sprinkles!!!

Aren't rainbow sprinkles just happy and festive? My niece turned 6 a couple of weeks ago and, like any human, is obsessed with rainbow sprinkles. Obviously she needed these at her birthday party. 

Truthfully, I've been eyeing this Funfetti recipe from a cookbook Kent gave me. It's called Baked Occasions and on the cover is a tiered Funfetti cake. It's glorious as a cake, but thought cupcakes were a bit more appropriate for a kiddie party. 

I’ve made many homemade vanilla cakes before but wanted to make this recipe for a couple of reasons: 1. They had me at vanilla extract. Have you seen the amount of vanilla called for? That’s right, it’s two TABLESPOONS, not teaspoons, and no I didn’t change that. That’s what these guys use and I was impressed. 2. The frosting is a unique recipe that I’ve never seen before, so I was intrigued. It involved cooking milk, sugar and flour together until it boils, then beating (which cools it down) and adding the butter. It ended up having the consistency and creaminess of the Swiss MeringueFrosting I like so much, but may be a bit easier to work with (although I had my issues with it too…).

The temperamental frosting may have been a bit of human error (not really paying attention to a pot of creamy boiling liquid) as well as a bit of confusion about the temperature of the butter. Nonetheless, I was able to fix my errors and have included how you can avoid making my same mistakes. But if you do make my mistakes, I've given you the answers on how to fix them!

I want candy

Confession time: even though I'm crazy about chocolate and peanut butter, I'm not a fan of Reese's peanut butter cups. I know, I know...how can I call myself a candy fanatic if I don't love Reese's? Well, if you've been reading this blog for any length of time you probably already know it has more to do with texture then it does flavor.

I just prefer natural, smooth peanut butter in a crispy, hard shell of chocolate. And while we're at it, a good quality dark chocolate is in order. And to make it even more grown up, I'll take a bit o' sea salt sprinkled for good measure. But to keep it festive, egg shapes are necessary and that requires a bit of conjuring. Or some disposable pastry bags and patience. 

Do you make any homemade candies? I really want to start making more, so I'd love to hear suggestions on what I should make next!

The Santa Plate

Growing up it was a tradition, on Christmas Eve, to make a plate for Santa. My sisters and I would gather some baked goods (typically decorated sugar cookies) and a few carrot sticks (for the reindeer of course) and leave it by the tree with a cup of milk or egg nog.

As we got older we started to know Santa really well and our Santa preferred a glass of milk and graham crackers- he was not a fancy man, our Santa.

In keeping with tradition, I made some sugar cookies recently and thought I'd share the recipe. They make a lot, so whip up some Triple Chocolate Cocoa, invite some friends over and have yourself a cookie decorating party!

(Sugar cookie & glaze recipe to follow)