A bit down...

I'm tired.... I have been really trying with this finding a kitchen thing, and I just don't know where to look anymore... EVERYONE is saying no, or not answering. Even the places that are officially there to be rented are saying it's beyond their capacity. Why can't this dreamer get a break? I can't really be doomed to only dream for the rest of my life can I? I have had a whiff of the baking doer, the baking go getter, the baking achiever! I don't want to go back to the baking dreamer. Only if it's to dream about winning the lottery or dreaming of how Lily will turn out later on or how our next vacation is going to be... feeling a bit down today...

The Grinch Who Stole Christmas Cakepops!

My Favorite, Grinch's Dog

Hello! I wanted to cheer myself up today seeing as I still haven't gotten any good news regarding my miracle and since I finally got my chocolate order in today, I went ahead and did Grinch, Grinch's Dog and Cindy Lou Who cake pops, with a few Christmasy cupcake pops to add a bit of fun to it all. Took me quite awhile to do, even though I seperated my tasks really well, but stuff kept going wrong. Especially Cindy. When she was done, I did the grinch and only then realized I should have added paler chocolates to get the right shade of green, and then at the end I did the dog, thinking it would be the toughest, and oddly enough, it was the easiest, most fun to do, and it came out the best! So there you go, my Christmas cake pops. Hope you like them!

Heidi is in need of a Miracle

This time last year, I was in a totally different place. I was pregnant, we were in a new appartment, I had just come back from a wonderful trip to Canada and I was full of fun dreams... you know, like winning the lottery? This year, I have even more going for me, I have a beautiful daughter (my first miracle sleeping in the picture below), a more filled life, and I have found out what it is I want to do with my life! This is my second miracle... I have been floundering around for years (YEARS!!!), wondering what it is that I should do with my life. I thought having a child would sort of make me just want to be a mommy and I wouldn't care what job I have to earn a living. But it got worse, I want to be a good role model for my little girl, I want her to know that despite anything that life throws at you, if you try hard enough, you just may make your dreams come true. And now, this dreamer is just sooooooo close it almost hurts! I have exactly the right people around me to help me fulfill my dreams and reach my goals, but I have one obstacle that it just blocking the entire light at the end of the tunnel, so I am putting it out there again, I wanted a mixer, I asked and I got, now I need my third miracle. I need for someone to let me share their health department approved kitchen and I need to know that they will let me share it pretty much now! And to top it, I need for them to not ask too much money for it! So my wish is out there to be read, heard, taken in... please someone help me, please let this dreamer live the dream for once!!

This year's first Miracle

My First real Cake Pop Success!!!

The Cupcake Cake Pops

The Fun Cake Pops

The Chicks

 Hello dear readers. Today was my most successful cakepop making day ever! Thank goodness for that. I learned yesterday that my dream of selling my goodies online is on the verge of failing, am looking frantically for a restaurant or someone with a professional kitchen to use when I get orders, but still no answer... So to get morale up-and yes, with cakepops, it could have gone both ways (!), I planned a few pops with different looks. Lo and behold, they came out great! Despite that the size of cookie cutter I needed to make the cupcake pops wasn't the one I had and that I had only Wilton Candy Melts. I am not a fan of their melts. It's Merckens all the way for me! Also had to improvise with the chicks as I didn't have all the proper candy to make them, but look at them, aren't they cute? As for the fun pops-I took a few sprinkles for the first two, and the last (the one that is higher), I looked at the plate over which I had been sprinkling my pops and decided to do a mishmash! So it has everything!!! I am all in all happy with the results, no cracks!! Got a great tip in my comments from the last post and kept them out of the fridge! By the way, they really taste GREAT!!!! Yay!!

My Second Attempt at making Cake Bites

Today I got one of my orders : 1 package of dark chocolate melts, 2 packages of white chocolate melts, various sprinkles, parchement triangles, and a product that makes it possible to use food colouring on chocolate. So I pretty much went and used everything I got (not all of it in quantity-all of it in possibilities!)
I encountered a few problems that I will have to solve in the near future. One-how do you get these cake balls to be perfectly round? I am thinking slightly more frosting-we'll see. Two : how do you get them not to crack : the chocolate ones were in the fridge till the last moment-some cracked, for the other colours, I got them out way earlier, but they still cracked. Three : how do you get the cake off the fork without messing up the bottom? Four : I need to control my parchement flow better.
I think once again, although I trashed my entire kitchen doing these, they came out quite cute. But definitely room for improvement! I think of my whole menu, cake pops and cake bites are definitely the ones I will have to practice most in the next month, wish me luck!!

Vanilla Whoopie Pies with Raspberry and White Chocolate Meringue Buttercream

Just for Ro...

I had one last whoppie pie recipe to try-the vanilla...I do believe I only need to do chocolate and vanilla, 'cause it's really the filling that makes these cupcookies so heavenly. And today's recipe not only went delightfully well, but also sent me floating in the clouds...I decided I had to be a bit more organized and seperated my tasks evenly. Fist the cookie. Noticed right away that the batter is totally different than the chocolate and wouldn't spread out, so I piped out pretty much the size I wanted and they came out a tad bigger. Then I did the raspberry "sauce"so that it would have sufficient time to cool off. Then, the white chocolate buttercream. This time I didn't listen to Martha. I prepared all my ingredients in advance, warmed up the sugar and the egg whites and by the time they were in my mixer, I could concentrate on the chocolate. I melted it the same way I would to use as decoration-up to a certain heat, then add whole chocolate bits, and then I didn't stir occasionally, I stirred like every two minutes, and watched it like a hawk! By the time I could put it in the buttercream, it was perfect! The only unfortunate thing is, I think it's better to make the entire recipe, instead of half, so I have all this leftover cream, and where can I put it? There is only the fridge...so yeah, I am pretty certain all of the chocolate will get rock solid...and my last fridge buttercream experiment had me rewisk it into a sweet butter mass. Ugh. We'll see, I have an idea...if it works out, I will tell you! Now, I'm off to enjoy my whoopie pies...and then have to go jog a marathon to burn them off!! Whoopie!!!!

Red Velvet Cupcakes...again! But went for a new decoration at least!

First a comment about the photos...I know they are really similar, but I wanted to show the flower 1st, and then the cupcake...then I would like to add the following...this blog is a story about disaster, cursing, complete annoyance and somehow, somehow, an ok finish! I am starting to think that's just me-I will always destroy my kitchen entirely in the baking process, want to kill Martha Stewart, have a nervous breakdown, and still something pretty may come out of it!
Andy took Lily out tonight, which gave me the evening to myself...considering the amount of yelling, cursing and foot stomping, and well general baby whining I did, it's a good thing he did. First, the red velvet-well, I still think it just tastes like chocolate. Could someone in America go out and buy a red velvet cupcake, wipe the frosting off and just tell me what it tastes like? If it just tastes like chocolate, than I will stop killing myself, just add LOADS of red colouring and be done with it! Anyway, this cupcake at least tastes good-but although the batter was red red, it just came out cocoa brown. No one could possibly recognize this as a red velvet.
Because I was tired of making cream cheese frosting-and honestly people, it just tastes like powdered sugar anyway, not like cream cheese...I made swiss meringue white chocolate buttercream. Again following Martha's instructions. Well she is starting to lose her appeal I say...she said to leave the chocolate to cool for 30 minutes while stirring once in awhile, and although that is what I did, in the last few minutes, it got hard. I tried to pick out the big pieces, but you guessed it, while piping, all the chocolate got stuck in the tip. *********************************************** that was a long explicit as I tried to squeeze it out to use another tip (didn't have a coupler for the big tip-so had to empty the bag to change it-you ask why not get rid of the cream by the top of the bag? Well, I didn't want to have big piece getting clogged in the second tip, did I now.
The only thing that worked out surprisingly good was the flowers. So there you go-hands full of butter, yelling, cursing, decorating and tadaaaaaa! My lovely flower red velvet white chocolate buttercream cupcakes! What do you say, eh? By the way, thank god for Bailey's...

Peanut Butter Chocolate Whoopie Pies, YUMMY!!!

On the left, the recipe's suggested size, on the right, my immediate correction! I don't want a sandwich! I want a dessert!!!

This is the whoopie pie I really wanted to try (to eat it afterwards of course!!). It is rich, and just so fatening!! I was trying to find a better word, but if there is ever one that works as a description, than it is that!!! I was plagued by recipe errors again today though, and had LOTS of chaos in the kitchen by the time I was done. First : as the second picture shows, the recipe spread too much, and the amount suggested to put on your baking sheets came out way too big. I corrected it on the second sheet, but unfortunately, this recipe does not rise enough in my opinion...so next time, more baking powder. Then, I knew the peanut butter filling would be easy, and didn't have to be practiced as a recipe-I knew exactly how it would come out (super sweet and HEAVENLY!!!), so I decided to try a caramel buttercream. That recipe failed me entirely. My first batch of caramel didn't work because there was too much crust forming on the side. Wasn't usable. So I corrected the second batch-came out looking like beautiful dark caramel-but tasted burnt. I have never made caramel, so I followed the recipe, and it called to take it off the heat once the syrup reached a Very Dark amber. That's what I did. Unfortunately, I should have taken it off as soon as it turned amber and that's it. I didn't have the courage to try a third time (didn't have a clean saucepan left), especially as the meringue buttercream didn't work either. Thank goodness for the peanut butter, this recipe took way longer than I thought, and on my website, I will never offer it with a meringue buttercream, rather with an american one-failproof icing. I mean, this is the type of cookie that is meant to be served with super duper sweet icing right? What do you guys think? Should I try the stupid caramel again?

Because of Ro's and Nancy's complaints, voilà!

My ongoing battle with the red velvet...

On the left-Martha Stewart Recipe, on the right-my changes...

Ok, so I have coerced myself into putting the red velvet cupcake on my future site's menu...why? Not because the red velvet is known here, it isn't, but because lots of rich americans live here, and maybe they want to get the red velvet cupcake...you know? But can I tell you something in secret? I HATE THE RED VELVET CUPCAKE!!!!!! I think it's not chocolatey enough to be a good devil's food, and it doesn't have a distinct enough taste for it to be special. Apart from it being red and requiring a cream cheese topping, I don't see the point of it. So I am in a battle right now, to find the proper recipe. I have all of my other cc recipes ready, this is the only one, and what do you do when you don't even like something and you have to make the best version of it??? Tomorrow a friend will be taste testing them. My husband will as well-but as soon as there is a sweet topping, he doesn't care about the cake! But I say, cake is the make or break of my future site-that's where I can get the customers!!! My own opinion is that the Martha Stewart recipe tastes like nothing, and is too weak in colour. Mine tastes better, but does it taste like a red velvet???? I don't know!!!! By the way, for those of you wondering why I always make the same flowers : it's my way of testing frosting consistencies. Finally this cream cheese frosting works-but is very very sweet-so I still don't know...Anyway, any thoughts? By the way, have used vinegar in both-so I am fearless about the ingredients now!!! So any suggestion would be nice! Thank you!!!

Peanut Butter Cookies...8 Variations on one recipe!

Anything better than milk and cookies?

Ok, so really, the king of all cookies is the chocolate chip cookie, no question...but if we were to crown a queen, than the peanut butter cookie would be the obvious choice. Now I haven't made one in years I would say, but I stumbled upon a recipe and decided to have fun with it! 8 variations!! They go as such : plain, chocolate chip, pecan nut, chocolate chip and pecan nut, and all of the above with cocoa powder. And really, if I had different types of chocolate chips, or nuts at home, the possibilities would be almost endless! And can I say something else? THEY ARE ALL GREAT!!!!!!!!!! I have rediscovered the joy of peanut butter cookies! Hopefully Switzerland will jump on the bandwagon and order some once my website is on the go!! If ever there was a gourmet cookie...

Banana Pecan with Chocolate Buttercream and Chopped Pecan Topping...just for us!!!

This morning, I got up really late, and then started doing stuff, like vaccuming, cleaning the kitchen, etc...and then I looked at my leftover buttercream from yesterday's birthday cupcakes, and my old bananas and thought, ooooh, this could be very tasty. And since I hadn't tried a banana cupcake recipe in a while, I thought, I better, because there is just nothing like a good banana nut cupcake...makes you even feel like you're eating something nutritious!!! (Just for you Ro). But it was already 10 o'clock and the little one was still asleep, but for how long?? Then I thought, if I wait, it'll be much harder to do the entire recipe with her screaming next to me right? So I made the cupcakes, she slept, cleaned up after myself, she slept! So all I had to do was add the buttercream!!! Well, I followed the instructions about using buttercream that had been in the fridge overnight, and all I got was sweet butter. Grosssssssss!!!!! So I had to wait till the husband got home to eat, and then remade the buttercream-and added dark chocolate! For those who wonder about the colour-yeah, it seems that the chocolate isn't enough to make the cream go dark-but I think it goes well with these particular cupcakes, I will know for the future that if I want a dark chocolate topping, I will make a ganache! So I learned a few things today-always make the buttercream fresh and even nutritious can be turned into a real dessert! Thanks for looking in!!!

My Mother-in-law's 77th Birthday Cupcakes

So I don't know how my mother-in-law or her guests will react, but one thing I know is this : these raspberry-chocolate cupcakes with Swiss Meringue vanilla Buttercream are so yummy, I could die. I made half without the raspberry because I didn't have enough left at home to make more, but it doesn't matter, because these chocolate chip chewy mini cupcakes are fantastic alone as well. The topper is a royal icing transfer, and I figured every woman like a little rose, so there you go. I think my practicing is going well, so when my website hits the internet, come valentine's day 2012, I should know what I am doing!!! Hope you like these!!!

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies Challenge...Check!

Today, I tackled the Whoopie Pie phenomenon. Ok, maybe that's a big word, a slight exaggeration perhaps...but then, I live in Switzerland, I have never seen one anywhere, only heard about it from Martha Stewart, so I am thinking it's possible that it's a phenomenon in America. Over here? Well, just something perfect to add to my website in the making, because I have never seen a whoopie pie ever in Switzerland. What can I say, this challenge was a breeze. Don't take that as an insult Nancy, I really enjoyed making them! The challenge will be more like finding really good recipes for them. These cakey cookies have the strangest dough when they aren't baked, elastic almost. Not like a cookie and no where near a cupcake, but they are absolutely perfect! And I tried out a new cream cheese frosting-with cream-like a whipped cream frosting really. But I was so scared it would turn that I think I didn't beat long enough. Still practiced piping some flowers with it though, and they weren't too horrible. Anyway, these whoopie pies taste fantastic! And I can't wait for the husband to try them! Any other challenges anyone? And before someone tries : no cakes, and new rules, no brownies (I hate making them, and I can never eat more than one) and please, nothing nutritious!!!

Just for fun...

Yesterday, I decided to do something just for me. I don't mean that I will be eating all of the cookies myself, but I felt it was time that I made something that I would find fun while trying out some techniques. I tried a new sugar cookie recipe and it is perfect...really soft and almost breakable...my last one would get rock hard after a day or so. I finally found meringue powder and made royal icing with that instead of egg whites, and behold, the icing is way prettier when it dries! Instead of using brown colour, I used cocoa powder to get the royal icing dark-it worked and it tastes way better!!! (Plus I didn't even go looking on the internet, just thought I would try it out, see what happens...) And then I basically just had fun with the actual cupcake designs, and the little mini cupcake cookie! Even put some coloured coconut on one of them!! The other ones with the lines didn't quite work out, my hand was shaking this morning, as if I was coming off some kind of substance...sugar? Anyway, that's it...my next posting should be the red velvet whoopie pie, that is my challenge!!! In the meantime, I will go enjoy my cocoa, coconut, vanilla and sprinkly cookies! Mmm, sometimes everything works out as you intended...

Challenge Number 2

Hello! You may remember me asking for a challenge a while back. My friend Nancy said : cakepops. I am still trying to find my way in that world...every try has yielded a better result, I'm getting there I would say. But Nancy thinks it's already time for a new challenge. So I am asking anyone who is reading out there, what should I try next? A restriction though-I don't want to have to do a cake. Not normal, not topsy-turvy...no cake. I don't plan to make cakes, so I don't want to waste time on that...plus who's gonna eat it? Me. Me and my post pregnancy hips. So please, anyone want to give me a challenge, let it be in the cupcake (mini preferably), cookies, cakepops/balls. Unless there is a new cute thing I haven't heard of that isn't too big! Ok? Hit me!!!

Troubleshooting...

 After having had to suffer many disappointments in the last few days-all baking related mind you, not the end of the world...but for me I felt like it was. It started with the carrot cupcakes, which I made into cake...balls, there I said it, balls!!! Anyway...yesterday evening, I remade the carrot cupcakes, and they came out wonderfully. I had looked at a new way to pipe flowers on the internet and was very excited to try it out, but my cream cheese frosting melted. So I didn't take pictures of that either. And today, I wanted to make coconut cupcakes with a chocolate buttercream/ganache, and well, the frosting didn't work out again, so I went with a normal buttercream, which I wanted to make extra special with a colour effect...that didn't work out either, but the result was still somewhat cute. So I made some fondant decos to go with that I found on someone else's blog, who has way more talent than me...but I am a good copier... So there you have today's half successful coconut mini cupcakes with vanilla buttercream, and fondant accents...what do you think? Good save? Oh yes, I forgot to say, I was able to make a tiny fondant rabbit. First time it actually comes out ok!! Sometimes some things do work!!! Even if his eyes are a bit off...

Carrot cake catastrophe

Hey guys...don't feel much like putting up a picture of this disaster...I would have had to post the cupcake photos as well, but I so couldn't believe how they came out that I didn't get the camera! Anyway,  I tried to make lemonade from the lemons, but I just got more lemons!!!
It started with me wanting to make carrot cake cupcakes. But I didn't want to make big ones so I filled the small cupcake papers too much and they overflowed in a very nasty looking way. I didn't take a picture then, I decided I would take the rest of my candy melts and make cake balls. Ugh, you know, I should have known, just the name is totally revolting. Cake spheres, cake mounds, cakepops minus the stick...(wow that sounds even worse!!!) Anyway, everything fine, but once I started dipping the cake, I knew this wouldn't be good. I don't like orange candy melt. You see through it, I had to dip them twice, and frankly, because you have to let them dry on a parchment paper, the bottom of them is just ugly. Why I didn't just make cakepops you ask? I had nothing at all left to make any, no sticks, no cute colours. Just leftover orange and brown melts. Anyway, they taste fantastic, but when you are trying to make a business of it, you gotta get the look too. My ego is usually way too big to actually show off such ugliness, but I figured, this is the blog, not the website...if I can write about my disasters, I can also swallow my pride and let you see them. Good night!