Valentines Day

Share a smile. 
Fill the world with cheer. 
Spread Valentine spirit far and near.

Happy Valentines day all! To celebrate I made these little chocolate and ganache treats. They are the perfect comfort food since I am feeling sorry for myself (Himself is out of the country for work).

 

Gananche is super simple yet really impressive.

All you need is 500g good quality chocolate and 250ml of cream. Bring the cream to a boil in a glass bowl over a pot of boiling water. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate and stir. Put in the fridge, stirring every 5 minutes until the mixture is thick enough to spread.

I left the mixture fairly runny and poured it on top of the cupcakes while they were still warm. This let it sink into the cake, making it rich and gooey.... my favorite!

The cupcake toppers are from One Charming Party. I love getting their newsletter every day with free printables and great party ideas.

I've also been indulging in peanut butter M&M's. I absolutely love that they do them in holiday colours (Valentines ones pictured above).

Hope you have a sweet day!

Black Velvet

I recently splurged on a black velvet jacket for winter. I've always loved black velvet but the new jacket has triggered an obsession. So I turned my attention to black velvet cake.

Urban Comfort

I went a little bit crazy and created a Pinterest board. You can check it out here.

It seems to be interpreted as a Halloween cake, but it's just so beautiful and rich looking that I don't think it should be limited to one holiday.

If you would like to try it out, head over to Urban Comfort (a blog I love!) for the recipe. I am dying to try the orange cream cheese frosting too!

Happy baking!

Pillsbury

Let me state up front that I am all for the use of cake mixes (yes, you read that right), as long as..... here comes the 'but'..... you do something creative with it. Fortunately Pillsbury makes this super easy by telling you how on the side of the box.

Towards the end of last year I received a stunning box of goodies from Pillsbury. I've been itching to try out the products but just hadn't had a chance yet.

If you recall, I have STILL not gotten around to making cake pops. Baby Cupcake had a play date (read 'excuse for mommies to get together') and so I decided to try my hand at the cake pops. By the time Baby Cupcake was asleep and I had read the instructions I was already exhausted.

Enter Pillsbury! I vaguely remembered seeing something about cake pops on the side of a Pillsbury box. I pulled a box out the cupboard, and there was the recipe I was looking for. It is super simple and quick.

Unfortunately, Baby Cupcake is going through a leap (more about that another day) and woke up before I got to the dipping stage. After getting her back to sleep it was late and so I improvised and did something a bit less time consuming.

They were super yummy! It just proves, cake mixes have their place in every kitchen :) You can find more Pillsbury recipes here. 

Happy baking!