So much happened last month while I didn’t have access to the internet. After we did Christmas with our family, the kids and I headed to North Carolina to spend the holidays with my family. My husband was supposed to go back to work, so he stayed behind. This is the first White Christmas NC has had in a very, very long time. The kids were so excited that despite getting there at 2:30 in the morning, the boys immediately laid out in the snow. If it hadn’t been so cold I would’ve gotten better pics of my kids playing in the snow with their cousins but I really didn’t want to freeze.

We got to see my nephews in their church’s Christmas program. Each had a special part -one got to say a Bible verse and the other was Joseph. We got to spend some time with great friends that we haven’t seen in a long time. It got some great pictures of it all but won’t post that since I didn’t get their permission to post them so publicly.  We even went to this Christmas event that was held in the old post office downtown. On each floor was different things to do. The kids got to do alot of crafts, see Santa, and hear tons of choirs sing Christmas songs.

We even got to visit Krispy Kreme!

Then we had a wonderful Christmas with my family before heading back.

But one more thing…we discovered an awesome quaint bakery that I will share in a separate post. All by itself. Yeah, it’s that worthy.

Immediately I thought of winter coats. I HATE wearing a coat! One reason why we moved to Florida. Although, we’ve been in record low temps and even got a little snow this past Saturday!! But over Christmas we went to NC to spend the holidays with  my family and they had snow. My little guy has barely ever had to wear more than a thick sweater and here he is in a complete snowsuit. It was funny trying to watch him even walk.

This week is a different challenge at I Heart Faces. They are celebrating their birthday!! Yea!! So in hopes to win a really cool camera lens, I made cupcakes for the kids to help me out with my entries:

and then for fun, I tried something different:

(LOL, didn’t realize til after posted, guess I should’ve written the logo backward so it would’ve showed up correctly??)

“I am submitting this photo into the I Heart Faces logo photo contest. By entering, I am granting I Heart Faces LLC permission to consider my photo for use in the marketing and promotion of their website.”

First, I promise to share some wonderful stories about our Christmas vacation; we got to go to some neat  places, see old friends and the kids got to play in the snow!! I finally got all the pics uploaded and organized so I promise it’s coming soon.

But for now, I wanted to share a wonderful cupcake that I made today. I wanted to make some cupcakes for today and I also needed to come up with an idea for I Heart Faces birthday party. That’s why the cupcakes are decorated this way. I still have to decide which photos to use.

I have gotten tons of new cupcake recipes between two new books that I received - Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook and Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes: 175 Inspired Ideas for Everyone’s Favorite Treat. Anyway, I decided to try the Farm Chicks Moist Chocolate Cupcakes recipe. I had forgotten that I had tagged this recipe ages ago, but while browsing thru the cupcakes on Cupcake Heaven post (at Hoosier Homemade - LOVE the adorable snowman cupcakes she just made, adorable!), I saw her mention the recipe again so I headed over to copy it. This recipe has always intrigued me, c’mon you add a cup of boiling water to the batter? What’s up with that? But I got to tell you, they were delicious. And moist. Maybe it was the water. hmmm. I just did my own stand-by buttercream recipe.

Sorry this isn’t a new recipe I am sharing but click on the Farm Chick link above and go right to it. It’s sooooo worth it. Ymmmmm.

My little baby will be three years old in just a few weeks so I have been looking back at old photos. This was taken on his first birthday.

I haven’t posted in forever because I went away for the Christmas holiday and my internet availability was limited. And I have so many cool pics to share and there was no way to upload them. But I am back and when I finish unpacking and exchanging Christmas presents, I will return and share my wonderful holiday memories!!

Meanwhile, I will be thinking of my TO DO IN 2010 LIST. oh boy. what fun. really.

Lately most of my posts have been about recipes. That’s for two reasons: 1) I want to share some recipes with my family when I visit for Christmas and don’t want to have to carry my recipes with me and 2) ’tis the season - I cook ALOT during Thanksgiving and Christmas. Plus, now that winter break is here I actually have a little time.

And even though I am going to school for accounting, my inner self would ideally be a food photographer or a chef. I guess I will live vicariously through my daughter as she is now entering her senior year in culinary school.

When I log into Delicious and check out my bookmarks, I have right at 150 bookmarks under “recipes”.  And trust me, there are many, many websites that I visit and refrain from bookmarking so only the special ones get that privilege.  What I really like are the communities where real people post real recipes and make real comments. Honestly, a recipe from a company that makes one of the ingredients isn’t exactly a recipe that I would go for. That is more like a nicer form of advertising.

Today I found a new food site that I would like to share; it is www.foodconnect.com. First thing I look for are recipes that are rated and commented on. This has it. Not only does it have tons of recipes but what sets it apart is that the members are from all over the world which is really cool to try more ethnic foods. My second daughter is really into anything Japanese right now and I found a recipe for Miso Soup!! She is thrilled!!

As an added bonus, not only can you find tons of recipes (and building a shopping list!) but there are also reviews for restaurants. There’s even a section of featured cookbooks. And guess what one of them is?? Ree Drummond, the Pioneer Woman whose blog I stalk  frequently visit, try recipes from and seldom comment.

And just in case you need one more cool feature…it even syncs with Facebook! How cool is that?

If you follow me on Facebook, you know I recently posted about seeing snowflakes outside early one morning. I was putting the dog out at about 4:30am and in the spotlight I saw snow floating down. It was during our cold spell and it was COLD. And I’ve lived up north, so I DO know what flurries looks like. Now, I will admit that it was not actually what I would call flakes because it was soooo small. Like snow mists. Is that a word? Anyway…it was very small but was flying around haphazardly as it fell from the sky. Rain falls straight down because it’s heavier than snow. And hail falls even faster. Hey, I’m a homeschool mom and know a little about the properties of water! This mist flew around in lazy circles as it fell down. And it was beautiful.

Soo…I got in the mood for some snow and found this amazing tutorial for papercrafting at Super Hot Mama’s House. I think they look lovely!!

HINT: even though these are super easy, whenever you have the six triangles laying out in front of you, stand them up exactly the same way, then cut one, open it to make sure it looks right and then cut the others. Not real sure how I did it but I ended up with a lot of squares that just had straight slits cut thru them.  But then I can be paper craft challenged.

These are soooo worth the trouble!! And lucky for you, I am going to share my mistakes so you don’t have to make them yourselves!

Basic Marshmallow Recipe

2 c. sugar

3/4 c. hot water

1 c. light corn syrup

1/2 c. water

2 T. unflavored gelatin

2 t. vanilla

confectioner’s sugar

* if you use gelatin sheets instead of the envelope, measure it out 2T = 1 oz.*

In a saucepan combine sugar, hot water, and corn syrup. Cover and bring to a rolling boil; uncover and cook to 240 degrees F.

(** note my new candy thermometer!! Bought it at Kohls!! and LOVE it. So much better than the one I kept buying …and breaking…from Walmart**)

In a mixer bowl soak gelatin mixture in cool water. (I used gelatin sheets and soaked in a separate bowl)

Slowly, pour cooked mixture into gelatin mixture, beating constantly. When mixture begins to thicken, add vanilla.

(Gotta to say that I doubled the recipe, and right before it thickened up like this I was seriously considering using a smaller pan because I did not think it would practically quadruple in size!! Also, when you add the vanilla it will turn brownish, don’t worry it somehow changes back to a glossy white.)

Beat until marshmallow sticks to beaters, about 10-15 minutes.

Pour into a buttered 8 inch square pan.

(Remember I said I doubled the recipe? so I used a regular cake pan, wished I used a bigger one)

When cool, turn out onto a surface dusted with confectioners sugar; cut into squares with wet cutters or cutter dipped in confectioners sugar first.

(I used a silicone mat and should’ve LIGHTLY coated with the sugar, but nope, I packed it on and when I turned out the pan, the sugar cloud enveloped everything nearby!! See? I didn’t even wipe off the canisters before I took the pic. This is where this can get very messy. And of course up this point, it is very, very sticky!! )

Coat each square with confectioner’s sugar and store in airtight container.

(my son wanted to help so he coated the marshmallows after I cut them out. Think Shake ‘n Bake Chicken…same concept)

If I had used a bigger pan, the layer would have been thinner and I might have used cookie cutters. But then there’s a lot of “negative” waste. This pic shows the cubes still heavily covered in the confectioner’s sugar. I dusted the excess off before bagging up as gifts.

WARNING: once you’ve had fresh marshmallows,  you will not be able to enjoy the stale ones bought in bags at the grocery store.

I recently grabbed a food magazine while at the checkout. It’s called Fine Cooking and had a picture of a divine chocolate cake with homemade marshmallows on top. That instantly appealed to me because I have a fascination with making homemade marshmallows. I am not crazy about them and could never just grab a handful and eat them by themselves. Unless they are homemade. There’s something about fresh marshmallows that taste totally different than the bagged ones. Hmmmm, tonite I made my hot chocolate mix so maybe tomorrow I will take the plunge and make homemade marshmallows to show you.

Anyway, back to the magazine (and then on to the recipe). I thumbed thru the magazine straight to the cakes. Lo and behold but what really caught my eye was a Coconut Cream Meringue Cake. It was beautiful, mainly because it is covered with meringue and would give me a chance to play with my new culinary blow torch!! What fun!

BUT…then I read the White Chocolate Macademia Nut with Raspberries and White Chocolate Buttercream recipe. Thought I died and went to heaven. I adore white chocolate. Which by the way isn’t chocolate at all but that is another story. So I am going to share it with you but I’m just that type of sharing the love person.

White Chocolate Macadamia Cake with Raspberries

For the cake:

·       12 oz. (1 ½ cups) unsalted butter, softened; more for the pans

·       14 oz.(3 ½ cups)cake flour

·       1 ½ tsp. baking powder

·       ¾ tsp. baking soda

·       3/4 tsp. kosher salt

·       2 1/3 cups granulated sugar

·       2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

·       3 large eggs, at room temperature

·       1 ½ cups buttermilk, at room temperature

·       6 ½ oz. white chocolate, chopped (1 1/3 cups)

·       4 oz. (1 cup) chopped toasted macadamia nuts

For the filling:

·       2 cups raspberry jam

·       2 cups (8 oz.) fresh raspberries

For the decoration (optional):

·       ¼ to 1/3 cup fresh raspberries

·       3 to 6 small sprigs fresh mint

Make the Cake

          Position racks in the bottom and top thirds of the oven and heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

          Butter three 9×2-inch round cake pans and line each with a parchment round. Butter the parchment.

          Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.

          In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Scrape down the bowl. Add the vanilla and then the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add about one-third of the flour mixture and mix on low speed until incorporated. Add half of the buttermilk and mix until incorporated. Continue adding the flour mixture and the buttermilk, alternating between the two and ending with the flour. The batter will be thick and glossy. Fold in the white chocolate and macadamia nuts.

Divide the cake batter evenly among the prepared cake pans. Level the batter with a spatula. Set two pans on the top rack and the third on the lower rack. Stagger the pans on the oven racks so that no pan is directly over another. Bake, swapping and rotating the pans’ positions after 15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean, 28 to 35 minutes total. Cool on racks for 10 minutes. Invert the cakes onto the racks, remove the parchment, and cool completely.

Now I used my own White Chocolate Buttercream Recipe and not the one in the magazine. The magazine’s involved cooking and just too much work and since I love mine anyway…why fix something that isn’t broken, right?

White Chocolate Butter Cream Frosting

1 cup butter, softened (BUTTER!! the best quality you can buy - I use European butter)
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
6 ounces white chocolate or white baking bar, melted and cooled
3-5 tablespoons whipping cream or half-and-half

In a large bowl, beat the butter and confectioners sugar at low speed until fluffy.
Add in melted and cooled white chocolate and whipping cream/half and half. Add the liquid in slowly until you get the consistency that you want.

Beat on high speed for 3-4 minutes, scraping the bowl with a spatula. Remember this is a frosting recipe, not for tip decorating. You would need something stiffer for that.

Now to assemble the cake, easy peasy. Put a cake layer on the serving platter/cake stand/cake board/whatever. Spread 1 c. of jam over it, be careful not to get too close to the edge or it will mix in with the frosting later. Spread some fresh raspberries over the jam. Top with next layer of  cake. ** If you are putting this cake in box or something with a lid, check height now, a third layer might make it too high** Repeat if you are adding the third layer. Now frost the whole thing with the white chocolate buttercream  frosting. Now you can decorate with the white leaves, raspberries, mint, whatever. I ended up just doing white chocolate shavings on top and added some chopped macademia nuts along the bottom.

To cut the costs of this cake, you can omit the fresh raspberries, if they are not in season. I ended up buying two containers at $4 a piece!! yikes. Also, for the nuts, get the bag intended for baking that’s in the baking section, not the jar or can where the nuts are. You can use regular real butter in the cake and use the European butter in just the icing. Or just regular butter in the whole thing. A chef turned me onto European butter and you can tell the difference but if its being cooked I would think it wouldn’t make as much difference as it being uncooked, such as in the icing.