Happy Spring!

It’s just the start of the celebration here..

I was in the mood to bake something cute (and tasty of course) the other day, so I let the first day of spring be my muse (and excuse).

I really wanted to make fondant butterflies.  They are such a sweet, easy touch to any cake or cupcake, and the girls love them.

And the fondant contains marshmallows.

(I have a real thing for marshmallow lately..)

I use this recipe, and I have never gone back.  (It was part of an inspired message one month from my visiting teachers..)  It is just as easy, cheaper, and more tasty than your boxed variety.

And it has marshmallow in it…

(Have I said that already?)

If you are lazy, well then, here’s the recipe:

Marshmallow Fondant

• 8-ounce bag of marshmallows
• 2 pounds of powdered sugar (also called confectioner's sugar or icing sugar; you won't quite use all of it for this recipe)
• 2 tablespoons of water
• vegetable shortening (Crisco) for greasing hands and tools

Put the marshmallows and water in a microwave-safe bowl and heat on high for about two minutes. The marshmallows should be puffy but will still hold their shape. Stir thoroughly until smooth.

Next, add about 1 1/2 pounds of the powdered sugar and stir with a spoon well greased with the Crisco. The homemade fondant at this point should be a very sticky dough.

Thoroughly grease your hands and work surface with the shortening and knead the fondant, adding a little bit of powdered sugar at a time until the mixture isn't sticky anymore. If it's sticky, add more sugar. If it's dry and tearing, add a teaspoon or two of water and knead it in. The homemade fondant recipe is finished when the dough is pliable and stretchy without tearing.

If you won't be using the marshmallow fondant recipe right away, cover it with a little bit more Crisco and wrap it well with plastic wrap. Seal it in a bag and keep it in the refrigerator, where it will last for several weeks.

You can color and flavor it like you can the nasty boxed kind too.     

After I have colored parts, I roll it out with the help of lots of powdered sugar, and use my tiny butterfly cookie cutter to cut out lots of little butterflies.  I will lay some flat to dry, and others I lay over the edge of a thick edged platter to get that about to take off look. 

I pinch off a small piece of the yellow fondant and roll it like a short snake, then pinch the end for the body.  One year, I got all detail oriented and used my fingernail to make little lines for the segments.

Then you leave them there to dry.  The thinner your fondant is rolled out, the quicker they dry.

I attach the bodies to the wings by pipng a little bit of buttercream using the smallest tip I have.

Then they can go onto cupcakes…

Or a cake…

 

We teased the girls, telling them that we couldn’t eat the cake until 5:21 pm on Sunday (the OFFICIAL start of spring).

Surprisingly, they waited patiently!

A birthday tradition.

It has been a tradition for Merrill’s birthday’s that I make him a cake with a design of his choosing.

That’s how most of the birthday cakes go around here…  but his isn’t a barbie doll, or a care bear..

It is usually an album cover.

This year, he chose his favorite album from last year.

The lighthouse kinda freaked me out, but the beams coming from it proved to be the stressful element.

He likes it, and as my dad would say, “It’s gonna turn into poop anyway…”

Cupcakes indeed.

We have been busy, but it has been fun, most of the time..

Friday, we had a practice run for a cake for an upcoming double birthday party.

(Hey Annie!!)

It was quite fun, and my kids couldn’t complain when there was more than enough cake batter from the pan to bake up some cupcakes.

 

(And when I say kids, I mean Peyton.  I think it’s accurate to say that SHE worked solo on licking the frosting off of every single cupcake, and putting them back.)

The, coincidentally, my sweet mother-in-law, came by with this fun cupcake stand:

How thoughtful of her!  She saw it while she was out shopping, and thought of me.

Thanks Darlene!!  I do LOVE it!

Tips & Tricks..

Not sayin' you all want to make my delightful yet jacked-up cake, but here are some tips I have learned along the way.
- I do not make my cakes from scratch, I do my brownies, but not my cakes (gasp!! I know.. I am now less of a woman than you thought..) and my FAVORITE cake mix is the butter recipe variety.
YUM.
- Wrap your cakes in foil and freeze your cakes immediately after they finish the recommended cooling time to turn out of the pan.
These two things make for a really moist cake.
In making the fondant, USE THE POWDERED SUGAR! Really. In most recipes, I do not always use that amount, sometimes more, and sometimes less, but with this, don't be shy.. use a lot. (But add it a little at a time..)
- Ganache.. it is delicious and so tasty.. but let me help. The first time I made it, the recipe did not state to whip the cream and chocolate mixture. WHIP IT. Let it cool, and then whip it. If you are using it as a crumb coat, chill it, but let it be a little soft to spread.
Just some tips.
Hope you enjoy them.
We enjoyed the cake. :)

Busy as a bee..

Keeping busy lately, seem to have something going on in every corner of my life these days!
Today, I took some gummy bears for a dip...


Then started a cake using this awesome fondant recipe..
Peyton loved the chocolate ganache filling..


I have to admit that I got really tired toward the end.. can't wait to have some. Maybe for breakfast? ;)


In my defense, we were carving pumpkins at the same time...


And I am done with 4 out of 9 loads of laundry.
Whew!! And finishing up the craft room in the process.. any more guesses on the color(s)?

Whatcha doin'?

Just a bit of what we've been up to..
Keeping busy around here!

South Ogden Days Parade... Lynn marched the whole way!

Had lunch at McDonald's..

Played and probably caught Swine Flu..

Peyton fed me french fries.. this is what it looks like when she feeds us bites:

Worked on Peyton's room some more.. I love IKEA!

She LOVES her room!

Resurrected the "Rose Petal Cottage"..

Which every little girl residing in this house is more than happy about. :)

Peyton is diggin' it.. the baby also ends-up in the oven. :0

ONE birthday cake..

An afternoon of swimming...

These two are so tight now..

These two are such posers...

ANOTHER birthday cake..

For Mom's birthday this time..


We love her!!
Watched some trains..

Went for a drive..

In celebration of the lady's birthday, we lit some sparklers, popped some pop-its..
This was Peyton's face when the pop-its started going off:

And enjoyed another dip..

With some other friends.

Now why on earth did I need a nap so bad today?
A doctor's appointment is in there somewhere, along with fireworks, a trip to DI (finally!!!), and just the daily funnies..
More stories to come in greater detail..
Until then..

A peek..

Here's your sneak peek at what's been going on around here...
ONE of the paint colors going up..


I am trying Home Deaf-o's new Behr with the primer in it.. I'll let ya know how that goes. So far I am up to four coats, but I think the pink stripes have something to do with that digit.
A bridal shower that we are planning for Merrill's little brother's soon to be bride..


Our aim for this shower is to make people say, "Really? All this for a shower?!"
Because that's what we do best. :)
I knew I had to post a pic of the invite when Merrill said he "happened to see one laying around at the hotel" and he thought "they were amazing!".. that speaks volumes. :)
And a little boy has learned the art of going potty.


So it's "Potty Time!" instead of "Party Time"..
A cake was in order for the grand celebration.


The blue and brown theme just kinda came together.. I dreamed up the toilet paper trail one night during one of my insomnia bouts. I am thinking of adding a mangled and molded tootsie roll to it. I am fearful if that would lead to only me eating the cake..


I am still trying to decide if that is a bad idea. ;)

Decorating Demo..

For Relief Society (RS) the other night, I was asked to do a cake decorating demonstration.
I can think of three other women, right off the top of my head, better equipped to do this.. but I did have fun!
Forgive the pics.. I am not a photographer! :D
I have a confession to make...
It was my first time ever playing with fondant.. it was fun!
I had to use my imagination to dream up some little boy ideas.. I am a girl expert though!
I use Wilton colors for everything (fondant included) and their featherweight bags. My favorite cake mix is Betty Crocker's butter recipe mixes, and I was taught a trick by my SIL from her friend that makes your cakes moist and yummy.. after you have let them cool, wrap them in foil and put them in the freezer until they are ready to decorate. It makes them easier to frost too!I used a grass tip on this one with a dinosaur cookie cutter to cut out the fondant.
Cookie cutters + fondant are my new best friends :D
Same tip, different cookie cutter. I shaped the flower center and the leaf by hand.
Grass tip, large star tip, butter fly cookie cutter.
Large star tip, "3" cookie cutter, and I rolled the balls out of left over fondant.
Small star tip..
So easy.. crushed Oreos (dirt) and a gummy worm cut in half.
This is a caterpillar made of whoppers.. so cute and so yummy!
Grass tip again. Water brushed on the fondant gives it a glossy look.
Cookie and Elmo. I used the grass tip again for the fur, rolled fondant into balls for the eyes and nose. Cookie Monster is feasting on a mini Chips A'hoy.. I became an expert on Cookie Monster when Lynn fell in love with him as a baby.
Cade helped me with this one. He smooshed the Oreos for my dirt and helped me place and re-place the dump truck repeatedly...
These flowers are another learned trick from Jaclyn. They are the chocolate candy melts, melted in a Zip-Loc bag, then the corner is snipped. I piped a doodle-y flower on to waked paper on my cutting board and put it into the fridge. Once they hardened, I placed them on the cake.
Easy-peasy! Here's the cupcake...
More large star tip and butterflies!