BAH.

Wow. I've been really good with this one... *shifty eyes* I've cut back on the amount that I've been baking, but I haven't stopped completely. I've cut back because it's been costing me too much and I've been busier on the weekends too.

I have some pictures that I need to post!! I've just been slacking hard core with this one! As well as my horse blog. Sigh... But I'm still around!

xoxo

S for Spring!

Ok, so this morning Blogger is not my friend. It doesn't like me changing things once I have photos in here, so my posts are going to be centred.

Spring time! And what better way to say it than with

Strawberry Cupcakes!!

My icing. It was yummy! First time using merengue powder, and I liked how it turned out.

Although next time, I need to use less water, because it wasn't

stiff enough to use a piping bag and make it fancy.

Still looked ok though!

xoxo

Late St. Patty's Day!

 I've been so bad for posting pictures up lately!
For St. Patrick's Day I made a mix of cupcakes. I was on a roll. I made Irish coffee cupcakes, and Brown sugar pound cake ones. I prefer all my cupcakes with out icing, because I'm a freak that way, but they turned out pretty well!! People at work enjoyed the coffee ones the most.

Brown Sugar Pound!

Irish Coffee with green icing (obviously) and green sugar sprinkles

Upclose and Personal!

xoxo

Roasted Bananas and Cookies Galore

Mmm... Banana cupcakes! I made these because my brother loves banana stuff. 

Honey Cinnamon Frosting!!!

I also decided to try my hand at cookies again. I'm always having problems with them spreading properly, but this recipe and this day, I got them right. 

Chocolate and Butterscotch Chip Cookies:

They SPREAD!

Triple chocolate chip cookies (Dark, Milk and White..):

Pecan and Butterscotch Chip Cookies:

All of my baked goods together... For the most part.

I ended up making 150 cookies and 19 cupcakes (standard size this time!).
Pretty impressed with my spreaded cookies :D
xoxo

The Busiest Weekend Yet...

So I didn't go back to trying out my sponge cake... instead I made CUPCAKES!

In honour of Valentine's Day, I decided to give my baking a slight "red" theme (for love, of course!) and made Red Velvet mini cupcakes. At first I was only going to make red velvet, but then my mom suggested that I do something that I know how they're supposed to turn out to test out our new oven. So I made vanilla cupcakes as well, as it is a tried and true recipe for me.

New Oven!

Vanilla cupcakes!

My awesome mixer

Saturday:

I woke up shockingly at 9 am. I actually got out of bed and made tea, ate some quick breakfast and immediately started baking. I had made vanilla cupcakes before, so I knew what I was doing. I had the first batch in the oven less than 30 minutes later.

 I had wanted to make tea biscuits (scones) all week, so while I was waiting for my cupcakes to be finished, I started working on those. I think I overworked my dough a bit, because I don't think it rose as much as it should have but it was so good! I put raisins in half of them, because my brother won't eat raisins. I was so impressed with my tea biscuits. Something that I'll actually eat! I didn't make any icing because I was still making cupcakes the next day and would ice them then. I was shocked when I had completely finished all my baking and all my clean up by 12.30...

Although, then I decided to go out that night and my friends had me bring some along! So I had to make some icing, and decorated some of the vanilla ones. They were a hit!

Sunday:

Since I went out the night before, I didn't get up the until 1pm. I know... such a difference from the day before. It totally affects my baking though. It seems to take me sooo much longer to do anything! I was making the red velvet cupcakes today, and if I had time, homemade cream filled cupcakes (like the Hostess Cakes). I need to get a few more muffin tins because the amount of time I spent waiting for the tins to be done so I can use them again was getting a little ridiculous. Anyways, I was so tired, and I was so sore but I got them done. They looked amazing. I even got to the Hostess cake look-a-likes. People at work said that the Hostess cakes were probably my best thing yet.

I'm super excited because I actually made my own icing this time. And it was soooo goood. Yummy! Smooth and creamy, but not overwhelmingly sweet. Just perfect for me.

Next week, I'm thinking that I'm going to try my hand at cookies again!
xoxo

Sunday Sponge

Yes! I found a recipe that's both quick and easy, and turns out really well!! I made some changes to the recipe as it called for lemon and lemon zest, but just turned that into vanilla. Who doesn't love vanilla? I think the best thing about this recipe is that it doesn't use butter. No butter = no waiting for it to get to room temperature. I'm thinking that I'm just going to cover with raspberries and strawberries with a little raspberry jam. I made 2 cakes, one for home eating and then one whole one for work. My dog is totally eyeing them for herself though. I keep on having to tell her to leave them.

They looked so good and smelt so good when they came out of the oven!! I was so excited, but then it went downhill from there. When I cut off the tops to start decorating them, I noticed this:

 Random uncooked like holes in the batter. It was so bizarre and disheartening. So I cut them in half to see the extent of the damage.... And it wasn't reassuring at all. Pretty much I had to toss them because throughout the WHOLE cake it was like that. Rubbery and uncooked, or overcooked. I'm not sure. But I do know that it's freaking weird. How can the top and edges be cooked properly but the insides be over cooked? I don't know how it happened.

My cinnamon buns from yesterday are all done and gone now. My brother picked the wax paper clean. He told me that the first one wasn't good, but by the time he tried his 2nd, 3rd and 4th piece they were amazing. No need for icing. He told me that it tasted like Chinese bakery goods. I'm excited about that. Maybe next time I'll just try to make some of those delectable treats.

Sigh. It was an utterly depressing end to an otherwise great baking day.
xoxo