Work of Art

Last weekend I attended the Bonnie Gordon Cake Show @ Wychwood Barns. I was blown away by the talent of all the competitors. Each student had submitted a cake into the competition. I spent the day wandering around looking at the complexity of these cakes. They were all beautiful, and truly pieces of art. Its hard to imagine putting countless hours into these cakes and then cutting into them! They also had a timed competition between three cake decorators. I was able to sit up close and watch them build some of these cakes from the bottom up. Visit @bonniegordoncol on twitter or check out the website http://www.bonniegordoncollege.com/. Here are a few of the cakes that really stood out to me, although they were all amazing and different - tough competition! Whats next for me -  take the Bonnie Gordon cake designer certificate - and open up my own vintage/classy bakery specializing in gourmet cupcakes and custom cakes (a girl can dream)  - for now - looking forward to attending some of Bonnie Gordon's weekend courses!

Modelling Figures with wire

Classy Wedding Cake Design

Alice in Wonderland

Ballet

Birds on a tree

No Bake Energy Bites!

Balls of Perfection

I found this recipe while spending countless hours on Pintrest (yes, I am addicted). I thought I would give these a try - the recipe was simple and I had most of the ingredients in my cupboard. Wow, impressed!! They are so delicious - good for on the go, and really filling. I like to pop one post work-out. Not to mention, they have peanut butter in them (another addiction of mine). Here is the recipe, try them out. I altered the recipe slightly - I used more oats/less honey to cut down on the sugar. 

Recipe makes 18-20 balls   

1 cup oatmeal (I used 1 1/2)

1/2 cup peanut butter (or other nut butter)

1/3 cup honey

1 cup coconut flakes (optional)

1/2 cup ground flaxseed

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (optional - I used 1/4)

1 tsp vanilla

Mix everything up in a bowl and place in refrigerator for about 20 minutes, roll into balls. You can keep them refrigerator for up to one week! Energy. In a ball. Mmm.

Keep Calm and Nurse On

Happy Nurses week to all my fellow RN's!
I'm back... in action. 
It has been a few months since I've blogged. I know what you are thinking...
actually I don't, but I do know what I'm thinking...
what a slacker I am!
Life gets busy, what more can I say?
Winter has come and gone, yippee! I did do baking throughout, so I will start posting some of my stuff soon. Sorry to all you cupcake sundae supporters, I have been holding out on you! I did some fun birthday cakes over the last few months, some cake pops, and today attended the annual Bonnie Gordon Cake Show @wychwoodbarns. Sometimes you just need a little inspiration, and after attending the cake show today I have inspiration overload! I'll save the details for another post. 
Here is a cake I did for nurses week last year! 

Nursing Week 2011

Hug a nurse this week, at some point he/she is away from their family and taking care of yours :) 
That was the nicer of the quotes... lets try this again:
Hug a nurse this week, he/she picks your needle size... and catheter size
 - and with that thought, I will say goodnight!

ITS A GIRL!

Congratulations to the Boyd's! We all can't wait to meet Baby Girl Boyd in the spring!

Fondant Converse Baby Shoes

Who doesn't love converse shoes, especially when they are in miniature form and they are edible! I had the pleasure of making a cake for a colleague and friend of mine, Kathryn. I decided to do a cute baby shoe, but  with a spin!  Here is the pattern and 101 on the fondant converse baby shoe! 

Cut out your pieces using the pattern found at

http://kraftibakes.blogspot.com/2010/09/fondant-baby-converse-shoes.html

Paste everything together using water and small brush

Refrigerate through each step to set fondant

Simple and fun! Tempted to try an adult pair!

Death by Oreo Cupcakes

Ingredients
1 package Oreo Cookies, regular size
1 package Mini Oreo Cookies, for decoration (optional)
1 package chocolate cake mix (mix according to directions on box)
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), room temperature
3 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
cupcake liners

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix packaged cake mix according to directions (do not bake). Line cupcake tins with liner, place a regular size Oreo cookie in the bottom of each liner. Take 1/2 of remaining cookies and chop coarsely and add to cake mix. Fill the cupcake tins. Bake for 15 minutes (or according to box directions). While cupcakes are baking make the frosting.

Cream together butter and cream cheese. Add vanilla, then add powdered sugar slowly until blended well. Chop remaining regular-sized Oreos very fine (I put the cookies in the food processor instead of trying to chop them up super fine and it worked out really well). Add to frosting. After cupcakes have cooled frost and decorate with Mini Oreos.

UNREAL!

foodsnots.com

Having a Ball

My cake pops finally are making an appearance! I made these balls over Christmas and they were a huge hit. Sweet and simple to make, and there are so many different decorating ideas! I recommend checking out this link on Bakerella -  http://www.bakerella.com/category/pops-bites/cake-pops/ for some different inspiration. Bakerella also has an amazing book (that Santa brought me), and gives you the low down on how its done! You can use boxed cake mix and premade icing to save you time. You will need to purchase melting chocolate (all different colours available at Michaels), sticks, and sprinkles! Happy baking! (helpful hint - corn syrup is helpful when trying to make a pattern with sprinkles on the chocolate coating. You can use a paintbrush to make the design and then dip in sprinkles or something of your choice - check out the one to the left!)

 

Mix the crumbled cake and icing together into balls, refrigerate

Best way to display? Styrofoam!

Reindeer! Best way to transport these... yet to find out. I make it all the way to my family function with these guys and as I ring the door bell they all tip over and bust off their antlers. They weren't so cute after that... but still tasty

Happy 2012!

Happy 2012! Lots of stuff to post over the next week! Thanks for following and all the positive feedback!

Candy Cane Cakes

Candy Cane Frosting

1    cupunsalted butter  (2 sticks)

4    cupspowdered sugar

1/4 cupmilk

1/8 teaspoonall natural peppermint extract 

Prepare:

1. Beat butter until creamy, scrape bowl.

2. Add sugar, milk, and peppermint extract, beat until combined.

3. Add more powdered sugar as needed to get piping consistency (stiff).

Here are some cupcakes that I made last Sunday! Yippee, I stuck to my plan of baking on Sundays!! I used a mini cupcake pan that I bought last week instead of a big one. These were super easy to decorate because they are so little (and super easy to consume more than just one). The candy cane added a nice Christmas flare. I just had a little laugh over that fact that I used the word "flare"... Moving on. :) I recently discovered this amazing culinary store right across the street from my apartment. I checked it out last week and have been in a few times. I bought some cupcake boxes to help with transporting the cupcakes and to jazz them up a bit (you can also buy them at Michaels). I feel like every time I look out my window down onto Bayview I find a new store! Recently I was given a pair of binoculars (the ultimate creeping tool in my opinion). Ohhh binoculars, helping people creep since who knows when! I assure you I only creep in times of interest - how busy is the nail salon across the street? Well, maybe once I tried to see if I could see into the apartment directly across the street (curiosity got the best of me hehe). Rest assure, I was unsuccessful. Here is my recipe for the butter cream - the "Christmas Flare" version! You can use this frosting on cakes, cupcakes, or just lick it right of the old wooden spoon its so good! 

Merry Christmas Eve Eve! -JJ

Christmas Flare at its finest

The Boy in the kitchen... look out!

The Bake-off

The cookie swap was a hit! Not only do you get to bake something, but you get to bring home even more baking than you brought, sweet deal (literally!) Thanks again to the Fab Hostess Nicole!! Time for me to conquer some must-do's before Christmas Eve - finish my shopping (tisk tisk), wrap presents, fill out my Christmas cards, do laundry, pack for home, oh... and lets not forget get a mani/pedi, throw on a Christmas movie, sit back and relax with a warm cup of white hot chocolate. :) Ahhhh I love days off!

Merry Christmas!

Just Ginger

Amy and Laura love gingers!

Buy a kit, leaves more time for decorating!

Can you believe there are only 5 more days until the big man arrives!? Oh Christmas,  the most wonderful (busy, somewhat-stressful, crazy, expensive) time of the year! Its funny to think that Christmas shopping now seems to start up around Black Friday, you know... that time of the year where someone gets trampled, stabbed, or shot. We then end Christmas with children singing songs of peace and joy. (Its an interesting place we live in). Lets not forget about Christmas eve, the only day men finally force themselves into the hordes and hustle bustle of the mall (sorry guys, but its true). Although, Christmas is an exciting time for me, mostly because it means I can belt out all my favourite Christmas songs while commuting and watch Home Alone and Elf over and over... and over again.  I can't think of a more fun way to get into the Christmas spirit than by having a cookie swap. Food, baking, and catching up with friends... I'm in! Check out our gingerbread men, really fun and easy, and you can even buy it all pre-made! Amy and Laura totally nailed these hahah!

Roll fondant and buy sparkling icing

Mission Complete

Pecan Icebox Cookies with Cherries

One of my new favourite cookie recipes! The best part is you don't have to cook them all at once, you can store the dough and cook some up for a special occasions, or when you have a craving :) Super easy to do!

Prep 25 min   |  Total 1 hour


1 cup     all-purpose flour
1/2 cup  cornstarch
1/4 tsp   salt
3/4 cup  unsalted butter
1/2 cup  icing sugar
             zest from one lemon
3/4 cup chopped candied cherries (maraschino cherries work)
1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans
1/4 cup coarse white sugar


STIR flour with cornstarch and salt in a medium bowl. Using a wooden spoon, stir butter with icing sugar and *lemon zest in a large bowl until smooth. Stir in flour mixture, then cherries and nuts. Pour coarse sugar into a large, flat baking dish. Set aside.

DIVIDE dough into 2 portions. Place each on a piece of waxed paper. Form a roll into a log about 7 in. long and 1 1/2 inch wide. Roll each log in coarse sugar, pressing lightly so sugar adheres to dough. Roll log in wax paper and twist ends. Chill until firm, about 1 hr or overnight.


PREHEAT oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (not to be confused with wax paper!). Slice log into 1/4-in-thick-cookies. Arrange on prepared sheet 2 in. apart. Cookies will spread as they bake. Bake in center of oven until lightly golden, about 10 minutes. Remove and let cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough. Store in a airtight container up to one week or keep dough refrigerated up to one month.


*first time zester? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2phFht2JMA (you can also use a cheese grater)


Makes 55 cookies   |   58 calories per cookie
Find more awesome cookie recipes at chatelaine.com

Eat, Sleep, Knit

Yes, this chick knits! My usual Thursday night for the past six weeks - grab my Starbucks (tall cafe misto, mild, with 2 pumps of sugar free vanilla = heaven), hop on the crowded street car and engage in some casual people watching until I hit my stop,The Knit Cafe. The one large window is filled with knitted owls sitting on a wood tree. Inside smells of coffee and baked goods and thousands of colours line the walls. Different textures, colours, patterns. In the middle of the store there are six chairs seated around a medium sized table wedged up to a big bay window that faces Queen Street. I gander though the different wool, already planning projects in my head. About six of us, all girls in their mid 20's, sit around the table - sipping cafe lattes and chatting... stitching and bitching to be exact. Each week we meet up - I check my cell phone at the door. Two hours spent in my own little world; knitting, chatting, sipping my latte. At the end of my 6 weeks, I have 2 scarves and a matching hat. I'm working on wrist warmers, and from high demand, will be making a chunky cowl neck scarf next! Thinking maybe selling some items - open for suggestions! Hat and scarf below - email me for patterns.

A Peak into my Pantry

Welcome to Cupcake Sundaes, and the first of many postings! I'm finally all settled into my new apartment in the big city. A peak into my pantry involves climbing 3 sets of stairs (that's right, no elevators). Having to move everything I own up these stairs has proved to be a real pain in the... arse! Literally. Everyone who pitched in probably has some serious buns of steel by now! The best news, my kitchen is finally up and running. I like to think my kitchen went from blah, to new and improved! Grey walls, white cupboards, stainless steel appliances and red accents... Martha would be so proud. Cupboard space is another issue, but low and behold, I had enough room for all my cake pans :)

This is looking to be a busy weekend of baking. With Christmas coming, the creative juices are flowing! Some things you should expect to see this week include;  pecan icebox cookies with cherries, gingerbread men, my first attempt at cake pops, and eggnog cupcakes! 

Something to brighten your day... and make you feel guilt free for all your Christmas indulgences!