Our Day at the Fair, Part I

Yesterday was gorgeous county fair weather, and we spent a great family day at ours.

We always seem to get there too early, though—well, at least for the last two years since we’ve had fair entries.  Too early = anytime earlier than the judges are done judging.  Last year we learned that 9 a.m. is too early but forgot that 9:45 a.m. also is.

Why?  Why, you ask??  Because we have to find out as soon as possible if the kids won any ribbons since the anticipation is a killer when you’re only 7 or 8, or 4.  Or the mom.

Our first stop, of course, was the baked goods building just past the fair gate, and I already told you we got there too early.  We didn’t know that right away, though, and it was not entirely a bad thing, as you’ll see in a second.  The doors were wide open, so in we walked, and we found the judges all sitting at the tables talking and nibbling.  Still, peripherally, we noticed blue and red ribbons in the decorated cakes case as we edged closer and smiled hesitatingly at the judges, who didn’t seem to mind our presence one bit.

Nathan was the first to see it—-that big, beautiful red ribbon hanging from Hannah’s pretty-in-pink doll cake.  Then he said it out loud, and if you know Hannah, I don’t even have to tell you what she did next, because you can already see it and hear it, can’t you?

But if you don’t know her, I’ll tell you she is an 8-year-old girl, and she did what many 8-year-old girls would do.  She jumped up and down and let out a shriek like nobody’s business, and all the judges smiled and laughed and congratulated her, while I was standing there wishing I had the video camera with me.  Moments like those are priceless.

She did a fantastic job, didn’t she?  She also told me several times recently, “I was born to bake.”  Yep she’s my daughter, all right.

I’ll confess to helping just a little bit, though.  I styled the hair. 

Next time I’ll share more exciting news from our day at the fair.

Elisabeth’s Rainbow Cupcakes Cake

Okay, so if you’re a regular reader, it should be clear that I’m a little inconsistent when it comes to food.  One minute I’m all-natural, whole, healthy ingredients, and the next minute I’ve got a picture of artifically-sweetened, artifically-colored, sugared up junk food slapped up here on the blog.

But you all have been very sweet in pretending not to notice.     No explanation for now; I just wanted to say that the irony is not lost on me either.

So, jumping right in . . . I wanted to show you this trick I did with cupcakes for the first time ever.  I’ve seen cupcakes cakes in stores and online and had an opportunity to make one earlier this month for Elisabeth’s birthday.

She wanted a rainbow cake, and I wanted to make her a BIG rainbow.  I don’t have a large enough pan, though, so I thought if I put some cupcakes together I could get the look we wanted.

First, I’ve got to say that one of my pet peeves is rainbows with the wrong colors or the colors in the wrong order.  Science degree, ROY G BIV, and all that, you know?  Normally, it would bother me, but when your sweet, turning-4-years-old daughter wants pink and purple sprinkles at the top, you can lay aside your visible spectrum convictions, save the physics lesson for another day, and just go with it.  See how laid back and easygoing I am?  heh heh

But back to the technique.  It was fun to do, and this is the tip that made it possible.  The gigantic Wilton #789, with one smooth edge and the other with teeth.  I used a decorator bag along with the tip’s smooth side to frost the cupcakes all together in long ribbons of icing. I applied the sprinkles, made some poofy clouds, and that was it.

What’s nice about this technique is that you can cover a cake that’s any shape, and placing cupcakes together is a whole lot easier than trimming cakes to make your shape if you lack the right pan.  Also, there are no sides to frost, which made things go more quickly.  And finally, serving time is quick and easy too.  Just pull the cupcakes apart and there you go.

The birthday girl was delighted, and cleanup was a cinch.

Growing Boys

I’m realizing more and more how much our “big boys” are not our “little boys” anymore.

In the last two weeks, Nathan and Caleb both celebrated birthdays (their 14th and 12th, respectively) so this mom has been reminiscing and getting a little sentimental.

Just look at these faces.  Can you blame me?

Gone are the days of endless snuggles and board books . . .  pants that are long enough from one week to the next . . . or dinner leftovers.

Also gone are the days of making them special little birthday cakes—Pooh, Spot, trains, dinosaurs, etc.

They prefer more mature-looking birthday cakes now, or to even forgo cake in lieu of some highbrow, grown-up dessert like this Chocolate-Raspberry Torte.

Of course, those are enjoyable for me to make as well, but when they’re not excited about frosting and candles, it’s one more sign that these boys are bigger than they are little.

It’s bittersweet.

While I do miss them being little, I’ll confess it’s pretty handy having a couple of strapping young men in the house to lift heavy boxes, carry a 6-gallon bucket of wheat up from the basement, or heft a 50 lb. bag of feed from the van to the chicken coop . . . especially when I’m sporting a third-trimester belly.

And it’s rewarding to witness their intellectual and spiritual growth as well as various interests and skills they’re developing, but . . .

it’s still bittersweet.

I’m glad we still have little ones who ARE little.  That tempers the transition of my other “little boys” growing into little men.

Cutesy Cupcakes

We had a very enjoyable cupcake decorating class this morning for mothers and young daughters.  What could be more fun than “playing” in the kitchen with your girlies?  Swirling frosting, sprinkling sugars, and fun friends sure do make for a good time.  Hannah said she liked “Cutesy Cupcakes” so much she wished it could go on forever.

Didn’t all the girls do a good job?  Even Elisabeth practiced her skills.  Squeeze, lick, sprinkle, lick, repeat.  “Can I taste, Mom?  Can I taste?”

As cupcakes have been all the rage these last few years, there are many cupcake books to be found in bookstores and libraries.  After having exhausted the resources of various libraries, I have to confess that I found many of the books to be disappointing.

Two of my favorites, however, both filled with cute ideas, beginner how-to, and recipes, are Hello, Cupcake! by Karen Tack and Little Cakes from the Whimsical Bakehouse by Kaye Hansen.  These are so much fun!  As with most such books, note that both do have a few seasonal “creepy pages” you may want to clip together so your little ones don’t have to look at them.  Both books are delightful to browse and have very detailed instructions.  Your daughters will love these, especially Hello, Cupcake!

My favorite decorator icing is the Wilton Decorator “Buttercream” recipe, and for health reasons I normally substitute either butter or palm oil shortening for the Crisco.  Unfortunately, neither is well suited to beginner decorating, as the warmth of one’s hands will quickly melt the fat.  Palm oil shortening holds up better in heat than does butter, but it’s still tricky for beginners.  When using these fats, you’ll also want to refrigerate your cakes or cupcakes afterward unless room temperature is already on the cool side.

Wilton Decorator “Buttercream”

2 lb. (8 cups) confectioner’s sugar (I prefer Domino)

2 cups vegetable shortening (if I must use shortening, I’ve found Crisco to work the best)

1/2 tsp salt (I use only about 1/4 tsp.—less if my butter is salted.  The salt cuts some of the sweetness of the sugar.)

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

6-8 oz. whipping cream (you may need more or less depending on exactly what kind of cream you buy)

Cream shortening, vanilla and some of the cream.  Gradually add salt and confectioner’s sugar and mix on medium-low speed until incorporated, adding more cream as necessary.  Scrape down sides of bowl and mix until incorporated and of desired consistency.

For tinting the frosting, I use Wilton Icing Colors.

A Few Tips on Tips

I’ve accumulated a number of decorating tips over the years, and while each has its purpose, there are a few that are especially useful.  If you’re just getting started and don’t want a big investment, I’d suggest a few “must haves” for basic cake decorating.

A round tip:  Good for writing messages, drawing lines or making small dots.  Wilton #3 is a good multi-purpose size, although the 2s, 4s and 5s are also useful.

A star tip:  If I could only have one size star tip, it would be #18.  It makes good borders and other embellishments.  I like it for “grass,” rosettes and sunflowers.  #16 is a bit smaller and is good for writing fancy messages and for smaller borders and rosettes.  #21 is a bit larger and makes a fuller border; I use it frequently as well.

My 1M tip is a favorite for cupcake decorating.  It makes lovely swoopy swirls that really show off the sprinkles and transform ordinary cupcakes into something special.

To make the roses and daisies, you’ll also want a 103 or 104 tip.

And finally, couplers and disposable decorating bags make the job much easier.

All these items are available at Michael’s, Hobby Lobby, JoAnn’s or specialty cake decorating stores.

How-To

Just some reminders here on how these are made, which tips to use, etc.  You can click on each picture to enlarge, if that helps.

Use the 1M Wilton tip for this one. Start at the outside, swirling inward and upward.

Wilton tip 18 "grass"

Wilton tip 18 for sunflower petals. Start about 1/2 inch from outer edge and squeeze, pulling outward and with decreasing pressure. Mini chocolate chips in the center, and M&M ladybugs (use #1 or #2 tip to draw lines and dots on M&M).

 

Use tip 103 or 104 for the rose. Detailed instructions on the rose and other cupcake-top flowers can be found in the "Little Cakes" book already mentioned.

No tips for this one; just frost with white icing, roll the edges in green jimmies, dip the top in red sugar sprinkles, then poke mini chocolate chips overtop.

We did not make these today, but a big bowl of "popcorn" mini cupcakes would be great fun for a potluck or reunion. White cupcakes with white frosting, and white and yellow mini marshmallows (some cut crosswise into thirds and some left whole) stuck all over the top.

Use a 103 or 104 tip for daisies. Work from the end of the petal inward, with the fat side of the tip to the outside. Squeeze with decreasing pressure as you pull toward the center. Hollow out a spot in the center and fill with yellow nonpareils.

Birthday Boys and Camo Cake

Nathan and Caleb’s birthdays are just a week and a half apart, so we often celebrate them together.  As they share many similar interests, there is usually a particular cake theme that takes shape as we do some brainstorming in the weeks prior.

With them both being aspiring young hunters, we decided on a camouflage cake this year.  It was a lot of fun to make, and all were pleased with the tasty results. 

Caleb just turned 11, and Nathan will be 13 on Friday.  Happy birthday to my big boys!

Independence Day Cupcakes

One of my favorite treats to make for friends and family is decorated cupcakes, and this morning I got cracking on a batch for the Fourth of July.

I prefer batter from scratch, but in a pinch you can doctor up a cake mix such that the flavor and texture both benefit.  I learned this little trick from the book Hello, Cupcake, which has many cute decorating ideas as well.

Take any 18.25 oz box of cake mix (Duncan Hines is the best of the mixes, I think), add 1 cup buttermilk (in place of the water called for), add oil in the amount called for, and 4 large eggs.  Mix and bake as usual.  (I used mini muffin tins lined with cupcake papers and a small cookie scoop to fill them, then baked in a preheated 350 degree oven for just 10 minutes.)  The buttermilk minimizes the oversweetness of the mix and makes for a bit of a firmer, more homemade-like texture.

Decorating them is the fun part.  To really swirl up the frosting, you’ll want a Wilton cake decorating tip size 1M along with a disposable decorating bag.  Then sprinkle with your favorite patriotic decorations and celebrate.