A friend of mine is getting married on the 18th and I need something to wear to her wedding... I think I'll go get this pattern and make the dress! : ) Oh! in a burnt orange color, maybe... with some gold earrings from Cost Plus World Market... YES! this is going to work!
Here in California it's starting to feel like summer already... it's getting up to 90 degrees this week!
Summer weather means summer style. Here are some of the earrings in my shop that I'll definitely be sporting this summer! Come and visit my Etsy store to see more! : )
These add a beautiful splash of color to a simple summer outfit!
These just might be the sunniest cupcakes ever. Lemon cake holds the sweet surprise of lemon curd filling, and it’s all topped with a cute grassy knoll of lemon buttercream. A piped buttercream daisy makes the display even more cheery. They’re easy to make — you’ll just need a couple of inexpensive decorator piping tips and some disposable piping bags to get started. These items can easily be found at craft stores and cake decorating supply shops.
Ready-made lemon curd is used in this recipe and is a great shortcut. Use the best quality you can find.
You Will Need:Wilton piping tip #103 (for petals)
Wilton piping tip #233 (for grass)
3 disposable piping bags (cloth bags may be used if you have them)
Scissors
Parchment paper
Offset spatula
Bake
Lemon CakeYield 18 cupcakes
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 tsp lemon extract
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons lemon curd
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a cupcake tin with paper liners. Note: Presentation counts! I used white picket fence cupcake wrappers for these, but you could also use red-checked paper liners for a picnic theme.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and mix. Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup lemon juice and 1/2 cup sour cream. Mix well, and add the lemon extract. Add flour and sour cream mixture alternately, beginning and ending with flour. Batter will be thick.
Fill cupcake papers with 1/4 cup level measures of batter. Bake for 17-22 minutes. Let cupcakes cool completely before filling with lemon curd.
Cut a divot into the top of each cupcake with a serrated knife and fill with lemon curd.
Decorate
Lemon Frosting1 1/2 cups unsalted butter softened
3 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 tsp lemon extract
2-3 Tbsp milk or cream
Yellow food coloring
Green food coloring
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, cream softened butter and powdered sugar together. Add lemon extract.
Add milk or cream 1 tablespoon at a time until mixture comes to piping consistency. Cover bowl of frosting with a damp tea towel so it doesn’t dry out.
Drop the petal piping tip into a disposable piping bag and press it firmly into the pointed end of the bag. Lightly score the plastic bag around the piping tip using a pair of scissors.
Pull the pointed end of the bag away and off of the piping tip.
Remove 1/3 cup icing from the covered bowl and transfer it to the piping bag fitted with the petal tip. Tint the remaining frosting with the yellow food coloring. Transfer 1/4 cup of the yellow frosting to a disposable piping bag and snip a small opening at the end. No piping tip is required for this bag.
Add green food coloring to the remaining yellow icing a little at a time until a grassy green color is achieved. Transfer the green icing to a disposable piping bag fitted with the grass piping tip.
Draw eighteen 1 1/2-2-inch circles onto a sheet of parchment paper. I used a large decorator piping tip for this, but you could use a bottle cap or small round fondant cutter. Flip the parchment paper over onto a cookie sheet to avoid piping over the pencil lead.
Begin piping petals with the white icing. Place the petal tip about 1/4-inch above one of the drawn circles. The larger opening on the piping tip should be facing away from you.
Pipe a line moving towards the center of the circle, gently decreasing pressure as you move to the center. This is the first petal.
Pipe consecutive petals radiating around the circle until it is completely filled.
Use the bag of yellow icing to pipe the center of the daisy. Repeat process with remaining drawn circles.
Use the bag of yellow icing to pipe the center of the daisy. Repeat process with remaining drawn circles.
Transfer cookie sheet to the freezer and allow buttercream daisies to harden, about 1 hour.
Meanwhile, pipe mounds of “grass” onto the lemon curd-filled cupcakes. Place piping bag 1/4-inch above cupcake and apply pressure, letting the frosting pile onto the cupcake; pull the bag straight up to achieve a “standing grass” appearance. Repeat this process over the entire cupcake surface, and repeat with remaining cupcakes.
When icing flowers are frozen, use an off-set spatula to lift them from the parchment and onto the cupcake.
Serve cupcakes at room temperature. Refrigerate leftovers.
All photographs by Heather Baird. Heather Baird is an accomplished painter and photographer, but her passion is creating eye-popping, mouthwatering desserts. She writes about her adventures in the world of creative dessert-making on her award-winning blog, SprinkleBakes. She is the author of the new baking book, SprinkleBakes: Dessert Recipes to Inspire your Inner Artist. Heather lives in Knoxville, Tennesee, with her husband Mark and two mischievous pugs, Biscuit and Churro.
America has been through allot this week... We've suffered a terrorist attack in Boston and a massive explosion in Texas. Many lives and families will never be the same again.
Through all of this we still stand strong, and our way of life will live on! Let's take the time to thank God for our freedom, for our heroes, and for seeing us through these trials!
Check out this video of a Bruins game the day after Boston was bombed... This is America!!!
We always have someone sing The Star Spangled Banner before a sports game, but it's extremely rare for the crowd to sing the whole song through! We need to sing!
Please join me in prayer for the people injured in the Boston Marathon bombing, and for the families of all those involved. This is yet another tragic event in recent American history, but let us turn to God in this time of grief.
Let's see... Whenever I go out for ice cream at Rite Aid's Thrifty's I always get Rainbow Sherbet, but otherwise I guess Strawberry is good too.
Challenge #31
Self portrait and what I liked most about March Challenge...
(left to right: Jackie 19, Olivia 8, Leah 12, Bethie 10, and Me)
Okay, so I didn't have a portrait of myself... but here is one of me and my sisters. : )
The March Challenge really helped me with my blog. Before the challenge I didn't really know what to post, or if people would take any interest in what I wrote... Now I'm more confident in blogging!
Thank You Tiffany for creating The March Challenge!
Challenge #29.) What is my favorite time of year and why?...
My favorite time of year is Autumn! Here in Bakersfield Autumn brings a much needed brake from the scorching heat, and besides that all of our apples, pumpkins, lavender, and squash are ready to be harvested!
I was born in fall... My birthday, Jackie's birthday, and Olivia's birthday all land in the month of October.
At church we have Cowboy Sunday, Missions Conference, Pumpkin Sunday and our Harvest Carnival in the fall.
All in all, Autumn is our busiest season!
Okay, let's start with today's challenge...
#25.) Describe my location... I guess that's referring to where I live.
Well, I live in Bakersfield ,ca in the San Joaquin Valley. The land of agriculture.
If you were to look at a map of California you would see that the state has a great big valley running up and down the center... Bakersfield is located in the southern end of this valley. We live about 2 to 3 hours north of Los Angeles, 5 hours south of San Francisco, 3 hours east of Pismo Beach, and 2 hours west of the Mojave Desert!
#24.) Describe my most embarrassing moment...
Wow! I've had like a million "most embarrassing" moments! The challenge here would be picking one point in time... hmm...
Ah, here's a good one! Once, when I was about 14 years old, I was at church carrying a crate of papers from the nursery room to our truck outside. No big deal, right? Well, I was wearing a wrap around skirt, which is like wearing a towel around your legs with a tie at the hip! Can you see where this is going? Yeah, so, I'm walking through the hallway when I feel my skirt falling away, and to make matters worse a group of guys from our teen group were walking towards me!! Instead of dropping the crate and drawing more attention to myself, I pressed it against my waist to hold my skirt on long enough for the guys to pass. Eventually I found a secluded spot to put the crate down and retie my stupid skirt that just about ruined me! I must have looked like an idiot walking around with a full crate and a split open skirt! Story of my life, looking like an idiot! Anyway that's only one of my most embarrassing moments.
#23.) Do I have a hobby?
Can't say that I do... unless you would consider cooking a hobby. I like cooking.
Today's Challenge... What do I do when I'm home alone? ALONE?!
I have five younger siblings!! Four, of which, are home schooled. I'm never home alone...
But, if I were I'd probably read, take a long hot shower, or simply enjoy the peace and quiet.
I like to collect books, mostly classic books like: Treasure Island, Gone With the Wind, Tom Sawyer, Jane Eyre, Robin Hood, etc. Oh! and I like to collect Joel Rosenberg's books... I still have to read his latest, Damascus Countdown! Yeah... I really need to get my hands on that one! It's from his Twelfth Imam series. You have to read the series, it's beyond awesome! I kind of have a crush on the main character, David Shirazi.
#21.) What is my biggest fear?
Hmm... I'm kind of hesitant in saying. My Pop always told me not to let my fear show... ( I call my Dad, Pop)
Well, I guess it would be okay to admit that my biggest fear would be something tragic happening to one of my family members. I'm very protective of those I love. When something happens to them and there's nothing I can do to help... I freak out. Who wouldn't, right?
Yay!!! I just got back from the post office where I shipped my first order from OUTSIDE the U.S.A.!
Max from the Netherlands just bought a few "Friends of Israel" friendship bracelets. The Joshua Fund will be receiving a donation just in time for Passover!
Thanks Max for making my day (maybe even my year) by your purchase, and for supporting Israel!
Let's see... I'm happiest at home with my family, at church with my church family, in a beach cave at Pismo, beneath a cluster of trees at Hart Park here in Bakersfield, or at the Beale Library getting some good books!
