MIA for Christmas

I got razzed tonight that it has taken me so long to do the B cupcakes. So I am letting you all know- to those of you who are interested, and even those of you who are not interested- that I will be doing them begining (maybe on New Years eve) but I will get too them.
For the time being, I want to know if there is anything that you all would be interested in me making. This does not just mean cupcakes- anything goes. Well anything except something with shellfish because I am allergic. But other than that they sky is the limit.
If you havea request let me know by leaving a comment.

The B winner is

BUBBLEGUM! I will be posting the results soon. This will be interesting to figure out.

Cupcakes for B

I posted then new poll for the theme for cupcakes for this month.
Take a look and vote! It is between Boston Cream, Banana Split, Bubblegum and Berries. Excited to see what wil come of it!

Drawing a blank

I need ideas. What are some "B" flavors that I can make into a cupcake?
I know that there is bananas and blueberries, but I think that these will be more muffin like and not cupcake like. So I need some help?
What "B" flavors can you think of? I will post a poll when I get three different flavors. I will except any idea- it is always an adventure to try new things...

The learning process

I am not professionally trained in cake decorating at all. I have only ever taken one take decorating class- and it was just this last summer. Most of what I do it learned by trial and error, and simply by looking things up on the Internet. It is amazing how much you can learn to do if you simply look, and attempt.
Each cake is a learning process. I don't think that I have ever made a cake that I have not thought that I would do something differently, or want to change one or two (or everything) on the cake. I know that I am my toughest critic, so I really try to have an open mind to things.
So what I want to do is go through some of the various cakes that I have made (or cupcakes, or whatever) and go through some of the things that I learned from that cake. I think that by doing this, it will hopefully help others. So I know that I can learn from my mistakes, and maybe help someone else too.
This cake- is the shark cake I made for my sister on her birthday.

This is one of the first cakes that I ever made at least as a more extravagant decorated cake and not just a cake in a pan.
I did a 9x13 cake as the base, then a cake in what is called the Wonder Mold Pan. This is the pan that is commonly used to make the Barbie cake- you know the one where you stick a Barbie in the cake, and decorate the cake like her dress- see here if you don't know. I used this cake for the sharks head. I shaped the tip of the cake to make it more shark like, and cut out a bit to form the mouth. For the teeth I got a white airhead candy and cut out jagged teeth. This eyes are junior mints. There are four different frosting colors- red, white, gray and blue. I also got blue decorating gel to add to the waves of the water.
I had a really fun time decorating this cake, but was a little frustrated with the frosting. It was a little difficult to work with. This was before I had perfected my frosting recipe. Since I have started really making and decorating cakes, I am really opposed to store bought frosting. It does not work properly, it tears the cake because it is too thick, and it just taste store bought. Anyway, because I had not had much experience in making frosting, it was just a little hard to work with. But I learned how to control the frosting much better.
This is just one of many learning experiences

Check out this site

Maybe some of you have already seen this sight, but if not I must share. I found this the other day through a friend and I have just absolutely loved it!
http://www.makeit-loveit.com
She is amazingly talented and I now have a million projects that I want to do. Top on the list- the modge podge shoes, the embellished tees, the sweater bag, the satin flowers. I especially love thier make-a-cake series! So many helpful ideas. It also answered so many questions that I had about some cake processes.
Love it.

Ps- I will have more food/cake posts to come.

Carmel Apple Cupcakes

Ok- to start out with I am gonna be honest. Not a big fan of these cupcakes. I initially started you thinking that they would be awesome, but they did not work out so great. Oh well, it was a learning experience.

So hear is the recipe that I use for the cupcakes.
1 Box of Cake Mix -I like Betty Crocker. For this recipe I used yellow cake, but I think I would use white cake or a spice mix next time.
1 large box of Pudding
Vegetable Oil (amount according to Box)
Eggs - amount on box plus 1
Water (amount according to box)

This is the standard cake mixture that I use- for cupcakes and cakes. Adding the pudding and the extra egg is really helpful in keeping the cake moist, but also making it denser then just the plain cake mix. This is helpful is you are decorating a cake, and especially if you do any sort of three dimensional cake. Light and fluffy cake does not work so well with the cake decorating world.

So for the Carmel Apple Cupcakes, I did a little bit of substitution.
Instead of oil, I did applesauce- which you can do that at any time in order to make it healthier, but I am not a fan so much (that is just me)
I also added some dried apples that were chopped up in small pieces.
For the water I did half water half apple juice. All of this was to make tue cupcakes more apple tasting. So here of a some pictures of the cupcakes

The chopped up apples

Finished cupcakes-minus the frosting.
For the frosting I used this recipe from TLC I was not so much a fan of it. The consistence of it was off, and it just did not work to well for me. I think that next time I do these cupcakes, I will just melt actual carmels and not do a frosting.
Here are the finished pictures of the cupcakes.


I started with trying to make the frosting all pretty, but it was really thick and sticky and would not really work. So I thinned it down a little, and made it more like a glaze instead.
So overall, I was not the biggest fan, but was really matters in the end is the taste. I shared it with my family and my friends. They all said that they loved them. So you can try it and see if you like them.
Aren't we all our own hardest critics? I know I am. Hope you enjoy

The winner is....

APPLES! So I will have the post with recipe attached soon! (Hopefully this weekend)
Until then, let's get to know everyone!
To start with me- some of you might not know me. My name is Andrea (Hi). I have always loved to cook and bake. When I was little, in school we filled out a questionaire about ourselves on the first day of school. I was 10 or 11 (and not very good at spelling) One of the the questions was "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Well at the time I wanted to be a chef, but I did not know how to spell it, so I wrote Chief. (close enough)
My teacher was a little confused by this and asked my mom about it. They had a good little giggle. So though I changed my mind about being a chief and a chef, I still love to cook.
Also I love photography (which I will post some of my pics). I just recently have gotten this itch to start sewing again, so I will probably start doing some of that soon too.
I have no idea where I will get the time for all of this. It is what I love to do though

What are the things that you like to do? What are your "get away" projects?

Project

To start out this blog, I am going to try a new reciepe once a month. I am going to try cooking with something that I have not used before in cooking. I will also do one new cupcake a month as well. In order to have a sort of order to the thing- I am going to have a poll that everyone can vote on to determine the main ingredient.
So to start out with we are going to do A foods.
The choice for cupcakes is between Amaretto Cupcakes, Apple Cupcakes, and Apricot Cupcakes. Cast your vote in the poll on the side!

My Outlet

I have been thinking for a long time that I wanted to do some sort of blog to share my creative outlet.
I have loved to do various sorts of things that get my creative juices flowing, and often times those juices are to the benefit of others. I am not a professional, I just enjoy make and creating. I love beauty in all things. I love sharing the beauty I see and create others- Hence, the purpose of this blog.
I will try and stick to things that I have made, so as not to steal from other people. Occasionally I might add other people creative ideas though.
I hope you enjoy!