My oldest daughter LOVES to read. I actually call her Rory (Gilmore Girls reference) sometimes. We have had the same conversation Lorelei and Rory had regarding things not fitting into a backpack because of multiple books. To say my daughter reads a lot is an understatement. She would love nothing more than to spend a day curled up and reading a book! She is in eighth grade this year. She has had two librarians in her life thus far and she has taken a shine to both.
In the next few weeks our middle school/ town librarian will be embarking a new adventure with her family in another state. We are sad to see her go, but we wish her all the best! She has picked out numerous books for Kailee, as I am sure she does for many folks in our town and school!! Kailee loves that Audrey will search for just the right book for her, or be able to come up with a title at ease that fits just her style. Thank you Audrey for making our children feel special, and for knowing just what book to pick! The next librarian has some big shoes to fill – I hope they welcome the challenge and our kids with “open books.”
As a token of appreciation I made some chocolate cups for her. I mean, who doesn’t love to each chocolates while they read?!?
You can make the chocolate cups with a candy mold and tempered or compound chocolate, OR you can buy ready made ones at your local grocery store. I filled them with Biscoff Cookie Butter Smooth Spread and topped with dark chocolate ganache.
I also made ones that I filled with just the ganache and topped with a freeze dried raspberry. I used my go-to ganache recipe.
These are super easy and quick to make because you don’t have to let the ganache sit before using it, as you might if you were piping or frosting a dessert, especially if using store bought chocolate candy shells. You fill them and are ready to enjoy!
The possibilities are endless – get creative!! These are a quick treat with big flavor!
I was driving to work this morning mulling over what I could write about today on my blog if I only had a few minutes to do so and inspiration hit while listening to K-Love. They were talking about how Amy’s son who is in fifth grade had an assignment to pick three things that described him as a person – he picked a football picture, a Yoshi (Mario character) and his bible. There was a small discussion on what each deejay would pick if it were them, and materialism was brought up. Do these things that describe us DEFINE us?
I was already thinking while they were talking, and my kids and my faith were definitely on my list. They most certainly help mold me into who I am as a person – although neither are materialistic. I have been asked many times why I love to bake by different people I have in my life. I have written about it on my blog as well.
My materialistic item would some sort of baking tool – like a whisk or a piping bag and tip. What a crazy materialistic item, right? Not only is this a physical item – it describes me well, AND it also can define me, and I am totally okay with that.
Baking is a passion for me. I like to try new recipes and flavors, I like to reminisce with old favorites, and each thing I bake becomes a dot on the timeline of my life. I like to surprise friends and family with sweet treats – either on special occasions or just because. I like how something as small and simple as a cookie or cupcake can bring a genuine smile to someone’s face and brighten their day; and it lets me spread a little bit of love and joy to each person who partakes in my sweets. It is the little things in life that can make the biggest impact. I tell this to my girls all the time, along with “you never know what someone else’s home life is like, so be kind, even if they aren’t.” I am completely okay if someone thinks of my name and baking comes to mind or sweet treats, or anything of that nature. It would tickle me pink if part of my legacy left behind are recipes I have loved and/or tweaked to make my them my own.
I promise my hiatus from blogging isn’t because I haven’t been baking! Even though life has been crazy busy I still make sure I have time to do what I LOVE! I have made many delicious cupcakes for birthdays and yummy potluck desserts for the office and friends, and my favorite thing so far this summer – THE WEDDING DESSERTS FOR MY BEST FRIEND ❤
This was truly an honor. They not only trusted me to “design” what was made and the table setting, but also to get 150ish desserts done, drive 2 hours and set it all up. I am forever grateful for this experience!
Always make time for what you love and those you love! There may come a time when you are unable to do the those things, and those we love will not always be around. Make the most of the time you have and be the best you that you can be. What will people remember you for? It costs nothing to be kind.
I knew when I decided to participate in the auction that I would make a candy cake – as those are always a big hit – I mean come on … who doesn’t love them some candy! The second cake I decided on the “Lumberjack Cake,” which has not only taken the internet by storm, but also has been tagged with my name on Facebook many times by friends and family. I decided to forgo the axe and use simple ribbon to accent this great looking cake.
For those who are not familiar with the “Lumberjack Cake” it is a red and black checkered cake to simulate plaid and the outside looks like a tree stump. For obvious reasons, I didn’t cut into the cake to see the checkered effect, but I will be making another one in the very near future just so I can cut it open and see it!
On Tuesday evening I baked a decadent chocolate cupcake filled with chocolate espresso ganache and piped on a mountain of espresso buttercream. The only request from the birthday co-worker was lots of chocolate. I think I delivered with this 1:1 cupcake to frosting ratio goodie!
First it was a red, white and blue swirled vanilla cake frosted with a simple vanilla buttercream, decked out with a fondant and buttercream logo.
Second was 24 Finding Dory cupcakes – 12 chocolate, 12 vanilla, frosted with vanilla buttercream, topped with cute candy decorations (Pop Rocks, Starburst coral and fondant seaweed, and sticker characters from the movie.
Third was a chocolate and peanut butter explosion cake! Chocolate cake frosted with peanut butter buttercream topped with chocolate ganache and chopped up peanut butter cups.
So I went to work making enough cake and cupcakes to feed a small army. I decided on keeping the cake flavors simple, but to go slightly crazy on the frostings!
I made 84 cupcakes (not all shown) and one double 13×9 cake. The cake was chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting and filled with chocolate ganache and decorated with PB cups and a printed sugar sheet (thanks Callie and Frank’s Bakery!)
The cupcakes were chocolate cake either frosted with marshmallow buttercream, espresso buttercream or chocolate ganache buttercream, and vanilla cake frosted with either peanut butter frosting, chocolate ganache buttercream, vanilla buttercream or filled with key lime curd and topped with marshmallow buttercream.
Have Sweets, Will Share. 