Christmas Pirates

Lately I've had the chance to work on a few Frilly Milly projects (not nearly as many as I would like - but hey, I'm happy to get to "play" at least a little bit!) and thought I would just post a few photos and tips on how to recreate them if you so desire.  The one I'm most excited about is not quite finished yet, but hopefully will be up sometime the beginning of next week if not sooner.

The first project is not really Christmas-y, but I received an order for pirate cupcakes for a birthday party and the leftovers turned into something a little bit festive :).  First...the pirates.

 

The  cupcakes are chocolate cake with buttercream icing.  I know fondant looks better, but I don't like the way it tastes so I stick mainly with buttercream and just work to make it look as smooth as possible.  I just made 3 different colors of buttercream - the skintone (using copper gel coloring), red ("no taste" red gel) and black (I used a combination of the black gel along with a little cocoa powder to get a rich black).  I apologize for not having step-by-step photos (which would make this so much easier to follow), but I'll try to at least explain each step of the process.

I frosted each cupcake with a #1A tip making a swirl starting along the outside edge and working my way into the center (not building up...just filling in).  From there I took my small palette knife and smoothed out the swirl.  I let the icing crust for about 10 minutes before going back over them with a small square I cut out of a VIVA paper towel (solid white - no print - using the softer side on the cupcake) to get a fondant-like smoothness.

Next, I used a #104 petal tip for the red and starting not quite at the center of the cupcake (with the "head" of the pirate pointed toward me and fat side of the petal tip facing toward the "chin" of the pirate) and made slightly curved stripes from left-to-right layering on top of each other slightly and tapering at the right-hand corner where the "knot" of the bandana would go.  I created a little knot using the same tip.

From there I moved to the black icing with a #3 tip.  I made a long diagonal line over top of the bandana to the base of the chin from left to right.  Small black eye dot on the left, large black eye dot on top of the black line on the right and then facial hair, smiles, etc.  Place a junior mint on the large black dot of the right eye and viola! Your pirate cupcake is complete!

Since I had several cupcakes left over and quite a bit of icing as well, I turned the rest of the cupcakes into Santa Claus!  The only addition was a bag of white icing using a #12 tip.  I used the same method for the hat as I did for the pirate's bandana - except just going straight across rather than curving.  I even had an extra pirate leftover and turned him into a Santa as well (I just have a small picture taken from a phone of that cupcake - but it's worth seeing because it just makes me laugh!).  

So whether it's a Pirates or Christmas party - or better yet, a "Pirates of Christmas" party :), now you have a fun and festive dessert to share!

Nutella Banana Party-In-Your-Mouth

One word here people: UNREAL!!  I cannot wait to make a million-and-one varieties of these things and throw a party to celebrate them! Yum, yum, YUM!!!

So I'm sitting on the couch last night working on the computer with the tv on in the background.  I think it was on Bravo or something...I don't even know.  I couldn't even tell you what show I was watching other than several chefs were being interviewed about their most unique or favorite food experience at a restaurant.  Some were disguisting, others I don't even remember because honestly, I wasn't paying that much attention.  It was just noise in the background until one guy says the word, "Ebilskivers".  Huh??  Is he speaking in a foreign language?  Well, yeah actually, he is.  Ebilskivers are a beloved treat in their native Denmark.  They are light, puffy pancakes that can be filled with fruit, chocolate, jam or cheese and served for breakfast or as an hors d'oeuvre, dessert or light supper (description courtesy of Williams Sonoma).  As many times as I say "the possibilities are endless!" you must know by now that I love anything that offers me an endless variety of combinations and flavors.

So, I purchased my first Ebilskiver Pan and went to town.  It was incredibly easy to make, and even easier to eat! :)  If I can recommend one thing to you today - it's to go out and get yourself and Ebilskiver pan and start creating!  Just make sure to invite LOTS of people over to eat up these little bites of heaven, because I promise you - once you start, it's awfully hard to stop!

Strawberry Short"cups" Recipe

Short"cups"

3 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. sugar
4 t. baking powder
3/4 t. cream of tartar
1 c. unsalted butter (room temperature)
2/3 c. heavy cream
1 egg, beaten
2 (16oz) containers strawberries, sliced
1/4 c. sugar

Preheat oven to 350.  In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and cream of tartar.  Cut in butter using a fork or pastry cutter.  Add in heavy cream and beaten egg until well combined (may require some messy hand mixing :)).  Lightly flour a clean surface and knead the dough for a couple of minutes or until it makes a solid ball (no "flakeyness").

Using a regular size muffin tin, take an "egg" size ball of dough and press into individual cups, spreading evenly up the edges and at the base.  Fill all containers until you've used up your dough (I made about 16 "muffins").  Sprinkle each cup lightly with sugar.  Bake 15-20 minutes or until the edges are just a light, light golden brown.  Once finished, remove from oven and allow to cool momentarily in pans before removing.  Now the tricky part.  Because of the dough consistency, it's going to want to "puff up" in the center rather than staying in a nice bowl shape.  I used tiny "pinch" pots (see picture below - it's the size of the bottom part of an egg) to round out the center while still warm.  I'm thinking about baking them with the pinch pots IN the center next time...to see if that works even better.  Either way, it gave me the result I was wanting doing it this way as well.  You could use the bottom of a glass or any small "rounded" object to accomplish the same thing.

Carefully remove each cup from the tin and place on a cooling rack (I say carefully because shortcake is very "crumbly" and can easily fall apart).  While they're cooling, slice your strawberries and place in a medium bowl.  Add sugar.  Start with 1/4 c. and add more if desired (I like to make sure there's lot of "sauce" for the shortcake, so I throw in more).  Stir and let sit for about 20 minutes or until the sugar has created a nice sauce in the strawberries (you could also do this while the cakes are baking if you are on a time crunch).  Finally...the whipping cream...

Whipped Cream

1 c. heavy cream
1 t. vanilla (I use the real stuff)
1 T. powdered sugar

In a medium metal bowl, beat cream until soft peaks form.  Add in vanilla and sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form.  Do not overbeat (you don't want to make butter! :)).  Place in a covered container in fridge until ready to serve.  Stir before serving.

Assembly

Using a large spoon, pour a large helping of strawberries into each cup, making sure to use plenty of juice as well.  Top with a dollop of whipped cream (I like to do two seperate dollaps on top of each other...just like the way it looks :)).  For an added touch, place a sprig of a mint leaf in each or a few slices of strawberries on the plate.  Or if you realy want to go crazy, drizzle a chocolate swirl on the plate before placing the short"cup" on it.  The possibilities, as always, are endless, so have fun with it!!

Strawberry Short"cups"

Tuesday night one of my friends mentioned strawberry shortcake...and I haven't been able to get it out of my head since.  It's by far one of my favorite desserts - so light and refreshing.  So, when I stopped by walmart to pick up a few things last night and walked by the huge display of strawberries...I just couldn't pass 'em up!  I always like to mix things up a bit though, so instead of a making a large cake or even small biscuit size portions, I decided to make individual cakes with a nice little "well" so that the strawberries had a perfect resting spot and all the juices could soak in.  Of course, I had to make some real whipping cream, because that's just how strawberry shortcake is done.  This would be a great summer dessert - especially if you made a cute little "topper" for each portion to serve to your guests...maybe with a little scripture or fun saying...or even just a cute strawberry patch illustration!  The possibilities are endless!

When life hands you keylimes, make bread!

I saw this adorable bag of tiny limes (keylimes) at the grocery store and couldn't resist!  They were just begging to be made into something delicious!  I have a more complex recipe for the remainder of the limes, but for now...the house smells like a sweet and slightly tart loaf of yummy goodness!