Breaking the Ice

Current Mood: Loopy/Dancey
Current Song/Music Mood: Yellowcard- "Way Away"

Happy Monday!!

...Said no one ever....

Well okay, I mean SOME people may say "Happy Monday" but anyone who works Monday through Friday has to agree that Monday is probably the worst day ever. Especially if your boyfriend flies out every Monday morning for work! Boooooooo

You may be wondering why the title of this blog is "Breaking the Ice." And that's understandable. Whenever I think of Creme Brulee though, I think about the smooth, shiny, thin layer of caramelized sugar on top of each little, itty bitty, ramekin filled with the creamy goodness. Then, when you dive into it with your spoon, it's like you're falling through a frozen pond. Breaking the ice. Get it?

I tried baking Creme Brulee for the first time ever yesterday while the boyfriend was fixing the brakes on his monster Jeep. Surprisingly, I didn't burn his house down with the cheap blow torch he has!

This recipe made me think about the 5 ingredient vanilla custard that I made back when I first started this blog in May. That was my "Five Ingredients and Under" month when I actually had themes going on here. I think those themes have come to an end by the way. Now it's just "Whatever Liv feels like making and blogging about" months!

Anyways, Creme Brulee is literally vanilla custard with a thin layer of "ice" on top. Here's the scoop:

5 egg yolks
1/2 c. white sugar
2 c. whipping cream
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
brown sugar or white sugar for the "ice"

That is LIT-RALLY it.

I got this recipe from Lacey, author of "A Sweet Pea Chef" and it is so yummy. I cut this in half but it would have made about 5 or 6 individual ramekins (mine are small...about 3 oz each).

Whip up the egg yolks and the sugar until smooth and creamy. Add the vanilla extract. Fold in the cream slowly being careful not to add too many extra air bubbles. Place the ramekins in a glass baking dish (9 x 13 inch would fit about 6 ramekins just fine) and fill dish with hot water until about halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Pour custard into each ramekin and place whole dish in the oven on 325 for about an hour and 10 minutes.

Lacey had 45 minutes to an hour but I found mine weren't ready until about an hour and 10 minutes. A knife should come out relatively clean when done baking. Remove ramekins from water and let sit for 15 minutes on a dish towel. Let them cool off in the fridge for at least an hour.

Place a thin layer of white or brown sugar on top of each custard and use a blow torch to caramelize it. Or "ice" it. You can also place the ramekins back in the water bath and into the oven on "broil" for like 15 minutes if you don't have a torch.

Tip: this dessert is really yummy cold but you can also heat it up before "icing" and torching. I like it cold though (when I actually eat it!)

Cheers!

P.S. It's not burnt, it's caramelized and DELISH :)
 

No One Likes Being Sick!

This week mother nature got the best of me, unfortunately. And even more unfortunately, I am sitting at work right now sneezing my head off and still feeling sick. I need sweatpants, a couch, and cuddle time with Dom ASAP!

Being sick this week meant no baking for Liv. However, Sunday, I plan on making the boyfriend's favorite dessert--Creme Brulee! I found this odd recipe for peach creme brulee but it was made in a large dish instead of individual ramekins. I decided to pass on that recipe.

Creme Brulee is literally vanilla custard (unless you add a fun flavor like...pumpkin!) with torched brown sugar on top for that nice, crisp touch. I'm not a HUGE fan of this dessert but I've never used a blow torch before so I thought eh, why not give it a try! It's literally 5 ingredients and looks extremely easy to make. Come back Monday to hear about the experience!

Until then...I will be living off hot tea with honey, orange/pineapple juice, cough drops, and tissues :)

Cheers!

Irish Potato Cookies...More Like Candies!

These are SO addicting! It is LITERALLY cream cheese butter cream icing only thicker, rolled into potato shapes, and covered in cinnamon. Literally...

I didn't even notice when I was skimming the recipe that it would be icing. I started making it and thought wow...this is what goes on top of my red velvet cupcakes! Then the cinnamon ties it all in.

These are INCREDIBLY easy it's ridiculous. The only time consuming part is letting the "dough" sit in the fridge for about an hour before rolling them into silly potato shapes. Remember I said the taste, texture, and everything about these treats was SO familiar and I couldn't think of where I've had them before??? Well I think it was just that I couldn't put two and two together. It's super thick icing!!

This is the recipe from our dear friend at Bake at 350:

2 cups pecans
4 tbsp. salted butter, room temp
1/4 cup cream cheese, room temp
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1 lb. powdered sugar
cinnamon
slivered almonds

What I changed: I doubled the recipe because I was bringing them to work and giving some to Dom. I don't remember how many exactly this made, but some of 'em were bigger potatoes then others. I'd say it made about 40, which was accurate because Bridgett said hers made 20.

I ALWAYS use unsalted butter no matter what and this is all I had, so that's what I went with! I left out the pecans because they are super expensive at the store. 1.5 cups of already chopped ones are $5! I would have had to spend $15 on just the pecans. I had sliced almonds at home so I dumped some of these in instead. But not TOO much. Many of the other recipes I compared this one to didn't even have nuts. They actually had coconut which would be delicious.

I also didn't put any of the slivered almonds in as "eyes." The amount of cinnamon wasn't provided so I went with 1 tbsp. and I had a little left over.

What was difficult: The "dough" gets EXTREMELY thick in the mixing bowl. I had to use a whole bag of powdered sugar and when I got down to about 1/6 of the bag, I had to remove the mixing bowl and try to "stir" the rest in. Now...when I say "stir" I mean that the spatula doesn't work and it comes down to the hands! I sort of "kneaded" the mixture and split it into two balls before placing them in the fridge.

I wrapped the balls of "dough" and placed 'em in the fridge for an hour. When you remove them, the "dough" is pretty hard. But then you shape into potatoes, roll 'em in cinnamon, dust the extra cinnamon off with a pastry brush and there ya go! You may be questioning why I keep putting "dough" in quotations. When I think of dough, I think of stuff ya bake. These are no bake mouth parties!!

IRISH POTATO CANDIES!

Beware: These are EXTREMELY sweet. You may become wired :)

Cheers!

Next Up! Irish Potatoes

Wait what?

These things are delish!! I CANNOT for the life of me remember where I had these a while back. The taste, texture, and just the treat itself seems SO familiar it's driving me NUTS. I had a sample of one of these at the Amish Market in Dundalk a few weekends back and that familiar taste came back to me. WHERE HAVE I HAD THESE BEFORE PEOPLE!? Grrrr...

Anyways, Thursday, I plan on making this recipe that I found on one of the blogs I follow on here. SO EASY! Anyone could make these. You don't even need to mess with the oven. These have nuts in them, but I'm even considering leaving those out. The one's I've tried did not have nuts. We will see what my little heart desires on Thursday!

As Bridget from "Bake at 350" says, "Never fear, no potatoes were harmed in the making of these cookies."

I plan on doubling this recipe...think the boyfriend and coworkers won't gobble 20 of these babies up in less than 5 minutes? 40 it is...

Stay tuned and cheers!

White Chocolate Almond Joy Cookies

Current Mood: Sorta sleepy but excited to go to dinner with the boyfriend tonight!

Current Song: Justin Bieber- "As Long As You Love Me"

Have you ever made cookies with browned butter? Well I just tried for the first time and I'm thinking I'd rather just use room-temp-softened butter. I'm not sure if this is what caused my cookies to come out biscotti-texture-like but they were not as soft as I wanted. Browning butter is so easy, just wondering if that was the problem...

I made my own version of Joy the Baker's "Brown Butter Toasted Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies" yesterday on my lunch break while we enjoyed the Blizzard of 2013...NOT. What are those weather people THINKING? Anyways...

The idea of white chocolate and almond joys popped into my head while I was thinking up a cookie recipe to concoct with the coconut and sliced almonds I had in my overflowing collection of baking ingredients at home. Immediately, someone thinks of an Almond Joy. WHO WOULDN'T? It's like the best chocolate candy ever...well...it's up there on my list...and for someone who doesn't eat lots of chocolate...that's pretty high up there. 

I don't even like white chocolate. Or dark chocolate. But I like chocolate chip cookies made with semi-sweet chocolate chips. Weird. Basically, I like baking with semi-sweet chocolate but I decided to go with the Baker's white chocolate baking squares that I found in my drawer. So...almonds, white chocolate, coconut...WHITE CHOCOLATE ALMOND JOYS! 

Joy's original ingredients were as followed:

1 c. butter, melted and browned

1 c. sugar 

3/4 c. brown sugar

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

2 1/2 c. flour

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2-3/4 tsp. salt

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1/4 c. toasted coconut (unsweetened or sweetened)

1 c. dark chocolate chunks

What I changed: Oh I browned the butter alright...almost browned it TOO much but caught it JUST in time! I actually reduced the white sugar to 3/4 c. because 2 cups of sugar altogether seemed like entirely way too much sugar. I also substituted ALMOND extract for vanilla and reduced the amount to 1/2 tbsp (almond extract is super strong...this was the PERFECT amount in these cookies). I used 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/2 c. UN-TOASTED sweetened coconut, 1 c. sliced almonds in place of the dark chocolate chunks, and 3 oz. of white chocolate baking squares. 

What worked awesomely: The almond extract. I LOVE the flavor of pure almond extract. Don't get ANY of that imitation stuff. NOT ANY FLAVOR. Don't even think about getting imitation vanilla extract. As much as any extract costs, please go with the good stuff. The pure stuff. No one likes cookies that lie :)

The almonds also worked well. They gave the cookie that extra crunch which, if you like nuts, is tasty. 

Not sure what went wrong...which made the cookies to turn out hard. The dough was VERY thick which Joy mentioned was supposed to happen...but after looking at her pictures, my dough looked even THICKER. Now...cookie dough is supposed to be relatively thick. But I don't think this was normal...I think the almonds and the coconut also made the dough thicker and more crumbly. Maybe I over-baked?? None of them came out dark in color though...Hmmm...

Overall the flavor is divine--I highly recommend purchasing and using almond extract. PURE. kthx :)

Random Tip of the Day: When your cookies (whatever flavor) come out of the oven, instead of placing them onto a cooling rack, let them cool in the pans for just a few minutes and then transfer them directly to your cookie jar or Tupperware. This keeps them nice and soft! This technique works with all my other cookies...don't know what happened with this recipe :( 

Thanks Mom for that tip growing up!!

Cheers!

Truffles Everywhere!

Okay well...they aren't everywhere right now...but I hope to be able to sell these in the near future! I just need to work on making them perfectly pretty and I will be set! I have so many ideas flowing in my head for truffles it's unbelievable.

A few include--white chocolate raspberry truffles, cherry almond truffles, and hazelnut coffee truffles.

Are you drooling yet??

If you haven't checked out my recipe for the mint chocolate truffles that I made last week, be sure to do so--it's featured in my last post!

They will be gone in NO TIME if you decide to make a batch and take them into your work or to any other event. They are bite sized--who doesn't want something so sweet and delicious that can be devoured in one bite!? ..............Couldn't think of any one, could ya?

Coming up tomorrow: White Chocolate Almond Joy cookies. Interesting idea, huh?

Stay tuned for the recipe and recap of my experience! Oh and don't forget to place your order NOW for St. Patty's Day!!

Cheers!

Bite Size Mint Chocolate Explosions

So remember the left over mint chocolate ganache from my Mint Chocolate Explosions? I used the left overs to make truffles last night!

This process was SO easy! I just left the ganache in the glass measuring cup in the fridge overnight...covered...and when I took it out last night after work, the consistency was splendid. It doesn't get super hard, but it doesn't stay soft. It's hard to explain the consistency but it's the PERFECT one for truffles. I've read that one should use a melon baller to scoop out the ganache before rolling the ball between your hands to make it round. However, I didn't like this whatsoever. I got rid of that and used a regular spoon instead. This made them bigger! Which is better in this situation...

The ball-rolling process took no more than five minutes. Once I had them on a plate, I put the plate back in the fridge for a few hours. When you roll the balls between your hands, the chocolate melts a bit so to harden them back up, place the balls in the fridge! Tick tock...tick tock...

Around 8pm I could remove the plate from the fridge, melt some semi-sweet chocolate chips, prepare my bowls of various toppings, and get to dipping!

As I rummaged through my storage of baking supplies, I found three opened bags of chocolate chips. This is ridiculous! Ask me why...I have no clue. One of the opened bags were actually semi-sweet chocolate MELTS which I don't really get. They are EXACTLY the same as chips but apparently they create "layers" in chocolate chip cookies. Hmmmm...I call bull! Anyways...I combined the bags which probably equaled almost a full, 12 oz. bag of chocolate chips and melted them in the microwave. Many would say they should go on a double broiler on the stove but I like the microwave method just the same. It gets the job done either way!

I rummaged again through my storage of baking supplies to find toppings I could roll the dipped truffles in. I went with slivered almonds, coconut flakes, and rainbow sprinkles. I placed each in its own bowl and got to work.

Tips: Along my first truffle making journey, I learned a few tips.
#1: When dipping the truffles into the chocolate, use a fork. Roll 'em around a bit, place them on the fork, and let the excess chocolate drip off back into the bowl. Be sure to scrape the fork against the edge of the bowl to remove any extra.

#2: When tossing the dipped truffle into its topping, cover it completely with garnish and let it sit in the bowl for a minute or two. It's less messy and gives it a bit to harden before using your fingers to place it in its permanent...or not so permanent...spot on a plate.

#3: I'm pretty sure you're supposed to place the finished truffles on parchment paper on a baking sheet (or somewhere else convenient) but I didn't have any of this. I did, however, have lots of mini cupcake liners so I used these instead to house the truffles. They work just as well and it saves ya a step once you go to serve them!

I then let the plate of finished truffles sit out on my dining room table for a while to harden. Many say you can let them sit at room temp for a while and serve them that way or you can place them in an airtight container and into the fridge. I personally like cooler truffles anyways. I divided them up into Tupperwares (I planned on handing them out to different people) and stuck 'em in the fridge.

Everyone at work loved my Bite Size Mint Chocolate Explosion truffles! One even said it was my best treat yet. I recommend trying this oh-so-easy delightful treat!

Less calories in a bite size dessert, right? Ha!

Bite Size Mint Chocolate Explosion Truffles (My left over ganache made about 20 truffles...the full amount of ganache I made is reflected in the recipe below which probably would have made about 30 truffles)

Ganache Center:
1 c. heavy whipping cream
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 tsp. any flavor extract you want (I used peppermint, obviously)

Let the cream come to a boil on the stove. Place chocolate chips in a glass, heat proof, measuring cup and pour boiling cream over it. Whisk it smooth. Place in the fridge over night. Scoop out with a spoon into bite size balls and roll between your hands. Place balls back in the fridge for at least a few hours.

Coating/Toppings:
About 12 oz. of semi-sweet chocolate chips (you could use white chocolate, milk, etc.)

Melt the chocolate in a bowl in the microwave for about a minute and half. Roll the ganache balls in the chocolate and cover in toppings of your choice.

Suggestions on Toppings:
Cocoa powder
Sprinkles (chocolate or rainbow)
Coconut flakes
Any sort of nuts chopped finely (my almonds were already slivered)
Powdered sugar

Enjoy and Cheers!

Mint Chocolate Explosion

I think that's what I'm calling these cupcakes I made last night.

I never use filling for my cupcakes so I thought I'd try this out last night. I know I had said I was making chocolate cupcakes filled with chocolate ganache and Creme de Menthe, but I just couldn't bring myself to make three stops last night after work in the hurricane. Well...there wasn't a hurricane but it was extremely windy and rainy! I was already stopping at Michael's to grab some colored fondant and Giant for a few ingredients I needed--I wasn't about to make another stop at the liquor store for a tiny bottle of Creme de Menthe! I had bought peppermint extract on Sunday night at Wegman's so I thought this would do the trick just fine.

I needed to experiment with fondant just ONCE. I always see cupcakes with smooth, colorful fondant designs on top and of course beautiful wedding cakes have caught my eye before. Fondant is definitely a beautiful thing. So perfect and smooth (if you do it right of course) and you can make WHATEVER you want out of it.

I had to try and last night was the night.

I wanted the most basic vanilla cupcake recipe that I could possibly find so I went with the recipe I've used and tweaked in the past from www.cooks.com. I made it my own and whipped up the following:

1/4 c. unsalted butter
3/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1.5 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 c. canola oil
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1/4 c. nonfat cold milk

Mint Chocolate Ganache
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 c. heavy whipping cream
3/4 tsp. peppermint extract

And I used traditional vanilla butter cream for the topping. I lathered on a layer of this before covering four of the cupcakes with colored fondant so that it would stick. I had gotten a four-color pack of already prepared fondant from Michael's and since I had a 50% off coupon, it was only about $5! Woohoo!

Then...I winged it! If that's a word...

Next time...I will either add another egg yolk or SOMETHING to make the cupcake more moist. This always seems to be a challenge for me and I need to make this my focus from here on out. No one likes a dry cupcake!! I feel like the addition of cocoa powder may have dried it out a bit. I could have also used the full 2/3 c. of milk instead of only 1/4.

Tips...Use an apple corer when filling cupcakes! It's a quick and easy way to get the centers out...and into your fingers for you to eat :) Also, I placed the chocolate chips in a large, glass measuring cup and poured the boiling whipping cream right into that and whisked it all together for the ganache. This made it easy to pour into the centers of the cupcakes.

I suggest...if you have leftover ganache like I did, place it in the fridge for a few hours, use a melon baller to scoop out chunks of the ganache, place them on a baking tray, and make truffles the next day! That's what I plan on doing tonight fo' sho'!

Check out how my fondant covered cupcakes turned out below. I brought the regular frosted ones to work today and everyone had good reviews. The ganache filled centers are like lava! So delish!

Cheers!

Cinnamon Bun Gone Donut

Who doesn't like a fresh, warm, gooey cinnamon bun!? That's right...NO ONE!

At least I've never heard of anyone NOT liking one. I've heard Cinnabon is the best place to go. My CFO actually tried to make me drive there for him one afternoon because he was craving one so bad but I couldn't bring myself to do such a chore. Especially because I knew I shouldn't be eating one myself and if I went...well...we all know what would have happened. One day though...one day...

Well I've actually made homemade sticky cinnamon buns back when I first started this blog. And actually...it may have been before starting the blog. I just REALLY wanted to tackle this treat that EVERYONE loves. I knew it was going to be a long, challenging task but I had faith. I knew you had to let the dough rise...you had to roll it out...you had to then roll it back up...yada yada. Let me tell ya, it WAS indeed a long project. But challenging, eh, not too much! And the result was fantastic! It had nuts on the inside, a gooey center AND sauce on top...they were just all around delish!

Anyways, back on the topic of what Dominic and I made last Saturday night after having a splendid, healthy dinner at my parents. Everyone knows that cinnamon buns are so good so why not take that idea and turn it into a baked doughnut?! I actually was browsing baking blogs for a while and stumbled across Averie Cooks and her blog. She had a recipe on there for Baked Cinnamon Bun Donuts with Vanilla Cream Cheese Glaze. I thought this was a great invention! They are SO much easier and quicker than making actual cinnamon buns. Now, don't get me wrong, everyone needs an actual cinnabun here and there and no one can EVER take away the flavor of the fresh, warm, gooey-ness that I mentioned in the beginning of this post. You also don' t get your fingers as messy eating a cinnamon bun donut. That's the child in me speaking...

Averie's recipe for these donuts was extremely easy and the whole process took no more than 30 minutes. This was convenient considering I was exhausted from drinking a few beers at the chili cook off that day and running around all day long! We even forgot to run to the store after my parents Saturday night to make sure we had everything we needed for this recipe (but somehow we remembered to get a donut pan before going to their house...) Luckily, Dominic had everything but cream cheese. I figured since glazes are normally just butter, powdered sugar, and any other flavor you want to add to it, leaving the cream cheese out wouldn't be that big of a deal. He also doesn't have a hand blender so thank goodness this recipe didn't really require a REAL blender...

We whipped up the glaze and through it in the fridge so we could add it to the donuts in the morning for breakfast.

What a delightful treat in the morning! These baked donuts are somewhat denser than donuts you will find at Dunkin or any other place, but they still capture the strong flavor of cinnamon sugar and that icing taste that everyone needs drenched on top of a real cinnamon bun!

Enjoy and Cheers!

Order From Liv Today!

Current Mood: Hopeful
Current Song: Weezer-Undone (Gotta love 90's Alternative on Pandora)

So the Valentine's Day order of 200 mini red velvet cupcakes for Peerce's Plantation was the last order that was scheduled in February. It was a good month for Liv's Bakery and I want that to continue throughout the upcoming months!

Dominic's mom said the Valentine's minis were a HUGE hit with the ladies that night and someone is looking to order some more for her birthday party in May! Yay!

As we approach another huge holiday for many people--St. Patrick's Day--I encourage you to order from Liv's Bakery! This weekend, I am going to be testing out a Bailey's Irish Cream cupcake with a green and white tinted vanilla butter cream. What do you think?! I will let you all know how it comes out this Sunday and it will then be featured on my blog for orders to be placed.

Have an upcoming baby shower? Bridal shower? St. Patrick's Day get together? ORDER TODAY!

Be sure to visit the page that features the cupcake flavors I currently have for sale and stay tuned in this weekend to hear about my holiday experiment :)

Cheers!

Biggest Order Yet!

...And it only took me about 4 hours!

Cute little liners I found

The boyfriend's mom ordered 200 mini red velvet cupcakes for Valentine's Day at Peerce's Plantation. She's the same person who ordered the 8 dozen minis for a bridal shower a few weeks ago. I am discovering that this mini business (literally...minis...) is working out well for me!

I'm coming to realize that many people would rather order mini cupcakes for parties and get togethers. It's easy for guests to hop on over to the dessert table at a party, pick up a mini cupcake, and eat it in one (or if you have a small mouth, maybe two) bites. Then, they don't feel guilty coming back for another! Not to mention, minis actually take less time to bake than regular sized cupcakes. It took me about 4 hours to finish the 200...and it would have taken me less had I had MORE than just TWO mini cupcake pans. I really need to invest in two more...

Minis also take less time to bake AND you can bake 48 minis at a time. They take less time to cool. They take one swirl of frosting with a pastry bag. Can't get much simpler than that!

I didn't get to try these red velvet...but I'm hoping that the ladies who went to dinner with their sweethearts on Valentine's Day at Peerce's enjoyed the cupcake and champagne :)

The icing, like always on red velvets, was divine  The cream cheese flavor really shines through and pairs nicely with the cupcake flavor. I would never recommend using a different icing for these!

I topped with a conversation heart and trekked out through the snow and massive amounts of deer on the side of the road to Peerce's to deliver them Wednesday night. Nothing better than receiving a free mini cupcake and glass of champagne on Love Day!

Cheers!

Tip of the Day: Minis only take about 9-11 minutes to bake at 350. If you have a regular sized cupcake recipe, and let's say it makes 12 cupcakes, it will make TRIPLE that amount of minis (about). So it would make about 36 minis. Start off at 9 minutes and if they are not done, increase by 1 minute at a time. They should never take longer than 11 minutes.

Baby Shower Airy Delights

So one of my sister's closest friends from when we were kids--and neighbor--is having a baby in the next four weeks. My sister was the first to get married and have a baby and now it's her turn!

A few weeks ago, my sister said how great it would be if I could bake the dessert for the baby shower. Of course! I said, why wouldn't I?! Then she went on to say they are on a budget...soooo....yeahhhh...is exactly how she put it. Oh well, a new life is being brought into the world, I can make a donation :)

My sister had mentioned that Cassandra would like something "fruity." I thought about it for a while...a fruit infused cupcake? A jam infused cupcake? A fruit tart? Since my specialty is cupcakes, this is what my mind was focused on. I thought about chocolate cupcakes with a raspberry filling and a light raspberry butter cream frosting. Alex said that was too much. I let my mind think completely simple and suggested a vanilla bean cupcake with whipped cream frosting and fruit on top! Alex liked the idea so I went with it.

This was simple enough and they turned out fantastic! I usually don't get to try my cupcakes but since I ended up attending the baby shower, I couldn't refuse to eat one when someone was passing them around, right?!

I was a bit worried...when I went to the store to pick up whipping cream and fruit Sunday morning. It's February...what fruit is good at this time of year!? My friend suggested berries...I didn't know berries were good in February...and they really aren't the best to be honest...I saw blackberries, strawberries, and blueberries in Walmart that day. I literally stood there for 5-10 minutes trying to find a good container of each. They turned out to be not all that bad!

I was then worried...when I poured the container of whipping cream into the mixing bowl and immediately thought it wasn't going to be enough to frost 24 cupcakes. I was already running behind and did not have time to go back to the store for more! Fortunately, it turned out to be JUST enough.

Tip: It's pretty sad that I can't remember the exact size carton of whipping cream I bought...but it's not the tiny pint...and it's not a large quart. It's the one RIGHT in between. This carton, plus about 3 tbsp of sugar, plus a touch of vanilla extract makes enough frosting to PIPE on two dozen cupcakes.

Everyone at the shower was satisfied with these light, vanilly, airy treats! They sort of reminded me of an Independence Day dessert with the fruit colors.

Cheers!

He was pooped after the party too!

Liv Cooked...Say What?!

That's right.

I actually COOKED on Friday. I always thought I was a baker and not so much a cook but Friday proved me wrong.

Now don't get me wrong...the tomato soup recipe I made the other day was a really simple one but it was my first time making soup and I think I should give myself some credit!

Dominic got his tonsils removed and his deviated septum re-structured it so I wanted to be a thoughtful girlfriend and make him some homemade soup. I didn't want to have anything chunky in there and I also didn't want to go over the top and make something really tasty/new since he can't taste anything. So I stuck with a simple, tomato basil soup.

It was so yummy! Next time, I am going to serve it with cheesy garlic bread. Here's the recipe:

2 tbsp basil flavored olive oil
3 tsp minced garlic
1, 14oz can of whole peeled tomatoes
1, 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 cups chicken or veggie stock
1/4 cup heavy cream
3 tbsp chopped basil
Parmesan cheese if you wish

If you have the basil infused olive oil, this adds some flavor to the soup. First, you heat the olive oil and garlic in a saucepan over medium heat for about 1 minute. Add the crushed tomatoes. Add the whole tomatoes one by one squeezing each to break them up. Pour in the liquid from the can as well. Add the salt, pepper, and stock and mix well. Heat this for about 10 minutes before adding the cream and basil.

So easy right?!

I then topped with some Parmesan cheese when I served it. I used chicken stock but I am going to try it with veggie stock next time. The perfect choice for a vegetarian! It's not too creamy either so if you don't like creamy soup, this would still be a great choice for you. Serve with grilled cheese or cheesy garlic bread and it will be the best meal ever!

Enjoy and cheers!

Ray-vens Cupcake Order

Black & Purple ruled everyone's house in Baltimore on Sunday so I was excited to incorporate these colors into my cupcake order for Mrs. Jo!

She wanted one dozen vanilla bean and one dozen s'mores so I decided to put my own twist on them. I iced the vanilla bean with vanilla original butter cream dyed purple and the s'mores with my special, graham cracker butter cream dyed black.

The s'mores cupcakes are iced with a butter cream that includes a "special" ingredient which is secret but it is gluten free and vegan. It literally tastes like graham crackers so it is PERFECT for these cupcakes! I usually bake mini marshmallows into the batter but this time, I iced with the special butter cream, dyed it black, and topped each cupcake with mini marshmallows and graham cracker crumbs. They were awesome!

I tried a new piping design...and it ended up looking great on the vanilla bean cupcakes. I have misplaced my 1M piping tip (but I'm buying a bigger and better one tomorrow!!) so I am stuck with a smaller star tip. When I piped the icing around the center of the cupcake, it didn't look like quite enough so I added an extra decoration around the edges that turned out pretty cool!

I started using my oven thermometer...and I actually found out that my oven is SPOT on. I suggest that everyone buy this tool! It was only $7 at Plastic Container City where I also bought a BUNCH of plastic cupcake containers to deliver my orders in. They are much easier than trying to fit them into cardboard boxes and so much easier to transport since each cupcake has it's own cavity to fit into. Visit their website!!

Raven's Super Bowl Sunday cupcake order=success!

Sunday I also made the mini version of Liv's Bakery's original recipe--Cinnamon Swirl Latte cupcakes. I used homemade whipped cream instead of vanilla butter cream and everyone at the boyfriend's party loved them. For ordering purposes, I will stick with butter cream since whipped cream cannot stay out in room temp as long. They are scrumptious either way.

Cheers!

Frozen Thinga-Ma-Bobbers From Last Sunday

Did I say how DELICIOUS, scrumptious, flavorful, delectable, fantastic, and just sooo not-in-the-diet these made up things were?!

NOW I DID!

The recipe that I literally threw together on Sunday out of boredom was a pure success. We already ALL know that peanut butter and chocolate are pretty much married to one another. When you add some white chocolate in there (which I'm not usually a huge fan of) and cinnamon struesel, it becomes a crunchy, rich, and perfect little sized treat!

I placed them in a container with a lid, wrapped foil around the whole container, and stuck them in the freezer on Sunday. I almost forgot about them until tonight! But who cares!? That's what the freezer is for! Well...we can say that about some things...I wouldn't recommend keeping these in the freezer much longer than a week because they may get freezer burned.

Anyways...I was trying to find something healthy to make for dinner tonight.

Liv cooking? WHAT? That's like hearing a cat bark. Wait what?

I had some frozen veggies in the freezer and I am trying out this "slow-carb" diet type deal where you only eat good carbs. Check it out! It's sort of interesting...I ended up cheating tonight by eating quinoa--the single most healthy grain and ultimate super food that has all your nutrients for the day. How is this not allowed on this diet? Who knows...but it's awesome.

When I was grabbing the green beans, I spotted my random treats from Sunday! I pulled one out to thaw while I cooked and ate my dinner and by the time I went to snatch it off the counter, it was the perfect temp!

I only ate half of this. My Fitness Pal told me that I had a good amount of calories left over after dinner for dessert, but I didn't want to eat the whole treat PLUS a Skinny Cow caramel truffle bar

I stood over the trash can taking bite after bite of the random, frozen, thinga-ma-bobber and chucked it in the trash after four bites. That sounds like the whole cupcake liner doesn't it!? Well I can tell ya it wasn't.

I then had my Skinny Cow caramel truffle bar.

I highly recommend freezing those things if ya make them! Check out the blog right below this one to find the recipe!

Cheers!!

Around the House

I want to get more into just throwing things together around my house to make a scrumptious treat.

This is exactly what I did Sunday!

Well...I didn't THROW just ANYTHING together.

But flavors that I know will taste delicious together all went into this random baking session of mine Sunday afternoon before heading over my parents for dinner.

I REALLY wanted to make low-fat white chocolate, chocolate puddin' pies but I didn't have enough milk. These would have consisted of using Truvia instead of sugar to sweeten, nonfat milk, unsweetened baking chocolate, some white chocolate morsels, and nonfat, sugar-free, whipped cream with a frozen raspberry on top. There would have been a graham cracker crust made with Truvia on the bottom of each mini pie too!

Sounds yummy huh!?

This will be put on the back burner until March probably when I don't have every weekend occupied with exciting things to do and bake!

Anyways...back to what I ACTUALLY made on Sunday.

I layered cinnamon streusel, peanut butter, semi-sweet chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, more streusel, and topped each cupcake thinga-ma-bobber with frozen raspberries.

Random enough for ya??

I layered the ingredients in cupcake liners and baked them for about 12 minutes on 350. Added the frozen raspberries after letting them cool for a bit.

Where are they now? In the freezer! I thought this would be a great frozen treat which I will be devouring tonight most likely.

Next time...I plan to add a dollop of homemade vanilla whipped cream and THEN the raspberries on top. I just didn't have any whipping cream to do so Sunday.

I tried one when it was still warm and the flavors compliment each other so well. We'll see how good it is frozen tonight!

"Everything Cupcake Thinga-Ma-Bobbers"

To make six

1/4 c. butter softened
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1/4 c. light brown sugar
1/3 c. unbleached, all purpose flour
1 tsp. cinnamon (sometimes I like extra)
About 6 tbsp. peanut butter (I used all natural PB)
Semi-sweet chocolate chips
White chocolate chips
Homemade whipped cream and frozen raspberries (optional)

Directions:
1. Using a hand blender, beat the butter in a medium sized mixing bowl until fluffy
2. Add the sugar and brown sugar and blend well
3. Mix in the flour (slowly so it doesn't go everywhere!) and the cinnamon
4. Line a cupcake pan with six cupcake liners of your choice
5. Place a heaping tbsp of streusel into each liner. On top of that, about a tbsp. of peanut butter
6. Add a handful of each semi-sweet chocolate chips and then white chocolate chips
7. Completely cover each one with streusel again. You may have some left over in the bowl (I did)
8. Bake on 350 for 10-12 minutes
9. Let cool completely before topping with whipped cream/frozen or fresh raspberries (I only had frozen at the time but fresh would be ten times better!)

You could probably leave the toppings off, heat them before serving, and then top with the whipped cream/raspberries. Like a warm, gooey, to-die-for mini pie! I will let ya'll know how they are frozen when I eat one tonight!!

Cheers!

Bridal Show Order-Eight Dozen Minis

Current Mood: Confident
Current Song: TLC-Scrubs

So, if all went well at the bridal show today at Maryvale Prep School, my eight dozen minis were a success! I am very happy with the way they turned out last night.

The boyfriend's mom is the manager at Peerce's Plantation--a very tasty restaurant not too far from my house--and participates/caters events often. It turned out that there was an upcoming bridal show that she needed to order cupcakes for. They usually deal exclusively with this one bakery in Catonsville, however, they do not sell mini cupcakes. This is where I come in.

Kelly decided to order from Liv's Bakery since she wanted some minis for the bridal show! The best part about it was, she left it up to me to decide on what flavor to make. The only request was white icing with something light blue on top. Piece of cake! I knew exactly what I was going to look for at Michael's Craft Store. Light blue pearl sugar sprinkles to decorate the vanilla butter cream. And I got exactly what I was looking for :)

I decided to do four dozen chocolate and four dozen vanilla bean. For some reason, I don't really make chocolate cupcakes that often (it's a popular, generic flavor right!?) so I wasn't sure which recipe I wanted to use. I found a VERY simple chocolate cupcake recipe on cooks.com. I started reading the reviews and everyone seemed to LOVE these gosh darn chocolate cupcakes. The recipe was really general so I changed the directions as well.

I made them my own by...adding some vanilla extract, reduced the sugar since it seemed like a lot, used apple cider vinegar instead of regular, and used milk instead of water. Next time when using this recipe, I plan to add some melted semi-sweet chocolate chips or Baker's chocolate squares to increase the chocolate flavor. It was enough, but could have been more chocolatey for those die hard cocoa fans!!

What I liked about the chocolate recipe: It incorporated oil which I've discovered makes cupcakes as moist as they can possibly be. This recipe also DOES NOT use eggs or butter. Amazing how they turned out impeccable without these things!! The vinegar is a preservative and keeps them from drying out (otherwise, this is why you use eggs) and the oil makes for a hell of a great substitute for butter.

I used my all time favorite vanilla bean cupcake recipe...the "Ultimate Vanilla Cupcake" recipe which are cupcakes that end up so light and airy it almost makes you think nothing is in the mini cupcake liner. The presence of air bubbles after baking lets you know they are not too dense and that you didn't over mix the batter before baking. Success #2!!

The most time consuming part of this journey...was adding the blue pearls on top of the icing. Make sure to do this while the icing is still soft...butter cream tends to harden up real quickly. The whole order took me about three hours to complete but would have been done in two had this part not taken so long. It's all about making the order look pretty though and I was successful in that part I think!

I can't wait to hear the feedback from Kelly and Megan after the bridal show!

Random fact of the day: If you decide to make a butter cream recipe for your cupcakes/cake that doesn't include confectioner's sugar, it won't harden up. I've tried a different butter cream icing that used egg whites and granulated sugar and it is absolutely amazing (recipe in one of my recent blog posts) and it does not harden. I prefer using traditional butter cream with confectioner's sugar because they are less likely to get ruined when transporting my orders.

Next up in February: A Super Bowl order for Mrs. Jo...vanilla bean and s'mores cupcakes with black & purple butter cream! Then a baby shower order for Cassandra...vanilla bean cupcakes with whipped cream and fruit. Then 200 mini red velvet cupcakes for Valentine's Day at Peerce's Plantation. Busy month for sure!!

Cheers!

"Cinnamon Swirl Latte" Ready to Sell!!

So pumped right now!!

The 4th time making my original cupcake recipe and it is finally ready to add to my menu to sell!!

What happens when I'm bored after work and it's so freezing out that I can't even think about going to the gym?? BAKE! What else!?

I had the most excellent idea pop into my head that night as I thought about how I could positively change my cupcake recipe. I already knew I had to add oil to the recipe and take out the sour cream. The best vanilla cupcake recipe that I have made for a past order is "The Ultimate Vanilla Cupcake" which uses butter, oil, and sour cream. It comes out SO moist and amazing--when I took the left overs to the beach with me, my family loved them and they were already like 2 or 3 days old! I am now a strong believer that oil works best in cupcake recipes to make them moist.

What I changed this time around: I actually doubled my recipe. Since it was in testing mode over the past few months, I was only making six cupcakes. I was extremely excited and confident this time around, so I doubled it to make 12 (as much as a standard cupcake recipe usually yields).

I also decided to use more coffee grinds--I used 1.5 tbsp. this time as I only used 1/2 a tbsp. before (doubled would be 1 tbsp. but once again, I thought it needed more coffee flavor).

I reduced the sugar a bit as I was planning on adding a cinnamon swirl to each cupcake. The cinnamon swirl recipe includes a 1/3 cup of brown sugar so I didn't want the batter to be overly sweet.

Fill half of mixture and then add the cinnamon swirl

I did a few more minor tweaks here and there and was VERY confident after I tasted the batter of the cupcakes. I decided to name my very own recipe "Cinnamon Swirl Latte" and this name accurately portrays what this cupcake is all about! The cinnamon swirl resembles what is inside of a coffee cake and the coffee grinds make this cupcake different from any other cupcake out there!

What I used for icing: I used a regular vanilla butter cream frosting for these cupcakes. I know it would taste great with homemade whipped cream just like a real latte, however, I didn't have any whipping cream at home at the time. I am a little nervous about frosting with whipped cream when I get an order of these cupcakes though so I think I will stick with the butter cream and sprinkle of cinnamon on top!

This cupcake is ready to sell!! My coworkers and friends LOVED them--especially the coffee grinds!

The boyfriend recommended making a mocha espresso cupcake too. For this, I would use extra strong coffee grinds, maybe some freshly brewed coffee, and Baker's semi sweet baking squares! I could easily alter my recipe for this one :)

Random thought of the day: Flavored liquor would work well in coffee/chocolate/richly flavored cupcakes like these. Creamy/milky liquors (like Rum Chata) may also add moisture to the cupcakes. Trying next time around!

Cheers!!

"Alcohol is Bad in Baked Goods" Said No One EVER

GO RAY-VENS!!!!

Mood: VERY sleepy yet hopeful
Current song playing: Flo Rida--Wild Ones (feat. Sia)

First time making alcohol infused cupcakes was indeed a successful one! You may have noticed my mood--sleepy yet hopeful--the Ravens paired with Moscato, a shot of weird purple vodka, and a few Natty Bohs definitely wore me out last night. Having to work today did not help the situation either. However, my Rum Chata cupcakes were da bomb and I wouldn't change a moment of last night.

The hopeful part.

Liv's Bakery is finally heading in the positive direction! A HUGE thanks goes out to the boyfriend's mom for giving me a chance and ordering eight dozen mini cupcakes for this weekend's bridal show at Peerce's Plantation! I can't be any happier! Jumping in head first and bringing my feet off the ground. Thanks Mrs. Kelly! Four dozen chocolate and four dozen vanilla bean are planned for Friday evening. Topping them off with traditional butter cream and hopefully finding some light blue sprinkles/toppers for each (the bridal shower colors are white and light blue for a winter wonderland touch). Keeping busy!

Hopeful part, part dos.

Ravens--please win the Super Bowl not only for 52 but for your home town. We love you boys!

Back to my Rum Chata mini cupcakes with Hot Damn butter cream.

That's right. Yesterday's treat for the playoff game were these scrumptious, bite size cupcakes for alcoholics. Just kidding. Alcohol disappears once baked, right!?!? :)

I was going to just add Rum Chata to my basic vanilla cupcake recipe, however, I decided to search for an actual Rum Chata cupcake recipe and what do ya know! Found one.

There is only one word for these cupcakes...moist! Yes, I hate that word with a passion, however, it's the only word I can think of when I think of how these tasted. My number one concern when baking cupcakes is being able to keep them moist. The creamy rum does it for these cakes.

The Hot Damn adds to the sweetness...and may have actually been better than the Fireball which is what I was originally going to add to the icing. Fireball...Rum Chata...Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal...get it? The cinnamon schnapps flavor went well with the Rum Chata in the cakes though and I'm quite happy that I went with that instead. You may ask, "Why does she have Hot Damn lying around??" Well, you can thank Vinnie and Megan for the 15 minis that were part of my secret Santa gift at the Christmas Party...

The best thing about minis...you don't ever feel guilty eating just one. The bite size treats are easy to pop in your mouth in one (or two) bites and they immediately satisfy your sweet tooth.

Random fact of the day...remove your cupcakes from the oven when they are a bit "sunken" in in the center. I read recently that just because the dome top seems to produce the perfect cupcake, doesn't necessarily mean it will be perfect on the inside. It could actually mean that it is over done. I thought about this during my baking session on Sunday and it does indeed make a difference!

Try the recipe out on your free time!

Snicker-Doodle-Di-Day

Another cupcake order for a family friend!

During my last post, I was getting ready to whip up three dozen cupcakes for a family friend Julie. At that point though, she wasn't sure what flavors she wanted to take with her to the party she was going to. I had suggested vanilla bean and the chocolate cupcakes that taste like brownie heaven. Then I felt like that was just WAY too boring. She was writing me back and forth on my Liv's Bakery's Facebook page and so I had taken the proactive stance and said, "You know what? That sounds a bit too boring...I'd like to suggest my snicker doodle cookie cupcakes and the red velvet."

She sure did like that idea!

Two dozen snicker doodle COOKIE cupcakes and one dozen red velvet it was!

When I made the snicker doodle cookie cupcakes in the past, I iced them with a homemade cinnamon whipped cream and they were PHENOMENAL. I am starting to feel like a cupcake is just too sweet sometimes when you have a rich, moist cake and a thick & creamy butter cream icing on top. That is why I went with the light whipped cream. This time, I wanted to try out a new, less-sweet-sounding butter cream to add to the snicker doodle cupcakes for her order.

I got the butter cream recipe from one of my newer cookbooks, "Cupcakes." I've never seen butter cream made like this before!

To make 2 cups of it, you use 3 egg WHITES, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 cup of butter cut into pieces, and a pinch of salt. Then, you add whatever flavoring you'd like (the cookbook tells ya how) so I added a tsp. of my homemade vanilla extract. It was absolutely AMAZING! So light and fluffy and it never hardened up at all. I had a few left over after putting the order together and even a few days later the icing wasn't hardened (like normal butter cream icing does). I'll have to say, even without the vanilla added, this butter cream is so tasty.

I went with my normal red velvet cupcake recipe from www.allrecipes.com which were paired with cream cheese butter cream frosting.

I was a bit disappointed with the red velvet...they did not turn out moist like they normally do! Maybe it was just because they were a few days old once I could try one of the left overs...may be switching up that recipe next time!

I'd recommend...if you are making two dozen cupcakes and you want to try the butter cream out mentioned above, you make 1 1/2 times the recipe. I ran out and had to make half the recipe again to finish icing my cupcakes.

To make the fluffy butter cream using the ingredients above:
1. Combine the egg whites and sugar in a heat proof bowl
2. Place the bowl over a pot of simmering water on the stove (make sure the bowl isn't touching the water). You could also use a double-broiler (I don't have one though)
3. Whisk the mixture for about 2 minutes
4. Remove the egg white sugar mixture from the pot of simmering water, place on a hot pad, and using a hand mixer, blend the mixture until light and fluffy and soft peaks form (about 6-7 minutes)
5. With the two sticks of butter cut up into about 16 pieces, add the pieces 2 at a time to the mixing bowl. Add the salt. Mix until all butter is incorporated and the butter cream is one product (meaning, if it looks like it's separating or is liquidy, keep going!)
6. Add in whatever flavor you desire (I added 1 tsp. of vanilla) and use the butter cream right away

But remember, make 1 1/2 times the recipe if you're icing two dozen regular sized cupcakes :)

The order turned out fantastic and Julie said they were a big hit at the party!

Next up: Mini Rum Chata cupcakes with Fireball butter cream frosting for the Raven's playoff game this weekend! (Must be 21+ to enjoy)

Cheers!