🦄UNICORN CUPCAKES

gf chocolate cupcakes with raspberry-blueberry-vanilla swirl buttercream

No worries people, no unicorns were harmed in the making of these cupcakes.

Drip Cake: Chocolate Quinoa Layer Cake with Vanilla Bean Buttercream (gluten free)

Made my own Birthday Cake. Yes I did😆

6 inch GF Chocolate Quinoa Cake layers and Vanilla Bean Buttercream

This is my favourite part of making a cake

Decorated with my fave goodies: matcha macaron, Lindt chocolate balls, dragées, a mini KitKat and mini Coffee Crisp and crushed macaron shells

The chocolate ganache was perfect. I threw dragées on the side of the cake too and they stuck🙌

It's late November and the only thing blooming in my garden are these little purple Daikon flowers.  I just let the daikon go to seed and never did harvest the daikon (so bitter!)  The flowers sure are pretty...and edible

Scroll down past the recipes to watch a video of me assembling the layers

Upon Her Turning 12: Mini Crême Brûlée Birthday Cheesecakes (gluten free)

Birthday Cheesecake.

Say what? 

You want me to make Mini Cheesecakes for your birthday?

GIRLIE BIRTHDAY PARTY CUPCAKES: On turning 6

My girl's 6 and here's the cupcakes I've made for her bday party!

THE BEST CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES EVER: CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES WITH VANILLA SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM

I know it doesn’t look like I’ve been searching for the best darned chocolate cupcake recipe, but I have. I have tested Corriher’s Deep Dark Chocolate Cake recipe and the Cooks Illustrated Dark Chocolate Cupcake recipe against my favourite go-to recipe by the Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten.

When I tested the Corriher recipe, I found the flavour okay but it certainly didn’t beat out Garten’s recipe. I found the Garten recipe superior in ease of technique and less fussy as you didn’t have to use as many eggs (nor did you have to separate and save 4 whites from the extra yolks you needed). For the extra richness the yolks added to the Corriher recipe, I didn’t find the cupcake any more flavourful. For some strange reason, I also found little pockets of unmixed flour in the baked cupcakes, which is my ultimate pet peeve. I had sifted the dry ingredients so that shouldn’t have happened. I had followed the directions carefully, so I wasn’t happy. Initially, I thought that the technique of adding the flour into the warm hot cocoa mixture was the problem, but I’m not too sure. In any case, it wasn’t a foolproof recipe and it didn’t work out for me.

So, it was with apprehension and a bit of excitement that I picked up a copy of Cooks Illustrated from the newstand and noticed they had a recipe for a Dark Chocolate Cupcake. I chose to make it for Bebe’s birthday. Yes, I know I made her chocolate butterfly cupcakes already for her birthday party, but that was her “warm-up birthday party” for her friends. I had used Corriher’s Deep Dark Chocolate recipe for those cupcakes but didn’t bother to post the recipe because I generally don’t post recipes that don’t pass muster in my kitchen. I have made Corriher’s Whipped Cream pound cake many times however, and that is my go-to recipe for pound cake.

I made these particular cupcakes for Bebe’s actual “real” birthday, July 27. Yes, she’s a big girl now…all of 6 years old. I also liked that the CI recipe only made 12 cupcakes. I really didn’t have any need for the usual batch of 24 cupcakes that a recipe yields. To make a perfect birthday weekend, we like to spend the real birthday together as a family. Bebe specifically requested chocolate cupcakes and with her permission, I was able to forgo the usual pink colour in the buttercream.

So, we went on a Stanley Park train ride in the morning, went to Maplewood Farms in North Vancouver and visited the Lynn Canyon all in one weekend for her birthday. Bebe’s favourite activity, I think, was having a picnic on the rocks along the rushing shallow water of the creek.

As you can see, people like to stack rocks and make inukshuks along the water in Lynn Creek. The icy mountain water is so refreshing in this heat wave and the shallow pools of water are perfect repositories for your feet as you sit on a rock munching on a submarine sandwich and fresh fruit. Ahhh!

This Dark Chocolate Cupcake yields a perfect top for decorating as it doesn’t have pointy domes. The cake’s crumb is strong enough not to crumble so you can inject some fillings inside for a surprise, and most importantly, it tastes really chocolatey! I think it beats out all of the recipes I’ve tried so far (and I’ve tried many) in terms of flavour. It incorporates Dutched cocoa powder and bittersweet chocolate which you melt with the butter. I appreciate that I didn’t have to cream room temperature butter because sometimes it’s a pain to remember to bring it out of the refrigerator and if I leave it out too long, the butter can get too soft. So, for my future chocolate cupcakes, this will be my favourite recipe.

I like to decorate my cupcakes with fresh organic flowers from my garden. These are Johnny Jump-Ups. They look quite similar to the sugar violets I used to decorate. I have a variegated variety that is violet, yellow, orange and various permutations thereof. It’s gorgeous!

So, here’s my take on the perfect cupcake. It’s a combination of vanilla buttercream and chocolate cupcake. I like vanilla swiss meringue buttercream swirled atop the CI Dark Chocolate Cupcake. I don’t like sprinkles, but hey, if you have kids you have to put them there, don’t you? I went halvsies with the girls and left mine sprinkle-less because I don’t like the crunch of the sprinkles distracting me from enjoying the silky smooth buttercream.
****update:  check out a Caramel version of the Buttercream here.

***P.S.  I have been receiving a few comments from people who do not think the crumb is moist enough.   I never said the crumb would be super-moist, but it is superior to every other cupcake for CHOCOLATE FLAVOUR.   For this particular application: a chocolate cupcake with a huge buttercream swirl, this crumb is strong enough to create structure that won't buckle under a heavy buttercream swirl.  This cupcake is superior for FLAVOUR AND CAKE DECORATING PURPOSES WITH BUTTERCREAM.  Not for eating frostingless. Anything with a moist cupcake crumb would not hold up to the rigors of cake decorating...the huge swirl of buttercream frosting that I tend to employ.  If you want a moister crumb, try the Garten recipe  I mentioned before near the beginning of my post.  It uses just cocoa powder, coffee and buttermilk and no real melted chocolate is used.  That being said, this recipe isn't dry either.   Everyone's expectations for a perfect cupcake is different.  This one rocks for flavour and beauty.  It is perfect for bringing to parties.  Veggie oil based batters will always give you a moister crumb, so look for recipes incorporating oil if you like a moist cupcake.

DARK CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES
(from Cooks Illustrated, “American Classics 2009”)
(makes 12 cupcakes; do not double recipe…make two separate batches if you need more)
**Cakebrain's note:  IF YOU LIKE REALLY MOIST/WET CUPCAKES, THESE ARE NOT FOR YOU.  MOVE ALONG TO THE QUINOA CHOCOLATE CUPCAKE RECIPE.  These cupcakes are perfect for cake decorating purposes, which requires a crumb with structural integrity and that will hold up to buttercream and other decorations.   To ensure a moister cupcake with this recipe, ensure you WEIGH YOUR INGREDIENTS CAREFULLY.  Do not dip and scoop/pack your dry ingredients.

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
• 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup (1 1/2 oz) Dutch-processed cocoa
• 3/4 cup (3 3/4 oz) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup (5 1/4 oz) sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 1/2 cup (4 oz) sour cream

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard-sized muffin pan (1/2 cup capacity) with baking-cup liners.
2. Combine butter, chocolate and cocoa in medium heatproof bowl. Set bowl over saucepan containing barely simmering water; heat mixture until butter and chocolate are melted and whisk until smooth and fully combined. Set aside to cool until just warm to touch.
3. Whisk flour, baking soda and baking powder in small bowl to combine
4. Whisk eggs in second medium bowl to combine; add sugar, vanilla and salt and whisk until fully incorporated. Add cooled chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Sift about one-third of flour mixture over chocolate mixture and whisk until combined; whisk in sour cream until combined; then sift in remaining flour mixture and whisk batter until it is homogenous and thick.
5. Divide batter evenly among muffin pan cups. Bake until skewer inserted into center of cupcakes comes out clean, 18-20 minutes.
6. Cool cupcakes in muffin pan on wire rack until cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes. Carefully lift each cupcake from muffin pan and set on wire rack. Cool to room temperature before icing, about 30 minutes.

I highly recommend that instead of the suggested Easy Vanilla Buttercream that incorporates butter and confectioners’ sugar, that you frost the chocolate cupcakes with a Swiss Meringue Buttercream. The Swiss Meringue Buttercream is smooth, silky and not overly sweet. It pairs beautifully with the dark chocolate. The best part of this particular buttercream is that it isn’t grainy, pipes beautifully, and holds up well even in warm weather.
SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM
(from Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes; makes about 5 cups)

• 5 large egg whites
• 1 cup plus 2 T sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons, room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1. Combine egg whites, sugar and salt in the heatproof bowl of a standing mixer set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk constantly by hand until mixture is warm to the touch and sugar has dissolved (the mixture should feel completely smooth when rubbed between your fingertips).
2. Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Starting on low and gradually increasing to medium-high speed, whisk until stiff (but not dry) peaks form. Continue mixing until the mixture is fluffy and glossy, and completely cool (test by touching the bottom of the bowl), about 10 minutes.
3. With mixer on medium-low speed, add the butter a few tablespoons at a time, mixing well after each addition. Once all butter has been added, whisk in vanilla. Switch to the paddle attachment, and continue beating on low speed until all air bubbles are eliminated, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl with a flexible spatula, and continue beating until the frosting is completely smooth. Keep buttercream at room temperature if using the same day, or transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze up to 1 month. Before using, bring to room temperature and beat with paddle attachment on low speed until smooth again, about 5 minutes.
4. (optional) To tint buttercream, reserve some for toning down the color, if necessary. Add gel-paste food color, a drop at a time (or use the toothpick or skewer to add food color a dab at a time) to the remaining buttercream. You can use a single shade of food color or experiment by mixing two or more. Blend after each addition with the mixer (use the paddle attachment) or a flexible spatula, until desired shade is achieved. Avoid adding too much food color too son, as the hue with intensify with continued stirring; if necessary, you can tone down the shade by mixing in some reserved untinted buttercream.

BUTTERFLY CUPCAKES

chocolate butterflies

if you can’t draw a butterfly to save your life, just locate some line drawings and trace them through the parchment. No pencils necessary!

Yes, it’s been a long time since I’ve posted. I have holidayed in Seattle and come back and I’ve made many cakes that I have yet to write about. I purchased way too much cool stuff at Mrs. Cook’s and Sur La Table but all I can say is at least I’m doing my bit to help the economy.

Though travelling is way more fun now that we have a larger (and brand new) vehicle with dvd players in the headrests, I caution you not to get these things unless you’re sure your kids don’t get car-sick watching t.v. Bebe threw up on the way back up to the Canadian border. Fortunately, I had stored the potty right between the kids in the back seat because there was no room in the trunk. I heard a cough…followed by the wet belch. Immediately, my motherly instincts took over and I grabbed the potty and swung it under her mouth just in time. yuck. At least, after cleaning up and freshening up at a rest stop, Bebe slept the rest of the way home and that helped alleviate the usual painfully loud banter and petty fights between the two kids.

I realize I’ll never top Bebe’s 5th birthday cake: Ariel’s Underwater Castle. It was a multi-dayed project that resulted in a lot of oohs and ahs, but I didn’t feel that her 6th would warrant such a large cake. For one, only having 6 girls at a ceramics studio means not much cake is going to be eaten. I decided upon cupcakes instead. Bebe’s into butterflies so I thought I’d make her some chocolate ones to decorate the cupcakes. Since pink is her colour of choice, I have pink bodies surrounded by a chocolate-brown outline. This colour scheme mimics the chocolate cake and pink buttercream too.

After lining an upside down sheet pan with parchment and securing it on one side, I slid a sheet of butterfly patterns underneath the parchment. I chose to just do wings and opted to leave the antennae out. If you want anatomically correct butterflies, go ahead and pipe a pair of antennae in chocolate for each pair of wings you make. I find them way too tiny to deal with to bother. After finishing the sheet of images, I just kept sliding the template over to create more butterfly images. I set my chocolate over a heating pad set on low heat to keep it from hardening too quickly. I find it easier than a pan of hot water. The only problem I encountered: air bubbles in the chocolate as it cooled. You have to pipe pretty fast. The air bubbles ruin your ability to make thin, even lines.

When the chocolate outlines harden, you can fill a piping bag with another colour of chocolate (tint white chocolate using a gel paste or powdered food colouring or use coloured candy melts). The wings have to dry completely and after they do, you can carefully peel them off to use them. If you make a whole bunch and want to store them, I’d advise you just leave them stuck onto the parchment. I cut my chocolate butterfly-adorned parchment into small squares and stored them in layers in a plastic container.

You can use the chocolate butterfly outlines to decorate your cupcakes too. You just have to handle them very carefully as they break if you jostle them or even breathe on them. As well, you may want to wear gloves because you may melt them or leave fingerprints. I have cool hands so I just worked quickly. The ones I ruined, well, I just swore and them popped them in my mouth. It’s all good. Let it go.

Not willing to leave well enough alone, I decided to make little fondant flowers and plopped those on the cupcakes too. Check out the Castle Cake (Part 1) for instructions on how to make fondant flowers.

I found that setting the wings into the freshly piped buttercream to be the easiest way to set them into “butterfly form”. Since I didn’t make antennae I also didn’t bother with the bodies (which you could pipe in with buttercream I suppose. I figured there was enough buttercream there to hold the wings in place. Check out this post for a quick and easy recipe for buttercream.

If you place the wings just so, you could squish the buttercream a bit to look like a body anyway. I felt that after peeling the chocolate butterflies off of the parchment, the flat side of the chocolate that touched the parchment created a less bumpy appearance and so I used that for the top sides of the butterflies.

Looking at the simple and elegant chocolate butterfly outline over the filled in outline, I think the outline looks way more classy and I like them better. Plus, they’re way faster to make!

I placed the cupcakes on a cupcake display and stuck a pink Wilton card-holder pick with Bebe’s birthday greeting on the specially decorated top cupcake. I decorated the circular scalloped card with pink rhinestones and made sure everything was sparkling with pink sprinkles and dragees. With two girls, I now know how to kick up the girlie factor. The cupcakes earned some special longing gazes in the build-up time before the birthday song.

Now that I’ve done birthday cupcakes instead of the big honking cakes of yore, I’m liking it. None of the kids really eat any of the big cakes anyway…most of it usually ends up in the trash and they go off running to play after a few bites. At a kid’s birthday there has to be cake, I know, but having gone to dozens of kids’ birthday parties by now, I’ve noted how little cake is eaten by the kids. It’s all about the cake topper and the singing of the song and the blowing out of the candle. Another thing I like about cupcakes: no need for cutting! I also brought along Chinese takeout containers so the girls could take home any leftover cupcakes to their siblings or parents. Less mess, less hassle and way less work! I think I’m converting to birthday cupcakes from now on! I’ll be thinking of how to make edible birthday cupcake toppers and how to add more bling to cupcakes. I’ve decided to keep a sketch book for future cupcake designs, edible toppers and flavour combinations. What a revelation! It’s going to be fun!

WINNIE THE POOH BIRTHDAY CAKE

A Winnie the Pooh Chocolate Birthday Cake: not a bad likeness, I must say!

Parents, I am sure you have been to one of those "play palaces" where kids have their birthday parties...you know, with the wall to wall slides, pneumatic foam ball launchers,padded obstacle courses and requisite screaming kids? This is where we hosted Bib's 2nd birthday party a couple of days ago.

What happened to the good ol' days when you went to your friend's house for cake and a rousing game of "Pin the Tail on the Donkey" or "Heads Up 7-UP"???

We never had play palaces when we were kids
We didn't receive loot bags
or get manicures and mini-facials at the spa
There wasn't take-out pizza for eats
or places that would host craft parties
and athletic centres and music schools hadn't yet realized the earning potential of catering to moms and dads hungry for kiddie venues and professionally supervised celebratory activities outside their pristine homes
Clowns that performed magic shows and gave out balloon animals were not the norm
Bouncy castles were yet to be invented
and yet
we kids were breathless
flushed-faced
and euphoric
hearts pounding in our ears
stickyfromcake
running hiding laughing

aaah. the good ol' days.


I was a tad busy this past weekend making Bib's 2nd Birthday cake.

whoo. piping buttercream "Pooh Gold" stars: not for people with mamby pamby hand-eye coordination

I decided on chocolate cake...that's a no-brainer in this household. I know Bib likes dogs but I had a brand new Winnie the Pooh cake pan that I had yet to use and though I'm not so fond of piping stars, I did it anyway. It's repetitive and tedious, and that carpel tunnel syndrome thingy starts to happen to me each time--it was quite a pain--similar to the piping of royal icing dots for hundreds of fondant flower centres (remember Ariel's Castle Cake?)

You can buy sets of gel paste colouring by Wilton for the tinting of your buttercreams so that the character cakes will have "authentic" colouring. I went this route because I hate trying to match the colour of the buttercream to the shades I know they should be because the names on food colouring labels are never what they sound like they're supposed to be. I ended up having to add a whole lot of colouring to get the depth of colour I wanted. For Pooh's red collar, I used up to almost half the little bottle of Red (no taste) food colouring. I wonder why they label it "no taste". Who'd want to buy food colouring that gives any weird taste anyway? why give us the option?

Pooh's fur was "Pooh Gold". Love it. ha ha! what a perfect name for the colour. I ended up using a third of the little bottle. However, I also had made too much buttercream for his fur and ended up with leftover Pooh Gold-coloured buttercream. It's now sitting in my fridge and I have no idea what I can make that would look good enough to eat with a buttercream of this ghastly pooh shade.

Making black buttercream is my least favourite task, always. When I start making it, it always appears to be grey. I keep adding a little bit of food colouring until I think our tongues would be stained forever. However, as usual, if you let the buttercream sit a bit, the colour eventually deepens and darkens. I stopped adding colouring when it still appeared greyish while I was mixing and after sitting a bit, the buttercream darkened to black.

Bib was happy with her cake. I admit that nothing will quite top the oohs and aahs of Bebe's 5th year Ariel Castle Cake (nor do I want to be taking on the challenge again quite so soon). When Bib starts talking and is able to express herself well enough to convince me to make her some monstrosity of a Disney-themed cake of her dreams, I'll probably do another one.

Until that time, I'll be sticking to these 2-dimensional cakes. They're pretty easy to make and no-brainers!

It's all about having fun in the play palaces after all ;)

BIRTHDAY BUTTER TARTS

my birthday cupcake: it's not edible, but isn't it cute?

a canadian treat: cranberry butter tarts

It's my birthday and I'll buy if I want to...buy if I want to...

After I turned thirty, I decided that every birthday I should buy myself a birthday gift. Who knows me better than myself? I'd never have to exchange or return it and for sure I'd never be disappointed. I would never forget to buy myself something and of course, I would always know what I truly desired.

First, I'll tell you what Stomach and the kids got for me...

Stomach, being a thrifty sort of person, combined a business trip to Alberta (where you don't have to pay provincial sales tax! whoopee!) with a shopping spree. Actually, he drove downtown with a colleague and told him to circle the block a couple times as he'd only be 15 minutes. He had a list and knew exactly what he was going to get. Is that considered a spree? Well, not in my shopping world it isn't. He then proceeds to impatiently tap his finger on the counter as the one and only saleslady is busy showing two other men stuff in the showcase. How rude I thought as he recounted the story to me.

But guys will be guys. A guy with a list running to the Tiffany counter while his colleague circles the block is on a mission. Shopping to me is relaxing and I don't really set a time limit unless I'm parked on the street with a metre ticking away.

When Stomach got home, Bebe exclaimed that she and Bib had a gift for me. I looked surprised of course, as she presented me with the pretty blue box with the white satin ribbon bow. (Love those colours!) I asked if she broke her bank to buy this for me. She looked at me kind of like she forgot something and ran upstairs for a while. I heard her rummaging through her room and then the pounding of her little feet as she flew downstairs. She whispered something to Stomach and put something in his hand.

It was a loonie, a quarter and a penny from her piggy bank!

Stomach of course had to keep it because otherwise it wasn't really from her.

Bebe & Bib's gift to me

Well, I'm still buying myself gifts every year and this year I didn't disappoint. I decided that my blogging would be made much easier if I purchased those Lowel Ego lights that other food bloggers have been raving about. Jaden, at Steamy Kitchen, first introduced me to these lights and I was hemming and hawwing about whether or not to get them for the longest time.

Then, on one fortuitous night, I stood there with chocolate cupcake crumbs and buttercream frosting on my fingers, adjusting my wobbly make-shift "studio" lights that Stomach jerry-rigged from a pair of old black Ikea lights with exposed (eeks, bad-for-your-health-if-not- filtered!) new-fangled spiral, green, energy-saving doohickey bulbs. The bulbs gave off a white light and they were kind of close to what I wanted. The trouble was, they were blinding my eyes everytime I looked up as of course, they were not filtered by a shade (which wouldn't fit their odd shape anyway).

Every time I tried to adjust the angle of the bulbs, I got zapped because Stomach thought it a good idea to pull the bulb and socket out of the lamp and precariously rest it on the neck of the lamp base. This way, he surmised, I could adjust the angle of the bulb. Doh! I know, I know.

So, after getting zapped a few too many times, I resolved I'd buy these

my food porn studio is in the basement so it's really dark. that's an old piece of ikea furniture that the lowel ego lights are on. the two lights came with a big sweep and coloured paper for backgrounds, but i haven't used those yet. and you can't see it, but my exercise bike, total gym and treadmill are in this dinky bedroom-sized room too!

So for my birthday, I got my lights...and my health, because now I know I won't get electrocuted.

I was born in Vancouver and from a very young age, I recall my mother coming home with packages of these butter tarts from the local Safeway. I didn't realize until recently that butter tarts are a totally Canadian sort of dessert; kind of like Nanaimo Bars.

Indeed, thumbing through my hundreds of cookbooks, you'd be hard-pressed to find a recipe for Butter Tarts. Funny, because you can find them everywhere. You can find them gussied up at higher-end pastry counters with rustic hand-formed tart shells or at the corner grocery store stacked in their half-dozen cardboard trays. I recently bought a few from Meinhardt's dessert counter and they were scrumptious.

Butter Tarts usually are made with pre-bought tart shells. It's all about the filling you see. They are dessert you can eat after school or bring to a staff social. They're cheap! They're sweet! They're easy to make!

Traditionally, Butter Tarts have raisins in them. Now, I must confess. I hate raisins. I hate raisins in bread and in carrot cake and in pretty much any dessert come to think of it. Don't get me wrong...I like to eat raisins by themselves. I just don't like raisins in things. It's a textural thing. I was probably, in my childhood traumatized by raisins, I'm sure. I know this has to be the case as I vividly remember being traumatized by peas. Yes, peas. Those evil little green spheres of ickiness.

I would come home for lunch in elementary school and there awaiting me would be a plate of fried rice that my mother made...with peas. I would eat the rice and other stuff but I'd leave the peas. One time, my mother got fed up with me and said that I couldn't leave the table until all the peas were finished.

Lucky for me we had a German Shepherd who didn't mind peas at all!

Today I have learned to love peas in fried rice. I'll even eat those frozen mixed veggies. The turning point for me came when I lived with my maternal grandmother during summer break one year and she made me an egg-drop soup with her freshly grown garden veggies. She incorporated some freshly shucked peas. It was heaven. I couldn't believe the sweet little explosions of flavour in my mouth were the same things that were invading my fried rice and macaroni and cheese. You heard it people! Mac and cheese with peas! Sacrilege! Hot dogs yes; ketchup, well--it's okay but I don't do it. But peas in Mac and Cheese? WTF?

So there, you can understand my reasons for not liking peas.

'Nuf said. Let's get to the Butter Tart recipe. Buy some frozen, unsweetened tart shells or make your own. All you need is about 15 minutes to make the filling and you pop them in the oven for another 15. You can throw in dried blueberries (which I did), craisins (which are my favourite), raisins (if you're traditional) or any other dried fruit. You can also leave the dried fruit out and put in toasted nuts (think pecans!) or even nothing at all! This is a forgiving recipe.

I found this published in The Vancouver Sun. They had this retro series where they published all the oldies.

THE BEST BUTTER TARTS (adapted from The Vancouver Sun)

• 24 unbaked tart shells [I used unsweetened]
• 1 cup raisins [I used craisins in some and dried blueberries in others]
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup corn syrup
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Divide raisins/craisins/whatever evenly among shells. In a bowl, lightly beat together eggs, brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, vanilla and salt. Pour over raisins/craisins, filling shells about 3/4 full.
2. Bake in a preheated 425 F oven just until set, about 15 minutes. Cool on wire rack, then remove from the pan. Makes 24 tarts

BIRTHDAY CASTLE CAKE: PART 4...THIS BLOWS MY MIND! ALL DONE!

ta-daa! i did it! i finished bebe's 5th birthday castle cake!

now give me a glass of wine...

this is a long post full of pics...here's a collage if you're pressed for time...

remember these little flowers i made a few days ago? all 330 of 'em? well, i'm so glad i made extra!i'd say i had about 40 or so extra little flowers left at the end. i'm bringing them along with extra buttercream for any emergency fix-ups i might need to perform on site.

and these sparkly iced conical roofs? yes indeedy, they came handy in completing this project.

the main roof was a cinch to attach...just plop it on the 10-inch cake!

this was my least-favourite part of making this cake: attaching the plastic dowels to the column bases, allowing it to set, and then shoving the whole thing down into the beautifully smooth surface of the cake layers. stupid dowels
There was a moment today when I kind of just stood there, catatonic; eyes glazed over.

My lower jaw dropped...piping bag still in hand.

My hands were stained an unearthly teal blue and my black apron was covered in confectioners' sugar. I couldn't stop staring at this monster I had created. Never in my life had I created a cake so huge. I thought back to this morning when I was reading and re-reading the instructions in my 2008 Wilton magazine, trying to decipher exactly what I had to do and foresee where I would meet up with catastrophe. I had come too far to let some stupid dowel-incident wreck the whole cake. Stomach, being the structural engineer that he is, warned me not to forego the plastic dowels. In fact, he poo-pooed the straw idea from Beranbaum (too bad!) and said that they might buckle under the weight. Mind you, it's his job to err on the side of caution.
So, I went with the huge dowels. Can someone tell me if there's a better way to stabilize the castle columns and also provide support for the top tiers? 'cause these stupid dowels not only puckered out my cake sides but they also took up good cake real estate!

and many thanks go to the wilton turntable you see below the cake. it was a lifesaver! the cake was super-duper heavy, but the turntable spun for me smooth-as-silk!

you can kind of see there's a little "post" on the top column. it's a wooden toothpick that i glued on with white chocolate. it's holding the little flag that says "happy 5th birthday..."


here you can see there are a few pre-made disney figures in royal icing. you can figure out the theme, right?
i also piped some buttercream "sea plants" and "coral" along the bottom of the cake for that underwater feel. don't you feel like you're in the ocean? ha ha!
The problem with the dowel support system is that it requires you to shove this 3/4 inch hollow plastic tube into a cake. What happens is it displaces some cake, forcing the sides of the cake to buckle...out! I had to hold my hand against the side of the iced cake to ensure that it didn't crack open. I was a tad concerned. here you can better see some of the coloured spray i employed. what a cool toy!
Fortunately, I had sprayed the whole teal blue cake with a series of colours: blue, green and violet to add some interest and dimension. As well, I realized I'd be decorated the heck out of it so I hoped to cover up some of the bulges from the hidden dowels. I used white chocolate candy melts to "glue" the castle columns to the cake base and to attach the conical roofs to the column tops. you have to shove the little plastic door into the cake side before decorating with flowers. at one point, i was thinking there was way too much plastic than there needed to be...
by now, you've figured out the theme: it's Ariel's Castle! under water! and people, i was too lazy to sprinkle brown sugar on the cake base to make it look like the bottom of the ocean. i also wanted to add little crabs and other sea life but heck, i just want this over with now!
This was truly a labour of love. That moment I had in the morning was interesting. I had a smidgen of doubt and wanted to just not do this anymore. Fortunately, this passed and I kicked myself into high gear. The tasks were actually very easy to complete and I didn't have any problems. It was just a lot of work...
Now, I'm crossing my fingers that this'll all get transported to the site in one piece.

yikes! mustn't forget the "Ariel" candle!

Thank you so much Sally, from PinkBytes, for bestowing this "Hard Working Food Blogger" Award to me! I'm very grateful to the many people who visit me and to the cool bloggers who take the time out to leave comments. I read all of the comments and I like how it connects us all from around the world! I will be passing this award along when I'm back from my post-castle-cake vacation!