the glittered nest

Halloween Gift Giving

Ok it's time to head into the craft stores and gear up for Halloween!  Here is an idea for a little inexpensive gift to give to a friend for the season.  I love giving my friends little gifts around the holidays that they can use with their kids.

I know you have seen me use this litte box before...I just love the pink color. Bakeitpretty.com

The little skeleton garland is from Michaels for 4.99!  They hang from brown twine and have a real rustic quality.  The curly raffia is a bright orange color from World Market and the bow is also from Michaels.  This little gift totals 4.50 b/c I used a 40% off coupon at Michaels!!!!! Have a great time buying this season. The skeleton garland would be so cute on a wreath on the front door.  Your gift recipient could use the orange polka dot bow you gave her on the wreath too!

Blackberry cupcakes and a Love Affair with Dessert

I feel compelled to write and tell you today why I my blog is turning into a food blog.  I have found a passion for baking through my children.  It all started in Franklin, Tn when my daughter Madi kept asking to bake with her.  She become very interested so I found myself baking with her all of the time.  Not knowingly did I become passionate about this art!  I found myself walking into bakeries excited to see all of the beautiful desserts and try new things.  You know the way some people stare at shoes in a window, I find myself doing that with cupcakes and little mousses, macaroons, etc. but here's the great part: they are much cheaper than buying those two hundred dollar shoes.  Of course, the inevitable Jillian Michaels workout video follows...but hey, I'll take a 20 minute workout a day to keep my love affair going!

Another wonderful feeling is handing a beautifully wrapped box with a delicious dessert inside to a friend.  To see their face light up and feel appreciated is a gift in itself. 

I have found so many talented bakers out in the blogging world.  Even a high school student who started baking when she was 8!  You must visit her site: Patisserienatalie. You will be so amazed with her photography, something which I am still learning.  I love to look at food blogs with pictures that make you want to bake right away.  I saw her post on raspberry and blackberry cupcakes and just had to make them that day.  I made only blackberry with vanilla cupcakes but they are so delicious!

Vanilla Cupcakes(Martha Stewart)

1 3/4 cups cake flour, not self-rising

1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes

4 large eggs

1 cup whole milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Blackberry Buttercream(adapted from Patisserie Natalie)

• 2-1/2 sticks unsalted butter; softened
  
• 1 teaspoon salt
  
• 2-1/2 cups powdered sugar; sifted
  
• 1/4 cup blackberry sauce

1. Beat butter and  powdered sugar until smooth. Add blackberry sauce and mix.  Place buttercream in a piping bag and pipe a circle around the outer edge of the cupcake top, spiraling in towards the center.

Blackberry Sauce

• 1 cup blackberries
  
• 2 teaspoons sugar
  
• 1 teaspoon lemon or lime juice

Combine ingredients in a sauce pan and place over medium heat. Stir frequently until juices from berries boil. Using a wooden spoon, crush the berries in the pan. Let boil for 2 minutes to make sauce more dense. Strain the mixture if you prefer to have smoother frostings. Cool in refrigerator.

Thank you to all of my family, friends and bloggers out there that inspire me and encourage me every day. And to my daughter Madi who always inspires me in and out of the kitchen!

Stonewall Pancakes

Breakfast for dinner is my favorite meal!  I always serve it when my husband is out of town or at a business dinner.  My kids love it!  How about a little pink tea plate stacked with little bitty pancakes.  Yum!  I know this isn't the most exciting post but I wanted to share my pancake secret.....not homemade..no no no...

  You must try Stonewall's selection of pancake mix.  It's like eating cake with syrup!  I have only found it at Whole Foods and Central Market.  The Farmhouse pancakes are great too!

I thinked they liked it...what do you think!

Sweet Nest II

Another Sweet Nest!  I love this color for a flower on a cupcake and thought it should be displayed in a nest because of the robin's egg blue color!  I am still learning the rose technique so I worked on it some more today.  I have a friend who has added one more to her nest, so she will be seeing some cupcakes soon!

 

These are vanilla cupcakes that I posted on earlier with buttercream icing tinted with Wilton's Teal color. 

More nest pictures: Here are some beautiful pictures from a wedding website you will love looking at:stylemepretty.com

 

How cute are these nests with the macaroons?  You know how I love macaroons.  I  have found a website that shows how to make your own woodland cake pedestals.  I am excited to make some and will post that later. 

Tamales and new traditions

Last weekend my husband's grandmother, Guadalupe, visited us and taught us some of her family recipes...namely tamales.  WOW!  I had no idea how labor intensive tamales were...but so worth it.  Let me share some photos with you.  The whole family got involved.  My girls enjoyed getting their hands in the masa the most!

Aunt D and Abby are tearing the corn husks to prepare to spread the masa.

  This is the tricky part....spreading the masa just right.

This was a lengthy process.  We sat down three or four times for 45 minutes at a time. 

Flavoring the pork mixture for the tamales.

Grandma also made her chicken Mole' or as my husband calls it "chocolate chicken"

Yes...there is actually chocolate in it!

Grandma also made us her Juevos Rancheros the next morning...we were so spoiled.

Thankyou Grandma for all of the recipes you shared with our family.  Making your tamales will be our new Christmas tradition that I hope my children pass down to their children.  We love you!

  

 

Pumpkin cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

  This is the best recipe ever for pumpkin bliss.  We have had rain finally for the last three days here in Texas and it made me feel like Fall is coming.  SO....had to break out the pumpkin recipes.  I made cupcakes and shared with neighbors and a cake for my girlfriend's birthday.  I used a cup holder from Starbucks to transport them next door! 

 

 

Pumpkin Cupcakes With Maple–Cream Cheese Frosting
Adapted from David Leite

Yield: 17 to 18 cupcakes

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for greasing pans
1 cup firmly packed dark-brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk mixed with 1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups canned solid-pack pumpkin

Frosting
Two (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup

Make the cupcakes:
1. Preheat the oven to 350° (175°C). Line a cupcake pan with 18 liners.

2. In a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugars on medium speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and pepper into a medium bowl.

3. Add the eggs 1 at a time to the mixer, scraping down the sides after each addition. Alternate adding the flour and milk mixtures, beginning and ending with the flour. Beat in the pumpkin until smooth. Scoop the batter among the cupcake liners — you’re looking to get them 3/4 full. Rap the filled pans once on the counter to release any air bubbles. Bake the cakes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes. Cool the cupcakes on racks completely.

Make the frosting:
In a stand mixer beat all the ingredients on medium until fluffy. To assemble the cake, frost the top of one cake, place the other cake on top. Frost the sides and top, swirling decoratively. Refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes to set up frosting.

I love how rustic this looks.  The brown cup carrier and the brown parchment with the cinnamon sprinkled on top!

I feel a little more confident making icing flowers now by watching this video: Piping Roses.

 

Doesn't the cake look inviting while it's waiting to be iced?  I added ten minutes to the baking time of the cupcakes.

You could literally slice this cake and add a dollop of this frosting.  It is beautiful without icing!

 

  This frosting is so delicious you will want to eat it by the spoonfuls.  Have a great and wet weekend.

French Macaroons

I love French Macaroons.  They have hard shells but once you bite into them they are chewing and the filling is the biggest treat of all!  I have tried several recipes but found good old Martha Stewart had the easiest to follow.

  

These are vanilla buttercream macaroons. 

Recipe is from Martha Stewart:

Makes 35 macaroons

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 3/4 cup almond flour(you can find this at Whole Foods, Central Market and HEB)
• 2 large egg whites, room temperature
• Pinch of cream of tartar
• 1/4 cup superfine sugar
• 3/4 cup seedless raspberry jam, for filling (or buttercream)

Directions with annotations:

1. Pulse confectioners' sugar and almond flour in a food processor until combined. Sift mixture 2 times.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk whites with a mixer on medium speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar, and whisk until soft peaks form. Reduce speed to low, then add superfine sugar. Increase speed to high, and whisk until stiff peaks form, about 8 minutes. ( I found it only took about 3-4 minutes for me)
3. Sift flour mixture over whites, and fold until mixture is smooth and shiny.Tartelette says to Add 2 TB food coloring  and fold the mass carefully until you obtain a batter that flows like magma or a thick ribbon.
   Give quick strokes at first to break the mass and slow down. The whole process should not take more than 50 strokes. Test a small amount on a plate: if the tops flattens on its own you are good to go. If there is a small beak, give the batter a couple of turns.
4. Transfer batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain round tip, and pipe 3/4-inch rounds 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets, dragging pastry tip to the side of rounds rather than forming peaks. Tap bottom of each sheet on work surface to release trapped air. Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Bake 1 sheet at a time, rotating halfway through, until macaroons are crisp and firm, about 10 minutes. After each batch, increase oven temperature to 375 degrees, heat for 5 minutes, then reduce to 325 degrees.
5. Let macaroons cool on sheets for 2 to 3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. (If macaroons stick, spray water underneath parchment on hot sheet. The steam will help release macaroons.)
6. Sandwich 2 same-size macaroons with 1 teaspoon jam. Serve immediately, or stack between layers of parchment, wrap in plastic, and freeze for up to 3 months
7. Tartelette also says if you have trouble removing the shells, pour a couple of drops of water under the parchment paper while the sheet is still a bit warm and the macarons will lift up more easily do to the moisture. Don't let them sit there in it too long or they will become soggy. Pipe or spoon some ganache on one shell and sandwich with another one.
   If you use fresh whites, zap them up in the microwave on medium high for 20 seconds.

I just love packaging bright colored items in cellophane!  Here is a beautiful way to package these yummies.  On giverslog.com Amberlee show you some unique gift giving ideas and shares free downloads.  You must check out her macaroons and her free labels.

 

How sweet are these.  She made these for her daughter's bake sale and made the labels to go on them. 

Enjoy her site, she is very talented!  Happy Labor Day everyone.