. Royal Wedding Cake Pops .

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Its like a fairytale <3 ......

Imagine being swept away in a glass, horse-drawn carriage to a beautiful church, where the prince of your dreams is waiting to see you walk down the aisle in your breath-taking couture wedding gown. He waits anxiously, longing for the part when he hears, "I now pronounce you , man and wife," and most importantly, "you may now kiss the bride," Then afterwards you both ride off in your carriage, back to your enchanting castle, to live happily ever after. :) *sigh....

Well, imagine no more because its happening TOMORROW!! woohoo!!! Not for me of course, but for Prince William and Kate Middleton! I really wish I was in London to witness this historic event. All this media coverage has gotten me hyped up. I was too young to watch the wedding of Diana and Charles, so being able to see this ceremony is really exciting for me! Even if I'm only able to watch it on tv.

I plan on having a tea party with my daughter to help celebrate:) We are going to have tea, little cucumber sandwiches, biscuits (or "cookies" for all you non-british folk. lol) and most importantly, WEDDING CAKE!

I saw this really cute idea awhile back from Bakerella. She is the cakepop queen, if you havent already heard. Haha! I said, "cakepop QUEEN!" Get it? I'm talking about the royal wedding, and I called her a queen! lol!! Ok, nevermind (-_-')

Anyway~~~ she has the most incredible ideas and she is SO talented! She did a couple of cakepops in the shape of a wedding cake and I thought that it would be highly appropriate for our "royal wedding teatime" tomorrow!

Here's how they turned out:

I used flower-shaped cutters for molding the cake inside so after dipping them, they came out kinda lumpy and not quite as pretty and Bakerella's.

I had to do some taste-testing. lol. The red velvet was sooo yummy. Definitely fit for a princess:)

Here's to the bride and groom~ wishing them many years of happiness and sweet, sweet love.

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I can't wait for our tea time and to watch the wedding tomorrow!!

How are you going to celebrate?

.Peepshi.

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Happy Easter Everyone!

What's brightly colored, covered in sugar, squishy and fluffy and is usually associated with Easter time? PEEPS® of course!

I recently stumbled upon this odd recipe called "Peepshi." Its a play on the words "Peeps®" and "sushi." Yup, I said sushi. But dont be alarmed, its not a recipe for raw fish and marshmallows. Its actually just a combination of Peeps®, rice crispy treats and fruit strips shaped to look like sushi. The folks at Serious Eats came up with it. I think its kind weird but at the same time I'm intrigued by such an original idea. This is what they look like:

photo from www.seriouseats.com

Check out the decapitated Peep heads. Kinda cute and morbid, huh. If you are interested in making them you can click here---> { how to make peepshi = peep sushi }.

There are various other recipes out there like, Peepza = Peeps + Pizza (weird!), and of course...

Peeps® Cupcakes! 

So pretty!! I can't wait to make these next year! photo from www.fancyflours.com

You can find other recipes that incorporate these marshmallow treats on their website. There are even ones for Halloween, Christmas and Valentine's day. If you ever decide try out the Peepshi recipe or if you are daring enough to try the Peepza, let me know. I'd love to see pictures!

Happy Baking!

.Wishlist Friday.

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hmmm...

So some of my measuring cups are missing... :( My guess is that my toddler got a hold of them, threw them in the trash when no one was looking and now they are laying somewhere, sad and lonely at the garbage dump. I was sad at first but now im over it because then that gives me a very good excuse to find some really cute ones (^_^) yippeeee!! Any excuse to go shopping right? hehe.

The first place I looked of course was online and I stumbled upon some really cute ones and also found some other cute stuff as well. Then I decided that maybe I should just compile all my findings into a blog post that will not only help me archive my findings,but will also help me get into the rhythm of posting up more blog posts. which leads me to a new routine, which I could hopefully keep up, that I call "wishlist friday." 

So here's some of the cups I stumbled upon and hopefully can aquire soon (to husband: hint hint) so I can get my bake on.

Fred M Measuring Cup Matroyshkas from Amazon.

Decorative and practical! Simply adorable.

and here are the matching measuring spoons!

hmmm...maybe my toddler might "accidentally" lose my measuring spoons too.

oops said too much!

 So pretty!! Perfect for spring!

These flower-shaped ones are from catchingfireflies.com.

OMG! I must have these!!

CoolStuffExpress.com has other cute stuff too.....

...like  these bacon bandages. lol! I think i'll get these for my hubby and the kids:)  They sure do love their bacon....

....and they have this too.

I've never wanted to eat a calculator so badly in my life.

I love this!! It's called a Yummy Pocket! In peanut butter and jelly of course.
Mmmmmm, looks so real!


Ok, I'd better stop before I post up every item on that website @_@

.Mango Buttercream Frosting.

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It's MANGO season!

There's a saying around here that are only 3 seasons on the island of Guam -- Summer, Rainy and Mango season! Mango season is the best in my opinion:) Over here, we pickle the green ones, eat them with tabasco, soy sauce and salt (*yummmmmmmm), or just wait for them to ripen and enjoy them as is. 

Yesterday, I used them to make cupcakes:)

The actual star of this post is the buttercream. I just paired it with a simple pineapple cupcake recipe.

All you need is your favorite vanilla cake recipe (if you're short on time, a boxed mix would be okay to use too). Follow the recipe as directed, then just add a 20 ounce can of crushed pineapple (drained and pureed). Then top it off with this yummy frosting.

Mango Buttercream Frosting 

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup of pureed ripe mango
• 1 cup of unsalted butter
• 1/2 of a 1 lb box of confectioner's sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Preparation:

Beat butter and vanilla extract until creamy.
Add confectioner's sugar in several additions. Be sure that mixture is beaten well before adding more. (I thought the frosting I made tasted a bit too sweet :/but that's my opinion.  So I suggest that you taste-test the frosting after every addition of sugar just to be sure you make it to your liking. Make sure you save some for the cupcakes though! )
Add pureed mango and mix until combined.
Be sure cupcakes are cooled before frosting them.

Local mangoes.

I didn't use this bunch for the frosting of course. They didn't ripen in time.

These will be devoured with tabasco, soy sauce and salt....

Oooh, the smell of pureed mangoes is divine!

Adding the crushed pineapple to the cake batter. Look! A heart! hehe.

Baked, cooled and frosted.

I just loved seeing the frosting speckled with little bits of mango.

Oh, and I topped them with some dried mango of course:) Can't go wrong with more mangoes.

How many times did I say "mango"?? mango mango mango MANGO!!!

....................

I just wanted to say

THANK YOU!

to all those who subscribe/follow this blog and to those who try out the recipes.

By the way, let me know if you've made any of the desserts posted on here. I'd love to know how they turned out and any opinions or suggestions you might have.

Happy baking everyone!!

.Cookie Dough Cupcakes.

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Yes, you read that right.

I said COOKIE DOUGH CUPCAKES. So I found this recipe online a while back and I've always wanted to try it, but I kept forgetting that I had it (I know, how the heck could I have forgotten about this heavenly combination!) That always happens to me when I have so many other recipes running through my mind. I try to be organized about recipes but I just end up saving it somewhere in my computer, forgetting to print it out and when I need it I've forgotten where I saved it in the first place. 

Anyway, this popped up in my head when my friend Em asked a suggestion on what kind of cupcakes to make for her son's first grade class. Well, she made them and they turned out looking so YUMMY! She says she's not a baker but I think she's been lying to me~ lol jk Em:) By the way, she lives in the mainland so sadly I was unable to actually try it but she did send pictures -- such torture!!

This recipe is a chocolate chip and vanilla cupcake with a cookie dough filling (drool) and topped with a brown sugar and vanilla buttercream frosting. I think I gained 10 lbs just writing this description out~
Here's the recipe and pics of how the cupcakes turned out.

Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:

• 3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1½ cups light brown sugar, packed
• 4 large eggs
• 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup chocolate chips (semisweet or bittersweet)

For the cookie dough filling:

• 4 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 6 tbsp. light brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 7 oz. sweetened condensed milk
• ½ tsp. vanilla extract
• ¼ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

For the frosting:

• 3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
• 3½ cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ¾ tsp. salt
• 3 tbsp. milk
• 2½ tsp. vanilla extract

Preparation:

To make the cupcakes:

Preheat the oven to 350° F.

Line two cupcake pans with paper liners (24 total).

Using the paddle attachment on your mixer, combine the butter and brown sugar.

Cream together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, approx 3 minutes.

Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

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

Alternating add the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl with the milk on low speed, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, mixing each addition just until incorporated.

Blend in the vanilla.

Fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula.

Divide the batter evenly between 24 cupcake liners.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Allow to cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

While the cupcakes bake and cool, prepare your cookie dough filling.

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To make the filling:

Cream butter and sugar in a mixing bowl on medium-high speed until light and fluffy(approx2 minutes).

Add flour, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla and beat until smooth.

Stir in the chocolate chips.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the mixture has firmed up a bit, (approx1 hour).

After cupcakes have cooled, fill the cupcakes by cutting a cone-shaped portion out of the center of each cupcake. Fill each hole with a chunk of the chilled cookie dough mixture.

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To make the frosting:

Beat butter and brown sugar with the paddle attachment on high speed until creamy and fluffy.

Mix in the confectioners’ sugar until smooth.

Beat in the flour and salt.

Mix in the milk and vanilla extract until smooth and combined

oh how I wish I could just reach through this computer screen and grab one.

thanks again to Em for allowing me to use her pictures. she did a great job making them!

check out her blog btw. its full of awesome makeup/skincare tips:)

. Macadamia Nut Pie .

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Mmmm, pie.

This would be my first time baking a pie. I'm really glad and surprised it turned out well. The recipe was an easy one so if you've never baked one either and you've always wanted to try then you could test out your skills on this. Plus you could just use those frozen pie crusts to alleviate the work of making your own (less dishes to wash! win!) It's a piece of cake. or PIE, in this case! Get it?! lol:D Ok that was a terrible joke :p 

Anyway, I hope to be more adventurous the next time and make the whole thing from scratch. Maybe I'll make a blueberry one! Why did I chose macadamia nut as my first choice? Well, simply because its my husband's favorite, that's why!

Macadamia Nut Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 and 1/2 cups chopped macadamia nuts
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons butter (melted)
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 nine-inch frozen pie crust

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Pour chopped macadamia nuts into pie crust.

Mix corn syrup, brown sugar, melted butter, eggs and vanilla extract together in a bowl.

Pour mixture over macadamia nuts.

Bake for 55 minutes until golden brown.

Cool pie before serving. ( It tastes best when its made a day ahead and refrigerated )

see? told you it was easy!

i like chunky pieces, but you could always chop yours finer if you like.

thank goodness for premade crusts! its a busy mommy's best friend:)

yes, there's a piece of pie somewhere under that gigantic scoop of ice cream.

oh, and don't mind my crappy plating skills.

i had a 1 year old yelling at me at the time, so it was a bit of a rushed job.