LA Adventure

Vegas dosen't have too many cake decorating supply stores, so I made sure to hit one up this weekend.  I Yelped for cake decorating stores, found a few, and ended up going to Gloria's Cake and Candy Supply Store in Culver City, LA. They have every kind of cupcake liner colors you can image, tons of sprinkles and toppings, and every size of cake and cupcake boxes you would ever need.  I like to buy what the professionals are buying, and they sold a variety of non-commercial brands.  Items were fairly priced, I spent a lot there but it was because I'm stocking up on supplies I can't find in Vegas! :P 

My girlfriend Julie and I made these mini cupcakes for her USC instructor.  I got the silver sheen sanding sugar (sprinkles) at Gloria's, I love how the metallic color just pops out!  I wrote 'thank you' with a black CK candy writer that I got at Gloria's as well.  CK makes candy writer's in every possible color you can image, the candy is made out of chocolate and dries hard!  I also made mixed berry low fat muffins.  The recipe is similar to the blueberry muffins I posted earlier, but I used splenda for baking instead of sugar.   

Rainbow Cake

I made this Rainbow cake at Michael's cake decorating class.  Michael's offers a few course on cake decorating.  I spent $22 for Course 1 and it included 4 classes (2 hour classes once a week-duration is 4 weeks).  For just $22 bucks, why not take it, right?  The instructor pushed Wilton products to purchase at Michaels, however, I was able to find cheaper supplies (like pastry bags, tips, and pans) at a local restaurant supply store.

I expected to learn a lot, but I didn't.  The instructor let us decorate cakes in class and he answered all our questions.  He taught as a few technical things.  It was not an instructor led course as I expected it to be.  He just told us how to decorate the cake and watched over us, most of the time he was reading a book or texting.  If I ever end up taking Course 2, I'd look for a new instructor that is more resourceful and attentive.

I actually learn more on my own from watching Youtube videos, reading blogs, and researching for online recipes. I frequently visit Wilton's online forum and talk thread to read more about a specific question/idea/concern/issue I may have and usually find my answers there.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Made these banana-licious muffins today.  I baked quite a few batches, made some modifications, tweaked it out, and mastered the recipe.  I'm all banana'd out for now!  I want to share this wonderful recipe to you.  

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin Recipe
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup of sugar (I like my muffins overly sweet, if you don't, then take out 1/4 cup of sugar)
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1 and 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
pinch of nutmeg and a bigger pinch of cinnamon
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 and 1/4 cup mashed brown bananas (around 4-5 bananas, the more brown the better)
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips (or walnuts or your favorite nut)
*I don't like the overly strong banana taste, if you do, then add an extra banana or two and put in less choc chips*
Crumb Topping Recipe (Optional):
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoon flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
pinch of cinnamon
*Soften butter, do not melt it as it will lose it's consistency.  I soften the butter by putting it on top of the hot oven for a minute or two.  Use your fingers and mix softened butter, flour, sugar, and cinnamon together.  Mixture should be lumpy and grainy*
Directions: 
Yields 12 muffins.  Preheat oven at 350 degrees. 
Bowl #1: Sift flours, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon in a bowl, mix ingredients with a fork a few times.  Do not over mix.  You don't have to sift, but I always do for optimum results.  
Bowl #2: Combine egg, butter, yogurt, and vanilla, mix ingredients with a fork a times.  Do not over mix.
Pour bowl #2 into bowl #1, use a spoon to gently mix ingredients.  Do not over mix.  Gently fold bananas and chocolate chips into batter.  Do not over fold.  Grease the muffin pan, I like to use Pam for baking, or use cupcake liners.  These muffins come out moist, so I'd use the foil cupcake liners.  Fill 2/3 full and sprinkle the crumb topping, or chocolate chips on top of the batter.  Pat down the toppings so they stay in place.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 24 minutes.  It's basically ready if the toothpick comes out clean. I've baked a lot of quick breads and have noticed that over mixing causes dryness.  That is why I emphasis-do not over mix.  Happy baking!!!

Blueberry Muffins

Low-Fat Blueberry Bran Muffins

I got this recipe online from All Recipes and it came out great. I was a little skeptical as this was my first time using an online recipe. It's a really tasty morning muffin, not too sweet and extremely moist from the applesauce!Someone calculated the calories and it's only a whopping 100 calories. I brushed the top with melted butter and sprinkled with turbinado sugar. This is a recipe I will keep and bake again, freeze, and eat in the morning with fruit. Short shelve life, so make sure you store in refrigerator. It was very moist, so next time I'll take out 2 tablespoons of milk and add a few more tablespoons of sugar, because I LOVE everything sweet!

Simple Blueberry Muffins

I also made regular blueberry muffins. They came out more like biscuits. I'm going to make some more and tweak out the recipe, once I do, I'll post the recipe.

Zucchini Bread

Happy Easter!  Where did Spring disappear too?  It's cold with 30 mph winds in Vegas tonight, feeling a bit like winter.  I wanted some comfort food to warm me up so decided to make Zucchini Bread. First, I greased a 9x5 muffin pan with Pam Baking.  Then I toasted 2/3 cups of chopped walnuts for about 7 minutes at 350 degrees.

Bowl #1: Sift together 1 and 1/4c All Purpose Flour (or Whole Wheat Flour for Healthier Version), 1c Sugar, 1 and 1/2t Ground Cinnamon, 1/2t Baking Soda, 1/2t Salt, 1 and 1/2t Baking Powder and 1/4t Nutmeg.  After sifting, stir a little to blend ingredients.

Bowl #2: Stir together1 Egg, 1c finely shredded Zucchini with skin, 1/4c Veg Oil, 1/4 cup softened Butter (Replace Veg Oil and Butter with Unsweetened Apple Sauce for Healthier Version) and 1t Pure Vanilla Extract. Don't over mix Bowl #2, it leads to dryness.

Pour Bowl #2 in Bowl #1, and fold in, don't mix, batter should be lumpy.  Fold in 1/2c Toasted Walnuts in batter and then pour batter in greased pan.  I made a crumb coat (Mix 1/4c softened Butter, 1/4c of Brown Sugar,1/4c Toasted Walnuts and 3T flour) and drizzled it on top of the batter.  Bake for 40-50 minutes at 350 degrees or until toothpick comes out clean. I used a 9x5 pan, if you have a smaller size, shorten time.  Bake15-20 minutes if you are using a muffin/cupcake pan.  You can also substitute zucchini with shredded apples or carrots.  I always recommend a crumb coat for look and texture!

Spring Flowers

Had fun making Rice Krispie Lollipops. Used pink and purple sugar to create a nice bouquet of spring flowers that kind of resemble hydrangeas. Next time, I'll use longer lollipop sticks instead of these 4 inch ones so they stand up taller.  It'll look cute  individually wrapping them in plastic with a nice ribbon.

Happy Easter

Holidays are a lot of fun because you can get really cute decorations at your local grocery store. I made Blue and Brown Mini Cupcakes and regular sized Bunny and Nest Cupcakes with my ultimate fav, cream cheese frosting. This is the first time I replaced vegetable oil with butter and the yellow batter tasted buttery, moist, and delicious. Next time I won't put as much butter because the cupcake liners were separating from the cupcakes the next day. Most folks don't favor the taste of Peeps marshmallows, but they add a great look, I use it all the time. I baked coconuts flakes at 350 degrees for a few minutes to brown and add texture. Top with jelly beans and M&M's. Happy Easter everyone, God bless!