Cupcake Love

Before I start drooling over cupcakes....

I was featured!

Thanks to Ann at Stylish Once Again for featuring my Citrasolv Dishtowel Tutorial!  

Now on to the yumminess of it all.

Since I went gluten free at the beginning of the year, I have been experimenting with all the different gluten free baking mixes and flours available at our local grocery stores.  Since I am a bit of a cupcake fanatic, I figured this would be the best place to start.  (Really this all just an excuse to constantly have cupcakes around)

The first mix I tried was a chocolate cake.  It wasn't great.  It was dry and crumbly and I was very disappointed.  Discouraged a bit and worried that I would never be able to enjoy a good dessert again.  But, I didn't give up.  Then I discovered a local supplier who makes several bread mixes, vanilla cake and the best all purpose gluten free flour.  So, I baked.  And baked.  And baked.  Here are a few of the creations I made...

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

So far this has been my favorite.  I just added a bit of cinnamon to a vanilla / white cake mix and and a bit of cinnamon in the frosting.  They were so good!  In fact, I may have to go make another batch as soon as I am done writing.

French Toast Cupcakes

These did not turn out the way I imagined.  I made these from scratch using a gluten free all purpose flower. They were pretty dense.  I added cinnamon to a white cake recipe, the put an egg wash on top of the cupcake before they finished baking.  I added maple syrup to the icing.  They kind of tasted like french toast, but they were so dense it took away from the yumminess.

Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

I made these in honor of St. Patrick's Day.  I used a gluten free chocolate cake mix and added chocolate chips to the mix.  Then made frosting and added peppermint extract and green food coloring.  The icing was pretty good (it doesn't take a lot of the extract to get a minty flavor), but the cupcakes were dry and crumbly like the first chocolate cake I made.  Maybe the chocolate cake mixes just won't work as well.

Hope I didn't make your mouth water too much.  I am just so excited to know that I can still enjoy cupcakes even if I am gluten free!

GF DF Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Bread

When I decided to go gluten free at the beginning of the year, I was a little apprehensive.  Luckily, there are so many great resources available.  It has been a lot easier than I anticipated.  

I have a bit of a sweet tooth (meaning I don't think I can survive the day without some sugary treat / snack / dessert in my daily menu)  My biggest fear was missing out on all the yummy stuff, but not anymore.

I found this great gluten free all purpose flour at one of the local grocery stores in Kansas City and you can't tell a difference.  Now my new favorite thing to make is Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Bread.  Plus my 5 year old nephew couldn't get enough of it, so it is definitely kid approved!

Recipe

Ingredients:

3 ripe bananas

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup canola oil

1 egg

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cups all purpose gluten free flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup dairy free chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli chips)

Directions:

Grease a loaf pan with shortening.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together bananas, peanut butter, oil, eggs, sugar and brown sugar.

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients slowly.  Mix until just combined.

Add chocolate chips and mix in.

Bake for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes then cool on a rack.

Enjoy!

 

An Etched Cake Plate Tutorial

I love giving gifts!  And not just any gift, but unique personalized gifts.  

What better way to personalize a gift than with a name, initial, monogram, nickname, etc. on it?

A great way to make a personal, unique and sophisticated gift is to etch a cake plate (or pie plate or casserole dish or glass pitcher or glass vase or glass jar or mirror or window...you get the idea!)

Now it's your turn...

What you will need:

Glass Dish

Printout of the design you want to etch

Masking tape

Clear contact paper

X-acto knife

Paint brush

Armour Etch Cream

**Just a quick note about the Armour Etch Cream: I bought the 3 oz. bottle (with a 40% off coupon of course) and I was concerned it wasn't going to be enough to etch two pie plates.  I almost bought the larger bottle, but luckily I didn't.  Since I bought that bottle, I have etched 3 cake plates, 2 pie plates, 2 casserole dishes and a large counter top glass beverage dispenser and I still have half of the bottle left.**

Once you have decided on a piece to etch, make sure you clean with soap and water and the piece is completely dry before you begin.

Print your design in bold black print and trim to fit.  Tape your design to the inside of your piece.  Be sure to line it up exactly where you want the etched design to end up.  This will work as your stencil.

**If you choose to etch a piece with a rounded edge like my cake plate cover, it may be difficult to get it lined up perfectly.  Smooth it against the glass as much as possible.

Once you have your stencil where you want it, cut a piece of clear contact paper larger than the design.  You want to have plenty of extra area covered on each side of the stencil.  Smooth out all bubbles (or if the edge is rounded, smooth as many as you can...you want to make sure there are no bubbles in the same space that you are going to etch)

This part can require a lot of patience, depending on how intricate your stencil is.  Use your X-acto knife to create the stencil.  Trace along the outline of your design to cut out the same design in the clear contact paper.  **Keep in mind the etching will be done on the area where the contact paper is removed.

(It's pretty hard to get a picture of the design in the clear contact paper, but if you look closely you can see the "W")

Elevate the side of the glass piece you are etching before applying the Armour Etch.  This will help minimize any dripping.  If possible, lay the piece down so the stencil area is parallel to the counter top.

Using a paintbrush, fill in the entire stencil.  I have found that it works best if you put a thick coat on.  I always use a layer thick enough that you can't see any glass through the cream.  Let it set on the stencil for at least 5 minutes.  If you're not in a rush, let it set for 10 minutes. 

 After letting it set up, rinse all the cream off using cold water.  Once the thick layer of cream has been washed off, remove your stencil and thoroughly wash the entire piece.

Viola! A personalized unique piece!

A Fruit Bowl...or is it?

For years I had this oversized black wrought iron bowl sitting on my counter.  I filled it with fruit from time to time, but never really loved it.  It was too big and just didn't seem like a good fit in my kitchen.  I would show you a picture, but I have already gotten rid of it.

Luckily, I stumbled upon this great wooden salad bowl set while browsing Goodwill one day and had the perfect idea of what to do with it.

A new fruit bowl...

The softness of the colors and the smaller scale are just what I was wanting.

This was such a quick project.  A few coats of light turquoise spray paint on a short chunky candlestick and a few drops of hot glue to hold the bowl and stand together.

I love how it turned out.  Now I just have to figure out what I am going to do with the four smaller serving bowls...but, we shall save that for another day.

Ballard Inspired Dog Food Container and a sneak peek...

I saw this great dog food container in the Ballard Designs catalog months ago and have been wanting to make one ever since.

The only problem was I couldn't find the right tin to use.  I looked everywhere I could think of...and nothing!  Then while visiting Sacramento, I went to IKEA (because you can't go to a city with an IKEA and not go shopping there)...and what do you know...they had just the perfect container that I had been looking for.

I couldn't wait to get this home and personalize it...

Less than an hour with my Cricut and I had all the letters cut out and ready to apply.

Applying the letters, on the other hand, took longer than I expected. 

It is tricky lining up each row on a curved surface.  And if you really inspected it, it isn't perfect. But, after several attempts of placing some of the words, I can live with a little imperfection.

I just love how it turned out and it is the perfect size to hold the 40 lb. bag of dog food.

Plus, it only cost me $30 to make the whole thing!!

Oh, and I almost forgot the sneak peek...

My mom and I had gotten to a point where we had purchased more furniture than we could keep up with.  Too many projects, too little time.  You know what that's like, right?

So, we made a pact.  No furniture for a month. 

Then we stumbled upon this adorable french provential desk at Goodwill for $15.  I think we both looked at each other at the same time thinking how we can talk the other person into an exception of our newly formed pact.  We just couldn't pass it up.

A few coats of paint and some new knobs for the drawers is going to make a world of difference.

Check back soon to see how she turns out!



Recycle, Recycle, Restyle

I live in a split level house and the kitchen is upstairs and the garage is in the basement.  So, I used to have this tacky set of plastic bins in my kitchen to hold all my recycling so I wouldn't have to run down to the garage every time I had something to put in the recycle bin. 

Finally, I got sick of looking at it and decided it was time for a new bin that was a little more stylish.  Well, maybe stylish isn't the right word, but I like to think it is.



I wanted this to have a worn look to it, so when I painted it black I was sure to leave a few areas lighter than the rest.  After I stenciled "RECYCLE" on the side, I sanded over it a few times to roughen it up a bit.

I love how it turned out and it is just the perfect size.  I use it all the time.  Now the only problem I have is that since it is so low to the ground, the dog is always curious about the things I put it in.  She hasn't pulled anything out just yet, so hopefully she will continue to leave it alone.