Gather

  This is my latest fun craft.  I am getting ready for my favorite season, Fall.  I love fall for its cool days and brisk mornings, the beautiful colors on the trees and the feeling of cozeying up on the couch with a warm cup of Cocoa.  Everything about fall for me is bliss.  So to add to my Autumn Decor i have added this Beauty.  The wood blocks i was able to purchase at the Wood Connection here in utah..And guess what?  they deliver now!!! So were ever you are you can participate in the fun.
 I started by painting all the letters the colors that I had chosen, then modge podged the Paper on to the letters I wanted the patterns on.  That simple!  So go get your fun craft and play.

Take a look at what's new!

Ok , to all of my loyal followers, please take a look at and Fallow my new professional blog all about the world of food.  It is a great way to learn more about food and the essentials you need to know about cooking.  Chefdarcysilverspooncatering.blogspot.com, you can also find me on Facebook ,
https://www.facebook.com/chefdarcy.silverspooncatering?ref=hl

Cupcakes for my Cupcakes

 My kids are a year and 1 day apart, so in order to make my life a little simpler we have their birthday parties on the same day, but as they have gotten older they want different themed parties, that is hard to do when my Son wants Super Heroes and my Daughter wants fairies, so i did a separate batch of cupcakes for each theme.  Lots of fun to do.

 

Christmas Countdown

  I have always loved the anticipation of Christmas, so when the opportunity came along to put together a count down I jump on it.  I have a good friend who is the Daughter of Teresa Collins a very prominent Scrapbook supply designer and teacher, and she gave me all the supplies to do this project.  Thanks Taylor.  So here it is!

Crazy for Cupcakes

f

  I love making cupcakes instead of big cakes, you can have so many different varieties of cake flavors, fillings and frosting's you can go with.  It is endless. Not that you cant do this with traditional cakes it is just a lot easier to do it with cupcakes and it is so much easier to serve.
   I have been asked to do cupcakes a lot lately and have had the opportunity to play with some new flavors.  I have been using Pinterest for inspiration.  This particular one caught my eye, it is a Key Lime Blackberry Cupcake, I never really thought to put these flavors together so I toyed with my vanilla cake recipe a little and added Key lime Juice and zest.  The batter was divine.  I would just eat the batter.
    I wanted to do a blackberry filling so I used 1/2 frozen blackberries and 1/2 fresh put them all in a fine mesh colander and let the defrost over a bowl with a little sugar sprinkled on them.  When the were soft enough I pushed them through the strainer to get rid of any seeds.  Placed the berries in a pot and added some cornstarch and cooked until they were a thick sauce.
  The frosting I used was adapted from my basic Butter Cream recipe.  I whipped it up as usual and then added 1 cup or so of my Blackberry filling and a little lemon juice to brighten it up.

  So assembly is pretty simple, I used a melon Baller to take out some of the middle of the cooked cupcake as to make room for the amazing tart but sweet filling. Then poured my filling into a ziploc bag and cut off the corner and filled the middle of each cupcake.  Remember that your cupcakes NEED to be completely cool before you fill them of the filling will just melt into the cupcake and you will end up with a halo middle.  NO GOOD!!

  While I waited for my cupcakes to cool I went ahead and started making one of the garnishes for the top of the cake. I had decided that the garnish they had on pinterest was not enough and wanted to add a Candied Lime wedge.  In a small sauce pan add 1/2 cup water and 1 cup sugar and bring to a simmer for a minute or two then take off heat and dip your lime in and take it out and allow to dry on parchment when dry , it will still be a little tacky, you dip them in sugar and set aside.

                                                                                                                 

  You can candy almost anything to add as a garnish.  I have done pansies, oranges, cherries, strawberries, mint, you name it, I have candied it. However when you are candying please use edible products.  I have a rule of thumb, Don't garnish with something that is not in the food.  So if there is not mint in the cupcake don't garnish with mint.  You get the idea.  It is so much fun to play with your food and come up with some fantastic garnishes to decorate and display your tasty creation.  For the last thing I frosted the cupcakes and added a fresh blackberry and the candied Lime wedge.  Beautiful!!  I love them.  And they were very tasty!    
                         

                        
 Key Lime Cupcakes with Blackberry Frosting
recipe from Baked Perfection

makes 30 cupcakes

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 tablespoons key lime juice
zest of two limes
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease or paper-line 30 baking cups.

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a separate mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla, key lime juice and lime zest; mix well. Add the flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream (batter will be thick). Fill muffin cups with 1/4 cup of batter. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool completely and frost as desired.

Blackberry Filling
recipe from Baked Perfection

1 32oz container frozen blackberries
3 tablespoons sugar
Juice of one lemon
3 tablespoons cornstarch
pinch of salt

Place blackberries in a small bowl and sprinkle with sugar, let thaw. Drain blackberries, reserving liquid. Squish the blackberries and push through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds, set aside. Add enough water to the blackberry liquid to equal 1 cup. In a large saucepan, combine the blackberry liquid, lemon juice, cornstarch, and salt. Heat and stir until the mixture boils and thickens. Cool completely.  Refrigerate until ready to use. (This can be made several days in advance and any leftovers works well on toast, on pancakes, or mixed in plain Greek Yogurt.)

Blackberry Butter cream
recipe from Baked Perfection

2 sticks butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup blackberry filling (seedless blackberry jam or preserves can be substituted)
pinch of salt
6 cups powdered sugar
2-3 tablespoons milk

Beat butter and vanilla until creamy. Mix in blackberry filling and salt. Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, beating until combined. Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach desired consistency.

A gift is Never too Sweet

  I have always found joy in giving gifts to others, even as a child it was one thing that really brought me happiness.  I love the process of figuring out what to give and bring it all together.  To me the gift is everything from the actual gift down to the bag,paper, and bows it is wrapped in.  Ask any one of the people I have gifted to and they will tell you that most of the time the wrapping is better then then the gift.  I am often told that they feel bad ripping into it because it just looks to good.  To me that is were the real joy lies.  Knowing that I could present something that is hard to ruin.  But of course I want them to open it and enjoy what is inside.

  So I present to you a few gifts that I have put together with great care.  Please use them as inspiration for gift you are preparing to give to someone you love. 

A decoupage suit case filled with Dresses

Hand ripped and folded roses and Tag to add a little color

 

Hand made box from corrugated cardboard filled with hand made cards

                                                                           

Hand wrapped box and Cards

Gift box full of Sundae Treats and toppings

A hand wrapped box full of  Sweet Treats

Cookie dough Cupcakes, home made Jam, Peanut Butter Truffles,  Button short Bread Cookies, Mini Funnel Cakes, Apple Pie Tartlets and a Jar of  Cowboy cookie mix

  I am in love with all the beautiful gifts that I have been given that inspire me to continue to bring joy to others. As well as inspirational sites like Pintrest

God Bless America

With all the media focusing on Presidential candidates and their campaigns I have been reflecting a lot on our country and what it stands for, and what I stand for and if I am making a difference. I really was in the mood to make sure that everyone around me can see that in our household we believe in a free America . So I decided to do some decorating for this upcoming Memorial Day as well as Independents day. I know that it dose not have a large impact but it will show that I believe in America and am a True Patriot!

I feel so blessed to have been born into a free country were I can choose my religion and my beliefs. God has given us the promised land and inspired the Founding Fathers to write our Constitution and give us a solid foundation. I just wish that we could go back to the basics, and not forget what so many men and woman Sacrificed to make us Free.

So there is my rant!!!!!! Here are the great things I have been up to.

Hand painted Tin Stars

3 Foot Fire Works
(almost finished, real pics to come soon)

2x4 American Flag

Hand painted Stars
( Real Pics to come soon)