Presents From Mommy

Hello Sweets,

So I'm sure y'all were wondering where I was yesterday, well I was having a slumber party at my moms lol.  Since I'm getting everything ready for this weekends birthday celebration, this post will be short and sweet ;)

I have already baked the cupcakes tonight, so tomorrow will be decoration day!  I'll do a post on what I chose to decorate and how trying it was lol. I'll be working with my marshmallow fondant, and I'm pretty excited because I've got a lot of cool ideas floating around in my head :)

This morning my mom gave me a little present that is right up my alley. It was pure vanilla that she picked up in Mexico. 

Of course I used it tonight in the cupcakes, and the smell is so divine an unlike the imitation kind you get in the grocery store.  It's also amazing because it's giant, lol which means it should last me a while ;)

Well that's all for tonight, I've got some sketching to do and we all know that's not my strong suit lol. 

Until next time....

Stay sweet,

  

Jennifer xoxoxoxo

Something I Just Couldn't Resist

Hello Sweets,

I have been having an awful day :(  It started out with me waking up with a migraine, which is exactly how I went to sleep last night.  Which means I didn't get much sleep, and that means my appetite was diminished.  I've only had a peanut butter and jam sandwich and some dehydrated cherries, which are soooo tasty lol.  So I've been relaxing all day long, and then I did a little creating so I wouldn't feel completely useless.

Well I did it, lol I made more pudding today!  I just couldn't help myself, I just really wanted some vanilla to go with the chocolate ;)  I can't imagine why people don't just make it from scratch, yes it takes a little longer but it smells so much better lol.  Although after making two batches of pudding I do need to go pick up some milk lol or I won't be able to enjoy my cereal.

Vanilla Pudding

Ingredients

3/4C sugar

4Tbs cornstarch

1/8tsp salt

3 1/2C milk (or you can use 1C cream)

3 egg yolks

1Tbs butter

1Tbs vanilla

 

Directions:

1)  Combine sugar, salt, and cornstarch in a saucepan.

 

2)  Whisk in milk and egg yolks, cooking over medium high heat, stirring constantly for 3-5 minutes or until thickened.

 

3)  Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and butter.  Whisk until butter is melted.

 

4)  Strain through a fine mesh sieve to remove any lumps.  Cover with plastic wrap for storage.  To prevent a skin or film from forming be sure to place plastic wrap against the pudding, not just over the top of the bowl.  Serve warm or cold.

 

I chose to add cinnamon and nutmeg for additional flavor

Another flavorful pudding that is hard to beat, my mind is spinning with all the different recipes that call for pudding because this will be my first choice every time it's available.  Unlike the fake boxed stuff there is a slight egg smell to it, if that's something that would put you off add a splash more vanilla with cinnamon and nutmeg.  I cannot wait for my nephew to try his little batches I made for him, nothing is better than a smile on his cute little face :)

Tomorrow I am back over at my grandparents, so it will be a dinner post instead of sweet ;)  In the meantime I will be doing some more sketching in preparation for the birthday party, I'm getting really excited to be officially putting my passion out there, but I know I still have a lot to learn ;)  Until next time....

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxoxo

Come Together Right Now, Over Food!

Hello Sweets,

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend.  Are you staying in, or do you have all sorts of plans?  What have I been doing?  Well today was a write off (so glad I finished my creation last night), so I've been sleeping or resting, so that means I've done nothing lol but hey if that's what my body needs, I'm not going to argue.  Hopefully tomorrow I can get out to visit my grandparents and then I am hoping to make a chili from scratch (or close to it) for the first time, so wish me luck.  With the way the weather is here in the winter, warm comfort food is absolutely amazing!

Well tonight is the night that I finally reveal my original one of a kind creation :)  Did you guess what it could be?  So far the only clues I've given you is that there is candied bacon and a maple butter icing, so I think you've probably already got a pretty good idea what it could be.  If you guessed a "Canadian" inspired cupcake you would be dead on!  Now I will give fair warning that this cake recipe came out a little drier than I would have liked and it is dense (which could be part of it), but I think if I had pulled it out a couple minutes before it was completely set or used the cream that was called for (I used a kitchen trick with regular and butter), things may have worked out differently.  But that is all part of the process, now I know when I make this recipe again to try changing the measurements or ingredients to achieve what I am looking for :)  Let's get to the final part of the mini series!

Vanilla Cinnamon Cake

Ingredients

1C plus 2Tbs butter, softened

1 2/3C sugar

4 large eggs, room temperature

1Tsp vanilla

3C all-purpose flour

2 1/2Tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

2Tsp cinnamon

1 Tsp allspice

1C half and half cream

Directions:

1)  Preheat oven to 375F.  Line 24 muffin cups with cupcake papers (or you can make it into a cake as well).

2)  In a mixing bowl with an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar.  Beat until light and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl to combine everything.

3)  Beat in the eggs and vanilla until smooth and well blended.

4)  In another bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and allspice. 

5)  Stir the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture with the cream until blended.  Beat for 2 minutes.

6)  Fill the cupcake papers about 2/3 full.  Bake for 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean (although I would pull out slightly sooner).  Cool in the pan for about 2 minutes, then remove and cool completely on a wire rack.

So there is the third and final recipe :)  I then decorated the cupcakes with the icing and candied bacon, and low and behold we have a Canuckette Canadian cupcake!

The flavors are a fantastic blend of salty and sweet up top, then the cupcake base is a play on french toast with the vanilla, cinnamon, and allspice.  

I can say that I am very proud of myself for taking my passion and not just tweaking someones recipe but taking an idea from my big ol' brain and creating it in the kitchen :)  I am definitely going to try and do this more often, because it gives me a great feeling of creativity and I take pride in everything I make, but knowing it's my very own is even better.

I encourage all of my readers, whether your passion is in the kitchen or somewhere else to push yourselves to do something original.  Of course there will be times where we don't succeed the exact way we intend, but as I always say it's a learning curve and you can only learn from the mistakes that are made.  Let me know what you think of my original recipe, and if you try let me know if you like it too!  Until next time.............

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxo