Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Cupcake Love (and I knew there was a reason I DON'T follow instructions!)



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)!

9 comments:

caninecologne said...

hi c - at least you made do with the cupcake decorating. sometimes you just can't follow the directions!

those jelly bean flavors sound really good, especially pineapple pear. those most be new or i've been living in a cave and i dont' know what's out there in candyland.

i like how you're so creative with decorating cupcakes! i could learn some pointers from you!

word ver:
exterag

hotmommy said...

man there really is no end to your talents chris! i think the cupcakes look great- too bad your so far, i'd pay you do do cupcakes for my kids birthdays! luvs ya

t said...

Hey! I haven't been able to check your blog at work lately. My boss has been around this week and last. She's away today, so here I am catching up on your blog! I am IMPRESSED! Why couldn't you do all this when you lived in Toronto? Am I going to have to go all the way to the island for your cupcakes?!

Big hugs for that special little girl of yours. She is the cutest ever!

Unknown said...

Canine:
The Jelly Belly jelly beans are really good! I was surprised with the pineapple-pear though. I usually love those two flavours together, but they tasted not quite right. Weird. The other flavours were really good though. Hubby's is the mixed berry.

When you're here this summer, we can have a cupcake decorating night with TC.

Unknown said...

HM:
I can assure you that there's no talent there! ;p Oh, and if I lived closer to you, you wouldn't have to pay me for making cupcakes for your kids' birthdays! Silly!

Unknown said...

T:
Long time no see (on the blog and in person)! Let's schedule another phone convo for this weekend. We'll be home Sunday night. XO

Jan said...

You are truly a cupcake artist. If I baked i might be inspired to follow.

Cherry said...

YOU CUT OFF HELLO KITTY'S HEAD!!!!

nuff said.

Ok, that's not enough, when have I left a one line comment?

I hear ya on the following directions on cake decorating. That part is NOT a science. I have struggled with following directions on new cake decorating techniques and I end up just experimenting and coming up with my own way. It works out better for me :-)
Sigh, I haven't done actual decorating for ages. My wrists can't take it and frankly I no longer have the time. Now the most you'll get out of me is some piped on icing and even that sends me to the ice packs. WHINE!

I think your individual petals are lovely... and I too don't care for eating marshmallows, but they do make pretty flowers!

Oh and to answer your question on your other post, I have suffered with insomnia for years. But my current insomnia is not anxiety triggered like usual, it's more uncomfortable light sleeping where I don't ever really feel asleep and am tossing and turning all night.

Jackie said...

they look great and yummy!

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City girl moves to the country, falls in love, and marries a farmer. She tries to incorporate her city ways with her new country lifestyle and blogs to keep in touch with friends, family & students who live far, far away :) Can this city girl go country? Watch as she learns all sorts of exciting things about life on the farm and in a small rural community. *UPDATE* We are now parents! Our baby girl was born on Nov. 11, 2008 (at 28 weeks gestation- 12 weeks premature, but she's quite the trooper)!!!
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