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Monday, July 25, 2011

{ Strawberry Filled Cupcakes}


Yum, right?

I thought so.

My friend, Lori, and often partner in crime (baking crime that is, people) made these for a baby shower. 

So, I had to try them for myself.

Lori made homemade jam and filled hers.

Um.. I used this:


I was in a hurry, alright?

Don't judge ;)

First you'll need a recipe of baked white cupcakes.

Then, you're gonna impale them.

A cupcake corer would be a good thing to have.

Lori has one. I do not. *sadness*

So, I used one of my extra large icing tips.


It worked swimmingly.


Then you have all of these little babies left over.


Resist the temptation to put every one of them in your mouth.

Hello, Poppets!

I may, or may not, have succeeded at that.

If you are using a thick jam, place about a cup of it in a bowl, and thin with a bit of water.

Carefully spoon jam into holes.

I say spoon, because someone may try to place the thinned jam into a pastry bag to pipe into the holes.

And that jam may run straight through like water.

And someone could end up with a mess all over their kitchen counter.

Not that I'd know that from experience or anything.

Certainly not...



Then top with Buttercream Icing.

This is my buttercream:

1/2 cup shortening (crisco)*

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine softened  

1 teaspoon vanilla (clear if you’ve got it to keep it whiter)

4 cups powdered sugar (approximately 1 lb.)

2 tablespoons milk

Makes 3 Cups.

* You can also use 1 cup butter instead of crisco if you wish.
Top with a strawberry.


Then, take a bite.



And thank me.

And Lori, of course!


~Tina




Wednesday, July 13, 2011

{Cauldron Cakes & Butterbeer}



Want more Harry Potter ideas? 
Check out my 
EPIC HARRY POTTER PARTY POST HERE!!

Also, check out my highly detailed post about The Wizarding World of Harry Potter @ Universal's Islands of Adventure in Orlando! 

See ALL my Potter posts here!


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To say that I'm a Harry Potter fan is a vast understatement.

I've been to midnight releases for 3 of the books. 
I have 29 copies of the books (4 full sets and 1 new set to start working on).

I quote the movies, much to the annoyance to others in the room with me.

Approximately 1/2 of my brain is packed with HP facts, give or take a lobe.

And yes, I'm *that* person that leans over and whispers...

"It didn't happen like that in the book!"

So in celebration of the final movie (yes, I have midnight screening tickets!), here are 2 of the most talked about treats in the wizarding world.

Cauldron Cakes & Butterbeer

Cauldron Cakes.

These are just my Secret Cupcakes with a chocolate Twizzler in them. Black Licorice would work too... not that anyone wants to eat those things. :oD

And the Butterbeer.
Now, I've never been to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal (gasp! I know... I'm distraught about this point), but I hear the Butterbeer is ah-maze-ing.

I have no first hand knowledge of this tasty, tasty, treat, but I did some digging on the internet and found about 600,000 recipes for Butterbeer. 

Well, that might be an exaggeration. Fine, 599,999.

I found one I wanted to try, but I can never leave a recipe alone, so I tweaked it to my liking.

If you try it, be sure to let me know what you think!
And remember, when you hear that Potter nerd behind you whispering,

"that's NOT what is supposed to be happening!", it might just be me.

Happy Potter Release!


~Tina

P.S. If you haven’t already,  you can ‘like’ my Facebook page here, and follow me on twitter here, and you can follow me on instagram here.

Shared on Momnivore's Dilemma 10-6-11



Butterbeer
Here is the original.

And here is mine:

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons water

1 Stick Butter (1/2 cup)*

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup Half and Half

3 Tablespoons Butterscotch Syrup (more for garnish)

Whipped Topping (spray can type)

Chilled Cream Soda


*use real butter

In a small saucepan over medium, combine the brown sugar and water. Bring to a gentle boil and cook for about 2 minutes. Watch closely, stirring constantly.

Stir in the butter, Butterscotch topping, and salt.

Set aside to cool off, for about 20 mins. Do not allow to fully cool.
 
Once the mixture has cooled, add in the Half and Half.

Whisk until smooth

For serving, divide the brown sugar mixture between glasses a couple Tablespoons for each glass*.

Add cold cream soda, and stir.

Top with whipped topping, and drizzle with Butterscotch topping.

*Try a Tablespoon or two, taste, and then add more if you like.
Recipe updated 9/2012