Craving

I have nothing to post regarding delicious goodies. My pantry is bare and I am seriously craving Swiss Merengue Buttercream Frosting.

Seriously.

Bah.

Fall Favorite

Our family has a tradition of making Chocolate Popcorn Balls. They are a combination of freshly popped popcorn (over the stove, not in the microwave!) and ooey, gooey tootsie roll-like confection formed into a sticky crunchy chocolatey ball of deliciousness. Yum!

Here they are in all of their glory!

To make these delightful treats you need the following:

1 cup light corn syrup

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup cocoa powder

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup popcorn kernels, popped (any unpopped kernels should be separated and discarded)

extra butter, for greasing your hands (Pam works too, but butter tastes so much better!)

waxed paper, or parchment paper

Divide the popcorn into a couple of large bowls, so that you have enough room for mixing. In a medium suacepan, combine corn syrup, sugar, cocoa and butter. Bring to a boil and cook until they reach soft ball stage. (Test by dropping a bit of the chocolate in a cold glass of water. If the texture is malleable, its ready to go.)

Drizzle over the popcorn and mix. You must move carefully and quickly as the chocolate dries quickly. Grease your hands and form popcorn into balls. Let cool on waxed paper.

 

Do you have a favorite fall tradition in your family?

September

It was a busy month. The first weekend I made a wedding cake. Let’s just say it’s not an easy task with a two month old. Thank goodness I have an awesome family that always jumps in to help out!

I love making wedding cakes. Its so fun to be a part of something so special. Sarah and Cuyler were a darling couple, and it was such a pleasure to work with them.

I was also able to make a birthday cake for cute little Brighton! I love watching kids eat cake.  It’s so fun to watch them discover the deliciousness. It gets EVERYWHERE! For my next birthday, I am gonna eat cake like a kid again.

 

I also attempted my first gluten free cake. Lets just say it was a big FAIL. But I will not surrender to the rice flour, no way! Success will surely follow…

A Year Later…

I realized a couple weeks ago that it has been a year since I started this little blog. When I decided to start, I was looking for something to keep me busy. Good news, it worked! Granted, I didn’t follow my goals to the letter. I didn’t bake and blog about it every week. I probably did more baking than blogging. But, I never would have anticipated that I would have accomplished what I did. I have learned all sorts of techniques and have had a blast trying out new recipes. I have made goodies for all sorts of events, and have even been paid to do it. The best part, people actually like the stuff!

I hope I can keep this going. I have still have projects lined up (a cake in the oven as I type) and really love to do it. Besides, there is nothing like a house that smells like chocolate all the time!

More Catering

A couple of weeks ago, I did another catering job with Dianne. Another wedding, in fact. We served appetizers and desserts, with summertime flavors as our inspiration. I made red velvet and chocolate dipped white cake pops plus s’mores bites, and then assisted with a few other treats.

Here are some shots of the food. I missed the bbq wings (they were gone so fast), grilled veggies, and the salsa bar. Sorry Dianne!

Burger and Fries

BLT Bruschetta

Whoopie Pies

S’mores Bites

Shortcake Bar

Red Velvet Cake Pops

I also did the centerpieces for the tables. The only specification were colors: blue, black and white. So this is what came out. The frames were filled with blue shell photos, as the mother of the groom wanted some beach influences.

I have had so much fun working on these events, and look forward to more in the future!

Cupcake Class

About a week ago, I got to go to a cupcake decorating class with my mother-in-law. We had a great time learning about fondant and gum paste, and tried our hand at creating edible cupcake toppers. The instructor wanted to go with a summer carnival/state fair type theme, so we made mini fondant replicas of fair food. We all made hot dogs, popsicles and cotton candy. Then, we were able to choose our own, so I made an ear of corn.

This is how they turned out:

I really enjoyed the class. I learned a few new tricks and tips, but l loved getting to play all day. Thanks to Dianne for taking me (hopefully we can go again soon), and thanks to my Matthew for watching baby boy.

Bun out of the oven!

My sweet boy tested done on June 21st! He is without a doubt the sweetest treat I will ever make!

I will be starting a family blog to give little updates on baby Cole. The address is mlgamfam.blogspot.com.