Oh boy, here we go. Macarons, not the ones with coconut, are the new cupcakes/cake pops. Everyone seems to go crazy over them, or it’s just my imagination. As far as I understand it they have been around for ages but became fashionable in North American a while ago. Since everyone is so excited about them I thought I give it a try.
My friend Maki asked me to do three desserts for her Studio Grand Opening: cake pops, cookies, and cupcakes. Since the cake pops were with fruit and the cookies were sugar cookies I decided she needed something with chocolate to balance the dessert table. The book “125 best Cupcake recipes” from Julie Hasson is really great for some inspiration. However, most of the chocolate cupcake recipes uses buttermilk and at that time I had none in my house. But fear not, there is a simple solution.
As far as I understand it, it is graduation time right now. I am not sure of how the high school or even university schedule works, I have no kids. However, it seems to be a rather big deal in North American and there are many ways to celebrate it. Of course some form of dessert needs to be included and thus I was approached with the request of Graduation Cake Pops.
A friend of mine asked me if I would make cake pops for her son’s birthday party. He particularly likes Angry Birds. You know, those little colourful birds which are angry at green pigs for some reason or another. I have no iPhone or Android so I do not play that game. (I know my husband does, once in a while.) So, here I am, making birds.
This recipe is brought to you by the JC100 celebration. It is the 2nd week recipe (we are already on week 4 btw). When I saw this I thought “Yes!” because Mousse au Chocolate is probably one of the most famous French desserts out there, besides croissants I guess. Up until now I lacked a bit of time to actually make the recipe, but I finally set down and did it.
Oranges and chocolate go together like nothing else. It seems a natural combination that is prone to succeed. Making these muffins is really easy as well, you won’t even need a mixer, just a good whisk. Also, it’s a nice fresh combination because citrus fruits are always adding a little kick to everything.
Oh my! I know, this sounds big. It is, for me anyway and it’s Bulk Barn’s fault. They have those in their bulk bins and I can not resist them and are gone quickly once I bought them. Honestly, how genius is this anyway? Chocolate, pretzels and peanut butter combine – that’s heaven. But how to make them at home? Is there a possibility? There has to be a recipe somewhere!
For some, making a cake can be challenging because they never baked before, or think making a cake is difficult. I encourage you to try it and maybe start with a box mix (though I am not a fan it is nice for someone who just starts). The next step after a simple cake is a) a more difficult cake (lets say with layers) or a themed cake for a specific party. It can be scary at times because it seems so complicated. Melissa from “The Party Works” was so kind to write a little post about how a themed cake can be very simple.
Chocolate, fruit and whipped cream…what else do you need?
Last Sunday was crazy with two parties to attend and to cater to. The first party was a birthday part with a carnival theme (post will follow), the second party was a bridal shower. Now, we don’t really do bridal showers in Germany. We have a party for everyone before the wedding, e.g. wedding eve party. Your friends and family come together and bring gifts, have a good time, smash some porcelain for good luck and just celebrate. Since I am not too familiar with bridal showers I was wondering what to do. First question for the bride to be: What do you want?
In December I went to visit some family in Victoria, BC. Located in that area is SweetArt Supplies, which carries an abundance of baking stuff. Everything from cup cake liners to lollipop sticks to cookie cutter to colours. You name it, they have it. I came to the store because of push pops (another story to review) because you can’t get them in Canada that easily and US shipping will kill you.
Anyway, I visit them and was warmly greeted by Gwen who is running the show. I think we spend several hours talking about baking, supplies and life in general. Besides push pops I took Batter Babies home (look here for recipe/review) and these liners that Gwen gave to me. What better way to use them than to make Guinness Brownies with them?
Baking in Saskatoon 