A site for my handmade cards, accompanied by my photos and written meanderings which are occasionally witty, often tongue-in-cheek, and rarely profound. Beginning in June 2013, you'll also see lots of NBUS, which is an acronym I coined for Never-Before-Used-Schtuff. Note: my Privacy Policy can be found at a tab below and you can find my NBUS Challenge online. I hope you'll join in the fun there! Thanks for coming by! Have a beverage and enjoy!

February 11, 2013

DD#39; Tuesday Trigger ~ Cross My Heart and Cakes in Jars by Nota Baker

Ah, the blessing of a new week.  Hello, Monday!
 
Did  you miss me yesterday?  I was pretending to be something I'm not, which is a world-rewound baker and Food Network cooking show hostess.  We'll get to all that, if you have time to sit back with a tall Bev.  This is a VERY long post, photo-heavy.
 
But first, after the frivolity in the kitchen, I made a card.  Since you are prolly here for the card and not the baking since this is a card blog and not a baking blog, then I'll start with how my day ended.
 
I happened to see the current Tuesday Trigger over at Moxie Fab World when I was over there reading the wonderful interview featuring my friend, Geri (Manitoba Stamper), who is the current Moxie Fabber!  Oh, yes she dii-idd!  And so fabulously well she did ~ high five, Geri!

~~~

The Tuesday Trigger is thus: 

It's so cute.  I used the dipity fitting colors from this week's Dynamic Duos challenge of pool party and pink pirouette.
And made this:
 

It ended looking more like a billboard than a chair, but that's okay.  It's an advertisement for love and it's what my trigger trigged, so thaz whah happened.
 
~~~
 
Next, in case you want to click out, please let me introduce you to our two new friends standing over by the background papers.  We are so, so fortunate to have Barb Murphy from Barbles (Kinsale Creations) and Jill (JD) from Ribbon Inspired.  It is a delight for me to bring you two more wonderful blogs!  You will see lots of incredible inspiration when you visit them!  Thank you, Barb and Jill, and welcome on board the cray-cray crafting train!
 
~~~
 
So, okay.  Last Christmas I made yummy Cranberry Hootycreek cookies and put them in Mason jars as gifts.  It was really fun and in that link is a link to an awesome food site.  Well then, my friend, Kim of Cupcakes, Cards, and Kim told me about this fun cupcake you make in Mason jars.  Even though the original recipe idea is for making peppermint cupcakes as Christmas gifts, Kim made them last year as little Valentine gifts.  Well, I was all over that.
 
Kim sent me the link, which I patiently waited until yesterday to try, just in time for Valentine's Day.  The recipe is from the sensational Our Best Bites website.  Here is a picture of them from their website: 
Aren't they lip-smackin' adorable?

Mine, not so much.

Here we have the ingredients all lined up because after several years of cooking, I decided 14 times was one time too many to get half-way through making something and find out I didn't have all the greedy ants.


You can also see my little jars greased and floured, although the recipe says you don't have to do that.  I'm old school and I got an A+ in "Don't Take Chances."  Next to the jars is the chocolate sauce.  Bottom left is the batter.  Bottom right is the batter poured into the jars.

Happily, I put the pan in the oven.  Immediately, I realized I hadn't added the melted chocolate to the batter and I whirled around and whipped open the oven door to pull out the cookie sheet only to realize, additionally, that a cookie sheet gets boiling hot after only TWO SECONDS in the oven and who needs fingertips on their right hand anyway?

(Too bad I forgot how grateful I was for pot holders just last Thursday!)


BTW, here I am just before all that came down, with photographic evidence of how happy I was that my little jars were all ready for the oven.  See, behind the green colander full of lids, that bowl of chocolate and beside my right elbow that tray of jars all battered up and ready for the oven?  What a dope. 

And, yes, I'm a dope without a stitch of makeup on, which should tell you right there that I'm no TV food show hostess.  So what?  Who cares?  LITS!  Oh, but, girl, you better believe I was holding that right hand in a towel for a whole different reason two minutes after that picture was taken! 

Moving on.  Mister jumped in to help, adding the chocolate to the jars,
coz he's a chemist and a pro at measuring and pouring and doesn't have shakey hands like some of us.  I stirred it in with the end of a wooden spoon and it was all good. 

~~~

After you bake them and cool them, you add a layer of chocolate ganache, so these are really choco choco latte cupcakes!

~~~

On to the frosting.  This type of frosting was completely new to me.  Following directions, I started the process by cooking flour and milk on the stove, just like a roue for a white sauce.  It ends up like this:

Then, if you're lucky like me, you have your Mister reach up to that top shelf you rarely use and you bring down the electric mixer you own.  The mixer you got for a wedding present 42 years ago.  The mixer someone left the price tag on and you can see it cost a whopping $12.97 and it still runs like it's brand new!


Then what I did was, I took the bottle of food coloring that is colored red and I poured it into my fluffy sugar and butter mixture.  I also dropped the top in the bowl.  Little Miss Perfect in the back of my head whispered, "Why is the top of the red food coloring bottle yellow?"  I completely ignored the little pest and charged up the beaters. 

YELLOW?!  Shizazz!  Well never mind, back into the cupboard I went, grabbing the bottle of RED food coloring and in the end the frosting was a beautiful bright rose color, even though it looks like a disgusting orangey coral in the pictures.  You have to trust me on that.  Doing the cooking thing first and then mixing that in with the butter/sugar?  YU-UM.  It ends up like whipped cream, not that cloying sweet you sometimes get with frosting.


Of course we had to try it, just to make sure it wasn't poison!

~~~

Then I went and made a card, but first I noticed something cool.  I know a lot of people are suffering with Mother Nature's antics and I'm sorry about that.  I know we are blessed to live here, but we have had lots of freezing temps, which is unusual for us. 

So in the morning the birdbath is frozen solid, as evidenced by the dinosaur egg placed on top.  (Just kidding, I wanted to see if you were still reading.)


and, yet, look at the joy the afternoon brings!

~~~

And so it goes.

Here is the link again for the recipe from the Our Best Bites website. I would love it so much if my friend Kim, whose website banner includes the word "cupcakes" for heaven's sake, will make them again this year and post pictures of how they are supposed  to look!!  Or you!  Give them a try and let me know how it went for you, please.

As for me, I'm pretty sure that our local bakery needs my business!

~~~

Enjoy your day! No, seriously, enjoy your day. LITS!

Thank you so much for stopping by the Playhouse. Special thanks to you if you take the time to leave a comment or join as a follower!

 Paper:  PTI white, SU! pool
  party and pink pirouette
Stamp: Azad Earles B029
Netting and flowers from
  snippets drawer

 




18 comments:

Ustvarjalni utrinki Tamara P. said...

What lovely post,
creative,
love all your projects from stiching, card, cooking, foto,....
Thanks
Have a nice week
Tamara

Redanne said...

Hi Darnell, your card is beautiful, just gorgeous colours! I did smile at you forgetting the chocolate, something I am prone to do, it's an age thing dearest....but it happens so randomly it is hard to pin down. The end result looked fabulous... hope you did not burn your fingers too much. Hugs, Annie xx

Sue said...

WOW! You are certainly a woman of many talents! Your card is wonderful and your cupcakes in jars look delicious and I bet they tasted yummy too despite your little mishaps!
I love the 'dinosaur egg' photo and the joys of nature.
Thanks for bringing a smile to my evening!
Sue

Rosemary said...

oh darnell!! even when you hurt yourself you manage to turn it into a funny story!! you are a hoot!!! the cakes look soo yummy and your card is a fun take on the trigger!

Ardyth said...

Wow, where to start? The card is a fabulous interpretation of the trigger. And I need to tell you that my valentine (thank you very much - that was really sweet of you, BTW) did not have a cute mason jar cupcake in it.....you must have missed one! lol! Hope your fingertips have recovered!

Anonymous said...

Multi-talented and multi tasking ... lovely card, fabulous mesh and those cupcakes look sooo yyuummmmyy! Hope your fingerprints are back! Anita :)

Bobby said...

Checking to be sure it's not poisoned - that's my husband's line. lol

Loll said...

Hi Dolly. Love the card! Great colors ... and I love how you've mimic'd the cross-stitching with your woven fabric - so clever!!!

And, congrats of being the Top 3 at Addicted to CAS - LOVED your black and white washi card!

Great baking story and one that you'll be sure to be sharing for many years!! Sorry about your fingers - ouch! Have done that myself and it's not fun.

Your jar cupcakes looked great. What a fabulous idea for giving as gifts!! Maybe I'll give it a try too. :) Loll xx

Emily Keaton said...

Darnell, you look so cute and happy in that kitchen photo! And those cupcake creations sure look yummy. I loved your card for today!

Colleen said...

Awesome card Darnell and thank you for such an uplifting story...reminds me how human we all are and how we all do crazy things, really is it an age thing??? Geesh, I am in trouble, then!!

Unknown said...

It sounds like you bake as often as I do. They do like mighty tasty though. Hope your fingers are feeling better. And your card it super cute.

Jessi Fogan said...

I have GOT to remember 'trigged' as a verb ;) I love the fun mesh-y stuff on top of the heart!
Barb is awesome - she is so sweet & talented, and also cray-cray. She will fit in beautifully :)
Your baking adventure...oh, man. The food colouring....didja remember to cover all your fingers in it too? Here's hoping that burn was a mild one & you're already healed!

Tracey McNeely said...

Your card is fantastic Darnell and of course it looks like a chair, what else? The webbing is very cool. Your Valentines treats look yummy and now I think I have to go bake cookies. Very jealous of the beauty your garden brings to you today. My garden has lots of wet dirty snow in it--I try not to look. LOL

Kim Heggins said...

Beautiful card, love the soft sweet colors. So happy to see that you gave the cupcakes in s jar a try. Looks like the two of you had s blast making them.

Anonymous said...

Oh, wow! You've had a crazy time, and I hate to laugh at your expense, but I really appreciate the giggles you shared. ;-) It sounds like the cupcakes turned out fine (all's well that ends well, right??), and your card is a beautiful work of art. So I'd say you done good all around. ;-) I'd love to try those cupcakes someday, but I may need to wait until the excitement of your post wears off of me. LOL. Have a great day, my friend. ;-)

Bonnie said...

OMG, these cupcakes in a jar look wonderful! Sorry you burned your hands. I hate when that happens! I love your card for the Dynamic Duos too! All I could think of when I saw those colors was my room when I was a little, little girl! You've made these colors look fantastic. I predict another win coming up!

Unknown said...

I really like the effect of the netting on your card, adds some lovely texture. And of course the pretty flowers are gorgeous! Your baking exploits have given me the urge to make a mess of my kitchen! Thanks for the giggles (again!) and thanks for sharing your card with us at Dynamic Duos.

Jean said...

Oh my, those cupcakes look yummy ~ thanks for sharing and of course ~ how thoughtful of you to check that they were not poison! Fantastic card too ~ a great one for the challenges!