I’m thinking we need more music on this here blog. Especially since it’s getting warmer out and everyone is getting out of their winter inertia mode. (Note: I use the word “inertia” often, even when it doesn’t quite make sense. Don’t overthink it.) Anyhow, here is a sweet playlist a friend of mine made for me a couple years back for my birthday. May it inspire you to go out and conquer the world. Fresh Noise. Happy Woden’s Day!* Love,…
Strawberry Frosting
March 31, 2014
So you may remember from a while back that I created a Neapolitan cupcake featuring a chocolate and vanilla cake base and a topping of strawberry frosting. I love this frosting recipe because it involves using an incredibly easy trick in customizing frosting flavors—making a typical cream cheese frosting but with a special flavor of cream cheese. So yep, this is nothing more than my regular cream cheese frosting recipe using strawberry cream cheese. Which is great because you avoid…
Lemon Frosting
March 26, 2014
Ha, so as you may have noticed, I’ve been posting lots of sugary recipes here on the blog lately. But hey, that’s what happens when both of your parents have birthdays in the same week! Lemon happens to be my mom’s favorite dessert flavor, so I baked her a lemon cake with lemon frosting for her special day. And I managed to take some glamour shots before we dug into it 😉 Here’s the recipe for the lemon frosting I prepared!…
Vanilla Bean Frosting
March 24, 2014
Ever wondered how to make vanilla frosting, complete with those little black specks? Here’s how! One thing of note: I figured some of you would want a buttercream variety of this frosting, and some would want a cream cheese variety. So I’m giving you directions for both below. Vanilla Bean Frosting Makes enough for 12 cupcakes or for half of a standard double-layer 9″ round cake. Ingredients 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temp* 2 1/2–3 cups powdered sugar 2–4 TB…
The Trick to the Toothpick Test
March 21, 2014
This post today is going to be suuuper quick. I just wanted to share a quick tip that I use when testing cakes and cupcakes for doneness with a toothpick. Did you know… …that if your toothpick has crumbs on it when you pull it out of your cake, then that is the perfect time to take your cake out? Ha, at least I think it is. You still don’t want any wet batter there…just a few dry crumbs. This…
Fun Photo Idea: Reproduce Old Photos
March 18, 2014As part of my parents’ birthdays being this week—yes, both this week—I decided to try my hand at a fun project I like to call “reproducing old photos.” Above, me and my brothers at the bus stop before school. Heh, so I guess the project itself is pretty self-explanatory: Find old photos, find the location, gather and/or make era-specific clothing and props, pose, have someone take the photo. If this is something you’ve never tried, I highly recommend it! Here’s…