Trifle Wedding

Trifles are such an elegant dessert.  The layers, the swirls, the colors.  I love looking at trifles.

 For this wedding, we did Strawberry Shortcake and Chocolate Mousse Trifles.

 I think the chocolate hearts help pull it all together, don't you?

If you can see on top and in the corner, we also did some chocolate dipped strawberries. 

Congratulations to the happy couple!

L & G Wedding

We had so much fun doing the L/G wedding this weekend! Earlier in the day, it had been raining, but luckily the sun came out just in time for the outdoor reception.

 We did four different types of cupcakes:

 Coconut Creme...

 ...Chocolate...

Lemon Raspberry...

...and Peanut Butter!

Congratulations to the happy couple!

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Magical Birthday Cake

This is the birthday cake I made for my little brother for his 14th birthday. He is into magic, can you tell? Everything is edible except the rabbit, which was made by my sister's boyfriend, thanks Zeke!

Steven's Wedding Cake

This is the cake I made for my cousin Steven's wedding, Congrats on getting married Steven!
Three tiered, chocolate, white, and one artificial tier.
Alex was the best man.
The filling for the cakes were chocolate mousse and buttercream icing.
The couple's wedding color's were navy blue, silver, and black. They wanted the cake to be white with silver decorations.

The Ghost of Muffins Past

It's pumpkin season, it's pumpkin season! Near where I live, there is a Kneaders. Throughout the month of September, they had a countdown posted on their Marquee of how many days until Pumpkin Bread was available, on October 1st. Being cheap, on October 1st I made some pumpkin bread, but I posted that last year, so I decided not to repeat. I also made some pumpkin chocolate chip pancakes in honor of General Conference this weekend. And then I had leftover pumpkin in the fridge, so I made these delectable Pumpkin Muffins. I love October.

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Maple Pumpkin Muffins

From Tasteofhome.com

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Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
3/4 cup evaporated milk
1/4 cup canola oil
3 tablespoons maple syrup, divided
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, softened
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Directions
In a large bowl, combine the flour, 3/4 cup brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Whisk the eggs, pumpkin, milk, oil and 1 tablespoon syrup; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in pecans.
In a small bowl, beat cream cheese, remaining brown sugar and syrup until smooth. Gently stir into batter until mixture appears swirled.
Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups about three-fourths full. Bake at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Yield: 1 dozen.

Sukiyaki

This Friday I was introduced to a Japanese way of eating that I had never heard of before - Sukiyaki. My father-in-law served an LDS mission in Japan, and after we treated them to fondue last week, they thought it would be appropriate that they return the favor and make us Sukiyaki.

Basically what it was was a variety of foods - crab, water chestnuts, tofu, green onion, steak, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, peas, bean sprouts, and some lettuce-y looking stuff - which you throw in a wok that has some sort of sweet and sour beef broth in it. They you cover it, let it cook, and then put your choice of toppings over a bowl of rice.

My father-in-law tells me that in traditional Japanese eating, to finish off the rice you add a raw egg to the rice and it slides down real nice.