bubblegum macarons

It's been a while since I've made macarons. Well, not really a while - a few weeks - but it was enough of a break to get me excited about making them again. I even got to have fun with the flavours this time around. 

I prepared them according to the French recipe and they came out beautifully. I used powdered food colouring in the shells and saved the flavour extract for the filling. Care to guess what it was?

I'll save you the suspense - it was bubble gum! Delicious, delicious bubble gum. Each bite tasted like a trip back to childhood where I would personally challenge myself to chewing as much gum in one mouthful as possible. Turns out I could chew a lot of gum.

Packaged and ready to serve!

-Danielle

pixie dust and sailboats

This weekend was a very special one indeed. My close friend Jamie and her fiance John tied the knot in a beautiful vineyard ceremony in the Niagara region. I was most honoured when the bride asked me to prepare the cake for the wedding. She's got great taste and afforded me full creative reign, as long as it was "rustic". Here's the result:

A four tier-cake (bottom tier: keylime; third tier: chocolate; second and top tiers: Betty Crocker confetti cake, straight from the box) was wrapped with fondant to emulate a birch bark texture. The tiers were adorned with gumpaste acorns, buttercream leaves and treated pine cones. .

A close up shot shows the details, from the lines of the "bark" to the carved initials of the bride and groom.

The cake was set up in the bottling room which hosted all of the guests in between the wedding ceremony and reception; after that, the cake was moved outdoors. It was nearly 30C outside, but the cake held up pretty well (minus a dropped acorn or two).

Of course, this was the first occasion that I had the opportunity to see just what happens to one of Sweet&Splendid's creations.

Photo courtesy of Andrew Haber

It was a little bittersweet, but I had expected this to eventually happen (note the toppers: John made wooden puzzle pieces himself).

Photo courtesy of Andrew Haber

And it was worth it to watch the bride and groom enjoy the cake. 

Congratulations to a great couple, and thanks for throwing the best end of summer party I could have ever imagined.

-Danielle

MVP

A very thoughtful bride ordered a very special present for her groom-to-be for their very special day. The groom has a solid connection to sports, being a former goalie and football player. So, the bride asked for a groom's cake incorporating all his favourite sports!

The bottom tier was an almond and chocolate square cake decorated as the USC football field. Trojans and emblems adorned all sides, as well as yard markers and field goal posts sculpted from gumpaste. Piped buttercream grass covered the back edges of the cake. On top sat a cereal treat football.

On top of the football cake was the pumpkin and cream-cheese UFC octagon cake, similar to this one. The UFC logo and sponsor emblems were emblazoned on all 8 sides and the top was decked out with a sugar cage.   

The most detailed portion of the cake came from the sculpted hockey player. Made from gumpaste, this little goalie was placed front and centre, right in front of a fondant Toronto Maple Leafs jersey with the groom's last name. 

Lastly, as to reflect something the bride and groom shared together, a pair of Jay-Z/Kanye tickets from their show at the LA Staples Centre were included.

It was a big but awesome project! Congratulations to the happy couple.

-Danielle 

strawberry daiquiri cupcakes

Daiquiris are the quintessential summer cocktail (in this girl's opinion). Combining a summer seasonal fruit (in this case strawberries) and rum, this flavour combination lends itself especially well to cake. For the fourth instalment of cuptails, I give you strawberry daiquiri cupcakes. 

I'd like to take a play from the strawberry's book and find myself some sun and a parasol.

Strawberry Daiquiri Cupcakes
(recipe yields 24 cupcakes)

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups flour

2 cups sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup whole milk

3/4 cup vegetable oil (I used olive oil)

4 eggs

1/2 cup chopped or puréed strawberries

2 tsp rum extract

pink food colour gel

Directions:

Heat oven to 350F. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Slowly add oil, followed by eggs, one at a time. Mix on high for 2 minutes. Slowly add milk, continue mixing. Add strawberries, extract and colour and mix for 1 minute. Pour batter into cupcake liners (about 2 large tablespoons per cupcake) and bake for 15 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.  

Strawberry Buttercream Icing:

recipe yields 2-3 cups

Ingredients:  

2/3 cup egg whites

1 cup white sugar

2 cups butter (4 sticks)

1/2 cup strawberry purée

Directions:

Heat egg whites in a double boiler stirring frequently so that egg whites do not become cooked. Slowly add sugar and mix thoroughly for about 5 minutes or until mixture reaches 55C. Transfer mixture to mixing bowl and whip on high until stiff peaks form. Switch mixer attachment to paddle and slowly incorporate butter. Turn the speed up until mixture becomes uniform. Add purée and mix until incorporated.

Strawberry is among my favourite flavour (and fruit), so this cuptail is always a sweet treat for me. Now it can be a sweet treat for you too!

-Danielle

diamonds, hearts, clubs and spades

This  request was for a gal who loves the finer things in life...

...and Kate Spade purses.

This vanilla cake was sculpted to look like a Kate Spade shopping tote. Gumpaste was used to fashion the tissue paper and the stargazer lily. Other details include an edible logo and a tag with a birthday greeting in the same font as used in the logo. Lastly, gems were affixed to the edge of the logo.


Happy birthday to the birthday girl!


-Danielle