Homemade Marshmallows

A couple weeks back I was on CHCH Morning Live Hamilton making marshmallows with my business partner from Sweet Table. We made marshmallows live on t.v. but also made three types for display including, cotton candy, Oreo and purple marshmallows. We had a table set up with candy, cookies and cupcakes.  Here are some process pictures as well as the video of our segment.

Cotton Candy

Oreo

Thanks, I'll try to blog more but if you want to read more regular posts check out Sweet Table's blog.

Mondo Bazaar - this Saturday

It's the time of the year for the awesome Mondo Bazaar!  Come check out the awesome vendors listed below from 10 am to 5 pm this Saturday November 27th at the Gladstone Hotel (corner of Dufferin St. and Queen St. W.) Toronto.

I'll be there selling all of my new products that I posted in the post below.  Please come out and support some awesome people and their products.

Vendor list:

NP= Non Profit Vendors 

Ballroom:

EMERGENCY Toboggan Co. Need to go tobogganing right now? Our EMERGENCY Toboggan fits in your jacket pocket! Plus Stockings to Blow Santa's Mind

 S'Up Cuz  We offer funky freshtastic t-shirts for men and women - www.supcuz.biz

 BitchCraft Cute dark and sexy designs hand printed on tops, underwear, dresses and more! www.bitchcraft.ca

 Kekki Bam  Vintage Pattern Pieces

 LaLaLand Factory We crafty cousins create one-of-a-kind, handmade eclectic fibre art dolls and toys, accessories and stuff for baby.  www.marciafroststudio.com  www.lalalandfactory.etsy.com

 RedHen Craft Beautiful, everyday objects that delight the senses without compromising on practical function. www.redhencraft.ca.

 Sparrow Avenue Comprised of various textile items(such as shoulder bags, wallets, tea towels, etc) and notecards all with my original silk  screen prints of mostly small birds. www.sparrowavenue.blogspot.com, www.SparrowAvenue.etsy.com

 1910 Collective  Pottery of varying eclectic styles; from whimsy to earthy and functional to sculptural. 

 JET.Designs  Handmade Jewellery and Accessories www.JetDesigns.ca

 Bead-by-Bead  Unique , handmade, one of a kind and all personal work. Using semi precious, stones, Swarovski crystals, sterling silver, freshwater pearls, shell, glass and resin beads.

 Talis A broad selection of sterling silver jewellery from the hill tribes of Northern Thailand, all made in a Fairly Traded Community. www.talis.ca

 Things aren't So Terrible A mixture of unique hand made and screen printed clothing, accessories and paper goods.www.teamterrible.com

 Deborah Lumsden One of a kind jewellery using silver, bronze, brass, copper, bone, semi precious stone and shell. Custom made gloves. 

 Truth & Beauty Organic skincare 

 Dreaming Tree Paper Company One of a king journals from old hardcover books. Since we believe that recycling is earth-friendly, all our journals are made from reused hardcover books and unlined recycled paper.  www.dreamingtreepaper.com

 ITMET  One of a kind handmade jewelry using sustainable materials and exotic beads.  itmet.tumbler.com

 SUNSUN Unique Silkscreen Hoodies, T-shirts, Hats, Kid Hoodies and cards.  Designs by Francesca Nocera AKA Lover SUN www.francescanocerasun.ca

 Importada   Colourful, wearable clothing and accessories from Nepal for adults and kids.

 Pass it on! Two savvy young entrepreneurs sell gently used books and clothing to raise money for the Sick Kids Foundation  NP

Showing in the Art Bar

Fehu  Hats that are sophisticated, whimsical, warm and "zazu". They lift your spirit. Boas made from recycled saris, and wrist warmers crocheted with copper wire. http://www.craft.on.ca/portfolio/BevCouse

 Goodies Gourmet Soaps Fun homemade soaps and bath bombs in food like shapes (cupcakes, icecream popsicles, etc.) with yummy dessert fragrances. www.goodiesgourmetsoaps.com

 Raven Works Unique jewellery consisting of refined semi precious stones integrated with silver to create the perfect gift for you and your loved ones. www.etsy.com/shop/RavenWorks.ca

 Knotted Nest   Handmade housewares and accessories inspired by vintage fabrics. www.knottednest.ca

 étoile    adorable handknit and appliqued hats! 

 Superdraven- Jewellery and Fun Stuff with a wicked, funky, kitschy sensibility – pin-up girls, day of the dead, robots, matryoshkas, owls and other cool stuff. http://www.etsy.com/shop/superdraven

 Hello! Stuff by David Chiu

A Toronto-based graphic designer/crafter created a line of fun, cool, one of a kind stuff. Black and white illustrated characters are printed on t-shirts, ties, tote bags, buttons, magnets, greeting cards and note books.

www.hellostuff.ca, www.hellostuff.etsy.com

Showing in the Melody Bar

Holistic  - Raw creams, incense and creative products with cause marketing to embellish surfaces of fabric -like miniature paintings that iron on clothing etc for inspiration and self-branding.www.thecosmictree.com

 Operation Sock Monkey  An initiative providing laughter, hope and healing to communities affected by disease, disaster and political turmoil around the world. Handmade Sock Monkeys can be purchased, donated or sponsored to be sent to children in need of a smile. Funds raised by OSM support the work of international humanitarian and aide organizations such as Clowns Without Borders.www.operationsockmonkey.com  NP

 Huband Cradle of Hope Children's Home  Fair trade, handcrafted items made by local craftspeople and members of the Massai in Kenya.Also, hand created jewelry pieces using Italian sterling silver and semi precious stones. 100% of sales goes directly to the care of 21 very special children in Kenya. www.cradlekenya.org  NP

 Brianne Rutter and Kelly Smith

Funky rings: one of a kind melted plastics, characters, buttons, scrabble tiles, computer keys, stones, etc.

 Hippies and Hoots  - Friendly owl pillows and hand-dyed silk scarves

 Robin M – details tbc

New Soaps

I know this is suppose to be my baking blog but these soaps look like baked goods so it's ok, right?!

I must say I'm in the love with these new photos and my photographer Marc, over at mkphotographics.  Go check out his site, he's recently redone the site and has a section of all of my cupcake and soap photographs.

Here are my new releases for November/the holiday season.

Candy Cane Soapsicle

Christmas Cake Soap Loaf

Chocolate Mint Bath Bomb

Candy Cane Bath Bomb

Christmas Mint Jewels

Gingerbread Man Bubble Bar

Green Cupcake

Skull Soap

Snowflake Bubble Bar

Peppermint Bark

Candy Cane Bubble Bar

Candy

Goodies Gourmet Soaps

The reason I have not blogged in so long is because I have been busy with my new business venture.  By no means does it mean I will stop baking, but a lot of my time has been occupied with designing my new website, coming up with ideas, making my product, etc.

So I guess it’s time to reveal my new venture...GOODIES GOURMET SOAPS.  Yes a soap company, I know that you are thinking, soap???  Well it’s not really that far from baking.  All of my soaps are in the shape of baked goods and sweets (cupcakes, ice cream, popsicles, donuts, etc.) and all smell absolutely amazing.  Some scents I am working with presently are: strawberry shortcake, birthday cake, baked alaska, cherries jubilee, creamsicle, bubble gum and for the fall, pumpkin pie.  

My new website isn’t fully functioning yet but I plan it to be by the end of the month.  For now I have twitter and facebook.  I just finished my first craft bazaar and have two coming up in November and December, just in time for Christmas.  Mid November I will have my full Christmas line complete.

Here are some photos for my product so far.  Please add Goodies to twitter and like on Facebook.

Thanks for your support!

Birthday Cake Ice Cream

August 2nd was my boyfriend’s 30th birthday, I had promised I’d make him a birthday cake. As I usually do I got a little sidetracked and decided instead of decorating a cake I’d use the cake in some sort of birthday ice cream. I had to think of what I’d put into a birthday cake ice cream, it really didn’t take me that long as I make cakes all the time. Frosting, sprinkles and cake, that was the easy part but I wanted to make the ice cream base a little different. My boyfriend loves sweetened condensed milk so I made the base with that.

The ice cream turned out really nice, although not enough fat content (will definitely change that for next time), I used light cream which in Ontario is 5%, I ideally didn’t want to use anything under 10% but the cream was already bought when I noticed the difference. What was my saving grace was that the frosting added a little extra creaminess.

This ice cream tastes awesome, it’s like a giant birthday party in your mouth. Here’s the recipe if you want to try it too.

1 cup sweetened condensed milk
2 cups light cream (I’d use whipping cream next time)
1 cup of pre made cake
1/2 cup buttercream frosting
2 T. sprinkles

Whisk the condensed milk and cream until it is fully mixed together. Add the liquid to your ice cream maker and follow manufacturer’s directions. With about 2 minutes left add the sprinkles. When complete add the frosting and mix throughly then mix in the cake. Transfer into an air tight container and put in freezer until the ice cream sets to your desired consistency.

Photo tutorial - How to make Peanut Butter Ice Cream

So last week I got an ice cream maker (talked about in my previous post) and a couple of ice cream recipe books.  Out of the three I got (Weinstein, Lebovitz and Cohen & Greenfield) my favourite is the one by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield (it could be because I’m obsessed with Ben & Jerry’s).  Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream and Dessert Book has tons of flavour possibilities, I decided to combine a couple to make Peanut Butter and Brownie Ice Cream.  This ice cream is absolutely delicious!  The texture is perfect like any other premium ice cream you get from the store.

Below is a picture tutorial on how to make this wonderful tasting ice cream.  The recipe is at the bottom.

Peanut Butter and Brownie Ice Cream

First you need to start by making your favourite brownie recipe.  Once the brownies have cooled, cut it into chunks and put them into the freezer.

Secondly choose your favourite ice cream base. Mine is:

2 eggs

2 cups, whipping cream

1 cup, homogenized milk 

3/4 cup, sugar

Follow steps in the picture tutorial.

You will need between 1/3 - 1/2 cup of peanut butter, smooth 

or chunky.  

Once you have incorporated the eggs, sugar, milk and cream, you 

need to take some of the mixture and mix it with the peanut butter.  

Once that is smooth add it back into the main mixture.  

Pour the mixture into the ice cream maker and follow the directions

provided with your machine.

With two minutes left add the brownies.  You might have to stop the machine and fold the brownies in by hand.  

Put the mixture into an airtight container and put into the freezer until it reaches the consistency you desire.

Scoop and Enjoy!

Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream

For my birthday I got a ice cream maker.  I’ve been wanting an ice cream maker for quite some time and was so happy when I finally got one.  For my birthday my boyfriend and I went strawberry picking (the first time in his life) and got a big pail of berries.  Therefore, my first batch of ice cream had to be something with strawberries.

On the way out, the farm was selling rhubarb so I decided to pick some up to use in our first batch of ice cream.  Of course we forgot to put the ice cream cylinder in the freezer before we left so we had to wait until the next day to make the ice cream (the waiting felt like forever).  

The next morning I cut up the strawberries and stewed the rhubarb.  I used 3 cups of strawberries and 1 cup of rhubarb.  

Mixed all of the milk, cream and sugar in together until the sugar dissolved and added the strawberries and rhubarb. Then into the maker it went.

 After the ice cream was in the maker for 20 minutes it went into an air tight container to solidify.  The result was magnificent!


 After tasting the final product I have two changes I would make for next time.  One, increase the amount of rhubarb to two cups.  Two, mash the strawberries into smaller pieces as the big frozen chunks in your mouth is hard to bite into especially if you don’t like those kind of things (I was covered in goose bumps every time I bit into a berry).