the kiddies and school starting, the last few weeks are a bit of a blur. but still i found some time to bake.

i baked a strawberry cake and attempted to make cake pops. not knowing that white candy melts are hard to work with, my first attempt was a miserable FAIL. the white chocolate was lumpy and my cake pops didn't have that nice pretty smooth outside coating. i did some "research" (a.k.a. reading other cake pop-ers blogs) and learned that white candy melts can be difficult to reach that desired consistency. so the kids got to enjoy the failed attempt and i told myself i would try again another day.

so yesterday, i took another stab at it and this time it came out better. still not the consistency i needed for that smooth outer chocolate shell but a lot prettier than the first.

i also made some with dark chocolate candy melts since i had a little bit left and needed to use it up before it got "old". i love the contrasting colors of the dark chocolate and pink. i forgot to take a picture of what the inside looks like by taking a bite of one... next time for sure.

my next goal is to overcome my fear of royal icing to decorate sugar cookies. i have an order for 60 cupcakes coming up next weekend for a baby shower so i will be busy perfecting my carrot cake cupcake recipe this week. will post pictures!

love,
elain

*** tools and gadgets ***

i think i have a "hoarding" problem when it comes to kitchen tools and gadgets. i never feel like i have enough and there's always something else out on the market that i "NEED" to have.

like cookie cutters. you can never have enough of them. or cake pedestals or measuring cups, bowls, serving plates, spatulas, knives, scoops, wooden spoons, pots & pans. i know, i have a problem. i need more space, more cabinets and drawers to keep all these things organized.

my problem doesn't end in the kitchen. it's with anything "pretty". paper, ribbon, tape, scissors, cutters, punch outs. i totally want one of those cricut and silhouette machines. i need a bigger house.

this weekend i'll be working on cake pops. trying out different recipes and designs. stay tuned!

with love,
elain

*** baking ***

i’ve been a SAHM (stay at home mom) for the past year and a half with a teenager and three little kids under the age of 7. unlike a 9 to 5 job, there’s no lunch breaks to get away, no random chats with coworkers at the water cooler, and no clocking out at the end of the day. transitioning from work has been exhausting, although i LOVE being able to be at home with my kids. you’re pretty much working 16 hours straight each day. fortunately i’ve found a way to keep my sanity -- by baking. it has been quite therapeutic experimenting with different ingredients and baking it in the oven. out comes a pretty little goodie to share with friends, family, and my children. i really love feeding others and watching them enjoy something i created. you can either eat it as is or gift them with pretty packaging. who doesn’t like to receive sweets as a gift?

i’ve become more serious about my baking hobby hence created this blog to officially start the journey. a journey to “infinity and beyond” with cupcakes, cake pops, cookies, cakes, and whatever baking creations that come across the way.

i hope you enjoy the ride!

with love,
elain