Thursday, March 31, 2011

Goodies Gourmet Soaps


I'm so excited, I finally have the website up for my business Goodies Gourmet Soaps.  Please show some support and head over to the site just to check it out.  We've been working on the site for a long time making everything from scratch (takes longer when you're not a computer programmer, or really know nothing about computers).

Ice cream cone  

I love soap

Sugar cubes
Enjoy!

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Jumbo Cream Filled Cupcakes



Wow these were some awesome cupcakes.  I have made these cupcakes before from Martha Stewart's Cupcake cookbook but this time I used some amazing cocoa powder from Askinosie Chocolate which put them over the top.  I took these to work and one of the ladies said that they were the best cupcakes she ever had.  I think it was because of the sour cream and the cocoa powder.
These cupcakes were light and fluffy (not just the cupcake but also they were filled with marshmallow fluff) and super moist.  Plus the batter tasted awesome which is always a clue that the baked version will turn out just great.
I made regular size cupcakes as I think a jumbo would be a bit too much with the chocolate and marshmallow filling.  They also go great with a cup of tea. For the recipe click here.

Batter

Awesome cocoa powder

Cupcake

Filled
Messy inside

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Cupcake Kitchen Photo Shoot

I always get my "professional" pictures taken by the same person. I love the photographer's sense of style and artistic direction.  Today I had a photo shoot with my photographer Marc aka mk:photographics, instead of doing our regular photos of cupcakes (that I usually make) we used me as the main focal point of the photos.

In the end, I love the photos! They turned out exactly how I wanted them to.  Love the colours and how the three pictures tell a story.  My only issue is that I can't decide which one is my favourite.  What do you think?




Enjoy!

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Oreo Cheesecake Cupcakes


Love these cupcakes!! This cupcake recipe comes from the Martha Stewart cupcake book, you can find the recipe at the bottom. 

Now I have had mixed success with this book.  The mint brownie cupcakes were great, but the peanut butter brownie cupcakes were a mess with the filling overflowing and caramelizing (which didn’t happen by the look of the photos in her cookbook).    
This is the second attempt to make these cupcakes. For my first attempt, I took Oreos and cream cheese to my parents house on the weekend to try the mini cheesecakes.  My goal was to experiment to see how long they stay fresh for.  As I was chatting to my Mom I was cracking the eggs into the mixture, the whole dozen was sitting in front of me and I just kept cracking.  As I picked up egg number four I realized that I had already added one egg too many (that’s why professional chefs and bakers set out exactly what they need).  I looked on the internet to find ways to fix the issue, but no luck.  I decided to bake them anyways.  The cheesecake cupcake took double time to set than what was listed on the recipe and they looked absolutely gross, so in the garbage they went.
These pictures are from round two, they turned out great.  The cupcakes taste like a big Oreo with a tart cream cheese twist to them. I love this flavour combination.  




Martha Stewart's Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes Recipe
Makes 30

Ingredients:
42 cream-filled sandwich cookies, such as Oreos, 30 left whole, and 12 coarsely chopped
2 pounds cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
1 cup sour cream
Pinch of salt


1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Place 1 whole cookie in the bottom of each lined cup.

2. With an electric mixer on medium high speed, beat cream cheese until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Gradually add sugar, and beat until combined. Beat in vanilla.

3. Drizzle in eggs, a bit at a time, beating to combine and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in sour cream and salt. Stir in chopped cookies by hand.

4. Divide batter evenly among cookie-lined cups, filling each almost to the top. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until filling is set, about 22 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Refrigerate at least 4 hours (or up to overnight). Remove from tins just before serving.



Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Toronto Bakes for Japan


Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world. (Howard Zinn)
What: A simple concept – a bake sale to raise money for Japan.
When & Where:
Saturday, April 9, 2011, 9 am to 1 pm (New!)
Sunday, April 10, 2011, 11 am to 3 pm
Who: Kind and committed people from across Toronto coming together and using their talents for a great cause.
To Whom: 100% of all proceeds from this initiative will be donated directly to the Japanese Red Cross Society.
Why: Because we can; we must.
How:
1. If you want to participate, use the Contact page over at the Toronto Bakes for Japan website, or drop an email to torontobakesforjapan@gmail.com and tell them how you would like to help. The sooner, the better because the event is only 3 weeks away.
2. RSVP: You can RSVP to the event on Facebook.
3. Spread the word: Today, if videos of funny cats can go viral, why not word of a good cause? Share the link with anyone you think would like to help. We can use all the hands we can get.
4. Check the Toronto Bakes for Japan site or Facebook or Twitter (hashtag #BakeForJapan) for more details.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Coffee and Doughnut Cupcakes


What’s better than coffee and doughnuts?  Well I think a coffee and doughnut cupcake.  The cupcake has not only coffee, but coffee grounds in it.  I love Starbucks coffee and decided to use their Sumatra blend. 
These cupcakes turned out really well, nice and fluffy with a great taste of coffee, cinnamon and sugar.  I used the recipe from Cupcake Bakeshop by Chockylit.  I followed the whole recipe for the cupcakes and the whipped cream frosting but I skimped out on making my own doughnuts and bought some mini's from the grocery store.  Next time I'll plan when I make these doughnuts to coincide with the Ex or some place where I can get Tiny Tom doughnuts 'cause they're sooo good!

Cupcake
Chocolate

Cinnamon & Sugar

Powdered Sugar

Enjoy!

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Text Cloud

I'm in love with text or tag clouds, whatever you like to call them.  I love how they graphically represent key words that you use in any type of document.

Here is Cupcakes and Sundry's blog text cloud as of today :)