Can't.

Stop.

Baking.

Cupcakes!!!

I have no idea what this crazy cupcake craze is all about, but I cannot stop baking cupcakes! I don't even like eating cupcakes! Weird! People get a kick out of the fact that I do so much baking, but don't eat baked goods!

Hubby, my family and my friends don't mind being my taste testers though.

I bought these Smoothie flavoured Jelly Bellies for decorations on my cupcakes. I haven't figured what I'm going to use them for, but they are so yummy! They really do taste like smoothies!Aren't they pretty?
The Smoothies Blend flavours consist of Strawberry Banana, Mandarin Orange-Mango, Mixed Berry, Pineapple-Pear, and Cherry-Passion fruit. My favourite was the Mixed Berry. It tastes just like mixed berry yogourt. Yum! Second in line would have to be the Strawberry-Banana. It was the perfect mixture of flavours. I like anything cherry (except Cherry Cordials! Gross!). The Cherry-Passion fruit gourmet jelly beans were delectable. I have to say that I wasn't a fan of the Mandarin Orange-Mango or the Pineapple-Pear! Odd, because I LOVE Mandarin orange, mango, pear and pineapple! The pineapple and pear together just tasted really weird. I thought I was eating wax. Not that I'd know what wax tastes like or anything! It just tasted really artificial and "off".
Now, if you've been reading my blog for a while, you will know that I'm not one for following instructions. Well, not when cooking! Other than that, I assure you that I am a law abiding citizen!! Really. I am!

Most of my recipes don't have exact measurements. It's mostly "a little bit of this and a little bit of that" or "a pinch of this" or "whatever you like". Easy. It's not rocket science.

Baking is an all-together different story though. Everything has to be exact or else sometimes the recipe fails. It is a science with baking. I like to think of it as the perfect marriage of science and art.

I was pleased with my first attempt at cupcake decorating, so I decided to try a different design.

I baked some chocolate cupcakes (pretty standard recipe. I can post it if anyone wants it).
I saw a segment on Steven and Chris on how to make perfect and easy decorative cupcakes. C'mon, you've gotta love two guys showing you how to make beautiful meals, decorate your house, and wear the latest fashions! I love Steven and Chris!

Oh, right. Cupcakes. It looked pretty fool-proof on TV. Boy, was I a fool! This is why I DO NOT follow recipes! The instructions totally did not work out!!!

You're supposed to let your cupcakes cool and then ice them. Fine. Done. Then you're supposed to take marshmallows and lay them horizontally and cut them into five segments. Cut close to the end without cutting through completely. Gently fan the segments out to look like flower petals. Overlap the first and last petals and it should stick together. The marshmallows are really sticky and are supposed to "glue" themselves together.

Lay your opened flower on top of the cupcake and add a colourful jujube in the middle. Et voila! You should have a gorgeous flower cupcake.

Ummm...It totally didn't work for me. The marshmallows DID NOT stick together. They kept lifting off of the cupcake. FRUSTRATING!! Did I mention that I'm not the most patient person in the world? The jujube wouldn't stay glued in the middle of the flower either. I tried applying a dab of icing to act as "cement" and it still didn't stick!
Really frustrated, I went against the instructions and completely cut through the stupid marshmallow. Did I mention that I hate marshmallows? Well, maybe I like them in S'mores...but in nothing else! Okay, maybe roasted over a campfire. That's it.

I placed i-n-d-i-v-d-u-a-l petals on each cupcake and plunked a jujube in the middle of each flower. Done!

Not as pretty as the cupcakes I made the other day. Oh well. It's all part of the learning experience.

I have discovered since today's cupcake decorating session that marshmallows are the bane of my existence.


Today was Little One's 1 year corrected birthday. She was supposed to be born a year ago today, but arrived three months early. We had a little luncheon with her grandma, Lola, Grampy, and some of her little friends (whom she will be going to school with in a few years). I made grilled chicken, red onion, honey Dijon mustard and avocado paninis and spinach salad. I saved the top of Little One's birthday cake (and froze it) so we could eat it on her corrected birthday. I must say that Hello Kitty's head preserved very well! Thanks, Maria (for baking the birthday cake)!